Welcome to Anchors Of Truth
from the 3ABN Worship Center.
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Unknown God with
David Asscherick.
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The Word of God
begins with the Hebrew words,
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Re'shiyth bara Elohim.
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In the beginning, God.
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And it uses that plural language
at the very outset of the Bible.
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So very early on in the
reading of the Word of God,
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we are forced to deal
with what I call, the One We,
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the plurality and singularity,
or the singularity and plurality
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as the case may be.
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We have to wrestle with the
idea that we're dealing with a
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God who is three in one.
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One manifested three ways.
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Deal with it as you
wish or as you will.
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But you've got to
accept that at the very
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beginning of the Word of God.
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And David Asscherick did
such a very, very fine job
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on last night as we began
to take this walk, this journey
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into understanding
the mysteries of God.
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I bid you good
evening. My name is C.A. Murray.
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And it is my privilege
and pleasure to welcome you to
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night number two in our
odyssey together learning
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about the mystery of God
and the mystery of the Godhead.
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And we are very, very
pleased to have as our speaker,
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David Asscherick,
who has changed titles
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just a bit as of late.
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He is now the co-director
of Light Bearers Ministry.
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He still is involved
with Arise, but Arise has now
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fused with Light Bearers.
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And together, they
make a powerful weapon
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for the cause of Christ.
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And so David Asscherick and
his partners at Light Bearers,
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Ty and James, make a
powerful, powerful weapon in the
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hands of God for the
salvation of the souls of men.
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So we invite you to give
ear and listen this very night
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to the Word of God,
because I know that he will have
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great words, good
words, godly words,
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to share with
us this very night.
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Before he comes, we are
going to ask Pastor Lomacang
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to come and sing,
Much Too High A Price.
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But before he does that,
would you now bow your heads
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with me in a word of prayer.
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Gracious and heavenly Father,
we are so very, very thankful
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for the
privilege we have of study.
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We know that Your Word
is the lamp unto our feet
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and a light that
shines on the path before us.
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But we ask this night
for illumination in our minds
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so that we can see
Your Word and know Your Word
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and understand Your
Word and apply Your Word
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to our lives as together
we seek to walk this road
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that leads to glory.
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We ask from You for the
speaker clarity and anointing
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so that he will speak those
things that we know You have
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give him to say.
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We ask from You for
ourselves open hearts,
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open minds, receptive
ears that we may hear Your Word
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and make
application to our lives.
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And so bless our
sitting this night.
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Give us Your
presence and Your power.
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And we praise You and thank You.
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In Jesus' worthy
name, amen and amen.
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And now our pastor,
our friend, John Lomacang.
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And after him our speaker for
the evening, David Asscherick.
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Your love endured the cross,
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despising all the shame.
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That afternoon
when midnight fell,
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Your suffering cleared my name.
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And that sin swept hill became
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the open door to paradise.
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Because You paid
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much too high a price.
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You paid much too
high a price for me;
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Your tears,
Your blood, the pain,
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to have my soul
just stirred at times
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yet never truly change.
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You deserve a fiery love
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that won't
ignore Your sacrifice.
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Because you paid
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much too high a price.
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Your grace inspires my heart
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to rise above the sin
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and all the earthly vanity
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that seeks to draw me in.
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I want to tell
this tainted world
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of love that
truly saved my life.
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A love that paid
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so high a price.
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You paid much too
high a price for me;
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with Your tears,
Your blood, and the pain
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to have my soul
just stirred at times
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yet never truly change.
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For You deserve a fiery love
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that won't
ignore Your sacrifice.
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Because you paid
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much too high a price.
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Because you paid
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much too high a price.
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John, I have to tell
you I got nervous there
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when I walked out and the
music started to come back up.
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I thought, "I just walked
through the middle of his song,"
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and he was going to
start singing again.
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Thank you, John. That
was absolutely beautiful.
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Good evening, everyone.
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Oh you're joking, right?
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Good evening, everyone.
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Okay, good.
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A little bit of
enthusiasm, if you will.
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It's great to be
here this evening.
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And a good evening to
our viewing audience as well.
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Look at this, I
brought like a veritable
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library with me tonight.
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Yeah?
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A little bit of light reading.
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900 pages.
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I'll be showing
you that in just a bit.
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Did you have a good day today?
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Oh man, I had a
really good day today.
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I had a run, spent some
time with Dr. Stefanovic,
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went over and played dodge ball
with the kids at the school.
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Got totally humbled.
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Totally humbled.
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I thought I would
just absolutely win.
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And no, no. Such
was not the case.
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So anyway, I've had a
great day, very busy day.
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And we have quite a
little bit of information
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that we're going to cover.
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We're talking
about the unknown God.
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And last night, we
sort of set the table.
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Were you with us last night?
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Okay, last night we
sort of set the table.
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Tonight, we're going to
continue to sort of put the
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meal on the table as we
seek to understand who and what,
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in as much as we can
understand, is this God
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that is revealed
to us in Scripture.
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And so without further adieu,
we're just going to have a
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quick prayer and we're
going to dive right into our
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time together in Scripture.
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Father in heaven, what a
privilege to be here tonight.
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And as John has sung,
it is true that You paid
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a very high price, the
highest possible price:
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the price of Your own
life; the life of Your Son,
00:10:08.93\00:10:12.84
the life of God.
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And Father, it is our privilege
tonight to come before You
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because of what Jesus has done.
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We don't come in our own
merits or our own righteousness,
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for we have none,
we possess nothing.
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As the old hymn says,
"Nothing in our hands we bring,
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simply to Thy cross we cling."
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And so Father, we thank You for
being willing to pay that price.
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And tonight as we seek
to understand who You are,
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and what You are, and
why You would do this,
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this amazing
thing, this gospel story,
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Father, I pray that Your Spirit
would come into this room.
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Yes, but Father, more than that,
we pray that your Spirit would
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come into our hearts,
that we may understand
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who You are and the significance
and the height and the depth
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and the breadth of
Your love and grace.
00:11:02.82\00:11:05.00
Be with us, Father.
00:11:05.77\00:11:06.84
Tonight may the unknown God,
the Spirit, become less unknown.
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May we seek to understand Him
better and to know Him better.
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And thus, to know You better.
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Bind our hearts together with
You and with one another tonight
00:11:19.38\00:11:22.03
as we open Scripture, is
our prayer in Jesus' name.
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Let everyone give
an enthusiastic amen.
00:11:25.37\00:11:29.41
Alright, amen. Very good.
00:11:29.61\00:11:31.07
Now let's just spend a couple
minutes in review talking about
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what we did last night,
what we learned last night.
00:11:34.73\00:11:37.28
And then we're going to continue
with our discussion of the
00:11:37.31\00:11:42.06
singularity and the
plurality of God. Okay?
00:11:42.09\00:11:45.36
So I want to ask a
simple question here.
00:11:45.38\00:11:47.07
How many Gods are
there in Scripture?
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The true Gods, how many true
Gods are there in Scripture?
00:11:50.60\00:11:52.99
One God. Okay.
00:11:53.43\00:11:54.78
And that would be an emphasis
on the singularity of God.
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Right?
00:11:58.21\00:11:59.21
But as we began to learn
last night, God is manifested
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in three Persons,
or in a plurality.
00:12:03.08\00:12:06.29
And that's what we're
going to be discussing tonight.
00:12:06.32\00:12:08.78
And even tomorrow night as well.
00:12:08.81\00:12:10.13
Trying to get our minds
and our hands wrapped around
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this idea of God as
one and yet God as three.
00:12:12.99\00:12:16.91
And what's the word that is
sometimes used to describe that?
00:12:16.92\00:12:20.53
The word Trinity.
00:12:20.60\00:12:21.69
Now the word Trinity,
are we married to that word?
00:12:21.70\00:12:23.81
Is it essential
that you use that word?
00:12:23.82\00:12:25.51
No.
00:12:25.71\00:12:26.71
There are certain teachings
that are not in harmony
00:12:26.73\00:12:29.22
with Scripture that someone
might call "Trinitarian."
00:12:29.25\00:12:32.49
And so if someone says,
"Oh David, I saw this really
00:12:32.52\00:12:34.80
weird, really wild, really crazy
thing on the Trinity online,"
00:12:34.83\00:12:38.76
and they bring that
definition to you or to me,
00:12:38.79\00:12:41.17
if it's a little wild and a
little weird and a little crazy,
00:12:41.20\00:12:43.69
and it's not
biblical, are we going to say,
00:12:43.72\00:12:45.30
"Oh I believe that
because it says Trinity."
00:12:45.33\00:12:47.36
No, we're going to say,
"In as much as we're allowed to
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define that term,
that's what we believe."
00:12:50.24\00:12:52.40
And that's what we're
trying to understand is,
00:12:52.43\00:12:53.96
what does that mean.
00:12:53.97\00:12:54.97
Why did this word even come up?
00:12:55.18\00:12:56.99
Why the idea that God is a
singularity as well a plurality?
00:12:57.02\00:13:01.52
Now, one more little thing
that we learned last night.
00:13:01.55\00:13:03.22
And that is, that when
we're seeking to understand
00:13:04.12\00:13:06.56
who and what God is...
00:13:06.57\00:13:07.57
We looked at
several passages last night.
00:13:07.58\00:13:09.25
We looked at
Psalms, we looked at Job,
00:13:09.28\00:13:10.72
we looked at Deuteronomy.
00:13:10.73\00:13:11.73
And we looked at the New
Testament, 1 Timothy 3:16.
00:13:11.76\00:13:15.17
God, in the essence
of His Godness, is easy
00:13:16.00\00:13:20.84
or difficult to understand?
00:13:20.87\00:13:22.50
You tell me.
00:13:22.86\00:13:24.08
Do we understand
God exhaustively?
00:13:24.54\00:13:26.72
No, no, no, no, no.
00:13:26.97\00:13:28.02
We understand just
the smallest little sliver
00:13:28.05\00:13:31.57
of who and what God is.
00:13:31.60\00:13:32.66
Who remembers what our
illustration was last night?
00:13:32.69\00:13:34.59
What is this here?
This is the sea shore.
00:13:34.62\00:13:37.71
And out there is the sea.
00:13:37.74\00:13:39.34
All of this that's
behind us is the very limits
00:13:39.37\00:13:43.63
of human intellect
and human language.
00:13:43.66\00:13:46.33
And we say all of the correct
things in the best possible way
00:13:46.36\00:13:50.22
and we're thinking correctly.
00:13:50.25\00:13:51.53
But even in our best
thinking and even in our best
00:13:51.54\00:13:55.01
articulation, the reality that
is God is an infinity beyond.
00:13:55.04\00:14:01.11
Are we clear on that, everyone?
00:14:01.41\00:14:02.81
God cannot be boxed in or
circumscribed by our language.
00:14:02.84\00:14:06.69
Now, God does reveal
Himself in Scripture.
00:14:06.72\00:14:09.07
He does use words, but we have
to understand and appreciate the
00:14:09.37\00:14:13.04
limits of those words and the
limits of the human intellect.
00:14:13.07\00:14:15.80
Amen?
00:14:15.81\00:14:16.83
As we heard last night, one of
the questions that was put there
00:14:16.84\00:14:20.78
in the book of Job is, "Can
you search the limits of God?"
