What Truth Is And Why You Cannot Have It Without God's Existence

Introduction:

    In John 18:37-38a, Pilate, the Prefect of Judea representing the Roman Empire of His day (26-36 A.D.) was having a final conversation, a cross-examination if-you-will of Jesus Christ, whom He would sentence to die by crucifixion. In the exchange we pick up the following short dialogue:  

"Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?'" 

What is truth?

    No greater question was ever asked by an unbeliever in all the Bible at a more pivotal point than this one - "What is truth?" Philosopher and theologian Douglas Groothius in his book "Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case For Biblical Faith", page 124, notes the following observations about truth:

"A belief or statement is true if it matches with, reflects or corresponds to the reality it refers to. For a statement to be true it must be factual. Facts determine the truth or falsity of a belief or statement. It is the nature nature and meaning of truth to be fact dependent."

    When Jesus stood before Pilate, He did not respond to Pilate's question "what is truth". If anything, Jesus Himself was (and is) Truth incarnate, as He Himself revealed in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father by me". 

    This is a startling statement by Jesus, since no other religious figure in all of religious literature - ancient or modern, and no other philosophical figure have ever claimed themselves to be "the truth". What Jesus meant by that statement in John 14:6 and the question Pilate raised later in that same book of the Bible tells us is that truth as a reality is impossible without God's existence. 

The God who is truth

    The reason Jesus' statement is so startling is because the God of the Bible is truth by nature. John MacArthur notes in his book "The Truth War," page 2: 

"Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God."

MacArthur later notes:

"Reality is what it is because God declared it so and made it so."

    Theologians over the years have noted how much the Bible speaks about God as "truth" by nature (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 31:5; Isaiah 65:16; John 10:35; John 14:6; John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 6:7; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 2:21). 

    For instance, when Jesus was on the cross, He as Truth incarnate cried out of His humanity to the Father in Heaven these words in Luke 23:46 “'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last." Interestingly enough, Jesus was citing Psalm 31:5 "Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth." 

    When Jesus arose from the dead, He proved Himself to be what He claimed - The Truth. His resurrection was the public self-vindication of His character, claims, and teachings. He taught that He Himself was The Truth because He was God incarnate and He taught that God by nature is truth.

    Truth by its very nature demonstrates the existence of God. God's very existence and character as truth is the basis for it. I call this "the interdependence of God and truth". One must not see these two as eternal, independent realities. 

    In other words, something is not true because God says it is true, rather, something is true based upon the fact God Himself is true. He is the ultimate standard. Truth is the very nature of God - He is truth by His very essence. The late Christian apologist Norman Geisler has pointed this out in the first three steps of his argument for Christian theism.

1). Truth about reality is knowable.

2). Opposites cannot both be true.

3). It is true that the theistic God exists.

    I do not have time to expound on Geisler's three points. They do however express what I noted already of the interdependence of the reality of truth and God's existence (readers may look further into these three points of Geisler's here 12 Points - NGIM.)

    Due to God being truth by nature, it follows that creation would bear the tell-tale marks of the reality of objective truth in its fabric. Truth, as Geisler notes, is "telling it like it is". Before creation, the Triune God was all there was. When He created the heavens and the earth, He endued it as a truth-bearing reality, awaiting discovery by the creatures He had made. If there was no truth, there would be no reality, and thus no God. Conversely (or put another way), if there is no God, there is no reality, and thus no truth. 

Current post-modern spirituality and three leading worldviews fail in their attempts to deny the reality of objective truth

    Sadly, so much of what passes off as "spirituality" or even movements such as the current "Christian deconstruction" movement, which features a growing number of former professing evangelical Christians denying key doctrines of the Christian faith in place of ideas of their own making, will deny objective truth and will deny much if not all of what the Bible reveals about God Himself. 

    MacArthur again notes: "The goal of human philosophy used to be truth without God. Today's philosophies are open to the notion of God without truth, or to be more accurate, personal spirituality in which everyone is free to create his or her own God."

    Such an approach to spirituality fails because of the influence of three worldviews upon it that I'll spell out below: pluralism, naturalism, and relativism.

    Pluralism, Naturalism, and Relativism are among the three leading worldviews today that rule the academy, the media, postmodern spirituality, and many people in our current generation. They all have in common the denial of objective truth and their rejection of the God of Biblical revelation. In noting each of their weaknesses, we can then note why God's existence is necessary for there to be truth.

    The first of these, pluralism, claims all religions are the same and that no one religion has "the truth". Pluralism proceeds on the assumption that religion is mankind's response to what he or she cannot explain to an otherwise inexplicable sense of mystery. 

    The famous (or rather infamous) parable of the blindmen and the elephant is often evoked to prove their point. In the parable, one of the blindmen holds the trunk and says it's a snake; the second blindman touches the side and claims it's a rock; the third has the tail and claims it is a rope; the fourth as an ear and claims it is a leaf; the fifth has a leg and claims it's a tree. The alleged moral of the parable is all truth claims are relative and personal, with no one having the true picture of "what is real" or "what is true". 

    The parable actually is self-defeating for the pluralist, since the one question not being answered is: who said it was an elephant! Pluralism is self-defeating, since it denies objective truth and claims itself to be objective. 

    It is often alleged that pluralism proceeds on the basis of neutrality and tolerance, claiming that since all religions are equal, then no one of them have the right to claim to be "the one true religion". Yet, this very assertion shows pluralism to be intolerant and non-neutral! This appears especially in its attacks on Christianity as being intolerant and verging on immoral. It fails to recognize that other religions that it touts as tolerant and neutral are themselves claiming to be "the truth". Buddhism in its Dhammapada chapter 14 has these words within its text:

"He who has gone to refuge to the Buddha, the teaching, and his order demonstrates with transcendental wisdom the four noble truths."

