Triune God (Trinity) (Mt. 28:18-20)
Hallelujah, my name is Pastor Kim. Our Senior Pastor Dusun Park is in Korea for the World Missions Conference, so I am standing here in his stead. So please pray a lot for our Senior Pastor Park so that he may return back safely after attending all the things he must at the World Missions Conference. If you look at Matthew 28:19, it says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” So, in that main Bible scripture, it talks about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. So today, we will deliver the Word of God titled, “The Triune God.”
1. The Bible is the book of the Triune God
There is no specific word that says, “Triune” or “Trinity” in the Bible; however, there are places all throughout the Bible that testify of the Trinity or the Triune God, just as in today’s scripture. In reality, you can say that the entire Bible is a book of the Triune God.
1) Doctrine of the Triune God
(1) The Bible is the book of the Triune God
The Doctrine of the Triune God is one of the most fundamental aspects of Christianity that tells us what we believe in.
(2) Mystical and distinct doctrine that only Christians have
This doctrine is so mystical and so unique that there is no other faith that can copy this doctrine or this faith.
(3) Abstruse doctrine – Doctrine that all believers believe and follow
All of us, we Christians, are confessing and believing in the Triune God as we live our walk of faith. But despite this, there are not many believers who are able to understand or explain what the Triune God really means. I believe that, perhaps, the message I am about to give about the Triune God may be a little hard to understand, and it may not be very moving. However, I believe that if you listen very carefully to the message today, and perhaps even take a few notes and reflect on it later on, you will see great benefits in your walk of faith. For example, the outline that is written out in the church bulletin for the summary of today’s message is a very good summary of the Triune God, so it would be good to reflect back on this.
2) Triune God who existed since long ages past
You can see that the Bible actually talks about the Triune God from the beginning.
(1) Gen. 1:1 – Elohim (אלהים) (Plural) – Eloah (Singular) – God the Father
Already in Genesis 1:1, it says that God created the heavens and the earth. If you look at the original Hebrew text, the word “God” here is translated from the word, “Elohim,” which is the plural version of the word, “Eloah.” We see that, already from the very beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, He was not just God alone, but He was also with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
(2) Jn. 1:1 – Word, Jesus (Logos:λόγος ) – God the Son
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” That “Word,” with a capital “W”, in Greek, it means “Logos.” This means that this Jesus Christ in the flesh is Logos. This means that, in the very beginning, when God the Father was creating all of creation, God the Son—the Word—was with Him.
(3) Gen. 1:2 – Spirit of God – God the Holy Spirit
Genesis 1:2 says that when God was creating this world, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. This means that the Spirit of God, in other words, God the Holy Spirit, was participating in the creation of the world. This means that in the creation of the heavens and the earth, God the Father was the Lord, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were participating as well.
3) Understanding the doctrine of Trinity
(1) Basic principle of the doctrine of Trinity (Picture)
[1] The Trinity are all independent entities
The principle of the Triune God is very simple, the first thing is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have their own personalities; they are their own individual Persons. If you look at the diagram, which is a little bit small on the screen, there are the three points of the triangle—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—and there is an “X” between the three points to show they are not the same.
[2] The Trinity are all one Godhead
However, the second principle is saying that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all one God. They are all, by essence, God, so if you look at the middle of the triangle, there is the word, “God,” and then all three points of the Triune God point to that “God,” and there is a circle to show that they are equal. This is the entirety of the doctrine of the Triune God. Even though the picture is quite small, if you can remember it well, it can help you understand the Triune God. Please follow along. The Triune God are all independent entities, they are all independent of each other; they are different. The second principle, the Trinity are all one Godhead. So, if you know these two principles, you understand the doctrine of the Trinity.
Then I will ask you a question to see how well you understand. I’ll ask you a question: if somebody says that, in order to represent the Triune God, it’s like saying, “When I’m at church, I’m a pastor; when I go home, I’m the head of the household; and when I go to the office, I am the president there,” what do you think about that? If you think that analogy is correct, raise your hand. Raise your hand if you think this is an incorrect analogy. There are a few on both sides. The analogy I gave you is actually incorrect. There is nothing in this world that can really explain or represent the Triune God. I’ll explain to you why this analogy was incorrect, because the first principle says that the Triune God are all independent and separate entities. Even though it is true that while I’m at church, I’m a pastor, when I go home, I’m the head of the household, and when I’m at my company, they call me the president there, I’m just one person, Junghoon Kim, and people call me different titles or positions based on the circumstance. But there are some times when teachers in Sunday school will explain it like this to the children to make it easier for them to understand. But the Triune God are all different entities or different persons. It is completely different from this worldly concept of one person, Junghoon Kim, being a pastor, a president, and the head of a household at the same time.