00:14:20.80\00:14:24.58
And the answer
is, of course not.
00:14:24.67\00:14:27.02
Paul, in the New Testament,
says, "Without controversy,
00:14:27.05\00:14:30.40
great is the
mystery of godliness."
00:14:30.43\00:14:34.01
Now what we're going to
try and do this evening is
00:14:34.04\00:14:36.69
continue to understand
this wonderful beautiful mystery
00:14:36.72\00:14:41.82
that is God as a
unity, singularity,
00:14:41.83\00:14:46.28
as well as a plurality.
00:14:46.31\00:14:48.61
Now the title of our
whole series is, Unknown God.
00:14:48.64\00:14:52.19
And we're seeking to
understand the role and person
00:14:52.20\00:14:54.76
of the Holy Spirit.
00:14:54.79\00:14:55.97
But before we can really get
to understand who and what and
00:14:56.27\00:14:59.72
the work of the Spirit
is, we have to understand
00:14:59.75\00:15:02.38
what is God in His
nature and in His character.
00:15:02.68\00:15:05.80
And that's what we
began to do last night.
00:15:05.83\00:15:08.01
So that's a
little bit of review.
00:15:08.04\00:15:09.11
Are you ready for
some new material now?
00:15:09.14\00:15:10.86
Okay, now we
started in Genesis chapter 1
00:15:11.22\00:15:13.88
right at the very
beginning in a good systematic
00:15:13.91\00:15:16.18
treatment of who God is
and how He reveals Himself.
00:15:16.21\00:15:20.40
And we came across
that important passage there
00:15:20.70\00:15:22.99
in chapter 1, and God said,
"Let Us make man in Our image."
00:15:23.02\00:15:31.06
And who remembers the
analogy that we used last night,
00:15:31.09\00:15:33.17
the illustration?
00:15:33.20\00:15:34.96
What is this?
00:15:34.99\00:15:36.22
This is a mirror.
00:15:36.25\00:15:38.05
And when I look in the
mirror, is that me there?
00:15:38.08\00:15:40.30
Is that me?
00:15:40.99\00:15:42.07
What is that?
00:15:42.10\00:15:43.19
That's a reflection or an image.
00:15:43.50\00:15:46.48
And so while that is not me,
that is certainly an accurate
00:15:46.51\00:15:50.90
representation of me.
00:15:50.91\00:15:52.78
In other words, it would be
a little strange to look in the
00:15:53.04\00:15:55.21
mirror and see curly hair and
glasses, and then to look at me
00:15:55.24\00:15:57.86
and see bald and no glasses.
00:15:58.06\00:16:00.87
Right? You would
say, "Oh that's strange."
00:16:00.90\00:16:02.28
Or look there and
see a woman, and to look
00:16:02.31\00:16:05.22
here and see a man.
00:16:05.25\00:16:06.44
Right? You'd say,
"Well that's something.
00:16:06.81\00:16:07.87
The mirror is broken."
00:16:07.90\00:16:09.51
Right?
00:16:09.54\00:16:10.58
Okay, so when we look
at the thing that God made
00:16:10.88\00:16:15.28
in His image, what is that thing
that God made in His image?
00:16:15.29\00:16:18.32
Very good. A family.
00:16:19.69\00:16:21.52
"Let Us make man in Our image."
00:16:21.55\00:16:24.94
Plural possessive pronoun.
00:16:24.97\00:16:26.07
"Let them..."
00:16:26.10\00:16:28.44
"Them" as a plural represents
a plural; an "Us" and an "Our".
00:16:28.94\00:16:32.91
The very first thing that God
says to the man and the woman,
00:16:32.94\00:16:34.98
both of whom were made in
His image is, "Make another."
00:16:34.99\00:16:38.77
And so the thing that
in its most sublime beauty
00:16:38.80\00:16:44.31
that is in the image
of God is not just a male
00:16:44.34\00:16:46.84
or just a female.
00:16:46.87\00:16:49.07
But the family unit
is the thing that is
00:16:49.10\00:16:52.57
truly in the image of God.
00:16:52.58\00:16:53.74
We're going to unpack that
further as we continue now.
00:16:53.75\00:16:56.05
Genesis chapter 3, we
noted that verse yesterday,
00:16:57.76\00:16:59.96
"Man is become
like one of Us." Right?
00:16:59.97\00:17:03.16
"Man is become like one of Us."
00:17:03.19\00:17:04.20
Genesis chapter 1, 2, and 3.
00:17:04.23\00:17:05.73
Now what we're going to do
is go to Genesis chapter 11.
00:17:05.76\00:17:08.97
This is now new material.
00:17:09.00\00:17:10.56
Genesis chapter 11.
00:17:11.10\00:17:12.53
This is the story...
00:17:12.56\00:17:13.72
Well, who knows
what story this is?
00:17:13.75\00:17:15.18
What's right there in Genesis
chapter 11 just after the flood?
00:17:15.93\00:17:19.36
A little bit of
a building project.
00:17:19.39\00:17:21.44
Okay, very good.
The tower of Babel.
00:17:22.58\00:17:24.81
And let's just read through this
because there's two interesting
00:17:24.84\00:17:28.56
things that emerge here.
00:17:28.59\00:17:29.61
Two very important things.
00:17:29.64\00:17:31.16
We'll pick it up in verse
1, "Now the whole earth had
00:17:32.36\00:17:34.50
one language and one speech.
00:17:34.53\00:17:36.30
And it came to pass, as
they journeyed from the east,
00:17:37.06\00:17:39.09
that they found a
plain in the land of Shinar,
00:17:39.10\00:17:41.28
and they dwelt there.
00:17:41.29\00:17:42.29
Then they said
to one another..."
00:17:42.53\00:17:44.58
These are the
people after the flood.
00:17:44.61\00:17:46.25
Now watch this language here.
00:17:46.45\00:17:47.88
"Come, let..." What
does your Bible say?
00:17:47.91\00:17:50.71
"'Come, let us make bricks
and bake them thoroughly.'
00:17:51.11\00:17:54.26
They had brick for stone
and they had asphalt for mortar.
00:17:54.27\00:17:57.37
And they said..."
Here's our phrase again.
00:17:57.67\00:17:59.80
"'Come, let us build
ourselves a city, and a tower
00:17:59.85\00:18:03.31
whose top is in the heavens;
00:18:03.34\00:18:04.41
let us make a name
for ourselves, lest we be
00:18:04.44\00:18:07.43
scattered abroad over
the face of the whole earth.'
00:18:07.46\00:18:08.86
But the Lord came down to see
the city and the tower which the
00:18:08.87\00:18:11.12
sons of men had built.
00:18:11.15\00:18:12.16
And the Lord said,
'Indeed the people are one and
00:18:12.17\00:18:15.87
they all have one language, and
this is what they begin to do.
00:18:15.88\00:18:18.59
Now nothing that they propose to
do will be withheld from them.'"
00:18:18.62\00:18:21.09
Now let's just
pause here for a moment.
00:18:21.12\00:18:22.69
The story is basically
being told of a people who are
00:18:23.07\00:18:25.49
going to build a
city and build a tower.
00:18:25.52\00:18:27.28
And this refrain
occurs three times,
00:18:27.31\00:18:29.77
"come let...," "come
let...," "come let..."
00:18:29.80\00:18:33.81
So people here are unified
and they're going to do a thing.
00:18:33.82\00:18:37.00
But watch, it's very interesting
what Moses does here.
00:18:37.34\00:18:39.88
Under the inspiration
of the Spirit, Moses keeps
00:18:39.91\00:18:42.19
this same refrain.
00:18:42.22\00:18:44.09
But notice that he changes
the subject of the refrain.
00:18:44.10\00:18:47.79
Now it's somebody else who's
giving the very same phrase.
00:18:47.82\00:18:51.48
Notice verse 7.
00:18:51.49\00:18:52.49
"Come, let..." What
does your Bible say?
00:18:52.80\00:18:56.31
"'Come, let Us go down there
and confuse their language,
00:18:56.34\00:19:00.07
that they may not understand
one another's speech.'
00:19:00.10\00:19:02.38
So the Lord scattered
them abroad over the face
00:19:02.41\00:19:05.15
of all the earth, and
they ceased building the city."
00:19:05.18\00:19:07.02
Who is the "Come,
let Us," in verse 7?
00:19:07.03\00:19:09.64
It's God Himself.
00:19:10.50\00:19:11.50
Okay, so don't miss that.
00:19:11.51\00:19:12.69
Don't miss that very fascinating
little stylistic element
00:19:12.72\00:19:15.55
where Moses says that
the people say three times,
00:19:15.58\00:19:18.41
"Come let us do something,"
"Come let us do something,"
00:19:18.44\00:19:20.78
"Come let us do something."
00:19:20.81\00:19:21.86
And Moses says that God
then said, "Come let Us."
00:19:21.89\00:19:27.51
God here is referred
to by Himself as a plural.
00:19:27.54\00:19:30.98
God refers to
Himself in the plural.
00:19:31.46\00:19:33.64
And we've talked a
little bit about why this is.
00:19:33.67\00:19:35.94
It's because the word there in
the Hebrew is the word "Elohim,"
00:19:35.97\00:19:40.37
which is in the plural.
00:19:40.40\00:19:42.39
Now there's another
very fascinating thing here.
00:19:42.40\00:19:45.12
Look back at verse 6.
00:19:45.15\00:19:47.84
It says, "And the Lord said,
'Indeed the people are one.'"
00:19:48.34\00:19:54.31
Now I'm going to ask
you a very simple question.
00:19:55.15\00:19:57.54
"People," is that a single unit,
is that a single individual,
00:19:57.57\00:20:02.41
or is that a plural?
00:20:02.44\00:20:04.11
Okay, so check this out.
00:20:04.57\00:20:05.77
"The people," plural, "are..."
What does the Bible say?
00:20:06.12\00:20:11.22
"...one."
00:20:11.25\00:20:12.29
"The people are one."
00:20:12.32\00:20:13.62
Now yesterday I
told you there's a word.
00:20:13.65\00:20:15.09
You might not remember it.
00:20:15.12\00:20:16.13
But it says that when the man
and the woman become one flesh,
00:20:16.16\00:20:21.08
that word is the word "echad."
00:20:21.11\00:20:23.68
You remember
that? The word "echad."
00:20:23.71\00:20:25.77
Not the word "yachid,"
which is a different word,
00:20:25.80\00:20:28.27
which means solitary,
alone, completely alone.
00:20:28.30\00:20:32.71
The word "echad" means
not just one, but unity.
00:20:32.72\00:20:37.39
Unity.
00:20:37.42\00:20:38.52
That's the very same word
that we have here in verse 6,
00:20:38.55\00:20:41.16
"Indeed the people..."
00:20:41.19\00:20:42.50
That is a plural
entity, a plurality; or echad.
00:20:42.53\00:20:46.67
The man and the
woman, two, are echad.
00:20:47.32\00:20:50.80
Now that's going to
become very important for us
00:20:51.12\00:20:52.72
in just a moment
because we're going to look at
00:20:52.75\00:20:54.29
one of the most significant,
arguably the single most sacred
00:20:54.59\00:20:59.08
text to Jewish persons
in the entire Old Testament.
