Lesson 8 Triune God (Trinity)

Lesson 8

Triune God Trinity 

Objective: God in one, and in Him the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are wonderfully collected together.

Bible Portion: John ch 14, 15, 16

Memory Verse: John 14:15,16

"If you love Me, keep My commandments, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.

Introduction: We have learned the natural and moral attributes of God. This study will make us respect, love, and worship God in a real sense. We will be transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory. Let us approach to the feet of Christ to understand the glorious and wonderful fact that the God is triune. 

God is one

Man, who went away from God due to sin, failed to find the true God and he started worshipping nature and the deities made out of his concepts. During those days, Hebrews, the Descendents of Abraham developed monotheism. In the Old Testament and the New Testament, we see a number of verses show that God is one.

You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. (Deuteronomy 4:35)

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

This is what the LORD says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  (Mark 10:18)

Compound Oneness 

God's oneness is a compound one. This is the truth. Bible explains many times and we can see it in nature also. Let us consider some instances of depicting the compound oneness through which they have some limitations.

1. Though electricity is invisible, we can sense it in the form of light, heat, and sound. Each one of these is electric current. But light is not heat, heat is not light.

2. We are familiar with water. its chemical structure is H2O. It can be seen in different forms. It is gas sometimes. It takes the form of water and ice. Are they all one?

3. The physical body of a man consists of body, soul, and spirit. It is a compound oneness. Though body, spirit, and soul have separate identities, they are one. 

4. In geometry, we can learn about a rectangle. It has its own oneness and peculiarity. If it is 1cm length and 1 cm width, what should be its area? The answer is 1x1x1 = 1 it is an example for compound oneness 

5. You might have seen cube. Let us consider a cube that is 1 cm length, 1 cm height, and 

1 cm in width. Though its six sides are shaded in different colors, it is one. its diversity makes it colorful and does not destroy it. Its volume is not 1+1+1=3, it is 1x1x1=1 the teachings of trinity do not present three Gods.

6. Let us examine a triangle. It has three equal sides. Though each side has its own identity, It is a picture. The identities of sides do not harm the triangle. The whole triangle can be represented as God, and the sides show father, son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Trinity in the creation of God.

In the creation, we see not only the compound oneness, but also the reflection of the trinity. 

1. The physical body of man is triune, consists of the body, soul, and spirit. 

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (1 Thess. 5:23)

2. Atom, the smallest unit of matter consists of protons, neutrons, and electrons. 

3. The universe is formed out of space, time, and matter. 

4. Space consists of length, width, and height.

5. Time consists of past, present, and future.

6. Matter consists of energy, movement, and arrangement. 

Evidence from the Bible.

a. Old testament:

Though Jews do not believe in the trinity, the holy book of Christians and Jews has a number of pieces of evidence to establish the trinity. 

1. The Hebrew rout for absolute unity is 'yached', but the rout word for compound oneness is 'Echad!'. The term 'Echad is used in the Old Testament (Deut. 6:4) The verbs and adjectives used along with this word are in plural forms. 

2. The Hebrew words fro God are in the plural. For instance, in Gen 1:1 says, In the beginning God created heaven and earth; the term used for God is 'Elohim' here, and it is a plural word. Such terms are used in Deu. 4:32 and Is.45:18.

3. The pronouns that God himself used were plural. And now the sovereign Lord has sent me, with his spirit. 'I' refers in the verse is Messiah. So the father, son, and Holy Spirit are expressed in this verse. The angel of his present refers in Is.63:9 is Christ. 

In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them.In his love and mercy, he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old (Isaiah 63:9)

Thus, the reality of trinity is revealed here. We can see about the sun of God in Psalms 2: 7-12

 I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron ; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. 12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalms 2: 7 -12)

Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!  (Proverbs 30:4)

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. (Daniel 7:13)

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

So the trinity is also described in the Old Testament. 

4. The angel of God appeared to Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, and Judges was God himself. He was God worthy to be worshipped. The angel of God is the son of God, Jesus Christ. 

b. The New Testament 

The teachings of the trinity, which was partially told in Old Testament, are clearly established in the New Testament. 

Luke's description of Jesus's birth clearly tells us the role of the father, son, and the Holy Spirit.

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  (Luke 1:34,35)

2. At the time of Jesus's Baptism, the triune God was active.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:16,17)

3. Jesus in his teachings shows his unity with his father and the Holy Spirit. 

a. Natural unity: I and Father are one. (John 10:29)

b. Unity in Love (John 15:9-12)

c. Unity in aim and actions (John 14:10)

d. Jesus words about the dwelling of Holy Spirit in believers that we will come to him and  dwell with him. (John 14:16-18)

e. The names of triune God is referred to together.

f. Jesus was glorified with God before the incarnation (John 17:16)

4. 'Jesus' command about baptism is that the disciples should baptize in the name of the father, son, and Holy Spirit. The term 'name' is used instead of using 'names'. It refers to the compound unity of trinity. 

