27. Who We Come From

JEANNIE: Welcome to Exploring the Word.

LONNIE: Today we begin a new series on our program. We're going to take you on a thirteen-week tour through some of the pivotal truths of the Bible. And we'll be tackling some pretty weighty questions: Why is the Trinity important? What makes us human B and what makes us less than human? What about eternal security, once-saved-always-saved? We'll be covering some very practical subjects on addiction and on how to fight fair as a couple. And we'll end up with a fascinating look at the nature of the kingdom that is going to interrupt human history.

JEANNIE: I'm looking forward to these next several weeks. I think our studies together will help you see more clearly than ever before that God really can show us the good life, that he does have a wonderful plan that includes you.

LONNIE: So let's get started. We begin with the One who began it all. And we're going to look at what makes God, God, this idea of the Trinity, in particular. What's that all about? And does it matter?

JEANNIE: People have had questions about this subject for centuries of course. And the curiosity hasn't let up yet. We get letters from people, for example, asking, AAre Jesus and God the same?" And we got an e-mail from a man who says he can't believe in the Trinity because he doesn't believe the Holy Spirit is a person.

LONNIE: Does the Trinity matter? Well, let me tell you how much it mattered B at one point. A man named Michael Servetus wandered into Geneva one day, seeking refuge from the Inquisition. This was the 1500s. Michael was a brilliant geographer, astrologer and physician from Spain who had a fondness for quirky ideas. He'd published a book attacking the doctrine of the Trinity. This divine threesome, he wrote, was just an unnecessary stumbling block to Jews and Muslims.

The Inquisition had tried and condemned Michael, but he'd managed to escape from prison before his execution. Unfortunately for him, the Calvinists of Geneva didn't like his beliefs any more than the Catholics did.

The town council actually brought this man to trial and charged him under the law of the Holy Roman Empire, the old Code of Justinian. It prescribed the death penalty for anyone who denied the Trinity.

Servetus was convicted. John Calvin asked the council to simply execute him, not burn him. But the man was sent to the stake.

Now what happens when people today hear about things like this? Individuals put to the flames for their theological opinions. Well, the modern reaction is B then let's not have theological opinions! Let's not make them that important! Maybe it's all smoke anyway.
Well, I'd like to show you one way in which the Trinity matters in the twenty-first century. And, I'd like to show you why truly understanding the Trinity puts us miles away from the stake, miles away from executing people for their opinions. The Trinity, in fact, stands in opposition to all the religious intolerance that's setting the world aflame today. In just a moment we're going to find out why.

Now let's try to get a handle on the Trinity, God as three persons. It's a mystery that has stumped countless people for centuries. But frankly I think we've been grabbing the wrong end of the stick here. Theologians have been trying to analyze exactly how the three fit into one B almost as if this were an algebra equation or chemical formula. I think it's much more useful to look at the Trinity in terms of end results, how the Godhead affects the world, shapes human beings. That's a better way to understand God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

OK, first let's get a snapshot of God the Father. Take a look at Psalms 90:1,2. This is a beautiful picture:

ALord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations,
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."

God the Father was always there. Before the world, before any human being, from everlasting, God was there. All of life goes back to Him. He's our starting point.

But, here's the interesting thing, He was not alone.

Let's look at another text: John 17:24. Here Jesus gives us a snapshot of Himself. He is praying to the Father. And He asks that His followers:

A. . . may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."

Jesus was there too B before the foundation of the world. Remember He once told some skeptics, ABefore Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:58) Jesus was there in that Aeverlasting." And He was loved by the Father - from eternity past.

Now this tells us something important. It tells us that the Trinity is about Eternal RELATIONSHIP. Before there was any Earth, before there were any mountains or flowers or seas, before there was any human being, there was an Eternal Relationship.

Now for one more snapshot. Look at Hebrews 9:14. Here the Spirit enters into the picture. And we see Him working in the Trinity for our salvation. The writer says:

A. . . how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience . . ."

Christ offered Himself to God through what? The eternal Spirit. The Holy Spirit goes back just as far, before the foundation of the world, from everlasting.

