 All right we'll get started. My students are not here but then we'll get started for those of us who are online. So let's look at this explanation that is given for this statement. God is one in three persons and how this particular statement does not have any contradiction in it. So the explanation that is given is that God is one in a certain way. In a certain way God is one but in a different way he is three persons. So we are not saying that God is one and God is three in the same way. In one way he is God is one but in a different way he is three persons. So there is no actual contradiction. Let's look at an example that Sproul was this very godly reputed preacher from some previous century and this is the example that he tried to use. He took the fictional work of a writer named Charles Dickens. The book that he was referring to was the famous book A Tale of Two Cities. So the tale of two cities begins with these opening words. This is the first sentence of the book. When you open the book this is the very first sentence that you read it says it was the best of times it was the worst of times. And then you would probably say to Charles Dickens, make up your mind. You are talking about one time period. He is basically talking about the late 18th century. That is basically when you had the French Revolution taking place. So he is basically talking about that time period and he is saying it was the best of times it was the worst of times. So which is it? It can't be both. So you make up your mind is it the best or is it the worst is what you would say to him. But in his next sentence he goes on to explain what is he trying to say. He says it was the age of wisdom but it was the age of foolishness. So you see it was the age of wisdom in one way in a certain way it was the age of wisdom because during that time there were good people who did good things. There were wise people who took wise decisions. There were many wise and good things which took place. So in a certain way it was definitely the best of times. But in another way in a different way it was also the worst of times because there were fools who were doing evil things. They were indulging in dark deeds and they were spreading evil and wickedness. So in another way it was also the worst of times. See we are not saying it was the best of the worst in the same way. In one way it was the best but in another way it was the worst. And so Sproul tried to explain to his audience and say to them in one way God is one in his being in his substance in his essence in his divinity. There is only one divinity in his divinity. He is only one divinity. There are not three different types of divinities. So in one way in a certain way he is one but in another way in his personhood he is three. So in his essence in his being in his substance in his divinity he is one. But in his personhood he is three. Was the explanation which Sproul tried to give. Now if you can kind of wrap your head around that fine. If you cannot that is also fine. Let's just move on from there. You know to go back to the example that we used earlier. If I had three students standing over here in front of me I would do a head count and I would say Oh human being number one. Person number one. Human being number two. Person two. Human being number three. Person three. And then you know the three students walk off. God comes and stands over there and I would look at him and say oh divine being number one. And there is no number two or number three. Just one divine being. Divine being one. But in that divine being there are three persons. That's a little beyond my understanding. But you see if you're doing a head count there is only divine being number one. That's it. There are no others. Like he says in Isaiah 46. I am the Lord and there is no other one divine being. In that divine being there are three which is a little beyond our understanding at the moment. Okay so we have to you know that is why it's very very wrong to say that sometimes God becomes the father and sometimes he becomes the son. Completely wrong doctrine. Okay so the father always stays as the father. One day he doesn't you know say okay fine. I think today I'll become the son. And the third day he doesn't say oh I think today it's my turn to be the Holy Spirit. No the father has always from eternity been the father and he will continue being the father. So they are three distinct persons. The father always remains the father. The Holy Spirit always is the Holy Spirit. That is his very identity. That is who he is in his essence and his nature in his Godhead. And the father who is equally the same essence and the same nature of Godhead he is always the father. Okay so in their personhood they remain what they are as three separate distinct persons. They are not three different ways of looking at the same God. They are three different distinct persons. So this one I know criticism which used to be raised earlier and then so people would say oh when Jesus Christ was on the earth if he was God every time he would pray was praying to himself because he's God right. So we don't accept that kind of an argument simply because we have now understood the fact that this one being has three persons. So we know that when Jesus was here on the earth and he was praying he was not praying to himself he was praying to the other person of the Godhead. He was praying to the father. So