Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024050S
00:00 ♪♪♪
00:15 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We're glad you're joining us today. 00:20 We are on a journey through the book of John, 00:22 looking at many of the great themes 00:24 in the Gospel of John. 00:27 Thirteen lessons, we are on lesson number 11. 00:30 Right now we're looking at 00:32 "The Father, the Son, and the Spirit," 00:35 an interesting study coming right up. 00:37 But let's start with prayer. 00:39 Father, we ask that You'll bless our time together 00:41 as we look at one of the most significant 00:43 and interesting subjects in the Bible, and that is, 00:46 well, really, You. 00:47 So we ask that You would bless our time together 00:49 and help us to gain a greater understanding of You. 00:52 We thank You in Jesus' name, 00:54 [both] amen. 00:56 Well, we're happy to have with us once again 00:58 one of the co-authors of this quarter's 01:00 "Sabbath School" lesson, Dr. Tom Shepherd. 01:03 He is the senior research professor of New Testament 01:06 at the Theological Seminary, Andrews University. 01:09 And, Tom, we're grateful to have you, 01:11 but as I mentioned, you're a co-author. 01:14 Tell us a little something about the other co-author. 01:17 >>Thomas Shepherd: All right, the other co-author 01:18 of this lesson is Edwin Zinke. 01:21 And Ed Zinke is an old friend of mine. 01:24 He was for a time one of the associate directors 01:27 of the Biblical Research Institute. 01:30 Now, if you don't know what that is, 01:31 the General Conference has a set of biblical scholars 01:35 and theological scholars who are resident there 01:39 in the General Conference, and they help to resolve 01:43 and study issues of theology 01:46 and biblical interpretation for the church worldwide. 01:50 So it's an important role that they play, 01:53 and I'm glad that they have 01:55 this Biblical Research Institute. 01:56 They also have a committee that goes along with it 01:58 of all kinds of scholars who come together twice a year. 02:01 So, Ed was, as I said, 02:04 sometime in that position and studied theology 02:08 at the University of America, I think, in Washington area. 02:14 And he and his wife have also-- are now philanthropists 02:20 and are doing good work helping a number of people. 02:23 So, just a shout-out to Ed, thank you so much 02:26 for being part of this writing of this lesson study. 02:30 >>Eric: Well, we thank you, Tom, for being with us. 02:32 And, Ed, we are very, very grateful for all the time 02:35 and effort that you put into bringing this all together, 02:38 so very, very grateful. 02:40 We're looking here at "The Father, the Son, 02:42 and the [Holy] Spirit." 02:44 Let me just ask this question. 02:46 You've got three persons of the Godhead, if you will. 02:49 Let's talk about the Father first. 02:52 What does John have to say about the role of the Father 02:56 in his gospel? 02:58 >>Tom: Okay, so what we're gonna do here 03:00 in this study is look at each member 03:03 of what theologians and Christians for many years 03:08 have called the Trinity. 03:09 That term doesn't appear in the Bible, 03:12 but that doesn't mean that the doctrine is not taught there 03:15 of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit 03:17 and how we have three in one. 03:20 They are three persons in one God who helps us 03:26 and is the Creator and the Lord over the whole universe. 03:30 So let's talk and see what John has to say. 03:34 We want to understand what the Bible teaches 03:36 and follow what the Bible teaches. 03:37 So we read John 1:1-3. 03:40 "In the beginning was the Word, 03:42 "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 03:45 "He was in the beginning with God. 03:47 "All things were made through Him, 03:48 and without Him was not any thing made that was made." 03:52 Now, this passage specifically refers to the Word, 03:56 and we know down in verse 14, 03:57 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 04:00 and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son 04:03 from the Father, full of grace and truth." 04:05 So we know that the Word refers to Jesus, the Son of God, 04:10 but the verse, 04:12 the very first verses there relate Him to the Father. 04:16 And you saw in verse 14, the Son, 04:19 "the only Son from the Father," okay? 04:22 So I sometimes ask people, 04:24 how many individuals do you have in verse 1? 04:28 And you have this "with the Word," okay, 04:31 and then you have "the Word was with God"-- 04:33 that sounds like two-- and "the Word was God." 04:35 That last verse kind of confuses people. 04:37 That last part they kind of say, 04:38 "Well, how can you be with God and be God?" 04:42 Well, in Greek it's more clear. 04:45 In Greek it's clear that the Word was with God-- 04:48 there's two individuals, all right? 04:49 So the "Word" is Jesus, and "God" here 04:52 is referring to God the Father. 