And you can open your Bible to the sixth chapter of Isaiah Isaiah chapter number six be the first passage that we read together This morning we will continue where we left off in our doctrinal statement our study of our doctrinal statement and this morning we'll finish up just really an overview of the doctrine of the Trinity, which is one of the most basic fundamental doctrines, teachings, truths of New Testament Christianity. This fact that God is three and God is one all at the same time It's not something we can necessarily wrap our minds around, not something we can necessarily fathom or comprehend or understand, this threefold composition of the triune Godhead. But it is important to know what we believe about the nature of God and where we find those truths in Scripture. And so the summary statement In our statement of faith, our statement of doctrinal beliefs goes like this at the top of the page there on the back side of your bulletin for your notes. We believe in one God eternally existent as the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. The Father is eternal. The Word is eternal. The Holy Ghost is eternal. From eternity past to eternity future, God always has been, always will be a trinity. Now that word, the word trinity, not found in scripture. but the concept, the teaching, the truth, the doctrine, it most certainly is most famously in 1 John 5 and verse 7. The answer to the first question in your notes there was the foundational verse on the doctrine of the Trinity has to be 1 John 5 7, for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, The Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one. These three, tri, are one. Unity, tri, unity. Trinity, it's interesting, we've noted already, that this verse is removed from many of the modern versions. We don't have time to to delve into a discussion of the history and the background to that. Suffice it to say, 1 John 5-7 definitely belongs in the Bible and gives us the clearest statement on the Trinity. Christianity is decidedly monotheistic. We believe in one God. Over and over, that fact is emphasized in Scripture. 1 Timothy 2.5 For there is one God. Deuteronomy 6.4 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. We do not believe in three gods. We believe in one God. The unity of the Godhead is important to emphasize, just as the Trinity is important. The unity of the Godhead is part of the Trinity. So we've got this distinction, but we've got this unity. All at the same time, the one God of the Bible reveals himself and exists as Father, as Word, as Holy Ghost. We've noted several passages where God refers to himself as a plurality. In Genesis 1.26, at the creation, God, singular, said, let us, plural, make man in our image. In Genesis 3.22, when he showed up in the Garden of Eden, the Bible says, the Lord, singular, said that man has become as one of us, plural. So there's one God, but he's an us. In Genesis chapter 11, we came down at the Tower of Babel. The Lord singular said, let us go down. Now you're in Isaiah chapter 6, and this is a passage that we heard often last week as we went to a missions-themed camp, and it's another one of these passages where God refers to Himself in a, or as a, plurality. Let's read through this passage this morning. In verse number one, the Bible says, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Isaiah sees this incredible vision. You're not going to see this incredible vision, but God wrote down what Isaiah saw, and we can learn and benefit from it. Verse number two, above it, above the throne, above the train, above the Lord, above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, with twain he covered his feet, with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. God's holiness is probably his what defines the essence of his character, what synthesizes all of his attributes. God is a three-fold holy God. Interesting how that would relate to this doctrine that we're studying just now. Holy, not just once. Holy, not just twice. Holy three times. Three holies. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. In the post, verse 4, the door moved, and the voice in the cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King. the Lord of hosts. When we see God for who He is, it helps us see ourselves for who we are in relation to Him, and it is a humbling revelation. Isaiah the prophet, he's a man of God. Isaiah the prophet, he is a dedicated follower of Jehovah. But when he sees the Lord, he says, woe is me. I am undone. I am unclean. And when we're impressed with ourselves as Just come on, admit it, we often are. We're not impressed enough with God. It's our problem. Verse number six. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also, verse eight, here's the verse we were getting to. Also I heard the voice of the Lord. Okay? Singular the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I? Send note the pronoun I singular whom shall I send and who will go for? Us who will go for for us. Now let's step outside this lesson and read the verse and make the application. God is still in heaven and still on the throne and still asking the same question this morning, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And we need some people to answer the way that Isaiah did, because Isaiah said, here am I, send me. And there are billions of people around the world that don't have a Bible. There are billions of people around the world who've never heard the gospel. There are billions of people around the world