Trinity Sunday message 07 June 2020
How Can Three Be One?
Shema Yisrael, ADONAI, ELOHENU, ADONAI, echad!
Hear O Israel, the LORD, OUR GOD, The LORD, is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4) and here embedded in this verse we can glimpse the God who is three-in-one, the Trinity!
Verse 5 continues with: ...Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul [mind] and with all your strength.
These verses are recited every morning and every evening by observant Jews, and Jesus referred to them in Matthew 22:37-38 as the greatest commandment.
This then, is a great mystery, how can three be one?
Our first reading this morning was taken from Genesis Chapter 1.
In Hebrew, Genesis is called Bereshit which means “In the Beginning.” The Rabbis often refer to Genesis as “The Book of Creation.”
In it, we can see everything as it must have been at the beginning – the world, humanity, the various peoples, the Hebrew tribe, the chaos brought about by the Fall, and the first signs of salvation promised to all of humanity by God. Everything is covered in Genesis including the “Spirit of the Messiah!”
Talmudic Sages recognised the hint of a plan for salvation for humanity when they wrote the following in Sanhedrin 97a:
“The tradition of Elijah teaches that the world is to exist for six thousand years; In the first two thousand would be desolation; in the next two thousand the Torah will flourish and the next two thousand years are the days of Messiah but on account of our sins, which were great, things turned out as they did.”
Although the Rabbis were not unanimous in their Doctrine of the Messianic times, they did recognise a plan of salvation beginning right back at creation. In the Rabbis view, even the names of the Messiah were determined before the creation of the world. And this is evident when we read Proverbs 8:22-31 we can get a glimpse of the second member of the Trinity, God the Son and the relationship the Godhead had before the world was even created and the Son had to take on the flesh of man and leave the Father to redeem humanity. “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his works of old. I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water, before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so that the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. We can scarcely begin to imagine what it was like to dwell in the eternal infinity of heaven before creation even, before Elohim – The Almighty Living God declared “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...”
God’s first words in the Bible are:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Bereshit bara elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz
In the beginning created God the heavens the earth
A Hebraic mind would not just look at the meaning of these words, the plain simple meaning of the text, but at the words themselves, and the letters of the words. They would meditate on the words and then go further and deeper. This verse has 7 words so they would search out what the significance of those 7 words are. Then they would ask why the first letter of the verse, in fact the first letter of the whole Bible, is a "B" and not an "A". There is a suggestion that the "B" is referring to a big blessing (bracha) over all of Creation. They would also note that the first word, in Hebrew, bereshit, actually contains the second word, bara, reinforcing the truth that creation is truly at the beginning, and nothing came before it.
But, most wonderful of all, in Hebrew thought they would look at the words and wonder why the untranslatable word "et" was included right in the middle of that verse, noticing that the two Hebrew letters in it are the Aleph and the Tav, the first and last letters of the alephbet. The Hebraic mind could perhaps take this further and think, "first and last, aleph and tav, now where have I heard that before?"
We find the answer to that question in Isaiah 48:12-13):
Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
God, the first and the last, the Creator Himself, including Himself in the centre of this very first verse in the Bible. God, the Creator, identifying Himself in the creation of the heavens and the earth.
With a Christian Hebraic mindset, we could take this further and now it gets even more interesting. This Hebrew word, "et", when it is translated elsewhere in Scripture, takes on the meaning of a "sign". And we read in Exodus 4:8: Then the LORD said [to Moses], "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign [et], they may believe the second.
Hebrew is a pictorial language, every letter has a mundane association. The first letter of "et" is the aleph, pictorially depicting an ox, or a strong leader. The last letter, tav, pictorially is depicted by a cross, with the meaning of a "sign". So, here we have some more food for thought, for in that very first verse in the Bible, we find a sign of the aleph and tav depicted as a strong leader and a cross. Wow! It doesn't take much imagination...
If we break down the Hebrew word בְּרֵאשִׁית (Bereshit) "In the beginning," we will find the following:
ב – in; בַּר – son; בָּרָא – create; רֹאשׁ – head; רֵאשִׁית – beginning; and אֵשׁ – fire
So, we can begin to see the Triune God or the Trinity quite clearly depicted in the very first word of the Bible. God the “head,” Jesus the “son” and the fire of the Holy Spirit. I find this absolutely amazing, that this small verse right at the beginning of the Bible contains the essence of the Holy Trinity in just 7 short words. Today on the Western church calendar we traditionally celebrate “Trinity Sunday,” yet this is a tradition of man introduced in the 10th Century. It was most probably based on the early church father Tertullian’s defence of the Trinity to Praexeas a heretic from Asia Minor who was teaching heresy in Rome early in the 3rd century. Tertullian defined the theology of the Trinity although he noted at the time that many believers found issue with his doctrine.
In Ezekiel 1:26-28 The prophet Ezekiel described his amazing encounter with God. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing [molten] metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
In Ezekiel 2:1-2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
In Hebrews 12:28-29 we read of our God being a consuming fire! Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.
The following excerpt is taken from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s website in answer to the question “Can you explain the Trinity to me?”
The Bible shows very clearly that there is only one God, and yet that there are three personal distinctions in His complex nature, traditionally referred to as “three Persons in the Godhead”—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Each is distinct from the others but never acts independently. They are one in nature and purpose. This mystery is called the doctrine of the Trinity, though that term is not used in the Bible. The teaching, however, is present in seed form in the Old Testament and is revealed explicitly in the New Testament. Note passages such as Matthew 28:19 which tells us: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit;” John 10:30 says “I and the Father are one.” and John14:26 “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Our finite minds cannot understand or explain this mystery of God, which is nevertheless a fact. We must accept the truths found in the Word of God by faith even though we ourselves cannot comprehend them fully; read Hebrews 11:1 which says: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, verse 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible, verse 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him; and from1 Corinthians 2:5-10 ...so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power, verse14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to them, because they are spiritually discerned; Chapter 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
It is really not surprising that the infinite God should be complex in His nature beyond the ability of finite humans to comprehend! This doctrine is absolutely essential to New Testament Christianity. Theologians have pointed out that if it were not true, the Bible would be unreliable, Christ would not be divine, and His death on the cross would not atone for our sins, being merely the death of a martyr. (end of quote)
In Acts Chapter 2 we see the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem in one accord, suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. And now here we clearly see the ministry of God the Holy Spirit empowering the disciples to go out and preach the Gospel beginning in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth and teach us the way to go, to comfort us when the going gets tough, to restrain the acts of Satan and his demons towards us. He gives us the power to speak in Jesus name, to evangelise, to heal, to cast out demons, to raise the dead, and to prophesy as the prophet Joel recorded and Peter reiterated in Acts 2:14-21-...beginning at verse 17; “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Readings: Holy Bible New International Version (NIV) 1984
References:
Nassi, Rabbi Tzvi. 1974 (2nd ed.)The great mystery or how can three be one? Published by Yanetz Ltd, P O Box 151 Jerusalem.
Santala, Risto. (Translated by William Kinnaird) The Messiah in the Old Testament in the light of Rabbinical writings. 1992 Keren Ahvah Meshihit P O Box 10382 Jerusalem Israel.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. Website Q & A.
For more information see the following link from RockIslandBooks: Did God reveal to the prophet Isaiah a clue as to where we might find the very first and most amazing prophecy in the bible? An interesting website teaching on ancient Hebrew letters and their endtime prophetic meanings: https://youtu.be/PtATSQx3cjI
Hear O Israel, the LORD, OUR GOD, The LORD, is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4) and here embedded in this verse we can glimpse the God who is three-in-one, the Trinity!
Verse 5 continues with: ...Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul [mind] and with all your strength.
These verses are recited every morning and every evening by observant Jews, and Jesus referred to them in Matthew 22:37-38 as the greatest commandment.
This then, is a great mystery, how can three be one?
Our first reading this morning was taken from Genesis Chapter 1.
In Hebrew, Genesis is called Bereshit which means “In the Beginning.” The Rabbis often refer to Genesis as “The Book of Creation.”
In it, we can see everything as it must have been at the beginning – the world, humanity, the various peoples, the Hebrew tribe, the chaos brought about by the Fall, and the first signs of salvation promised to all of humanity by God. Everything is covered in Genesis including the “Spirit of the Messiah!”
Talmudic Sages recognised the hint of a plan for salvation for humanity when they wrote the following in Sanhedrin 97a:
“The tradition of Elijah teaches that the world is to exist for six thousand years; In the first two thousand would be desolation; in the next two thousand the Torah will flourish and the next two thousand years are the days of Messiah but on account of our sins, which were great, things turned out as they did.”
Although the Rabbis were not unanimous in their Doctrine of the Messianic times, they did recognise a plan of salvation beginning right back at creation. In the Rabbis view, even the names of the Messiah were determined before the creation of the world. And this is evident when we read Proverbs 8:22-31 we can get a glimpse of the second member of the Trinity, God the Son and the relationship the Godhead had before the world was even created and the Son had to take on the flesh of man and leave the Father to redeem humanity. “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his works of old. I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water, before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so that the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. We can scarcely begin to imagine what it was like to dwell in the eternal infinity of heaven before creation even, before Elohim – The Almighty Living God declared “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...”
God’s first words in the Bible are:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Bereshit bara elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz
In the beginning created God the heavens the earth
A Hebraic mind would not just look at the meaning of these words, the plain simple meaning of the text, but at the words themselves, and the letters of the words. They would meditate on the words and then go further and deeper. This verse has 7 words so they would search out what the significance of those 7 words are. Then they would ask why the first letter of the verse, in fact the first letter of the whole Bible, is a "B" and not an "A". There is a suggestion that the "B" is referring to a big blessing (bracha) over all of Creation. They would also note that the first word, in Hebrew, bereshit, actually contains the second word, bara, reinforcing the truth that creation is truly at the beginning, and nothing came before it.
But, most wonderful of all, in Hebrew thought they would look at the words and wonder why the untranslatable word "et" was included right in the middle of that verse, noticing that the two Hebrew letters in it are the Aleph and the Tav, the first and last letters of the alephbet. The Hebraic mind could perhaps take this further and think, "first and last, aleph and tav, now where have I heard that before?"
We find the answer to that question in Isaiah 48:12-13):
Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
God, the first and the last, the Creator Himself, including Himself in the centre of this very first verse in the Bible. God, the Creator, identifying Himself in the creation of the heavens and the earth.
With a Christian Hebraic mindset, we could take this further and now it gets even more interesting. This Hebrew word, "et", when it is translated elsewhere in Scripture, takes on the meaning of a "sign". And we read in Exodus 4:8: Then the LORD said [to Moses], "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign [et], they may believe the second.
Hebrew is a pictorial language, every letter has a mundane association. The first letter of "et" is the aleph, pictorially depicting an ox, or a strong leader. The last letter, tav, pictorially is depicted by a cross, with the meaning of a "sign". So, here we have some more food for thought, for in that very first verse in the Bible, we find a sign of the aleph and tav depicted as a strong leader and a cross. Wow! It doesn't take much imagination...
If we break down the Hebrew word בְּרֵאשִׁית (Bereshit) "In the beginning," we will find the following:
ב – in; בַּר – son; בָּרָא – create; רֹאשׁ – head; רֵאשִׁית – beginning; and אֵשׁ – fire
So, we can begin to see the Triune God or the Trinity quite clearly depicted in the very first word of the Bible. God the “head,” Jesus the “son” and the fire of the Holy Spirit. I find this absolutely amazing, that this small verse right at the beginning of the Bible contains the essence of the Holy Trinity in just 7 short words. Today on the Western church calendar we traditionally celebrate “Trinity Sunday,” yet this is a tradition of man introduced in the 10th Century. It was most probably based on the early church father Tertullian’s defence of the Trinity to Praexeas a heretic from Asia Minor who was teaching heresy in Rome early in the 3rd century. Tertullian defined the theology of the Trinity although he noted at the time that many believers found issue with his doctrine.
In Ezekiel 1:26-28 The prophet Ezekiel described his amazing encounter with God. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing [molten] metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
In Ezekiel 2:1-2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
In Hebrews 12:28-29 we read of our God being a consuming fire! Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.
The following excerpt is taken from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s website in answer to the question “Can you explain the Trinity to me?”
The Bible shows very clearly that there is only one God, and yet that there are three personal distinctions in His complex nature, traditionally referred to as “three Persons in the Godhead”—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Each is distinct from the others but never acts independently. They are one in nature and purpose. This mystery is called the doctrine of the Trinity, though that term is not used in the Bible. The teaching, however, is present in seed form in the Old Testament and is revealed explicitly in the New Testament. Note passages such as Matthew 28:19 which tells us: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit;” John 10:30 says “I and the Father are one.” and John14:26 “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Our finite minds cannot understand or explain this mystery of God, which is nevertheless a fact. We must accept the truths found in the Word of God by faith even though we ourselves cannot comprehend them fully; read Hebrews 11:1 which says: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, verse 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible, verse 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him; and from1 Corinthians 2:5-10 ...so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom, but on God’s power, verse14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to them, because they are spiritually discerned; Chapter 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
It is really not surprising that the infinite God should be complex in His nature beyond the ability of finite humans to comprehend! This doctrine is absolutely essential to New Testament Christianity. Theologians have pointed out that if it were not true, the Bible would be unreliable, Christ would not be divine, and His death on the cross would not atone for our sins, being merely the death of a martyr. (end of quote)
In Acts Chapter 2 we see the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem in one accord, suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. And now here we clearly see the ministry of God the Holy Spirit empowering the disciples to go out and preach the Gospel beginning in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth and teach us the way to go, to comfort us when the going gets tough, to restrain the acts of Satan and his demons towards us. He gives us the power to speak in Jesus name, to evangelise, to heal, to cast out demons, to raise the dead, and to prophesy as the prophet Joel recorded and Peter reiterated in Acts 2:14-21-...beginning at verse 17; “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Readings: Holy Bible New International Version (NIV) 1984
References:
Nassi, Rabbi Tzvi. 1974 (2nd ed.)The great mystery or how can three be one? Published by Yanetz Ltd, P O Box 151 Jerusalem.
Santala, Risto. (Translated by William Kinnaird) The Messiah in the Old Testament in the light of Rabbinical writings. 1992 Keren Ahvah Meshihit P O Box 10382 Jerusalem Israel.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. Website Q & A.
For more information see the following link from RockIslandBooks: Did God reveal to the prophet Isaiah a clue as to where we might find the very first and most amazing prophecy in the bible? An interesting website teaching on ancient Hebrew letters and their endtime prophetic meanings: https://youtu.be/PtATSQx3cjI