we don't go with the silly arguments like that. So just to look maybe a little more at the personhood of the Holy Spirit because people are very very clear about God the Father as one distinct person and they have a very clear picture of Jesus Christ as being one distinct person but when it comes to the Holy Spirit I have been in churches where some of the believers would actually call him an it. They would just think of him as this wind or this power or this force which is rushing into the room and it's going to make them manifest in different ways and so they would say when it comes it will change us. It's not an it who is coming into the room it's a him. He is a person. He's not just some kind of a power or a force that is coming into the room. He is part of the Godhead and that is how he is addressed in the scriptures as a person and so if you look at Hebrews chapter 3 verse 7 it says over there today if you hear his voice it's not just some impersonal force. He is a person and he has a voice and he speaks. So in Hebrews 3-7 today if you hear his voice saying and then it goes on to give the rest of the verse. He is somebody who thinks, he's a thinking being. He's a rational being. He's able to reason out and think. A scripture for that would be Acts chapter 15 verse 28 where it says it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements. The spiritual leaders in Acts chapter 15 they sat down and they thought and they reasoned among themselves and they decided we should not burden the gentile believers with the mosaic traditions. So they reasoned and they thought out and they came to a conclusion and the Holy Spirit was along with them in this process. The Holy Spirit also thought and reasoned and decided yes this would be a good thing. So the Holy Spirit is not just some kind of a wind or a force. He is a person and he thinks, he reasons, he speaks. Another thing which brings out his personhood, he has a will of his own. He decides for himself things. The same way we have a will power, he too is a person. He has a will. An example that we can use from the scriptures would be 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 11. Someone could read out 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 11. As he wills, so the gifts are distributed by the Holy Spirit and he thinks what shall I give this particular person? And so according to his will, according to what he has decided and determined, he gives, so he is a person who has a will and he has feelings. Which verse do you think brings out that? Even if you don't know the reference, can you just think of the verse which expresses the fact that the Holy Spirit has feelings? So yeah, like she said, do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Efficiency 430. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit, which means he can be grieved. He feels feelings. And he is definitely a person because he is able to have a relationship with others. So that would be 2 Corinthians 13-14, which is the benediction. So we have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ being talked about, the love of God and then it goes on to say the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. So he's able to relate with us on a daily basis. He is able to fellowship with us on a daily basis. And you know, which is why I think it is John Piper or someone who talks about this triune God. He says he is one being and he unfolds into 3 interpersonal relationships. So he is one being, but in this one being, there are 3 interpersonal relationships. The father relating with the son and the son, you know, having a relationship with the father and the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit communicating with both of them. So in that one being, there is a lot of interpersonal relationship interactions going on. And so they are relating to each other in their personhood. So in one way, in their being, they are one. But in another way, in their personhood, they are 3 and they're relating with each other. So the Holy Spirit is a person who can relate with the other persons of the Godhead and also with us humans. Now, people who could not understand the concept of Trinity, they came up with some wrong doctrines. So, you know, a wrong doctrine is technically called a heresy. So there were a lot of heresies which began to develop in the early centuries. And so, yeah, maybe we can just look at those heresies first. One of the wrong doctrines which came up was called modelism, M-O-D-A-L-I-S-M. So now modelism basically was teaching that there is only one God. So sometimes he'll appear as father, sometimes he'll make an appearance as a son and sometimes he'll make an appearance as the Holy Spirit. So while, you know, while doing creation and Genesis, he became God the Father. And then when he was living here on the earth, he became the son. And so now he is there in us in the form of the Holy Spirit. But it's all just one single God is what they say. And they fail to accept the fact that he is one in three persons. They deny the three persons part of it. They deny his personhood. So today we have a cult which follows this, you know, teaching and they are called the Oneness Pentecostals. So the Oneness Pentecostals, they don't believe in him being three persons. They just say that he is one. Okay, so, but when we look at Matthew chapter 3 verses 16 to 17 which talks