Acts chapter 4 verse 1 to 31. My name's Linda for those who don't know me.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of men came to about 5,000.
On the next day, the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander,
all of whom were high priestly family.
And when they set them in the midst, they inquired,
By what power or by what name did you do this?
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man,
by what means this man has been healed?
Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
by him this man is standing before you well.
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men,
they were astonished.
And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying,
What should we do with these men?
For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
We cannot deny it.
But in order that it may spread no further among the people,
let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered them,
Whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.
For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.
And when they had further threatened them, they let them go,
finding no way to punish them because of the people.
For they were all praising God for what had happened.
For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.
When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said,
Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them,
who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
Why did the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.
For truly in this city they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus,
whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants
to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
while you stretch out your hand to heal,
and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Amen.
Well, my name's Dave.
I'm one of the pastors here.
If you're new this morning, a warm welcome to you.
And there's a few people who used to be in this church who are here today.
I see Sam and Heidi.
Good to see you guys from town.
And Nick.
It's great to see you.
All right.
Why don't we pray as we come to God's word?
Let's pray.
Lord, we always need your help to understand what you say.
But Lord, perhaps especially this morning,
as we contemplate who you are in and of yourself,
that you are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and that you are sovereign over heaven and earth and everything in it.
Lord, these are weighty, wonderful truths.
And so I pray that your spirit would be speaking to each one of us,
giving us the eyes of faith to see you and love you and trust you
and obey you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, my prayer is probably going to contradict my opening question,
but does it really matter in life to know that God is three persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all fully God, but there is one God?
Do you find that that's necessary to know in your everyday life?
Does it really matter?
Have you already switched off because of the incomprehensibility of that statement?
It sounds like something that belongs in academic textbooks
and between big-brained Christians having some philosophical discussion.
It sounds like that's where you talk about the Trinity.
Now, obviously, you're expecting me to say, of course it matters in real life,
but simply just saying, of course it matters, Scripture teaches it,
I'm not okay with that.
How does it matter?
Why does it matter?
Let me come at this from a different angle,
and partly because we're trying to do two massive doctrines here,
the doctrine of the Trinity and God's sovereignty,
and, yeah, it's been a weighty week.
Good luck.
Let's bring drawing this together in one sermon,
and it'll take a lifetime.
I think it actually gives us a helpful question,
looking at the doctrine of the Trinity from this angle.
What comfort is it simply knowing that God is totally sovereign over all things?
What comfort is it knowing simply that he's in control?
Because our hearts might think, okay, he's sovereign, but that terrifies me.
He might take my loved one.
He might frustrate my goals.
He might never forgive me.
Sovereignty alone, I suggest, is not a great comfort if it's on its own.
What we need to know is, is God inherently loving?
So this morning we continue our travels through worldview-shaping truths
that we learn from the beginning in Genesis,
and my goal this morning as we consider the Trinity and God's sovereignty
is not to prove to you or justify to you that they're scriptural.
That would take too long to do,
and I'll leave it to you to do your own study and research.
That's not my goal this morning.
My goal primarily is working out what difference does it make
that God is triune when it comes to thinking about who God is in himself,
why he created everything and us,
what sin is and what salvation is and how he brought it about.
And once we know all that in the light of the Trinity,
I think we can come back to that question of
why it's so comforting to know that he is completely sovereign.
So if I've lost you already, let's try and step through this, okay?
Let's start by first considering who God is in and of himself.
If we see God as essentially the creator,
the power who made everything else,
if that's how you view God, he is the creator.
Of course that is true.
We've seen that clearly in Genesis.
He is the only creator.
But if that is fundamental to who God is,
then he needs a creation to be the creator.
He's dependent on there being a creation to be a creator.
The principal of a Bible college in the UK, Michael Reeves,
he's the author of the Bulletin article,
he puts this humorously and hopefully you see the humor in it.
He's very much a scriptural man, so don't be put off by what he says.
Pretending that God is on a dating website, he says,
single God, non-smoker, seeks attractive creation with good sense of humor.
His point is, if God is a singular God,
then for him to be creator,
he needs creation to fulfill him in who he is.