    To have such wisdom is a claim to be outside other systems devised by men. Hinduism in its Bhagavad-Gita 18:66 notes an alleged conversation between the main character, Krishna, to the protagonist Arjuna: 

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

    Pluralism not only fails because of its self-defeating nature, but also due to its ignorance of what other religions that it touts as holding the pluralist ideology say about themselves.     

    Naturalism, our second worldview, denies objective truth, and would claim the search for truth to be irrelevant. According to naturalism, all that exists is physics + chance + time + chemistry. We can never know the true nature of reality, ourselves, or even meaning. As philosopher Alvin Plantinga has noted, naturalism fails because if I cannot know anything to be true (or truth itself to exist for that matter), then we would have to say we cannot know if naturalism itself is true! (see a summary of his argument here Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism. Alvin Plantinga, Templeton Prize 2017 )

    The third view, relativism, claims "what is true for you is true for you, but is not true for me". Thinkers such as Paul Copan and Norman Geisler have pointed out how relativism, the notion that there is no such thing as "objective truth", but only "personal truths" or "your truth", is actually making an objective truth claim: namely, that it is absolutely the case that there is no such thing as absolute truth.

Conclusion: God's existence is necessary for truth.

    We've traced out the Biblical data for God being truth by nature. We've also spelled out what we mean when we say that God's existence and truth are interdependent. The three worldviews of pluralism, naturalism, and relativism were shown inadequate in their accounts of truth. Hopefully this post has caused readers to think more deeply of the interdependence of God and truth. 

An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P3: God the Father's eternal act of begetting and God the Son being eternally begotten.

Introduction:

    To review, we covered the first pair of truths that help us in beginning a study of the doctrine of the Trinity: God is one in being and a plurality in Personhood. Readers who want to review the last post may click on the link here Growing Christian Resources: An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P2: God's Oneness of Being and Plurality of Personhood. I referred to this pairing as two pillars upon which we begin to understand the Biblical revelation of the Triune God. In this post we will introduce a second pair of truths that focus attention upon the Person of the Father and the Person of the Son. 

    In the Triune God we often see several pairs of truths associated with the four main ones we're focusing upon in these posts. One important pairing to keep in mind is how the Father and Son are united in essence while distinguished from one another. Another important pairing of truths aside from the four main ones involves the Holy Spirit's union to the Father and the Son while He relates to them and they to Him.1 I mention these two other pairings of truths so that we can keep in mind that first major pairing we looked at last post (God is one in being and plural in Person). 

The main passages used to support the Father begetting the Son and the Son being begotten of the Father.

   To remind ourselves again, those who argue for the eternal generation (i.e. "begottenness" of the Son) teach that the Son of God is "eternally generated", meaning that that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature, point for point, with all perfections. For example, John MacArthur in his book "Essential Christian Doctrine", lists Scriptural verses that feature some main Divine attributes shared between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

           Father           Son     Holy Spirit

Eternal: Deut 33:27            Jn 1:1       Heb 9:14

Omnipotent: Mt 19:26         Re 1:8       Lk 1:35

Omniscient: Lk 16:15          Jn 16:30   1 Cor 2:10-11

Omnipresent: 1 kgs 8:27      Mt 28:20   Ps 139:7

Immutable:   Mal 3:6           Heb 1:10-12  Heb 9:14

Loving:        1 John 4:8       Eph 5:2      Rom 15:30

Holy:           Lev 11:45        Heb 7:26-27  Ro 1:4

Truth:          Jn 3:33           Jn 14:6         Jn 15:26

    What this list shows us is, for example, that God is not three eternals, three omnipotents, three omnisciences, and so forth; rather He is One in each of these Perfections as expressed in the Three Persons. Jesus spoke of He and the Father as "One" in John 10:30 in reference to "being"; yet clearly distinguishing between Himself and the Father (i.e. "I and the Father"). The Athanasian Creed summarizes this point as follows:

"What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated,         the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. The Father is eternal,       the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal. And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being. So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being."

     Also, the distinguishing characteristic of the Son, "begottenness", is conveyed by the Father to Him, with the Father Himself being the unbegotten Person, hence distinguishing Him in identity from the co-equal and co-eternal Son. 

    There are proof texts that theologians in favor of this doctrine appeal as direct evidence for the doctrine, and then a handful of passages that theologians would say are indirect proof-texts.

Direct proof-texts for the eternal generation of the Son from the Father

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

1 John 4:19 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

    In addition to these five Johannine proof texts, a few others that convey the teaching of the eternal generation of the Son are used. In Proverbs 8:24-25, Wisdom is personified and described as "brought forth" from God before creation of anything else: 

“When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth." 3

Indirect Proof Texts

    Although the following other passages do not use the term "only-begotten", the idea of the Son being eternally generated by the Father is resident in their various phrases. Colossians 1:16-17 "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." I've highlighted four phrases in Paul's words here in Colossians. 

    The first three bolded phrases portray the Son as responsible for creation, rather than being created, as some groups like the Jehovah Witnesses would advocate. The term "firstborn" is a Greek noun that refers to inheritance more so than just mere birth-order. The Son of God was promised in eternity, by the Father, that He would inherit all of creation before it was made (compare Psalm 2:8; 82:8).

    There are other indirect proof texts we could offer, but for sake of space let me submit Psalm 2:7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." The word "today" in context is not referring to there at that moment. Sometimes in the Bible, the term "day" can refer to an indeterminate period of time, or even eternity itself.

The importance of the Son being begotten of the Father

    I'll lay out three major points about the Son being begotten of the Father as a way to arrive at its meaning as found in the Bible.

