Hello, friends, grab your
Bible and a friend and sit back
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as we explore
God's word together
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on this edition of House Calls.
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Hello, and welcome to
another House Calls program.
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My name is John Lomacang.
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I like to thank you
for tuning in to join me,
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and my protege, John Stanton.
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Good to have you
here, John. Good to be here.
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It's always good to be able
to sit in the saddle together
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with you and to talk
about the Word of God,
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and we are going to
really enjoy this program today.
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We would like to encourage
you to get your Bibles,
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get your pens,
invite your family,
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and your friends if
you're joining us from home.
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You know, it's a
wonderful opportunity.
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And we have a lot to
present in this program.
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We're gonna talk
about a topic that has been
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and is probably
still controversial
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in the minds of many.
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The divinity of Christ,
the Holy Spirit, the Godhead,
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the Trinity, all of
those coupled together.
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And we're gonna deal with that
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over the course of
a number of programs,
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but we are gonna
talk about that today
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because it's important.
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If we are in a saving
relationship with Jesus,
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we need to
understand all that pertains
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to the plan of salvation.
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And surely the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit
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are involved in our
saving relationship.
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But before we do
anything, we'll let you know
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in just a moment how to
get a copy of the lesson
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or how to get a copy,
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or to send your emails that
is, to follow along with us,
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but before we do anything,
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we always ask for
the Lord's blessing.
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So, John, would
you have prayer for us?
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Let's do that.
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Father in heaven, we're
covering a subject today
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that is beyond our
minds, so we need Your Spirit.
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And we ask that You would
guide and direct us here today,
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be with the program,
all that we talk about.
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And, Lord, we just pray
that You would touch the lives
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of those that are listening,
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those that are
watching this program
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that they might
also draw close to you
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and to know you
better in Jesus' name.
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Amen. Amen.
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Now if you like a copy
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or you like to send
your emails, that is...
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We get emails, John.
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We also get snail
mail because this program
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is not just about
us talking to you,
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but about you sharing with us.
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And we like to always
begin our program, John,
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with Bible questions.
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The Bible
questions are very important.
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If you have any Bible questions
you would like to send to us,
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send those questions
to housecalls@3abn.org.
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That's housecalls@3abn.org.
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And we will
download those questions
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and respond to them
as quickly as we can
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but we cannot
get to all of those.
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So really be patient
with us because sometimes
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some of you tend to
get little frustrated
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if you don't
hear your questions.
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You may have
missed it on the program
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or we can't entertain
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but so many of
them in each program.
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Ain't that right,
John? Right. That's right.
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And so what's our
first question for today
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and what do you have?
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Well, I got a
question that's along the lines
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of what our topic is
gonna be about today.
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Okay.
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And it comes from Bermona
and she says, I've been asking,
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praying, crying out to God
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to fill me with His Holy Spirit.
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How do I know or how do you know
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if the Holy
Spirit dwells within you?
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Let's go to John 14.
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One of my favorite
passages in scripture is found
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in John 14 and so, in fact,
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as I preach on
Personal Ministries,
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this is my go-to text
often for that ministry.
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And I'm gonna read
starting in verse 12,
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because verse 12
helps establish context
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to what Jesus is
talking about here.
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So in John 14:12, it says,
"Most assuredly, I say to you,
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he who believes in
Me, the works that I do
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he will do also.
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And greater works
than these he will do,
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because I go to My Father."
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And then here
is a wonderful text
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that really
gives us an assurance,
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"And whatever you ask
in my name, that I will do,
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that the Father may
be glorified in the Son."
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If you ask anything
in my name, I'll do it.
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And I love that, although
often it's taken out of context,
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you refer to the name
and claim it, kind of,
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just speak it
and it will happen,
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and God has to do a thing.
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And in context though
what Jesus is talking about
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here is in your
efforts to glorify God
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and do the works of
Christ for His Kingdom,
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ask Him and He'll do it.
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That's right.
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And we can be assured of that,
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that when we go
out to do His work,
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that when He
calls us to go somewhere
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to do something to speak a word,
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He is going to be with
us to give us strength.
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And then He transitions
here to how that will happen.
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Let's look at verse 16.
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"And I will pray the Father,
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and He will give
you another Helper."
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I like the New King
James version in this
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because
contextually, the word "Helper"
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is a little better
rendition for the context here
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than comforter, than counselor,
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some of the others
that we see in scripture.
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"He'll give us another Helper,
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that He may
abide with you forever,
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the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive
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because it neither
sees Him nor knows Him,
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but you know Him,
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for He dwells with
you and will be in you."
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That's right.
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And in this
wonderful promise, verse 18,
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Christ brings it
back to Himself now,
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back to the
first person, he says,
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"I will not leave you
orphans, I will come to you."
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Okay.
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So we know clearly that
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when we ask for the Holy Spirit,
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what God has
promised to do, He will do it.
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He will send us the Holy Spirit,
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if we're asking for
His presence in our life.
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But more than that,
the Holy Spirit brings
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the presence of
Jesus into our life.
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That's right.
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So, I don't think
Jesus in any way wants us
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to be left unsure
of His presence in us.
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So when you've asked,
as you've been praying,
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it says, asking,
praying, and crying out to God
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to fill you with the
Spirit, we need to by faith.
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There is an element of
faith here of stepping up,
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from that prayer
and knowing that Christ
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will respond to that prayer,
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and He will fill
you with the Spirit.
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Now as you move on from that,
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as you transition
throughout the day,
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and you begin to
live with Christ in you,
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He does speak and He does guide,
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He directs your
thoughts, your life.
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As a disciple of His,
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and He wants you to
live in harmony with Him.
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And so Paul, we
find in Paul's writings,
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he has a very short statement
at the end of, what is it?
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1 Thessalonians or 2
Thessalonians, he says,
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"Do not quench the Spirit."
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Right.
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So there is a
possibility in our lives
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that once we're
filled with the Spirit
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that we might quench the Spirit.
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And the quenching of
the Spirit happens well,
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to use an old text, Isaiah 8:20.
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What does that say, John?
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"To the law and
to the testimony."
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Yeah.
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"To the law and
to the testimony"
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if they speak not
according to this word,
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this is because
there is no light in them.
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So clearly, there are conditions
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for living the life
that God wants you to live
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and allowing Him to continue
to fill you with His Spirit.
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But I think if you're praying
for the Spirit to be in you,
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if you're praying for Christ
to dwell in you more fully,
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have faith that that
happens, but then know this that
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throughout your
life, day by day,
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live in harmony
with His principles.
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Read His Word,
pray, seek His will,
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and He will
never depart from you.
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Now, I'm so glad that you
brought those text out and,
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you know, the
Bible also points out
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about the asking part,
I like that you can ask.
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When we ask, the Father will
do what is not only in harmony
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with His will, but
what will empower us
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to live in
harmony with His will.
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Now there are some individuals
that say, "Okay, well then,
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how could I live in
harmony with the will of God
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if the Spirit of God
is not active in my life?"
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The Holy Spirit
works in a number of ways.
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One to convict us,
then to convert us,
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then to empower us.
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So He works on us,
then He works in us,
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then He works through us,
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but at no time is
the Lord going to say,
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well, I don't want
to give you my Spirit,
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but I want to also point out
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that the working
on us is every one.
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I mean, He works on those
who eventually accept Him,
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He works on
those who reject Him up
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until the point where
they ultimately reject as,
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I think Genesis 6 where it says,
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"My Spirit will not
always strive with man."
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So the Holy Spirit
strives with man to bring him
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into relationship with God.
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And then when we are brought
into relationship with God,
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as we accept
Christ as our savior,
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then He works to
manifest Himself in us
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the fruit of the Spirit.
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Right.
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And then He works to equip us,
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prepare us for the
gift of the Spirit.
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So the Spirit is
always at work but Luke 11:13,
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I love the way that
Luke writes this here.
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"If you then being evil
know how to give good gifts
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to your children,
how much more will
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your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit
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to those who ask Him!"
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So when a person says,
"Lord Jesus, come into my life,
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send the Holy
Spirit into my life."
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Send the Holy
Spirit into my life,
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then He does that but
he looks at the conditions.
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Now having said that,
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the Holy Spirit is
the power of God, you see.
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When the Lord
Jesus was in ministry,
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we're gonna talk
about this in our program.
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When the Lord Jesus was
in His earthly ministry,
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the Spirit of God descended
upon Him at His baptism,
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the Father spoke in behalf
of His Son, "I'm well pleased."
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But there was a condition
and the apostles recognized
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the condition to
receiving the Holy Spirit.
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Look at Acts 5, I want
you to see this verse 32,
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while verse 29 and 32
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are working in concert together.
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Verse 29, "Then Peter and
the other apostles answered
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and said, 'We ought to
obey God rather than men.'"
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What's the
benefit of obeying God?
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Verse 32, "And we are His
witnesses to these things,
00:10:06.07\00:10:10.51
and so also is the Holy
Spirit whom God has given
00:10:10.54\00:10:15.31
to those who obey Him."
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Right?
00:10:18.18\00:10:19.51
So you find
here the Holy Spirit,
00:10:19.55\00:10:21.78
that power that is
available is given to those
00:10:21.82\00:10:24.15
who obey in order
to be its relationship.
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We know that very well
because in the New Testament
00:10:27.92\00:10:30.19
there's an example
where one of the locals,
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and I use that word
loosely, saw the power
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of the Spirit of God
working through the apostles,
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and he said, "Can I buy it?"
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And Peter said, "Away
with you and your money.
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You'll both be condemned."
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You can't buy the Holy
Spirit and the Holy Spirit also
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is not this ethereal
force that makes you jump up
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and scream and make,
you know, babbling sounds.
00:10:55.35\00:10:57.99
Yeah. The Holy Spirit is holy.
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And I think that
this is implied in John 14
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'cause Jesus in
leading up to the passage
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about the Gift of
the Holy Spirit, He says,
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"The works that I
do, you will do also."
00:11:09.60\00:11:11.93
That's right.
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And He's talking
future tense here,
00:11:13.34\00:11:14.67
but then He
must send the helpers
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to empower them
to do those works.
00:11:16.17\00:11:19.87
You know, we talk
and we speak frequently
00:11:19.91\00:11:22.78
about the topic of salvation
in the context of justification
00:11:22.81\00:11:26.61
and sanctification,
00:11:26.65\00:11:28.32
and there's no going
straight to sanctification.
00:11:28.35\00:11:31.69
No.
00:11:31.72\00:11:33.25
You've got to spend
time accepting Christ,
00:11:33.29\00:11:36.73
His finished work in your behalf
00:11:36.76\00:11:38.53
as a gift of
eternal life given to you.
00:11:38.56\00:11:41.00
And payment...
00:11:41.03\00:11:42.36
that His death as
payment for the penalty,
00:11:42.40\00:11:45.20
taking care of the
penalty of your sins.
00:11:45.23\00:11:46.87
That's right.
00:11:46.90\00:11:48.24
And so once that
happens, then begins
00:11:48.27\00:11:50.71
the work of sanctification,
00:11:50.74\00:11:52.07
that is Christ in us,
growing us, and changing us,
00:11:52.11\00:11:55.78
but never are we to
just remain stagnant.