about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have three clear persons being mentioned. So I'm assuming that when the Oneness Pentecostals gather together and they read their Bibles, they make sure that they skip this particular passage because they would not be able to explain it. Because over here in Matthew 3 16 to 17, you have all the three of them being present as three separate distinct persons. Maybe we could actually read it out. Matthew chapter 3 verses 16 to 17. Okay, so here, I mean, modelism just doesn't work over here because over here you have Jesus coming up out of the water. As he's coming up out of the water, the spirit of God descends upon him like a dove and then there's a voice from heaven which says, this is my son. So you have the Father speaking over there from heaven. You have the spirit of God descending and you have Jesus coming up out of the water. So how can you say that he has appeared? He only appears as one person at a time. Here he is in all the three persons. All three are very clearly there in this particular event. Okay, so modelism and this, you know, the current Oneness Pentecostalism which is going on is not biblical in any way. Then of course, the other wrong teaching which came up in those days was Tritism. Basically they're saying, okay, they're three separate gods. We don't have one God, we have three gods making them into separate beings. So which is again not true. And today you have Mormons who believe in that. They think of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three separate gods. Okay, so that would be in those days it was called Tritism. Now it's called Mormons follow that. There's also something else, Arianism. Now Arianism was a very serious, you know, heresy that began to come into the church at that time where people began to spread this teaching that Jesus Christ was the first creation of God. Later on God created the world, later on God created humans. But the first thing which God created was he created Jesus Christ. It's what they began to teach. And that was a very, very serious, you know, dangerous doctrine because once you take away the divinity of Jesus Christ everything he did on the cross would be a complete waste because if he is not fully God then he cannot represent God on our behalf. You know, and if he's only human then it would mean that he would be born, he would have been born with the same sinful nature that we have been born with. It would just destroy the entire doctrinal basis which is, you know, laid out in the scriptures. So Arianism was a very, very serious heresy that was coming in and so the spiritual leaders of that time they decided to organize a council and establish what the correct doctrine is. So the Council of Nicaea, N-I-C-E-A the Council of Nicaea, that took place in 325 AD a whole bunch of spiritual leaders gathered together. They had, you know, long discussions and then they clearly wrote down. See, this is what the Bible is saying about different things. So they wrote out a lot of important doctrines. I think that was the first time that they actually did systematic theology. They took all the verses regarding all the important doctrines and they began to put it all together clearly so that future generations will not get carried away by all kinds of wrong, you know, teachings. So they took the effort to really lay down in clear way what the scriptures are saying about all the very, very important, you know, doctrines of our faith. So one of the things which they developed was something called the Nicene Creed. If you're from one of the mainline denominations, you know, you would be reading it out. I mean, especially the Methodist churches, you know, so we would all stand up, you know, we would open the, you know, the book which is there and then you would read out the Nicene Creed, you know, saying that this is what I believe. So I believe in one God, the Father and all of that. So you would read out the Nicene Creed. So now the Nicene Creed was, you know, slightly modified again in 381 AD during the first Council of Constantinople. But yeah, that is what everyone accepts that today. You know, the Protestants, the Catholics, the Orthodox, you know, Christians, they all accept that the Nicene Creed is accurate in what it is saying about the Godhead, what it is saying about his being, what it is saying about his personhood. So that is a good Creed to look at. You know, when you're trying to understand the doctrine of God and the doctrine of Trinity. Yeah, so we say that God is one being, one single substance, and that he is eternal and uncreated. Nobody created him. So God the Son was not created. He always was there. Just like it says in John 1, he was always with God and he was God. So the Nicene Creed brings out the fact that he is one single substance, one single being, and he was eternal and uncreated. It also talks about how they are equal. And it's only for the purpose of, yeah, it's only for the purpose of redemption that they adopted. Let me look at this later. Okay, just to bring one sentence in regarding that. So when Jesus came to the earth to redeem mankind, at that time he chose to place himself under God the Father. So he was submissive to God the Father, but it did not make him inferior in any way. He was representing us humans. So in the same way we obey God the Father and we submit to him. He as our perfect representative, he