Various Scriptures - The Doctrine of the Trinity

I Timothy 1:17 - Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 

Titus 2:1 - But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. 

Isaiah 55:8 - For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. 

John 10:30 - I and the Father are one. 

What the Lord is Saying: Tabletalk now takes a moment in this months lessons to speak more of the Trinity. 

"Many people believe the doctrine (of the Trinity) is a contradiction because it refers to both a oneness and a threeness in God....but the way in which God is one is not the same as the way in which God is three. It (is true that it) would be a logical contradiction to say that there is one God and there are three Gods or that God is one in essence and three in essence. However, the doctrine of the Trinity asserts neither option. Instead, it says there is only one God in whom are three personal subsistence or that God is one in essence and three in person - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." 

Subsistence is an interesting word. To define it, the Webster dictionary states, "as in existence or the fact of being or being real." In a sentence...believes in the subsistence of a soul as a separate entity from the body. A human being is one person and yet has a soul and body and each is a subsistence. Another definition of subsistence is an individual instance of a divine essence. 

The Westminster Confession 2.3 states, "In the Unity of the God-head there be three persons, of one substance, power and eternity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding: The Son is eternally begotten of the Father: the Holy Ghost is eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son."

Trinitarian personhood is not human personhood. “Person” carries with it the linguistic baggage of human personhood connected to human essence. There is a personal property of each that distinguishes Him from another person. And yet in this distinguishing this does not result in three gods. John 1:18 states, "No one has seen God (the Father) at any time; the only begotten God (Jesus/Son), who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained/declared."  They still have the same essence (Incomparable or "no one like thee (2 Samuel 7:22)", Inscrutable (impossible to understand-Isaiah 40:28), etc.). 

Monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) have a common belief that there is only one God, but differ in defining the person of God, in other words, there are differences in defining the essence of God as it relates to persons. Christianity does not teach that there are multiple divine essences, but that this divine essence belongs equally to three distinct divine persons. The Father, Son and Spirit are fully equal, and none is more or less God than the other. Each person of the Trinity does not have His own unique mind, will, or power. They all have the same mind, will, and power; thus, all of the same essence "homoousios". 

Psalm 110 is an interesting text. It reads in verse 1, "The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Looking at the words for Lord and their Hebrew word meanings, it reads the "Lord" (Yahweh) and my "Lord" (Adonai) and this points us in the direction of the Trinity. Jesus quotes this as recorded in Matt. 22:41-46 as He speaks to His opponents, letting them know He is more than a mere human. 

2 Corinthians 13:14 is another text in the New Testament that implies that all three persons of the Trinity God are divine - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 

We can have a clearer understanding of the Trinity when looking at some alternate beliefs (heresies). God is simultaneously Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Modalism is a heresy that says that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God and one person. The Holy Spirit is God in action, Jesus is Savior and God the Father is creator. Thus, God reveals Himself in different ways or modes. Another alternate idea is Arianism with the idea that Jesus Christ is not equal to the Father by nature, but He is the first creation of God. One prevalent group believing in Arianism today are Jehovah Witnesses. 

I must admit, I have a hard time concluding this study. I feel like I could go on a lifetime trying to study it and understand it. I could look at all of the names of God and compare them one to another. I could look at all of the different attributes of God, again comparing them one to another. And yet, I need to conclude this and continue with my study of other material and then as I do, I will discover more of this subject and what it means. 

Summary: The Trinity is the understanding that God's essence or the way we describe Him is one. But it is explained further in the expression of 3 persons - Father, Son, and Spirit. Each has the same divine essence. The Father is not the Son nor either the Spirit. They are distinct and yet of the same attributes. Let me continue to discover and understand this. 

Promise: Even though we do not fully understand the Trinity, we can still affirm it. It is taught so we can still believe in as we are still comprehending it. God is one in essence and there in person. We do not know fully how that can be; nevertheless, it is the only formula that allows us to affirm everything that scripture says about God. In other words, our Bible sets us up to conclude in a trinity. So it is not something we just force to believe, but the way the Words of God are written cause us to conclude this. And yet we still seek to understand it more fully.

Prayer: Lord, you are good and Holy. Your ways are true and right. I need You every day in every way. I want to know You as You really are. And yet I know that is impossible. So I strive to know you to the best of my ability. There is a little bit of joy that every day I get to know you better and more. I thank you for all the people that have come before me to learn of You and know You and that they have written down their understandings for me to learn from as well. I thank you for the people that you have placed in my path today that are writing today of these subjects of You. Lord, it saddens me that we often don't give you the praise and glory throughout our lives that you deserve. Help me to balance out my days in such a way that will honor You and yet doing things that I enjoy. Sometimes Lord, I just want to do nothing but study and yet you have placed people in my life that I can encourage and even help educate with Your word. Lord, strike the balance in my life so that I know when to keep studying and when to get busy applying and get busy living. 

John 1:19-23 - John the Baptist Identifies Himself

John 1:19-23

19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Message: John the Baptist Identifies Himself

Time: Jesus' disciple John, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee was one of the inner circle of Jesus' most trusted companions. It's most likely that John wrote his gospel while he was in Ephesus, and that he wrote it for an audience that lived outside Palestine, perhaps in Asia Minor. John appears to have had in mind members of a Jewish community who had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but who had continued to worship in the synagogue. John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."