In what sense, if God is singular,
can we say that he is essentially loving?
Because for eternity past,
who has he been loving?
Before anything existed,
if he was by himself, satisfied on his own,
he can't love another.
Why would he be motivated to?
To help us even further to appreciate the wonder of the Trinity,
I want to look at a critique of it.
I heard just a few months ago a prominent Muslim speaker
trying to refute it.
His name is Muhammad Hijab from the UK
and apparently, according to this podcast,
he has formal permission to speak about the Islamic faith.
So somehow he's got formal religious permission.
Here's what he says.
Look at the Trinity, for example.
The idea of three all-powerful entities,
that the Father is all-powerful,
that the Son is all-powerful,
the Holy Spirit's all-powerful.
The Quran says about this,
chapter 22, verse 91,
it says,
Allah has not taken any Son,
and he did not have any Creator with him.
Had that been the case,
they would have competed
and tried to outstrip one another for power.
End quote.
Do you see the objection to the Trinity that Muhammad is raising?
Of course the Trinity is a mystery.
Like, Christians can't quite define it.
We can say what it isn't,
but that's not the fundamental objection here.
Muhammad is saying, and he says that the Quran says this,
he can't imagine a God who would share power.
He could not be threatened by the glory going to the other two persons in the Godhead.
They would compete.
They would try to outstrip one another.
I think that just is a backdrop that sheds light on what the Christian Scriptures say.
That the Father has forever poured all of who he is into his Son.
And the Son has delighted in giving himself to the Father,
in the joy of the Holy Spirit.
There's no competition.
There's no trying to outstrip one another.
The Trinity isn't a mathematical problem for you to solve.
It tells us that at the core of who God is,
is relationship.
Mutual, self-giving love is core to who God is.
That all his power is to the service of love.
Completely united and harmonious,
as in their purposes to create the world
and move all of history towards the cross
and then towards their common goal for all history.
They are completely united.
So, do you think of God as fundamentally power, creator?
Or do you think of God as fundamentally the eternal loving community?
Relational, self-giving,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
So, why?
Why did the eternal divine community create a universe
if they had no need to?
They were self-sufficient in their love for one another.
Why?
Well, the ultimate answer is to display his glory.
But what does that mean?
What does it mean to display his glory?
A way to understand that is that
God wants others to know him.
I'm going to quote Michael Reeves again
because he can say it better than me.
Jesus Christ, God the Son,
is the logic, the blueprint for creation.
He is the one eternally loved by the Father.
Creation is about the extension of that love
outwards so that it might be enjoyed by others.
The fountain of love brimmed over.
The Father so delighted in his Son
that his love for him overflowed
so that the Son might be the firstborn among many sons.
We saw in Genesis 1 and 2,
the Lord's goal in creation is rest with his people,
with his image bearers.
I think this makes more sense of why God speaks of himself
in Genesis in the plural.
Let us make man, mankind in our image, in our likeness.
Now some see this plural us as a plural of majesty,
like a king might say, we welcome you.
So some think it's not talking about the Trinity
but majesty of God.
But apparently there's very few examples of that
in the Old Testament.
So it seems unlikely.
Others suggest that it's talking about angels.
God is talking about angels.
Let us make man in our image.
But nowhere in Scripture does it say
that we are in the image of angels.
Repeatedly we're told we're in the image of the Creator.
Could this triune love be why we image God
best or fully, completely in community?
Why he made male and female?
Why?
Where the clearest image in creation,
before the church came into being at least,
is the climax of Genesis 2,
two people becoming one flesh in marriage.
Could that be why?
To display persons united in self-giving love.
Not to compete and outstrip one another for power,
but self-giving love.
That's the picture of marriage.
Because it images who God is, the triune God.
Now knowing all this,
God creating, because he is triune,
it tells us about his purpose.
We aren't slaves to do the hack work
that God doesn't want to do.
He doesn't need us to do the hack work.
He didn't need us out of loneliness
or because he needs a creation to be the Creator.
If creation is the overflow
or the extension of the Father's love for the Son,
then the purpose of the creation is
he wants to share his life with us.
