¤¤ >> Dear friend, thank you so
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much for joining
"It Is Written Canada."
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I will tell you today's show
is going to be an exciting show,
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and to help me in discussing our
topic is an individual who's no
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stranger to "It Is Written
Canada." I want to welcome back
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to "It Is Written Canada" Dr.
John Peckham. Dr. Peckham, thank
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you so much for being here. >>
Thank you for having me, Chris.
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>> Now, Dr. Peckham is a
professor at the theological
seminary at Andrews University.
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He's written a number of books.
And we're excited today to
discuss a topic that deals with
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the very character of God. Now,
Dr. Peckham and I did an entire
series on God's character
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as love, and you can find more
information about that -- all
the archived programs --
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at our YouTube channel...
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Now, Dr. Peckham, we spent eight
programs discussing God is love.
You've written an entire volume
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on God's character as love. But
maybe in brief, let's summarize,
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what does it mean that God is
love? >> Yeah. There's so much
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there. I mean, I think God's
love is the central feature of
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God's character and of the
entire Bible. And the Bible
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says, in 1 John 4 -- In fact,
let's go there -- 1 John 4:8 and
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16. 1 John 4:8, the Bible just
says -- The whole text says this
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-- "He who does not love does
not know God, for God is love."
And then again in verse 16,
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"And we have known and believed
the love that God has for us.
God is love, and he who abides
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in love abides in God, and God
in him." So, if God is love, the
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question is, "What does that
really mean?" And there's more
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than we could possibly get into
in just a few minutes here
today, but God's love is a
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number of things in the Bible.
It is a matter of God's choice
to love the world in the first
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place. In fact, God created
the world because of His love.
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>> Okay. >> It didn't
exist of its own accord.
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The world is not eternal. God
loved, and, therefore, He
created the world as an object
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of His love, of His
own free volition. >> Okay.
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>> And we saw in our series of
programs last time that God
loves freely, meaning not only
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did He love the world in the
sense that He created it out of
His own volition, out of His own
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free will, He also loves us even
though we are fallen creatures.
He continues to love us.
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>> Mm-hmm. >> And so
God's love is volitional.
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We also saw that God's love
includes things like joy and
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delight. One of my favorite
passages -- let's go to it again
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-- Zephaniah 3:17. >> All right.
>> Zephaniah 3:17. >> One of
those minor prophets
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there as you get before the Book
of Matthew -- Zephaniah -- and
what is the passage one more
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time? >> Zephaniah
3:17. >> Very good.
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>> Now, this is what it says.
Verse 16 says, "In that day."
It's looking forward to the
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Second Coming, actually. And
verse 17 says, "The Lord your
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God in your midst, The Mighty
One, will save; He will rejoice
over you with gladness,
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He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with
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singing." And this one little
text has almost all of the
Hebrew words for "joy" and
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"delight" packed into this one
verse to describe God's
exuberant delight over His
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people. And all of those terms
are very closely connected with
the terminology of God's love.
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So, God loves freely. God loves
in a way that is joyful and
delighting over His
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people, and the way that our
lives go, what we do, actually
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matters to God. It makes a
difference to Him. And He
Himself is looking forward to
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that day when we will be
reunited. We also saw that God's
love is deeply emotional in a
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way that isn't in contradiction
with God's reason and God's
will. It's not like our
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emotions, where we sometimes
overreact to things. God's
emotion is always the
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appropriate response
to the situation. >> Yes.
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>> And we saw that God loves us
more deeply than we can possibly
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imagine. So, one text on that we
could go to is Hosea 11. >>
Okay. Stay right there in
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the minor prophets. >> Hosea
chapter 11, beginning in verse
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8. >> Okay. >> Hosea
11, beginning in verse 8.
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And this is actually God
speaking in this verse. And it
says, "How can I give you
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up, Ephraim? How can I hand you
over, Israel? How can I make you
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like Admah? How can I set you
like Zeboiim? My heart churns
within Me; My sympathy is
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stirred. I will not execute the
fierceness of My anger; I will
not destroy Ephraim.