04:54 "And the Word was God" doesn't mean 04:55 that He's the same individual as the Father, 04:58 but that He has the divine characteristics, 05:01 the same divine characteristics as the Father. 05:04 So what we hear from this is the Father and the Son, 05:08 both are divine, and They are together. 05:12 And the Word, Jesus, the Son of God, 05:15 was the one who created the world. 05:18 So, you know, that's what we hear in these verses. 05:22 But there's some other verses we should look at. 05:24 We should look at John 3:16-17. 05:26 We've read those before in this passage. 05:29 But now we're kind of asking a little bit different question. 05:33 We have--we're asking 05:34 the question of theology, all right? 05:37 Now, theology proper is the study of who God, 05:41 God the Father, is. 05:42 Christology is the study of who Jesus the Christ is. 05:47 Pnuemanology-- isn't that a good word?-- 05:49 "pnuemanology" means that's the study of the Spirit. 05:52 Who is the Spirit? So, 05:53 we're looking at theology, Christology, and pnuemanology. 05:59 But right now, we're focusing on theology. 06:01 So we want to mine from this text, 06:03 what can we know about God the Father? Okay. 06:06 >>Eric: "For God so loved the world that He gave 06:08 "His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him 06:12 "should not perish but have everlasting life. 06:15 "For God did not send His Son 06:17 "into the world to condemn the world, 06:19 but that the world through Him might be saved." 06:22 >>Tom: Okay, so it's very clear. 06:24 It's a beautiful verse, isn't it? 06:26 God loved the world. "God so loved the world." 06:30 He loved the world in this way. What did He do? 06:33 "He sent His Son, that whoever believes in Him 06:36 should not perish but have eternal life." 06:40 He didn't send the Son to condemn the world. 06:41 He sent His Son to save the world. 06:44 So God the Father is the sender. 06:48 Now, They are co-equal, 06:51 but One member of the Godhead said, 06:53 "I will go as the Redeemer to the world to save them." 06:58 And One sends, and we'll find out 07:00 what the Spirit does as well, but God loved the world. 07:04 Of course, Jesus loved the world. 07:06 He loved the disciples. 07:07 So They all have the same goals in mind, 07:11 but They have, like, different functions, okay? 07:14 So we should also look now 07:16 over at chapter 5, verses 19-23, 07:20 where Jesus is defending Himself against the charge 07:24 that He's been breaking the Sabbath. 07:26 And we'll see what He says about the Father here. 07:29 >>Eric: "Then Jesus answered and said to them, 07:31 "'Most assuredly, I say to you, 07:33 "'the Son can do nothing of Himself, 07:35 "'but what He sees the Father do; 07:37 "'for whatever He does, 07:38 "'the Son also does in like manner. 07:41 "'For the Father loves the Son, 07:42 "'and shows Him all things that He Himself does; 07:45 "'and He will show Him greater works than these, 07:48 "'that you may marvel. 07:49 "'For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, 07:52 "'even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 07:55 "'For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment 07:58 "'to the Son, that all should honor the Son 08:01 "'just as they honor the Father. 08:03 "'He who does not honor the Son 08:05 does not honor the Father who sent Him.'" 08:07 >>Tom: Okay, so very much again, Father, Son, Father, Son, 08:10 very combined in Their purpose and Their goals, 08:13 They have a somewhat different function, 08:16 but They're both doing the same thing to save people, 08:20 to be a blessing to them. 08:21 The Father loves the Son, and the Father raises the dead, 08:25 and so also the Son does the same. 08:27 So there's a very clear familial-, friend-, 08:34 goal-oriented relationship between Father and Son. 08:38 So that brings us then to ask the question: 08:41 Well, what about Jesus? 08:43 What is the relationship between God the Father 08:44 and Jesus the Son of God? 08:46 We've seen some of that already, 08:48 but let's turn over to John 10, verses 22 to 30, 08:52 and we can get a picture there about Their relationship. 08:56 >>Eric: "Now it was the Feast of Dedication 08:58 "in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 09:00 "And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. 09:03 "Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, 09:05 "'How long do You keep us in doubt? 09:07 "If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.' 09:10 "Jesus answered them, 09:11 "'I told you, and you do not believe. 09:14 "'The works that I do in my Father's name, 09:16 "'they bear witness of me. 09:17 "'But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep, 09:20 "'as I said to you. 09:21 "'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 09:24 "'and they follow me. 09:25 "'And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; 09:29 "'neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. 09:31 "'My Father, who has given them to me, 09:34 "'is greater than all; and no one is able 09:36 "'to snatch them out of my Father's hand. 09:38 I and my Father are one.'" 09:41 >>Tom: Okay, so here you have again the Son and the Father. 09:45 Their motives are the same. 09:47 Their function, Their work, is a bit different. 09:49 The Father sent the Son, but He says, 09:54 "The works that I do in my Father's name 09:56 bear witness about me, but you don't believe me." 10:00 You know, now, He had given earlier a demonstration 10:03 or a metaphor about being the Good Shepherd 10:08 and that His sheep hear His voice. 10:10 He says, "I give them eternal life.... 10:13 "My Father, who has given them to me, 10:15 "is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them 10:19 out of the Father's hand. I and [my] Father are one." 10:22 So you'll see then that "the Jews pick up stones again 10:24 to stone Him," and He says, 10:26 "'I have shown you many good works from the Father; 10:31 "for which of them are you going to stone me?' ...Jews answered, 10:34 "'It is not for a good work that we are going to stone You 10:36 "'but for blasphemy, because You, 10:38 being a man, make Yourself God.'" 10:40 So they clearly understood what He was saying, 10:42 that He was God. 10:44 All right, just one more passage we can sneak in here, 10:47 John 14:8-11. 10:51 >>Eric: "Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, 10:54 "and it is sufficient for us.' 10:55 "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, 10:58 "'and yet you have not known me, Philip? 11:00 "'He who has seen me has seen the Father; 11:02 "'so how can you say, "Show us the Father"? 11:05 "'Do you not believe that I am in the Father, 11:07 "'and the Father in me? 11:08 "'The [works] that I speak to you 11:10 "'I do not speak on my own authority; 11:12 "'but the Father who dwells in me does the works. 11:15 "'Believe me that I am in the Father 11:17 "'and the Father in me, 11:18 or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.'" 11:21 >>Tom: Again, the same kind of idea, 11:23 Father and Son, same kind of direction, 11:26 same kind of motive. 11:27 "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father; 11:30 me and my Father are one." 11:31 Now, He's not saying we're the same individual. 11:35 That was clear from the beginning of the book. 11:37 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." 11:41 All right, so, He is divine, but He's not the same individual 11:46 as the Father. There's two different individuals, 11:48 but They have very, very-- 11:51 Their goals, Their purposes are the same. 11:54 And the Father sent the Son as the Redeemer into the world. 11:58 >>Eric: Now, this is a subject that, 11:59 not surprisingly, has confounded a number of people. 12:03 And it's a subject that we can and should dig more deeply into. 12:07 One way that we can do that is with the companion book 12:10 to this quarter's lesson. Share with us a little bit about that. 12:13 >>Tom: All right, so the companion book is 12:14 a wonderful resource. 12:16 It's geared with the "Sabbath School" lesson. 12:19 It has 13 chapters, just like the lesson. 12:21 Each chapter has the same name as the lesson, 12:24 so you can't miss it. 12:25 And it provides you additional information 12:27 beyond the lesson quarterly, 12:29 beyond the teacher's quarterly. 12:30 And it's helpful for you to be able to have 12:34 a better understanding of what we're studying. 12:36 Some of these topics might be a little challenging, 12:38 but that is information to help you do a better job 12:42 as a teacher or to be better informed 12:45 for being involved in the "Sabbath School" discussion. 12:48 >>Eric: So if you would like to dig more deeply 12:50 into this subject of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 12:53 or the Holy Ghost, as He's sometimes referred, 12:56 this is an opportunity for you to do that. 12:58 You can pick that book up very easily at itiswritten.shop. 13:02 Again, itiswritten.shop. 13:05 Just look for the companion book 13:06 to the "Sabbath School" lesson study, 13:09 and you'll be blessed if you pick that up 13:11 and dig into it. 13:13 We're going to be back in just a moment as we continue 13:15 looking at the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 13:18 How do They work together? 13:20 How are They together? How are They separate? 13:22 We're going to be digging into that in greater detail here 13:25 in just a moment when we come back on "Sabbath School," 13:28 brought to you by It Is Written. 13:30 ♪♪♪ 13:35 >>John Bradshaw: You know that at It Is Written, 13:37 we are serious about the study of the Word of God, 13:40 and we encourage you to be serious about God's Word also. 13:44 Well, I want to share with you another way 13:46 that you can dig deeper into the Word of God. 13:49 And here it is: itiswritten.study. 13:54 Go online to itiswritten.study, and you can access 13:59 the It Is Written Bible Study Guides, 14:01 25 in-depth Bible studies 14:04 that will walk you through the Bible. 14:06 It's going to be good for you, and it's the sort of thing 14:10 that you will want to tell somebody else about 14:13 so that they can dig deeper into the Word of God 14:16 and come to know the things of the Bible intimately. 14:19 As you get into the It Is Written 14:21 online Bible study guides, 14:23 you'll understand the prophecies of the Bible, 14:25 the plan of salvation, and more. 14:27 So don't forget: itiswritten.study, 14:30 itiswritten.study. 14:34 ♪♪♪ 14:39 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:40 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:43 We are taking a look at 14:44 "The Father, the Son, and the [Holy] Spirit" 14:47 here in lesson number 11 of our "Sabbath School" study. 14:52 Tom, let's go back now. We've talked about the Father. 14:55 We've talked about the Son a little bit. 14:57 Let's take a look at the Holy Spirit. 15:00 What role does the Holy Spirit play in our salvation? 15:04 >>Tom: Okay, so it's interesting 15:05 that most references to the Holy Spirit 15:07 are in the last half of the book. 15:10 Now, the reason for that is that Jesus is leaving then 15:15 and going to the Father, 15:16 and He's going to send the Spirit. 15:18 So what we want to do, though, is see 15:21 in the first part of the book, 15:23 there's a valuable kind of discussion about the Spirit, 15:28 and it appears in that discussion 15:30 that Jesus had with Nicodemus, where He said to Nicodemus 15:35 that he had to be born "from above" or born "anew." 15:39 And Nicodemus, you remember, he said, 15:42 "How can a man be born when he is old? 15:44 "He can't go into his mother's womb a second time 15:46 and be born again, can he?" 15:48 He took it kind of literally, it's a misunderstanding, 15:52 but maybe misunderstanding with an edge 15:55 because he didn't like the way Jesus was talking. 15:57 And the word "again" can actually mean "from above." 16:02 So that may make more sense of it: 16:04 "Truly I say to you, unless one is born [from above], 16:07 he cannot see the kingdom of God." 16:09 Well, then Jesus unpacks this in verses 5 through 8. 16:15 He describes this more, and lo and behold, 16:17 the Holy Spirit shows up there, so. 16:20 >>Eric: "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 16:22 "'unless one is born of water and the Spirit, 16:25 "'he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 16:28 "'That which is born of the flesh is flesh, 16:30 "'and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 16:32 "'Do not marvel that I said to you, 16:34 "'"You must be born again." The wind blows 16:37 "'where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, 16:40 "'but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. 16:43 So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'" 16:45 >>Tom: Okay, so He says that the way 16:50 that you're born again, or born from above, is in two steps: 16:56 born of water and the Spirit. He's talking about baptism. 17:02 I sometimes ask students, 17:04 "Do you have to be baptized in order to be saved?" 17:07 And they quite commonly would say no, [laughs[ 17:10 you don't need to be baptized in order to be saved. 17:13 Well, that's true enough if you don't have an opportunity 17:16 to be baptized, okay? 17:19 But if you could just go read 1 Peter, chapter 3, verse 19, 17:24 you'll find it says baptism now saves you. 17:27 Now, Peter goes right ahead and says, 17:30 It's not the removal of dirt from the body, 17:33 but it's the appeal of a conscience, 17:35 a clean conscience to God. 17:37 So baptism is necessary because it's a confession 17:40 of our faith to God, that we believe in Him. 17:43 And it's a witness to the rest of the community 17:46 that we have given our hearts to the Lord. 17:49 Now, born of water, all right, that's water baptism. 17:52 Born of the Spirit is when the Holy Spirit comes 17:54 into your life. 17:56 And that happens when you turn to Him 17:59 and open your heart to Him, and He works on your life. 18:02 Actually, conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 18:06 Now, He says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, 18:09 and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 18:11 And then He says, 18:13 "The wind blows where it wishes." 18:14 Now, the word "wind" is actually the same word 18:18 as the word "spirit." 18:20 So He's playing on the words. 18:21 He says, "The wind blows where it wishes, 18:24 "and you hear its sound, 18:25 "but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 18:29 So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 18:33 Now, this is both interesting and scary 18:37 because it means that we are not in control. 18:41 The Holy Spirit moves upon our hearts 18:44 and moves us to do something. 