He wants to draw us in.
So what about sin?
How does the Trinity help us understand sin?
Well, knowing all this gives us a new angle.
In previous weeks,
we could see that sin is,
at the root of sin,
is not listening to the speaking God,
not trusting that his words are the words to life.
Last week, we looked at the idea of worship,
that we were created to love, trust and obey God,
and yet we turn away and try and love and trust
and obey created things.
Now we can add,
considering God is triune,
sin is a rejection of relationship with God.
Now, rejection is something we've all experienced
to one degree or another, isn't it?
And it cuts to the bone of what we were made for,
doesn't it?
Whether it's the critical or absent parent
or peers targeting you,
just shredding you with words
or completely letting,
not including you,
or whether it's a lover leaving you,
either literally or withdrawing their emotional warmth,
rejection is,
it cuts to the bone, doesn't it?
Of what we were made for.
I think this shows us,
it gives us a taste of how offensive rejecting God is
and his love for us.
Christian psychologist Larry Crabb puts it like this,
each of us fervently wants someone to see us
exactly as we are,
warts and all,
and still accept us.
But our sin is,
we don't look to the Lord to be that someone.
We turn to other people,
other relationships to be that someone,
and they are empty systems,
they let us down.
They can't know us completely.
They're not gracious like the Lord.
In our darkened thinking,
we look to people
to satisfy our relational thirst
when it should have been found
in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When Adam and Eve were in the garden,
they were dependent on God.
They wouldn't have known it at first
because they were just being totally full
of relationship.
But once they turned and rejected God,
suddenly that dependence turned into an emptiness
that we still feel today.
So the Trinity helps us understand
who God is,
helps us understand why he created us
to overflow,
to draw us into knowing him.
It helps us understand what sin is.
It's rejecting that relationship with him,
seeking it in other things,
other people.
So let's have a look at salvation.
How does the Trinity help us understand salvation?
I think it helps us understand what it is,
what salvation is,
the essence of it.
I think the Trinity helps us understand
how we're saved
and what the saved life produces.
And for this,
I want to base it in Acts 4,
our reading this morning.
Now Peter and John,
just for context in Acts 4,
Peter and John have just been released
from their own arrest and trial.
I've never been arrested,
not yet,
and I don't know what it's like,
but that must be a scary experience.
All the more,
they appeared before the same high priests
who weeks earlier,
Annas and Caiaphas,
who condemned Jesus.
These are the same authorities
and yes,
public opinion is protecting them at this point.
It's protecting them,
but they saw,
in the case of Jesus,
how quickly that could change.
Like,
Hosanna in the highest one week,
crucify him the next.
So yes,
I don't think they took comfort from that.
The people who hold the keys in society
had orchestrated their leader's death
and now they threaten them.
You better stop speaking.
Now I'd be terrified.
What harm they could cause me
and my family
and this new church
that is very young.
That is a scary situation.
But what do they pray for?
They don't pray for safety.
It's an incredible prayer.
They don't pray for deliverance.
I'm not saying it would be wrong
not to pray for that.
They don't pray for it.
Their prayer
even highlights the case of Christ.
That suffering was the Lord's will
and so suffering might be
the Lord's will for them.
They know full well
that the world is gathered against Christ
and so to follow him
is putting yourself in the firing line.
They pray for boldness
to keep drawing attention to Jesus,
to keep speaking about Jesus.
It's an incredible prayer.
I can think of only two reasons
why they would pray for boldness
rather than safety.
I think the first option
is that
they pray for boldness
because the mission
that God has given them
is so essential to who they are.
It's their identity.
It's their life.
They must carry out this mission
for them to be who they are.
They must succeed.
I think that's one explanation
but
my own experience is that
such zeal
if it's who you are
this mission
I don't think that kind of zeal
produces humble self-sacrifices.
I think that produces
demanding results.
It produces
bulldozing people
to make sure
you
you fulfill your mission.
Why?
Because my sense of self
is at stake.
I have to have it.
I think the second option
is much more likely
and I think it's much more
in line with the New Testament
the rest of the New Testament.