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For I am God, and not man, The
Holy One in your midst; And I
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will not come with terror." So
you have this description of
God, and it clearly says His
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emotions are not just like
humans. It says, "I am God, and
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not man." But in verse 8,
you have this language of God's
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heart churning, His
sympathy being stirred. >> Yes.
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>> And this language in the
Hebrew is an idiom -- an
idiomatic expression of one's
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innards turning over. And
we've all had that experience,
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probably, being so upset or
moved by an experience that it
feels like our stomach is
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churning. >> Yes. Yes. >> That's
the imagery here. And it's the
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strongest possible imagery for
the deepest kind of emotional
love and compassion, and that's
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consistently the way God's love
is described for us in
Scripture. >> So, we have this
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God of love, and, again, I would
encourage the viewer to go to
YouTube, look at the archive,
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because we delve deep into this,
but in the context of
understanding God's love,
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there's something that gets a
little confusing, because when
we speak of God, we sometimes
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talk about God the Father. >>
Mm-hmm. >> Other times, we talk
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about God the Son. >> Yes.
>> And still other times, we
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talk about God the Holy Spirit,
commonly referred to as "the
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Trinity." So, how does God's
love relate to this subject of
the Trinity? >> God's love is
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very closely associated with the
Trinity because some people have
wondered how it could be true
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that God is love if the world
is not eternal. Now, the Bible
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teaches the world is not
eternal. God created the world
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out of nothing. The term
theologians use is "ex nihilo."
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>> Yes. >> And God is
all-powerful, and He created the
world out of nothing.
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So, before there was a world,
how could God be love? >> Yes.
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>> Because love requires at
least -- at least the kind of
love in the Bible -- requires a
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lover and a beloved, right?
>> Yes. >> So, how could it be
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God's very essence and His very
character to be love if no one
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exists except God? This itself
implies that God -- there is a
lover and a beloved within God,
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even before there is a world.
And this isn't just speculation.
This is actually taught directly
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by the Bible. >> Okay.
>> So I want to go to John,
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the Book of John, the
Gospel of John. >> All right.
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>> And we're going to go to
John chapter 17. >> All right.
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>> In fact, even before we
go there, I might go to John 15
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just before that. >> Okay. >>
John 15, and then we're gonna go
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to John 17. >> Sounds good. >>
John 15:9. Jesus is speaking in
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this long discourse. In fact,
it's a very important discourse
for the topic of the
00:08:08.22\00:08:11.55
Trinity that we're gonna be
discussing in this series. >>
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Yes. >> John 14 through 16 -- I
encourage all the viewers to
just read through those chapters
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and see the way Jesus himself
teaches what I think is very
difficult to understand apart
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from an understanding of the
Trinity in John 14 through 16.
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>> Okay. >> But here we're gonna
look at just some of the verses.
John 15:9, Jesus is speaking.
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He says, "As the Father loved
Me, I also have loved you; abide
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in My love." So he connects the
Father's love for Him to His
love for His Father.
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And we're told in 1 John and
many other places that we're
supposed to love just as God has
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loved us. >> Yes. >>
Now we turn over to John 17.
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>> Okay. >> John 17:24.
And this is, again, Jesus
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himself speaking. And He says
in John 17:24, "Father, I desire
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that they also whom You gave Me
may be with Me where I am, that
they may behold My glory which
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You have given Me; for You loved
Me before the foundation of the
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world." >> Mm-hmm. >> In other
words, before the world is
created -- in fact, before
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anything is created, as we'll
see explicitly in many texts --
there is a love relationship
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between the Father and the Son,
which tells us that there is a
lover and a beloved even before
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God creates anything else. So
the fact that God is love itself
implies that there is a
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plurality within the Trinity,
within God Himself -- the
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Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. >> So, as we try to
understand this, and we must
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admit, I think, at the outset,
that this subject can be very
challenging to understand...
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>> Yes. >> ...as we talked
about the plurality of God...
00:10:05.03\00:10:07.70
>> Yes. >> ...and we're going
to talk about this because the
00:10:07.70\00:10:12.67
Bible talks about God being one.