What the Lord is Saying: Previously in verse 6, John is identified as sent from God. And now in verse 19 are more specifics about John and how there were those that questioned him and his identity. Those questioning him, as listed in this passage, were Jews, sent by priests and Levites. And they wondered if he was the Christ, Elijah, the Prophet. 

In my attempt to date John the Baptist and his ministry, Matthew 3 records the baptism of Jesus which is about AD 29. Malachi is on record for about 422 or 425 BC. The last verses of Malachi state, "5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” 

The writer John saw the importance of specifying this information about John the Baptist. I always want to remember this when studying the Bible. I tend to write a lot of thoughts on subjects and ad lib, but this is the Bible, inspired by God, and I believe every writing has been directed by God to be included. 

John, in responding to the questions from these questioning him states who he is not, probably to make sure that they know this as these were questions he would guess them wondering. His responses are specific. And as to who he is, he is a little general, but fulfilling a prophecy from Isaiah the prophet as recorded in Isaiah 40:3-5 -- 

3  A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (ESV)”

In verse 3, The LORD is Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel. Does this means that John is making a connection with the Lord Yahweh and Jesus? Matthew 3:3 quotes this as well. This is significant and calls attention to the significance of the New Testament and the writes that seem to be connecting Jesus to Yahweh, Jehovah God. And yet there are those worldviews that will interpret this as still being only Jehovah, the God of Israel, and nothing to do with Jesus. 

Summary: John the Baptist states who he is not (Christ, Elijah, Prophet) and who he is - a voice crying out to make straight the way of the Lord/Jehovah/Jesus.

Promise: From Tabletalk, "We should not claim more about ourselves than is actually true, and we should be ready to proclaim Christ to the people we know."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are eternal. Your ways are not our ways and yet we seek to understand You and who You are. I know Lord that good people throughout the ages define you differently. You are Savior. You have atoned for sin. Thank you for John and bringing him on the scene. Teach me to understand You further, each day. Illuminate my understanding of You. If I have misunderstood anything about You, give me understanding. 

Jeremiah 23:23-34 - Divine Omnipresence

Jeremiah 23:23-34
23 23 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

Message: Divine Omnipresence

Time: The Chaldeans (Babylonians) are besieging Jerusalem. Nubuchadnezzar is king of Babylon. Zedekiah is the last king of Judah before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.

What the Lord is Saying:

Yesterday, I studied God's infinite ways and that He is beyond measure. Man is a finite being with a clear beginning, but man's spirit has no end. Our human bodies have a beginning and end. Our soul lives on forever. God is a different sort of being. He is separate from man and it seems that this is something that man has a hard time to wrap around.

God's omnipresence is something I began to touch on yesterday. God fills all creation. He is everywhere present. No matter where we go, He is there. He can be in many places (or all places) at once. This is an amazing thought. My mind can't help but want to figure this out. It's not that God is like a gas because God is immaterial. 

His presence is not any greater in one place than the other. 

Here in Jeremiah 23, the Lord is giving a bitter indictment of the leaders of God's people. False prophets were the greatest hindrance to the acceptance of Jeremiah's preaching. responding to words from false prophets and correcting them. The Lord says in verse 16 - Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord. I notice in life that we are often a people of shortcuts. When it comes to the subjects of politics and religion, we seem to be quicker to listen to the opinions of others rather than seeking out truth from the source. In politics, we often listen to the news or what others are saying. In religion, rather than studying God's word on our own we listen to the opinions of others. In so doing we end up extra biblical opinions. God is calling out the false prophets and stating that they do not speak from the Lord. 

The Lord responds to the false prophets because they acted like he was far away-“Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off?" The atheist states there is no God and therefore man can do whatever he wishes without being concerned that anyone is watching. This is what man would like to think. The idea that someone is watching not only our actions, but what we are thinking and devising in our heart is not an appealing idea for we all know therefore that we have been found out, discovered, for who we really are. And then the fact that God loves us in spite of this should make us drop to our knees ever more. 

Promise: God is omnipresent and sees through all of our false claims that he is not near.

Prayer: Lord, it is comfort to know you are near, when I need you. But, it can also not be a comfort because many times my thoughts and actions do not glorify You. I often try to pretend that you are not near. I take advantage of your forgiving ways. I focus too much on how things make me feel rather than leaning on your everlasting arms and accepting what You provide. Lord, I pray that I would live a life that is pleasing to you. Forgive me for thinking I can get away from you. I want to stay close by your side, no matter who I am taking with, no matter the situation I am in. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Psalm 147:5 - Divine Infinity

Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is infinite.

Message: Divine Infinity

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

The language that we use to describe God has been talked about at times in 2 different ways: affirmation and negation. Affirmation says what God is; negation says what God is not. Affirmation is cataphatic theology; negation is apophatic theology. Affirmation words are "God is good" or "God is holy." Negation words are "God is immutable" or "God is immaterial."

I think these sort of descriptions of God trouble many people because they are words that cannot be used to describe man and therefore there is a separation between man and God and man cannot completely understand a God who is always or never a certain way.