00:11:55.81\00:11:58.01
And I think a lot of
times we have here there is a...
00:11:58.05\00:12:01.72
We sometimes get emails,
we're talking about, you know,
00:12:01.75\00:12:04.19
some of this morning.
00:12:04.22\00:12:06.19
And the body of those
emails sometimes is well,
00:12:06.22\00:12:09.09
Christ has done
everything and I say, "Amen."
00:12:09.12\00:12:13.29
But then they say,
00:12:13.33\00:12:15.43
"Well, you don't
have to do anything out,
00:12:15.46\00:12:16.80
there is nothing afterward
that that is required of us.
00:12:16.83\00:12:20.60
And that's where
we have an issue,
00:12:20.64\00:12:22.07
that's where we diverge
00:12:22.10\00:12:23.44
from a lot of
Christianity today,
00:12:23.47\00:12:24.81
where we see that
if you look up the word
00:12:24.84\00:12:28.88
"good works" in scripture...
00:12:28.91\00:12:30.35
Right.
00:12:30.38\00:12:32.15
You'll find that
Paul encourages the church
00:12:32.18\00:12:34.28
to stir it up.
00:12:34.32\00:12:35.65
That's right. Maintain it.
00:12:35.68\00:12:37.02
Do it.
00:12:37.05\00:12:38.49
Ephesians 2:10, "We
are his workmanship,
00:12:38.52\00:12:41.06
created in
Christ for good works."
00:12:41.09\00:12:43.59
So good works don't
save us but once we're saved,
00:12:43.63\00:12:45.99
once we're justified,
the sanctifying process
00:12:46.03\00:12:48.46
is the process of
working like you said,
00:12:48.50\00:12:50.73
"Not only in us but through us."
00:12:50.77\00:12:52.10
That's right.
00:12:52.13\00:12:53.47
And works is the
evidence of the Spirit of God.
00:12:53.50\00:12:54.84
He doesn't call
us to just sit down,
00:12:54.87\00:12:57.64
Ephesians 2:10, "For
we are his workmanship,
00:12:57.67\00:13:01.51
created in Christ
Jesus for good works,
00:13:01.54\00:13:04.18
which God prepared beforehand."
00:13:04.21\00:13:07.02
So when He calls us
00:13:07.05\00:13:08.42
through His grace through faith,
00:13:08.45\00:13:10.99
when He calls us into
that saving relationship, now,
00:13:11.02\00:13:14.06
He calls us to good works.
00:13:14.09\00:13:16.46
He doesn't save us by
our works but by His works,
00:13:16.49\00:13:19.89
but He calls us to good works.
00:13:19.93\00:13:23.53
There is one other passage I
was thinking of a moment ago,
00:13:23.57\00:13:28.20
that the point
is well taken that,
00:13:28.24\00:13:30.11
I'll just kind
of leave it there,
00:13:30.14\00:13:31.67
because James talks about that.
00:13:31.71\00:13:33.11
Here it is, "Faith
without works is dead."
00:13:33.14\00:13:35.81
Right.
00:13:35.84\00:13:37.18
Show me your
faith without your works
00:13:37.21\00:13:39.61
and I'll show you
my faith by my works.
00:13:39.65\00:13:42.72
But it's God who
works in us. That's right.
00:13:42.75\00:13:44.99
Both to will and to
do of His good pleasure.
00:13:45.02\00:13:47.12
Yeah.
00:13:47.16\00:13:48.49
I have a question here
from a lady by the name of Anna
00:13:48.52\00:13:53.96
and she says, "What will happen
to the people that have died
00:13:54.00\00:13:57.33
before Jesus is coming
without having heard the gospel
00:13:57.37\00:14:01.10
and accepted Jesus as
their Lord and savior?
00:14:01.14\00:14:04.31
Does it matter if they
heard it and did not receive it?
00:14:04.34\00:14:08.14
Or let's start
with the first part.
00:14:08.18\00:14:10.28
When you hear the
gospel and reject it, you know,
00:14:10.31\00:14:14.68
you have sealed your
fate, because you've heard it
00:14:14.72\00:14:17.12
and you've rejected it.
00:14:17.15\00:14:19.55
That's why we are
told, harden not your heart,
00:14:19.59\00:14:23.63
harden not your heart.
00:14:23.66\00:14:24.99
I believe that's in
the Book of Hebrews.
00:14:25.03\00:14:26.56
Let's go there.
00:14:26.59\00:14:28.06
And one of the
reasons why the Hebrews
00:14:28.10\00:14:30.60
did not make it
into the Promised Land,
00:14:30.63\00:14:33.84
did not make it into Canaan
00:14:33.87\00:14:35.20
is because once
again you find the text,
00:14:35.24\00:14:41.24
"If they willfully sin,
if they willfully sin..."
00:14:41.28\00:14:48.25
Hebrews 10:26,
00:14:48.28\00:14:54.69
"For if we sin willfully
00:14:54.72\00:14:57.23
after we have received
the knowledge of the truth,
00:14:57.26\00:15:00.03
there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins."
00:15:00.06\00:15:05.10
And, John, there was a
time I thought to myself,
00:15:05.13\00:15:08.64
well, what does that mean?
00:15:08.67\00:15:11.24
If we stumble, does that mean
00:15:11.27\00:15:12.97
that we are no
longer gonna be forgiven?
00:15:13.01\00:15:15.38
Well, the word "sin" is
understood in three ways,
00:15:15.41\00:15:19.71
because in the English language,
00:15:19.75\00:15:21.48
like the word
"love", we just have one word
00:15:21.52\00:15:24.42
but it has
different applications
00:15:24.45\00:15:26.59
and a different broader
meaning in the actual language,
00:15:26.62\00:15:28.79
which is Greek and Hebrew
and in some cases Aramaic.
00:15:28.82\00:15:31.63
Now the word "sin"
means, the first example of sin
00:15:31.66\00:15:34.80
is you see the
mark and you aim for it
00:15:34.83\00:15:41.07
and you miss.
00:15:41.10\00:15:42.44
That's missing the mark.
00:15:42.47\00:15:43.81
We have all
sinned and fallen short
00:15:43.84\00:15:46.71
of the glory of God.
00:15:46.74\00:15:48.08
We miss the mark,
but at least you aimed.
00:15:48.11\00:15:50.55
Right. So
that's not intentional.
00:15:50.58\00:15:52.51
You're aiming. Your
direction was correct.
00:15:52.55\00:15:55.05
Your direction is correct.
00:15:55.08\00:15:56.45
You've aimed but
you've missed the mark,
00:15:56.48\00:15:58.32
that's where Jesus comes,
00:15:58.35\00:15:59.82
and He through
His righteousness,
00:15:59.85\00:16:02.32
aims and hits it
and imputes to us
00:16:02.36\00:16:05.46
daily His righteousness.
00:16:05.49\00:16:07.56
That's not intentional sin.
00:16:07.60\00:16:09.66
You're aiming, you're
moving in the right direction
00:16:09.70\00:16:12.17
but because of your nature,
you cannot close up the gap,
00:16:12.20\00:16:14.90
Jesus comes and does that.
00:16:14.94\00:16:16.81
And then there is the...
00:16:16.84\00:16:20.34
Then the other
one is you see the...
00:16:20.38\00:16:26.92
There was three
categories, I want to make sure
00:16:26.95\00:16:28.28
I got it really clearly.
00:16:28.32\00:16:29.65
You see the mark and
you don't even aim for it.
00:16:29.68\00:16:33.36
That in fact, is
where transgression or sin
00:16:36.76\00:16:40.60
turns into inequity.
00:16:40.63\00:16:41.96
I don't even
want to aim that way.
00:16:42.00\00:16:44.43
I just want to remain in sin.
00:16:44.47\00:16:46.74
I'm comfortable there.
00:16:46.77\00:16:48.54
That kind of sin
the Lord cannot forgive
00:16:48.57\00:16:51.31
because you're
not even interested
00:16:51.34\00:16:54.24
in aiming toward the mark,
00:16:54.28\00:16:55.74
that's why Paul says,
"Press toward the mark."
00:16:55.78\00:16:58.88
Right.
00:16:58.91\00:17:00.25
And there is one other one
00:17:00.28\00:17:01.62
that will come
to me in a moment,
00:17:01.65\00:17:02.98
but there were
three in particular
00:17:03.02\00:17:04.35
and one is called sin,
one is called trespass,
00:17:04.39\00:17:07.06
one is called inequity.
00:17:07.09\00:17:09.26
Sin is the nature we all have.
00:17:09.29\00:17:12.19
Trespass is aiming and missing.
00:17:12.23\00:17:14.13
Inequity is not
even wanting to aim.
00:17:14.16\00:17:18.20
I don't really care.
00:17:18.23\00:17:19.63
And that the Lord
can't save us from.
00:17:19.67\00:17:21.84
So the question is
what will happen to people
00:17:21.87\00:17:24.67
that die before Jesus comes
00:17:24.71\00:17:26.04
without having heard the gospel?
00:17:26.07\00:17:27.44
I have some good news.
00:17:27.48\00:17:28.81
No one has...
00:17:28.84\00:17:30.48
Let me just rephrase
this in a positive way.
00:17:30.51\00:17:32.35
Everyone has heard
the gospel in some form.
00:17:32.38\00:17:35.92
Romans 1:20, Romans 1:20,
00:17:35.95\00:17:39.09
"For since the
creation of the world
00:17:39.12\00:17:41.49
His invisible
attributes are clearly seen,
00:17:41.52\00:17:46.33
being understood by
the things that are made,
00:17:46.36\00:17:52.57
even His eternal
power and Godhead,
00:17:52.60\00:17:55.74
so that they
are without excuse."
00:17:55.77\00:17:58.07
Yeah.
00:17:58.11\00:17:59.44
And along with the
attributes that are clearly seen
00:17:59.47\00:18:01.14
is the evidence
of His character.
00:18:01.18\00:18:03.35
The evidence of His character.
00:18:03.38\00:18:04.71
So there are many who see that
and respond to that, and God,
00:18:04.75\00:18:11.92
I think responds to
them accordingly as well
00:18:11.95\00:18:14.46
because they had no
opportunity to hear the gospel.
00:18:14.49\00:18:16.56
I like what John
says in chapter 12.
00:18:16.59\00:18:21.00
Jesus says, "I came to
bring the light into the world,"
00:18:21.03\00:18:23.63
That's right. This is 46.
00:18:23.67\00:18:25.73
But then He says in verse
47, "If anyone hears my words
00:18:25.77\00:18:29.57
and does not
believe, I do not judge him.
00:18:29.60\00:18:33.48
For I did not come
to judge the world,
00:18:33.51\00:18:34.84
but to save the world."
00:18:34.88\00:18:36.21
That's right.
00:18:36.24\00:18:37.58
"He who rejects me and
does not receive my words
00:18:37.61\00:18:39.15
has thou which judges him.
00:18:39.18\00:18:42.22
The word that I have spoken
00:18:42.25\00:18:43.59
will judge him in the last day."
00:18:43.62\00:18:44.95
Right.
00:18:44.99\00:18:46.32
So in effect,
we judge ourselves.