They pray for boldness
even though it could cost them
their life.
Why?
Because they already have
eternal life.
And this eternal life
is producing
a new desire in them.
Jesus describes
what eternal life is
like this
and hear the Trinity in this
this is what eternal life is
this is what
we enjoy now
and we'll have in full later.
John 17 3
and this is eternal life
that they know you
it's relational
know you
the only true God
and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
here the believers
are confident
that they are
in right relationship
with the sovereign Lord
who created all things.
Here they are confident
that they belong
to the Christ
of Psalm 2
that they have found
refuge in him.
Here they are confident
that they've
tasted
the promised Holy Spirit.
Here they're confident
that they are
the true people of Israel
they are the true people
of God
not the Jewish leaders
because they've already
tasted eternal life.
They know the Father
through the Son
by the Holy Spirit.
And I think
they draw to mind
in the case of
what happened to Christ
how it is
they were saved.
that it was
the Father's plan
from the very beginning
to forgive them
and draw them
into eternal life
at the cross.
That this self-giving God
who created all things
pursues sinners
like me
who rejected his love
and treated his love
as if it's cheap
as if it's an optional
add-on.
He pursues us
how does he save us?
Instead of pouring out
his love
on his Son
that he's done
for eternity
he pours out
his wrath.
They know eternal.
They know they are saved.
They know that they can
call on him
as Abba Father.
And I think
this explains
why they pray
for boldness
and not for safety.
they have eternal life.
And a new energy
moves in them
a new passion.
It's not an energy
of self-seeking
and self-protection.
It's an energy
that goes outwards
that wants others
to come into this life.
They want to draw attention
to the life
they've found
in knowing Jesus.
Now I don't think
these believers
are heroes.
I think their prayer
for boldness
is actually admitting
that they don't have
the boldness.
They
don't have
this energy
in themselves
to sacrifice themselves
so that others
will come
to have life.
That's not
come naturally.
But
they have a desire
for it.
There's a new
orientation
and the Sovereign Lord
as the Holy Spirit
comes and shakes them
and fills them
with their spirit
to keep pointing
to Jesus.
The Sovereign Lord
is only too pleased
to answer their prayer.
It's the Lord
who wants
to draw others
to himself.
It's not that
these believers
are the heroes.
It's that the Spirit
is the one
producing this energy
in them.
So if God
in and of himself
is essentially
relational
and self-giving,
if creation
is the
eternal
community's love
overflowing
to draw us in,
if
we were brought
into salvation
by the Father
pouring out
his wrath
on his Son
to forgive
our rejection
of his love,
then
to come back
to that question
at the beginning,
it is a great comfort
to know
that this
triune God
is the Sovereign Lord
of all things.
Look at how
the disciples
focus on the cross.
Verse 27,
they recall
what happened
to Jesus.
The peoples
were rallied
against Jesus.
The motives,
Pilate,
through wanting
to keep the peace
in his area
rather than
administering justice,
that sinful
motive of Pilate,
the sinful
motives of the
religious leaders
who wanted to
keep their system
of religion
so that they're
on top,
that sinful
motive.
God didn't
prevent them.
He allowed
that to happen
but verse 28,
all this
was to do
whatever your
hand and
your plan
had predestined
to take place.
Our hope
is that the
Lord that we
see at creation
is still the
Lord.
He is above
the darkness
and the chaos.
He is the one
who brings order
out of chaos.
He is the one
who brings light
out of darkness
but he does it,
he wins,
by letting darkness
win the day
and then turning
the results
for his purposes.
That's incredibly
sovereign.
I think that's
more sovereign
than just stopping
darkness from
doing anything.
The sovereign
Lord is totally
hands-on
in every moment
and the cross
gives us
every confidence
that the Lord
is working for
our personal good
and that he is
going to restore
all things.
So I just want
to finish by
looking at those
two things.
How does
knowing that
the trying God
is sovereign
give us confidence
for ourselves
and for the
whole world?
I just realised
what I asked
there,
they're pretty
big questions
that I won't
satisfactorily answer
but let's have
a go.
So what about
ourselves?