Now, we're gonna come back to
that, but let's just
00:10:12.67\00:10:16.81
fundamentally talk about this,
because... there have been, in
00:10:16.81\00:10:21.75
recent times, a number of
individuals questioning the
Biblical teaching of the
00:10:21.75\00:10:27.56
Trinity, saying that it was an
invention, and we're going to
talk about some of the
00:10:27.56\00:10:33.03
conspiracy theories surrounding
that this is kind of an invented
doctrine. But let's just start
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off by asking the fundamental
question, "Is the doctrine of
the Trinity a Biblical
00:10:38.70\00:10:45.51
doctrine?" >> Yes. Absolutely,
it is a Biblical doctrine. Now,
of course, whenever you ask
00:10:45.51\00:10:49.71
if a doctrine is Biblical, you
have to ask what that means. >>
00:10:49.71\00:10:53.25
Yes. >> Right? And that's
what we're going to talk about
00:10:53.25\00:10:57.75
together, and so a basic
definition of the Trinity is
that God is one and only one,
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or, put in reverse, there is one
and only one God, who is three
distinct persons. >> Mm-hmm.
00:11:07.03\00:11:13.10
>> Now, the question is whether
the Bible teaches both of those
things -- that there is one and
00:11:13.10\00:11:19.71
only one God, and we're gonna
see that it does, and that God
is three persons, namely
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the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit if the Bible teaches
those things and the
00:11:27.75\00:11:32.99
Bible teaches the Trinity
doctrine defined as such. Now,
00:11:32.99\00:11:38.19
there's much more complexity to
the doctrine than just that, and
we're gonna get into that.
00:11:38.19\00:11:42.53
But before we do, I want to make
clear that everything I believe
theologically, I try to believe
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because the Bible teaches it.
>> Yes. >> And there are many
00:11:49.80\00:11:54.61
doctrines that the Bible teaches
that I don't claim to fully be
able to wrap my mind around.
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>> Yes. >> I don't understand
how God is omnipotent, meaning
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all-powerful. >> Yes. >>
The Bible teaches that God is
00:12:03.28\00:12:05.72
all-powerful. How He is, I don't
know, and I don't need to know
00:12:05.72\00:12:10.63
in order to believe that it's
true. So, even if one says, "I
can't make sense of how God is
00:12:10.63\00:12:16.36
one God in three persons" -- and
we're gonna talk more about how
that makes more sense than
00:12:16.36\00:12:22.20
people think, right? >> Yes.
Yes. >> We're not just gonna
00:12:22.20\00:12:24.24
leave it at this level. >>
That's right. >> But even if one
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thinks, "I cannot make sense how
God can be one God and three
persons," if the Bible teaches
00:12:27.78\00:12:33.52
that God is one God and three
persons, I'm going to say that
both of those things are true,
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and they must be true in some
way that I don't yet understand.
I'm gonna keep seeking for how
00:12:38.52\00:12:43.39
those things fit together."
>> And I think one of the things
00:12:43.39\00:12:48.30
that we -- As you have said,
we're gonna be taking several
programs to probe this very
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deeply, asking the questions and
the ramifications that if we
depart from this idea that God
00:12:54.80\00:13:01.08
is one... >> Yes. >> ...yet
three distinct persons, the
00:13:01.08\00:13:04.25
ramifications of that. But one
of the things I've done in my
teaching, and I know it's
00:13:04.25\00:13:07.95
an analogy that you have used,
as well -- is when we're having
a difficult time understanding
00:13:07.95\00:13:12.09
this, one of the things I like
to talk about is Genesis 2:24,
the first marriage.
00:13:12.09\00:13:17.59
You know, in Genesis 2:24 -- I'm
gonna briefly read it -- it
says, "Therefore a man shall
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leave his father and his mother,
be joined to his wife, and they
shall become," the Bible says,
00:13:21.93\00:13:26.23
"one flesh." >> Mm-hmm. >>
And I especially utilize this
00:13:26.23\00:13:29.44
when I'm teaching young children
because I say, "So, are your mom
and dad one, or are they two?"
00:13:29.44\00:13:36.41
And I'll get a variety of
answers. Some will say one, and
00:13:36.41\00:13:40.15
some will say two. And I'll
say, "You know what? You're all
00:13:40.15\00:13:42.58
right. See, there is a oneness
in marriage, yet in that
oneness, there is a plurality of
00:13:42.58\00:13:50.39
two distinct individuals." And
so we're gonna get into that.