00:18:46.35\00:18:48.12
The decision we make
in response to the gospel,
00:18:48.16\00:18:50.43
in response to the call
of God is what judges us.
00:18:50.46\00:18:54.36
I think probably, maybe
the correct way of saying
00:18:54.40\00:18:57.10
that is God only
metes out the judgment
00:18:57.13\00:19:01.90
that's already made,
00:19:01.94\00:19:03.27
that we've already
made about ourselves.
00:19:03.30\00:19:05.44
He doesn't harshly judge
against what we don't deserve,
00:19:05.47\00:19:09.54
He simply rewards
according to what we've chosen.
00:19:09.58\00:19:13.31
That's right.
00:19:13.35\00:19:14.68
And that's what Jesus is saying.
00:19:14.72\00:19:16.05
"I didn't come to judge anybody,
00:19:16.08\00:19:17.42
but I'm bringing
light into the world
00:19:17.45\00:19:18.92
and if you
receive it, wonderful.
00:19:18.95\00:19:21.99
And I will come in
and change your life.
00:19:22.02\00:19:25.36
But if you
don't, I'm not gonna do
00:19:25.39\00:19:27.86
anything to force you."
00:19:27.90\00:19:30.40
God doesn't force
us and so He allows us
00:19:30.43\00:19:33.47
to make the decision ourselves.
00:19:33.50\00:19:35.07
And the reality
is all of us is born,
00:19:35.10\00:19:39.51
everyone of us is
born in a condemned place.
00:19:39.54\00:19:42.64
That's why when
Jesus came, He says,
00:19:42.68\00:19:44.35
"For God sent not
his Son into the world
00:19:44.38\00:19:46.11
to condemn the
world, but that the world
00:19:46.15\00:19:47.48
through him might be saved."
00:19:47.52\00:19:48.85
John 3:17.
00:19:48.88\00:19:50.29
John also 3:18, he
says, "He who believes in Him
00:19:50.32\00:19:54.42
is not condemned, but
he who does not believe
00:19:54.46\00:19:58.76
is condemned already."
00:19:58.79\00:20:00.70
You know, I think,
John, if you relate it
00:20:00.73\00:20:02.33
to what we see
today going on in,
00:20:02.36\00:20:05.43
not just the world but
specifically in America,
00:20:05.47\00:20:08.94
politics and the
parties and the different sides
00:20:08.97\00:20:11.64
and the intensity
that's come about.
00:20:11.67\00:20:15.68
The difficult part for us
who are preachers of the gospel
00:20:15.71\00:20:20.45
is that people more
and more are entrenched
00:20:20.48\00:20:22.92
in their own
views, they're not open...
00:20:22.95\00:20:25.55
No.
00:20:25.59\00:20:26.92
To ideas or
thoughts about other things.
00:20:26.96\00:20:30.16
If it fits within their
view, that's what they stick to,
00:20:30.19\00:20:33.80
and if you're against it,
if you're sharing something,
00:20:33.83\00:20:35.86
they said, they will
come after you for that.
00:20:35.90\00:20:38.03
And we're seeing more
and more of that polarization
00:20:38.07\00:20:39.97
that's taking place
00:20:40.00\00:20:41.34
and that's not
conducive to gospel work.
00:20:41.37\00:20:44.37
No.
00:20:44.41\00:20:45.74
It really is
difficult and makes our hearts
00:20:45.77\00:20:47.84
as pastors really cry out to God
00:20:47.88\00:20:50.65
to do something to shake us up,
00:20:50.68\00:20:52.15
so that we are
receptive to the gospel.
00:20:52.18\00:20:53.68
But yeah, I think he has...
00:20:53.72\00:20:56.82
that's a good question
00:20:56.85\00:20:58.19
and something that
we need to be answering.
00:20:58.22\00:20:59.55
And lastly, everyone
has received the gospel,
00:20:59.59\00:21:02.96
at least been exposed
to the truth of God's Word,
00:21:02.99\00:21:05.99
Titus 2:11 "For the grace
of God that brings salvation
00:21:06.03\00:21:10.00
has appeared to all men,
has appeared to all men."
00:21:10.03\00:21:13.84
Yeah.
00:21:13.87\00:21:15.20
Everyone has had an opportunity.
00:21:15.24\00:21:16.57
The Lord will not judge
someone based on what they have
00:21:16.60\00:21:20.14
not had an
opportunity to receive.
00:21:20.18\00:21:22.14
So He works in unusual
ways, in different ways
00:21:22.18\00:21:25.48
of which we know not of,
but no one, as Romans 1 says,
00:21:25.51\00:21:30.29
nobody was gonna have an excuse.
00:21:30.32\00:21:32.55
You see, you know,
the parable of the...
00:21:32.59\00:21:34.89
Excuse my voice here.
00:21:34.92\00:21:36.66
You know the parable
of the wedding feast.
00:21:36.69\00:21:39.53
When the
examination was taking place
00:21:39.56\00:21:43.16
and the Lord saw a man
without a wedding garment,
00:21:43.20\00:21:45.47
and He asked him,
00:21:45.50\00:21:47.34
"How can you come in here
without a wedding garment?"
00:21:47.37\00:21:49.34
What did the man say?
00:21:49.37\00:21:50.71
Nothing. He is speechless.
00:21:50.74\00:21:52.41
No excuse. Yeah.
00:21:52.44\00:21:53.88
No excuse. Yeah.
00:21:53.91\00:21:55.61
So we don't need
excuses, we need Jesus.
00:21:55.64\00:21:57.51
That's the most beautiful thing.
00:21:57.55\00:21:58.88
Do you have another one?
00:21:58.91\00:22:00.25
Yeah, I have a question
that is a little related
00:22:00.28\00:22:01.75
to the first one that I gave
00:22:01.78\00:22:03.12
and I put both of
them here for this program
00:22:03.15\00:22:07.46
just because
they are comparable.
00:22:07.49\00:22:09.86
Question is whenever I'm home
00:22:09.89\00:22:12.33
I enjoy your Bible
study, thank you very much.
00:22:12.36\00:22:14.66
This is Sister Alison.
00:22:14.70\00:22:16.30
She says, "My question
today is how do you know
00:22:16.33\00:22:18.53
that the Holy Spirit is still
with you when you disobey Him?"
00:22:18.57\00:22:22.47
See how, there is a
different angle here now.
00:22:22.50\00:22:23.84
Okay.
00:22:23.87\00:22:25.21
So she recognizes
00:22:25.24\00:22:26.57
the Holy Spirit dwelling in her,
00:22:26.61\00:22:27.94
but what about
when she disobeys.
00:22:27.98\00:22:29.84
How do we know whether or not
the Holy Spirit is still there?
00:22:29.88\00:22:33.88
I want to go to a text
that some may not go to here,
00:22:33.92\00:22:37.19
it's a little, maybe
it's a little unorthodox,
00:22:37.22\00:22:39.42
or maybe not, maybe I
just haven't heard it.
00:22:39.45\00:22:42.12
But we're going
to go to 1 John 2,
00:22:42.16\00:22:46.23
1 John 2 and we are
gonna look at right around
00:22:46.26\00:22:48.66
verse 27, 28, 29.
00:22:48.70\00:22:51.20
1 John 2? 1 John 2.
00:22:51.23\00:22:54.47
Okay.
00:22:58.64\00:23:00.78
And let's start with 28.
00:23:00.81\00:23:06.01
"And now, little
children, abide in Him."
00:23:06.05\00:23:09.05
So the question here then is
how do we know the Holy Spirit
00:23:09.08\00:23:12.79
is still with
us when we disobey.
00:23:12.82\00:23:14.96
So he is covering
this topic about abiding.
00:23:14.99\00:23:17.69
Right. That is remaining.
00:23:17.73\00:23:20.10
"And when He
appears, that when He appears,
00:23:20.13\00:23:22.90
we may have
confidence and not be ashamed
00:23:22.93\00:23:25.13
before Him at His coming.
00:23:25.17\00:23:27.10
If you know
that He is righteous,
00:23:27.14\00:23:29.24
you know that everyone
who practices righteousness
00:23:29.27\00:23:33.27
is born of Him."
00:23:33.31\00:23:35.94
And then he goes on
if you look at chapter 3,
00:23:35.98\00:23:37.85
there is this whole thing
on practicing righteousness.
00:23:37.88\00:23:40.48
"Little children..."
Verse 7, chapter 3, verse 7.
00:23:40.52\00:23:43.18
"Let no one deceive you.
00:23:43.22\00:23:44.55
He who practices
righteousness is righteous,
00:23:44.59\00:23:47.16
just as He is righteous.
00:23:47.19\00:23:48.89
He who sins is of the devil."
00:23:48.92\00:23:50.63
The word practices
and sins, these are words
00:23:50.66\00:23:54.30
that involve plural
action, not just one act.
00:23:54.33\00:23:57.50
Right.
00:23:57.53\00:23:59.50
So there are many
that have this idea, John,
00:23:59.53\00:24:02.00
that when I sin I'm lost,
00:24:02.04\00:24:04.37
and then when I
confess I'm back, saved again.
00:24:04.41\00:24:06.68
And they go from save
to lost, to save to lost,
00:24:06.71\00:24:09.74
to save to lost and
that's not the gospel.
00:24:09.78\00:24:12.68
No.
00:24:12.71\00:24:14.08
Because we're told in the gospel
00:24:14.12\00:24:16.79
and 1 John also explains this
00:24:16.82\00:24:18.55
that when we sin
we have an advocate.
00:24:18.59\00:24:21.49
There you go. Jesus
Christ the righteous.
00:24:21.52\00:24:23.46
He mediates the
benefits of His sacrifice for us
00:24:23.49\00:24:29.36
in our behalf, so when you sin,
00:24:29.40\00:24:31.80
blood is applied on that
sin because you're in Him.
00:24:31.83\00:24:34.14
Right.
00:24:34.17\00:24:35.70
He doesn't wait
for you to confess.
00:24:35.74\00:24:38.01
In fact, when
Nathan came to David,
00:24:38.04\00:24:41.94
and David was
convicted of that sin,
00:24:41.98\00:24:44.15
do you remember what
Nathan's response was
00:24:44.18\00:24:45.55
after the
conviction came to David?
00:24:45.58\00:24:47.42
He says, "The Lord
knows and basically,
00:24:47.45\00:24:50.02
He's already forgiven you.
00:24:50.05\00:24:51.39
He already is
aware of your heart.
00:24:51.42\00:24:55.36
Not that David
didn't have to confess.
00:24:55.39\00:24:57.26
Right.
00:24:57.29\00:24:58.63
What Nathan wanted to
assure David out there is
00:24:58.66\00:25:00.46
that you're not lost
forever, God is with you.
00:25:00.50\00:25:05.63
Right.
00:25:05.67\00:25:07.00
And the repentance
showed that, demonstrated that.
00:25:07.04\00:25:08.84
So the word "practices"
00:25:08.87\00:25:10.71
there is the trend of your life.
00:25:10.74\00:25:12.64
How are you, like
you said, you shoot
00:25:12.67\00:25:15.94
but you missed the mark,
00:25:15.98\00:25:17.31
but you're
shooting in that direction.
00:25:17.35\00:25:18.75
What is the aim in
life? What is your focus?