18:46 And if we're sensitive to the Spirit's voice, 18:48 as the book of Proverbs says, 18:51 you'll hear a voice behind you, 18:52 saying, "This is the way; walk in it," 18:54 then we will do what the Spirit says. 18:57 In John, chapter 12, 18:59 when Mary came and anointed Jesus with the precious perfume, 19:04 she was following the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 19:07 She couldn't explain necessarily why she did this, 19:11 but Jesus affirmed what she did, see? 19:14 So she was doing what the Spirit was showing to her. 19:17 So, the Spirit moves upon people, and we must be cautious 19:22 not to put people down when they feel moved 19:27 to do something by God's Spirit. 19:30 Of course, there are spirits that are not God's Spirit, 19:33 but if it's in accord with the Scripture, 19:36 we should be very careful. 19:37 In fact, we should always be careful about describing 19:40 any work of spiritual things as the work of the devil, 19:45 because the work, if you call the work of the Holy Spirit 19:48 the work of the devil, that's the unpardonable sin. 19:50 Not that the Spirit doesn't want to work with you, 19:53 but if you think it's the devil, you won't listen anymore, 19:57 all right? So that's one of the aspects of what John teaches us 20:01 about the Spirit. There's another--like I said, 20:03 most of these appear in the second half of the book 20:07 because Jesus is going back to the Father. 20:08 So let's read John 16:7-11. 20:12 >>Eric: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. 20:15 "It is to your advantage that I go away; 20:17 "for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; 20:20 "but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 20:23 "And when He has come, 20:25 "He will convict the world of sin, 20:26 "and of righteousness, and of judgment: 20:29 "of sin, because they do not believe in me; 20:31 "of righteousness, because I go to my Father 20:34 "and you see me no more; 20:35 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." 20:40 >>Tom: All right, so this very clearly lines out 20:42 the work of the Holy Spirit. 20:44 Jesus is going away, He says, 20:46 and He actually says to the disciples, 20:48 "It's to your advantage that I go away." 20:50 Now, I think most disciples would say, 20:53 "I don't know about that. I'd rather be with Jesus." 20:56 But Jesus could only be in one place 20:58 because of His becoming a human being. 21:01 The Spirit can be everywhere, right? And so He says 21:04 it's really to your advantage because then the Helper-- 21:08 this term sometimes is called the "paraclete." 21:11 He is the one who comes by our side to help us out 21:16 and to give us what we need, 21:18 the help that we need at different times in our life 21:21 and all through our Christian experience. 21:23 And He says, when He comes, He's going to do 21:25 three things in convicting the world. 21:28 Now, that's not necessarily the Christians. 21:30 He's going to convict those who are not of His fold yet. 21:35 And He says He's going to convict them of three things: 21:38 of sin, righteousness, and judgment. 21:40 All right. And then He says, 21:41 "Sin, because they do not believe in me." 21:43 So it's a sin not to believe in Jesus. 21:47 And the Spirit, when Jesus went away, 21:49 now the Spirit is the one that brings conviction about that. 21:52 He says, "Concerning righteousness, 21:54 because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer." 21:57 So Jesus is the embodiment of righteousness, 22:01 just as He and the Father are one in Their purpose, right? 22:06 So without Jesus here, 22:07 we need the Spirit to convince us 22:10 about righteousness, what it's like, Jesus is like, 22:14 and then concerning judgment, 22:16 "because the ruler of this world is judged." 22:18 He's going down, and the world needs to know that; 22:22 Satan is not going to win this war. 22:24 God is going to win this war, and the Spirit is all wrapped up 22:28 in that great purpose. 22:30 >>Eric: So I'm going to read one other verse here 22:32 about the Spirit, back just a chapter in John 15, verse 26. 22:38 It says, "But when the Helper comes, 22:40 "whom I shall send to you from the Father, 22:42 "the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, 22:45 He will testify of me." 22:48 So here we see all three of Them kind of wrapped together. 22:51 Help us unpack that. >>Tom: Yeah, 22:53 so He says that when the Helper comes, 22:56 "whom I will send," all right, so "I and the Spirit" 23:01 are two different individuals, all right? 23:03 "The Spirit whom I will send from the Father," all right? 23:06 So the Father is separate; the Spirit is separate; 23:08 Jesus is separate; there we have the three, all right? 23:11 It's all in this one verse. 23:13 "He who proceeds from the Father, 23:16 He will bear witness about me." 23:17 So He comes from the Father; He talks about Jesus. 23:20 This is an interesting thing. 23:22 As you study the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 23:25 you find that They tend to talk about each other. 23:28 The Father says, 23:30 "You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." 23:33 The Spirit points to Jesus. 23:36 Jesus points to the Father. 