1. Eternal generation (and thus "begotten") explains why the Son is eternal. 

    First, those who argue for the eternal generation (or begottennness) of the Son teach that Father eternally communicates to Him the entire Divine nature (or at least His identity as the Son). According to theologian Matthew Barrett, the Divine essence is shared without division from The Father to The Son: 

"The concept takes us to the very heart of what it means for the Son to be a Son. He is eternally from the Father, which is why He is called Son. To be more specific, from all eternity, the Father communicates the one, simple, undivided divine essence to the Son."2

    The eighteenth century Baptist Theologian John Gill explains eternal generation a little differently as the Father communicating the Son's identity, whilst both share in the common essence:

"It is better to say, that they are self
existent, and exist together in the same undivided essence; and jointly, equally, and as early one as the other, possess the same nature’. Thus, there is not one person who, in the personal ordering of the Trinity, communicates the essence to the others. There are simply three, who relate personally to one another in the essence, with each person possessing the essence of himself." 3

 

   Both explanations of eternal generation fall within the pale of Bible-believing orthodoxy and views that draw from the Nicene Creed's confession of the Son being "begotten, not made". Eternal generation or begetting of the Son firstly explains why the Son is eternal. Notice a second general observation.

2. Eternal generation explains why the Son is the Son, and why the Father is the Father. 

    Then secondly, the distinguishing characteristic that defines the Son as "the Son" is in how the Father begets Him or what theologians call "filiates". Filiation conveys to the Son His identity as the Son, as noted already in my quotation of John Gill.

3. The Son being begotten has relevance in modern evangelism

    I recall years ago a group of Jehovah Witnesses handing out pamphlets advertising a local conference at their "Kingdom Hall" meeting place: 

"Come hear about how Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World".

    I pointed out to them that according to their theology, there is no way Jesus Christ could be Savior of the World. I took them to the above passages I cited. I concluded that they either had to admit their theology was in error, or stop proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Savior of the World. They of course would not do either. 

    Nevertheless, the phrase "begotten, not made" safeguards the central affirmation of the Gospel that the Apostle Peter affirms in Acts 10:38 "Jesus Christ is LORD". Or again, Paul writes in Romans 10:9 "If you will confess with your mouth Jesus is LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

    Both Scriptures cited above use the Divine title "LORD" or "Jehovah/Yahweh" to show the Son's equality with the Father, as well as to demonstrate that He is able to save sinners just as much as the Father, since He Himself is God. 

Endnotes:

1. Theologians call the relations between the Father, Son, and Spirit "eternal relations of origin." 

2. John Gill. Body of Divinity. Pages 98-99, Book 2. Consulted from the Digital Version available on Internet Archive here Gill's complete body of practical and doctrinal divinity: : being a system of evangelical truths, deduced from the Sacred Scriptures. : Gill, John, 1697-1771 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

3. True God from True God - Credo Magazine

An Overview Of The Doctrine Of The Trinity P1: Four Pairs Of Truths That Comprise The Doctrine Of The Trinity

Introduction:

    The Biblical revelation of Trinity is glorious, enriching, and captivating. The nineteenth century Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon once noted this about the study of God:

"No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God. We shall be obliged to feel— 

'Great God, how infinite art thou, 

What worthless worms are we!'

But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe."

Spurgeon later then states:

"I dare say it does, but after all, the most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity." 

    What I want to do is to offer a brief, simple outline for starting to think about the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity. In the next several weeks I'll be leading a Wednesday night study on this subject. I intend to do this study of the Trinity in four sessions. As I have prayed and contemplated this important truth throughout the years on this blogsite, in our recent Nicene Creed blog series, and in sermons, I find I can never exhaust it. With that said, my intent in today's post and the next several is to give four pairs of truths whereby the reader can at least begin to consider this core truth of the Christian faith. 

Truth Pair #1 God's oneness of being and plurality of Personhood. 

    Scripture reveals that God is one God or what is referred to as "monotheism" (for instance, Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:37-39). Yet we also see at the same time reference to a plurality of personhood that gradually is revealed more and more as one goes from Old Testament to New Testament (for example, Proverbs 30:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Acts 5:3-4). 

Truth Pair #2 God the Father's eternal act of begetting and God the Son being eternally begotten.

    Not only do we see that first pair of truths concerning God's oneness of being and plurality of personhood revealed, but we also see the Scriptures saying quite a bit about the eternal relationship of the Father and the Son. Their co-equality and sharing of the Divine nature is stressed again and again (for example, Psalm 2:7; John 1:1-3; John 10:30; 1 Corinthians 8:6). 

     What the Bible does is help us to know how we can distinguish between the Father and the Son, since they are co-equal, co-eternal, and are truly God in unity and as Divine Persons. The term the Bible uses to describe the relationship of the Father and the Son is that the Son is "begotten" and the Father "begets" (for example Psalm 2:7; John 3:16). Historic Christian creeds such as the Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed give summaries of what the Bible means by the Son being the only begotten and the Father's eternal act of begetting Him. 

    Confession of Christ's deity is an on-ramp to the doctrine of the Trinity, since on the one hand the Bible asserts the deity of the Father as the One God of Israel in the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 32:6) and reveals the deity of Jesus Christ in the New Testament (for instance, John 1:1-2, 8:58). 

Truth Pair #3 God the Father and the Son's eternal out-breathing of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's procession from the Father and the Son.

    In this third pair of truths, we come to another on-ramp into the discussion of the Trinity, namely how the Holy Spirit is a Person (the "He" pronouns used by Jesus to describe Him in John 16:8-12), as much God as the Father and the Son (Genesis 1:2), and how He relates to them and they to Him ("Spirit of Christ", Galatians 4:6; "Spirit of God", Ephesians 4:30). 

    Scripture tells us that the eternal relationship of the Father and the Son to the Holy Spirit is described in terms of the Spirit "proceeding" from the Father and the Son (see for example John 14:26-27; John 15:26-27). His very name "Spirit" also reveals that He is eternally "breathed out" by the Father and the Son (for example Psalm 104:30; John 20:22).

Truth Pair #4 The Trinity in unity and the unity in Trinity.     