The passage here in Psalm 147:5 says (God's) His understanding is infinite or beyond measure. No matter how hard we try to think of God as being measurable, He is not. Man has limits. God is infinite. This is hard to wrap our minds together. About God, this means that He can exert His power anywhere at anytime; anywhere on this planet at anytime in our history. He also has the power to though set limits on His creation. Solomon recorded these words in Ecclesiastes 3:11 - He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. We are people of limitations. This is the way God designed it. We have limitations to our understanding of Him.

Although God has no limits there are still things he cannot do. For example, he is incapable of doing evil.

John Gill, an English Baptist Pastor who lived 1697-1771 said:

his understanding is infinite; it reaches to all things, not to the stars of heaven only, as in Psalm 147:4, but to the fowls of the air, to the beasts of the field, and cattle upon a thousand hills; to all on the surface of the earth, or in the bowels of it; and to the fishes of the sea: it reaches to all men, and to all the thoughts of their hearts, the words of their mouths, and the actions of their lives; it reaches to all things past, that have been, to everything present, and to whatsoever is to come; it includes not only the knowledge of all things that are, or certainly will be, but of all things possible, or which he could bring into being if he would; it is concerned not only with the quality and nature of things it perfectly understands, but with the quantity of them; even all things in creation and providence, which are without number and past finding out by men; and so his understanding is without number, and cannot be declared, as the word signifies.

Promise: No act of goodness or evil escapes God's notice. 

Prayer: Lord, there are things about You that I read about, understand and yet don't really comprehend how that is possible. Lord, I don't understand how you listen to my words here and then listen to all the other voices of people throughout this land and how you keep it all together. You are definitely without limits and I don't comprehend it all, but I trust You and I pray that You would help me to continue to be an ambassador for you and I would accept that I don't need to understand everything at all times. Thank you for loving me and knowing my every need. You are holy. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Malachi 3:6 - The God Who Never Changes

Malachi 3:6
For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

Message: The God Who Never Changes

Time: Malachi delivers a message to the Judean people who worship at the temple, but our turning away from the true worship of the Lord. This is after the completion of the second temple. Late 5th Century BC, possibly during Nehemiah's return to Persia, around 433-424 BC.

What the Lord is Saying:

The message here is simple: God does not change. These are the words spoken by Malachi, a prophet of the Lord. His book is the final book of the Old Testament, about 450 years before Christ. This idea only should bring comfort to us - that God does not change. Malachi was speaking a message to his people here in chapter 3 of purification by a messenger. As we study and look back at this message, knowing Jesus came, we naturally want to see this as a prophecy of Jesus and His coming to cleanse the temple, cleans the people. However, the text is not completely clear that this is about Jesus. What it is clear in addressing is the need for the people of Judah to be cleansed, to be purified. In verse 7, they have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. He speaks of the kinds of people that are present: the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me. 

And in between these words is the proclamation that I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. By not changing, to me, this means that the Lord's expectations on His people does not change. He still remains a selfish God that wants His people to honor Him and worship Him. He gives them statutes for them to be kept. He expects his people to honor him and not seek their own way. When they do this they become human idol factories, thinking that their own way is the better way. 

What is clear is that the Lord will purify His people. This is a message from God that has remained throughout history. God is our redeemer. And yet this call to purification still requires a response. God may choose us, but there still is a response that is required from man. In verse 7 he says, "Return to Me." 

We think at times that the message of the New Testament, of repentance and love is so very clear, but it is the same message, but simply has a more clear presenter: Jesus Christ. But the message remains: God redeems. Man returns to Him. Our God does not change. 

That's His message and we can accept it or reject it, but that is His message. God will not change. He sits outside of time. One of my brothers in the Lord begins our prayer time weekly with, "Thank you for a new day." It is a reminder that we change. We celebrate with jubilation the turning of time, the beginning of a new year recently. It is 2019. Time is growing. Life is changing. We are growing daily, aging. We are changing. But, our God does not change. We look forward to a day of no change when things will remain the same and when our true relationship as true worshipers will be present. 

Promise: Each day I can rely on the One who is incapable of changing and will never allow His promises to fail. My security remains in Him. He promises to always keep me safe, safe in Him. 

Prayer: Lord, you do not change. You remain the same and your Ways remain the same. Thank you for being that anchor, the rock, the fortress, the horn of our salvation, our stronghold. I love You Lord. You are great. I need this reminder in my life daily that though I live in a day of improvement and wanting each day to be better than the next, I can rest in the idea that You never change. You desire me and desire people to know you and listen to You. You are a selfish God and you always know what is best for me. Lord, I want to return to You. Each day Lord I want to return to You. I want to listen to these words you have spoken through your prophet Malachi 2500+ years ago that remain true to this day: Return to You. As I live and move and change, keep pulling me back to your message, reminding me that you are still there. You still want me. I can still return to You. Lord, I admit my ideals are often the ideals of this world - for daily happiness and enjoyment and peace and security and comfort -- and even as those things are okay, help me have a stronger love for You and seeking you and desiring to never disappoint You. I know you will always take me back, but still I want my life to honor You. You deserve it. And I need it. It is the only way to live.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Psalm 18 - Speaking About God

Psalm 18
1“I love You, O Lord, my strength.”
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Message: Speaking About God

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Psalm 18 encompasses 50 verses which is a lot of verses to study here in this lesson. The thrust of the lesson today from Tabletalk is how we speak about God and the language that we use. At the beginning of this passage - Psalm 18 - a Psalm of David written about the Lord delivering David from the hand of all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul - David here uses a work in an analogical way. To speak analogically is to use the same word to describe two different things. Traditionally, it is said that human language about God is analogical language. It is taking a word that might mean one thing to a human and then using it to describe God which then takes on a different meaning. For instance, yesterday I saw that when we say God is great, that greatness of God is the apex of who he is and so describing a person like an athlete as being great or a athletic play might
mean that the person achieved something spectacular at that moment, but God is entirely great for all time.

The Lord is my rock - doesn't mean that Yahweh is literally a rock, but the Lord is instead firm and unshakable. Rock is also thought to be more of a cliff. The rock was a place that people would go to find refuge. It does not move.

David goes on to describe God as his fortress. The fortress is a mountain castle. It is a resident constructed on a hill, a place so strengthened that an enemy couldn't approach it. And this is how David describes God as with God by his side he because a fortress that no one could touch.

My deliverer - We enjoy so much stories of people getting caught by an enemy and then being delivered or rescued from the hands of an enemy. The picture of being rescued from the hands of someone holding a person against their will is what God is to us all too often. In redeeming mankind, we are delivered from the hands of the devil.

The Lord is My God. God is now personal with David. God is not far and away, high and above, but God is near. a Protector, Helper, Friend, Father, Saviour. This word for God is always personal.

This translation says, My God, my rock, but the word while still rock conveys the idea of God being my strength. Earlier, rock is more of a shelter and now God is my strength. He is my rock. He is not simply an object that is immovable and impersonal but again David is getting personal with his language and saying that God becomes his very strength.

in whom I take refuge - He is now the one I take refuge in. God is my refuge. This make me think of my 2nd cousin, who is not yet 1 and she was down on the ground with people all around her and in that moment she wanted to be held by her father. He reached down and picked her up and with him next to her she felt safe and secure. She had her refuge. And this is how God is to us, He is our refuge and with Him near we are safe. We can embrace the world and all that it may offer.

My shield - without a shield I am dead. In video games, the shield keeps my guy from dying. I throw the shield on me and I am protected.

the horn of my salvation - The horns of an animal is their defense. The horn is connected to the animal and part of their body. God is my horn. He is connected to me. When I use the horn as my defense it delivers me. It is interesting to me because in these words horn is something I must decide to you. I must turn my horn into my enemy. God wants to be my deliverer, but will I allow him to deliver.

my stronghold or my high tower means that He is high above the crowd.

As I read these words that David used to describe God as his deliverer and sustenance and all that He needs, I'm reminded that in my life I don't find that my words go to God first to express deliverance. But this is what David did. I might say this to a fellow Christian or while I am in church but then when I walk outside and start mingling with people that are not of faith and we talk about different events in life that we have been rescued from I don't think I respond that God delivered me. Maybe it is because it isn't a deliverance from death or being caught by an enemy against my will. Most of my deliverance is avoiding car accidents or falls. But there is also bodily accidents I avoid or illnesses.

At times, you will hear an athlete thank God after he has won a game or a musical artist thank God after winning an award. When this happens I often think of the person that lost and wonder if they are also thanking God. Maybe this is my problem often with these events is that I think of the person on the other side and wonder if they then think God is not on their side because they have not come out on top.

Whether out loud or to myself, I need to do this. I need to give glory to God more in my life. That is clear. I don't need to look for an excuse or give myself or anyone else glory. I need to thank God more. That is clear.

Promise: As I read God's word and hear God referred to as a rock, a light, a shepherd and many other metaphors, I pray that it would help enrich my life to realize how God is like all of these things and that it will help me pray and thank Him and worship Him.

Prayer: Lord, I love You. O Lord, my strength. You Lord are my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. You are my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge. You are my shield and the horn of my salvation and my stronghold. You God are all of these things and more. Help me to remember this God throughout my days. Lord, I need to clear my mind and realize that you are near and You have got these things of my life in order and in control. Forgive me for taking the credit all too often and not acknowledging you.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Psalm 145:3 - Our Incomprehensible God

Psalm 145:3
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is unsearchable.

Message: Our Incomprehensible God

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

Now the study shifts a little from the doctrine of God to thinking about God's attributes. As this study continues it is hard to not think of our culture and the way in which it approaches God.

As I look at these verses, they express words of God's character. I understand this. I notice often that I often come to God and the study of Him as to what I will get out of that study. Worship in church often is words towards God that connect how He has impacted us. But simply expressing these words - Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised and His greatness is unsearchable - are words I don't think I often express because these words describe a God that is out there. I know that God is meant to be praised but I often still think about Him only in understanding how he affects me.

So I will try to pause this morning to exclaim - Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable. As I do this, I will continue to reflect on the writings of men that have come before me.

The phrase - Great is the Lord - appears 10 times, all in the Old Testament, though 2 times it refers to the greatness of the Lord's anger. Like this verse in Psalm 145, what follows is the words that He is therefore highly to be praised. Lord here is Yahweh.

This is an interesting progression. The Lord is Great and therefore highly to be praised. This greatness is not so much unknowable for we are witnesses every day of the way we encounter His greatness. But it seems to me this idea of unsearchable means that we can never find or locate the end of his greatness. It is unsearchable in that it never ceases, it never stops.

I just wonder if I don't talk about God's greatness very much because I am being affected by the world in which I live that all to often is questioning God and His relevance to our lives. So my focus remains there and somehow defending this rather than taking the time to simply praise Him.

I don't think it is impossible to understand God and what He has done. We know God is great by what we have seen Him, yet the extent of His greatness will never be found out completely. I remember reading that in Genesis 1 all of the creation that God made was considered good. Man and his creation is good, but God is great.

Promise: God is unlike any other subject as we can never master the Lord. And we can never master how great He is and His greatness throughout our world.

Prayer: Lord, you are great. My words to You need to be more expressive. Yes, I am thankful for a new day and for all that you have done for me. I am so thankful for Your hand of providence in my life. But, I am also reminded Lord today of simply pausing expressing that You Lord are great. Your greatness is to be praised. Your greatness is without end. People everywhere comment of your greatness and Your impact on our lives and therefore, how that greatness is visible to us. I'm thankful that I can hear from people throughout this land, from people like Shiva and Martha and James - your greatness is far reaching. Lord, you are great. I see so much that You have done but there is so much more I do not see.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Matthew 28:18-20 - Divine Unity

Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Message: Divine Unity

Time: The date of Matthew's composition is anywhere from 55-60 AD probably in Antioch of Syria. The writing is most likely to the Jews. His purpose was to show them that Jesus of Nazareth was the expected messiah and both his genealogy and his resurrection were legitimate proofs of this.

What the Lord is Saying:

As I've been studying the doctrine of God most of the focus of late has been on the Trinity and the relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit. They have the same essence and yet distinctive, yet united. Yesterday's focus was that all are on the scene at the same time and all are God; all are one God. Yet, the Father is not the Son and the Son not the Spirit and the Father not also the Spirit.

Jesus remarks in what is now called the Great Commission statement that as his disciples (and us his followers) go forth and make disciples, those individuals are to be baptized in the name (singular) of the three (plural). The three share the same name - Yahweh, the covenant Lord of Israel.

All three share the name Yahweh and the divine attributes equally. None is more God or less God than the others.

Previously baptism had been spoken about for repentance, but here Jesus takes into a new level by saying that a person is united to the Godhead. As we are baptized in their name we are to honor each equally.

Albert Barnes remarks on this passage:

The union of these three names in the form of baptism proves that the Son and Holy Spirit are equal with the Father. Nothing would be more absurd or blasphemous than to unite the name of a creature - a man or an angel - with the name of the ever-living God in this solemn rite. If Jesus was a mere man or an angel, as is held by many who deny his divinity, and if the Holy Spirit was a mere "attribute" of God, then it would have been the height of absurdity to use a form like this, or to direct the apostles to baptize people under them. How absurd would be the direction - nay, how blasphemous - to have said, "Baptize them unto God, and unto Paul, and unto the "wisdom or power" of God!" Can we believe that our Saviour would have given a direction so absurd as this? Yet, unless he himself is divine, and the Holy Spirit is divine, Jesus gave a direction substantially the same as this. The form of baptism, therefore, has been always regarded as an unbreakable argument for the doctrine of the Trinity, or that the Son and Holy Spirit are equal with the Father.

Promise: Jesus sometimes says that the Father is greater than He is (John 14:28). But that is not a reference to His divine essence; rather, in taking on our flesh, God the Son submits to the Father as a man, for that is what human beings are to do. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for continuing to each me your truths. Help me to have a believe that You want me to have and that I submit to You for everything in my life. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Psalm 110:1 - Divine Diversity

Psalm 110:1
The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

Message: Divine Diversity

Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

I looked at this passage of Scripture in October as I was studying the book of Mark and Jesus took a moment to quote these words from Psalm 110 as he gave a response to a question from the scribes.

At the time of my reading of it, I was interested in the terminology and what Jesus was saying in these verses, namely that He was offering a defense of Jesus and His relationship to Father God. As this verse states - The Lord says to my Lord - so there are two Lords present in this verse with one speaking to another.

As I continue to look at specifics regarding the doctrine of God and have previously studied that there is only one God. All other gods may be claimed to be gods but there is only one true God and He is one. He is a God to all people everywhere for all time. He is also displayed in 3 persons. He is a singular God but has 3 essences in the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There is often confusion in thinking that this somehow means that we Christians worship 3 Gods, but that statement is invalid. God is still one but throughout Scripture comes on the scene in 3 forms or persons and now we want to look at the idea that those 3 forms are distinct.

The Tabletalk reading today wants to make the point that the Bible does not speak of Modalism which says that while there is one God that God manifests itself at different times as the Father, then other times as the Son, then other times as the Spirit and those manifestations are never at the same time. So, God starts out as Father, then comes to earth as Son, then after ascension as the Spirit. Beliefs are interesting because I notice that people will often try to define something that makes the most sense to them and this idea of God is often a challenge for people and so throughout the ages people try to make God out to be something that fits their thinking but it isn't the entire truth and suddenly we have many different belief systems with millions of adherents and all have a little different picture of God:

• Mormons speak of many gods, so Joseph Smith saw the Father, saw the Son, saw the Spirit. They were separate and Mormons speak of man one day becoming a god. Again, Joseph Smith saw a physical representation of God. Perhaps he wanted to see God and so this became His theology. 
• Jehovah Witnesses also wanted to say that God and Jesus are separate. They have decided that Jesus was on the scene during Old Testament times as Michael the archangel. Thus, they seem to recognize Jesus as being there before he came to earth, but they fit him in as the Archangel and then the Holy Spirit as a completely separate force. Unitarianism is also another name or belief system of this. 
• Islam believes the New Testament text has been corrupted and therefore teaches that the scriptures we have about a resurrection are misconstrued and Jesus was actually a really great man and similar to other men called prophets like Moses and even Muhammad. But, they do not believe in a Trinity and instead focus squarely on only one God, not in 3 persons and call their god Allah. 
• Judaism is another monotheistic belief that says there is 1 God, not 3 persons of the Trinity. There are several holy books that speak of this. It speaks of God having a purpose, man inability to follow that purpose and God repeatedly pulling them back or bringing them back to His purpose. But God is always singular and do not believe Jesus is the Messiah. 

Verse 1 of this passage is very interesting. David is in the middle of a conversation between on one side the Lord, Jehovah, and on the other side, Adonai. The Lord (Jehovah) is speaking to his Lord (Adonai).

Jehovah is one of the primary names for God in the Bible. Sometimes it is used for God the Father, sometimes for God the Son, sometimes for God the Holy Spirit and the context of the passage determines which person of the Trinity Jehovah is. Here in this passage Jehovah is God the Father. The word Adonai or who David refers to as my Lord is God's Son. Therefore, Jehovah is speaking to Jesus.

It is also interesting the word says or said is literally an oracle and this word is only used of a direct utterance of God, sometimes a word from a prophet, but it is more common as a word or oracle coming from God.

When Jesus quotes this passage he adds a statement clarifying where David received these words - David himself said in the Holy Spirit. Thus, the message that David records in this passage in Psalm 110 is not his own, but is said in the Holy Spirit. Thus, in a matter of words Jesus is saying David speaks from the Holy Spirit and witnesses THE LORD (YAHWEH) SAYING TO MY LORD (ADONAI) - SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET. 

Saint Augustine of Hippo who lived from 354 AD to 430 AD, stated:

Christ is both David's Son, and David's Lord: David's Lord always, David's Son in time: David's Lord, born of the substance of His Father, David's Son, born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Ghost...Unless our Lord Jesus Christ has vouchsafed to become man, man had perished. He was made that which He made, that what He made might not perish. Very Man, Very God; God and man, the whole Christ."

The Pulpit Commentary concludes it well:

From this verse (Psalm 110.) our Lord shows that the Messiah, such as he was, was not a mere man, as the Pharisees thought, but that he was God, and therefore David's Lord. The meaning, therefore, is this, "The Lord God said to my Lord," that is, Christ, "Sit thou at my right hand," that is, when, after his cross, his death, and his resurrection, he will exalt him far above all principality and power, and place him next to him in heaven, that he may reign with supreme happiness and power and glory over all creatures. These words show that this is a Divine decree, fixed and irrevocable. Till I make thine enemies thy footstool (ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου); literally, the footstool of thy feet; that is, reign with me in glory until the day of judgment, when I will make the wicked, all opposing powers, subject to thee. The word "till" does not imply that Christ will then cease to reign. "Of his kingdom there shall be no end." But he will then formally deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, only that he may receive it again as the second Person of the Godhead.

Thus, there is a clear distinction in the Bible between the persons of the trinity and their existence is that they are present at all time. Our God is personal.

Promise: God is personal and relates to us and is involved in the affairs of human beings. We must accept the God of the Bible instead of working hard to fit God into our own thinking.

Prayer: O God, as I spend more time in Your Word and reading and studying of You, I thank You that I learn more about You. I thank you for the people that have come before me that have gotten into your Word and understand it and You have given them understanding. Help me though to always see You as You are. It is amazing there are so many different beliefs and yet sad at the same time that so many have not been willing to accept You as You are.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

I Chronicles 16:25-26 - Yahweh and the gods of the peoples

I Chronicles 16:25-26
25 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.

Message: Yahweh and the gods of the peoples

Time: 1 Chronicles has a mystery writer and focuses on David's reign though doesn't repeat David's sin with Bathsheba. It was written in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah or 538-333 BC while the Jews were dispersed throughout Persia, some having returned from Israel. The book lists genealogies, priests, Levites, armies, temple officials, and other leaders of various ministries and devotes significant attention to proper worship of Yahweh and adherence to the regulations of the Law. It focuses on obedience that results in God’s blessing, the priority of the temple and priesthood, and the unconditional promises to the house of David.

What the Lord is Saying:

Contrary to other belief systems, Christianity (as well as Judaism and Islam) hold to a belief of one God. But, other religions one God is different from the biblical God. So it begs the question are there other gods? This verse in 1 Chronicles states that the Lord is to be feared above all gods for all the gods of the peoples are idols. It seems that there are other gods that people to try to worship. Idols are images such as wood or a statue that people worship. But these are not to be worshiped as God. It is true that people do recognize other gods but these gods are not real.

I Corinthians 8:4-6 states - Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

It seems clear that on one hand there is only one true God and the other gods mentioned in history are another sort of supernatural being, a pretender to the throne of the Almighty. There may be other gods mentioned but they are not the same as the one God. So if there is only one God and yet these other gods are mentioned then what are these other gods? They are demons. I Corinthians 10:20 - the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. So demons are worshiped under such names as Krishna, Baal, and even Allah. Thus Allah is not God. It may be touted as the same god just with a different name but it is in fact a different god. There is no god equal to the God of the Bible.