00:25:18.78\00:25:21.28
We will miss, we will
make mistakes at times,
00:25:21.32\00:25:24.35
but God doesn't cast you off.
00:25:24.39\00:25:26.55
He covers your sin and
He keeps walking with you.
00:25:26.59\00:25:28.66
Now that doesn't mean
that if you were to return
00:25:28.69\00:25:31.66
to a life of
sin, in other words,
00:25:31.69\00:25:33.36
the trend of
walking away from God that
00:25:33.40\00:25:35.66
there aren't some
consequences to that
00:25:35.70\00:25:37.40
which could be
losing eternal life.
00:25:37.43\00:25:40.04
That's right.
00:25:40.07\00:25:41.40
And so, I think the way
that we know the Holy Spirit
00:25:41.44\00:25:44.24
is still with us
when we disobey Him
00:25:44.27\00:25:45.67
is to confess sin and
continue to walk with Him.
00:25:45.71\00:25:49.11
Then you're not in any
danger of losing the Holy Spirit
00:25:49.14\00:25:52.21
and Christ who lives in you.
00:25:52.25\00:25:54.55
We were reading this,
my wife and I were reading
00:25:54.58\00:25:57.99
our devotions and we
read Psalm 103 together,
00:25:58.02\00:26:02.49
and it was sharing
that wonderful message.
00:26:02.52\00:26:07.40
It says, in Psalms 103:6,
00:26:07.43\00:26:11.20
"The Lord executes righteousness
00:26:11.23\00:26:15.37
and justice for
all who are oppressed."
00:26:15.40\00:26:18.41
And verse 8, "The Lord
is merciful and gracious,
00:26:18.44\00:26:22.04
slow to anger, and
abounding in mercy.
00:26:22.08\00:26:25.58
He will not
always strive with us,
00:26:25.61\00:26:28.12
nor will He keep
his anger forever.
00:26:28.15\00:26:31.32
He has not dealt with
us according to our sins,
00:26:31.35\00:26:34.79
nor punished us
according to our inequities."
00:26:34.82\00:26:38.36
Ain't that
powerful? Interesting.
00:26:38.39\00:26:39.96
You know, we were
reading that that this morning,
00:26:40.00\00:26:41.63
actually last night
before we went to sleep
00:26:41.66\00:26:43.83
and that's so beautiful.
00:26:43.87\00:26:45.83
And why does he do that?
00:26:45.87\00:26:47.24
"As a Father," Let me continue.
00:26:47.27\00:26:50.87
"For as the heavens
are high above the earth,
00:26:50.91\00:26:53.01
so great is His mercy
toward those who fear Him.
00:26:53.04\00:26:56.34
As far as the
east is from the west,
00:26:56.38\00:26:58.75
so far has He removed
our transgressions from us.
00:26:58.78\00:27:03.22
As the father
pities His children,
00:27:03.25\00:27:05.49
so the Lord pities
those who fear Him.
00:27:05.52\00:27:08.12
For He knows our frame, He
remembers that we are dust."
00:27:08.16\00:27:12.69
He says, I understand,
you're weak, you're dust.
00:27:12.73\00:27:16.67
I understand that.
00:27:16.70\00:27:18.07
Where we are weak, He is strong,
00:27:18.10\00:27:20.90
in our weakness His
strength is made perfect.
00:27:20.94\00:27:23.44
Right. It's so beautiful.
00:27:23.47\00:27:24.81
So... And that's the way
00:27:24.84\00:27:26.17
that Jesus worked
with His disciples.
00:27:26.21\00:27:27.98
He was very
patient with them. Yeah.
00:27:28.01\00:27:29.64
They made all kinds of mistakes,
00:27:29.68\00:27:31.01
yet He didn't say,
"I'm done with you guys."
00:27:31.05\00:27:33.48
I must infuse my favorite text
00:27:33.52\00:27:34.98
before we
transition to the topic.
00:27:35.02\00:27:36.48
Please. 1 John 3, 1 John 3.
00:27:36.52\00:27:41.76
"Behold what manner of love
the Father has bestowed on us,
00:27:41.79\00:27:45.96
that we should be
called the children of God.
00:27:45.99\00:27:48.50
Therefore the
world does not know Him,
00:27:48.53\00:27:50.97
therefore the
world does not know us,
00:27:51.00\00:27:52.63
because it did not know Him.
00:27:52.67\00:27:55.54
Beloved..."
00:27:55.57\00:27:56.91
The verse I just love.
00:27:56.94\00:27:58.27
"Beloved, now we
are children of God."
00:27:58.31\00:28:01.08
When are we
children of God, John?
00:28:01.11\00:28:02.44
Now. Now.
00:28:02.48\00:28:04.11
But look at the process.
00:28:04.15\00:28:05.48
The Lord is
saying, "I understand
00:28:05.51\00:28:06.85
where you gonna be
but you're not there yet
00:28:06.88\00:28:08.22
and I'm not even gonna show
you what you're gonna be yet."
00:28:08.25\00:28:11.12
He says, "And it has
not yet been revealed
00:28:11.15\00:28:13.39
what we shall be,
00:28:13.42\00:28:15.22
but we know that
when He is revealed,
00:28:15.26\00:28:17.93
we shall be like Him, for
we shall see Him as He is."
00:28:17.96\00:28:22.80
So he says, I
understand, you're My child now,
00:28:22.83\00:28:26.97
I'm working on
you, you're not sure
00:28:27.00\00:28:28.80
what you're gonna look like.
00:28:28.84\00:28:30.17
When I'm done, you
can be just like Me.
00:28:30.21\00:28:32.17
Somehow, I have that
underlined in my Bible.
00:28:32.21\00:28:34.78
It's a powerful
text. It's a powerful text.
00:28:34.81\00:28:37.25
That's a little bit of a joke
'cause this is actually a Bible
00:28:37.28\00:28:39.31
that I borrowed from John, so.
00:28:39.35\00:28:40.68
Oh.
00:28:40.72\00:28:42.22
That's why I
underlined it. Exactly.
00:28:42.25\00:28:44.45
I like that. I got
to hit this real quick.
00:28:44.49\00:28:45.82
Yeah.
00:28:45.85\00:28:47.19
Somebody asked about
the description of Jesus.
00:28:47.22\00:28:49.72
How the Bible refers
to the wool of his hair
00:28:49.76\00:28:53.50
and why is it that we...
00:28:53.53\00:28:58.00
It is said in the Bible,
00:28:58.03\00:28:59.70
a description
of how Jesus looks.
00:28:59.73\00:29:01.77
Hair like wool,
Revelation 1:13-16.
00:29:01.80\00:29:05.54
It is known as,
is it known as to
00:29:05.57\00:29:07.78
why the images are not portrayed
00:29:07.81\00:29:09.41
as such even on 3ABN.
00:29:09.44\00:29:11.91
While the most common
pictures that you see of Jesus
00:29:11.95\00:29:13.92
are pictures that were
painted by Michelangelo.
00:29:13.95\00:29:16.38
And it was actually, the face
was the face of his brother.
00:29:16.42\00:29:19.65
So that's why, however
having said that and I know,
00:29:19.69\00:29:23.53
you know this, but I just
want to say this for the record.
00:29:23.56\00:29:26.26
Life eternal is that
we know the only true God
00:29:26.29\00:29:29.73
and Jesus Christ whom
He sent rather than knowing
00:29:29.76\00:29:32.27
what He looks like,
00:29:32.30\00:29:34.30
we must know who He is
and know Him for salvation.
00:29:34.34\00:29:37.37
Amen.
00:29:37.41\00:29:38.74
So if you have
any more questions,
00:29:38.77\00:29:40.11
you can send those questions
to housecalls@3abn.org.
00:29:40.14\00:29:43.24
That's housecalls@3abn.org.
00:29:43.28\00:29:45.88
And we surely do
appreciate all that you do.
00:29:45.91\00:29:48.45
Thank you so much.
00:29:48.48\00:29:49.82
John, take us
into our topic today,
00:29:49.85\00:29:51.62
which I have just
given introduction to it,
00:29:51.65\00:29:52.99
or what you want to do?
00:29:53.02\00:29:54.36
Yeah.
00:29:54.39\00:29:55.72
Go ahead, I think
we both kind of know
00:29:55.76\00:29:57.09
what we're
talking about here today,
00:29:57.13\00:29:58.46
at least the
topic we want to address
00:29:58.49\00:29:59.83
on the Trinity, on the Godhead,
00:29:59.86\00:30:01.20
there are lot of different terms
00:30:01.23\00:30:02.56
that people use, the Triune God,
00:30:02.60\00:30:03.93
sometimes some
people use that term.
00:30:03.97\00:30:06.40
There is some confusion
about that out there today,
00:30:06.43\00:30:08.30
and so we thought it probably
would be good to cover that
00:30:08.34\00:30:10.74
in one of our programs.
00:30:10.77\00:30:12.77
And so we're gonna
do that beginning today
00:30:12.81\00:30:14.64
and maybe part one, part
two, part three we don't know.
00:30:14.68\00:30:18.25
However, the Lord
leads, but to open it,
00:30:18.28\00:30:21.68
I think you and I talked about,
00:30:21.72\00:30:23.05
let's look at what
scripture has to say
00:30:23.08\00:30:25.85
about the Triune
nature of the Godhead,
00:30:25.89\00:30:30.39
the three-in-one.
00:30:30.43\00:30:31.76
And it is throughout,
it's replete through scripture,
00:30:31.79\00:30:34.76
and so we will point to that.
00:30:34.80\00:30:37.23
And then I think in
the next couple of programs
00:30:37.27\00:30:38.77
we'll get to
defining it a little bit more,
00:30:38.80\00:30:41.24
the death of Christ as
deity, the word "begotten."
00:30:41.27\00:30:48.04
We'll look at the Holy
Spirit in another program
00:30:48.08\00:30:50.85
and so those are
some of the things
00:30:50.88\00:30:52.21
we'll cover over the next few.
00:30:52.25\00:30:53.58
Well, you know, we would
begin with the undisputed fact.
00:30:53.62\00:30:55.32
The undisputed fact is
the Bible reveals the Father,
00:30:55.35\00:30:58.65
the Bible reveals the Son,
00:30:58.69\00:31:00.49
and the Bible
reveals the Holy Spirit.
00:31:00.52\00:31:02.52
So that's an undisputed
fact, but depending on
00:31:02.56\00:31:05.49
how they put
together, some people say,
00:31:05.53\00:31:07.00
well, that's the Godhead.
00:31:07.03\00:31:08.50
Some people say,
that's the Triune God.
00:31:08.53\00:31:11.00
Some people say,
that's the Trinity,
00:31:11.03\00:31:12.83
some people say Trinitarianism.
00:31:12.87\00:31:14.84
And we have to also keep in mind
00:31:14.87\00:31:16.60
that sometimes words are used
00:31:16.64\00:31:18.01
and it has a whole
host of different meanings
00:31:18.04\00:31:20.48
based on how that field
of denomination defines it.
00:31:20.51\00:31:27.95
So what we're gonna talk
about today is the Godhead,
00:31:27.98\00:31:30.89
the Trinity in the framework
00:31:30.92\00:31:33.32
of how the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:31:33.36\00:31:36.26
believes this as
supported by scripture.
00:31:36.29\00:31:39.29
But let me give you
the official statement,
00:31:39.33\00:31:40.83
I think this is where we begin.
00:31:40.86\00:31:43.06
The official statement
00:31:43.10\00:31:44.43
by the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:31:44.47\00:31:46.03
which we have
come to the conclusion
00:31:46.07\00:31:47.64
based on the Word of
God is this as follows:
00:31:47.67\00:31:50.57
"There is one God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
00:31:50.61\00:31:54.78
a unity of three
coeternal Persons.
00:31:54.81\00:31:59.01
God is immortal, all-powerful,
all-knowing, above all,
00:31:59.05\00:32:03.89
and ever present.
00:32:03.92\00:32:05.25
He is infinite and
beyond human comprehension,
00:32:05.29\00:32:09.29
yet known through
His self-revelation.
00:32:09.32\00:32:13.63
God, who is love, is forever
worthy of worship, adoration,
00:32:13.66\00:32:18.33
and service by
the whole creation."
00:32:18.37\00:32:22.40
The other thing I
want to point out, John,
00:32:22.44\00:32:23.97
is we are stepping into a room
00:32:24.01\00:32:30.45
that has no bottom to it.
00:32:30.48\00:32:33.48
Which means, in
fact we are attempting
00:32:33.52\00:32:36.28
to explain the infinitesimal...
00:32:36.32\00:32:40.92
Let me create a new word.
00:32:40.96\00:32:43.02
The infinitesimal God,
the God that is infinite,
00:32:43.06\00:32:46.96
that is from
everlasting to everlasting.
00:32:47.00\00:32:49.36
That is beyond
comprehension by created beings.
00:32:49.40\00:32:53.34
And said very well. Yeah.
00:32:53.37\00:32:55.10
Beyond our human comprehension.
00:32:55.14\00:32:57.21
So this program is not
going to remove all doubt
00:32:57.24\00:33:00.31
because in fact, Hebrews 11:6,
00:33:00.34\00:33:05.21
"Without faith it is
impossible to please Him,
00:33:05.25\00:33:09.58
for he who comes to God
must believe that He is,
00:33:09.62\00:33:13.25
and that He is a
rewarder of those
00:33:13.29\00:33:14.96
who diligently seek Him."
00:33:14.99\00:33:16.39
So we have no problem
there, we believe that God is.
00:33:16.42\00:33:21.16
We have no issues
here at all. Yeah.
00:33:21.20\00:33:23.00
But the challenge has come
in the area of the Trinity.
00:33:23.03\00:33:28.74
Yeah.
00:33:28.77\00:33:30.11
The divinity of
Jesus, the Holy Spirit.
00:33:30.14\00:33:32.51
Some people have a
problem with the word "Trinity".
00:33:32.54\00:33:35.98
And part of the reasoning
00:33:36.01\00:33:37.81
is because it
has Catholic origins,
00:33:37.85\00:33:40.45
that perceived as
having Catholic origins
00:33:40.48\00:33:42.25
and somehow then
if we use the word,
00:33:42.28\00:33:45.49
we mean the exact same
thing as what Catholics
00:33:45.52\00:33:48.72
or what other Protestant
or non-denominations believe.
00:33:48.76\00:33:53.26
Just an interesting
piece of insight into that
00:33:53.29\00:33:56.13
in doing some
research, I discovered this.
00:33:56.16\00:33:58.13
One of the
objections, this whole thing of,
00:33:58.17\00:34:01.20
it's a Catholic doctrine.
00:34:01.24\00:34:03.51
It doesn't really
line up with history.
00:34:03.54\00:34:05.24
History shows that at
the Council of Nicaea,
00:34:05.27\00:34:08.78
that was summoned
by Emperor Constantine
00:34:08.81\00:34:11.08
to deal with the
Arian controversy.
00:34:11.11\00:34:12.75
This was the controversy
of the deity of Christ.
00:34:12.78\00:34:14.95
Right. Okay.
00:34:14.98\00:34:16.99
Of the 318
bishops that attended,
00:34:17.02\00:34:19.49
only 8 came from the west.
00:34:19.52\00:34:23.02
So only 8 of the 318 came
00:34:23.06\00:34:26.83
from the western Rome tradition.
00:34:26.86\00:34:29.53
Okay.
00:34:29.56\00:34:31.33
The others were from the
east, where the bishop of Rome
00:34:31.37\00:34:34.34
had very little
influence over the churches.
00:34:34.37\00:34:37.91
So you have to ignore
these facts to conclude
00:34:37.94\00:34:40.31
first of all that
it's an official doctrine.
00:34:40.34\00:34:42.41
This doctrine began
with just the Church of Rome.
00:34:42.44\00:34:47.52
Right. It's not true.
00:34:47.55\00:34:49.45
There were a lot
of hands in this.
00:34:49.48\00:34:51.72
And sure, yes,
Emperor Constantine
00:34:51.75\00:34:53.46
did call the Council of
Nicaea and he was dealing
00:34:53.49\00:34:56.86
with the initiative
that was slightly different,
00:34:56.89\00:34:59.03
it was an Arian controversy
00:34:59.06\00:35:00.93
but just the fact that
Catholics put this together,
00:35:00.96\00:35:03.73
therefore we had
it, that's not true.
00:35:03.77\00:35:05.60
Right. That
doesn't follow history.
00:35:05.63\00:35:09.00
And so every church deals
00:35:09.04\00:35:10.47
with the terminology
a little differently.
00:35:10.51\00:35:14.11
And so I think
what I want to emphasize
00:35:14.14\00:35:15.64
why I brought that up was that
00:35:15.68\00:35:17.35
when we're
talking about the Trinity,
00:35:17.38\00:35:19.18
or the Godhead,
or the Triune God.
00:35:19.21\00:35:21.82
What we say, we are
trying to drop the baggage.
00:35:21.85\00:35:24.85
What we're trying to
say is what's in here,
00:35:24.89\00:35:26.86
in the Word of God.
00:35:26.89\00:35:28.62
All we have to go
by is what's here.
00:35:28.66\00:35:31.33
That's it. Okay.
00:35:31.36\00:35:32.99
And so I think that's what
00:35:33.03\00:35:34.66
the emphasis
today is going to be.
00:35:34.70\00:35:36.03
"What does the Bible
say about the Trinity,
00:35:36.06\00:35:39.30
about the Godhead, as
far as the number of persons
00:35:39.33\00:35:42.57
and how they
relate to each other?"
00:35:42.60\00:35:45.54
Okay. And so
let's focus on that.
00:35:45.57\00:35:47.88
I don't know if
you have anything else
00:35:47.91\00:35:49.24
you want to say about it,
00:35:49.28\00:35:50.61
but I think it's at
least an important thing
00:35:50.65\00:35:51.98
to look at history sometimes
and dispel some of these rumors
00:35:52.01\00:35:56.85
or errors that people have.
00:35:56.89\00:35:59.19
And also the other
thing I want to point out
00:35:59.22\00:36:00.62
is the evolution
of the understanding
00:36:00.66\00:36:03.26
some individuals and
I think this may happen
00:36:03.29\00:36:05.06
in different faith communities.
00:36:05.09\00:36:06.43
Some individuals go
back to the formation
00:36:06.46\00:36:08.53
or the inception
of their denomination.
00:36:08.56\00:36:11.13
With a creed. Right.
00:36:11.17\00:36:13.07
Some believe in the creed.
00:36:13.10\00:36:16.34
You know, we have
the Apostles' Creed.
00:36:16.37\00:36:17.77
I believe in the God, the
Father and that's a creed,
00:36:17.81\00:36:20.31
that's a solid
document that is changeless.
00:36:20.34\00:36:24.05
Yeah.
00:36:24.08\00:36:25.41
It makes the church that
accepts that unchangeable...
00:36:25.45\00:36:28.12
Right. In its growth in truth.
00:36:28.15\00:36:30.25
It's hard to grow in a
truth when you have a creed
00:36:30.29\00:36:32.92
because you're fixed.
00:36:32.95\00:36:34.29
And we don't set any of
our teachings in a creed...
00:36:34.32\00:36:37.06
That's right.
00:36:37.09\00:36:38.43
But we set them in
fundamental beliefs.
00:36:38.46\00:36:40.26
Fundamental belief
one all the way to 28,
00:36:40.30\00:36:42.70
we set them in
fundamental beliefs.
00:36:42.73\00:36:44.40
Which means as understanding
and what many people
00:36:44.43\00:36:48.07
don't understand
about the evolution
00:36:48.10\00:36:50.17
of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church is it began
00:36:50.21\00:36:52.27
as a
multi-denominational movement.
00:36:52.31\00:36:55.14
It was only given the name
for recognition simply meaning,
00:36:55.18\00:36:59.05
that was a
movement not a church.
00:36:59.08\00:37:01.18
Right.
00:37:01.22\00:37:02.55
Because people from every class,
00:37:02.58\00:37:04.22
every race were
invited into his fellowship.
00:37:04.25\00:37:06.96
You had
Methodist, you had Baptist,
00:37:06.99\00:37:08.99
you had Presbyterian,
00:37:09.02\00:37:12.03
you had so many different faiths
00:37:12.06\00:37:13.60
that got
together and simply said,
00:37:13.63\00:37:15.46
"Let us put aside
our pre-understandings
00:37:15.50\00:37:18.03
and let the
Bible be our teacher.
00:37:18.07\00:37:20.20
And, you know, John,
and we know as pastors
00:37:20.24\00:37:22.34
that the understanding
continued to increase
00:37:22.37\00:37:27.31
in areas of health,
00:37:27.34\00:37:29.18
some of the things that
were practiced at the time
00:37:29.21\00:37:30.85
the church was formed
were completely unhealthy.
00:37:30.88\00:37:34.15
People believed
somehow that, you know,
00:37:34.18\00:37:36.25
sunlight wasn't good for you,
00:37:36.28\00:37:37.62
so they kept their shades closed
00:37:37.65\00:37:39.49
and they would
put on heavy clothing
00:37:39.52\00:37:40.92
to prevent
themselves from being,
00:37:40.96\00:37:42.59
from sun hitting their
skin, well, lack of vitamin D.
00:37:42.62\00:37:45.63
That's right.
00:37:45.66\00:37:47.00
Some people will bathe once
or maybe the most twice a week,
00:37:47.03\00:37:50.23
because they were
taught, while too much exposure
00:37:50.27\00:37:52.03
to water was not good for you.
00:37:52.07\00:37:54.14
But then they came
to discover hygiene
00:37:54.17\00:37:56.17
is very
important and what we ate.
00:37:56.20\00:37:58.51
So the evolution of the
beliefs and if we believe
00:37:58.54\00:38:01.58
that the pioneers, if we believe
00:38:01.61\00:38:04.08
that the pioneers in
America had all the answers,
00:38:04.11\00:38:06.75
then we ought to get
rid of all the internet,
00:38:06.78\00:38:08.18
get rid of all costs.
00:38:08.22\00:38:09.55
It's critical
thinking. Right, exactly.
00:38:09.58\00:38:11.15
It is.