00:13:50.39\00:13:55.53
Let's maybe lay a foundational
text. Is there a foundational
00:13:55.53\00:14:00.10
text that teaches that this --
in the Bible, that teaches that
this is a Biblical doctrine?
00:14:00.10\00:14:04.87
>> There are many texts, but
the one we can go to first is in
00:14:04.87\00:14:08.21
Matthew 28. >> Okay. That sounds
good. >> Matthew chapter 28...
>> And as we go to Matthew --
00:14:08.21\00:14:13.11
>> ...verse 19. >> Matthew
28 and go to verse 19, giving a
00:14:13.11\00:14:17.42
little bit of context, these are
really the last words of Jesus
before He leaves this Earth to
00:14:17.42\00:14:23.73
return and ascend back to
Heaven. So, Dr. Peckham, why
don't you read to us Matthew
00:14:23.73\00:14:29.86
28:19? >> Yeah, and this is what
is commonly called the Great
00:14:29.86\00:14:32.07
Commission. Matthew 28:19. "Go
therefore," Jesus says -- Go
therefore and make disciples
00:14:32.07\00:14:38.94
of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father
00:14:38.94\00:14:45.95
and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit." >> Mm-hmm. >> So there
in that single text,
00:14:45.95\00:14:49.02
you have the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, and
disciples are to be baptized in
00:14:49.02\00:14:55.29
the name -- not the names, not
plural -- the name, singular...
00:14:55.29\00:15:00.93
>> Yes. >> ...of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. So,
you have three persons
00:15:00.93\00:15:07.44
mentioned -- the Father, Son,
and the Holy Spirit... >> Yes.
00:15:07.44\00:15:10.34
>> ...one name... >>
Yes. >> ...that they are to be
00:15:10.34\00:15:13.68
baptized into. This is one
of the many texts that teach the
00:15:13.68\00:15:19.05
minimal doctrine of the Trinity
-- that God is Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit and yet God is one.
00:15:19.05\00:15:24.19
There are many others, as we'll
see in this series. >>
Absolutely, and I think one
00:15:24.19\00:15:27.72
of the things that's really
fundamental is we're talking
about baptism, and when we
00:15:27.72\00:15:31.86
understand baptism in the
context of Romans chapter 6,
baptism signifies the public
00:15:31.86\00:15:36.97
expression of the inward
decision that you have made to
become a follower of
00:15:36.97\00:15:41.74
Jesus Christ. >> That's right.
>> And so Jesus teaches that
00:15:41.74\00:15:45.94
that baptism is done in the name
of the Father, Son, and Holy
00:15:45.94\00:15:50.51
Spirit. >> Right. >> And so if
we understand that, we need to
00:15:50.51\00:15:54.85
understand this oneness in the
context of the plurality of
three individual persons.
00:15:54.85\00:16:00.09
>> That's right. >> So let's
talk about that oneness of God,
00:16:00.09\00:16:04.89
because there are many texts,
and so why don't we go to some
texts? What does the Bible teach
00:16:04.89\00:16:10.57
about God being one? >> Yeah.
One of the most important texts
00:16:10.57\00:16:15.30
is in Deuteronomy. >> Okay.
>> Deuteronomy. Let's go there.
00:16:15.30\00:16:17.77
Deuteronomy chapter 6.
Deuteronomy is the last book of
what is often called the
00:16:17.77\00:16:26.68
Pentateuch, those first five
books of the Bible. >> Books all
00:16:26.68\00:16:30.59
written by Moses. >> Yes.
Deuteronomy 6, beginning in
00:16:30.59\00:16:34.42
verse 4. >> Yes. >> "Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the
00:16:34.42\00:16:42.16
Lord is one!" And then we see
another connection to love in
the very next verse, because
00:16:42.16\00:16:46.47
this is what Jesus calls the
greatest commandment in Matthew.