    This final pair of truths will aim to bring the study back around to what we affirmed in the first point. I borrow this phrasing from the Athanasian Creed, which near its beginning and its middle says the following:

"And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity,"

That's how the Creed starts, noting that the term "Catholic" is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church but rather as a Greek word ("kathilikos"), Catholic means "universal" or "the church every place, everywhere". Then, the Athanasian Creed has a its central affirmation:

"So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped."

    When our Lord Jesus Christ was preparing to ascend into Heaven, He gave His disciples final instructions. In Matthew 28:18-19 we see the famous "Great Commission" passage:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

    The reader will notice Jesus' use of the term "name" signifying the unity of God's essence or nature as "One God" (hence "one God in unity"). Then Jesus mentions of course the Three Persons of the Trinity, of which He as the incarnate Son is a member as it pertains to His deity (hence "unity in Trinity"). 

Closing thoughts for today    

    As we work our way through each of the above pairs of truths, I'll utilize the Baptist Faith and Message's second article on the doctrine of God which readers can find here Baptist Faith and Message 2000 - The Baptist Faith and Message. As we work through these next four posts, I'll offer applications for the reader so that they can see how practical, as well as worshipful a study of the doctrine of the Trinity can be. 

Part One: A Theology of Widowhood - How God Used Widows In the Bible To Impart Truths About Himself and His People

Introduction:

    In today's post I want to explore what I am calling "a theology of widowhood". God has quite a bit to say about widowhood in the Bible. My reasoning for exploring this subject is motivated by several considerations. As a pastor I have had the privilege of knowing or ministering to widows over the course of ministry. Some of the most influential people in my life were widows (my late mother and grandmother, just to name a few). Among the many people God used outside of my family to influence my life, no other group has taught me the important matters of the Christian faith quite like widows. 

    Beyond the personal evidence for the importance of widows in my life or the life of any local church, I find in my current preaching through 1 Timothy two verses that alert us to this notion of "a theology of widowhood". The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 5:3 "Honor widows who are widows indeed." The adverbial "indeed" is a translation of an underlying clause that speaks literally of "one who continues to be a widow". These are widows with no means of income, no family, and who were to receive care from the Pastoral ministry of Pastor Timothy and the benevolence of the church at Ephesus. 

    The second verse in the same context of 1 Timothy 5, particular verse 5, reminds us of how God can use godly widows in the life of the church,

"Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day."

    Such individuals are invaluable, since their prayers were used by God in the effectiveness of the church. How often I've observed this firsthand over the years. It is often that a minister will get tired in ministry. The prayers of a dear saint who is a widow can make all the difference, far beyond the cleverness of a church program or combined efforts of church members. 

    In today's post and the next one, I want to explore the theological significance of widows (or widowers), what God has to say about them, and what we can learn about this too often overlooked group of people. 

Getting a closer look at a theology of widowhood

    When I say "a theology of widowhood", I mean particular truths we can glean about God or the spiritual principles of Godly living from the Bible's teaching about widows. Think of widows in the Bible as a "window" through which we may observe major theological truths. 

1. Proof of one's profession of faith.

    I want to begin by considering one of the final verses in the Bible that gives us a clear example of the theological importance of widows to the Christian faith. James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus according to the flesh, writes these words in James 1:26-27 

"If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

    The term "religious" here speaks of "devotion" or an outward life that is committed to the Lord. Religion as a concept is not a negative, since it speaks of what ought to be a corresponding condition of the heart inwardly devoted to the Lord. The word "religion" itself, in its fundamental Latin derivation religio, speaks literally of being "tied to the Lord". 

    James is addressing claims people make about their level of devotion or "being tied" to the Lord. How does and individual or a church prove its level of spiritual devotion and health? Interestingly enough, James offers two proofs: how one treats widows and orphans and how one prioritizes personal integrity. In other words, there are moral, ethical, and theological litmus tests for a claim someone or a church may have about their level of Christianity.

2. God's Providential care.

    As one surveys redemptive history in the Bible, certain key turning points in God's Providence involved widows. God's Providence has to do with His preservation, guiding, and moving forward of history, people, and nations according to His most-wise purpose. Often, I have found that the most questioned attribute of God is not His Sovereignty, nor His love, but His goodness. How do we know God really cares? 

    Of all the ways the Bible affirms and confirms the reality of God's good-will toward all He has made (what theologians call His "common grace" or "benevolence"), one of the clearest illustrations involves widows.

    Solomon wrote these words in Proverbs 15:25,

"The Lord will tear down the house of the proud, but He will establish the boundary of the widow" (also see Psalm 68:5; Psalm 146:9). 

    When we talk of common grace or God's good-will toward all He has made, such good will, though being a non-saving form of grace, is still His unmerited favor toward us who are undeserving of it. God has special, providential oversight towards widows, whether they be believer or unbeliever. Much as He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) or causes the general revelation of Himself to be seen in all nations (Acts 14:17), such general evidence of His common grace is presented in the specific instances of widowhood in the Bible. 

    So, we've learned thus far that God uses widows to teach us about the proof of one's faith and the providential care of God in common grace. Let's note another truth in our "theology of widows".

3. Provision of God 

    What happens when a woman becomes a widow? Sources of income, scarcity of resources, and a sense of vulnerability can become painful realities. The sinful, selfish heart of human depravity can prey upon unsuspecting widows. In Exodus 22:22-24 the Lord gives this warning,

"You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; 24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless."

    God commands His people to provide for widows, whether in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 14:28; 16:11-12; 24:19) or the New Testament (1 Timothy 5:16). Why these commands to watch out for and care for widows? God Himself is Jehovah-Jireh, "God our Provider". 

    Several instances of God's wondrous provision are found in how He provided for widows. In 1 Kings 17:8-16, we read about the widow at Zerephath whom God used to minister to the prophet Elijah. Jesus comments upon this Old Testament widow in Luke 4:25-26,

"But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow."