00:38:11.19\00:38:12.52
If we believe
that our forefathers,
00:38:12.55\00:38:15.06
all four of them,
00:38:15.09\00:38:16.42
no pun intended,
if we believe that
00:38:16.46\00:38:18.29
that was it way back in
1700s, then let's go back there
00:38:18.33\00:38:21.86
and there are some people
that have create a mentality,
00:38:21.90\00:38:23.77
no electricity, no
digital, nothing that is modern,
00:38:23.80\00:38:27.57
because it was
perfect way in the past.
00:38:27.60\00:38:29.74
Yeah.
00:38:29.77\00:38:31.11
And there are some
other problems with that too.
00:38:31.14\00:38:32.94
You know, just because some
of those coming into the church
00:38:32.97\00:38:35.64
early on were anti-Trinitarian.
00:38:35.68\00:38:37.58
Right.
00:38:37.61\00:38:39.25
Doesn't mean that
they stayed that way.
00:38:39.28\00:38:41.18
No.
00:38:41.22\00:38:42.55
Nor it doesn't mean
that there wasn't room
00:38:42.58\00:38:44.62
to continue to grow in
our understanding of God
00:38:44.65\00:38:47.96
and who He is
in His personality.
00:38:47.99\00:38:50.06
In fact, one of our
founders, Ellen White,
00:38:50.09\00:38:51.76
here's what she writes.
00:38:51.79\00:38:53.29
"The Word of the
Lord..." And this is in 1907,
00:38:53.33\00:38:56.40
this is eight
years before her death,
00:38:56.43\00:38:57.80
so this is at the end.
00:38:57.83\00:38:59.73
"The word of the
Lord has guided our steps
00:38:59.77\00:39:02.17
since the
passing of time in 1844.
00:39:02.20\00:39:05.77
We have searched the Scriptures,
00:39:05.81\00:39:07.21
we have built solidly,
but we have not had to tear up
00:39:07.24\00:39:11.55
our foundations and
put in new timbers."
00:39:11.58\00:39:15.78
This was at a
time where the church
00:39:15.82\00:39:17.79
had already begun to
move steadily away from
00:39:17.82\00:39:20.49
the anti-Trinitarian
doctrine to a Trinitarian one.
00:39:20.52\00:39:23.89
And she is
saying, we haven't moved,
00:39:23.93\00:39:25.39
hadn't had to change build
or change one of the timbers.
00:39:25.43\00:39:28.86
This is not...
00:39:28.90\00:39:30.23
This truth is not actually
a pillar truth of our faith.
00:39:30.27\00:39:34.27
When I say pillar, as in one
of the founding major pillars
00:39:34.30\00:39:38.54
that we were organized on.
00:39:38.57\00:39:39.91
Okay.
00:39:39.94\00:39:41.28
It was one of the
truths that we recognized
00:39:41.31\00:39:43.75
and hold tightly
to, still to this day,
00:39:43.78\00:39:46.11
but that grew overtime.
00:39:46.15\00:39:47.92
Right.
00:39:47.95\00:39:49.28
And so she can
say that knowing that
00:39:49.32\00:39:51.25
there has been
growth in our understanding
00:39:51.29\00:39:53.25
of the Trinity, but
yet look back and say,
00:39:53.29\00:39:55.69
we haven't had
to change one thing.
00:39:55.72\00:39:58.03
So an interesting
perspective, I think sometimes
00:39:58.06\00:40:00.20
we have this
neo, what do you call,
00:40:00.23\00:40:02.63
neo re-visioning.
00:40:02.66\00:40:06.00
Some people are
neo-restorationist,
00:40:06.03\00:40:09.90
I think is the word,
where they try to restore
00:40:09.94\00:40:12.01
or put into place history
00:40:12.04\00:40:14.84
that is not really
the way the history was.
00:40:14.88\00:40:17.88
And so sometimes
you'll hear that,
00:40:17.91\00:40:19.41
I shared that
because what is out there
00:40:19.45\00:40:21.95
in this anti-Trinitarian
stuff is often that.
00:40:21.98\00:40:24.69
We got to go back
to the way we believed
00:40:24.72\00:40:26.86
as early Adventists in everyway,
00:40:26.89\00:40:28.99
but there are some strong
00:40:29.02\00:40:30.83
or some real problematic
things in doing that.
00:40:30.86\00:40:34.03
And we'll talk about those
in the next coming programs.
00:40:34.06\00:40:37.37
So now as we establish
couple of very important facts,
00:40:37.40\00:40:42.74
or very important
points is that, there...
00:40:42.77\00:40:46.61
The other thing we want
to emphasize is the Godhead
00:40:46.64\00:40:50.18
that the Trinity is eternal.
00:40:50.21\00:40:52.41
Mm-hmm.
00:40:52.45\00:40:53.78
You cannot have
divinity without eternity.
00:40:53.82\00:40:59.12
That's right. It's not possible.
00:40:59.15\00:41:01.46
No man is divine,
why? Because we are finite.
00:41:01.49\00:41:05.39
When you speak
about the Holy Spirit,
00:41:05.43\00:41:07.20
when you speak about Jesus
00:41:07.23\00:41:09.50
who
condescended, and by the way,
00:41:09.53\00:41:11.50
another fact is His
name was not called Jesus
00:41:11.53\00:41:14.50
until He came in human flesh,
00:41:14.54\00:41:17.64
until He was born into
the world through Mary.
00:41:17.67\00:41:20.38
Call His name Jesus.
00:41:20.41\00:41:22.81
That was His birth
name in the incarnation.
00:41:22.84\00:41:25.98
Right.
00:41:26.01\00:41:27.98
That was not the
name He had in eternity,
00:41:28.02\00:41:30.42
that was not the
name He had in eternity.
00:41:30.45\00:41:32.35
And so you'll find
in the Old Testament,
00:41:32.39\00:41:34.16
now the word "Lord" or
"Our God" or "Jehovah",
00:41:34.19\00:41:38.39
you find these names
in the Old Testament.
00:41:38.43\00:41:41.06
You find Redeemer,
Savior all of the functions
00:41:41.10\00:41:44.37
that Jesus undertook
in His earthly ministry,
00:41:44.40\00:41:47.30
but you don't
find the word "Jesus",
00:41:47.34\00:41:48.67
you find Michael, the archangel.
00:41:48.70\00:41:51.14
You find Michael
in the New Testament,
00:41:51.17\00:41:52.77
Michael in the Old Testament.
00:41:52.81\00:41:54.48
Michael, the highest,
the one above all the angels.
00:41:54.51\00:41:57.31
Yeah.
00:41:57.35\00:41:58.68
And so you find
this pre-existence,
00:41:58.71\00:42:00.58
and Jesus didn't allude
to that, He made it clear.
00:42:00.62\00:42:03.22
Father, glorify Me
with the glory that we had
00:42:03.25\00:42:06.15
before the world was.
00:42:06.19\00:42:07.52
Mm-hmm.
00:42:07.56\00:42:08.89
So He didn't
come into existence.
00:42:08.92\00:42:11.36
If Jesus, and this is the point
00:42:11.39\00:42:12.73
we're gonna
emphasize over and over,
00:42:12.76\00:42:14.10
we're gonna get to the
divinity of Jesus later on.
00:42:14.13\00:42:16.87
But Jesus did not
come into existence,
00:42:16.90\00:42:20.70
Jesus didn't
come from the Father.
00:42:20.74\00:42:25.54
Only time you find that
spoken of is when it says,
00:42:25.57\00:42:30.05
"For God so loved the world
00:42:30.08\00:42:31.51
that He gave His
only begotten Son."
00:42:31.55\00:42:35.95
The one who was
begotten of the Father.
00:42:35.98\00:42:38.39
The word "begotten"
there and here is a very,
00:42:38.42\00:42:40.76
and this is the point I want
to make with extreme caution,
00:42:40.79\00:42:44.19
but at the same time
firmly establish on scripture,
00:42:44.23\00:42:46.49
and we will give
you the verses for that.
00:42:46.53\00:42:47.96
Begotten doesn't mean born.
00:42:48.00\00:42:50.07
Doesn't mean
created. Doesn't mean created.
00:42:50.10\00:42:52.47
Because if at any
point Jesus was created,
00:42:52.50\00:42:56.30
then He is just like us.
00:42:56.34\00:42:59.04
However, let's go to 1 John.
00:42:59.07\00:43:01.08
And by the way, do you
have passage you wanna go,
00:43:01.11\00:43:03.35
before we go there?
00:43:03.38\00:43:04.71
No.
00:43:04.75\00:43:06.08
I don't, I just, I
think we've got kind of a path
00:43:06.11\00:43:07.82
laid out for us here
for the rest of this.
00:43:07.85\00:43:09.22
I don't wanna get too deeply
into the divinity of Christ
00:43:09.25\00:43:11.82
because we're gonna
cover that in a program.
00:43:11.85\00:43:13.32
Right.
00:43:13.36\00:43:14.69
But, yes, let's
go into the scripture
00:43:14.72\00:43:17.69
that you have there.
00:43:17.73\00:43:19.06
Why don't we start with Genesis?
00:43:19.09\00:43:20.43
Let's start
with Genesis 1. Okay.
00:43:20.46\00:43:22.00
And now I'd like
you to read that, John,
00:43:22.03\00:43:23.60
where we find at the inception
of the creation of our universe
00:43:23.63\00:43:30.01
the Godhead is mentioned there.
00:43:30.04\00:43:32.57
Genesis 1:1 and 2.
00:43:32.61\00:43:34.51
"In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth.
00:43:38.58\00:43:42.78
The earth was
without form, and void,
00:43:42.82\00:43:44.45
and darkness was on
the face of the deep.
00:43:44.49\00:43:46.65
And the Spirit
of God was hovering
00:43:46.69\00:43:48.56
over the face of the waters."
00:43:48.59\00:43:50.16
Okay. And then verse 26.
00:43:50.19\00:43:52.39
Let's talk about,
we're gonna build on that.
00:43:52.43\00:43:55.30
Verse 26 says, "Then God said,
'Let us make man in Our image,
00:43:55.33\00:43:59.97
according to Our likeness.
00:44:00.00\00:44:02.40
Let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea,
00:44:02.44\00:44:04.77
over the birds of the
air, and over the cattle,
00:44:04.81\00:44:06.78
over all the earth and
over every creeping thing
00:44:06.81\00:44:08.91
that creeps on the earth.'"
00:44:08.94\00:44:10.28
And I wanna look
at a passage here
00:44:10.31\00:44:11.71
that I highlighted.
00:44:11.75\00:44:13.08
I wanna make sure that I
made reference to that...
00:44:13.11\00:44:15.85
Yeah, and so the "us"
factor that's talked about here.
00:44:21.42\00:44:26.80
And you read
verse 27 also, correct.
00:44:26.83\00:44:29.53
"So God created
man in His own image.
00:44:29.56\00:44:33.00
In the image of
God He created Him,
00:44:33.03\00:44:35.07
male and female
He created them."
00:44:35.10\00:44:37.21
Now I want to
point something out here.
00:44:37.24\00:44:39.74
Verse 26 says, "And
God said, 'Let us...'"
00:44:39.77\00:44:43.24
And then you go to verse 27.
00:44:43.28\00:44:45.05
"So God created
man in His own image."