who don't know who Jesus is, have never heard the name of Jesus. of Jesus Christ, and God's still not willing that any should perish, and He's still willing that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. And God is looking to send someone to tell them of the glorious grace of God and the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. But we need to have more Isaiahs willing to say, God, if you want to send somebody, I will volunteer. Here am I. Send me. Okay? But in verse eight, the Lord is saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? I don't think he's addressing the seraphims. Isaiah did not represent the seraphim. Isaiah represented Jehovah. Isaiah represented the Lord. And the Lord who said whom shall I send said who will go for us because he is a trinity, three persons and one God. God. We covered many passages that contain all three members of the Godhead. Matthew 28, verse 19, the baptismal formula, baptize them in the name, singular, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. three persons, one God, at Christ's baptism in Matthew 3, 16 and 17. Here's Jesus in the Jordan River being baptized by John the Baptist. Here's God the Father speaking from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Here's the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. So they can't all be the same in three different places all at once and yet one God. John 14.26 and 15.26 verses where the Father is sending the Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. The benediction at the end of 2 Corinthians 13 verse number 14 is an excellent example, the fellowship of spirit, love of God, communion of the Holy Ghost, we got all three mentioned in that verse. We studied how all three are active at the same time in conjunction with one another from the creation in Genesis 1 where the Spirit of God is moving on the face of the water in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth but we turn to the New Testament we find out Jesus Christ is active in creation. All three are active in the incarnation of Jesus Christ when Gabriel spoke to Mary In Luke 135, the power of the highest shall come upon thee, that which shall be born of thee shall be conceived of the Holy Ghost. It would be the Son of God, active in the baptism of Jesus Christ, as we've already mentioned. In the atonement of Jesus Christ, Jesus offered himself to God through the Spirit. So all three involved, active in the resurrection. There are places that say the Father raised Jesus from the dead. Places that say that Christ raised himself from the dead. Places in the Bible that say the Spirit raised Jesus Christ. from the dead. And then we move from the life of Christ to the life of the believer and the Trinity is working together in your life this morning and in my life this morning when we were drawn to the Lord to trust him for salvation. The Father did that according to John 644. No man can come to me except the Father draw him. Jesus Christ did that according to John 12, 32. I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. The Holy Spirit did that according to John 16, 8. His duty in the world today is to reprove men of sin, righteousness, and judgment. So who drew you to Jesus Christ? The Father did, the Son did, the Holy Spirit did. They were all working together to get you saved. That salvation is planned and designed by God the Father and executed by Jesus Christ and delivered by the Holy Spirit. We are indwelt by the Trinity, Ephesians 4, 6, the Father, Colossians 1, 27, the Son, 1 Corinthians 3, 16, the Spirit. We are preserved, we are kept, we are sanctified by the Trinity. 1 Peter 1.5, kept by the power of God. Jude 1.2, preserved in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4.30, sealed by the Holy Spirit. You can't read the New Testament and miss the point that God is three in one. We gave some illustrations, um, that really don't do the concept justice. They just get our wheels turning and our minds working and conceive of some ways that, that, that, that, that we can see that it would be possible that God will be three and one at the same time. We gave you a mathematical formula, one plus one plus one. That's three, but if we change the plus to times, one times one times one is one. Water, H2O, same chemical compound, can be solid, liquid, or gas. That illustration has its limitations because it's not all three at the same time. But then we talked about resonance structures. Everybody understands and remembers the resonance structures, the arrangement of these electrons in different compound and how they're shared between the atoms and a molecule with resonance is every one of its structures at every point in time, yet no single one of its structures at any point in time. I don't understand that really any more than I do the Trinity, but it's something that is that is existent in nature and can point us to the fact that God is three in one. Let me give you this chart or depiction, for lack of a better word, and this kind of emphasizes both the unity and the distinction. I think this is helpful. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. All of that clearly demonstrated, revealed, and solidified in the scripture at the same time that the Father, the Son, the Spirit, they're all God. The Father's not the Spirit. The Spirit's not the Father. The Father's not the Son. The Son is not the Father. They are separate and distinct persons. The Son is not the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Son. So there is a unity and there is a distinction and both of them exist side by side. Now what we want to cover this morning would be some groups who deny the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. As you go and you witness and you proclaim the gospel and you try to engage sinners in conversations about their souls, you will come up against people who have this hang up where they don't believe what the Bible says that God is three in one. The first group we'll talk about, we left a blank by each of the three numbers. You can fill it in as we go. The first group would be the Jehovah's Witnesses. The Jehovah's Witnesses. And the JWs teach that Jesus Christ is a created being. That the Son was created by the Father. And as such, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of John 1, He is not co-equal to the Father. Where the Bible says in John 1, 1 in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. If you open a New World translation, they have added a word. The word they've added, the end of the verse says the word was a God. That's not what the Bible says. That's not what manuscript evidence says, but that's what Jehovah's Witness doctrine teaches. And so they've altered the scripture to line up with their teaching that Jesus Christ is a created God. It's based on a couple verses in the New Testament, misunderstood and taken out of context. Colossians 115 calls Jesus Christ the firstborn of every creature. And they take that to mean that Jehovah started by creating Jesus Christ. He was the first creation. It's not what the verse says, it says firstborn. And you run that verse through the Bible, you find that firstborn often has to do with position, not order. Okay? And then Revelation 3, verse 14, I think it is, calls Jesus Christ the beginning of the creation of God. That just refers to He's the one that originated it. He is the one who was active in the creation. Now, it's not a new teaching. It's not a new heresy. It actually dates back to the 4th century and a man by the name of Arius. This teaching that Jesus Christ is a created being is a 4th century heresy known as Arianism. Arianism. A-R-I-A-N-I-S-M. And it is a misunderstanding of the dual nature of Jesus Christ. It's a misunderstanding of the dual nature of Jesus Christ. In John chapter 1, verse number 14, the Bible says, the Word, that's the one who was in the beginning and he created all things, the Word was made flesh. and dwelt among us. God, the eternal God, took upon himself the form of a servant, was made in likeness of men. He was found in fashion as a man. And when he did that, he was fully God and fully man. Both at the same time, His divinity did not take away from His humanity and His humanity did not take away from His deity. But as a man, Jesus Christ thirsted. He got thirsty as a man. Jesus got hungry. As a man, Jesus got tired and grew weary. Now, come on, the Lord never slumbers or sleeps, Psalm 121. But that is God dwelling outside of a human body. In eternity, when Jesus Christ stepped onto the earth in a body of human flesh, he experienced all the things that humanity experiences and suffers. He was tempted like as we are, but he was God, so yet without. Sin. As a man, Jesus Christ submitted himself to the will of the Father, and Jesus Christ prayed to the Father, and those things about his humanity are the things that cause the Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as others, to misunderstand and believe and teach that Jesus Christ was not equal with God even though the scripture very clearly makes that statement. As a man he hungered and thirsted and was weary and prayed but as God He worked miracles. As God, he never sinned. As God, death couldn't hold him. As God, he stepped out of the grave. So this relationship of the son to the father, it was one of submission. Jesus Christ took a lower role or position But that relationship is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 11, verse number three, and compared the relationship of a husband and a wife. The marriage that God put together, he put the man in charge. Husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, he is responsible, he has authority, right? Does that mean he's superior? Does that mean the man is superior to the woman? Does the woman take the place of submission because she's inferior to the man? Because she's less intelligent? Because she's less capable? Because... Is that why? Well, not at all. Right? It's not that the man is superior, the woman is inferior. God has just given them different roles and positions for the sake of society, for the sake of the home, for the sake of the church. And the fact that the woman submits to the man, look, it's not that he's on top of her and crushing her. They're side by side. co-equals and yet one leading and one following and it's the same with the Father and the Son. Jesus Christ is just as much God as the Father is and yet for the purposes of redemption and for the purposes of salvation he decided to take a lower place and submit himself and what a blessing, but it doesn't mean at all that he is inferior to the Father. Number two, Mormons. Number one was Jehovah's Witnesses. They deny the doctrine of the Trinity. Number two, Mormons deny the doctrine of the Trinity. Mormonism is polytheistic to begin with. What do we mean by polytheistic? A polytheistic religion believes in many, poly, gods, theos, okay? So polytheistic, they believe in many gods. Think about it. The ultimate aim, now the two boys who ride their bicycles