23:38 They're all pointing at each other 23:40 because They're all about service. 23:42 God is the God of love, the God who serves, 23:45 the God who creates, the God of joy, 23:47 the God of happiness, the God of peace. 23:50 And it's all His desire that 23:52 that's what will happen in our life. 23:54 Now, if you turn your life over to God, 23:57 that's what's going to happen in your life. 23:59 You're going to have peace, you're going to have joy, 24:02 you're going to have patience. 24:03 These things is what God works in us 24:06 as we turn our life over to Him. 24:08 The Spirit is the one who brings that conviction 24:10 that you and I need that, see? And then we trust in Jesus, 24:15 and we receive from the Father His blessing. 24:18 >>Eric: Now, we've been focusing much of our time, 24:21 almost all of our time, in the book of John. 24:23 Let's expand it just a little bit more. 24:25 We're talking about a big subject here, 24:27 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 24:29 How frequently do we find the Father, 24:31 the Son, and the Holy Spirit together in the New Testament? 24:34 >>Tom: Okay, some years ago--I'm the pastor 24:37 of the Eau Claire and Dowagiac churches in Michigan-- 24:42 and some time ago, I was, before I was pastor, 24:45 I was head elder. We did a series of sermons 24:48 on the 28 fundamental beliefs of the Adventist church. 24:51 And we gave it to our different elders and the pastor and I, 24:54 and, you know, we were teaching these. 24:56 And when I was looking over, okay, 24:58 so who will be assigned to these different preaching on this? 25:03 When it came to the doctrine of the Trinity, I said, 25:06 "You know, I better teach this one," 25:08 because I didn't want some young person 25:09 that was from the seminary to, you know, step into something 25:13 and mess himself up by saying something 25:14 that, you know, wasn't quite straight. 25:17 So I said, "Well, I better-- I should talk about that." 25:19 Now, so being a scholar, I said to myself, 25:20 "Well, I should see how often the Father, Son, 25:23 and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, shows up in the New Testament." 25:26 So the easiest way to do that-- you can do this at home-- 25:30 the easiest way to do that is to look up all the references 25:32 to the Spirit, right? Because the Spirit is the one 25:35 that's referred to the least in the New Testament. 25:37 So I went and then I looked and said, 25:40 "All right, so in this passage nearby, 25:42 "is there any reference to the Father or God 25:46 or Jesus or the Lord, and the Spirit?" 25:51 And I was surprised. 25:53 I found more than 40 passages, more than 40 passages 25:57 in the New Testament that have a reference to God, 26:01 to the Lord, to the Spirit, 26:02 or to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 26:04 more than 40 references. 26:06 This is not a small doctrine of the New Testament. 26:10 This is an important biblical doctrine, and it's clear there. 26:13 Now, it's not in all of the expansions 26:16 that Christians later did and different things they said. 26:19 But the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 26:21 the doctrine of the Trinity, is a clear biblical doctrine. 26:25 And we should not be confused about this. 26:29 >>Eric: And somebody may say, 26:30 "Okay, sure, but what does this mean to me today? 26:35 "Here I am living many years beyond Bible times. 26:39 "How critical is it that I understand the triune God, 26:43 "the Godhead, the Trinity? 26:44 What difference does this make to me in my day-to-day life?" 26:47 >>Tom: Well, it really is an important difference 26:49 because when you understand the Trinity, 26:52 you understand that the Father is the one-- 26:56 "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." 26:58 You understand Jesus, you understand 27:00 that you have a Savior who came to this world, died, rose again, 27:04 is now at the right hand of God, and is coming again. 27:07 And They're in heaven, but you have the Holy Spirit 27:11 who comes to be with you, to encourage you and help you. 27:14 My friends, remember that God is on your side. 27:19 God wants you to be saved. 27:21 The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, 27:23 are all working for our salvation. 27:26 And it's actually a beautiful doctrine. 27:29 It's a beautiful teaching, 27:30 and it's a very biblical teaching. 27:33 >>Eric: A very biblical one, and it shows us again 27:35 just how much the statement is true that God is love. 27:39 He cares enough about you to save you. 27:41 He wants to open the gates of heaven for you. 27:45 And we trust and pray that 27:46 during our study of the book of John, 27:48 you have sensed those hinges opening. 27:51 We're going to be back again next week as we continue looking 27:53 at these great themes in the book of John. 27:56 We invite you to join us here on "Sabbath School," 27:58 brought to you by It Is Written. 28:00 ♪♪♪ 28:24 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-12-04