00:44:45.08\00:44:50.19
Us and Him.
00:44:50.22\00:44:51.99
And when we get to this,
when we get to this point here
00:44:52.02\00:44:55.62
of looking at the "Us"
and the "Him" of the Godhead,
00:44:55.66\00:45:00.50
of the Trinity, Us
created a man in His own image.
00:45:00.53\00:45:08.14
You have to come
to the conclusion,
00:45:08.17\00:45:10.87
where the Israelites said,
"The Lord our God is one God."
00:45:10.91\00:45:15.78
However, not taken away
from that statement at all,
00:45:15.81\00:45:20.05
but adding to that, the
oneness of God is something
00:45:20.08\00:45:23.65
we would not fully
understand until the eternity,
00:45:23.69\00:45:27.52
because the oneness of
God includes the Father,
00:45:27.56\00:45:30.46
the Son and the Holy Spirit,
though our God is one God.
00:45:30.49\00:45:33.96
I think one of the illustrations
00:45:34.00\00:45:35.33
that was used many years
ago when I was growing up.
00:45:35.36\00:45:38.10
One of the
evangelists used an egg
00:45:38.13\00:45:41.57
to illustrate that it says,
00:45:41.60\00:45:42.94
"Well, how many eggs do I have?"
00:45:42.97\00:45:44.64
And he held up one egg.
00:45:44.67\00:45:46.88
They said, "Well, one."
00:45:46.91\00:45:48.24
He said, "Actually,
00:45:48.28\00:45:49.61
how many parts
does this egg have?"
00:45:49.64\00:45:51.91
And he said, "Shell,
yolk, and the amniotic fluid."
00:45:51.95\00:45:58.89
Three in one.
00:45:58.92\00:46:00.76
And so you find clearly
00:46:00.79\00:46:02.42
the Holy Spirit
was not excluded,
00:46:02.46\00:46:04.46
although the Holy
Spirit was not the one
00:46:04.49\00:46:07.23
that was talked
about repetitiously
00:46:07.26\00:46:09.43
in the Old Testament as
it relates to redemption
00:46:09.46\00:46:12.93
and saving and stepping in
behalf of the people of God.
00:46:12.97\00:46:17.84
Yet, the Holy
Spirit was mentioned firmly
00:46:17.87\00:46:21.84
not striving with
the antediluvians.
00:46:21.88\00:46:23.61
Mm-hmm.
00:46:23.65\00:46:24.98
When Elijah was just about ready
00:46:25.01\00:46:27.65
to be swept away in
the chariot of fire,
00:46:27.68\00:46:30.85
Elisha prayed for a
double portion of the Spirit
00:46:30.89\00:46:35.69
to be poured out on Him,
and that exactly occurred.
00:46:35.72\00:46:39.96
So those are some of the
things I just want to touch on,
00:46:40.00\00:46:42.20
before we start
going on to the scripture.
00:46:42.23\00:46:43.57
Oh, yeah, until you have "Us",
00:46:43.60\00:46:44.93
I think the
question you'd ask is,
00:46:44.97\00:46:46.30
"Okay, 'Us' has
to be at least two."
00:46:46.33\00:46:48.60
Right.
00:46:48.64\00:46:49.97
And according to
verse 2... Right.
00:46:50.01\00:46:51.57
Which we already
read from Genesis 1.
00:46:51.61\00:46:54.58
God and His Spirit
are mentioned there.
00:46:54.61\00:46:57.11
It's true. That's right.
00:46:57.15\00:46:59.91
And so you find that, I
think the other connection
00:46:59.95\00:47:04.89
we have here to the Godhead,
to the Trinity is that Jesus
00:47:04.92\00:47:12.46
who is questioned in
regard to His authority.
00:47:12.49\00:47:17.40
He speaks of
Himself as the, "I am."
00:47:17.43\00:47:20.94
A clear reference
and the Jews knew this...
00:47:20.97\00:47:23.47
That's right.
00:47:23.51\00:47:24.84
A clear reference to
Moses encounter with the "I am"
00:47:24.87\00:47:27.64
at the burning bush.
00:47:27.68\00:47:29.01
That's right.
00:47:29.04\00:47:30.38
And so if Jesus is saying,
"I am the one that met Moses
00:47:30.41\00:47:33.85
at the burning
bush," we know then Christ
00:47:33.88\00:47:36.62
is also part of the Godhead.
00:47:36.65\00:47:38.25
That's right.
00:47:38.29\00:47:39.62
So then you have
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
00:47:39.65\00:47:44.49
clearly evident
in Old Testament.
00:47:44.53\00:47:46.16
That's right.
00:47:46.19\00:47:47.53
And even more clearly
evident, especially with regard
00:47:47.56\00:47:49.03
to the Holy Spirit
in the New Testament.
00:47:49.06\00:47:50.53
Mm-hmm. Okay.
00:47:50.57\00:47:51.90
So now we're
beginning to unfold them here.
00:47:51.93\00:47:53.30
That's right.
00:47:53.34\00:47:54.67
The three that are
found in the scripture
00:47:54.70\00:47:56.20
that make up the
Godhead or the Trinity, yeah.
00:47:56.24\00:47:59.71
And the biggest, one
of the biggest things
00:47:59.74\00:48:01.51
that we wanna also go ahead
and start chiseling away at.
00:48:01.54\00:48:04.31
There's some beautiful
passages in the Old Testament
00:48:04.35\00:48:06.72
that shows, now,
who is our redeemer?
00:48:06.75\00:48:09.52
Jesus. Jesus.
00:48:09.55\00:48:10.89
Yeah. Who is our savior?
00:48:10.92\00:48:12.25
Jesus is.
00:48:12.29\00:48:13.62
And there's some
passages, and by the way,
00:48:13.66\00:48:15.76
I know we keep
saying, we don't wanna deal
00:48:15.79\00:48:17.96
with the divinity of Christ yet,
00:48:17.99\00:48:19.46
we wanna talk
about the Holy Spirit.
00:48:19.49\00:48:21.30
But there's some
passages in the Bible
00:48:21.33\00:48:24.93
that I wanna point
out really carefully
00:48:24.97\00:48:27.14
as we've
established some of these.
00:48:27.17\00:48:28.84
Let's go to, you
mentioned the "I am."
00:48:28.87\00:48:31.37
Mm-hmm.
00:48:31.41\00:48:32.74
Let's go to
Revelation 1:8, the "I am."
00:48:32.77\00:48:35.21
And then Revelation 1:11,
if you can read those for us.
00:48:35.24\00:48:39.71
Revelation 1:8, Revelation 1:11.
00:48:39.75\00:48:44.25
Got that there.
00:48:49.99\00:48:51.43
Yes, but it's not my
Bible, so it's always hard
00:48:51.46\00:48:54.03
to find the
testament structured Bible.
00:48:54.06\00:48:57.33
Okay, Revelation 1:8, "I
am the Alpha and the Omega,
00:48:57.37\00:49:03.14
the Beginning and
the End, says the Lord,
00:49:03.17\00:49:06.54
who is and who was
and who is to come,
00:49:06.57\00:49:09.84
the Almighty."
00:49:09.88\00:49:11.81
So this is in red letters,
this is referring to the words
00:49:11.85\00:49:14.78
of Christ Himself,
00:49:14.82\00:49:16.55
who self proclaims
His eternal nature.
00:49:16.58\00:49:20.72
He is the beginning and the end,
00:49:20.76\00:49:23.39
which doesn't mean that
00:49:23.43\00:49:24.76
He had a
beginning and He has an end.
00:49:24.79\00:49:26.13
It simply means
that He's always existed.
00:49:26.16\00:49:27.50
That's right.
00:49:27.53\00:49:28.86
So who is the "I am"
that is spoken of here?
00:49:28.90\00:49:32.63
"I am" is Jesus.
00:49:32.67\00:49:34.30
Because Revelation is
the revelation of Jesus.
00:49:34.34\00:49:36.94
Jesus. That's right.
00:49:36.97\00:49:38.31
So when you find this phrase
in a Bible, when you find this,
00:49:38.34\00:49:41.08
and I use the word "phrase"
because it's two words, "I am".
00:49:41.11\00:49:45.05
I am the light of the
world, I am the bread of life.
00:49:45.08\00:49:48.98
Those weren't just words? No.
00:49:49.02\00:49:50.69
They start with a
sentence they were...
00:49:50.72\00:49:52.42
So instead of saying, I
am tired, that's different,
00:49:52.45\00:49:55.46
I'm leaving to
tell you I am tired.
00:49:55.49\00:49:57.29
I am personally not tired,
but when the Bible says "I am",
00:49:57.33\00:50:03.10
it says, the "I am"
is the bread of life,
00:50:03.13\00:50:06.70
the "I am" is the water of life,
00:50:06.74\00:50:09.10
the "I am" is the
light of the world.
00:50:09.14\00:50:11.81
That's the better context
of that, it's not saying,
00:50:11.84\00:50:14.11
"I am tired, I am hungry, I am,
00:50:14.14\00:50:17.01
personally I'm not
hunger personified,
00:50:17.05\00:50:20.12
I am not light personified,
I am not water personified."
00:50:20.15\00:50:23.45
But when it comes
to speaking of Jesus,
00:50:23.49\00:50:26.49
the "I am" is the
light of the world,
00:50:26.52\00:50:29.12
the "I am" is the bread of life,
00:50:29.16\00:50:31.86
the "I am" is the
water of life, the "I am"...
00:50:31.89\00:50:35.86
In Exodus, it
says, "For I am the Lord
00:50:35.90\00:50:39.50
who led you out of Egypt."
00:50:39.53\00:50:41.60
The "I am" led them out.
00:50:41.64\00:50:43.97
I'm not just a leader
like Moses, you see...
00:50:44.01\00:50:46.47
That separates our
humanity from His divinity.
00:50:46.51\00:50:51.35
And this was a challenge
for those that were early
00:50:51.38\00:50:56.15
in the church.
00:50:56.18\00:50:57.52
The anti-Trinitarians early
on in Adventism didn't agree.
00:50:57.55\00:51:03.29
They didn't agree on
the divinity of Christ.
00:51:03.32\00:51:06.19
That's right.
00:51:06.23\00:51:07.56
They didn't even
agree on how we came about,
00:51:07.60\00:51:09.10
what its origin was.
00:51:09.13\00:51:10.63
And so you had a lot
of different writings
00:51:10.67\00:51:12.27
at that time as they grew
in their understanding of that.
00:51:12.30\00:51:15.04
That's right.
00:51:15.07\00:51:16.40
And I think just to
say, "Okay, let's go back
00:51:16.44\00:51:18.64
to anti-Trinitarian view is
taking on a lot more baggage
00:51:18.67\00:51:22.64
than you really
intend to take on
00:51:22.68\00:51:25.35
if you want to go back.
00:51:25.38\00:51:28.28
I wish we had time to go
into all of these statements,
00:51:28.32\00:51:30.29
we don't have that time.
00:51:30.32\00:51:31.79
But I think it's important to
recognize what scripture says,
00:51:31.82\00:51:35.79
not only about Jesus
00:51:35.82\00:51:37.16
but on the
nature of God Himself.
