WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.560 Who are you? 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:13.519 If you were going to explain who you are in a few short sentences, 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:16.039 how would you describe yourself? 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:19.120 Think about it for a moment. 00:00:19.240 --> 00:00:20.280 Talk to the person next to you. 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:21.519 What kind of words would you use? 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:23.359 I'm going to ask a couple of you in a moment. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:41.480 Five seconds. 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:51.820 Okay, does anybody feel like being asked, who are you? 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:54.120 Anybody have an idea? 00:00:55.400 --> 00:00:56.400 Are you all very confused? 00:00:56.519 --> 00:00:57.700 We've got name tags now. 00:00:57.820 --> 00:00:59.439 That should help. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.240 Okay, are you there? 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:04.480 Jeff, who are you? 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:05.620 How would you describe yourself, brother? 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:10.680 I'm a very experienced professional. 00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:11.859 An experienced professional? 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:14.819 He even used the word very. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:15.980 Okay, interesting. 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:16.719 Nolene? 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:21.060 I was going to say, there's many different hats that we wear at different stages of our life, 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:24.319 so it's very hard to put it into a very short context. 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:24.740 Okay. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:26.939 But what words would you use? 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.239 Well, I actually said before, I generally say I'm the mother of James and Olivia. 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:34.819 Okay, okay. 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:35.659 That's very helpful. 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:36.239 Mother. 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:37.120 Mother. 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:37.680 Okay. 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:42.079 I'm going to choose one person from over there and one person from over here. 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:42.519 Anybody? 00:01:44.780 --> 00:01:46.280 There's always my favorite people to pick on. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:46.760 Tanya. 00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:47.079 Okay. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:51.420 Friends with God through my Lord Jesus Christ. 00:01:51.539 --> 00:01:51.819 Wonderful. 00:01:52.039 --> 00:01:53.079 One other person over here. 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:53.140 Okay. 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:57.540 I'll pick on you. 00:01:57.620 --> 00:01:58.060 That's fine. 00:01:58.400 --> 00:01:59.140 I'll pick on Nick then. 00:01:59.239 --> 00:01:59.680 Okay, Nick. 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:01.159 Yeah, come on. 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:02.219 You know, I love you, so it's okay. 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:03.519 How would you describe yourself, brother? 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:05.319 I'm James' friend. 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:06.420 James' friend. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:08.840 And what a delight that is. 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:14.759 Now, there's a common theme that has been running through all of these, and it's not me. 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:20.259 The way we describe ourselves is often in relationship to others. 00:02:21.079 --> 00:02:26.319 Jeff talked about himself in relation to his work, to his profession with others. 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.239 Tanya said she's about her relationship with God. 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:31.819 Nolene said relationship to her children. 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:35.780 Nick said his relation to me, and what a delight that is. 00:02:37.139 --> 00:02:44.680 We use descriptors like this because this is who we are is in relation to other people. 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:50.379 If I really want to get to know you, I need to do more than just spend time with you. 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:58.919 I need to see you with other people, with your family and with your friends, to see the tribe of people who have made you. 00:02:59.359 --> 00:03:01.579 Then I can understand who you are. 00:03:02.099 --> 00:03:11.560 Yesterday, it was my eldest child's birthday party, and on the way home from the birthday party, we were bringing back a number of kids. 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:15.740 And one of the kids, they were requesting songs in the car. 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:20.180 And one of the kids showed me a lot about his father and mother. 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.759 Because he was requesting songs. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.659 He requested a song by Michael Jackson, beat it. 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:28.960 And a song by, it's the song Eye of the Tiger. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:33.460 And it revealed a lot about who his parents are. 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:34.900 They like old music. 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:37.600 But I won't pick on who that child was. 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:38.680 I'll just look at them a little bit. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:42.180 Who is the Christian God? 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:48.439 How would you describe who the Christian God is? 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:54.219 Again, we'd probably use terms to describe him in relationships. 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:55.760 He's loving. 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:58.040 He's merciful. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:04.040 Would we say that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? 00:04:05.060 --> 00:04:10.379 Is God as a Trinitarian God close to the front of our mind? 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:13.579 Now, the Bible doesn't use the word Trinity. 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:17.399 And it's easy to gloss over this concept. 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:21.860 That God is three in one. 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:24.839 That he is one God with three persons. 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:27.199 But this math doesn't add up. 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:33.540 And is it possible that we don't really think of God as Trinity that much? 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:40.600 I know, speaking with people of other faiths, like Muslims and Jews, that they don't understand this at all. 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:43.460 They say, well, you just believe that you have three gods. 00:04:45.700 --> 00:04:55.160 The Apostles' Creed that we say claims that we believe in a God who is a Father, a Son, and a Holy Spirit. 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:57.900 But how important is this really? 00:04:58.880 --> 00:05:07.700 Is it just a piece of boring theology that's only relevant to look into when there's a heat wave outside or 400 mil of rain in one day? 00:05:08.280 --> 00:05:12.280 Is this just an obscure piece of theology? 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:15.660 This is what we are investigating today. 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:20.400 Who our God is and what it means that he is a Trinity. 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:25.280 We're going to touch on God being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:05:25.780 --> 00:05:28.460 We're not going to dive too deeply into each of these. 00:05:28.540 --> 00:05:31.100 We're going to be doing that throughout the rest of this series. 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:35.040 But we're going to look at God as a Trinity today. 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:38.300 And we're going to dip into a number of different parts of the Bible. 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:40.980 So if you'd like to be flicking with me, you can be doing that. 00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:43.040 You can be following the slides on the screen. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:47.340 But as we look at God as a Trinity, let me pray for us. 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:54.980 Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you so much that we are not stuck trying to figure out who you are, 00:05:55.020 --> 00:05:56.920 but that you have revealed yourself to us. 00:05:57.760 --> 00:06:08.200 Father, we get confused very easily and can struggle to understand what it means that you are three persons in one God. 00:06:08.400 --> 00:06:10.600 Please help us to understand this this morning, Lord. 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:11.259 Amen. 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:16.120 So the Bible describes God as three in one. 00:06:16.719 --> 00:06:18.839 A Trinity in unity. 00:06:19.539 --> 00:06:21.699 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:06:22.539 --> 00:06:25.459 As I mentioned, we're going to have a number of Bible verses on the screen. 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:30.779 I'm not going to be going into any depth into these, but because we'll be seeing these throughout the series. 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:40.079 God, firstly, God the Father, He's presented in the Old and New Testament as God the Father, the first person of the Trinity. 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:45.319 In the book of Isaiah, it describes God as the Father who makes us all. 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:51.859 And we saw that with Jacob last week, as we saw that God is an almighty creator. 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:59.939 In the book of John, one of the biographies of Jesus, he defines God in terms of relationship. 00:07:00.840 --> 00:07:04.160 In John 1.1, he begins by describing God. 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:07.000 There it is. 00:07:07.080 --> 00:07:11.759 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:14.139 He was with God in the beginning. 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:16.159 So we get this picture of Jesus. 00:07:17.099 --> 00:07:23.039 He is unique to God, but he is with God, and he's the Word of God. 00:07:23.539 --> 00:07:31.159 He has been with God for eternity, but is somehow unique to him, but also united. 00:07:32.539 --> 00:07:39.180 In John 14, Jesus presents all three aspects of the Trinity in relationship to each other. 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:49.259 Jesus asks, he says, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you, and to be with you forever. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:50.900 The Spirit of truth. 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:56.199 So Jesus presents this picture, that there is a Father who is eternal. 00:07:56.460 --> 00:08:01.660 That there is Jesus who is eternal, and there is the Holy Spirit, and he will be with you forever. 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:08.399 Jesus, before he dies on the cross, says that he will ask God to send us this counselor, 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:11.699 this Holy Spirit, to remain with us. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.659 Jesus makes a claim about himself, that he is divine. 00:08:17.099 --> 00:08:18.419 He says that he is God. 00:08:19.259 --> 00:08:24.919 And again, in John chapter 8, he's defending himself against a bunch, against a group of Jews. 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:32.059 And Jesus says, very truly, before Abraham was, I am. 00:08:32.059 --> 00:08:38.899 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple. 00:08:39.719 --> 00:08:42.139 Jesus makes this claim about who he is. 00:08:42.959 --> 00:08:47.259 He says that he has existed before Abraham, their forefather. 00:08:47.479 --> 00:08:50.839 And he uses this name of God, I am. 00:08:52.339 --> 00:08:54.199 He's claiming that he is God. 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:58.980 And the Jews who were there, they understood this massive claim of Jesus, that he was God. 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:04.020 They thought he was blaspheming, and so they pick up stones to try and kill him on the spot. 