00:20:59.11\00:21:03.00
We're going to look at
what the Jews call, the Shema,
00:21:03.03\00:21:05.60
which means, hear or to listen.
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.03
We're going to go
there in just a moment.
00:21:08.06\00:21:09.30
But at this point, I just want
you to put this idea on a shelf
00:21:09.33\00:21:11.88
in your mind that
a plural can be one.
00:21:11.89\00:21:15.58
And that's not necessarily
inherently contradictory.
00:21:15.61\00:21:18.45
Are we together
on that, everyone?
00:21:18.85\00:21:20.16
Because, the man and
the woman became one.
00:21:20.19\00:21:21.97
And here, the
people are... What?
00:21:22.00\00:21:24.03
The people are one.
00:21:24.04\00:21:25.04
Now, you're in
Genesis 11. Go to Genesis 18.
00:21:25.05\00:21:28.94
Now under normal circumstances,
if we had more time,
00:21:29.52\00:21:33.75
we would just read the whole
story of Genesis chapter 18.
00:21:33.78\00:21:36.85
We would just read it through.
00:21:36.86\00:21:37.86
But I'm just going to
quickly rehearse it for you.
00:21:37.87\00:21:40.46
A man by the man of Abraham...
00:21:40.68\00:21:42.55
What's his name, everyone?
00:21:42.69\00:21:43.85
A man by the name of Abraham is
sitting in the door of his tent
00:21:44.40\00:21:48.79
under the trees,
and he looks out.
00:21:48.82\00:21:50.71
And as Abraham looks
out, he sees three travelers.
00:21:50.72\00:21:53.00
How many travelers does
he see? Three travelers.
00:21:53.03\00:21:55.30
And in keeping with Middle
Eastern custom, he rushes out
00:21:55.33\00:21:58.13
to meet the three travelers.
00:21:58.16\00:21:59.27
And he invites them
to his place, "Hey, come.
00:21:59.30\00:22:01.45
Wash your feet, have
a meal, get some water."
00:22:01.48\00:22:03.22
And so the three
travelers come to Abrahams tent
00:22:03.25\00:22:05.63
there under the oaks.
00:22:05.66\00:22:06.70
I think it was at
a place called Mamre.
00:22:06.73\00:22:08.40
And they sit down and
they begin to interact.
00:22:08.43\00:22:10.94
They're talking,
they're conversing.
00:22:10.97\00:22:12.43
Now Abraham thinks that he has
just invited three travelers,
00:22:12.46\00:22:15.68
three sojourners that
are just making their way.
00:22:15.71\00:22:17.93
He doesn't know that who
he has actually invited in is
00:22:17.96\00:22:22.88
God Himself and two angels.
00:22:22.91\00:22:25.51
He doesn't know this.
00:22:25.54\00:22:26.54
Because they just look
like ordinary travelers.
00:22:26.57\00:22:28.90
Now in the course of
their time they spend together,
00:22:28.93\00:22:31.67
they talk and
they eat some food.
00:22:31.70\00:22:34.38
And then they say, "Okay,
well we've got to get going.
00:22:34.41\00:22:36.24
Okay, we've got to get going."
00:22:36.27\00:22:37.34
And so they say to
Abraham, "We're going to go."
00:22:37.37\00:22:39.93
And so Abraham, the
Bible says, sees them out.
00:22:40.11\00:22:42.79
Right, we do that. Don't we?
00:22:42.82\00:22:43.93
When people come to our
house and they get up to leave,
00:22:43.94\00:22:46.06
do we just say, "Okay, see you."
00:22:46.09\00:22:47.42
Do we see them to the door?
00:22:47.95\00:22:49.33
Yea, yea.
00:22:49.34\00:22:50.34
In some families, you say
bye to them in the living room,
00:22:50.35\00:22:52.37
then you say bye at the
door, then you say bye outside
00:22:52.40\00:22:54.41
of the door, then you say bye
at the car, and then you wave.
00:22:54.42\00:22:56.40
Right? It's like a
series of goodbye's.
00:22:56.43\00:22:57.99
So that's kind of
what Abraham's doing here.
00:22:58.19\00:23:00.15
He has had lunch with the three,
He has had a meal with them.
00:23:00.18\00:23:03.13
And then he sees them out.
00:23:03.16\00:23:05.26
And as he is seeing
them out, God says...
00:23:05.27\00:23:08.63
And this is right
toward the end of Genesis 18.
00:23:08.64\00:23:10.36
God says, "Am I going
to withhold this thing
00:23:10.39\00:23:14.70
that I'm going to do from
Abraham, seeing that Abraham
00:23:14.71\00:23:17.91
is My guy and I know
that he will command his
00:23:17.94\00:23:19.56
household after him?
00:23:19.67\00:23:20.67
Can I withhold from
Abraham what I am about to do?"
00:23:20.70\00:23:24.01
And as Abraham is seeing
them out, God is thinking this.
00:23:24.04\00:23:26.58
And then God turns to Abraham.
00:23:26.61\00:23:29.43
And the other two, the
Bible says, continue to walk.
00:23:29.46\00:23:32.35
God turns and He says to
Abraham, "Abraham, let Me
00:23:32.71\00:23:35.44
tell you what we're doing here.
00:23:35.45\00:23:36.60
There is a cry that has
come up to us, a great cry
00:23:37.03\00:23:40.41
from a certain
city, a pair of cities."
00:23:40.44\00:23:43.44
What were those two
cities? Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:23:43.47\00:23:45.61
"We have heard a great
cry that has come up to us.
00:23:45.64\00:23:47.49
And we're going down to see if
in fact it is as we have heard."
00:23:47.52\00:23:50.68
Right? We find this
many times in Scripture.
00:23:50.71\00:23:52.39
In Genesis chapter 3, God comes
down to see what Adam has done.
00:23:52.42\00:23:55.44
In Genesis chapter 11,
He goes down to see the
00:23:55.47\00:23:57.61
tower that the
sons of men had built.
00:23:57.62\00:23:58.84
We just saw that.
00:23:58.85\00:23:59.85
And here in Genesis 18, He
turns and He says to Abraham,
00:23:59.86\00:24:02.58
"We're going to Sodom
and Gomorrah to see if it's
00:24:02.61\00:24:05.17
as we've heard.
00:24:05.20\00:24:06.39
And if it is, those cities
are going to be destroyed."
00:24:06.42\00:24:09.19
Now Abraham is
immediately concerned because
00:24:09.22\00:24:11.24
he knows somebody who
lives in one of those cities.
00:24:11.27\00:24:13.14
And who is that? Lot.
00:24:13.15\00:24:14.91
Okay, so now
Abraham says to God...
00:24:14.94\00:24:17.99
And this is at the point where
he realizes, "Whoa, these are
00:24:18.01\00:24:20.03
not just ordinary travelers.
00:24:20.06\00:24:21.45
These are not just
ordinary sojourners.
00:24:21.46\00:24:23.28
This is," in fact he calls Him,
"the Judge of all the earth."
00:24:23.58\00:24:27.78
He says that to Him.
00:24:27.79\00:24:28.79
He says, "What? You're going to
go destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?"
00:24:28.80\00:24:31.93
Because Abraham knows
what kind of a city it is.
00:24:31.96\00:24:33.58
Okay?
00:24:33.59\00:24:34.59
And so he says, "What? Will
not the Judge of all the earth
00:24:34.61\00:24:38.32
do the right thing?"
00:24:38.33\00:24:39.33
Right? You familiar with this?
00:24:39.81\00:24:41.04
And he says, "What if
there were 50 righteous there?"
00:24:41.07\00:24:43.89
And God says... Does
anyone know what He says?
00:24:44.38\00:24:46.47
He says, "Well if
there were 50 righteous,
00:24:46.92\00:24:49.25
I would..." What?
00:24:49.28\00:24:50.36
"...I would preserve it."
00:24:50.54\00:24:51.54
And then Abraham says,
"But what if there were 45?"
00:24:51.57\00:24:54.24
God says, "I would preserve it."
00:24:54.25\00:24:55.25
"What if there were
40?" "I would preserve it."
00:24:55.26\00:24:56.39
"What if there were
30?" "What if there were 20?"
00:24:56.42\00:24:57.55
"What if there were 10?"
00:24:57.58\00:24:58.83
All the way down,
they're bargaining down to 10.
00:24:59.05\00:25:01.72
And God said, "Hey, if there
were 10, I would preserve it."
00:25:01.75\00:25:04.07
Now this is just
how Genesis 18 ends.
00:25:04.49\00:25:07.77
And let me just
walk you through that.
00:25:07.80\00:25:09.07
Go to Genesis chapter 18.
00:25:09.10\00:25:10.59
Let's just read the
last little bit there.
00:25:10.62\00:25:12.80
We'll pick it up in verse
31, the last three verses.
00:25:13.30\00:25:15.23
"And he said, 'Indeed now,
I have taken it upon myself
00:25:15.26\00:25:18.53
to speak to the Lord: Suppose
twenty should be found there?'
00:25:18.56\00:25:20.62
So He said, 'I will not destroy
it for the sake of twenty.'
00:25:20.65\00:25:22.28
Then he said, 'Let not the
Lord be angry, and I will speak
00:25:22.31\00:25:24.31
but once more: Suppose
ten should be found there?'
00:25:24.34\00:25:26.94
And He said, 'I will not destroy
it for the sake of ten.'"
00:25:26.97\00:25:28.42
Now look at verse 33.
00:25:28.43\00:25:29.49
"So the LORD went His way as
soon as He had finished speaking
00:25:29.52\00:25:33.01
with Abraham; and
Abraham returned to his place."
00:25:33.02\00:25:36.76
The word "LORD" there
is capital "L" capital "O"
00:25:36.79\00:25:38.84
capital "R" capital "D".
00:25:38.87\00:25:39.87
That's Jehovah. Okay?
00:25:39.90\00:25:41.62
So Abraham has just been
talking face to face with God.
00:25:41.65\00:25:46.30
Right? With who he calls,
"the Judge of all the earth."
00:25:46.33\00:25:50.05
And then after this
conversation is done...
00:25:50.08\00:25:51.95
Remember that
there's no breaks in the
00:25:51.98\00:25:55.23
way that Genesis was written.
00:25:55.25\00:25:56.25
In fact, the way that
the whole Bible was written.
00:25:56.26\00:25:57.80
The chapterisation,
the versification,
00:25:57.81\00:25:59.29
was added many
many centuries later.
00:25:59.32\00:26:01.54
In fact,
millennial later in this case.
00:26:01.57\00:26:03.15
Now look at the very
next thing that we read.
00:26:03.65\00:26:05.99
Chapter 19 verse 1,
it says, "Now the two..."
00:26:06.66\00:26:10.06
What does your Bible say?
00:26:10.09\00:26:11.23
"Now the two..." Well
who are the two angels?
00:26:11.89\00:26:13.78
Oh, simple.
00:26:14.27\00:26:15.42
They're the ones that were...
00:26:15.45\00:26:16.81
How many people
had lunch with Abraham?
00:26:16.82\00:26:18.87
Three, and one turned
to talk. That was God.
00:26:19.63\00:26:23.06
And the two angels
made their way to where?
00:26:23.09\00:26:25.85
They made their way
to Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:26:26.46\00:26:27.71
And you know the story, right?
They show up and they meet Lot.