also chooses to obey the Father and learn obedience through suffering, it says in the scriptures. So he too submitted. And so in that sense, in his humanity, God the Father submits to God, God the Son, sorry, so sorry, God the Son submits to God the Father. If you look at them in their eternal existence, they have always been equal. Okay, so yeah, that's just one point that we need to bring out. So there are all kinds of analogies which are used to describe this Trinity. With the word analogy, it just basically means comparisons. We try to use comparisons. We compare two different things to try and explain something to to try and make it more clear. But we need to understand that all comparisons are weak. There is no comparison available which can clearly explain the Trinity. So all the comparisons that we have today are limited. And so you can use those comparisons when you're trying to explain Trinity to somebody. But if you stretch the comparison too much, you'll end up with a wrong doctrine. So you should just take the example, the comparison in a light way to an extent but never ever stretch out a comparison because then you'll end up with a wrong doctrine. The egg is what is generally used as an example. So they talk about the shell of the egg and then they talk about the white portion of the egg and then you have a yellow yolk. And so they say, see Trinity is like this. The problem with that example would be there are three different substances. The shell is a different substance. The white portion is a different substance and the yolk is again a separate substance. But here we are talking about an entity, a divine entity, a divine being who is just one single essence, one single substance. So it's a weak example. It's not really a correct example. So if you stretch it too far, you would end up with a wrong theology. You would in fact end up with a heresy of Tritism. So they're not three separate. The way the egg is three separate things, the Trinity, the Triune God is not three separate beings. The example of water which is again used to explain the Trinity. They talk about how water is one single substance. Water is one single substance, but you see it in three different forms. So you have the liquid water and then you have the water as a vapor. So the problem with this is that water at the same moment cannot be liquid and vapor. When it is sitting on the stove, it is liquid. But then when it starts evaporating, you have one portion of it being vapor and then you have another portion of it still sitting over there and that's liquid. At the same time, this vapor cannot be liquid and water at the vapor cannot be gas and liquid at the same time. Wow, I'm really using my English today. Another example that people use to try and explain the Trinity is very similar to your water vapor kind of example. They talk about a person who is a father and that man is also the son of somebody and that person is also the friend of somebody. So he has three different roles. He has the role of a father, he has the role of a son and he has the role of a friend. But again, just like we saw in the water, liquid water and vapor water example, you cannot be all those three things in the same moment. So if that man is at home playing with his child, he is assuming the role of a father. In that very same moment, he cannot be at his friend's house helping his friend with the repairs over there in the role of a friend. He can only be father at one point of time. He can only be friend at one point of time. But when you look at the single entity, the Godhead, the Godhead operates as father, son and Holy Spirit at the same moment for a whole bunch of different people. So this is not really a very strong example when they're trying to use the roles which different people play. So that doesn't really help. Now, in our modern times, people have tried to come up with another new analogy to try and explain the Trinity. Again, this is also limited. They talk about how light, the light, which is coming through the windows and all of that, the light, the light is one single substance. But light is functioning in one particular way and at the same time, it is also functioning as a different, in a different way. So they talk about one single photon of light. If you take that one single photon of light, it is functioning as a wave and it is also functioning as a, my physics have no clue. It's also functioning as a particle. So a single photon of light functions as a particle and at the same time, it is also functioning as a wave which depends on how you are looking at that particular photon. So they say that that is one way of trying to explain the Trinity. So if you are a quantum physicist, go ahead with that example. My physics was rather weak always. So let's get on with it. Let's move on to other things. So let's maybe just look at the different roles that the three persons of the Trinity played in creation and also in redemption. So the father, usually when we look at the scriptures, just based on the scriptures which are there in the Bible, we kind of get the sense that the father assumes the role of always being the planner, the one with the fore knowledge, the one who decides, let's do it in this particular way. Okay, we're all just saying all this at a very, very human level because I'm pretty sure that even the other two persons of the Godhead are also involved in the