00:51:37.19\00:51:38.53
That's right.
00:51:38.56\00:51:39.89
All three that are
make up the Godhead
00:51:39.93\00:51:42.00
are eternal in nature,
00:51:42.03\00:51:43.57
and that's kind
of where we began.
00:51:43.60\00:51:45.60
Let's look at Isaiah, I think...
00:51:45.63\00:51:48.20
Do you want to...
00:51:48.24\00:51:49.57
You mean, Isaiah 44?
00:51:49.60\00:51:50.94
Isaiah 44,
because that speaks of...
00:51:50.97\00:51:52.94
Okay. Again the Old Testament.
00:51:52.97\00:51:54.44
And it talks about the two.
00:51:54.48\00:51:57.65
Do you wanna read
that, you wanna read that?
00:51:57.68\00:51:59.01
Okay.
00:51:59.05\00:52:00.38
Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says
the Lord, the King of Israel,
00:52:00.42\00:52:03.72
and his redeemer,
the Lord of hosts.
00:52:03.75\00:52:07.29
'I am the First
and I am the Last,
00:52:07.32\00:52:08.96
besides Me there is no God.'"
00:52:08.99\00:52:10.83
So a proper transition
from Revelation, probably,
00:52:10.86\00:52:14.06
in fact a reference
to that very passage.
00:52:14.10\00:52:16.97
Very passage.
00:52:17.00\00:52:18.40
He's the King of
Israel and God the Father
00:52:18.43\00:52:24.17
who is also standing
along with His redeemer,
00:52:24.21\00:52:27.04
the Lord of hosts.
00:52:27.08\00:52:28.41
That's right.
00:52:28.44\00:52:30.08
And so you have
obviously two there of the three
00:52:30.11\00:52:33.85
speaking in
that, in that context.
00:52:33.88\00:52:35.98
And so you have here, who
is the first and the last?
00:52:36.02\00:52:40.19
Obviously, Jesus and
He is referred to here
00:52:40.22\00:52:43.53
as the redeemer, the redeemer,
00:52:43.56\00:52:47.00
the one who comes
to redeem humanity.
00:52:47.03\00:52:49.26
He's referred to as
the first and the last.
00:52:49.30\00:52:52.07
Now, I wanna say
this the third time
00:52:52.10\00:52:53.97
because in the minds of
many Jesus cannot be the first.
00:52:54.00\00:52:57.57
They say, well, the
Father must be the first
00:52:57.61\00:52:59.31
and Jesus came after that.
00:52:59.34\00:53:01.31
In this idea that
Jesus was a begotten being
00:53:01.34\00:53:04.51
or being that came
forth from the Father.
00:53:04.55\00:53:07.55
Any allusion to the
fact that the Father created,
00:53:07.58\00:53:11.85
or and some people say,
"Well, we didn't say create,
00:53:11.89\00:53:15.12
but we said begotten."
00:53:15.16\00:53:16.93
The word "begotten" in
the Greek and in the Hebrew,
00:53:16.96\00:53:21.73
if you look at
that and tear it apart,
00:53:21.76\00:53:24.47
it is talking about the
unity of the Father and the Son.
00:53:24.50\00:53:27.80
And when it refers to
begotten of the Father,
00:53:27.84\00:53:30.21
it's talking about
Him in His incarnation.
00:53:30.24\00:53:33.61
It's talking about
Him in His incarnation.
00:53:33.64\00:53:37.25
"For God so loved
the world that He gave
00:53:37.28\00:53:38.71
His only begotten Son"
in the sense of preeminence,
00:53:38.75\00:53:43.08
but not in the sense
of birth because John 1,
00:53:43.12\00:53:46.55
you cannot get rid
of John 1, it says...
00:53:46.59\00:53:49.12
Let's go to John 1.
00:53:49.16\00:53:50.63
You have something,
John, you want to share,
00:53:50.66\00:53:51.99
as I'm turning there?
00:53:52.03\00:53:53.36
Well, I was trying to
stay on the Trinity piece
00:53:53.40\00:53:54.73
because in the New Testament
there are 40 references,
00:53:54.76\00:53:58.13
where all three in the Godhead
00:53:58.17\00:53:59.97
are mentioned in
that one passage.
00:54:00.00\00:54:01.34
Very good point.
00:54:01.37\00:54:02.70
So that's what I was thinking,
00:54:02.74\00:54:04.07
we kind of finish
with that then we'll hit...
00:54:04.11\00:54:06.01
Hit the divinity of Christ.
Hit the divinity of Christ.
00:54:06.04\00:54:07.88
Okay.
00:54:07.91\00:54:09.71
And this is I
can't give them all but
00:54:09.74\00:54:13.58
and I won't take
credit for this either,
00:54:13.62\00:54:15.55
Dr. Tom Shepherd
from Andrews University,
00:54:15.58\00:54:18.15
he compiled this
list and he gave it to me.
00:54:18.19\00:54:20.96
So these are all the
texts that 40 different ones
00:54:20.99\00:54:26.80
in the New Testament were
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
00:54:26.83\00:54:30.27
are all mentioned
in the same passage.
00:54:30.30\00:54:33.37
Most of the time
in the same verse.
00:54:33.40\00:54:35.64
And when you have that kind
of overwhelming evidence, John,
00:54:35.67\00:54:38.47
of three, three,
three everywhere,
00:54:38.51\00:54:41.18
you start
realizing this is a Trinity.
00:54:41.21\00:54:44.28
This is not dual...
00:54:44.31\00:54:46.78
No. A duality.
00:54:46.82\00:54:48.48
This is the
Trinity of the Godhead.
00:54:48.52\00:54:52.65
Do you want me
to read Luke 1:35?
00:54:52.69\00:54:55.02
Go ahead.
00:54:55.06\00:54:56.39
It says, "And the angel answered
00:54:56.42\00:54:57.76
and said to her..."
00:54:57.79\00:54:59.39
This is one of the angel
Gabriel appeared to Mary.
00:54:59.43\00:55:02.50
"The Holy Spirit,"
one, "Will come upon you,
00:55:02.53\00:55:06.97
and the power of the Highest,
the Father will overshadow you.
00:55:07.00\00:55:12.11
Therefore, also,
that Holy One, Jesus,
00:55:12.14\00:55:17.68
who is to be born will
be called the Son of God."
00:55:17.71\00:55:22.05
So you the Holy Spirit,
you have God, the Highest,
00:55:22.08\00:55:26.79
and then you have the Holy One
to be born is the Son of God.
00:55:26.82\00:55:31.39
Three right there, I
mentioned at the time
00:55:31.43\00:55:33.40
with Gabriel
giving this news to Mary
00:55:33.43\00:55:35.90
that she's
about to have a child.
00:55:35.93\00:55:37.93
And she says,
"How shall this be,
00:55:37.97\00:55:40.54
seeing that I
do not know a man."
00:55:40.57\00:55:42.20
Yeah.
00:55:42.24\00:55:43.57
He said, this is how
this is gonna happen.
00:55:43.61\00:55:44.94
The incarnation.
00:55:44.97\00:55:46.31
And to clarify,
so that's one case.
00:55:46.34\00:55:48.14
To clarify, look at
verse like Romans 5:5 and 6.
00:55:48.18\00:55:51.28
Okay. You have that?
00:55:51.31\00:55:52.65
Yes. So turn to
Romans 5:5 and 6.
00:55:52.68\00:55:55.08
And we'll find
all three mentioned
00:55:55.12\00:55:56.58
in this passage.
00:55:56.62\00:55:58.09
So could you read those two?
Okay, I have that right here.
00:55:58.12\00:55:59.92
Okay.
00:55:59.95\00:56:02.16
"Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God
00:56:02.19\00:56:05.89
has been poured
out in our hearts
00:56:05.93\00:56:08.90
by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us."
00:56:08.93\00:56:13.03
And verse 6, "For when we
were still without strength,
00:56:13.07\00:56:16.64
in due time Christ
died for the ungodly."
00:56:16.67\00:56:19.34
Okay, so you have God's love.
00:56:19.37\00:56:21.84
That's right.
00:56:21.88\00:56:23.21
The love of God.
Father mentioned there.
00:56:23.24\00:56:24.58
You have the Holy Spirit
00:56:24.61\00:56:26.55
who is the agent
pouring into us the love of God.
00:56:26.58\00:56:29.52
That's right.
00:56:29.55\00:56:30.89
And then you have that
Christ died for the ungodly,
00:56:30.92\00:56:33.02
so in this
passage just two texts...
00:56:33.05\00:56:34.96
Right. You've
all three mentioned.
00:56:34.99\00:56:36.32
That's right.
00:56:36.36\00:56:37.69
So when I say in this reference
here 40 different passages,
00:56:37.73\00:56:42.73
this happens repeatedly...
00:56:42.76\00:56:44.30
That's right.
Throughout the New Testament.
00:56:44.33\00:56:46.23
God is mentioned,
Christ is mentioned,
00:56:46.27\00:56:48.20
His Spirit is mentioned
over and over and over again.
00:56:48.24\00:56:52.07
And so we can't deny the
prevalence of the Trinity
00:56:52.11\00:56:56.24
in the New Testament.
00:56:56.28\00:56:58.41
Where it maybe
a little disguised
00:56:58.45\00:57:00.35
in the Old Testament,
00:57:00.38\00:57:01.72
it is very
prevalent and very overt
00:57:01.75\00:57:03.92
in the New Testament.
00:57:03.95\00:57:05.45
And you find also
that the passage there,
00:57:05.49\00:57:09.79
the Father
didn't die, the Son did.
00:57:09.82\00:57:13.13
That's right.
00:57:13.16\00:57:14.50
The Holy Spirit
didn't die, the Son did.
00:57:14.53\00:57:18.00
And when Jesus left, and
we're gonna talk about this
00:57:18.03\00:57:19.73
in an upcoming program.
00:57:19.77\00:57:21.67
When Jesus left, He said,
"It is necessary and expedient
00:57:21.70\00:57:25.57
that I go, if I
don't go, he cannot come.
00:57:25.61\00:57:29.38
What do you say about that
before we wind up our program?
00:57:29.41\00:57:31.58
It's necessary I go
00:57:31.61\00:57:32.95
and if I don't
go, he cannot come.
00:57:32.98\00:57:34.32
Yeah.
00:57:34.35\00:57:35.68
And then there is clearly
a departing as the being,
00:57:35.72\00:57:39.02
Christ departing to sit
to the right of His Father
00:57:39.05\00:57:41.76
and there's clearly a
coming in of the Holy Spirit
00:57:41.79\00:57:44.66
to represent Him to the
world in the hearts of men.
00:57:44.69\00:57:47.10
That's right.
00:57:47.13\00:57:48.46
And the reality of it
is the Father, the Son,
00:57:48.50\00:57:50.60
and the Holy Spirit are involved
00:57:50.63\00:57:52.53
in the creation of man
and in the redemption of man.
00:57:52.57\00:57:56.20
Continue studying
this because the Lord
00:57:56.24\00:57:57.91
one day is gonna
bring your eyes open
00:57:57.94\00:58:00.28
to understand His
love for every one of us.
00:58:00.31\00:58:02.64
God bless you.
00:58:02.68\00:58:04.01