Lesson 7 Attributes of God - III

   Lesson 7

Attributes of God - III

Understand the importance of God's grace, companions, and faithfulness. Be thankful to God and reflect the divine qualities of God.

Bible Portion : Eph: 1: 1-2, 10

Memory verse: Ps: 103:8 The Lord is merciful and graces, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

Eph. 2:4-8: But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us live together with Christ (By grace you have been saved) ,  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God 

Introduction: What are the attributes of God we have learned in previous lessons? How do we live, for God holy? Where the love of God and his righteousness mostly related together? Can you say some other qualities of God which are significant to us? 

1. The grace of God 

God is gracious and merciful. What is grace? Suppose, and obedient son of a good father killed by a criminal. Father can take revenge by himself, or execute the justice through authorities. He can also forgive him, accept his to the family, and gives his all the properties of his som. This is called grace. The grace of God is the love and goodness that flows to unworthy, Grace is the blessing given to an ineligible person. I make ineligible to eligible, and the person with liability will be sent freely.

The works of God's grace 

1. Saves: It saves humankind who is under death and curse through sin. Justification is a free act by the redemption of God's grace. You have been saved by grace through faith. Choice, call, Justification, and glorification are the experiences related to salvation is given to us by the grace of God.

2. Strengthens:  It empowers us to lead a victorious life from opposite circumstances and Satan's temptations. 

3. Maintains and nourishes: The grace of God maintains us and also nourishes us

4. Enriches: Though he was rich, he became poor for our sake. How wonderful is God's grace!. He has blessed us with all heavenly blessings. By the grace of God, we receive all blessings in the world to live.

5. Gives us blessed hop: The grace gives us the revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ in the second coming. 

6. Blesses us with gifts: The people, who are saved by the grace, will be blessed with the Holy Spirit and its gifts. These gifts are given by grace. So they are called gifts of grace. Such gifts are the gift of knowledge of wisdom, of healing, of the prosthesis, of speaking in different tongues, of interpretation, etc. All these are given to the church by the grace of God. We must praise God for his grace manifested in various ways, and no one has to take his grace in an ordinary way. 

God's Compassion 

Though God's grace and compassion are more or less the same, that is different in meaning as we experience it. His compassion is God's dealing with our sin and misery. Compassion is God's divine quality. The divine quality of God as compassionate is described both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, God's compassion to Israelites is described 4 times that it is used in the New Testament; but Israelites, due to disbelief, unable to experience it. So the word of God was not useful to them. We cannot measure God's compassion, and it can be experienced through Jesus Christ. As we come nearer to the presence of God bravely, we can experience the test of his compassion.

God's compassion is a reality. 

3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Psalm 103 3 -5

Who will be manifested with God's compassion?

1. Those who are afflicted.

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Says the lord 

2. God shows his mercy to those who fear, depend, and walk wholeheartedly in his presence. 

And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20 1-6)

3. Whoever confesses and denounces the sins will find God's mercy 

whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

4. Whoever calls on him truly 

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; 6 you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, LORD, detest. (Psalms 5 4 -6)

How God manifests His mercy? 

1. By forgiving the sins of those who confess and renounce their sins

2. By showing steadfast love to those who do not confess sins and continue in it 

3. By delivering the people from sickness, sadness.

4. Being a shade at the time of oppression from the enemy.

God's Faithfulness 

Like all other attributes of God, Faithfulness is also part of God's quality. All his qualities are one though we learn it differently; God is self-formed, eternal, and unchanging. He is faithful. The meaning of the root word for faithfulness is to uphold. So "faithful" means one who can uphold or one can be treated upon. God is not only omnipotent and omnipresent but also an unchanging one. The power and knowledge of men will change. No man can be trusted. But God is faithful. 

God's Faithfulness is a reality

The below mentioned Bible verses show God's faithfulness.

 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The Greatness of God's faithfulness 

a. The compassion of God is fresh every morning and his faithfulness is great.

b. His faithfulness reaches to the skies

c. He establishes his faithfulness in heavens

d. All the deeds of God are faithful

e. His faithfulness continues through all generations. 

How God revealed His Faithfulness 

1. He reveals his faithfulness in maintaining his promises and laws. The promise given to David was fulfilled at the time of Solomen. Though the Israelites were unfaithful, God is faithful in his promises to their futures. The people of Israelites have been scattered into different parts of the world due to their sine. But they had established their own nation this century. God is faithful, and the promises about Jesus Christ were also revealed. Though we are unholy, he remains holy. 

2. God delivers his people from the hand of wicked. He also provides a way out at the time of temptation. 

3. God makes his people unblemished at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

4. God punishes the people when they go away from the ways of God and also forgive their sins as they confess.

We can trust in God at any time because He is compassionate, gracious, and faithful. Thus we will get our problems solved. All these qualities showed to be reflected in our lives. 