00:26:27.72\00:26:30.64
And Lot says, "Hey,
come stay at my place."
00:26:30.67\00:26:32.29
"No, we'll just
sleep in the square."
00:26:32.32\00:26:33.43
"No, you're going to stay at my
place," and he brings them over.
00:26:33.46\00:26:35.32
Do we know the story?
00:26:35.33\00:26:36.34
Now you might be
saying, "What does this have to
00:26:36.43\00:26:37.85
do with the unknown God?"
00:26:37.88\00:26:39.22
Ah, now this is a
very interesting point.
00:26:39.25\00:26:42.50
We went through all of
that little story in Genesis 18
00:26:42.51\00:26:45.08
and 19 to
establish a very simple fact.
00:26:45.11\00:26:47.83
And that is, that
God; Jehovah, Yahweh...
00:26:47.86\00:26:52.41
Okay? God...
00:26:52.44\00:26:53.78
Who, everyone?
00:26:53.79\00:26:54.93
God is on the earth.
00:26:55.13\00:26:58.59
Are you with me on
that? He's on the earth.
00:26:59.21\00:27:01.26
We know that
because He was just eating
00:27:01.27\00:27:02.50
cheese in Abraham's tent.
00:27:02.51\00:27:04.06
Okay, that's what it says.
00:27:04.36\00:27:05.43
He's on the earth, He
was just talking to Abraham.
00:27:05.44\00:27:08.99
After that conversation is
done, He begins to walk and
00:27:09.02\00:27:12.37
starts to catch up to the
angels that have gone ahead.
00:27:12.38\00:27:15.50
Are we together, everyone?
00:27:15.51\00:27:16.65
Well as the angels arrive
there, they stay at Lot's house.
00:27:16.75\00:27:19.29
You know the story,
that the wicked people of
00:27:19.39\00:27:21.30
Sodom and
Gomorrah, Sodom in this case,
00:27:21.33\00:27:23.88
they come out and they
say, "Hey, we want these guys."
00:27:23.91\00:27:26.24
They're blinded.
00:27:26.27\00:27:27.43
And they basically say, "Hey
Lot, let me tell you what's up.
00:27:27.44\00:27:29.74
We're not just
ordinary travelers.
00:27:29.75\00:27:30.99
We're here to find
out if what we've heard
00:27:31.02\00:27:32.74
about this city is true.
00:27:32.75\00:27:33.75
We've seen that it is the case.
00:27:33.76\00:27:34.77
This city is
going to be destroyed.
00:27:35.07\00:27:36.56
Get your family and get out."
00:27:36.59\00:27:38.62
Right?
00:27:38.63\00:27:39.63
I'm telling you a very familiar
story that you would know.
00:27:39.64\00:27:42.69
Now watch this.
00:27:42.72\00:27:43.72
As the angels lay
hold on Lot and his wife,
00:27:43.75\00:27:47.93
begins to drag
them and the family out,
00:27:48.44\00:27:50.75
a very
interesting thing happens.
00:27:50.78\00:27:52.25
I'm in Genesis 19 now.
Let's pick it up in verse 19.
00:27:52.28\00:27:56.27
"Indeed now, your servant
has found favor in your sight,
00:27:56.72\00:27:59.73
and you have increased your
mercy which you have shown me
00:27:59.76\00:28:01.68
by saving my life; but I
cannot escape to the mountains,
00:28:01.69\00:28:04.10
lest some evil
overtake me and I die."
00:28:04.13\00:28:05.96
The angels had said,
"Run to the mountains."
00:28:06.27\00:28:08.15
But he's like, "Uh, I
don't really like camping.
00:28:08.60\00:28:11.07
I don't want to... I
can't go to the mountains.
00:28:11.37\00:28:13.40
I mean, I don't
even... Where do I sleep?
00:28:13.41\00:28:14.76
I don't have a sleeping
bag. I don't have a tent."
00:28:14.79\00:28:16.54
So he says, "I can't do that."
00:28:16.57\00:28:17.81
Verse 20, "See now,
there's a city over here.
00:28:17.84\00:28:20.25
Just a little
one. Just a small city.
00:28:20.28\00:28:22.65
Near enough to flee
to. It's just a small one.
00:28:22.68\00:28:25.85
Please let me escape there,
is it not just a little one,
00:28:25.88\00:28:28.41
and my soul will live."
00:28:28.44\00:28:29.76
Verse 21, "And he said to
him, 'See, I have favored you
00:28:29.79\00:28:32.36
concerning this thing
also, in that I will not
00:28:32.39\00:28:34.02
overthrow this city for
which you have spoken.'"
00:28:34.05\00:28:35.64
Lot was apparently a
bit of a city boy. Right?
00:28:36.04\00:28:38.16
And so he says,
"I can't go camping.
00:28:38.19\00:28:39.32
I want to go to the city."
00:28:39.33\00:28:40.33
"Okay then, go to Zoar."
00:28:40.34\00:28:41.43
Verse 22, "'Hurry, escape there.
00:28:41.46\00:28:42.98
For I cannot do anything
until you arrive there.'
00:28:43.01\00:28:45.53
Therefore the name of
the city was called Zoar."
00:28:45.56\00:28:47.09
Which means,
little. Or insignificant.
00:28:47.12\00:28:49.52
Now verse 23, "The
sun had risen upon the
00:28:49.55\00:28:51.86
earth when Lot entered Zoar."
00:28:51.87\00:28:52.87
Now just stop right
there, I want to get the story
00:28:52.88\00:28:55.75
very simply in our mind.
00:28:55.78\00:28:56.78
Lot has come out
of the city. Right?
00:28:57.72\00:29:00.25
And the angels
have said, "Run away.
00:29:00.26\00:29:02.16
Run away to the hills."
00:29:02.17\00:29:03.17
"Well, I don't
want to go to the hills.
00:29:03.18\00:29:04.71
Can I go to this little
city? Can I go to Zoar?"
00:29:04.75\00:29:06.92
"Go to Zoar because I
can't do what I'm going to do
00:29:06.93\00:29:10.52
until you get there."
00:29:10.55\00:29:11.66
And so it says that
Lot makes his way to Zoar.
00:29:11.69\00:29:13.79
Now watch what happens as God,
who had been talking to Abraham,
00:29:13.82\00:29:19.05
has now apparently
arrived at the scene.
00:29:19.08\00:29:22.35
He is now at the scene as well.
00:29:22.71\00:29:25.69
And one of the most intriguing
verses in all of Genesis
00:29:25.72\00:29:29.16
occurs in verse 24.
00:29:29.19\00:29:30.57
Okay, and you'll understand
why we went through this
00:29:30.87\00:29:32.35
whole story to establish this.
00:29:32.38\00:29:34.20
Loot at Genesis
chapter 19 verse 24.
00:29:34.23\00:29:36.47
It says, "Then the LORD..."
00:29:36.50\00:29:38.44
That's capital "L" capital
"O" capital "R" capital "D".
00:29:38.47\00:29:40.78
That's Yahweh.
00:29:40.81\00:29:41.91
That's the God of
the Old Testament.
00:29:42.20\00:29:43.68
"Then Yahweh rained
brimstone and fire on..."
00:29:43.98\00:29:48.71
What two cities?
00:29:48.74\00:29:49.97
Sodom and
Gomorrah. Now watch this.
00:29:50.37\00:29:51.76
"...from the
LORD..." Capital "LORD".
00:29:51.79\00:29:55.03
"...from the LORD,"
Yahweh, "out of the heavens."
00:29:55.68\00:30:00.65
Now look at that verse again.
00:30:01.44\00:30:02.67
"Then Yahweh
rained fire and brimstone
00:30:03.34\00:30:05.64
on Sodom and Gomorrah from
Yahweh out of the heavens."
00:30:05.67\00:30:09.13
I want to ask you
a simple question.
00:30:09.14\00:30:10.56
How many Yahwehs do
you have in that verse?
00:30:10.59\00:30:12.37
You have two Yahwehs
in that verse, don't you.
00:30:14.45\00:30:16.43
Do you see it?
00:30:17.10\00:30:18.47
You have two
Lords in that verse.
00:30:18.87\00:30:20.87
Now you might be
saying, "Well wait a minute.
00:30:20.89\00:30:21.89
How do we know
there's two Lords there?"
00:30:21.90\00:30:22.96
Very simple.
00:30:22.97\00:30:23.97
Because one of those
Lords was just eating cheese in
00:30:23.98\00:30:26.86
Abrahams tent and then
discussing with Abraham
00:30:26.89\00:30:29.09
the destruction of Sodom
and how many people would
00:30:29.10\00:30:30.53
need to be there in
order for Him to preserve it.
00:30:30.56\00:30:31.90
He then turns.
00:30:31.93\00:30:33.03
And the point of
this is to let you know
00:30:33.06\00:30:34.84
that God's feet are on earth.
00:30:34.87\00:30:36.86
He is with Abraham.
00:30:36.89\00:30:38.25
Are you with me? Yes or no.
00:30:38.70\00:30:39.76
So when He finally shows
up and Lot has made his way to
00:30:40.06\00:30:42.56
Zoar, it says, "Yahweh, Jehovah,
the Lord, rained brimstone and
00:30:42.59\00:30:48.82
fire from Yahweh
out of the heavens."
00:30:48.85\00:30:52.68
Question, what
direction does rain come from?
00:30:53.87\00:30:58.49
No, rain doesn't go up.
00:30:58.99\00:31:00.50
Maybe it does here.
00:31:00.53\00:31:01.80
Rains comes from
up, but it comes down.
00:31:01.83\00:31:04.38
Are you with me on that?
00:31:04.46\00:31:05.48
I misunderstood
what you were saying.
00:31:05.49\00:31:06.49
Rain comes down.
00:31:06.50\00:31:07.49
So you have Jehovah
there, Yahweh there...
00:31:07.52\00:31:11.10
Right?
00:31:11.13\00:31:12.13
...who is having fire
and brimstone come down.
00:31:12.16\00:31:14.65
So He calls to
Him, "Bring it down."
00:31:14.68\00:31:17.49
You've got two
Jehovahs in that verse.
00:31:17.52\00:31:18.95
Two Yahwehs in the verse.
00:31:18.98\00:31:20.43
I'm using those names
interchangeably because
00:31:20.46\00:31:22.25
we don't know exactly what
the correct pronunciation is.
00:31:22.26\00:31:24.18
Okay?
00:31:24.19\00:31:25.19
Now the point is basically this.
00:31:25.21\00:31:26.86
We might read
that and think, "Whoa."
00:31:26.87\00:31:28.25
I remember one time, I studied
this with a Jehovah's Witness.
00:31:28.28\00:31:30.25
Just went through the
story with a Jehovah's Witness
00:31:30.28\00:31:31.95
on the airplane.
00:31:31.98\00:31:33.03
And he was like, "Oh yea,"
"Oh yea," "Oh yea," "Oh yea."
00:31:33.06\00:31:34.95
And we get down to
verse 24, he was like...
00:31:34.98\00:31:36.85
"I've got to study
that out," he says.
00:31:38.21\00:31:40.44
"I've got to study that out."
00:31:40.64\00:31:41.64
I said, "You do
that, you study it out."
00:31:41.67\00:31:43.07
The point is basically this.