    Notice what Jesus said in his remarks: "Elijah was sent". God sent the prophet. The prophet went to this widow, who had nothing left for herself and her son. Yet, though being a Gentile (Zarephath was a Canaanite city), she had evidently experienced the saving grace of God. She gave the last of her flour for bread to feed Elijah. Consequently, 1 Kings 17:16 records how God provided,

"The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah."

    The prophet Elijah's protege, Elisha, the successor to his prophetic ministry in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, experienced a similar miraculous provision of God to a certain widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7. 

    Time and time again we see God's promise of provision for His people emblemized in the lives of widows. How often do you and I doubt God's supply? Look at how He provided for widows in the Bible. The entire Book of Ruth is an example of how He provided for Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. They each lost their husbands at the beginning of the narrative in Ruth 1. Yet by the end of the Book, Naomi's sorrow is turned to joy and a gentile widow, Ruth, becomes married to Boaz, with them both being part of the lineage that would produce King David and ultimately the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

    In the next post we will see further truths illuminated to us through this exploration of "a theology of widowhood". 

    

Post #47 Doctrine of God - An Introduction To Eternal Relations of Origin In The Trinity

Introduction:

    In the last post we explored how we see the doctrine of the Trinity in Paul's letters. Today's post continues our series on the doctrine of the Trinity. I did want to review the doctrine of the Trinity in this post, while introducing the important doctrine of "eternal relations of origin" in our portion of this series of posts on the Trinity. Let's then look first at the doctrine of eternal relations of origin, followed by plugging what we learn into our review of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Eternal relations of origin in the doctrine of the Trinity

     When we talk of the distinctions of identity between the Persons of the Trinity, we refer to what is called the doctrine of "eternal relations of origin". When we look at the name of the doctrine, we can break down each word as follows.

1. "Eternal", meaning forever, without beginning, the Father has always been the Father, the Son has always been the Son, the Holy Spirit has always been the Holy Spirit.

2. "Relations", meaning that the distinction of identities reside in the unique way each Person is related to the other two. Such relationships in the Trinity had no beginning. The One God of the Bible did not decide one day to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, these "relations" are embedded by necessity in the nature of God Himself, which in turn would not be without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ever relating to one another. 

3. "of origin" tells us that all three Persons of the Trinity never had a beginning or origin. The Father is the source of identity for the Son, the Son in turn makes it possible for the Father to be ever the Father, and the Holy Spirit's identity is ascribed to how He proceeds forever from the Father and the Son. However, as to the source of the Divine nature shared between them, there is no beginning. God as He is has forever been and forever will be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

    To bring some clarity to what I've written thus far, we can appeal to far better thinkers than myself. Theologian Matthew Barrett defines this important doctrine in his book "Simply Trinity - The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit":

"Eternal relations of origin distinguishes how each person is related to another, identifying the everlasting provenance (principle/origin/source) from which each Person proceeds."

       Thus, when we speak of the Father, we talk of Him as "unbegotten" or without origin, or what theologians term "innascible" (Latin "in" meaning "not" and "nascibilis" meaning "born", hence "that which cannot be born"). When we speak of the Son, Scripture talks of Him as "begotten" of the Father, meaning He as Son derives His eternal identity from the Father and forever has shared in the same undivided deity of the Godhead (see Psalm 2:7; John 1:18). When we discuss the Holy Spirit, we use the term "proceed" to distinguish Him from the Father and the Son (see John 15:26).

    What the eternal relations of origin doctrine explains is what distinguishes each Person of the Trinity from the other two. All three are equal in glory, power, and worthiness of worship. Each Personally and all three together possess the undivided Divine essence or Godhead. 

    As touching the Divine nature, each Person of the Godhead is the same in attributes and being, with all three sharing the same essence, mind, and will as One God. These eternal relations of origin help us explain how we can distinguish the Father from the Son, the Son from the Father, and the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son.

    The great 19th century theologian Charles Hodge summarizes this doctrine of "eternal relations of origin":

"While all the Divine attributes are common equally to the three persons...nevertheless the Scriptures attribute some Divine works wrought within (the Trinity), exclusively to each divine Person respectively; thus, generation to the Father, filiation (or begetting) to the Son, and procession to the Holy Spirit." 

   So that is an introduction to "eternal relations of origin" (or what one friend of mine called "eroo" for short). In the time that remains in this post, I want to plug in what we just learned to reviewing the doctrine of the Trinity, showing how this doctrine aids us in our overall grasping of the doctrine itself.

Review: The Doctrine of the Trinity

    Being that this is the 47th post in our overall series on "The Doctrine of God", I felt it necessary to restate what has been our working definition of the doctrine of the Trinity.

1. There is only one true and living God.

2. This one true and living God is three “whos”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

3. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have the whole and entire Divine nature. 

4. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the One True & living God.

    We can summarize the four above propositions by using a diagram used in the earlier part of church history called "the shield of faith".

    As the reader can see, the doctrine of the Trinity is interested in expounding how God is "One" in one sense and "Three" in another sense. If we take the same diagram, we can change the labeling connecting the Three Persons of the Trinity to depict what we learned today about "the eternal relations of origin" of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

    The eternal relations of origin doctrine aids us in noting how there are two sets of relationships between the Three Persons of the Trinity:

1. The Father, who being unbegotten or without origin (what theologians call "innascibility") begets or makes common the Divine nature to the Son. 

    The Father is the eternal source of the identity of the Son, who forever shares co-equally the Divine nature with the Father. Sometimes we speak of the  relationship of the Father to the Son as "the paternity of the Father" in His filiation of the Son. As we view the same eternal relation of origin from the Son's perspective, the Bible reveals He is the "only-begotten Son" (Psalm 2:7; John 1:18; John 3:16), begotten of the Father.