That's the first thing we need to understand about the Trinity. The Trinity is about relationship. We don't just see a picture of God Almighty by Himself on a throne, ordering around everyone else below Him. We see three peers interacting. They're one in purpose, one in character. But they're having fellowship. They're communicating.

Listen to this remarkable statement in:

AFor there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." 1 John 5:7

That's the Trinity in a nutshell. The Father, the Word, or the Son, and the Spirit are bearing witness; they're talking; they're sharing.

Friends, who we come from tells us who we are. And we came from the Trinity. That means life is primarily about relationships. They are what's important. We don't go back to matter. We don't go back to some abstraction, some mathematical formula; we don't go back to chemical interactions.

So this is the ultimate irony. People created elaborate theories about the Trinity B and then executed others for not agreeing, for having different opinions. Theories and formulas overwhelmed relationships. But the Trinity is telling us loud and clear that relationships are what really matter B at the very beginning, and at the very end. What matters is how we bond with other people. What matters is the quality of our relationships.

Well, how about if we look at the quality of the relationships in the Trinity? Just what kind of relationships does the Godhead enjoy?

The Bible gives us glimpses of the Trinity interacting in remarkable ways. And it's a very revealing picture. In fact, what's pictured is a complete circle of mutual support.

Take a look at what Jesus does for the Father. Jesus says:

AI do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me." John 8:28

This was something Jesus often said B in various ways. He lived here on earth to show people the Father. If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father, He said. Jesus' entire life was about pointing people to their Father in Heaven.

But now look at what the Father does for the Son, for Jesus.

AThe Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand." John 3:35
God the Father entrusted His beloved Son with all things. My Father, Jesus said, is the One who glorifies Me. In other words, the Father put the spotlight on the Son.

Do you see what we have here? The Son glorifying the Father. The Father glorifying the Son. It's a mutual admiration society.

And we see the same dynamic when it comes to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus deliberately stepped out of the spotlight in order to usher in the age of the Spirit, the Comforter, the Helper. He said in John 16:7:

AIt is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you . . ."

Jesus was willing to step off stage, and put the spotlight on the Spirit. But what happens then? The Spirit, in turn, glorifies Jesus. You find that in John 16:14. He magnifies the words of Christ.

This is the wonderful dynamic in the Trinity. God the Son glorifies the Father in Heaven. God the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. And the Father, in turn, puts a spotlight on His beloved Son.

The Trinity is a perfect circle of mutual SUPPORT.

That's a fantastic truth. Consider who we're talking about here. This is God Almighty, the all-powerful Creator. Power structures on earth are all about hierarchy. They're about who's up and who's down. They're about control. They're about establishing who's top dog in any situation.

The Trinity isn't about that kind of power. It's the opposite of that kind of power. You don't see God the Father making sure He's number one. You don't hear God the Spirit complain that He feels like number three. No, they're all too busy glorifying each other. They're too busy building each other up!

And guess what? That's who we come from. We come from the Trinity. The Trinity tells us what life is all about. And life, my friends, is about building each other up. Life isn't about exercising power over others. Life isn't about trying to control others. Life certainly isn't about executing people because they have different religious opinions. Life is not about the kind of religious terrorism we're seeing today.

To see the Trinity for who they really are, we have to get beyond our pet theories; we have to move past our cherished positions. We have to acknowledge that God is about relationships. God is about mutual support.

JEANNIE: Lonnie, I have to admit I used to think this idea of the Trinity was just a specialty for theologians, not that related to real life. But who we come from does matter. There really is a beautiful something there for us in the way the Godhead interacts.

LONNIE: Jeannie, I don't have some nice theory that explains precisely how the One God can be three persons. I don't have a formula. But I do see a God who shows us precisely what life is about. This is a God who modeled, from eternity past, the way relationships ought to be.

JEANNIE: You know what this reminds me of? A verse in Genesis about God creating Adam and Eve. And God says, ALet us make man in our image."