"You shall love the Lord your
00:16:46.47\00:16:50.47
God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your
00:16:50.47\00:16:54.91
strength." >> Mm-hmm. >> But
for our purposes right now, it
00:16:54.91\00:16:57.98
explicitly says, "The Lord is
one." Now, this very text is
actually quoted by Jesus in the
00:16:57.98\00:17:05.49
Book of Mark. >> Okay.
>> We can go over there --
00:17:05.49\00:17:07.76
Mark chapter 12. >> And as we
turn to Mark, Mark is obviously
00:17:07.76\00:17:15.96
the second Gospel. Mark
chapter... >> Chapter 12... >>
00:17:15.96\00:17:19.93
...12... >> ...verse 29. >>
...and in verse 29. >> And this
00:17:19.93\00:17:25.74
in the context of one of the
Gospels where Jesus is asked
this question, "What is the
00:17:25.74\00:17:29.91
greatest commandment?" >> Yes.
>> And before he goes to quoting
verse 5, "Love the Lord,
00:17:29.91\00:17:34.05
your God," he starts with
Deuteronomy 6:4. In Mark 12:29,
00:17:34.05\00:17:38.72
after he's just asked, "What is
the first commandment or what is
the greatest commandment of
00:17:38.72\00:17:42.86
all?" Mark 12:29, "Jesus
answered him, 'The first of all
the commandments is: "Hear, O
00:17:42.86\00:17:47.60
Israel, the Lord our God, the
Lord is one."'" Then He goes on
00:17:47.60\00:17:51.93
to quote, "And you shall love
the Lord." So this is
fundamental to Biblical
00:17:51.93\00:17:57.54
theology. It was fundamental to
the religion of Israel. In fact,
we can quote text after
00:17:57.54\00:18:02.18
text in the Old Testament that
describes that there is one and
only one God, and, in fact, many
00:18:02.18\00:18:07.92
Old Testament scholars have
noted that one of the two
greatest sins described in the
00:18:07.92\00:18:13.29
Old Testament is the sin of
idolatry. To worship anyone who
00:18:13.29\00:18:17.53
is not God is the greatest sin,
and that's why the greatest
commandment is to love the Lord
00:18:17.53\00:18:22.46
your God with all your heart,
soul, strength, and mind.
There's only one God.
00:18:22.46\00:18:26.00
There cannot be more than one
God. That would be blasphemy.
00:18:26.00\00:18:30.17
That would be a heresy, a very
serious error. Now, it's not
00:18:30.17\00:18:34.91
only taught in this verse that
Jesus quotes, it's also taught
in the New Testament elsewhere
00:18:34.91\00:18:39.11
that God is one. So let's
go to the Book of Galatians.
00:18:39.11\00:18:41.52
>> Okay. >> Book of Galatians.
>> And, obviously, we're getting
00:18:41.52\00:18:46.05
now a variety of -- >>
I'm sorry. I want to go to the
00:18:46.05\00:18:47.96
Book of James first. >> Book of
James? Okay. So we'll go to the
00:18:47.96\00:18:49.82
Book of James. Right after the
Book of Hebrews, James, and what
00:18:49.82\00:18:56.40
chapter are we going to, Dr.
Peckham? >> Going to go to James
00:18:56.40\00:18:59.70
chapter 2. >> Okay. And
James chapter 2, and what verse?
00:18:59.70\00:19:06.61
>> Beginning in verse 19. >>
Okay. >> We'll just read verse
00:19:06.61\00:19:09.81
19. >> Sounds good. >> So, James
writes, "You believe that there
00:19:09.81\00:19:14.65
is one God. You do well.
Even the demons believe -- and
00:19:14.65\00:19:19.05
tremble!" Now, here, in context,
he's talking about how merely
believing that there is one God
00:19:19.05\00:19:23.12
isn't enough. There's
more to Christianity than that.
00:19:23.12\00:19:25.23
>> Yes. >> Even the demons
know that. >> That's right.
00:19:25.23\00:19:27.10
>> But for our purposes, it's
very clear that there is one and
00:19:27.10\00:19:31.77
only one God. And this is
fundamental to Christianity in
the Old Testament and in the
00:19:31.77\00:19:35.97
New Testament. And we won't
go there, but something very
00:19:35.97\00:19:39.27
similar is said in Galatians
chapter 3, and we can quote
many, many other texts about the
00:19:39.27\00:19:44.75
oneness of God. So, this is
non-negotiable of Biblical faith
and of Christian faith, that God
00:19:44.75\00:19:50.89
is one and there's only one God.