00:31:43.10\00:31:44.58
This is not some radical strange
weird thing when we follow
00:31:45.56\00:31:49.55
the basic directionality
that Genesis has us headed in.
00:31:49.56\00:31:52.31
In Genesis chapter 1,
"Let Us make man in Our image."
00:31:52.34\00:31:55.24
In Genesis chapter 3, "Man
has become like one of Us."
00:31:55.25\00:31:58.51
In Genesis chapter 11,
"Come let Us go down and
00:31:58.54\00:32:00.84
confuse the language."
00:32:00.87\00:32:01.86
Here in Genesis 18, the Lord
is having lunch with Abraham.
00:32:01.89\00:32:05.88
And then the Lord
calls down fire and brimstone
00:32:05.91\00:32:08.21
from the Lord
out of the heavens.
00:32:08.24\00:32:09.94
What we're seeing here
is a common thread of hints.
00:32:10.14\00:32:15.84
What word did I
say, everyone? Hints.
00:32:16.44\00:32:18.56
Now do these passages
prove that God is a Trinity?
00:32:18.63\00:32:22.87
No, they don't prove
that God is a Trinity.
00:32:23.60\00:32:25.16
But what they do
is very interesting.
00:32:25.17\00:32:26.99
They get us headed in
a direction that when we
00:32:27.37\00:32:29.87
get to the New
Testament becomes crystal clear.
00:32:29.88\00:32:32.91
If all you had were
the Old Testament...
00:32:33.32\00:32:35.37
Let's just imagine that the
New Testament does not exist
00:32:35.40\00:32:38.14
and all we have
is the Old Testament.
00:32:38.15\00:32:39.15
So we're Jews, let's just say.
00:32:39.16\00:32:40.65
If all you had
was the Old Testament,
00:32:40.98\00:32:42.79
I'm going to go
on record as saying,
00:32:42.82\00:32:44.14
you would not emerge from
a study of the Old Testament
00:32:44.24\00:32:47.33
as a Trinitarian.
00:32:47.36\00:32:48.35
You wouldn't.
00:32:48.38\00:32:49.40
That's why the Jews
are not Trinitarian.
00:32:49.43\00:32:51.75
If all you had was the Old
Testament, what you could say
00:32:51.76\00:32:54.94
is that there are hints and
suggestions that point in the
00:32:54.97\00:32:59.93
direction of the
plurality of God.
00:32:59.96\00:33:02.53
But you would not say, "Oh,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
00:33:02.56\00:33:06.03
But what is hinted
at and what is suggested
00:33:06.06\00:33:09.19
and what is
directional in the Old Testament
00:33:09.22\00:33:11.42
becomes explicitly
clear in the New Testament.
00:33:11.45\00:33:14.81
Are you with me on that?
00:33:14.84\00:33:16.16
Now I want to show you
just a couple more things here
00:33:16.46\00:33:17.90
that I find very interesting
in the Old Testament.
00:33:17.91\00:33:21.23
Just a couple.
00:33:21.24\00:33:22.24
Go with me to Numbers chapter 6.
00:33:22.90\00:33:25.26
Numbers chapter 6.
00:33:26.50\00:33:27.62
We leave Genesis,
through Exodus, Leviticus.
00:33:27.65\00:33:29.94
Numbers chapter 6.
00:33:29.98\00:33:32.73
Now this is another
passage that I find intriguing.
00:33:32.76\00:33:35.63
Not as proof, but as suggestive.
00:33:35.66\00:33:39.51
What's the word that
I used there, everyone?
00:33:39.94\00:33:41.55
Suggestive.
00:33:41.62\00:33:42.63
I want to be very
clear on that word.
00:33:42.65\00:33:44.39
It's suggestive,
it's not definitive.
00:33:44.42\00:33:46.49
It's not
definitive. It's suggestive.
00:33:46.95\00:33:48.62
Now look at this.
00:33:48.63\00:33:49.63
In Numbers chapter 6,
this is God speaking to Moses.
00:33:49.64\00:33:54.13
And He says to Moses, "Moses,
when the priests put My blessing
00:33:54.16\00:33:59.27
and My name on the people
of Israel, they need to do it
00:33:59.30\00:34:03.09
in a certain way.
00:34:03.12\00:34:05.26
And when they do it in
that certain way, they have to
00:34:05.29\00:34:06.97
do it just like this."
00:34:07.00\00:34:10.00
Okay, now you'll be
familiar with this blessing.
00:34:10.03\00:34:11.64
Verse 22, Numbers
chapter 6 verse 22.
00:34:11.67\00:34:14.24
"And the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying, 'Speak to Aaron
00:34:14.27\00:34:16.78
and his sons, saying,
"This is the way you shall
00:34:16.81\00:34:19.12
bless the children of
Israel, say to them..."'"
00:34:19.13\00:34:20.47
God is very particular.
00:34:20.50\00:34:21.50
"This is how you do it."
00:34:22.06\00:34:23.37
And watch how the
blessing is to be pronounced.
00:34:23.40\00:34:25.15
The official
priestly benediction from God
00:34:25.16\00:34:28.29
on His people
through the priests.
00:34:28.32\00:34:29.97
Verse 24, "Yahweh
bless you and keep you."
00:34:30.39\00:34:34.49
Verse 25, "Yahweh make
His face shine upon you,
00:34:34.52\00:34:37.39
and be gracious to you."
00:34:37.42\00:34:38.56
Verse 26, "Yahweh lift
up His countenance upon you,
00:34:38.59\00:34:41.45
and give you peace."
00:34:41.48\00:34:42.62
Verse 27, "So they shall
put My name on the children of
00:34:42.65\00:34:46.58
Israel, and I will bless them."
00:34:46.61\00:34:48.09
Now isn't it interesting that
the official priestly blessing
00:34:48.78\00:34:52.56
and benediction that God gives
to Moses to give to the people
00:34:52.57\00:34:57.23
is a threefold blessing.
00:34:57.26\00:34:59.54
Yahweh do this, Yahweh
do this, Yahweh do this.
00:34:59.57\00:35:02.83
Now, does this
prove the Trinity?
00:35:03.63\00:35:06.05
Not at all.
00:35:06.59\00:35:07.59
Does it prove the
triune nature of God?
00:35:07.60\00:35:10.01
Not at all.
00:35:10.03\00:35:11.03
But it's suggestive.
00:35:11.04\00:35:12.86
Particularly when we
get to the New Testament and
00:35:12.89\00:35:15.43
Jesus begins to say
very radical things like,
00:35:15.46\00:35:18.81
"I and My Father are one."
00:35:18.84\00:35:23.45
Right?
00:35:23.46\00:35:24.46
So the official
priestly benediction
00:35:24.47\00:35:26.82
is a threefold blessing.
00:35:26.83\00:35:28.68
Let me show you
another one of those.
00:35:28.69\00:35:29.91
Go with me to
the book of Isaiah.
00:35:29.94\00:35:32.08
Isaiah chapter 6.
00:35:32.11\00:35:33.41
Isaiah has
wondered into the temple.
00:35:34.67\00:35:37.11
I don't know if he
wondered there or not
00:35:37.14\00:35:38.37
but he has made
his way to the temple.
00:35:38.40\00:35:39.71
And as he goes into the temple,
he sees the Lord of hosts.
00:35:40.44\00:35:43.43
And as he sees the Lord
of hosts high and lifted up,
00:35:43.88\00:35:46.52
he sees these angels
that are flying around that
00:35:46.55\00:35:48.65
have three pairs of wings.
00:35:48.66\00:35:49.91
And with two they cover their
feet, and with two they cover
00:35:49.94\00:35:52.14
their face, and
with two they fly.
00:35:52.17\00:35:54.20
And these angels are
crying out something.
00:35:54.23\00:35:57.07
Oh, what are they
crying out? What is it?
00:35:57.87\00:35:59.54
Not "holy" one time.
Not "holy, holy" two times.
00:35:59.93\00:36:05.77
They're crying out
what? "Holy, holy, holy."
00:36:06.11\00:36:09.93
Which raises the
question, why three?
00:36:09.96\00:36:11.85
Why is the number of holys
that the angels cry out three?
00:36:12.62\00:36:17.35
It's the very same thing
that we find in Revelation
00:36:17.38\00:36:19.06
chapter 4 verse 8,
"Holy, holy, holy."
00:36:19.09\00:36:23.03
Now, does this
again prove the Trinity?
00:36:23.33\00:36:25.40
No, it's not proof.
It's not determinative.
00:36:25.92\00:36:28.47
But it's suggestive.
00:36:28.50\00:36:30.03
Now in this very
passage, there's something
00:36:30.06\00:36:31.65
else quite interesting.
00:36:31.66\00:36:32.76
It says here in verse 7,
we'll pick it up in verse 7,
00:36:32.77\00:36:36.16
"He touched my mouth
with this coal and he said,
00:36:36.17\00:36:38.48
'Behold, this has
touched your lips;
00:36:38.49\00:36:39.87
your iniquity is taken
away, and your sin is purged.'
00:36:39.90\00:36:41.60
I also heard the
voice of the Lord, saying,
00:36:41.90\00:36:44.32
'Whom shall I send,
and who will go for Us?'"
00:36:44.62\00:36:51.39
"Who will go for Us?"
00:36:52.11\00:36:53.19
The, "Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts,"
00:36:53.54\00:36:56.17
in this very same passage
refers to Himself as an "Us."
00:36:56.20\00:36:59.91
Are we beginning to see
a bit of a pattern here?
00:37:00.53\00:37:03.06
God referring to
Himself with plural pronouns?
00:37:03.54\00:37:07.07
God referring to
Himself as Elohim in the plural?
00:37:07.10\00:37:10.16
"Yahweh bless you and keep you.
00:37:10.56\00:37:11.70
Yahweh make His
face to shine upon you.
00:37:11.73\00:37:13.14
Yahweh be gracious unto you."
00:37:13.17\00:37:14.86
"Jehovah rain fire and brimstone
from Jehovah out of the heaven."
00:37:14.89\00:37:17.95
Are we beginning to see
a bit of a pattern here?
00:37:18.05\00:37:19.72
Yes or no.
00:37:19.73\00:37:20.74
Stay in Isaiah, look at
chapter 9, Isaiah chapter 9.
00:37:20.94\00:37:24.20
And then I think this
will be our final text from
00:37:24.23\00:37:26.33
the Old Testament and then we'll
get into the New Testament.
00:37:26.36\00:37:27.88
No, we'll look at one
more in the Old Testament.
00:37:28.11\00:37:29.86
Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6.
00:37:30.24\00:37:31.37
It's the one I told
you we'd look at there.
00:37:31.38\00:37:32.73
The most sacred text to
a Jewish person; the Shema.
00:37:32.74\00:37:37.35
But before we do that,
Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6.
00:37:37.95\00:37:40.09
Look at this one.
You'll know this one.
00:37:40.12\00:37:41.70
The Christmas season is
just past here not too long ago.
00:37:41.73\00:37:44.25
And this is a passage
that we often associate with
00:37:44.28\00:37:46.72
the Christmas season.
00:37:46.73\00:37:47.99
"For unto us a Child is
born, unto us a Son is given;
00:37:48.02\00:37:52.27
and the government
will be upon His shoulder.