LONNIE: Right, that's Genesis 1:26.

JEANNIE: So there's something to that. Our image, our likeness. The Creator was saying that we were made in the image of the Trinity; we were made to reflect those relationships.

LONNIE: And the point is, we will never be complete without them. That's what makes us human. Once in a while you get a startling glimpse of what it really means to be in a relationship.

On the night of April 11, 1991, Dr. James Hall's body stopped. It stopped completely. A severe stroke left him lifeless, unable to move or communicate, unable to respond to stimuli in any way. His physicians concluded he was brain-dead and prepared to remove life support.

But James had a friend, a psychiatrist, Dr. Patton Howell. And Patton wondered, what if there's a brain still functioning inside this immobile body? What if James is a victim of something called Locked-In Syndrome?

Patton decided to try to find a way to communicate. And he kept trying. He kept trying even when test after test revealed Ano cognitive function."

Patton thought he could detect a bit of movement in James' eyes. So he tried to hold up sets of letters, which James could select by looking right or left. After hours of effort, Patton thought he had detected James reacting to nine letters, THE MOST AT. And that was it. Well, maybe James had grown too tired to complete a sentence. Or maybe Patton was just imagining all this. Maybe there wasn't anyone inside that body after all.

But early the next morning Patton realized he'd left out one letter, an R, not thinking it fit. Where do you think the R fits here? T-h-e-R. James had spelled Thermostat! Patton had been sweating like crazy, trying to position the sets of letters, and James had told him how to cool down, thermostat. There really was a brain at work in that immobile body!

But later, James had to prove it to skeptical staff at the hospital. It took him half an hour, but he managed to select letters that spelled out: AI demand to live!"

After that, the floodgates opened. James wanted to communicate 24-hours a day.

In the years that followed, James managed to regain a bit of movement in his head and began to type with one finger. And this is what he says, AIn some ways, my stroke was a blessing. It ended a destructive pattern of alcoholism and sexual addiction. Since my stroke . . . I am more deeply embedded in life . . . more focused, more open. Love is more important than accomplishment."

James had discovered what it means to be able to communicate, to have a relationship. And it changed his life. He'd been a compulsive womanizer before. Now he said, AFor both (my wife) and I, these years are golden."

Do you realize what really matters today? Do you realize who you come from?
There's a wonderful verse in Deuteronomy that talks about the eternal God as our refuge. It says, Aunderneath are the everlasting arms." God is about everlasting arms. And those everlasting arms are around each other, Father, Son and Spirit.

Are your arms reaching out today? Or has life made you want to close up tight? Is your heart open to a relationship with a Heavenly Father? Or are you caught up in chasing power and control?

I invite you to seriously consider the claims of the God of the Bible on your life right now. The Three-in-One can show you what life is all about. God can start you on the road to mutually supportive relationships. So make Him your starting point. Sink your roots deep. Decide to do that just now as we pray.

Dear Father, thank You for sharing Yourself with us, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank You for modeling such beautiful relationships for us. We don't want to get caught in some Locked-In Syndrome. We don't want to be cut off from what matters most. So we reach out to You right now. We need Your grace and forgiveness. We need Your love as the foundation of our lives. We commit ourselves to seek Your face, from this day forward. Amen.

JEANNIE: How about a little homework? Here on Exploring the Word we're actually promoting the fun kind of homework each week. We'd like to tweak your curiosity about next week's program, which deals with Original Sin.

LONNIE: Now a lot of people sort of turn up their noses at this subject. It may even seem like a quaint reminder of an earlier age when we didn't understand the importance of human self-esteem. But this concept of Original Sin does have value for us today B when we see it in its proper perspective.

JEANNIE: So how about reading Romans chapter five? That's where we find this idea presented. And you'll discover that it's really introduced in order to throw a spotlight on something else!

LONNIE: So find time this week to read Romans chapter five. Until our next program, God bless you. Never stop Exploring the Word. And remember, God really does love you.