and come to your door with Elder on their pocket, they're not gonna tell you this right up front, but the ultimate aim and objective of the Mormon religion is for you to become a god. I mean, if you're a guy. If you're a girl, it's to have babies forever. Who wants to sign up today? Nobody. They don't tell you that up front. But the ultimate aim and objective of Mormonism is to achieve godhood. To become gods. Now, let me just ask you a question as an aside. Who was the first person in the Bible to espouse that doctrine that man would become God? Do you remember when that showed up? It was in Genesis chapter 3. It was in the Garden of Eden, but it wasn't God that said it. It wasn't Adam that said it. It wasn't Eve that said it. That idea originated with the serpent, with the devil, with Satan. That is the satanic doctrine. falsehood. Now, Mormons do believe in the three members of the Godhead. They have this thing called the Articles of Faith, kind of a summary statement of their positions. And here is one of the Articles of Faith. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. Now that one sentence sounds just fine. Reality of it is they don't believe in the unity of the Godhead. They overemphasize the distinction in the Godhead. So Mormons fail to recognize the unity of the Godhead. They don't believe that they believe in the three. They don't believe the three are one. They believe in three separate gods. The Father is God, the Son is a God, the Spirit is a God, but they're not one God, they're three gods. Which to them isn't a problem because the Father began as a man who achieved godhood through adherence to religion. And the ultimate aim and objective of your life is to one day be so faithful that you will too become a God. So in Mormonism, the Father, as man is, so God once was. As God is, so man may become. Do you follow that statement? As man is, so God once was. As God is, so man may become. So God the Father was once a man. who became a God, and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, those are both, they are both gods, but they are the Father's sons, and none of them are eternal. Because God, the Father, began as a man just as we have. So this is an ancient heresy. Also, it is known as tritheism. Tritheism. T-R-I-T-H-E-I-S-M. An ancient heresy known as tritheism. Tri-ism. Mormons do not believe that the Father is eternal. Mormonism is polytheistic. Mormons fail to recognize the unity of the Godhead. It's known as tri-theism. Mormons do not believe the Father is eternal. Okay? And then number three, we've got Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, and then some Pentecostals. We're talking about groups who deny the doctrine of the Trinity, just so you can be aware of this, and so you can do what 1 Peter 3.15 says, and be ready also to give an answer to every man that asketh you, a reason of the hope that is in you, so we can do what Colossians 4 says, and be ready to give an answer, and study to answer like Proverbs says. So, number three, Pentecostals. Some Pentecostal groups, this is not true of every Pentecostal church, but some Pentecostal groups espouse Jesus only. They espouse Jesus only or what is called oneness doctrine. Jesus only or oneness doctrine. doctrine. Now, where Mormons fail to recognize the unity of the Godhead, there are some Pentecostals, the Jesus-only or the oneness Pentecostals, who fail to recognize the distinctions between the members of the Godhead. Mormonism overemphasizes the distinction, but Jesus-only or oneness Pentecostalism overemphasizes the unity. Okay, let me try to explain to you where this comes from. In Matthew 28, 19, we gave you the baptismal formula. Jesus said, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name, singular, the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Lo, I'm with you all even in the end of the world. So then we read the book of Acts. And in the book of Acts, the disciples, they went and they preached the gospel in every place and they baptized believers. And there are three statements in the book of Acts, and I believe I may have given you the references, I did, Acts 2.38, Acts 8.16, Acts 19.5, where believers were baptized in the name of Jesus. So those who believe in what is Pentecostalism, they put those two passages together, baptized in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost, baptized in the name of Jesus. That must mean that the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost is Jesus, that the Father is Jesus, that the Son is Jesus, that the Holy Ghost is Jesus. They're not separate and distinct. They're all just Jesus, okay? It's a misunderstanding of the baptismal formula that we just gave you. This also is not something that's recent. This heresy dates back to the 3rd century, the 200s. It's an ancient heresy known as modalism. Modalism. It's also known as Sibelianism. You probably would be less likely to hear that term or that name, but it comes after one of its proponents in the third century, a man by the name of Sibelius. Modalism. Modalism teaches that God operated in different forms or in different modes at different times. That sometimes he was the father and then at other times he was the son and then at other times he revealed himself as the spirit, but he wasn't all three at the same time. He was maybe one of those at certain times. Basically, the teaching typically goes like this. Up until the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God, who was Jesus, revealed himself as the