00:37:52.30\00:37:53.84
His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor,
00:37:53.85\00:37:56.35
Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."
00:37:56.38\00:38:01.65
Now that's very interesting.
00:38:01.68\00:38:03.06
The Son is called Mighty God.
00:38:03.66\00:38:07.86
The Son is called
Everlasting Father.
00:38:08.33\00:38:11.30
Now sometimes
that throws people off.
00:38:11.33\00:38:12.66
They say, "What? How is He
the Son and He's the Father?"
00:38:12.69\00:38:15.32
Well, He's the
Father in this sense.
00:38:16.29\00:38:18.21
In this particular sense, He
is the Father of the human race,
00:38:18.24\00:38:22.08
the new Father
of the human race.
00:38:22.11\00:38:23.67
Adam, of course,
was the first father.
00:38:23.68\00:38:25.17
He failed.
00:38:25.18\00:38:26.18
But Jesus, in a very special
sense, Paul refers to Him
00:38:26.19\00:38:29.14
in the New
Testament as the second Adam.
00:38:29.17\00:38:31.19
Right? He's the new
Father of the human race.
00:38:31.68\00:38:33.90
That's why we
have to be born again.
00:38:33.93\00:38:35.50
We were born the first
time under the old Adam.
00:38:35.53\00:38:37.60
And we're born
again under the new Adam.
00:38:37.63\00:38:39.33
Can you say amen to that?
00:38:39.48\00:38:40.73
So here's a very
interesting thing.
00:38:40.79\00:38:41.92
Think about this.
00:38:41.94\00:38:42.94
If you have a
horse, what is the...
00:38:42.95\00:38:46.60
I don't know if this
is the correct language.
00:38:47.21\00:38:48.39
The son of a horse is
what kind of an animal?
00:38:48.42\00:38:50.89
I know that's really bad.
00:38:51.62\00:38:52.74
I don't know
anything about horses.
00:38:52.75\00:38:54.10
Foal, okay.
00:38:54.48\00:38:55.54
But what kind
of an animal is it.
00:38:55.55\00:38:57.20
Is it a chicken?
00:38:57.22\00:38:58.39
It's a horse. Okay.
00:38:59.04\00:39:00.14
So let me make it very simple.
00:39:00.15\00:39:01.15
Horse, horse.
00:39:01.18\00:39:02.26
If you have progeny,
if you have descendants
00:39:02.27\00:39:04.12
from a horse, it's a horse.
00:39:04.15\00:39:05.69
If you have a
pig, you have a pig.
00:39:05.72\00:39:07.44
If you have a
fish, you have a fish.
00:39:07.47\00:39:09.18
If you have a
human, you have a human.
00:39:09.21\00:39:10.42
Right? So think this through.
00:39:10.43\00:39:11.78
If the Son is Mighty
God, what's the Father?
00:39:11.79\00:39:16.56
He's God. He's God too.
00:39:17.43\00:39:18.95
So if the Son is God
and the Father is God,
00:39:18.98\00:39:21.68
then how many
Yahwehs do you have there?
00:39:21.71\00:39:24.23
You have two.
00:39:24.39\00:39:25.39
So what we see here
is very fascinating.
00:39:25.40\00:39:27.89
In the Old Testament, we
don't have proof positive
00:39:27.92\00:39:31.46
that God is in fact a plurality
in terms of a triunity.
00:39:31.49\00:39:35.87
But we do see suggestions.
00:39:35.90\00:39:38.37
We see... What's
the word, everyone?
00:39:38.77\00:39:40.07
...suggestions that
hint in that direction.
00:39:40.42\00:39:42.68
Now what we're going to do
is we're going to transition
00:39:42.71\00:39:43.93
to the final passage.
00:39:43.96\00:39:45.77
This is the one I
was mentioning there.
00:39:45.78\00:39:47.25
Deuteronomy 6.
00:39:47.26\00:39:49.38
And if you were to ask
one of your Jewish friends,
00:39:49.41\00:39:53.38
what is the essence
of the Old Testament,
00:39:53.99\00:39:56.74
what is the most important,
most central, most sacred verse
00:39:56.75\00:40:00.87
in the Old Testament, they would
almost certainly take you to
00:40:00.90\00:40:05.27
Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4.
00:40:05.30\00:40:06.99
Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse
4, referred to by the Jews as
00:40:07.46\00:40:11.80
the Shema, the Shema.
00:40:11.83\00:40:13.40
Which means; listen, hear.
00:40:13.43\00:40:16.09
Deuteronomy chapter 6
verse 4, "Hear, O Israel:
00:40:16.97\00:40:20.72
The Lord our
God, the Lord is..."
00:40:21.38\00:40:25.90
What does your Bible say?
00:40:25.93\00:40:27.14
"...one."
00:40:27.72\00:40:28.83
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one."
00:40:29.11\00:40:31.70
Now what this
actually says in the Hebrew is,
00:40:31.73\00:40:34.04
Jehovah or
Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim...
00:40:34.07\00:40:37.46
Yahweh is the appropriate
personal name of God.
00:40:37.49\00:40:41.78
Again, we don't know if
that's the exact right voweling.
00:40:41.81\00:40:45.97
But, Yahweh.
00:40:45.98\00:40:47.35
"Elohim Yahweh echad."
00:40:47.38\00:40:51.41
Okay, now let me
unpack that for you there.
00:40:52.18\00:40:53.64
"The Lord our
God, the Lord is one."
00:40:54.55\00:40:57.79
"Jehovah," or
Yahweh, "Elohim..."
00:40:58.14\00:41:00.78
Remember that's our term for,
that's a plural word for God.
00:41:00.79\00:41:04.36
Again, "...Jehovah echad."
00:41:04.76\00:41:08.07
"Yahweh Elohim, Yahweh echad,"
00:41:08.92\00:41:11.84
is exactly what
that verse is saying.
00:41:11.87\00:41:13.31
Now here's an interesting thing.
00:41:13.34\00:41:14.62
We've already seen how
the word "echad" is used
00:41:15.56\00:41:19.02
in Hebrew thinking.
00:41:19.05\00:41:20.43
"The two become echad."
00:41:20.84\00:41:23.79
That's Genesis chapter 2.
00:41:24.26\00:41:25.56
In Genesis 11 with the
building of the tower of Babel,
00:41:25.59\00:41:27.88
"Behold, the people,"
many, "are echad," one.
00:41:27.91\00:41:33.83
And so here when it
says, "Jehovah is echad,"
00:41:33.99\00:41:37.57
is doesn't mean
Jehovah is a rigid singularity.
00:41:37.60\00:41:41.70
The word for that
would be "yachid."
00:41:41.73\00:41:43.35
That would be the...
00:41:43.36\00:41:44.36
In fact, I think I've got
an interesting little thing.
00:41:44.37\00:41:47.01
Let me just read this to you.
00:41:47.02\00:41:48.14
Very interesting
great little book here.
00:41:48.55\00:41:50.29
It's actually not
particularly little.
00:41:51.33\00:41:52.82
But it's a book
called "The Trinity:
00:41:52.83\00:41:56.18
Understanding God's
Love, His Plan of Salvation,
00:41:56.21\00:41:58.68
and Christian Relationships."
00:41:58.71\00:42:00.60
By Woodrow Whidden,
Jerry Moon, John W. Reeve.
00:42:00.61\00:42:03.60
Love this book.
00:42:03.61\00:42:04.61
Great
introduction to the subject.
00:42:04.62\00:42:06.34
Let me just read you a
very short statement here
00:42:06.37\00:42:09.55
on this particular word "echad."
00:42:09.58\00:42:12.34
The authors write, "What is
striking about this important
00:42:13.16\00:42:16.84
word translated as
'one' in English is that it is
00:42:16.85\00:42:20.86
the Hebrew word 'echad.'
00:42:20.89\00:42:22.29
It means, one among others.
00:42:22.32\00:42:25.68
The emphasis being
on a particular one.
00:42:25.71\00:42:28.21
The possibility of there being
others is inherent in 'echad,'
00:42:28.24\00:42:32.10
but 'yachid'
precludes that possibility.
00:42:32.13\00:42:35.21
Another way to explain 'echad'
is that it refers to the oneness
00:42:35.53\00:42:39.65
that results from a
unity of numerous persons.
00:42:39.68\00:42:44.48
Now Moses most certainly
had the Hebrew word 'yachid,'
00:42:44.71\00:42:47.73
which he could have employed
if he wanted to describe the
00:42:47.76\00:42:50.92
Lord God of Israel as an
exclusively unitary being."
00:42:50.95\00:42:55.82
He does not say,
"Yahweh is yachid."
00:42:56.32\00:42:59.35
One in the solitary sense.
00:42:59.38\00:43:01.70
He says, "Yahweh is echad."
One in the unified sense.
00:43:01.71\00:43:06.92
In the same sense that a
man and a woman are one family,
00:43:06.95\00:43:11.26
one flesh.
00:43:11.29\00:43:12.80
In the same sense that the
people are unified in language,
00:43:12.83\00:43:15.90
they are unified in purpose.
00:43:15.93\00:43:17.22
This is why, as Christians, we
affirm this glorious wonderful
00:43:17.25\00:43:21.33
sublime and yet mysterious
truth that God is one,
00:43:21.34\00:43:25.66
but He is three
Persons that comprise one God.
00:43:26.90\00:43:30.98
Now, that's sort
of the Old Testament.
00:43:31.81\00:43:33.33
That gets us
headed in a direction.
00:43:33.36\00:43:35.33
We transition now
to the New Testament.
00:43:35.34\00:43:37.38
We're going to look at several
passages in the New Testament
00:43:37.41\00:43:40.02
that strongly suggest.
00:43:40.03\00:43:41.69
What is implicit in the Old
Testament becomes increasingly
00:43:41.72\00:43:45.10
explicit in the New Testament.
00:43:45.13\00:43:46.65
And we run into so many
passages in which God is
00:43:47.05\00:43:50.68
very explicitly, I would
say, communicating not just
00:43:51.52\00:43:55.80
plurality, but now triunity.
00:43:55.81\00:43:58.64
Not just two, but three.
00:43:59.04\00:44:01.97
And one of them
is Matthew chapter 3.
00:44:02.28\00:44:04.75
Join me there if you would.
00:44:04.78\00:44:05.94
Matthew chapter 3, this is the
story of the baptism of Jesus.
00:44:06.86\00:44:11.09
And in the story of the
baptism of Jesus, we encounter
00:44:11.28\00:44:14.78
all three
members of the Godhead;
00:44:14.81\00:44:18.18
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:44:18.21\00:44:20.50
We'll pick it up in verse
14, Matthew chapter 3 verse 14.
00:44:20.81\00:44:24.54
"And John tried to prevent Him,
saying, 'I need to be baptized
00:44:24.57\00:44:27.05
by You, and are
You coming to me?'
00:44:27.08\00:44:28.53
But Jesus answered and said
to him, 'Permit it to be so now,
00:44:28.91\00:44:31.41
for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.'
00:44:31.44\00:44:33.72
Then he allowed Him.
00:44:33.75\00:44:34.82
When He had been baptized..."
00:44:35.13\00:44:37.00
"He" is Jesus. So there's one.
00:44:37.03\00:44:39.15
"...Jesus came up immediately
from the water; and behold,
00:44:39.91\00:44:41.89
the heavens were opened to Him,
and He saw the Spirit of God..."