>> So, we've got this
non-negotiable of Christian
00:19:50.89\00:19:54.82
faith -- God is one. So, how do
we come to the conclusion if the
00:19:54.82\00:20:01.03
Bible teaches this plurality
outside of Matthew 28? >> Yes.
00:20:01.03\00:20:04.90
Both in the New Testament and
the Old Testament, the Bible
speaks of God in terms of
00:20:04.90\00:20:10.27
plurality. Sometimes there's
hints or implications, and we'll
00:20:10.27\00:20:15.24
see some of those in a moment,
and then there's more explicit
texts about the Trinity,
00:20:15.24\00:20:21.38
building up into the New
Testament. But we'll start at
the beginning, just so someone
00:20:21.38\00:20:26.09
can see this is not a doctrine
that's read back into Scripture
or even a late doctrine.
00:20:26.09\00:20:30.86
It's more clearly revealed when
Jesus comes. For obvious
reasons, once Jesus
00:20:30.86\00:20:34.83
comes and identifies Himself as
the Son of God, the Trinity is
going to be revealed in a way
00:20:34.83\00:20:39.40
that it never could have been
revealed before and, in fact, in
a way that it might have been
00:20:39.40\00:20:43.97
confusing to try to explain
without the imparted Son of God,
Jesus, on Earth during His
00:20:43.97\00:20:49.68
ministry. >> Okay. >>
But long before that, there's
00:20:49.68\00:20:53.98
already something like a Trinity
doctrine already in the Old
00:20:53.98\00:20:58.79
Testament. >> Okay. >> So if we
go all the way back to the Book
00:20:58.79\00:21:01.42
of Genesis... >> That sounds
good. We'll go back to the
beginning. And so we're really
00:21:01.42\00:21:04.53
gonna hone in now here on that
Old Testament. What is the Old
00:21:04.53\00:21:08.26
Testament? Because there are a
number of people that will say
that the doctrine of the Trinity
00:21:08.26\00:21:13.20
is not until after the New
Testament, but let's really lay
this foundation, Dr. Peckham,
00:21:13.20\00:21:17.54
and focus here on the Old
Testament, and we're gonna start
right at the beginning...
00:21:17.54\00:21:21.41
>> Right in the first chapter.
>> ...Book of Genesis, and not
only just the Book of Genesis,
00:21:21.41\00:21:24.91
we're gonna go right to the
first chapter. What verse are we
00:21:24.91\00:21:28.28
gonna go to? >> We're gonna read
verse 26. >> Okay. >> Before I
do that, we need to
00:21:28.28\00:21:32.12
make a statement. Not everyone
who reads the Bible -- not all
00:21:32.12\00:21:36.56
scholars have the same view of
Scripture. >> Yes. >> And
there's a theory that
00:21:36.56\00:21:39.89
some scholars have that the
Biblical writers weren't really
00:21:39.89\00:21:43.87
inspired by God. Now, I don't
believe in that theory. I
believe that all Scripture is
00:21:43.87\00:21:47.10
given by inspiration... >>
Yes. >> ...as Paul teaches in
00:21:47.10\00:21:50.34
2 Timothy 3:16 and many other
places. I believe that all of it
00:21:50.34\00:21:54.44
is inspired by God. The
word there is literally "God
00:21:54.44\00:21:58.31
breathed." >> Yes. >> But some
scholars have thought that it's
00:21:58.31\00:22:01.25
not all inspired by God and that
human authors just wrote based
on their own limited human
00:22:01.25\00:22:05.05
understanding. >> Mm-hmm. >>
And so where the text doesn't
00:22:05.05\00:22:08.32
say an entire doctrine and all
of its components in one place,
they say, "Well, there's no way
00:22:08.32\00:22:13.76
they could have known that back
then." Now, I think this falters
00:22:13.76\00:22:18.97
on at least two points. One of
the points is if all of the
Bible is God's book, if it's
00:22:18.97\00:22:25.17
all inspired by God... >> Right.