planning. But generally, this is basically how people say it. They say that the father is the one who creates the plan. He makes the plan. And then the son, he implements the plan and actually brings it into existence because God the father thinks it out and God the son enacts it and makes it happen. And then once it's enacted and in place, then the Holy Spirit runs it. He kind of runs it on a day-to-day basis. I think that's a very severe compartmentalization and I don't think they actually function that way. So God is probably nodding his head and thinking, this is one messed up example. So let's not take it too literally, but in the redemption plan, we see that. So they take this whole redemption plan which God worked out for humanity and they try to apply it to him in the creative act and in his judgment and everything. I think that would be stretching it a little bit. But yes, in the redemption plan, we very, very clearly see that God the father decided that he would save mankind in this particular way. So he is the one who decides that at the set time, he's going to send forth his son. So Galatians 4, 4 to 5. If someone could read out, Galatians 4, 4 to 5. Yes, it was a little distracted. Which verse are we looking? Oh, yeah, yeah. Galatians 4, 4 to 5. So when the set time had fully come, at that time, God sends the son. So they say that God is the one who was kind of setting the time. He arranged for events to take place in a particular way. He caused a whole bunch of actions to happen. And so all of those things led up to that moment when the correct opportune time came along and then at that moment, he sent the son. So they talk about how back in those days when that huge famine, it came upon that entire Mediterranean region, the family of Abraham, the descendants of Abraham, probably would have died. But then God arranged events in such a way that Joseph went over there to Egypt. He became the chief administrator over there and then he was able to bring his whole family over there and he was able to save them. So the lineage of Abraham continued because God arranged the events and because the lineage continued, the Messiah was able to come out through the lineage. Then later on, at the time of the exile, God made a pagan king support the Jews, give them back the golden silver and say, go back to your homeland, rebuild your temple. So God arranged for that to happen. Then when Herod was getting ready to kill all the children in Bethlehem, if Jesus had remained over there, he would have been killed. So at that time, God arranged for an angel to come and warn Joseph about it. So Joseph was able to escape along with his wife and the child. So God arranged all of these events and so in the set time, Jesus Christ came and fulfilled the purpose for which he had been called and Jesus Christ always made this very, very clear that he had come over here to the earth to carry out the redemption plan. Just one Bible passage, maybe we can look at John chapter 6 verses 37 and 38. John 6, 37 and 38. I don't know which one it is, 37 or 38. Not about doing the father's will. Or did I get my passage entirely wrong? If you could read out that please, go ahead here. Jesus was very, very clear about this right from the time he came, he started his ministry. He says, I have come not to do my will but the will of him who sent me. So God, the Father, his role in the redemption plan is that he would arrange events. He would cause a series of actions to take place so that the set time will come. Once that set time comes, Jesus Christ will be sent. Once Jesus Christ is sent and he's old enough to understand who he is, from that time onwards, the Son begins to do exactly what the Father wants him to do and begins to carry out the plan and the Holy Spirit. After Jesus Christ finished his work on the cross, now the Holy Spirit, he begins to implement this redemption plan in our lives in two ways. There are two roles which the Holy Spirit plays in the redemption plan of God. The first is that he helps people to come to God in the first place. Okay, so how does he do that? John chapter 16 verse 8, if someone could read out, John 16 verse 8. Yes, so God the Father has done his part, God the Son also on the cross, he was going to be doing his part and then Jesus says that, you know, once I am finished with my work, the Holy Spirit will come. He says when he has come, he will convict the world of sin or righteousness and of judgment. So the Holy Spirit is actively at work today helping people to understand that they are sinners, that they need a Savior and that salvation can only come through one single person, Jesus Christ. So the Holy Spirit is actively at work today implementing the plan which Jesus Christ enacted on the cross. So that is one aspect of what the Holy Spirit is doing. The other of course is the work which he does in believers after they become believers. He transforms them, he works in them. Maybe we can look at Ezekiel chapter 36 from the Old Testament. Ezekiel 36 verse 27. Yeah, 36, yeah, Ezekiel 36. Yeah, ouch. So maybe I wrote down the wrong passage. Ezekiel 36, 27. Oh, okay, my English. 36, 27. I didn't pronounce properly. Hmm. Hmm. Okay, so this had not yet happened at that time. In fact, even the second part of the redemption plan had not yet happened. But he, you know, here God talks about the future and he says, I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrease. So once the Holy Spirit is right now out in the world, convicting people, helping them to reach out to God. And once they have made that commitment, once they have accepted him as Lord, then he begins to work inside them to move them to follow his scriptures. It's a beautiful thing. You and I would just be sitting as, you know, saved sinners, not even bothering to sanctify ourselves, not even bothering to grow if Holy Spirit was not there. He is constantly moving us inside, urging us to reach out to the Lord to become more like Christ. He is doing that active work inside us. So in the sense, all three of them have specific roles in the redemption plan. We see that, but then it's wrong to say that it's always the father who initiates the plan, you know, like as if he's the only one who can think, it's not true because God the Son involved in the planning phase. But in the redemption plan, the father in his fore knowledge, decides these are the things that will be done and Jesus Christ enacts it, implements it on the cross and the Holy Spirit administers the plan, runs it on a daily basis so that it will all come to pass in his perfect time. We'll just look at one last thought and then, you know, you can go and relax. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 18, if we can have one person read out. Ephesians 2 verse 18. Yeah, so it here, it's talking about how we human beings have access to the father by one spirit. And so, you know, they say when we are praying, we should pray to the father because you're trying to gain access to the throne of God. So they say you have, you should pray to the father and then you would do it, of course, in the name of Jesus. What does it mean by that? It's basically saying in the name of all that he did for us on the cross, because of what he did on the cross, we can actually go to the father. So in the name of Jesus, like the name of Jesus is like a, what, you know, it's the, it's the past, it's the past key. You know, you show that and that, that gives you the permission to enter inside. So you show that, you know, that past key which says, you know, this is what Jesus Christ did for me. Once you show that, okay, Jesus did that for you, yes, you can go inside. So you're able to enter because in his name, through him, you're able to enter. And who is the one who's leading you into that place? It's the Holy Spirit. So again, it's not to be, I mean, you don't have to accept it, you know, in that particular way, but it's just one way of trying to express how prayer gets done. So when you go before the throne of God, obviously you're going to the Triune Godhead. It's not like as if you're going and standing in front of the throne or only in front of God the Father. So yes, it is true that you're going into God's presence, into the presence of the Triune God. But it is true that you are going in the name of Jesus. That's very, very clear because there's no way you could have even accessed that throne room without his finished work. It's only by his blood through his righteousness that you're entering inside. So we do go to prayer, go to the Lord in prayer in the name of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit helps us in praying. He's the one who leads us. So that is also very true. But the first part about how you're praying only to the Father. Yes, it is true that because Jesus does use that verse where he says, you know, you can ask the Father what you will and he will grant it. But I would like to think that when you go and stand in front of the throne, you are standing in front of the entire Godhead because that is basically how it is, right? So yes, these are all different ways that people are trying to express the Trinity at the practical application level. Okay, so yes, I have nothing more to say. If anyone has any doubts, you can ask. Please don't ask me something very, very metaphysical and high. I will not even know how to handle it. But yeah, if you have any doubts, you can ask. Otherwise, we can conclude with the word of prayer. Here we just had Jackens, you know, question about the ice and the liquid and the vapor. Oh yeah, that's so true, right? I mean, I forgot the ice part when I was talking about it. But yeah, like we said, the ice cannot be ice and liquid and vapor at the same time. It can only be one thing at one point of time. So that would again be a weak example. So yes, let's just conclude with the word of prayer then. Thank you so much, your Lord that even though we may not understand all of you in our finite little minds. We can still come to you and we can still enjoy all of your omnipotence, all of your omniscience and Lord, all of your the other part of you which I cannot remember. Lord, I'm so sorry. Lord, it's just beautiful that we being finite beings who cannot even understand you, even though we don't have that comprehension, we can still come to you and have all of your infiniteness at our disposal. It's so amazing that you should love us that much to give all of your infiniteness to finite beings who can't even understand your nature fully. You're such a loving, gracious, generous, abundant, bountiful God of Lord in the way you provide for us. Thank you so much, your Lord for that. We pray that we would live lives that truly honour you, your Lord. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you so much and we'll meet again next class.