3inOne
Last night at CityGroup I gave the second talk in the series Redeemer:Values - This is who we are The talk included a lot of scripture references and quotes - So, if you are interested, you can read my sermon notes. They are unedited, unformatted, uncut, rough and ready.
3inOne
Why the Trinity matters to Redeemer
The preexistence of the trinity
The temptation is to avoid the things that we cant explain - - - -—-
If we shy away from it because we cant explain it we loose the very heart of what our God is about and to be part of church.
If we think to much about it and try and over explain it we loose the very heart of what the Trinity is
And if we do nothing with the Trinity then we are fools blinded by are own arrogance and stupidity.
The trinity isn’t a grand philosophical concept invented by philosophers and theologians. So we can all sit around and scratch our heads and umm and ohhhh and confuse ourselves with ridiculous illustrations of ice etc etc No!
The trinity is God - It is his very nature, his very Character and the core of his very being in that our God is One God who is three persons….....
This is our God
In the beginning Eloheim (plural)
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1(A) In the beginning was(B) the Word,
and(C) the Word was with God,
and(D) the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God.
3(E) All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4(F) In him was life,[a] and(G) the life was the light of men. 5(H) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Heb 1
3He is the radiance of the glory of God and(H) the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
John 8
58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was,(CZ) I am.” 59So(DA) they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Gen ch 1 ......And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
So right there - in the beginning - God - trinitarian - one God - three different and distinct and diverse persons yet unified and in one accord declaring Let there be, let there be.
Creation is Trinitarian!!!
Let us create man in our image in our likeness
.......he becomes like one of us
The God of creation was a trinitarian God who although did not lack in and of himself in any way, and was fully and completely sufficient in love created man in his Image to be in relationship and community with him because if man was made in the image of a trinitarian God then the very essence of that would mean community and relationship with that God. So when the unthinkable happened - Man in rebellion against God broke off that God intended relationship and broke the perfect community it would take an amazing act of the trinity to see that relationship and community fully restored.
What we have then is a picture of God whose love even before the creation of anything, is other orientated…... There has always been an other-orientation in the very nature of God ....... we are the friends of God by virtue of the intra-trinitarian love of God that so worked out in the fullness of time the plan of redemption, conceived in the mind of God in eternity past, has exploded into our space-time history at exactly the right moment. DA Carson The difficult doctrine of the Love of God
The trinity is amazing.
So here is our working definition of the Trinity .......
There is one God
God is three persons Father Son and Spirit. God is three persons separate and distinct, all three are fully unified in one accord and are one God
Each person is fully God - God the Father is God, Jesus is God, The Holy Spirit is God.
There is one God
One God
Isaiah 45:5(J) I am the LORD, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
(K) I equip you, though you do not know me,
6(L) that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
...........21(A) Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God(B) and a Savior; there is none besides me.
God is one God - we don’t believe in 3 Gods we dont believe in multiple Gods
We believe in one God the God of Abraham, Jacob, David and you!
God is three persons
God as trinitarian - Elohim (Plural)
We have already looked at some verses ..........
Psalm 110 1(A) The LORD says to my Lord: (or God the father says to God the Son)
(B) “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your(D) footstool.”
Isaiah 63 10…..Gods people…..(N) But they rebelled (O) and grieved his Holy Spirit;
Hosea 1: 7But(A) I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD (Yahweh) their God (Elohim)
Is 48: 16(W) Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now(X) the Lord GOD has sent me (the servant, Jesus), and his Spirit.
Three Persons
Jesus
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1(A) In the beginning was(B) the Word, and(C) the Word was with God, and(D) the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God.
Col 2:9
For(U) in him the whole fullness of deity dwells(V) bodily,
Heb 1
3He is the radiance of the glory of God and(H) the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Heb 1
8But of the Son he says, (R) “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
(Psalm 45 6(K) Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The(L) scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;)
Titus 2
.........our great(AC) God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14(AD) who gave himself for us to(AE) redeem us from all lawlessness and(AF) to purify for himself(AG) a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Holy Spirit
Heb 9:14 14….....Christ, who through the eternal Spirit(B) offered himself without blemish to God,(C) purify our[a] conscience(D) from dead works(E) to serve the living God.
1 Cor 3 16(AC) Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you
1 Cor 6:19Or(Y) do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?(Z) You are not your own, 20(AA) for you were bought with a price.(AB) So glorify God in your body.
Each person is fully God
1 Cor 8 6yet(K) for us there is one God, the Father,(L) from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and(M) one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and(N) through whom we exist.
Matt 28 19(X) Go therefore and(Y) make disciples of(Z) all nations,(AA) baptizing them(AB) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 4:6And because you are sons, God has sent(H) the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
1 Cor 12:4Now(H) there are varieties of gifts, but(I) the same Spirit; 5and(J) there are varieties of service, but(K) the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is(L) the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
recap.
into to implications…...........The trinity is not a static concept - the unexplainable is not undemonstratable - its real - its our God.and it has implications for us here today .........
1. Community
At the very essence of the Trinity is community
John 10;30 I and the Father are one
Jesus prays for his disciples
John 17:22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Its fascinating that there is this inbuilt need and desire in people for community - virtual, really, online, local, national, international, - people want to be in community - even to the point where people would rather become part of the internet virtual community second life than live in really community with real people - - the fact is people need community - people are longing and searching for the community that was broken back in Gen 3. And as a church in this city we have a responsibility to model good christ centered Trinitarian community to the city - Thats what it means to be a city in the city.
We don’t do it coz its a good idea or a nice thing to do - ITS TRINITARIAN!
What does Trinitarian community in the church look like?
Genuine relationship
No Jealousy
No Cliques
Accountable
Transparent
Self giving
Sacrificial
No Conflict
Submissive
Happy
And one of the most important we celebrate difference, individuality and genuine oneness - THE KALADESCOPE.
Practical ways we work this out
social networks
website
small groups
community triplets
2. Mission
John 1
The Word Became Flesh
1(A) In the beginning was(B) the Word,
and(C) the Word was with God,
and(D) the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God.
3(E) All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4(F) In him was life,[a] and(G) the life was the light of men. 5(H) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
........... As(AF) the Father has sent me,(AG) even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he(AH) breathed on them and said to them, (AI) “Receive the Holy Spirit.
We are a missional community
are best model for mission is the trinity - sure we can have strategies etc but unless we are on mission like the trinity was on mission we have lost something.
The trinity is on mission throughout salvation history
What are the characteristics of the trinity on mission?
Loving - God so loved the world - Love and relationship is the core of the trinity
God so loved the world that?......that what? HE SENT - We so love this city.
Sending
holy spirit
Incarnating - The trinity promotes and models culturally relevant mission!!! - he Tabernacled!!!!
.....whats the outcome of the trinity on mission? Its is of course salvation ...... which is again in its very nature Trinitarian….....
Salvation
The very essence of our Trinitarian God is that he is a God in community and on Mission Its what He is all about - Its what this is all about - God on Mission seeking to Redeem a people for himself - A royal priesthood, a holy nation - a gathering of his people here in Belfast YOU!!!!
And its hardly surprising that the when community with God was broken it would take a trinitarian act to resolve it - It would take a trinitarian act to turn it on all on its head
And you might say but Im saved through the death and resurrection of the cross of Jesus - well yes you are but it was an utterly amazing trinitarian act that would put that into place and see it happen.
Before the ages began God (plural) put in place his salvation plan which would see God the Father sending the Son on Mission to live in a culturally relevant way amongst sinners in perfect obedience even unto death - even death on a cross - YET NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS etc….......and sending the spirit on mission to witness and testify and empower and continue his sanctifying work.
YOUR SALVATION IS TRINITARIAN
The dance of God - the early leaders of the Greek church - Perichoresis
Its one of the roots of our word choreography - it literally means to dance or flow around
do talky bit - - -
The Father .... Son ..... and Holy Spirit glorify each other ...... At the center of the universe, self giving love is the dynamic currency of the trinitarian life of God. the persons within God exalt, commune with and defer to one another…....... when early greek Christians spoke of Perichoresis in God they meant that each divine person harbors the others at the center of his being. In constant movement of overture and acceptance each person envelops and encircles the others. - Plantinger
In Christianity God is not an impersonal thing nor a static thing - not even just one person - but a dynamic pulsating activity, a life, a kind of drama, almost, if you will, not think me irreverent a kind of dance…... The pattern of this three person life is the great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality. Cs lewis
Eph ch 1 puts it like this.
propels us into mission
Revelation 22
The River of Life
1Then the angel[a] showed me(A) the river of(B) the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of(C) the street of the city;(D) also, on either side of the river,(E) the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were(F) for the healing of the nations. 3(G) No longer will there be anything accursed, but(H) the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and(I) his servants[c] will worship him. 4(J) They will see his face, and(K) his name will be on their foreheads. 5And(L) night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp(M) or sun, for(N) the Lord God will be their light, and(O) they will reign forever and ever.
Tags: Bible, Christianity, Church, Church planting, CityGroup, Community, Teaching, Trinity
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