(2) Jesus is fully man and God Fully man: Jn. 4:6-7, Jn. 11:35 Fully God: Phil. 2:6-7, Lk. 8:24, Jn. 2, 5 loaves of bread, 2 fish
We can understand the Triune God more clearly when we think about Jesus Christ Who came to earth. Jesus Christ came to earth as truly human and truly God. Because Jesus Christ came to earth fully as a human being, He had all the thoughts and emotions of a human. John 4:6-7 says there was a time when Jesus and the disciples went to Samaria, and because they had been traveling for a long time, Jesus was tired, just as we would be, and He sat down by a well to rest. Just like human beings, Jesus felt thirst as well, so He asked the Samaritan woman to come and bring Him some water from the well.
In John 11:35, after Lazarus died, Jesus Christ shed tears in front of Lazarus’ tomb; it says that Jesus wept. This verse, John 11:35, “Jesus wept,” is the shortest verse in the entire Bible. Jesus Christ, Who came to this earth, was fully, by nature, God. Philippians 2:6-7 says this, it is something that was talked about in the doctrine. This is what we read in the responsive reading, “Jesus Christ, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself a servant.”
In Luke 8:24, Jesus Christ was crossing the Sea of Galilee with His disciples. At that time, in the Sea of Galilee, they were facing a terrible storm and the boat was in danger of capsizing. At this time, Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves, and told them to quiet down. Only God can rebuke the waves and the wind and make it calm. There was a time when Jesus was giving a sermon to many people and everybody was hungry. At that time, Jesus took only five loaves of bread and two fish and used that to feed over 5000 people until they were all full, and they still had 12 baskets left over. All of these things are things that only God can do, they are the works of God.
2. Function and role of God the Father (Jehovah – Ex. 3:15)
To understand the Triune God a little more, I’d like to explain the function and the role of each of the Triune God. First, we will look at God the Father, His name is the Jehovah God. In Exodus 3:15, God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush and then He says, “I am the LORD, the God of your forefathers.” He said, “This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered, from generation to generation.”
1) Creator (Gen. 1)
There are three functions of God the Father. The first is that He is the creator of all of creation. Second, He is the One Who planned everything. The third role is that He reigns over and provides to accomplish things that are within His plan, so we’ve looked at the role and the function of God the Father from the beginning. The creation of the Universe was led by God the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit also participated.
2) Predestined (Eph. 1:4-5)
Regarding the second function of God the Father, which is to create the plan, it says this in Ephesians 1:4-5. It says in Eph. 1:4-5 that He chose us in Christ, before the creation of the world, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will.
3) Providence (Ps. 103:19)
If you look at Psalm 103:19, it says “The LORD has established HIs throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” Regardless of each of our desires, God is the King and He carries out His Kingdom.
4) The 5 points of John Calvin
During the Middle Ages, there was a theologian named John Calvin who established the five points of Calvinism, so I hope you will look at the screen and read through the five points of John Calvinism. The first point is total depravity, which means that all humans are corrupt. The second is unconditional election. The third is the irresistible grace, the perseverance of the saints, and limited atonement, these are the five principles that John Calvin established.
(1) Total Depravity
(2) Unconditional election
Of this, the second principle is unconditional election. That “Unconditional election” means that, even before creation, God had already predestined who is to be saved; regardless of whether I am sinful or righteous, God saves me regardless of my sin.
(3) Limited atonement
(4) Irresistible grace
(5) Perseverance of Saints
The fourth principle, irresistible grace, means that, regardless of anybody’s will or their own righteousness, anybody who has been chosen by God for His salvation will be led by His grace.
3. Function and role of God the Son (Jesus – Mt. 1:21)
Next, I will tell you about God the Son. The name of God the Son is Jesus, in Matthew 1:21, an angel says about Mary, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus because He will save the people from their sins.” Jesus’ roles are two; the first is that Jesus is the one who saves and the second is that Jesus is the one who intercedes.
1) Salvation (Rom. 5:8) / Jesus church, the name of general assembly Presbyterian Church of South Korea /Jesus Methodist Church of South Korea / Korean Baptist Church
Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The first of the five points of Calvinism that we just looked at is “Total Depravity,” and even though we were completely depraved in our sin, Jesus Christ still died on the cross to save us. Therefore, our Savior is only Jesus Christ. That’s why, all of the Christian churches that are raised up are really the Church of Jesus. In Korea, if you look at the names of the churches in South Korea, there is the Presbyterian Church of South Korea, the Jesus Methodist Church, and the Korean Baptist Church.
2) Intercession
The second role of Jesus Christ is the role of intercession. Because of Adam’s sin, all human beings have sinned and therefore, there is a very large hole or a gap between us and God, and a curtain that divides us from God.
(1) Split the curtain in the Holy Place (Mt. 27:50-51)
(2) Deep pit – Made a bridge with the cross
And Jesus Christ, Who intercedes between us and God, has torn the curtain that splits us from Him. In Matthew 27:50-51, it says that when Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, He said, “It is finished,” and gave up His Spirit and when that happened, the curtain that was dividing the Temple was torn from top to bottom. Because the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies has been torn, we are able to go before God and worship Him today. There was a large chasm, and Jesus Christ’s cross has made a bridge for us to cross.