2. The second type of relationship in the Trinity has to do with how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, or more accurately, proceeds from the Father through the Son (see John 15:26). 

    As we view this second relationship from the Father and Son's perspective, theologians speak of this as their "spiration" or out-breathing of the Holy Spirit. Such a metaphor captures what Scripture talks about in reference to the Triune God being "the Living God". As viewed from the Holy Spirit's point-of-view, Scripture reveals Him "proceeding" from the Father and the Son.  

Closing thoughts:

    In today's post we introduced the reader to the doctrine "eternal relations of origin". Such a doctrine aids us in explaining what distinguishes the Father from the Son, and the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. This doctrine reminds us that all three Persons are identical in being and attributes, indistinguishable from the vantage point of considering as three as One God by essence. At the same time, the doctrine informs us that their eternal identities as unbegotten (the Father), begotten (the Son), and Proceeding (The Holy Spirit) is how we distinguish the Three Persons. Nothing outside of the Trinity, including the works of creation, redemption, or the Christian life, makes the Trinity the Trinity. The Triune God has been Who He is and what He is from all eternity.

    We then plugged in this important doctrine of "eroo" (eternal relations of origins) to reviewing and grasping better our overall working definition of the doctrine of the Trinity. As we progress onward in this series on the doctrine of God, knowing such truths will enable greater appreciation and worship of our Triune God. 

   

Post #46 The Doctrine of God - How The Doctrine of the Trinity Is Seen In Paul's New Testament Letters

Introduction:

    We've recently looked at how the doctrine of the Trinity is prepared for in the Old Testament here Growing Christian Resources: Post #43 The Doctrine of God: The Old Testament and Jesus' teaching on the Divine Person of the Holy Spirit, expounded upon in Jesus' teaching in the Four Gospels here Growing Christian Resources: Post #44 The Doctrine of God - Summarizing Jesus' teaching on the Holy Spirit's ministries and relationship to the Father and the Son, and witnessed in the preaching of the Book of Acts here Growing Christian Resources: Post #45 The Doctrine of God - How the Trinity Anchored Practices And Preaching In The Book of Acts. 

    One persistent pattern emerges about the doctrine of God as we progress into the New Testament, namely in how the Trinity is embedded in the thinking of the Biblical authors' explanations of the Christian life. B.B. Warfield's Treatise on the Trinity points out this observation,

"The phenomena of Paul's Epistles are repeated in the other writings of the New Testament. In these other writings also it is everywhere assumed that the redemptive activities of God rest on a threefold source in God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; and these three Persons repeatedly come forward together in the expressions of Christian hope or the aspirations of Christian devotion." 

    To attempt to disentangle the practices of prayer, baptism, the Lord's Table, evangelism, and church life from the doctrine of the Trinity is to attempt the impossible. Why? Once the early Christians began confessing the deity of Jesus Christ alongside their confession of monotheism from the Old Testament, the doctrine of the Trinity necessarily followed. 

    I've argued already that what the early church was acknowledging was not so much new as it was a more clearer realization of what they faintly understood from the Old Testament. The One God of the Hebrew Bible was identified a plurality of Divine personalities. In Deuteronomy 32 and Proverbs 30:4 the God of Israel is Yahweh, the Father of Israel. The Divine Father has a Son, being also Yahweh in nature yet distinct, described as begotten of Him (Psalm 2:7). This second Divine figure, no doubt the pre-incarnate Son of God, is called "The Angel" (Isaiah 63), "The Word" (Psalm 33:6,9), the "Son of Man" (Daniel 7:13) and even Yahweh (see Genesis 19:24-25). This underlying theology proper or doctrine of God would follow through the Second Temple or Intertestamental literature, where the Jews developed a "two-powers" theology, recognizing the One God of Israel as having two Personages. 

    It is upon the advent of the Son's incarnation that He brings to full light the foundational underpinnings for the robust Trinitarian theology we see developed in the preaching of Acts and now the New Testament letters. The Spirit of God found in the opening verses of Genesis 1:2 is a third Divine Person, given a gradual revelation of being also a Divine Person (1 Samuel 15:29) and performing the same activities as the Father and the Son (Psalm 104; Isaiah 63). Jesus would equate the Spirit of God with Himself and the Father, promising to have Him sent in His name to His church (John 14:17,26; 15:26; Acts 2). 

What the New Testament letters do with the Trinity

    We find the New Testament Epistles or letters continuing on the Trinitarian trajectory set forth by the Old Testament, expounded upon by Jesus and preached by the Apostles in Acts. We will begin with Paul in today's post, since he is responsible for two-thirds of the 27 books of our New Testament. Paul exemplifies this throughout his letters where he writes for example in 1 Corinthians 8:6 

"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."

    As we have stressed in the last several posts of this series, Jesus and the Apostles did not introduce a new doctrinal understanding of God as a Triunity. Rather, they were making explicit was already implied in the Old Testament revelation, that God is One in being and plural in personhood. What I want to do in the remainder of this post is set before the reader how the Apostle Paul expressed the Trinity in His letters. 

The Trinity in Paul's introductions to his letters.

    Whenever we read the books of Romans through Philemon (and if we take Hebrews to be written by Paul), we find truths of the doctrine of the Trinity embedded in the introductions. Take Romans 1:7 as an example, 

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

    The Father is identified with the Divine Title "God", just as we've witnessed already in previous posts - fair enough. But then you'll notice how Jesus Christ is identified with the Divine title of "Lord", translated from "kurios" in the Greek, which reflects the Hebrew name "LORD" or "Yahweh" in the Old Testament. Both titles are ascribed to the God of Israel. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, came to utilize this Greek term "kurios" for "Yahweh". 

    We find two different titles to distinguish these two Divine Persons, who are by nature the same, holy, eternal God who bestows grace and peace. Virtually every other letter Paul wrote begins with some reference to the Father and the Son bestowing grace, mercy, or peace as One God. 