While the Bible does acknowledge other gods that man attempts to worship, these gods are not real because they are not the one true God. They are instead impostors and instead demons. The worship of idols is actually the worship of devils. The devil has set up these alternate forms of worship in order to distract people from the one true God. Again, our culture often doesn't view this. In the name of tolerance in our day and age, we therefore think that all of the gods of this world are equally valid and all end up in the same place. But, the God of the Bible is unique and set apart and therefore separate from all other claimed gods and in face those gods are not gods in the same sense because again there is only one God. It's really a sobering truth because I think I have a hard time seeing all of these people and there are millions, if not billions in history that worship these other gods. Even in the world of Catholicism that seems to add physical people and rise them to the level of an idol.

But there is only one creator. And that creator is to be worshiped. People everywhere are caught up in the supernatural. It is a hard line to stand at times because we struggle more and more stating that so many people have false beliefs.

Couched in these verses are the words For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised and the Lord made the heavens. These verses represent a Psalm of David found here in I Chronicles 16:8-36.

Promise: As Christians we serve the only true God and need never fear the enemy.

Prayer: God, you are it. You are the only God. I give thanks to You and I call upon Your name. Lord, I want to make known your deeds, your work to all. I sing to You and sing Praises to you. What you have done I sing. I glory in Your holy name. I see You and therefore am glad. I see you Lord. You are strong. I look to You continually. Lord, remove the blinders that are on so many people. So many have been trained to think a way that is not true. As I sat in church yesterday I thought of how many came come to church, go through confession and worship and yet never really look inward and see that the Christian is not simply worship but it is admitting a need for life change. We come to You Lord to get a right understanding of who we are. We need You. I need to change. I need daily to be different. Lord, there is such a danger today of people thinking they don't need change. But when we see Love as it is, we see that we are not true people of love. O God, you are the only God and I worship You. Help me be true to Your name as I live in this world.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Isaiah 45:5 - The One and Only God

Isaiah 45:5
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me."

Message: The One and Only God

Time: Isaiah prophesied from 739–681 BC to a nation that had turned a deaf ear to the Lord. He wanted to see the nation of Judah return to serving God with humility and love for their neighbors. But he was called to pronounce judgments to on a people offering meaningless sacrifices in the Temple and committing injustices throughout the nation. It provides the most prophetic picture of Jesus in the entire Old Testament.

What the Lord is Saying:

Despite some religions like Islam and Judaism claiming otherwise, Christianity stands firmly upon the doctrine of monotheism. For me, it seems the confusion is about people's understanding of the God of the Bible thinking that each person of the Trinity is a separate God. God is a spirit and the names of God are spoken of in the persons of the Godhead - Father, Son, Spirit. The word Trinity originated years after Jesus walked on the earth. But the Bible is clear that God is Father, Son, Spirit;  all share the attributes of the Spirit God and also that God is one. Thus, the doctrine of a monotheistic religion of God is one is different from other monotheistic religions such as Judaism or Islam. But the trinity is grounded in the premise that there is one eternal God.

In the study of God, one arrives at the words in the Bible that are used to define God. In the Hebrew text are words Elohim and Yahweh. In this passage today, Isaiah 45:5, we translate it in the English as "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me." The Hebrew follows a different order of the word and from the interlinear it says - and though not I will gird you God (elohim). There is no besides Me other and there is no Yahweh I am. 

This verse in Isaiah is pronounced to Cyrus the Great, the King of Persia. But he is a heathen king that is used by God to deliver the Jews from Babylonian captivity. God speaks to him directly here. And this verse declares to Cyrus God is Elohim or deity and God is Yahweh or Lord. Thus, the passage could read, "I, the Lord of Israel is the only deity." God is declaring that He is the only deity or the only God.

[My sidenote here is that often people will say that all religions lead to the same destination. How can this be so when the Lord of Israel, Yahweh, declares that He is the only Elohim or deity. Are there multiple gods mentioned in history? Yes. But this God says He is the only God.]

Back to Cyrus the Great, God speaks to him and will use this heathen God to accomplish His purposes. Whether Cyrus acknowledges him as the only true God does not matter here. Cyrus God is still only Yahweh. Just as all the people of the world only have one God. As this scripture states by God - "though you have not known Me" - meaning though you have not acknowledged Me as the only God and as Your God this doesn't mean that God does not use him because He in fact says -  "I will gird you." They may say otherwise but if this text to be true, Yahweh is the only God.

As I look at the landscape of even our governing bodies, we often have different forms of how that government leads and more often today it is about a group rather than a single person. The dictators in our history have proven to rule in a harmful way, so there is accountability sought. Even in the church this is prescribed by having a group of elders make decisions collectively or putting it to the congregation as a whole. And yet in the realm of deity, we have only one God. He is our one and only leader.

Promise: To believe in the God of the Scripture is to believe in the true God, the one true God - the Lord of Israel. Salvation is only in His name.