>> ...even if a human author
00:22:25.17\00:22:28.38
didn't understand something,
that doesn't tell us that God
isn't inspiring that something
00:22:28.38\00:22:32.25
in the text. >> Absolutely.
>> And when we read parts of
00:22:32.25\00:22:34.75
Scripture in light of all of the
rest of Scripture in the way
that Jesus taught us to, he
00:22:34.75\00:22:38.89
often quotes prophecies about
Himself from the Old Testament,
some of which you wouldn't have
00:22:38.89\00:22:43.93
even realized were prophecies
about him until He came, right?
But they're already there,
00:22:43.93\00:22:49.46
because God has inspired
Scripture. So, number one, you
00:22:49.46\00:22:52.57
have Scripture as a canon, as an
entire corpus inspired by God.
00:22:52.57\00:22:57.04
>> Yes. >> So even when it's
only partially there, we cannot
say, "Well, humans wouldn't have
00:22:57.04\00:23:03.14
known that then." We have
a divine author inspiring the
00:23:03.14\00:23:08.15
text. Secondly, another mistake
people make is when they say
they wouldn't have known that
00:23:08.15\00:23:13.02
then. How could I possibly know
what an inspired author would
know? >> That's right.
00:23:13.02\00:23:19.76
>> Even if I could establish,
and even that's very tricky,
that the general person at that
00:23:19.76\00:23:24.27
time wouldn't have known this,
that doesn't tell me anything
about what God has revealed.
00:23:24.27\00:23:30.04
If we believe that the Bible is
the product of special
revelation -- that is, God
00:23:30.04\00:23:33.48
giving someone a revelation of
something that not everyone
knows -- and so there are some
00:23:33.48\00:23:38.05
who say, "Well, the Trinity
isn't there because it couldn't
have been there," but, actually,
00:23:38.05\00:23:41.98
if you take the Bible to be
God's word and we just read,
take the Bible as it reads
00:23:41.98\00:23:46.15
throughout Scripture, we'll see
that it's already there. And
then when it's fully
00:23:46.15\00:23:49.99
revealed in the New Testament,
it's not something new. >>
00:23:49.99\00:23:52.66
That's right. >> So, Genesis
1:26. >> Okay. >> Genesis 1:26.
00:23:52.66\00:23:56.70
Now, here is one of those texts
that's just a hint. >> Okay.
00:23:56.70\00:23:58.93
>> But read in light of
all the Scripture, it's very
00:23:58.93\00:24:01.67
significant. >> Yes. >> Genesis
1:26 -- "Then God said, 'Let Us
00:24:01.67\00:24:07.38
make man in Our image, according
to Our likeness.'" Now, there's
00:24:07.38\00:24:14.48
only one God. >> Mm-hmm. >>
But why is God using a plural
00:24:14.48\00:24:17.82
pronoun? >> Yes. >> If I were to
walk into the studio and I would
00:24:17.82\00:24:21.09
say, "Let me refer to our
book"... >> Yes. >> ...that
00:24:21.09\00:24:24.59
would be rather confusing,
right? >> Absolutely. >> If I'm
00:24:24.59\00:24:27.03
the only one who wrote it. >>
That's correct. >> And so this
00:24:27.03\00:24:30.60
plural language implies
that there is plurality in the
00:24:30.60\00:24:34.17
Trinity. >> Okay. >> Now, some
scholars, because they thought
there couldn't have been a hint
00:24:34.17\00:24:38.54
of the Trinity this early,
they've tried to resort to some
theories. Some have said, "Oh,
00:24:38.54\00:24:42.54
this is just a plural of
majesty," like a king might
refer to "our reign."
00:24:42.54\00:24:46.72
>> Yes. >> Unfortunately
for that theory, more recent
00:24:46.72\00:24:50.15
scholars have recognized that
there isn't any evidence that
there was a plural of majesty in
00:24:50.15\00:24:56.93
the language of that time, so
that's kind of a theory to try
to explain away this plurality
00:24:56.93\00:25:02.46
of language. We don't
want to explain it away.