    So too we see inclusion of the Holy Spirit in Paul's opening remarks in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 

"for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake."

    These citations should give the reader a sampling of the pattern we find throughout the New Testament letters again and again. B.B. Warfield notes,

"In numerous passages scattered through Paul's Epistles, from the earliest of them (1Th 1:2-5; 2Th 2:13-14) to the latest (Tit 3:4-6; 2Ti 1:3,13-14), all three Persons, God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, are brought together, in the most incidental manner, as co-sources of all the saving blessings which come to believers in Christ."

The Trinity is seen in what Paul has to say about prayer and worship in His letters

     Paul is fond of including an awareness of the Trinity in his teaching on prayer and worship. When we look into his letter to the Church at Ephesus, we find such Trinitarian thinking in regards to how Christians are to pray and worship. Ephesians 2:18 "for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father." 

    The reader can notice the pattern for prayer - through Him (the Son), in or by One Spirit (or by One Spirit), to the Father. Prayer's trajectory is Father-oriented, since the Father is the one who chose the believer to be His adopted child from eternity (Ephesians 1:4-5). 

    But then notice, those prayers pass through the Son, Jesus Christ, our Supreme mediator, to whom the Father gave each believer as a love-gift to pay the purchase-price of salvation in His blood (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 2:5). 

    Yet we see too that we cannot pray without the Holy Spirit helping us in our infirmity as weak, frail, helpless people (Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit closes the circuit that was begun by the Father, through the Son. The whole of prayer is Trinitarian, through-and-through.

    We find too in the Ephesian letter that the public worship of the church is also Trinitarian. Notice Ephesians 4:4-6,

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all." 

     The whole life of the church is caught up in living for and worship toward the Trinity. Each Person of the Trinity tends to point to the others. The Spirit, by the Scriptures, points us to the Son. The Son, in turn, always makes it His point to direct our attention to the Father. The Father, sending forth the Son and Spirit into history and time, urges the Christian to draw strength from the Spirit as they focus their eyes upon Jesus Christ. What Paul is teaching us in his letters is that the doctrine of the Trinity is woven into the very fabric of Christian living itself.

Examples of the Trinity seen in aspects of Christian practice and living in Paul's writings.

    I only have space to give but a sampling of where we see the Trinity in other teachings of the Apostle Paul. Whenever he speaks of how God equips the Christian to serve others with spiritual gifts, the reader finds the spiritual gifts distributes along Trinitarian lines in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6,

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons."

    As for certain practices, Paul expounds on the meaning of believer's baptism, he utilizes the doctrine of the Trinity, as witnessed in two passages. We find that water baptism symbolizes the union we have with Jesus from saving faith - united in His death and resurrection to the glory of the Father, as explained in Romans 6:4-5,

"Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection."

    The meaning of water baptism is a sign, a symbol, pointing back to the reality of Spirit baptism granted in saving faith. The sign (water baptism) and the thing signified by the sign (Spirit baptism which united the sinner to Christ upon profession of faith) are together the One Baptism we read of in the opening verses of Ephesians 4. Water baptism, subsequent as it is to saving faith, nonetheless points back to what the Holy Spirit did in uniting us to Jesus at the moment of one's profession of faith. As Paul writes of in 1 Corinthians 12:13,

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."

Conclusion: The doctrine of the Trinity seen in how Paul ends his one of his letters to the Church at Corinth

    There is so much more I could write in this post of where we find the Trinity spoken of by Paul in his epistles. Space and time forbid what merits far more comment. We've seen how Paul is thinking of the Trinity in the openings of his letters, pray, worship, Christian living, and certain Christian practices like baptism. It is appropriate to close out today's post by considering the prime example of the Trinity in the close of Paul's letter of 2 Corinthians, 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."

Post #45 The Doctrine of God - How the Trinity Anchored Practices And Preaching In The Book of Acts

Introduction:

    As we continue our Biblical survey of the doctrine of God and the doctrine of the Trinity, we come to the Book of Acts. A pattern we find common in the Bible pertaining to God's revelation of Himself is the cycle of God's works, followed by the revelation of His ways. 

    In Genesis, we see God create - His work. Then we see the exposition or revelation of the way in which He did the work (hence Genesis 1-2). This cycle of God's work, then "ways of revelation", is repeated progressively throughout the Bible. God acted in history, followed by a codifying all He did in creation, providence, and redemption, though means of the Divine inspiration of Scripture. Scripture does not merely witness to what God did, it is the revelation of all He achieved. The entire Old Testament is a testimony of God's work of creation, providence, and redemption, followed up by the ways of His revelation put into writing via the prophets.

    The time between the Old and New Testaments, known in the technical literature as "the second temple era" or the "intertestamental period" witnesses a temporary cessation of this cycle of "God acting, followed by revelation" for four hundred years. We could say that the Jews spent four centuries reflecting upon the revelation they had received through the 39 books of Genesis to Malachi. 

    It is then that the Son of God is incarnated in history as the man Jesus Christ. Once Christ arrives in history through His incarnation, the cycle resumes. Jesus came as the decisive revelation of God in the flesh. He came to work the final work of redemption here on earth, and then to ascend after His resurrection to do His work as Mediator in the Heavens (see Hebrews 10:19-25). The Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and John's Apocalypse serve as the final body of revelatory literature, disclosing God's ways through the incarnate Son of God and the ongoing work of the Spirit. The New Testament, along with the Hebrew Bible or "Old Testament", completes God's written revelation of His acts in creation, providence, and redemption, as well as predicting what will be Christ's return and consummation of the ages. 