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:12.520 Paul describes Jesus in Colossians as having the fullness of deity dwell in him. 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:16.580 And so Jesus, in the Bible, is depicted as fully man. 00:09:17.040 --> 00:09:17.960 100% man. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:20.480 But also fully God. 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:21.840 100% God. 00:09:22.920 --> 00:09:25.060 Again, this math doesn't add up. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:27.420 How can you be more than 100% of anything? 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:30.960 I wonder if... 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:33.460 See, the Bible doesn't see a contradiction here. 00:09:33.540 --> 00:09:36.660 It just says that Jesus is man, and he is God. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:44.560 I wonder if it's almost like how I can be 100% a father, and also 100% a friend of Nick's. 00:09:44.680 --> 00:09:45.879 If I can just pick on him again. 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:49.639 At no point is there a contradiction. 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:56.759 Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, came to earth and took on humanity. 00:09:58.179 --> 00:09:59.419 The Father is God. 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:01.519 Jesus, the Son, is God. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:05.820 Both are unique and different, but both are God. 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:10.679 The Holy Spirit is also described as God. 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:12.159 A God who is personal. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:18.439 Ephesians chapter 4 warns us about our sin because, verse 30, 00:10:18.819 --> 00:10:23.939 it grieves the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:28.159 The Holy Spirit is not just an impersonal force. 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:31.219 This is not Star Wars that we're talking about here with the force. 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:37.700 The Holy Spirit, just like the Father, just like the Son, is unique and personal. 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:41.720 And he's described, again, as God. 00:10:42.680 --> 00:10:48.899 In the book of Acts, Peter is rebuking a married couple and Ananias and Sapphira, 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:51.299 and he's calling them to account for their sin. 00:10:51.579 --> 00:10:57.539 Because they had given an amount of money to the church, but they lied about how much they'd given. 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:02.639 They'd said they'd sold this property and given everything, but they'd kept some back from themselves. 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:06.399 There's nothing wrong with that, but the problem was that they'd lied about it. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:09.240 And so, in Acts, Peter said, 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:15.860 Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit? 00:11:16.079 --> 00:11:17.019 Again, personal. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:18.199 They've lied to someone. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.100 And they've kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land. 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:24.399 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? 00:11:24.539 --> 00:11:27.259 And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:29.799 What made you think of doing such a thing? 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:34.840 You have not lied just to a human being, but to God. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:42.120 They've described as lying to the Holy Spirit and in the same breath as lying to God. 00:11:42.959 --> 00:11:51.659 And so we get this picture from the Bible that the Holy Spirit is unique and different to Jesus, the Son, and God, the Father. 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:56.720 But we also see how all three work together. 00:11:58.179 --> 00:12:02.919 Because God is in relationship and this trinity and unity works together. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:07.219 From Hebrews chapter 9, it's a wonderful picture of salvation. 00:12:07.959 --> 00:12:16.259 How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered himself unblemished to God, 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:22.139 cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:27.899 This is a beautiful picture of the trinity working together to bring out our salvation. 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:36.600 Jesus' blood, through the work of the Spirit, cleanses our sinfulness and our evil conscience, 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:39.019 so that we can be right before God. 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:42.579 Father, Son, Holy Spirit. 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:44.340 They are God. 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:48.379 There are not three gods, but there is one God. 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:52.860 The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:55.279 The Father sends the Son. 00:12:56.220 --> 00:13:00.899 The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to work at our salvation. 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:06.060 There is one God, but there is also three persons. 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:13.019 In Matthew 28, just before Jesus goes to be with God after his resurrection, 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:16.080 he tells his disciples what they are doing. 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:18.100 One of the most famous parts of the Bible, 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:19.540 Jesus tells them, 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.980 go and make disciples of all nations, 00:13:24.420 --> 00:13:29.019 baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:13:29.680 --> 00:13:32.200 This is not the three names, 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:36.960 in the name of the Father, and the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit. 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:42.060 This is the singular name of one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:46.000 Plural persons, three persons, but one God. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:54.379 And this Trinitarian work of God brings us into relationship with this Trinity itself. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:55.600 Galatians 4. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:01.159 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:03.299 The Spirit who calls out, 00:14:03.539 --> 00:14:04.480 Abba, Father. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:09.080 So you are no longer a slave, but God's child. 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:13.500 And since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:20.100 The Trinitarian work of our God makes us, like Jesus, a son of God. 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:24.220 So that we can cry out to God as his children. 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:27.799 This is who the Christian God is. 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:29.779 He is a Trinitarian God. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:32.399 He is a Trinity in unity. 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:33.980 Three persons in one. 00:14:33.980 --> 00:14:41.740 So we can agree with the Jews who, from Deuteronomy 6, have this phrase called the Shema, 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:42.980 where they say, 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:45.680 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.019 We can agree with that, because our faith is the same. 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:51.539 That there is one God. 00:14:52.300 --> 00:14:54.100 He is also three persons. 00:14:54.100 --> 00:15:02.240 Now, there are a number of illustrations to try and understand how the Holy Spirit works together. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.840 Has anybody heard of the ice illustration of God? 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:13.580 The way it goes is, the Trinity is like ice, water, and vapor. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.180 You know how there's kind of three and kind of one. 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:20.279 Well, you know, you have ice, and then it melts, and you've got water. 00:15:20.479 --> 00:15:23.239 And then when it gets hot, you've got vapor. 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:29.399 Now, this is, it's not that helpful an illustration of the Trinity. 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:34.199 Because ice changes and becomes water. 00:15:34.339 --> 00:15:36.120 Water changes and becomes vapor. 00:15:36.459 --> 00:15:38.099 But God doesn't change. 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:40.659 God is not a transformer, God. 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:43.779 God does not change from being the Father, 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.279 and then when He comes to earth, He becomes the Son, 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.779 and then He changes again to become the Holy Spirit. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:50.299 God doesn't change. 00:15:51.939 --> 00:15:54.919 That illustration, unfortunately, isn't that helpful. 00:15:55.939 --> 00:15:57.860 There's also the illustration of the egg. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:15:59.500 Now, I love a good egg. 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:04.740 The egg illustration is this picture of you've got the shell, 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:06.879 and then you've got the egg white, 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.799 and then you've got the best bit, the egg yolk. 00:16:09.199 --> 00:16:09.419 Amen? 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:11.000 No? 00:16:11.339 --> 00:16:13.759 Everybody else is more of an egg white person? 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:14.039 Okay. 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:17.399 Again, this picture is saying that, you know, 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:20.159 the egg shell is God, and the white is Jesus, 00:16:20.339 --> 00:16:22.019 and the yolk is the Holy Spirit. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:27.459 Again, that's saying that each of God is just part of God. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:30.639 But Jesus is God. 00:16:31.299 --> 00:16:33.419 And the Father is God. 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:35.799 And the Holy Spirit is God. 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:37.539 They're not part of God. 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:39.620 Jesus is not one third of God. 00:16:39.699 --> 00:16:40.699 He is God. 00:16:42.459 --> 00:16:45.419 Others, again, don't want to hold up Jesus as God. 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:49.339 They want to say that Jesus is just the firstborn of all creation, 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:52.360 that He was made by God. 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.439 But again, this is not the picture the Bible presents. 00:16:55.839 --> 00:16:58.980 The Bible presents a picture of Jesus as having existed forever. 00:16:58.980 --> 00:16:59.840 John 1.1. 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:02.240 He was with God in the beginning. 00:17:04.360 --> 00:17:09.160 The way forward is not to try and understand who God is on human terms. 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:14.960 You know, we'll often try and figure out who God is with these illustrations like ice, 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:17.500 or with an egg. 00:17:19.259 --> 00:17:20.380 That's not going to work. 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:24.420 We actually need to understand God as He has presented Himself in the Bible. 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:29.319 There is one called the Father who directs and creates. 00:17:29.460 --> 00:17:33.960 There is the second person of the Trinity who is sent to take on humanity, 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:35.460 to bring about salvation. 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:41.360 There is the third person of the Trinity who is sent by the Father and the Son to dwell in us. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:45.219 The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. 00:17:45.979 --> 00:17:47.819 A Trinity in unity. 00:17:48.959 --> 00:17:50.939 Different persons but one God. 00:17:52.459 --> 00:17:54.019 But why does all of this matter? 00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.619 Is it just a theological splitting of hairs? 00:17:58.699 --> 00:18:04.119 What value is there for us in knowing how God is made up? 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.519 Alyssa, my wife, and I have been married for 13 years. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:11.740 We celebrated our anniversary on Monday. 00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:13.059 Thank you. 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:13.660 You don't need to clap. 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:14.000 It's okay. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:19.680 And when I first met Alyssa 18 years ago, I got to know her. 00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:27.740 But if I only ever spent time with Alyssa, I would only get to know a part of who she is. 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:34.599 Getting to see her family and her friends and how she interacts with them helps me to know her better. 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:42.439 So as I got to meet her parents, ah, that's why you have a strange sense of humor. 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:46.619 Your dad loves Monty Python, English comedians. 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:50.000 Oh, that's why you sing all the time. 00:18:50.199 --> 00:18:52.759 Because your mom and dad love musicals. 00:18:52.959 --> 00:18:54.799 And your mom sings all the time. 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.319 And now I wonder why my daughter sings all the time. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:08.759 As I've seen my wife in relationships with other people, I've gotten to know her, to understand who she is, and to love her more. 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:13.139 This doctrine of the Trinity, it's a beautiful doctrine. 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:23.340 As we get to know who God is in relationship with himself, we get to know him and to understand him and love God more. 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:35.420 Having a robust theology of the Trinity, it's not just a side dish to the main course of the rest of the Apostles' Creed about how Jesus died for us. 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:40.700 The theology of the Trinity, it's a delight that nourishes us. 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:50.400 The Trinity is like the egg in a small way in that in a recipe, it binds everything together to make something wonderful. 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:59.740 A good theology of the Trinity, it's like the sauce in a stir fry, which makes the rice and the chicken and all the veg just come together and taste delicious. 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:03.940 Now, I'm kind of feeling a little bit hungry as we wait for lunch. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:06.160 Don't get too distracted about that. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:11.220 But it is truly wonderful for us that we have a triune God. 00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:17.440 And we're going to see four short courses to understand the delight of this Trinity. 00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:22.500 The first of these is God's creation of this world. 00:20:23.800 --> 00:20:29.920 The creation of this universe has a different meaning, a special meaning, because God is a Trinity. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:35.259 In many other religions, they're God's make out of a need. 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:45.259 Other religions, God has a need, so he makes people so that they can love God, so that this God can get enough worship, so that this God can be happy. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:51.620 But the picture in the Bible of our God is he's a Trinitarian God. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.240 He doesn't need anything. 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.299 He is in perfect relationship, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. 00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:02.240 They have been in perfect relationship for eternity, loving each other. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:07.160 Our Trinitarian God didn't need to make this world. 00:21:08.099 --> 00:21:11.700 But God chose to out of the overflow of love. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:17.359 The Bible shows that the Trinity is a God who is in perfect relationship with himself. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:22.920 Father, Son, Holy Spirit, simultaneously in relationship for eternity. 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:32.820 The closest thing I see to that kind of peace is when my kids stop bickering and fighting for five minutes. 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:38.440 If you've got kids, have you ever experienced that peace that comes on you where all of a sudden you realize, 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:40.380 the house is quiet. 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:42.320 I'm sitting in this peace. 00:21:43.120 --> 00:21:44.180 This is delightful. 00:21:45.080 --> 00:21:46.500 And then as soon as you notice, it's gone. 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:52.700 But this is the kind of relationship that God has had for eternity. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.940 That experience of peace that I have, that's not true peace. 00:21:58.119 --> 00:21:59.460 That's not true love in relationship. 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:02.799 That's just an absence of problems for a very short period of time. 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:08.480 We get invited into this wonderful relationship of God's. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:14.200 As we saw in Galatians 4, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:16.720 The Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father. 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:20.819 So we are no longer a slave but God's child. 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.920 And since we are his child, we have been made God's heir. 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:32.299 The Trinity works to bring us into his perfect, loving and eternal relationship. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:40.279 In many movies, there is a particular scene or a particular trope, usually around Christmas, 00:22:40.859 --> 00:22:45.839 where someone is standing out in the cold and the snow, and they're looking into this bright 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:47.500 and happy picture of a family. 