Lesson 6 - Attributes of God - II

Lesson 6 

Attributes of God - II 

Objective:   To be partakers of the divine nature by growing in God's wisdom.

Bible Portion: Rom 1: 18-32, Deut. 19:1-18.

Memory Verse: I Peter 1:14-16.

as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Introduction 

Have we learnt the natural attributes of God?  Now we will study about the moral attributes of God. God has certain moral qualities and men should experience them. Some of such characteristics are holiness, love, Justice, compassion and faithfulness. It will be helpful for us to love God more and reflect the holy characteristics of God. 

I. Holiness: 

Whenever one is unable to receive the revelation of holiness, he cannot see the unholy element around him and may not get a solution. Isaiah, the prophet, when he had confronted with the revelation of holiness, it changed him fully. 

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am [a]undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King,

The Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;

Your iniquity is taken away,

And your sin [b]purged.”

8 Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

God's holiness is beyond all our thoughts. Isaiah mentions about God as 'holy one of Israel' in 30 times.

1. The holiness of God is a reality

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment,

And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. (Isaiah 5:16)

2. The meaning of holiness: The word 'holiness' is used in the Bible in the sense of separation. God himself is away from uncleanness. Washing with water (Lev.8:6), different parts of the tabernacle, the dedication of Levites and priests (Lev. 8), and the command of God is Israel that they do not come near the Senai mountain (Ex. 19.12) express the holiness of God. The children of God should lead a holy life and separate themselves from unholiness. 

3. How God's holiness has been revealed?

     a. God hates sin (Prov. 15:9, Deut. 25:16)

     b. God punishes the sinner (Ex. 14:7).

     c. Jesus bore the condemnation of sin in order to deliver the sinners from the punishment. Jesus had to become a sacrifice or ransom for many because God is holy and just. Yet is was the will of God to crush him (Isaiah. 53:10). The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us. (Isaiah. 53:6)

4. Being God is holy, what should we do?

  a. Go near to him with fear ( Heb. 12:28,29)

  b. We should receive the revelation of God's holiness, and also submit ourselves by confessing our sins. We should get cleansed by the holy sacrifice of Jesus Chris (I John. 1:7-9)

   c. We should maintain holiness in deeds, words and thoughts because God is holy and, he loves and saves us (I Pet. 1:14-16).

II. Love 

What is the meaning of the phrase 'God is love'? It is God's unchanging character. Men use the word 'Love' not in real sense. Love is real and it looks and acts for the goodness of the one whom we love. It does not have any selfish motives. This is called God's Love. The word used for God's Love in Greek is 'agape'. The love of men, many times, possesses selfishness. The root word for this is 'Eros'.

    1. The Love of God is a reality (John. 4:8-11)

God not only loves, he himself is love. The important thing behind all moral values is love. We understand the very love through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

2. The Love of God has no limitation and boarder

God lives his son, Jesus Christ. Christ. is the subject of God's love always. God loves the world. God desires everyone to repent and have eternal life through Jesus Christ. He loves the sinners, ungodly, and the lost. God loves believers who come into a relationship with him. In order to understand the depth of the love of God, we must realize the love of Christ, which is beyond wisdom.

3. How the love of God has been revealed? 

It is very difficult to define love. I can be expressed through actions or deeds. God revealed and expressed his love to men through his dealings.

a. Jesus Christ came into this world and bore the death at the cross. It was because he had to save the world from the condemnation of sin, and also from the power and circumstances that Satan raises against the men. He wants us to become the children of God to call God Abba, Father. 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4: 9 - 10 )

b.When a person acknowledges Christ's love at the cross and takes refuge in him, it will be delivered from all evils. He will be revealed the love of God and it makes him peaceful and happy and they will be satisfied spiritually and physically.

c. God has sent the Holy Spirit to us to dwell in us all the time. Thus, he revealed his love.

d. The love of God is also revealed in the punishment given to men for their purification. God punishes whom he loves. The punished will be blessed and they will bring the offering in the righteousness to the Lord.

e. God stays with his people and strengthens them at the time of suffering. Even if a mother forgets the baby. God will never forget his people.

III The righteousness of God

The righteousness is a quality that always connected to holiness, Righteousness refers to ' What is right?'

1. God's righteousness is a reality
    The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.

2. God reveals his righteousness through his actions.
   
     a. He loves righteousness and hates wickedness.

     b. God punishes the sinners for their wickedness

     c. He rewards everyone for their faithfulness

    d. He delivers the god-fearing ones from their suffering

    e. God fulfills his promises

The law of righteousness is that a sinner must be punished. So God sent his son to the world as a sin offering. He laid the condemnation of sin on Jesus. Those who believed in Jesus will be justified and delivered We can see the manifestation of God's righteousness on Calvary.