Now obviously
there's so much
we don't know
about the Lord's
purposes in our
sufferings,
our circumstances
are not
self-interpreting
in the moment
but
you know this
verse well
or I hope you
do,
Romans 8.28
this is what
he's promised
and we know
that for those
who love God
all things
work together
for good
for those
who are called
according to
his purpose
and what is
that good
in verse 29
we're told
for those
whom he
foreknew
he also
predestined
to be
conformed
to the
image
of his
son
in order
that he
might be
the firstborn
among many
brothers
that's the
good
that we're
promised
we're going
to be made
more like
Jesus
in everything
that we
come across
whatever
sin you
feel is
too strong
for you
to get
rid of
whatever
sin
others
have
caused
or done
harm
against
you
whatever
loss
and
heartache
we can
be confident
he's using
it all
to make
us like
his son
now why
is that
such good
news
it's such
good news
because
being more
like the
son
and knowing
the son
means we
know the
father better
we're being
drawn into
that eternal
community
or to put
a long
term
perspective
on it
he's getting
us ready
for glory
an eternal
weight of
glory
that's not
worth comparing
to our
sufferings
he's getting
us ready
for that
eternal
community
and I
think
Romans 12
says it
really
succinctly
what this
kind of
confidence
that God
is working
good in
us
can give
us
we can
be joyful
in hope
we can
be patient
in affliction
and we
can be
faithful
in prayer
joyful
in hope
patient
in affliction
and faithful
in prayer
well how
is the
trying
God
working
all things
for good
what we're
told in
Colossians 1
that he
is moving
all history
towards his
goal
sin
and
Satan
and darkness
and the
world
opposed to
Christ
are not
in control
not ultimately
he is
going to
Colossians 1
through Christ
reconcile to
himself
all things
whether on
earth or in
heaven making
peace by the
blood of his
cross
our own
sin
won't have
the last
word
death
won't have
the last
word
the world
rejecting
Jesus
won't have
the last
word
the sovereign
Lord will
have the
final word
he will
unite
all things
in his
son
do you
hear the
trinity
statement
he's
uniting
all things
in his
son
he will
have the
final say
that's
our hope
and
obviously
we can't
get this
confidence
by looking
at our
own
lives
because
my heart
is often
a sinful
mess
and the
pain is
too big
for me
to bear
and we
can't look
at it
looking at
the state
of the
world
going
oh wow
I see
progress
our
confidence
has to
be looking
at the
cross
that he
turned the
worst evil
for the
greatest
good
that we
might be
reconciled
to him
as we
gaze at
the cross
that's when
we get
this new
energy
bubbling
in us
because
we've
tasted
the love
of God
the
triune
God
a God
that is
essentially
self-giving
wanting
to draw
people
into
life
when
that
energy
is
flowing
in us
it
just
gives us
a new
orientation
in life
that we
want to
draw
as much
attention
to the
son
to the
life
we've
found
in the
son
of God
whether
in
prosperous
times
or in
the
trials
we want
the
attention
for
others
to
see
life
is
found
in
Christ
let me
pray
let's
pray
sovereign
Lord
we thank
you that
we can
address
you as
father
and I
pray that
you would
help each
one of us
and as a
church go
deeper and
deeper in
understanding
what it
means for
you to
be father
as we
look at
how you
relate to
your son
Lord help
those of us
who have
had
fathers that
haven't been a
good image
of you
help
those of us
in particular
to discard
that image
and see
who you are
through Jesus
and Lord
I pray that
you would
fill us
with this
same spirit
your spirit
that wants
to draw
others
into your
eternal
love
Lord we
confess that
this
isn't
an energy
that naturally
resides in
us
I would
much rather
be self
protecting
and looking
after my
own interests
but I
thank you
that
in Jesus
we have
your spirit
to
want
to
and have
the power
and courage
to draw
attention to
the life
we found
in him
and I
pray that
for each
one of us
whatever
hardships
that might
mean
whether
relationally
or at
work
or our
plans
I pray
that you
would give
us boldness
to count
your love
as more
important to
draw attention
to than
whatever else
we're chasing
in Jesus
name I
pray
Amen