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:53.779 If you've seen the movie A Christmas Carol with Scrooge, Wendy, you want to put this photo up? 00:22:54.480 --> 00:23:01.779 Or if you've seen The Mother's One with Scrooge McDuck, this is a movie about someone who is, 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:05.879 you know, usually very wealthy, but they don't have love and family. 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:14.259 And they're pictured on the outside in the cold and the snow, looking into something that is great. 00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:19.819 You know, the colors on the outside are gray and white, but in the inside it's bright. 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:22.480 There is a family who is loving each other. 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:27.240 This is a picture of what happens with God. 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:31.700 God has all that we are longing for. 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:37.279 He has a perfect family, a perfect relationship, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:40.200 who's been in relationship for eternity. 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:44.680 And we are on the outside looking in, longing. 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:47.660 But we don't need to be on the outside. 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:55.019 God invites us into his love, expressed in relationship with God and with one another. 00:23:55.019 --> 00:24:06.240 When we have a Trinitarian theology, it gives us so much more meaning to what Jesus did in his incarnation when he became a man. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.619 The Trinity has been in perfect relationship for eternity. 00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:21.599 And then the Father sends the Son to earth to become part of creation, adding to his divinity humanity. 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:27.879 Not separating from the Trinity, but joining humanity to redeem us. 00:24:29.179 --> 00:24:36.819 God himself, the second person of the Trinity, shows his love that he would leave heaven to become a person. 00:24:36.819 --> 00:24:41.779 The Trinity, the eternal, became temporary and died. 00:24:42.639 --> 00:24:45.819 He who created time became bound by it. 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:52.159 The one who created physical and fleshly bodies took on one that could be destroyed. 00:24:53.059 --> 00:24:56.379 All because this God wanted to reveal God. 00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:59.839 So that we could be brought into his relationship. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:11.199 The Trinity is so important for us that Jesus spends a significant amount of time talking about it in his last conversation with his disciples. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:16.799 In John 14, that we've seen a little bit of today, these are Jesus' last words. 00:25:17.159 --> 00:25:18.459 John chapter 14 to 17. 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:20.959 He is just about to go and be crucified. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.099 And he is talking with his disciples. 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:28.939 And, you know, our last words often reveal what is really important to us. 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:31.199 And Jesus's are the same. 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.359 From verse 16. 00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:38.939 I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to help you and to be with you forever. 00:25:39.459 --> 00:25:40.500 The Spirit of truth. 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:44.219 The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. 00:25:44.419 --> 00:25:47.740 But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you. 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:49.959 I will not leave you as orphans. 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:51.079 I will come to you. 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:54.139 Jesus promises that he will send another. 00:25:54.740 --> 00:25:55.339 An advocate. 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:57.279 A counselor. 00:25:57.559 --> 00:25:59.639 Someone who will act on our behalf. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:02.740 And this advocate, the Holy Spirit, from verse 26, 00:26:02.879 --> 00:26:07.199 whom the Father will send in my name, will teach us all things. 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:10.359 And will remind us of everything he has said. 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:15.559 The Holy Spirit comes to remind us and teach us about Jesus. 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:21.019 The Holy Spirit works as part of the Trinity to reveal Jesus. 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:23.639 And Jesus came to reveal the Father. 00:26:23.640 --> 00:26:38.640 This would have been a wonderful comfort for the disciples who are about to lose their friend and Lord. 00:26:39.560 --> 00:26:41.420 And this is a comfort for us too. 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:47.480 So much so that Jesus says, it is actually for our good that Jesus went away. 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:51.099 Many of us would think, just give me Jesus now. 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:52.519 If I could only see him. 00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:54.099 But Jesus says, it is better for us. 00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:57.960 It is for our good that he went so we could have the Spirit. 00:26:59.640 --> 00:27:05.019 Lastly, the Trinity teaches us about who we are as people. 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:09.319 In the very beginning, God made us in his image. 00:27:10.139 --> 00:27:13.539 And saw that it was not good for us to be alone. 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:17.019 We are people who are made to be with people. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:20.400 It doesn't matter whether you're an introvert or an extrovert. 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:22.279 We are made to be with people. 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:26.400 Back when I was in school, many years ago, 00:27:26.639 --> 00:27:29.599 we'd give someone that we didn't like the silent treatment. 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:33.440 Anybody else heard this phrase, the silent treatment? 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.500 I don't know what those kids these days are using. 00:27:36.660 --> 00:27:37.900 I could ask some that are over here. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:40.960 I don't know if they still use the silent treatment. 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:46.059 But it really hurt when you're on the other end of getting the silent treatment. 00:27:47.120 --> 00:27:48.460 Mark, do kids still do this at school? 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:50.600 Yes. Okay. Shame. 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:55.500 It hurts to be ignored and cut off from a relationship with other people. 00:27:56.100 --> 00:27:58.000 I see this if I'm using Facebook. 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:00.480 When you send a message on Facebook, 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:03.640 you can see when other people have read the message. 00:28:04.860 --> 00:28:06.819 And sometimes you can see that they've read it. 00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:09.259 And then you wait for a response. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:10.480 And you wait. 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:14.620 And it's like, why aren't you on the other end of this relationship? 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:16.180 Why aren't you talking to me? 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:17.579 Why are you giving me the silent treatment? 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:19.720 It hurts. 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:24.920 One of the worst things in prison is solitary confinement. 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:29.059 Because it takes away part of our humanity. 00:28:30.900 --> 00:28:33.240 God is in relationship with himself. 00:28:33.620 --> 00:28:37.339 And he has made us to be in relationship with other people. 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:44.519 God, in his perfect Trinitarian love, invites us into his family. 00:28:45.639 --> 00:28:50.859 And as part of that, we are to love others in the family of Christ. 00:28:51.639 --> 00:28:56.240 A Christian who knows this should love and have different relationships. 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:00.160 And it's that, again, that picture of Christmas, 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:03.640 the picture of Scrooge on the outside looking in. 00:29:04.019 --> 00:29:06.140 We were on the outside. 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:10.019 But when we follow our Lord, we are brought in. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:14.519 Your place as a Christian is secure in the most loving family. 00:29:15.099 --> 00:29:17.099 And this is something that is worth celebrating. 00:29:17.960 --> 00:29:19.779 I'm looking forward to lunch today. 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:23.379 Because when we eat together, we share our lives. 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:27.680 And we do what our Trinitarian God has designed us to do. 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:31.879 To love and to share in fellowship with one another. 00:29:33.180 --> 00:29:38.160 The beauty of the Trinity, its perfect love and unity, 00:29:38.899 --> 00:29:41.019 is something that we can hold out to others. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:45.099 When we stand on the inside of that picture of Christmas, 00:29:45.379 --> 00:29:49.299 warming ourselves by the fire, laughing, smiling, eating, celebrating, 00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:57.940 there are others on the outside, longing for what we have with God. 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:03.059 Are you longing to be loved by God? 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:06.059 Are you longing to be loved? 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:09.420 It is found in this God and in his family. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:13.420 Are you longing and looking for connection? 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:17.480 It is found in this God and in his family. 00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:21.140 Do you feel isolated from your family across the world? 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:27.920 You have a family here, found in the relationships made by our Trinitarian God. 00:30:29.360 --> 00:30:32.079 So who is our God? 00:30:33.059 --> 00:30:35.160 We believe that God is a Trinity. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.579 A Father, a Son and a Holy Spirit. 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:41.920 Perfectly loving from eternity to eternity. 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:43.880 And who are we? 00:30:45.080 --> 00:30:49.340 When we believe in this God, we are part of God's family before anything else. 00:30:50.220 --> 00:30:53.519 Before my family, before my ethnicity, before my profession. 00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:57.019 It means that I am a Christian father. 00:30:57.880 --> 00:30:58.940 A Christian mother. 00:30:59.360 --> 00:31:02.180 We are a Christian brother or sister. 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:05.680 A Christian Aussie of European descent. 00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.140 A Christian Chinese. 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:09.080 A Christian Garnon or Korean. 00:31:09.400 --> 00:31:10.759 A Christian high schooler. 00:31:10.820 --> 00:31:11.880 A Christian professional. 00:31:12.580 --> 00:31:19.180 This Christian family is what unites us in the diverse world that we live in. 00:31:20.060 --> 00:31:23.940 We are no longer outsiders longing to be on the inside. 00:31:24.700 --> 00:31:29.519 But we have been ushered into the heart of the family that has been for eternity. 00:31:30.080 --> 00:31:31.519 And will continue for eternity. 00:31:32.120 --> 00:31:32.820 Let me pray. 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:33.819 Let me pray. 00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:34.000 Let me pray. 00:31:34.399 --> 00:31:34.819 Let me pray. 00:31:34.839 --> 00:31:35.740 Let me pray. 00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:36.179 Let me pray. 00:31:36.179 --> 00:31:39.200 Let me pray. 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:39.679 Let me pray. 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:41.879 Let me pray. 00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:44.759 Let me pray. 00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:46.200 Let me pray. 00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:48.319 Let me pray. 00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:56.079 Let me pray. 00:31:57.919 --> 00:31:58.700 Let me pray. 00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:01.319 Let me pray.