Change of Plans! - Enjoying the Journey

Change of Plans! December 2, 2020

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Change of plans – we have all heard those words a lot this year! On this day we had planned to be touring the land of the Bible. God knew all along that those plans would change. Proverbs 16:9 says it best, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” It is a wonderful rest for a Christian to realize that every step (and stop) are in the Lord’s hands.

While international travel restrictions have prevented us from being in Israel right now, I am happy to tell you that we are planning to be there one year from now and would love for you to go with us! We still have a handful of spots open for folks who would be interested in studying God’s Word at stops in Jerusalem and throughout the holy land.

For complete details and a registration form click here.

Friends who had previously registered to go do not need to register again. This is going to be a very special tour and Tammy and I are excited about spending time with many of you. Mark your calendar for November 29-December 8, 2021 and let us know soon if you plan to travel with us.

Please contact Jennie Butler with any questions at (843) 345-4441 or [email protected].

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(2 Corinthians 13:14) There is only one God. That God has expressed Himself in three Persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It should be our greatest desire to grow in knowledge of and love for every member of the Godhead. (0947250221) —-more—-

The Divine Trinity

Over the last several studies, we’ve been looking at what the Bible says about God, about the Lord Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. Come to see that God the Father is God, that God the Son is God, and that God the Holy Spirit is God. And we don’t have three gods, we have one God expressed in three persons.

The Bible says there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so they are distinct and separate persons of the Godhead. And yet, they are co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal. The word that is frequently used to describe our God is the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Really the word Trinity is a great word. It means three in one, the triune God, Trinity in unity.

Understanding the Godhead

But the Bible word for it is the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, working together. Jesus spoke about this in John chapter 14 when Philip came to him and said, “Show us the Father and it sufficeth us.”

We want to see the Father. And Jesus says to him, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” In other words, if you want to know the Father, You have to know the Father through the Son. In the same chapter in John chapter 14, He said, “When I leave you,(when the Son leaves), I’m going to send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth.”

And he says, “The Holy Spirit’s going to come and dwell with you and be in you and he’s going to reveal more of me to you.” So watch this. If you want to know the Father, you’ve got to know the Son. And if you want to know the Son, then you’ve got to know the Spirit. Do you see how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together?

The Father is the begetter, the Son is the begotten. The Father is the sender, the Son is the sent one. And then the Father and Son together send the Spirit of God to abide with us forever. It’s also a beautiful thought to see how each glorifies the other. The Father glorified the Son came to fulfill the will of the Father.

The Holy Spirit comes not to do his own will or to speak of himself, but rather to glorify the Lord Jesus so that the Father will be pleased. It’s just, it’s wonderful to see this perfect unity and part of the reason we can’t comprehend it is we don’t see that kind of unity in our world today. Our finite and fallen minds cannot wrap our imaginations around something so perfect and yet that’s our God, our perfect God.

Biblical References to the Trinity

From the very beginning of the scriptures we see this triune God at work. For example, Genesis chapter 1 verse number 26 says “Let us make a man in our image.” Oh, who is that having a conversation? Oh, that’s the Father, Son, and Spirit. Who’ve been in perfect communion from eternity past. In fact, in Genesis chapter number one, we see the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters and we learn in Colossians 1 that the Lord Jesus Christ was the one who created all things.

So someone’s going to say who created the world? The Father, the Son, or the Spirit? And the answer to that question is yes. Isn’t that beautiful? So even in the plurality of the pronoun that’s used in Genesis 1, even in the plurality of The name that is used for our God, the Lord God. There is a reference to the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all working together.

Our perfect God. One God at work in this world. Let me read something to you from the book of Isaiah that may help you to understand this a little better. I love this passage. Isaiah chapter number 48, verse number 16, says, “Come ye near me, hear ye this, I have not spoken in secret from the beginning. From the time that it was, there I am, and now the Lord God and His Spirit hath sent me. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord by God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” Did you see all three members of the Godhead? The Lord God. Now this is Jehovah, Yahweh. A reference to our Father. And there is the Redeemer, that’s a reference to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then there is His Spirit, a reference to the Holy Ghost of God. The first time we see them in the New Testament is in Matthew chapter 3 at the baptism of the Lord Jesus. The Bible says in Matthew 3 verse 16, “And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straight way out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and laying upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Do you see the Lord Jesus, the Son, standing in the water? And do you hear the voice of the Father speaking from His throne in heaven? And do you see the Holy Spirit being sent from heaven down to earth? To light upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, Son, and Spirit working in unbroken unity together.

The Great Commission and the Trinity

When you come to the end of that same book, to Matthew chapter number 28, you come to the Great Commission, the command that’s been given us, and the baptismal formula for how new believers are to be baptized. And what does it say? We’re to baptize them, Matthew 28:19, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Why the Father, the Son, and the Spirit? Because they are co-equal. They are co-existent. They are co-eternal. Although they are distinct persons, you cannot separate them from one another. And this is the truth. This is what I’m praying that the Lord will help us to understand today about what the Bible says about the Godhead.

The Bible says about the Trinity, the great three in one, and it is this. That I have the Father, I have the Son, and I have the Spirit. That the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all related to us as believers. We have access to all that God is.

Apostolic Benediction and Divine Blessing

And so I bring you to what is commonly referred to as the apostolic benediction. That’s just a big, formal term for a prayer that the Apostle Paul prays concerning the church at Corinth. In 2 Corinthians chapter 13, the closing verse 14, says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.” It’s beautiful to see how Paul’s closing prayer opens all of heaven to us.

This is really not the the apostles’ blessing. This is divine blessing. This is the key that unlocks heaven’s storehouse. Everything that we need is wrapped up in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And notice the divine order. He begins with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He begins with everybody’s greatest need.

Do you know what everyone’s greatest need is? It’s grace. Friend, without grace, we can’t enjoy any other good thing. And how does that grace come from heaven to earth? It comes to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Almost without exception, when the Godhead are mentioned, the Father is always mentioned first.

But Christ is first here. And why is that? Because Christ is the one who opens the way to the Father. You can’t enjoy the love of God or the communion of the Holy Ghost without the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And once you come to know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you begin to enter in and grow in your understanding of the love of God.

Deeper and deeper into the love of God. And how does that happen? It happens through the indwelling God. The communion of the Holy Ghost, God who lives inside of you. I’m taking the time today to point this out to you all through scripture because I’m hoping you’ll come to love more the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

To speak more to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and to tell others of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. My prayer for you today is that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.

Outro and Resources

Repeating what other people have said about the Bible is not enough. We must know the biblical reason behind what we believe. We hope you will visit us at etj.bible to access our library of Bible teaching resources, including book-by-book studies of Scripture. You’ll also find studies to watch, listen to, or read. We are so grateful for those who pray for us, who share the biblical content, and for those who invest to help us advance this ministry. Again, thank you for listening, and we hope you’ll join us next time on Enjoying the Journey.

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