January 4, 2015
Scripture:
Hymn 369 - I claim for my own a King on a throne
Prayer
Today we will be talking about the important truth of the Trinity, or Godhead. The Trinity has three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This can be difficult to understand, so we will try to understand it a little better today.
We live in a sphere known as the universe. In this universe there are galaxies filled with stars and planets. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way galaxy. In the Milky Way is a solar system with many planets, one of which is our planet, earth. On earth, you’ll find the city Toronto, and in that city you’ll find this house, in which we are meeting. All of this—from the biggest galaxies right down to small people like us—exists in time and space. We are people of time and space. But God exists outside of time and space; He is not bound by time and space. He is eternal and infinite. Eternal means “without beginning and without ending”; infinite means “without limits or boundaries.” People are limited. We only have two arms and legs, we can only do so much work, and we are even limited in our thinking. But God is unlimited.
Deuteronomy 33:27
Moses understood that God is eternal: without beginning or ending. Can you comprehend this? God had been and always will be. He had no boundaries. God is also omnipresent. That means He is everywhere. We can only be in one place at a time, but God is everywhere at all times. He is also omniscient which means He knows everything. And He is omnipotent: He is all powerful. He can do anything.
How can we understand this amazing God? By faith. We must believe God is what He says He is. God is one, yet He is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. So is He one, three, or both? Some people, who don’t believe in the Trinity, will say that the word trinity is not in the Bible. That’s true; but the principal of it is. Let’s look at just one example.
Matthew 3: 13-17
In these verses you have Jesus, the Son, being baptized, Then the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove. We also have the Father as voice from heaven. This is just one place where we can see all three in unity.
Imagine you are in a room looking out a window. The sun is shining through the window and on the floor there is a patch of light. If you look out the window you see the sun. If you look on the floor, you see the sun shining in. If you put your hand out, it will be warmed by the sun. All three—the object, the light, and the heat—are the sun. It is a crude example of the Trinity. By faith we can try to grasp what God says about Himself, and wait for the time when He can explain it to us, and we can see Him face to face.
Acts 21:26-40
As he was warned, Paul was bound in this chapter. Was it right or wrong for him to be in Jerusalem? Either way, he was ready to die for our Lord. James convinced him to take a Jewish vow, though, against better judgement. This brought Paul into the temple and into contact with his enemies; seeing him there, they thought that he had brought Greeks into the temple and had polluted it.
The Jews dragged Paul out of the temple and tried to kill him. The Chief Captain heard what was going on, though, and came to his “rescue”. He bound Paul with chains, and started to carry him into the castle. Though Paul was out of God’s will by taking the Jewish vow, God still protected his life because He had more work for him to do. Paul’s public ministry pretty much ends here, but he would testify before kings and governors, and would be able to write valuable letters that still help us today. These events helped give us Paul’s doctrine in written form.
As the soldiers bore Paul into the castle, Paul asked to speak to the captain. The captain thought that Paul was the ring-leader of a group of murderers, but Paul set the record straight and asked to speak to the people. As we’ll see in the next chapter, Paul proceeded to give them his testimony, which is recorded three times in the Scriptures. Besides the actual account, Paul told it to the Jews here, and then later to the Gentiles in Rome.
Besides Paul’s conversion, we also hear of Cornelius’ conversion several times. Peter had to defend his actions to the Jews, and it was a very important event, for God had set a New Order in place. Paul was ardent for the Old Order, but once he was converted he was just as ardent for the new faith.
Hymn 344 – Jesus my Saviour to Bethlehem came
Prayer