00:25:02.46\00:25:05.20
We want to see, what does it
mean in light of the revelation
of all of Scripture and the
00:25:05.20\00:25:09.00
revelation of Christ?" If you
turn over to Genesis 3, we see
00:25:09.00\00:25:12.81
the same thing. And we can see
it, also, in Genesis 11, in the
context of the story of the
00:25:12.81\00:25:18.88
Tower of Babel. Genesis 3:22 --
"Then the Lord God said" -- This
is after the fall of Adam
00:25:18.88\00:25:23.05
and Eve in the Garden. "Then the
Lord God said, 'Behold, the man
00:25:23.05\00:25:27.82
has become like one of Us, to
know good and evil.'" So, again,
00:25:27.82\00:25:33.43
you have this plurality... >>
Yes. >> ...this "us" that God is
00:25:33.43\00:25:37.20
saying about Himself. Very
significant. >> And so, Dr.
00:25:37.20\00:25:42.37
Peckham, it's hard to believe we
are -- we are out of time. So in
the last minute here,
00:25:42.37\00:25:46.94
we're gonna leave people
hanging, but they're gonna want
to watch next week, 'cause we're
00:25:46.94\00:25:51.75
gonna really continue to unpack
this, but in the last 30 seconds
we have here, give a brief
00:25:51.75\00:25:57.72
summary of the oneness and
plurality of God that we've
talked about today.
00:25:57.72\00:26:01.72
>> Yeah. So, so far, we've seen
that God is one and only one, or
there is one and only one God.
00:26:01.72\00:26:07.96
We're going to see more about
the fact that God is three
distinct purposes -- persons,
00:26:07.96\00:26:15.37
rather, rather than purposes. >>
Yes. >> And for now, we've seen
00:26:15.37\00:26:18.77
that there's one and only one
God, and yet the Old Testament
speaks of God in plural terms.
00:26:18.77\00:26:23.11
Next time we're gonna see even
more about this plurality of
God, that there is an angel of
00:26:23.11\00:26:28.52
the Lord that is actually God
Himself, and that there's more
than one person within God, even
00:26:28.52\00:26:35.86
in the Old Testament. >> And the
beauty of all of that is the
oneness of God and His
00:26:35.86\00:26:40.96
plurality is defined by that
fundamental foundation that God
is love and He's doing all He
00:26:40.96\00:26:48.77
can to love us and to save us
and bring us into a love
relationship with Him.
00:26:48.77\00:26:54.94
Dr. Peckham, thank you so much.
Let's pray as we end today's
00:26:54.94\00:26:58.95
program. Heavenly Father, we are
grateful that You are one, yet
in Your oneness, there are the
00:26:58.95\00:27:06.79
three persons of yourself,
Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Please, Lord, help us to
00:27:06.79\00:27:12.13
understand this and, in that
understanding... be drawn nearer
00:27:12.13\00:27:19.33
to You and into that love
relationship with You. We pray
in Jesus' name. Amen. Dear
00:27:19.33\00:27:28.74
friend, God's love is amazing.
God is one, yet He is three --
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:27:28.74\00:27:35.88
Today I want to offer you the
little booklet "God's Love for
00:27:35.88\00:27:40.76
Man." In that booklet, you will
find comfort, peace, and hope
knowing that God, in His
00:27:40.76\00:27:48.86
oneness, is doing all He can to
draw you near to Him. Here's the
information you need
00:27:48.86\00:27:53.47
for today's offer.
00:27:53.47\00:27:54.34
>> To request
today's offer, just log on to
00:27:55.77\00:27:58.91
www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca.
If you prefer, you may call
00:27:58.91\00:28:04.58
toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW.
And thank you for your prayer
00:28:04.58\00:28:10.32
requests and your generous
financial support. >> Dr. John
00:28:10.32\00:28:15.06
Peckham, thank you so much for
joining us today. >> Thank you,
Chris. >> Dear friend, I invite
00:28:15.06\00:28:20.80
you to join us next week as we
probe more deeply into the
oneness and plurality of God.
00:28:20.80\00:28:27.37
Until then, remember -- "It is
written: 'Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by
00:28:27.37\00:28:34.58
every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:28:34.58\00:28:40.68
¤¤ ¤¤
00:28:40.68\00:28:58.77