Digging Deeper

Exploring the Doctrines of the Bible

T

Theology Proper - The Doctrine of God

Part Six

…God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity

INTRODUCTION

Unity and Order
I.DISTINCT FUNCTIONS OF THE PERSONS OF THE TRINITY –

Matthew 3:15-17

A.The Familial Names of the Godhead

1.God the Father – Matthew 6:9

2.God the Son – I John 4:15

a.God the Son submits to God the Father – John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; Luke 22:42

3.God the Holy Spirit

a.God the Holy Spirit submits to God the Father - John 14:16; 26

b.God the Holy Spirit submits to God the Son – John 15:26; 16:7

B.Examples of Their Distinctions

1.Creation

a.God the Father spoke the creative word – Genesis 1:3

b.God the Son carried out the decrees – John 1:3;

Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2

c.God the Holy Spirit hovered – Genesis 1:2

2.Redemption

a.God the Father made the plan for redemption – John 3:16; Galatians 4:4-5

b.God the Son obeyed the Father and accomplished

redemption for us. Matthew 1:21; Mark 10:45; John 6:38; Romans 3:24-25

c.God the Holy Spirit obeyed the Father and the Son to applyredemption to us by…

1.)Indwelling within us – John 14:15-17

2.)Guiding and teaching us – John 15:26

3.)To sanctify us – I Peter 1:1-2

4.)To empower us for service – Acts 1:8;

I Corinthians 12:7-11

5.)Sealing us – Ephesians 4:30

…while the persons of the Trinity are equal in all their attributes, they nonetheless differ in their relationships to the creation. The Son and Holy Spirit are equal in deity to God the Father, but they are subordinate in their roles. Moreover, these differences in role are not temporary but will last forever: Paul tells us that even after the final judgment, when the “last enemy,” that is, death, is destroyed and when all things are put under Christ’s feet, “then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to everyone” 1 Corinthians 15:28.[1]

CONCLUSION - Unity of God

The Godhead is a Tri-unity, God acts as a unity in all His deeds. The three persons of the Trinity are united in one Godhead. They are interrelated with one another. They share the same attributes and co-operate in the same work - God the Father directs ministry (Acts 14:27); God the Son directs ministry (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:7-8) and God the Holy Spirit directs ministry (Acts 13:2; Acts 13:4)

The persons of the Trinity are on one accord!

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness -Genesis 1:26

Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil

Genesis 3:22

Come, let Us go down…Genesis 11:7

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Isaiah 6:8

“In the unity of the God-head there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.”[2]

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)

03/19/2017

[1]Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 249.

[2] Wayne A. Grudem. Systematic Theology: