¤¤ ¤¤ 00:01:20.01\00:01:36.66 >> Dear friend, thank you so much for joining 00:01:36.66\00:01:38.99 "It Is Written Canada." We have been studying 00:01:38.99\00:01:43.90 the very character of God, the essence of His oneness yet 00:01:43.90\00:01:49.10 while being three persons. To help me continue to understand 00:01:49.10\00:01:55.18 this subject more deeply, I want to welcome once again Dr. John Peckham. Dr. Peckham, thank you 00:01:55.18\00:02:00.05 so much for being here today. >> Thank you, Chris. >> Dr. Peckham, we have been 00:02:00.05\00:02:04.19 studying on this very issue of the Trinity, the Godhead, the oneness of God in the 00:02:04.19\00:02:14.10 context of being three persons. >> Mm-hmm. >> The last program, 00:02:14.10\00:02:18.63 we were talking about the divinity of Christ. We see clearly that the Bible 00:02:18.63\00:02:23.04 is abundant in evidence that Jesus was fully divine while 00:02:23.04\00:02:29.01 being fully human. >> Mm-hmm. >> Not only do the Bible writers write about Jesus being 00:02:29.01\00:02:32.51 fully divine and fully human, but we see from the very life of Christ in his actions that 00:02:32.51\00:02:38.85 He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be God, performed actions that only God could 00:02:38.85\00:02:45.83 perform while yet experiencing the flaws of humanity -- becoming weary, becoming tired, 00:02:45.83\00:02:51.80 becoming thirsty, becoming hungry. Where we were ending, 00:02:51.80\00:02:57.34 because one of the confusing texts and some of the confusing phrases are where the Bible 00:02:57.34\00:03:04.85 refers to Jesus as the firstborn or as the only begotten. We laid out a number of texts 00:03:04.85\00:03:14.16 in our last program where we saw clearly that those phrases are 00:03:14.16\00:03:21.33 phrases that mean something more than being literally the 00:03:21.33\00:03:26.74 firstborn, literally the only born, but have a more in-depth meaning. Let's continue on that. 00:03:26.74\00:03:34.88 Are there some other passages that help us understand more 00:03:34.88\00:03:39.95 clearly that this firstborn means a status, and then, in particular, only begotten would 00:03:39.95\00:03:48.26 be better translated as the only unique one, the one and only 00:03:48.26\00:03:53.16 unique one? >> Yeah. Let's go to 1 John 4 beginning in verse 7. 00:03:53.16\00:03:56.33 The way you've said it is quite correct. 00:03:56.33\00:03:57.90 It's very important to understand that this language, 00:03:57.90\00:04:00.67 even though if it was taken literally, would refer to some 00:04:00.67\00:04:04.17 kind of literal coming into being, is used metaphorically 00:04:04.17\00:04:07.64 or figuratively all over Scripture to refer 00:04:07.64\00:04:10.65 to this particular status. It refers to David. It refers to 00:04:10.65\00:04:16.25 Abraham's unique, one-of-a-kind son, Isaac, even though Isaac wasn't his only son. 00:04:16.25\00:04:20.09 And so this language is consistently used in metaphor speaking of a spiritual 00:04:20.09\00:04:25.03 relationship with God or a particular status or title. >> 00:04:25.03\00:04:30.03 Okay. >> So 1 John 4 is another one of these instances that shows us that we shouldn't take 00:04:30.03\00:04:35.27 this language to be referring to the origin of the Son. 1 John 4 00:04:35.27\00:04:41.84 beginning verse 7, "Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God, and every one who loves 00:04:41.84\00:04:48.28 is born of God and knows God." >> Mm-hmm. >> Now, what kind of 00:04:48.28\00:04:51.69 birth is that talking about? >> That is talking about the born-again experience that a 00:04:51.69\00:04:55.09 Christian has when they make a decision for Jesus. >> This is 00:04:55.09\00:04:58.23 what Nicodemus stumbled over, right? I mean, he meets Him in John 3, and he says, "Can a man 00:04:58.23\00:05:01.66 be born again?" Jesus talking about a spiritual birth. 00:05:01.66\00:05:03.70 So you see the problem. Nicodemus' problem was taking it overly literally when it's 00:05:03.70\00:05:08.17 referring to a particular kind of being born again. Now, if we keep reading there, 00:05:08.17\00:05:13.51 verse 8 says, "He who does not love does not know God for God 00:05:13.51\00:05:18.48 is love. In this, the love of God was manifest toward us that God has sent His only begotten 00:05:18.48\00:05:23.62 Son into the world that we might live through Him." Now, it's 00:05:23.62\00:05:28.09 clear in the very verse that the language of birth that's being referring to the spiritual birth 00:05:28.09\00:05:32.93 of those who believe in God in verse 7 is not the same kind of status of the one of a kind, 00:05:32.93\00:05:38.97 this monogenes term that we talked about in the last episode. This monogenes really 00:05:38.97\00:05:46.01 should be translated, I think, one of a kind. This is the near 00:05:46.01\00:05:50.61 consensus of New Testament scholars, that it means unique one, one of a kind, uniquely 00:05:50.61\00:05:56.35 beloved, and again, it's a term of the Messiah. And so, in this 00:05:56.35\00:06:00.06 passage, you have these juxtaposed with one another. >> 00:06:00.06\00:06:02.82 Yes. >> You have the spiritual birth of those who become children of God throughout 00:06:02.82\00:06:07.46 Christ, and you have the one who really is the unique Son of God not because he came into being 00:06:07.46\00:06:13.84 but because that is His status as the Messiah, the one who through whom all can 00:06:13.84\00:06:18.11 become children of God, but He's always been God. He's always 00:06:18.11\00:06:23.28 existed as we've seen taught in previous times together. >> So what we see clearly then, 00:06:23.28\00:06:28.72 firstborn, this -- Excuse me. This word used to describe Jesus as the firstborn refers 00:06:28.72\00:06:36.09 to Jesus' status. >> Yes. >> And then we have the phrase 00:06:36.09\00:06:42.00 only begotten, which would be better translated the one and only unique one, the 00:06:42.00\00:06:47.57 one-of-a-kind one, and again, is a reference to Jesus' status, not to Jesus being created 00:06:47.57\00:06:58.31 or literally being born out of God. >> Right, and as you say 00:06:58.31\00:07:06.09 that, it reminds me that some viewers might be asking, "What 00:07:06.09\00:07:09.46 status is that?" We talked very briefly last time about this Davidic covenant. The Son of 00:07:09.46\00:07:14.20 David was to be the Messiah, and that's the status we're talking about, the one who would fulfill 00:07:14.20\00:07:18.37 the covenant that God made with David about the everlasting kingdom that will be ushered in 00:07:18.37\00:07:22.40 by "the Son of David," not David's literal son, a descendant of David through the 00:07:22.40\00:07:26.88 incarnation. That's the status of the firstborn. 00:07:26.88\00:07:29.54 That's the status of the unique Son of God. That is the only one 00:07:29.54\00:07:34.02 who could usher in God's kingdom for eternity. So Christ was born 00:07:34.02\00:07:38.42 literally as a human in the incarnation, but apart from that, he's not born in any 00:07:38.42\00:07:44.13 literal way. This was referring to Him as the fulfillment of that covenant promise of the 00:07:44.13\00:07:49.40 Messiah who would come to usher in a kingdom that will never end. >> And there have been a 00:07:49.40\00:07:53.84 number of statisticians that have done studies taking the breadth of prophecies about the 00:07:53.84\00:08:00.34 Messiah, putting them together, and then putting together the 00:08:00.34\00:08:05.68 probability that one individual could fulfill them, and Dr. 00:08:05.68\00:08:10.85 Peter Stoner is one of the more famous. When you think about -- And he studied -- Not only did 00:08:10.85\00:08:15.16 he study all of them, but he took the probability of just one person fulfilling eight of the 00:08:15.16\00:08:19.93 prophecies, the Messianic prophecies, and the odds of that, I believe if I recall 00:08:19.93\00:08:25.23 correctly, are one to the tenth, 1 times 10 to the 48th power or something like that, which is 00:08:25.23\00:08:32.77 a one with 48 zeros after it. >> Mm-hmm. >> And the challenge 00:08:32.77\00:08:37.25 with that is, is the probability of that happening for one individual is not just a 00:08:37.25\00:08:42.15 statistical improbability. It is a statistical impossibility. 00:08:42.15\00:08:46.45 >> Right. Right. >> Yet, in Jesus, he didn't just fulfill 00:08:46.45\00:08:53.40 the eight, but he fulfilled the over 100 Messianic prophecies, as you said, to fulfill the 00:08:53.40\00:09:00.44 Davidic covenant to bring in and usher in the everlasting 00:09:00.44\00:09:05.54 covenant. >> Yes. >> And so when we think about Jesus' status as the one and only unique one, we 00:09:05.54\00:09:10.81 understand it in that context, that there is no other individual in the history of the 00:09:10.81\00:09:17.05 humanity or in the future of humanity that could fulfill what 00:09:17.05\00:09:21.36 Jesus fulfilled. >> And it would've been understood that way to any native hearer who was 00:09:21.36\00:09:25.23 familiar with the overall flow of the Biblical material from 00:09:25.23\00:09:28.60 the Old Testament. It sounds strange to us in English because it's translated, and we take the 00:09:28.60\00:09:32.47 terms literally initially, not realizing that this is technical language that the New Testament 00:09:32.47\00:09:36.71 is using to signal to all hearers that, "Hey, this is the guy. This is the one whom we've 00:09:36.71\00:09:41.91 been looking for." You remember in John where the disciples say, 00:09:41.91\00:09:44.71 "Is He the one who we're looking for?" >> That's right. >> That's the one, the Son of 00:09:44.71\00:09:48.02 God, the Son of David, who actually is the one who can usher in the kingdom. 00:09:48.02\00:09:51.92 >> Yes, and we see that, and we can spend a lot of time as, 00:09:51.92\00:09:57.09 while a professor, you are also a preacher, and I'm being drawn to Acts chapter 2 in the great 00:09:57.09\00:10:02.80 sermon of Peter where they come to this point where you have these individuals that hear that 00:10:02.80\00:10:08.04 Jesus fulfilled, and then they're left with the question, "What then shall we do?" 00:10:08.04\00:10:12.67 >> Yes. >> And that is the uniqueness of Jesus. 00:10:12.67\00:10:16.75 Now, while I'm very excited about that, I will tell you, there's something that may 00:10:16.75\00:10:22.65 trouble some viewers, though. While Jesus says, "The Father and I are one," while we see 00:10:22.65\00:10:28.16 clearly that Jesus is divinity, that Jesus is one person of the Godhead, Jesus said something 00:10:28.16\00:10:37.50 kind of interesting. While He did say, "The Father and I are one," there are other 00:10:37.50\00:10:41.27 places where Jesus says, "The Father is greater," so how can Jesus and the Father 00:10:41.27\00:10:50.55 be one while the Father is still greater? And how does that play 00:10:50.55\00:10:56.42 out in our understanding of the doctrine of the Godhead? >> Yeah, so as you said, 00:10:56.42\00:11:00.32 in John 14:28, Jesus just says, "The Father is greater than I," and those who have believed and 00:11:00.32\00:11:05.79 taught a belief that's called subordinationism, subordinationism is the belief 00:11:05.79\00:11:11.47 that the Son is less than the Father by nature, have said, 00:11:11.47\00:11:17.31 "Oh, well, that's just a clear case. He just says explicitly, 'I'm less than the Father.'" 00:11:17.31\00:11:22.18 But we need a number of things on the table. We need to understand, first of 00:11:22.18\00:11:25.78 all, I believe the Bible does not contradict itself. >> That's 00:11:25.78\00:11:29.38 right. >> So the Bible doesn't just say where Jesus says, "The Father is greater than I." 00:11:29.38\00:11:33.72 He also says, as you said, "The Father and I are one." Colossians 2:9 also says, 00:11:33.72\00:11:39.06 "In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and in the same Book of John, 00:11:39.06\00:11:45.40 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," so somehow, 00:11:45.40\00:11:49.50 these things must be true together at the same time. Now, there's a theme throughout 00:11:49.50\00:11:55.51 the New Testament of Jesus being fully God, then lowering himself 00:11:55.51\00:12:01.28 for us and then being re-elevated to His status. That 00:12:01.28\00:12:05.85 is the narrative, the story line of redemption. He's already God. 00:12:05.85\00:12:10.49 >> Yes. >> Then He lowers Himself, and then He's elevated again. We tend to call that 00:12:10.49\00:12:16.16 a functional subordination... >> Okay. >> ...functional meaning 00:12:16.16\00:12:22.04 he's subordinate not in nature or by nature but in the matter of function, right? 00:12:22.04\00:12:28.64 So here in the studio today, or in It is Written ministry rather, you have people who work 00:12:28.64\00:12:36.22 for you in the ministry, right? >> Yes. >> But they are not, by 00:12:36.22\00:12:39.79 nature, less than you. >> No. >> Right? They're equals, 00:12:39.79\00:12:42.69 fellow human beings, but they might be subordinate in the organization, right? 00:12:42.69\00:12:47.23 For a function only... >> That's right. >> ...which doesn't mean 00:12:47.23\00:12:50.10 that they're less than as a matter of nature. The same thing 00:12:50.10\00:12:54.34 is happening in the New Testament. We've already been told that He has the very nature 00:12:54.34\00:12:57.57 of God. He can't be less than by nature. You can't be partly God... >> That's right. 00:12:57.57\00:13:02.24 >> ...by definition if God is a supreme being. He's fully God. 00:13:02.24\00:13:06.21 He becomes less than for a function. What is the function 00:13:06.21\00:13:10.09 He became less than for? The very function we were talking 00:13:10.09\00:13:12.89 about in the last program and we'll talk about again now. Let's go to Philippians 2, 00:13:12.89\00:13:17.29 again, just to make sure that this does not get missed, that I'm not just making up the 00:13:17.29\00:13:24.00 fact that He's already God, and then He lowers Himself, and then He's elevated again. 00:13:24.00\00:13:28.34 This is what we saw in Philippians 2, that He -- Philippians 2 beginning in verse 00:13:28.34\00:13:34.04 6, "He being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." 00:13:34.04\00:13:39.55 It would be robbery if any of us claimed to be equal to God. In fact, that's what the Enemy 00:13:39.55\00:13:42.88 claimed. It starts the entire conflict between the kingdom of 00:13:42.88\00:13:46.52 God and the kingdom of the Enemy. "He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but 00:13:46.52\00:13:51.86 made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant and coming in the 00:13:51.86\00:13:57.97 likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became 00:13:57.97\00:14:03.14 obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." So 00:14:03.14\00:14:06.81 He's already God, but He doesn't hold on to that, doesn't grasp it. He lowers Himself, 00:14:06.81\00:14:11.48 but then in verse 9, "Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him 00:14:11.48\00:14:15.55 and given Him the name which is above every name, that, at the name of Jesus, every knee should 00:14:15.55\00:14:20.12 bow, of those in Heaven and of those on Earth and of those under the Earth and that every 00:14:20.12\00:14:24.93 tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father." So He's fully God. 00:14:24.93\00:14:30.20 He lowers Himself, and then He's elevated again and receives worship, which only God can 00:14:30.20\00:14:35.57 receive. Now, that's not the only place where we see that 00:14:35.57\00:14:38.94 this is only a functional subordination. >> Okay. >> We have both the text that 00:14:38.94\00:14:42.58 we've already seen in previous programs, that Jesus is fully God and that there's no name 00:14:42.58\00:14:46.78 above Him. There's other text that talk about the kingdom 00:14:46.78\00:14:50.52 being His kingdom and having no end, which tells you that He cannot remain just in that 00:14:50.52\00:14:58.46 subordinate status as the Son of God eternally. >> Okay. >> No. 00:14:58.46\00:15:01.83 He's going to be re-elevated to His proper status. Let's go to 00:15:01.83\00:15:06.74 another verse together on this, John 17:5. We've been in John 17 in previous programs. 00:15:06.74\00:15:12.37 Some of your viewers might remember where we talked about the love that was shared between 00:15:12.37\00:15:16.88 the Father and the Son before the foundation of the world. That's in John 17:24, 00:15:16.88\00:15:22.15 but in John 17:5, this is what Jesus prays, and this is Jesus' 00:15:22.15\00:15:28.52 own prayer. He says, "Now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself with the glory which I 00:15:28.52\00:15:36.26 had with You before the world was," so when Philippians 2 and other texts are talking about 00:15:36.26\00:15:43.07 the Son being exalted after He has accomplished redemption, they're not talking about a new 00:15:43.07\00:15:48.08 thing, about Him receiving glory He didn't have before. John 17:5 explicitly says He is 00:15:48.08\00:15:52.81 to have the glory that He already had previously, right? 00:15:52.81\00:15:57.99 >> Yes. >> You see this, and it must be a temporary functional 00:15:57.99\00:16:02.26 subordination. It's a subordination for the purpose of His ministry as the incarnate 00:16:02.26\00:16:07.73 Son of God, as the Messiah who is to save us once and for all. >> And so, with that then, 00:16:07.73\00:16:12.90 what else do we see? What other places in the Bible do we see that this functional 00:16:12.90\00:16:19.71 subordination and understanding the context of Jesus' statement, "The Father is greater than I"? 00:16:19.71\00:16:27.78 >> Yeah, so let's look at Revelation. Revelation, a couple 00:16:27.78\00:16:32.02 texts there are very significant here to show us that Christ, even after the incarnation, 00:16:32.02\00:16:40.93 is still fully God and still has the authority as the ruler of 00:16:40.93\00:16:47.50 His kingdom. Revelation 22:3, Revelation 22:3, and this is 00:16:47.50\00:16:54.48 what it says, and this is talking about the promises about the age to come, the world to 00:16:54.48\00:16:58.41 come. >> Yes. >> "And there shall be no more curse, but the 00:16:58.41\00:17:03.28 throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants 00:17:03.28\00:17:06.69 shall serve Him." The throne of God and of the Lamb. >> Lamb. 00:17:06.69\00:17:09.76 >> It's His throne. >> Yes. >> God's throne is the Lamb's 00:17:09.76\00:17:12.29 throne... >> Yes. >> ...in the eschaton. 00:17:12.29\00:17:14.73 That is in the end times, in the last days, in the new Earth. It is His throne, the Lamb's 00:17:14.73\00:17:19.10 throne, which tells you He's not in a subordinate state anymore. 00:17:19.10\00:17:22.37 >> That's right. >> He is the second person of the Trinity. It 00:17:22.37\00:17:27.08 is His throne. Earlier in the same Book of Revelation, Revelation 11:15, Revelation 00:17:27.08\00:17:37.89 11:15, "Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in Heaven saying, 'The 00:17:37.89\00:17:41.82 kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall 00:17:41.82\00:17:46.43 reign forever and ever,'" which tells you that He's re-elevated, and His kingdom continues 00:17:46.43\00:17:54.80 forever. There's no end to the kingdom of the Son. He's re-elevated to the throne 00:17:54.80\00:17:59.17 that was His rightful throne in the beginning in the end. Some other passages that teach 00:17:59.17\00:18:05.38 the same thing, Isaiah chapter 9, Isaiah chapter 9, and this is a Messianic passage, 00:18:05.38\00:18:13.92 a prophecy about the Messiah. Isaiah chapter 9 beginning in 00:18:13.92\00:18:25.00 verse 7. I'll just begin in verse 6 because this is such a powerful Messianic prophecy. 00:18:25.00\00:18:28.27 >> Sounds good. >> "For unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son 00:18:28.27\00:18:32.77 is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called 00:18:32.77\00:18:37.48 Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Then versus 7, "Of the 00:18:37.48\00:18:42.55 increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David 00:18:42.55\00:18:48.72 and over His kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that 00:18:48.72\00:18:53.93 time forward even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will 00:18:53.93\00:19:00.30 perform this." There again, we see no end to His kingdom. He is fulfilling the Davidic 00:19:00.30\00:19:03.54 promise, and His kingdom never ends. >> And that's interesting. 00:19:03.54\00:19:07.38 It reminds me of Daniel 7:14 where you have this, again, a prophecy of Jesus where it 00:19:07.38\00:19:14.45 speaks of His dominion being an everlasting dominion. And so Jesus' subordination 00:19:14.45\00:19:23.16 clearly functional as Jesus is fully God yet becomes human, 00:19:23.16\00:19:29.03 in that becoming human, subordinated Himself. >> Yes. 00:19:29.03\00:19:33.50 >> And now He's back as He has ascended to Heaven that equality 00:19:33.50\00:19:40.11 of God. Are there any other things that speak of His throne and His dominion lasting forever 00:19:40.11\00:19:44.58 and ever? >> Yes. Hebrews 1:8, and we saw Hebrews 1 already 00:19:44.58\00:19:50.32 earlier in our earlier program, which is talking about this full divinity of Christ, taking on 00:19:50.32\00:19:54.99 the status as the fulfiller of the Davidic covenant, the one 00:19:54.99\00:20:01.30 who would fulfill the Davidic covenant, and in Hebrews, we are 00:20:01.30\00:20:09.24 going to see here in Hebrews chapter 1 that Christ is referred to by the Father as 00:20:09.24\00:20:15.08 God, and something else is said about His throne. Hebrews 1:8, 00:20:15.08\00:20:19.95 "But to the Son, He says, 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.'" Now this is the Father 00:20:19.95\00:20:25.62 speaking. >> Yes. >> To the Son, He says, "Your throne, O God, 00:20:25.62\00:20:29.49 is forever and ever," so this, again, tells us that it's His 00:20:29.49\00:20:34.76 throne. His kingdom lasts forever, and even though He comes as the one who takes on 00:20:34.76\00:20:40.37 the status of the firstborn, the status of the unique Son of God, He will be re-elevated and sit 00:20:40.37\00:20:45.27 on the throne that belongs to Him and the Father by His right as a member of the Trinity. 00:20:45.27\00:20:50.78 >> So let me ask you this question then, Dr. Peckham. In this functional, voluntary 00:20:50.78\00:20:55.92 subordination of Christ, did He divest Himself of His divinity 00:20:55.92\00:21:01.16 then? Was there was a time where Jesus wasn't God? >> No. 00:21:01.16\00:21:05.53 When Christ takes on humanity, He does not become any less than 00:21:05.53\00:21:10.37 God. >> Okay. >> Some people misunderstand Philippians 2, the 00:21:10.37\00:21:14.14 lowering of Himself, of that meaning He emptied Himself of some aspects of divinity, but 00:21:14.14\00:21:19.57 this is not the case. It's true that He did not use some of His 00:21:19.57\00:21:23.55 divine powers for His own benefit, but He did not divest Himself of any powers. One place 00:21:23.55\00:21:29.28 to see that He still has divine powers very clearly is, like, in Luke chapter 4. >> Okay. 00:21:29.28\00:21:33.76 >> Luke chapter 4 is a good example for us of others, Luke 00:21:33.76\00:21:38.66 chapter 4. Another would be -- We won't go there, but in the garden of Gethsemane when the 00:21:38.66\00:21:42.00 soldiers are sent to arrest Him, it says that they were, like, fell down. >> Yeah. 00:21:42.00\00:21:47.77 >> Divinity flashes through humanity in that scene, so you see He's clothing His divinity 00:21:47.77\00:21:52.11 with humanity, becoming fully human without being any less than fully God in a way we don't 00:21:52.11\00:21:56.91 fully understand, but He does not divest Himself of divine properties or of His divine 00:21:56.91\00:22:02.22 essence. Luke 4:3, this is in the context of Satan tempting 00:22:02.22\00:22:06.49 Jesus. >> Okay. >> And one of the temptations is in verse 3. 00:22:06.49\00:22:08.79 "And the Devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.'" 00:22:08.79\00:22:14.83 Now, this is after Jesus has fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, so He would be kind of 00:22:14.83\00:22:18.50 hungry as a human. That's an understatement to say the least. 00:22:18.50\00:22:22.94 >> Yes. >> And Satan tempts Him to turn stones into bread. 00:22:22.94\00:22:26.01 Let me ask you, Chris, how many times have you been tempted? You may have wanted to turn 00:22:26.01\00:22:30.21 stones into bread, but how many times have you been tempted to turn stones into bread? 00:22:30.21\00:22:33.78 >> Never. >> Never. Why? >> Because I can't. 00:22:33.78\00:22:36.12 >> Because you can't turn stones into bread. The only way this 00:22:36.12\00:22:39.42 makes sense is if Jesus possesses the power, but He somehow wasn't supposed to use 00:22:39.42\00:22:43.83 that power for His own benefit to overcome the temptations of the Devil, and He never used 00:22:43.83\00:22:48.26 that power for His own benefit, but He had that power as God. He never divested Himself of it. 00:22:48.26\00:22:53.20 >> So what other things -- When, you know, as we talk about this relationship between the 00:22:53.20\00:22:59.01 Father and the Son, did the Father delegate things to the 00:22:59.01\00:23:03.18 Son? How does this all work? As we have about 5 minutes left in the program, let's really 00:23:03.18\00:23:08.68 explore this and kind of wrap this up in understanding this 00:23:08.68\00:23:13.12 relationship. >> Yeah, so we have at least three parts to this relationship of the 00:23:13.12\00:23:16.69 Trinity. You have the Father who delegates to the Son, and if we 00:23:16.69\00:23:21.60 go over to, say, John 5, John 5 together, we'll see this again, and it's all throughout the Book 00:23:21.60\00:23:28.64 of John, but we'll just take an example here. The Father delegates to the Son 00:23:28.64\00:23:32.07 by sending the Son. In John 5:22, Jesus Himself says, "For the Father judges no 00:23:32.07\00:23:39.55 one but has committed all judgement to the Son that all should honor the Son 00:23:39.55\00:23:43.99 just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who 00:23:43.99\00:23:47.82 sent Him," so He's given judgement. It's delegated to 00:23:47.82\00:23:50.79 Him, but He's also received the same honor as the Father, which, again, would be blasphemous if 00:23:50.79\00:23:54.86 He wasn't God. Then in the same chapter, turning over to verse 36 of John 5, Jesus says, "But I 00:23:54.86\00:24:02.87 have a greater witness than John's for the works which the Father has given Me to finish, 00:24:02.87\00:24:08.71 the very works that I do bear witness of Me that the Father has sent Me, and the Father 00:24:08.71\00:24:13.82 Himself who sent Me has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any 00:24:13.82\00:24:19.95 time nor seen His form." Okay? So the Father sent Him. You have this delegation of the Father, 00:24:19.95\00:24:24.26 and everything in the plan of redemption rests upon the shoulders of the Son to fulfill 00:24:24.26\00:24:29.63 this particular role in the plan of redemption, but the Son is not sent against His will. 00:24:29.63\00:24:33.57 If we turn over to John chapter 10, John chapter 10, the Son obeys the command of the 00:24:33.57\00:24:40.41 Father, but He obeys it of His own will, of His own volition. 00:24:40.41\00:24:45.05 >> Yes. >> John 10:17-18 says, "Therefore, My Father loves Me because I lay down My life 00:24:45.05\00:24:50.55 that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it 00:24:50.55\00:24:55.92 down of Myself or of My own initiative. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to 00:24:55.92\00:25:02.60 take it again. This command I have received from My Father," so in the same context of Him 00:25:02.60\00:25:07.40 obeying the command of the Father, He's talking about His own initiative, of His own 00:25:07.40\00:25:11.71 power. So He's sent, and the Father delegates to Him. 00:25:11.71\00:25:16.14 He commands Him to come. He sends Him, but the Father also delegates to Him the 00:25:16.14\00:25:20.08 authority of the judgement, the authority of carrying out the plan of redemption, so there is 00:25:20.08\00:25:24.99 a reciprocal relationship between the Father and the Son 00:25:24.99\00:25:28.49 here. In addition to that, we see that the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is sent by the Father 00:25:28.49\00:25:34.73 and by the Son. We'll see more about that in our next program 00:25:34.73\00:25:39.37 as about how the Spirit comes as another one like Jesus to replace Him among the disciples, 00:25:39.37\00:25:44.11 but He's sent by the Father and the Son, not because He's any less than God. He's also fully 00:25:44.11\00:25:48.44 God, as we'll see in text, but because He's fulfilling this role in the plan of redemption, 00:25:48.44\00:25:53.01 that the three persons of the Trinity take on different roles without being any less than 00:25:53.01\00:25:58.19 fully God. >> And so it would seem that, as you just summarized quite well, there is 00:25:58.19\00:26:04.03 the oneness of God, yet the three persons and those three persons having distinct roles 00:26:04.03\00:26:11.93 and functions, most particularly in the plan of salvation. >> 00:26:11.93\00:26:15.17 That's right. >> As we wrap up the program today, let's talk about Jesus. How did He manifest 00:26:15.17\00:26:24.08 what God was like? Did Jesus teach us or resemble God? 00:26:24.08\00:26:28.05 >> Yes. We see in the New Testament that Jesus displays 00:26:28.05\00:26:33.39 the very love of God that is displayed in the Old Testament, the very language that is used 00:26:33.39\00:26:38.13 over and over again in places like Matthew 9:36 and others where Jesus sees the crowd, and 00:26:38.13\00:26:43.20 he felt compassion. That's the exact same language that's used of God's love in the Old 00:26:43.20\00:26:47.90 Testament, and it's very important for us to realize that when Jesus said, "If you've seen 00:26:47.90\00:26:52.84 Me, you've seen the Father," in John 14:9, that it's very important that Jesus is God 00:26:52.84\00:27:00.28 Himself. He is the second person of the Trinity, and when he asks Peter, "Who do men say that I 00:27:00.28\00:27:06.19 am, and who do you say that I am?" remember Peter, in Matthew, he answers, "You are the Christ, 00:27:06.19\00:27:10.73 the Son of God," and that's the question He asks each one of us, "Who do you say that I am?" 00:27:10.73\00:27:17.00 >> And that's where we're going to leave the program today for our viewer to wrestle. 00:27:17.00\00:27:22.67 Who do we say that Jesus is? Who do we believe that Jesus is? The Bible is clear about who 00:27:22.67\00:27:29.31 He is. The real question is whether we will accept Him as 00:27:29.31\00:27:35.48 He came to save us. Dr. Peckham, can you pray for us as we end 00:27:35.48\00:27:42.42 our program today? >> Dear Lord, we just praise Your name. We are so thankful to You. 00:27:42.42\00:27:48.86 We are not worthy of all that You have done for us. Lord, we 00:27:48.86\00:27:55.00 know that Jesus has been sent to reveal who You are and to reveal 00:27:55.00\00:28:00.21 Your love for us, and I pray that you will just open our hearts to realize who Jesus 00:28:00.21\00:28:04.91 really was and when Jesus really is, our Lord and our Savior who has come as God to save us 00:28:04.91\00:28:11.62 and to reconcile us with God. We thank you, and we pray these things in His name. 00:28:11.62\00:28:16.66 Amen. >> Amen. Friends, we've been talking 00:28:16.66\00:28:22.43 about the doctrine of the Trinity, the beautiful Biblical teaching about the Godhead, 00:28:22.43\00:28:27.40 God being one yet three persons, three distinct persons with roles and functions 00:28:27.40\00:28:35.34 that are all revolving around one thing -- to save you and to 00:28:35.34\00:28:42.75 save me. Friend, as we discover the truth about who God is, it's important for us to delve deep 00:28:42.75\00:28:49.16 into a relationship with Him. Today, I want to offer you the Bible Studies Discover. 00:28:49.16\00:28:55.76 In these lessons, you will find a friend in Jesus. You'll find 00:28:55.76\00:29:01.50 hope in Him. Here's the information you need to receive 00:29:01.50\00:29:05.24 today's offer. >> To request today's offer, just log on to 00:29:05.24\00:29:08.34 www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca. If you prefer, you may call 00:29:08.34\00:29:13.92 toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. And thank you for your prayer 00:29:13.92\00:29:19.72 requests and your generous financial support. >> Dr. Peckham, thank you so 00:29:19.72\00:29:24.16 much for helping us understand the depth and breadth of God's 00:29:24.16\00:29:28.23 love. >> Thank you, Chris. >> My dear friend, I hope that you are 00:29:28.23\00:29:35.14 sensing this God of love doing all He can to save you. I hope that today you have found 00:29:35.14\00:29:42.91 a friend in Jesus. I invite you to join us again next week. 00:29:42.91\00:29:47.75 Until then, remember, "It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 00:29:47.75\00:29:54.46 that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 00:29:54.46\00:29:58.73 ¤¤ ¤¤ 00:29:58.73\00:30:18.55