00:44:41.92\00:44:44.54
There's a second entity.
00:44:44.57\00:44:46.03
"...descending like a
dove and alighting upon Him."
00:44:46.30\00:44:49.02
Verse 17, "And suddenly a
voice came from..." Where?
00:44:49.75\00:44:53.40
"...heaven..." Okay, question.
00:44:53.90\00:44:55.19
Where is Jesus at this point?
00:44:55.22\00:44:56.95
He's standing in the muddy
waters of the river Jordan.
00:44:57.16\00:44:59.65
Right? And so the
voice comes from heaven.
00:44:59.68\00:45:03.13
"This is My beloved..." What?
00:45:03.16\00:45:06.26
"...Son, in whom
I am well pleased."
00:45:06.51\00:45:08.07
This is an
unambiguous triadic reference.
00:45:08.08\00:45:12.04
A triadic reference.
00:45:12.34\00:45:13.51
Do we see the Son here?
00:45:13.54\00:45:15.18
Yes or no.
00:45:15.78\00:45:16.78
Do we see the Father here?
00:45:16.87\00:45:18.62
Do we see the Spirit here?
00:45:18.98\00:45:20.86
So we see Father, we
see Son, and we see Spirit.
00:45:21.03\00:45:24.31
Again, what's implicit
in the Old Testament becomes
00:45:24.34\00:45:27.38
explicit in the New Testament.
00:45:27.41\00:45:29.22
Now stay in
Matthew, go to chapter 28.
00:45:29.25\00:45:31.43
From the beginning of Matthew...
00:45:31.46\00:45:32.96
By the way, it's
very interesting.
00:45:32.99\00:45:34.22
This is something that
just occurred to me recently.
00:45:34.23\00:45:36.21
In Jesus' baptism,
all three are present.
00:45:37.17\00:45:40.10
He's present, His
Father is present,
00:45:40.42\00:45:42.36
and the Spirit is present.
00:45:42.39\00:45:43.70
When Jesus gives the command...
00:45:44.01\00:45:45.89
This is so awesome.
I can't believe I...
00:45:45.92\00:45:47.79
This was literally staring
me in the face for years.
00:45:47.82\00:45:51.01
This is just one of the
great things about Bible study.
00:45:51.04\00:45:53.30
You read it, you read
it, you read it, you read it.
00:45:53.59\00:45:55.26
And one day you wake up
and you read it in a new way.
00:45:55.27\00:45:57.84
And you think, "How
did I not see that before?"
00:45:57.85\00:46:00.62
But as the gospel of Matthew
comes to a close and God gives
00:46:00.95\00:46:04.45
command to the
disciples to go baptize,
00:46:04.48\00:46:07.90
guess who shows up?
00:46:08.20\00:46:10.13
All three.
00:46:10.56\00:46:11.63
Right? Look at this.
00:46:11.66\00:46:12.79
Matthew chapter 28 and verse
18, "And Jesus came and spoke
00:46:12.82\00:46:15.54
to them, saying, 'All
authority has been given to Me
00:46:15.57\00:46:17.86
in heaven and on earth.
00:46:17.87\00:46:18.87
Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations..."
00:46:18.89\00:46:21.14
What's the next word?
00:46:21.15\00:46:22.15
"...baptizing them..."
So there's the context.
00:46:22.56\00:46:24.43
"...baptizing
them in the name..."
00:46:24.46\00:46:27.02
And by the way, I was sitting
just today right over here
00:46:27.51\00:46:30.90
in the housing for
3ABN with my good friend,
00:46:30.93\00:46:33.76
Dr Ranko Stefanovic,
who's getting ready to do a live
00:46:33.79\00:46:36.81
program on this, which is
going to be absolutely awesome,
00:46:36.84\00:46:39.83
and he showed it to
me right in the Greek.
00:46:39.84\00:46:41.66
He said, "David, look at this."
00:46:41.69\00:46:42.67
This is not "names," plural.
00:46:42.70\00:46:46.14
It's "name," singular.
00:46:46.17\00:46:48.62
"...baptizing them in
the name..." singular.
00:46:48.90\00:46:51.35
But watch this.
00:46:51.36\00:46:52.36
"...of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
00:46:52.37\00:46:58.20
teaching them to
observe all things that I have
00:46:58.82\00:47:00.30
commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always,
00:47:00.33\00:47:01.45
even to the end of the age."
00:47:01.46\00:47:02.46
Now there's several things
that we need to note here.
00:47:02.47\00:47:03.82
The first one is very
fascinating, and that is this.
00:47:03.85\00:47:06.07
There's a single
name which argues for the
00:47:08.54\00:47:10.51
singularity of God.
00:47:10.54\00:47:11.80
Amen?
00:47:12.20\00:47:13.20
There's only one God.
00:47:13.41\00:47:14.88
But in that single name, there
is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:47:14.91\00:47:19.73
Now what is clear in the
English is super duper clear,
00:47:20.32\00:47:24.59
super duper
duper clear... Right?
00:47:24.62\00:47:27.95
That's the theological
term; super duper duper.
00:47:27.98\00:47:30.83
Because, in the Greek
it's literally "and the."
00:47:32.53\00:47:36.43
Everyone is preceded
by the definite article.
00:47:36.46\00:47:39.72
"And the Father, and
the Son, and the Spirit."
00:47:39.75\00:47:46.21
Now the fascinating thing
is that just as in the Greek
00:47:46.44\00:47:49.19
as also in the English,
when you have a list of things
00:47:49.22\00:47:52.43
that are preceded by
the definite article...
00:47:52.46\00:47:54.35
In the English,
that would be "the".
00:47:54.38\00:47:55.52
Right?
00:47:55.53\00:47:56.53
In the Greek, it's "to".
00:47:56.54\00:47:59.57
When you have a list of things,
whether it's two or three
00:48:00.04\00:48:03.38
or more, it is usually always
the case, it's almost always
00:48:03.41\00:48:09.06
the case that the things
that are being described are
00:48:09.09\00:48:11.59
the same kind of thing.
00:48:11.62\00:48:13.51
Let me give you an example.
00:48:13.54\00:48:14.56
Peter, James, and John.
00:48:15.60\00:48:17.85
That's a list of three.
00:48:17.88\00:48:19.25
Peter, James, and
John. They're all people.
00:48:19.26\00:48:22.05
It's not Peter,
James, and horse.
00:48:22.20\00:48:24.83
Okay it's not Peter,
James, and fruit smoothie.
00:48:25.41\00:48:28.61
Okay, it's the
same kind of thing.
00:48:28.64\00:48:31.39
Here's another one.
00:48:31.42\00:48:32.42
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
00:48:32.45\00:48:35.58
They're the same kind of
thing. They're all gifts.
00:48:36.09\00:48:39.28
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.
00:48:39.31\00:48:41.72
So when you have things that are
set off in this list fashion,
00:48:41.75\00:48:46.11
especially when
they are preceded by the
00:48:46.14\00:48:48.55
definite article, "the Father,
the Son, the Holy Ghost,"
00:48:48.58\00:48:52.39
you're dealing with
the same kind of thing.
00:48:52.42\00:48:55.45
Now I have a question.
Is the Father a Person?
00:48:55.48\00:48:58.09
Yea of course, of course.
00:48:58.85\00:48:59.90
He's a personal being.
00:48:59.93\00:49:01.21
Is the Son a personal being?
00:49:01.24\00:49:03.36
Well, guess what
the Spirit is then.
00:49:03.73\00:49:05.80
A personal being.
00:49:06.02\00:49:07.02
And we're going to unpack
that in even greater detail
00:49:07.03\00:49:09.33
tomorrow, in our
session tomorrow.
00:49:09.36\00:49:10.84
But the point is basically this.
00:49:10.87\00:49:12.02
In the baptism of
Jesus, Jesus is being baptized.
00:49:12.37\00:49:15.00
There's one.
00:49:15.01\00:49:16.01
The Father's voice
comes, "This is My beloved Son."
00:49:16.02\00:49:18.67
There's two.
00:49:18.68\00:49:19.68
And the Spirit
descends. How many is that?
00:49:19.69\00:49:21.37
Three.
00:49:21.38\00:49:22.37
In the context of the baptism,
you go all the way through the
00:49:22.40\00:49:25.45
gospel of Matthew and when
Jesus gives the command to the
00:49:25.46\00:49:28.11
disciples for them
to go baptize, He says,
00:49:28.12\00:49:30.84
"Baptize in the name,"
singular, "of the Father,
00:49:30.85\00:49:33.98
the Son, the Holy Spirit."
00:49:34.01\00:49:36.01
The three show up again
in the context of baptism.
00:49:36.04\00:49:38.91
Are you with me on that?
00:49:39.36\00:49:40.58
Now, from the gospel of Matthew,
we go to the gospel of John.
00:49:40.79\00:49:45.57
And this is a
passage that you'll just,
00:49:46.05\00:49:47.81
most of you will just know.
00:49:47.84\00:49:49.06
If you don't know
it, don't feel bad.
00:49:49.09\00:49:50.90
But many of you will just...
00:49:51.00\00:49:52.00
If I began quoting this passage,
you could easily finish it.
00:49:52.01\00:49:55.71
For many of you.
00:49:55.74\00:49:56.91
It goes like this,
John chapter 1 verse 1,
00:49:56.94\00:49:59.30
"In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God,
00:49:59.80\00:50:04.71
and the Word was God."
00:50:04.72\00:50:06.88
Okay, now just
do the math there.
00:50:06.91\00:50:09.25
Okay, just think this through.
00:50:09.28\00:50:10.68
"In the beginning was the..."
00:50:10.71\00:50:12.47
Okay, we'll just use our
books here as an illustration.
00:50:12.87\00:50:18.69
"In the beginning was the Word."
00:50:19.60\00:50:20.90
That's an entity. Right?
00:50:20.91\00:50:22.52
"And the Word was with..."
which communicates adjacency.
00:50:22.55\00:50:26.68
"...with God."
00:50:26.78\00:50:28.00
So here's the
Word and here's God.
00:50:28.03\00:50:29.71
So how many
entities do we have here?
00:50:29.74\00:50:32.29
Two. Now watch this.
00:50:32.77\00:50:33.86
"In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God,
00:50:33.89\00:50:37.53
and the Word was God."
00:50:37.56\00:50:39.89
So do we have plurality?
00:50:39.90\00:50:41.91
But we also have what?
00:50:42.57\00:50:43.97
Singularity.
00:50:44.49\00:50:45.84
Plurality and singularity.
00:50:46.32\00:50:47.65
This was the very
point that Jesus was making
00:50:47.68\00:50:49.97
when He used the phrase, the
phrase that He so often used,
00:50:50.00\00:50:53.58
"Son of God."
00:50:53.61\00:50:55.23
In fact, go to John chapter
5 and find out how the Jews,
00:50:55.68\00:50:59.06
the Jews of Jesus'
day, related to Jesus
00:50:59.09\00:51:02.17
when He used that phrase.
00:51:02.27\00:51:04.23
John chapter 5 verse 17.
00:51:05.74\00:51:07.53
"But Jesus answered them
and said, 'My Father has been
00:51:09.16\00:51:11.86
working until now,
and I have been working.'"