Father. During the days in the life of Jesus Christ, the gospel era, God revealed himself as the Son, as who we know as Jesus. And then since Jesus went to heaven and ascended, then God reveals himself as the Spirit. But whoever it is, whatever it is, it's just Jesus. It's just God. There is not this distinction. There are not three persons. Often it would be said that God manifested himself as the Father at creation, as the Son in redemption, as the Spirit in sanctification. This is kind of the limitation of the H2O illustration, right? Because I've got some water up here this morning and its chemical makeup is H2O. I could freeze it and it would be ice and it would still be H2O but when I froze it, guess what? It would no longer be liquid. It's one or the other, and that's kind of the teaching and the mindset of modalism that we've got different modes or different forms. You can have H2O as solid, you can have H2O as liquid, or you can have H2O as gas, and you can have God either as the Father or the Son or the Spirit, but not all three at the same time. This teaching is out there. It is contradicted by the passages that we've already cited where we see all three members of the Godhead at the same time working in conjunction and even in different places. Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, God the Father speaking from heaven, the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. It contradicts the biblical truth that God does not change. He doesn't reveal himself in one form here and in another form there. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I'm Lord, I change not. Now, the answer to all of these false teachings regarding the Trinity would just be the passages that we've studied in preceding weeks, where the Bible clearly defines, delineates, and presents this triune Godhead. Let's close our discussion of this doctrine with a little bit of conclusion and application. Get two passages, Colossians chapter two and Matthew 28. If you have any questions on the Trinity, on false views of the Trinity, or anything of the sort, I'd be happy to field those and try my best to get you a satisfactory answer. But Colossians chapter two, And Matthew chapter 28, let's close with these two passages, Colossians 2 and verse number eight. First of all, where the Bible says this, Colossians 2.8, beware. lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Verse 9, for in him, in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Here's what we're saying. The Son is God. Father is God, just as much as the Spirit is God, Jesus Christ was 100% completely God. He was approved by the Father. He was anointed by the Spirit. He was the full, visible, bodily manifestation of who God is. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. A wonderful thought, but it continues in verse 10, and Ye are complete in Him. In verse 9, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Godhead. Verse number 10, I'm in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is in me. I believe we mentioned this the first week we studied the Trinity. We have the full power of the Godhead at our disposal. Meaning this, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, all working together in your life this morning. If you were saved, you're saved because the Trinity cooperated in your salvation. But as a saved person, God's desire is now for you to be sanctified and for you to live a life that honors Him and pleases Him and glorifies Him. But He didn't leave you by yourself. You've got the Father working for you and the Son working for you and the Spirit working for you. All working together to make you like Jesus Christ. What a blessing that is. He didn't leave us to our own selves. He has empowered us and enabled us and given us exceeding great and precious promises. In fact, the power of the Godhead at our Disposal, similar point to be made in Matthew 28. Look back at verse number 18, Matthew 28 and verse number 18. We've referenced this passage many, many times. Take one last look here together. Matthew 28, 18, Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. All power, omnipotent. Jesus has all power. He told us to go, teach all nations, baptize them, verse 19. Verse 20, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever are commanded you. And lo, I am with you all way, even unto the end of the world. The one who is with us, in verse 20, is the one who has all power, in verse number 18. Listen, this morning, if you're saved and you have Jesus Christ, then you've got everything you need to live a holy life. You've got everything you need to overcome your sin. You've got everything you need to live in victory over the flesh, to take a stand in this sinful world, to be a witness and to spread the gospel. You've got Jesus Christ with you and in you and around you and He has all power And so what a blessing to know that God is three in one, but beyond that, to know that the triune God is working in us, for us, through us, so that his name can be glorified. Let's pray together. Father, thank you so much for revealing yourself and your word. Help us to know you, Lord, intellectually, but then let that intellectual knowledge lead us to, Lord, a deeper relationship. God, help us to know you. As our father, help us to know you. As a friend that sticks closer than a brother, help us to know you in a real, personal, intimate way. God, help us to walk with you and desire to please you. We love you and thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.