The Triune God in the practices and preaching of the Christians in the Book of Acts

    The reader may notice in my introductory comments above how embedded the doctrine of the Trinity is in the fabric of Scripture. We've witnessed the Old Testament's setting the stage for this doctrine. No doubt Jesus spoke time and again about His own relationship with the Father. He further elaborated on His promise of the Holy Spirit. These two-sets of truths show how all three Persons of the Trinity worked together as One God in the drama of redemption accomplished in the four Gospel accounts. But what about the Book of Acts, and the remainder of the New Testament for that matter? 

    The 19th century theologian B.B. Warfield wrote a wonderful article on the Doctrine of the Trinity in His volume "Biblical and Theological Studies", an essay that readers can access in the online "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia" here Trinity, 1 - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.. What Warfield has to say is relevant to our posting today,

    "The relation of the two Testaments to this revelation is in the one case that of preparation for it, and in the other that of product of it. The revelation itself is embodied just in Christ and the Holy Spirit. This is as much as to say that the revelation of the Trinity was incidental to, and the inevitable effect of, the accomplishment of redemption. It was in the coming of the Son of God in the likeness of sinful flesh to offer Himself a sacrifice for sin; and in the coming of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, that the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Godhead was once for all revealed to men." 

    When you consider the practices of the early church as demonstrating their consciousness of the Triune character of the God of the Bible, one can begin with the practice of Baptism. Jesus gave the church the practice of Baptism as one of two ordinances or commands. In Matthew 28:19-20 we find Him commanding the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them, and then "baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit". 

    When we come to Acts 2:41, 8:12, and other places in Acts of the Apostles, we see Christian converts being baptized in the name of Jesus. This isn't a denial of the Trinity in the Baptismal formula. If anything, to be baptized in the name of Jesus was still affirming the plurality of persons in the Godhead, since public identification with all that was entailed in public confession of Jesus was resident in His name (The true deity, co-equality of the Son with the Father, plus He and the Father's promised sending of the Holy Spirit). 

    No doubt the practice of worship, prayer, and preaching in the Book of Acts showed how central the Trinity was in the Christians' minds. For instance, Peter's inaugural sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 explains the event of Pentecost by reference to all three Persons of the Trinity. In Acts 2:17, reference is made to the Father's sending of the Spirit, wherein Peter quotes the prophet Joel "God says 'I will pour forth my Spirit'". Peter later in the sermon mentions all three Persons of the Trinity in Acts 2:33

"Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear."

    Throughout the Book of Acts you'll encounter roughly twenty sermons, half of which center upon the Resurrection of Jesus. In one of the Apostle Peter's sermons, we find him mentioning the Trinity in Acts 10:38

"You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." 

    The Apostle Paul's preaching is also recorded in the Book of Acts, referencing language that points us to the Trinity. One example is found in Acts 13:33, where Paul quotes Psalm 2:7, a passage that depicts the eternal Son of God and the Father in an inter-Trinitarian dialogue,

"that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’"

    Like I said, there are roughly twenty sermons in the Book of Acts, most of which have woven within them a Trinitarian understanding of God's acts and revelation of Himself. 

    I only need to mention a couple other examples of practices of the early Christians to round out our study today.

1. The Lord's Supper.

    In addition to Baptism, Jesus had given one other command or ordinance to His church, the Lord's Table. In Acts 2:46 we read of how the early Christians were "breaking bread" from house-to-house. It is most likely this was reference to eating of meals together, however we could also include that they observed the Lord's Supper as a church gathered together. 

    The text states they continued in the Apostle's teaching. What was it that the Apostles had taught? In context, Peter had expounded to those gathered on the Day of Pentecost of the promised Holy Spirit, and how He came as a consequence of the ascension of Christ, as promised by the Father (see Acts 2:1-37 for the whole sermon preached by Peter). 

    The Lord's Supper, initiated by Jesus on the Eve of His crucifixion, represented not only His accomplished work of redemption, but also the body of believers. The three-thousand people saved that day were summarily baptized and had occasion to celebrate the Lord's Supper and other acts of fellowship with one another (Acts 2:42-47). No doubt the Trinity informed these practices of the early Christians.

2. Church Discipline.

    Jesus first taught about church discipline in Matthew 18. He expounded what I call "The Great Concern", namely the concern over the holiness of believers in what would be the forthcoming Church birthed on the Day of Pentecost. Accountability is so important in the Christian-life. The local church is designed by God to be a community in which Christians urge one another onto love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:23-25). 

    In Acts 5:3-5 we see the harrowing episode of the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira, a married couple who pretended to sell property to give to the church, while lying about how they secretly held back some of the proceeds for themselves. The Apostle Peter  publicly confronted them. In the passage, we find one of the strongest passages concerning the Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit,

"But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it." 

    We see in verse three above that this couple had lied to the Holy Spirit. Then in the next verse, Peter tells them they have lied to God. The Lord disciplined these two by way of physically taking their life! This was what the Apostle John would later refer to as "the sin unto death" (1 John 5:16-17). 

    The deity and Personality of the Holy Spirit follows from the doctrine of the Trinity, since the one divine nature is equally and wholly in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. What is remarkable here is that the early Christians, Jews by background, would have had no problem affirming the deity of the Spirit of God, since He is mentioned as God in the Hebrew Bible (as early as Genesis 1:2, and most robustly Psalm 104:30, Isaiah 63:10, plus several other places). To mention one of the of the Divine Persons is to automatically include the other two. Even in this traumatic scene, the Triune God was deeply embedded in the spiritual life of the early Christians - Peter most notably.

Closing thoughts

    Today we looked at how we see the doctrine of the Trinity shaping the preaching and practices of the early church in the Book of Acts. Although I've given only a sampling of the full scope of references for sake of space, the reader ought to perceive how much the doctrine of the Trinity factored into the Church's understanding of itself. This ought to also demonstrate that the doctrine of the Trinity is not just a speculative doctrine, but highly practical in helping the Christ-follower and the Bible believing church to remain faithful to the Biblical revelation of the Triune God.