(3) Prayer: Ask for anything in Jesus’ name (Jn. 16:23)
John 16:23 says to ask for anything in Jesus’ name.
3) Pray for everything: “Pray in the name of Jesus.” (O) – Present tense, “Prayed…” (X) – Past tense “…Desire… Please do…” (O) – Request, “Do this…” (X) – Imperative form
That’s the reason we end our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, and this is talking in the present tense. In the Greek, it’s actually the present perfect tense which captures the past, present, and future tenses all in one word. So when we say, “in the name of Jesus Christ we pray,” we are praying with the present perfect tense, which means that in our past, present, and future, God will work. The reason we use that present perfect tense is because it is well-aligned with our God. I’m sure you’ve heard pastors always end their prayers with, “In the name of Jesus Christ we pray,” but listen carefully. Some people end their prayers saying, “In Jesus Christ’s name we have prayed.” and because they used the past tense, “prayed,” it does not align well with the God Who is eternal. I hope when you finish your prayers, you will end it in the present-perfect tense, “In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.”
There are also people who pray, “Do this, do that,” but that is a command, that is the language. If you look at a lot of Catholic readings or prayer, you will see a lot of it is written. No matter what prayer you pray, God will absolutely answer you.
4) Answer to prayer: St. Augustine and Virgin Mary / St. Ambrosius
There is Saint Augustine who summarized the gospel very well. That is someone who was born in Africa, and his mother was very famous While he was growing up, St. Augustine was a sort of troublemaker, getting into all sorts of trouble all the time. One day, he told his mother that he would go to Milan in Italy. But back then, the region of Milan was a region filled with criminals, similar to Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament. His mother prayed for multiple days, asking God, “I know if he goes to Milan in Italy, he will perform many crimes there,
But strangely enough, the day of St. August’s departure came and left with him. What do you think was going on in his mother’s, Saint Monica’s heart? Are there any of you who ask God, “Please do this,” and you may have prayed for days on end, but God may not have answered your prayers, are there any of you who are disappointed? it’s very mystical. Once he got to Milan, Augustine actually met with the greatest saint there, Saint Ambrose. Actually underneath Ambrose, Augustine was able to see, and Augustine became of the greatest saints who was able to start with absolutely nothing and testify of the gospel to the Early Church. I hope you will believe that every single one of your prayers will be answered according to God’s plan and God’s time schedule.
4. Function and role of God the Holy Spirit (Advocate – Jn. 14:26)
Next, let us look at the function of God the Holy Spirit. The name of “God the Holy Spirit” is the Holy kit. John 14:26 says that the Holy Spirit will teach you of all things and remind you of all things that Jesus Christ has said to you. The three functions or roles of the Holy Spirit or Advocate.
1) Indwelling (1 Cor. 3:16)
1 Cor. 3:16, do you believe that the Holy Spirit of God is dwelling inside of you now? If you really believe that, then you are a small Temple of God, still here
2) Communication (2 Cor. 13:13)
2 Cor. 13:13-14 says all believers sent their greetings, and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the Holy Spirit be with you all. So the Holy Spirit is within each of the believers, and allows us to have fellowship with one another and with God.
3) Guidance (Jn. 16:13)
The third rule. John 16:13 says that when the spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the Truth and tell you what is to come. The Holy Spirit has the role of guiding us to Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, Truth, and Life.
4) Gospel proclamation (Ac. 1:8) / New temple construction
The reason why God sends us the Holy Spirit is to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 says that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power. Right now, we are all in diligent prayer, looking in the direction of Temple Construction and world missions. For the sake of world missions, we absolutely need a location or facility. We need a location for missions where we can train up the next generation and raise them up and train them for missions as well. I believe the reason God has given us this prayer topic for the Temple Construction, it is a channel of blessing for the Triune God’s work.
Conclusion
1. Even though the Triune God is three independent entities, He is one God.
2. The trinity doctrine is the basis of Christian faith.
3. The Triune God desires to save mankind which is His gift of love and eternal purpose.
Message Prayer
I hope you will take the word we have received today and engrave them into your hearts, and then we will end in prayer.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You so much and thank You for allowing us to worship with offering in hand. We are returning only one portion of everything You have given to us, and we pray that this offering will be used to spread the Kingdom of God. We pray You will bless the hands that have given the offering, that You will always give us a heart of devoting to You. We pray everything in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer
2. Early Morning Prayer – Please participate through Messenger (4/21-5/3)
3. Church meeting every 1st Sunday of the month, 5/4 (Sunday) 12:30pm
4. Church officer’s message every Sunday at 1:30PM in Church officer’s room.
5. Missions Conference, Visit Korea 4/20-5/2.
6. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the great love of our Father God, and the indwelling, guidance, fellowship, and filling of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, who live their walk of faith within the Triune God, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.