Prayer: Lord, in this world of confusion that we live in, there are multiple gods mentioned all the time. Lord, help me to be one that clarifies that the Bible speaks of only one God. He is Yahweh and he is the only one, the only elohim, the only deity. In this world Lord that is focused on tolerance and have different names for God, I need to be that voice speaking that there is only one God. Lord, help me to stand on that mountaintop and declare this without thinking of the consequences.


Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.

Mark 12:35-37 - David's Prophecy of Christ

Mark 12:35-37
35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit,
'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

"SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET."

37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

Message: David's Prophecy of Christ

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - Jesus has been speaking to the religious leaders of the day and answering their questions. One of the scribes came to Jesus to ask him about the greatest commandment and Jesus responds by giving him the message of Loving God and Loving your neighbor. The scribe agrees and restates those words to Jesus. Jesus remarks that he is not far from the kingdom of God. Thus, agreeing with Jesus on that point was not all that was needed. There was more. But, at this moment, the scribes and others were finished asking questions. 

Now Jesus turns to the large crowd that is gathered to listen to Him and Jesus begins to ask questions. While the questioning of him is finished Jesus still has more to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?" I must remember that Jesus speaks as a religious leader as well. He uses language that would signify something else. In this question, Jesus is saying, "How is it that the scribes say the Christ is only a man or only a son of David?" This was the common complaint of the day or the expectation that the people had of the Messiah. The Jews expected a Messiah that was merely human, thinking he would be a great man but also only a man. 

See there is more that Jesus wants to say that the scribes and religious leaders are not asking. While they are asking about Jesus' understanding of God, they are not directly asking about Him - Jesus - and who He is. 

Jesus quotes the words of David recorded in Psalm 110. This text is cited multiple times in the New Testament. In the Psalm David makes reference to two Lords: the first "Lord" translates the Hebrew word Yahweh, God's covenant name and the second "Lord" translates the Hebrew word Adonai, a title given to Yahweh in the Old Testament. In these verses Jesus shows, through the words of David, the Trinity: (1) David said in the Holy Spirit, (2) The Lord (Yahweh) says to (3) My lord (Adonai).

Thus, Jesus is saying that the Christ, the Messiah is much more that only a man. David himself said in the Holy Spirit, thus David speaks in the power and words of God - THE LORD (YAHWEH) SAYS TO MY LORD (ADONAI) - SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET. And Jesus goes on to further clarify this passage by saying - David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son? Thus Lord, my Lord is Him, the Christ, the Messiah, so the Christ is not his son, but the Lord. He brings together the message that the Lord that David uses in Psalm 110 also speaks of Jesus. Psalm 110 is mentioned more in the NT than any other ancient scripture (Acts 2:34-35; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 1:13; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 7:21).Jesus is Lord.

Saint Augustine of Hippo who lived from 354 AD to 430 AD, stated:

Christ is both David's Son, and David's Lord: David's Lord always, David's Son in time: David's Lord, born of the substance of His Father, David's Son, born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Ghost...Unless our Lord Jesus Christ has vouchsafed to become man, man had perished. He was made that which He made, that what He made might not perish. Very Man, Very God; God and man, the whole Christ." 

Wow, what a wonderful passage that, frankly, I am just now discovering. Jesus himself is speaking clearly that he is God. And Hippo's phrase "The Whole Christ" reminds me I got a book of that title and didn't read it. Now I know what I think it is speaking about. I think it is so exciting discovering this phrase where Jesus states that He is the Messiah that He is the second Person of the Godhead.

The Pulpit Commentary concludes it well:

From this verse (Psalm 110.) our Lord shows that the Messiah, such as he was, was not a mere man, as the Pharisees thought, but that he was God, and therefore David's Lord. The meaning, therefore, is this, "The Lord God said to my Lord," that is, Christ, "Sit thou at my right hand," that is, when, after his cross, his death, and his resurrection, he will exalt him far above all principality and power, and place him next to him in heaven, that he may reign with supreme happiness and power and glory over all creatures. These words show that this is a Divine decree, fixed and irrevocable. Till I make thine enemies thy footstool (ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου); literally, the footstool of thy feet; that is, reign with me in glory until the day of judgment, when I will make the wicked, all opposing powers, subject to thee. The word "till" does not imply that Christ will then cease to reign. "Of his kingdom there shall be no end." But he will then formally deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, only that he may receive it again as the second Person of the Godhead.

Summary - The scribes and chief priests had been asking Jesus multiple questions and he had been responding. Most of the time they didn't seem to like what He said, but He spoke. But after answering the scribe that came to him his question on the greatest commandment no one would ask him anything again. But He had more to say and the first thing he brings up is that he is not simply the son of David, but He is Lord. A rather remarkable statement from Jesus. What a wonderful declaration.

Promise: Jesus proclaimed His humanity and deity. The whole Christ is the message of His true manhood and His true deity. Because He is man, He could atone for the sins of mankind. Because He is God, this atonement can cover all of our sins past, present, and future.

Prayer: O Lord, discovering this passage, in some ways for the first time, has enlightened me. It puts to silence critics who say you speaking yourself as Lord and God and Messiah is never present. It is here. Thank you for helping me walk through your scripture and see it, in some ways for the first time. Help me now to secure this message in my life and pass it on. I pray that people would rediscover You as I have. Continue to help me to see and know the significance of this message. Thank  you God for revealing Yourself to me. I am forever a changed man.