00:51:11.89\00:51:14.67
Verse 18, "Therefore the Jews
sought all the more to kill Him,
00:51:14.70\00:51:17.69
because He not only broke
the Sabbath, but also said that
00:51:17.72\00:51:21.68
God was His Father..."
00:51:21.71\00:51:23.23
Now look at this phrase here.
00:51:23.24\00:51:24.53
"...making Himself..."
What does your Bible say?
00:51:24.56\00:51:27.47
"...equal with God."
00:51:27.97\00:51:29.36
Okay wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.
00:51:30.28\00:51:31.46
In Jewish thinking here,
as well as in modern thinking,
00:51:31.49\00:51:34.63
my son, is he
worth less than me?
00:51:35.41\00:51:39.59
Is my son my equal?
00:51:39.89\00:51:41.46
In terms of essence.
00:51:42.23\00:51:45.22
Am I more of a
human being than my son?
00:51:45.25\00:51:47.64
No. No, no, no.
00:51:47.91\00:51:48.91
We're not equal in
terms of authority for a time.
00:51:48.94\00:51:51.73
He's under my
supervision for a time.
00:51:51.76\00:51:53.93
But the point is this.
00:51:53.96\00:51:55.21
He is 100% a human
being. I'm 100% a human being.
00:51:55.24\00:51:58.74
So when Jesus said,
"I'm the Son of God,"
00:51:58.77\00:52:01.37
"My Father is working..."
the Jews said, "Are you kidding?
00:52:01.38\00:52:03.89
How could He say such a thing."
00:52:05.20\00:52:06.99
When He calls
Himself, "the Son of God,"
00:52:07.02\00:52:09.76
He is making Himself...
00:52:09.79\00:52:11.15
What was the phrase?
00:52:11.18\00:52:12.58
...equal with God.
00:52:12.61\00:52:14.61
Well look, if you have just...
00:52:14.64\00:52:16.18
And this is what we were just
on in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6,
00:52:16.21\00:52:18.03
"Wonderful
Counselor, Everlasting Father,
00:52:18.04\00:52:19.79
Mighty God."
00:52:19.99\00:52:21.86
And so, if the Father
is God and the Son is God,
00:52:22.44\00:52:26.57
how many entities do we have?
00:52:26.60\00:52:27.88
We have two entities.
00:52:28.34\00:52:29.34
Here's the
Father, here's the Son.
00:52:29.35\00:52:31.87
And they both
are... They're both one.
00:52:31.90\00:52:34.90
Just like, "In the
beginning was the..."
00:52:34.93\00:52:36.60
"and the Word was with..."
00:52:37.02\00:52:38.02
"and the Word was..."
00:52:38.51\00:52:39.52
Getting a feel for it here.
00:52:40.35\00:52:41.44
Jesus says this...
00:52:41.47\00:52:42.98
By the way, the Jews fully
understood what He was saying,
00:52:43.08\00:52:45.38
clearly understood what He
was saying, because they said,
00:52:45.41\00:52:47.72
"Hey, You're making
Yourself equal with God."
00:52:47.75\00:52:49.64
Now when we get to John
chapter 10, Jesus spells out
00:52:49.65\00:52:53.12
this little formula, if
I can use that language,
00:52:53.15\00:52:58.47
absolutely explicitly.
00:52:59.36\00:53:01.05
John chapter 10 verse 30.
00:53:01.08\00:53:02.61
Jesus says, "I
and My Father are..."
00:53:03.18\00:53:08.82
There it is.
00:53:10.22\00:53:11.22
"I and My
Father..." Entity, entity.
00:53:11.23\00:53:16.02
"...are..." What?
00:53:16.05\00:53:17.44
But in what sense are they one?
00:53:17.93\00:53:19.66
Well, they're one in
the Old Testament sense.
00:53:20.08\00:53:21.75
They're one in the echad sense.
00:53:21.78\00:53:23.92
In the sense
that they're unified.
00:53:23.93\00:53:25.81
Not that there's just a
rigidly singular God. No.
00:53:26.31\00:53:29.71
There's one God who is comprised
of a kind of divine family.
00:53:29.72\00:53:35.71
God as a society,
God as a community.
00:53:35.74\00:53:38.51
God as a fellowship of
co-equal co-eternal Persons.
00:53:38.54\00:53:43.59
Now somebody is going
to say, "Wait a minute.
00:53:43.62\00:53:44.73
There's no Holy
Spirit in these verses."
00:53:44.76\00:53:46.14
True enough.
00:53:46.15\00:53:47.16
We're going to get to the
Holy Spirit in just a bit.
00:53:47.17\00:53:48.71
But maybe there's something
I should just say here.
00:53:49.03\00:53:51.57
In fact, we're going to
spend most of our time in the
00:53:52.21\00:53:53.41
Holy Spirit tomorrow
night, the next three nights.
00:53:53.42\00:53:55.49
We're still just sort of
laying the ground work here.
00:53:55.52\00:53:57.40
But the point is basically this.
00:53:57.67\00:53:58.98
What is hinted at
in the Old Testament
00:53:59.01\00:54:01.84
becomes increasingly
clear in the New Testament.
00:54:02.65\00:54:05.76
And then becomes
expressly clear in the writings,
00:54:05.79\00:54:09.46
for example, of Paul.
00:54:09.49\00:54:10.79
What's hinted at
in the gospels...
00:54:10.82\00:54:13.08
Not even hinted at.
00:54:13.11\00:54:14.30
What is spelled out increasingly
clearly in the gospels
00:54:14.33\00:54:16.81
becomes just absolutely
crystal clear by the time we get
00:54:16.84\00:54:21.83
to the epistles of Paul.
00:54:21.84\00:54:22.94
This is what is
sometimes referred to as
00:54:22.97\00:54:24.68
progressive revelation.
00:54:24.71\00:54:26.74
And progressive revelation
is just what it sounds like.
00:54:27.04\00:54:28.59
What's the root
word of revelation?
00:54:28.62\00:54:30.26
Reveal.
00:54:30.45\00:54:31.45
So progressive revelation would
be a progressive revealing.
00:54:31.46\00:54:33.95
You see a little bit here.
00:54:33.98\00:54:35.23
And you can just think
of a tablecloth that covers,
00:54:35.26\00:54:38.65
you know, a long table.
00:54:38.68\00:54:40.12
So we just start peeling that
cloth back and it's clear there.
00:54:40.13\00:54:44.41
And then it gets clearer and
clearer and clearer and clearer.
00:54:44.42\00:54:45.89
And as the whole thing begins
to unfold, the picture begins to
00:54:45.92\00:54:48.83
emerge that's very
clear, very compelling.
00:54:48.86\00:54:51.03
Okay? Are we together, everyone?
00:54:51.90\00:54:53.43
Is this helpful at all?
Are we learning anything?
00:54:53.86\00:54:55.90
Now, there's just one more
passage that I want to go to
00:54:56.27\00:54:59.06
here tonight that I
think will be good for us.
00:54:59.09\00:55:00.83
And it's also a passage in John.
00:55:00.86\00:55:02.97
And then we'll get into the
epistles of Paul tomorrow night.
00:55:03.00\00:55:06.01
This is John chapter 8.
00:55:06.44\00:55:09.69
John chapter 8.
00:55:11.72\00:55:12.83
Jesus here is having a
discussion, you can almost
00:55:13.97\00:55:17.20
call it an argument, with the
religious leaders of His day.
00:55:17.23\00:55:22.25
And in the context
of the whole dialogue of
00:55:22.28\00:55:24.91
John chapter 8 verse 58,
it has to do with descendancy,
00:55:24.94\00:55:28.64
lineage, and fatherhood.
00:55:28.67\00:55:30.42
And at one point, Jesus even
goes so far as to say to them,
00:55:30.80\00:55:33.12
"You are of your
father, the devil."
00:55:33.15\00:55:35.70
I mean, that's
not mincing words.
00:55:35.73\00:55:37.65
That's strong medicine.
00:55:37.68\00:55:39.09
"You are of your
father, the devil."
00:55:39.12\00:55:40.59
Now as this begins
to get to a real climax,
00:55:40.62\00:55:45.68
pick it up in verse 48.
00:55:45.71\00:55:46.79
"The Jews answered and said,
'Do we not correctly say that
00:55:46.82\00:55:49.70
You are a Samaritan
and You have a demon?'"
00:55:49.73\00:55:51.84
I mean, they're just pulling
out all the stops at this point.
00:55:51.87\00:55:54.34
"You're a Samaritan."
00:55:54.35\00:55:55.51
It's like,
"Nanny, nanny, boo, boo."
00:55:55.54\00:55:56.94
Right? They were really upset.
00:55:57.27\00:55:58.41
That was like the lowest insult.
00:55:58.44\00:55:59.87
Well, as this
dialogue continues to escalate,
00:56:00.61\00:56:03.42
we pick it up in verse 56.
00:56:03.45\00:56:05.41
Jesus says, "'Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day,
00:56:05.44\00:56:09.53
and he saw it and was glad.'
00:56:09.56\00:56:10.89
And the Jews
said, 'Are you kidding?
00:56:10.92\00:56:12.38
You are not yet fifty years old,
how have You seen Abraham?'"
00:56:12.41\00:56:15.84
And then Jesus
uttered some of the most
00:56:15.87\00:56:17.69
phenomenally sublime words
in all of the New Testament.
00:56:17.72\00:56:22.19
He said, "Most assuredly,"
count on this, definitely.
00:56:22.22\00:56:26.59
"Most assuredly, I say to
you, before Abraham was, I AM."
00:56:26.62\00:56:33.35
He's literally taking the
phrase from Exodus chapter 3
00:56:34.23\00:56:38.11
when Moses stood
at the burning bush,
00:56:38.14\00:56:39.56
"Who shall I say sent me?"
00:56:39.59\00:56:40.88
"I AM that I AM."
00:56:40.91\00:56:42.45
And the Hebrew
word there is, "hayah."
00:56:42.46\00:56:45.11
It means, to exist.
00:56:45.14\00:56:47.57
That's what the word means.
00:56:47.58\00:56:48.58
It's what we get
the word "Yahweh" from.
00:56:48.59\00:56:50.43
Hayah, to exist. Yahweh.
00:56:50.46\00:56:52.49
"I am Him who always
is and always has been
00:56:52.95\00:56:55.54
and always will be."
00:56:55.57\00:56:56.84
"I AM that I AM."
00:56:56.87\00:56:58.26
"The One who was and
who is and who is to come."
00:56:58.29\00:57:00.35
That's how it
says it in Revelation.
00:57:00.38\00:57:01.38
We'll look at
that tomorrow night.
00:57:01.41\00:57:02.41
But Jesus there, speaking
to the Jews, the Jewish leaders
00:57:02.44\00:57:06.15
of His day, says,
"Before Abraham was, I AM."
00:57:06.18\00:57:11.81
"I am the Jehovah God
of the Old Testament."
00:57:12.40\00:57:16.45
And the very next verse, they
pick up stones to stone Him.
00:57:16.48\00:57:19.95
Friends, this
picture is emerging.
00:57:20.55\00:57:22.67
God is a singularity,
but also a plurality.
00:57:22.70\00:57:27.06
Is it coming clear?
00:57:27.09\00:57:28.35