John 17:3

THE ONLY TRUE GOD 1

‘And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.’

John 17:3

The truth and the reality of a man’s religion depend on his conception of God. We see this as we study other systems and other religions. If we go to a heathen country and want to know the character of the people there, we immediately begin to try to find out what their conception of God really is. If they have an idea of a bloodthirsty God, you will find that they are a bloodthirsty people. It is necessary that our worship and our service should be reasonable.

I. Reasonable worship required.—God revealed Himself to man in order that man’s worship might be given unto Him. It is impossible for us to reach God, for the finite to grasp the infinite, but it is not impossible for the infinite to grasp the finite, to reach him and to reveal Himself to him. God in His mercy has revealed to us Himself by Christ Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, and it is necessary that we should use our faculties and find out what God has revealed, in order that we might know Him. The very basis of the doctrine of the Trinity is the unity of God. This cannot be adequately illustrated. All illustrations that we may use are weak.

II. The witness of Scripture.—What does the Old Testament and what does the New Testament really teach us with regard to the Trinity? In Genesis 1., ‘In the beginning God.’ Now in the English version we just have one idea of one person in the word, but when we turn to the Hebrew Bible we find that that which was translated ‘God’ in English is Elohim, a word plural in form, but joined with a singular verb, except when referring to false gods; and further down we see, ‘The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,’ and from the original you will find that it might be translated ‘A mighty wind of God.’ Compare the idea with the coming of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were waiting for the promise of the Father. What do we read? That while they were there waiting and praying, suddenly there came from heaven as it were a rushing mighty wind, and filled the place. Then we read a little further down in Genesis 1, ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ ‘And God said.’ There we have the Word of God brought out. In John 1 we read, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ What is the Word? Jesus Christ is the eternal Word incarnate, the expression of the Father, and so in these few opening verses of the Bible, in the first words that meet our eyes, we have God the Elohim, then we have the Spirit of God, and then we have the Word of God. Further on we hear God speaking with regard to the creation of man, ‘Let us make man in our image.’ We have the same expression in Genesis 11:7, ‘Let us go down, and there confound their language.’ Then in Isaiah 6:8, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then we might pass on to the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24, where ‘The Lord,’ ‘The Lord,’ ‘The Lord’ is thrice mentioned; and finally we turn to Isaiah 6, where the prophet gains a glimpse into heaven, and hears the ‘Holy, holy, holy!’ Why three Holies? These things, although they do not actually prove to us the personality of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet they all point that way. God reveals to us His great truths gradually. He works in revelation as He works in Nature. In the Old Testament revelation God gradually led on to the fullness of time, when he sent forth His own Son with all might and all power and all healing; and when Christ came there was the fullness of the revelation at His baptism. The Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came out of heaven saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’ There we have the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the voice of the Father. Then we turn to John 14, ‘I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another Comforter, even the Spirit of Truth.’ Here we have the distinctions sharp and clear. The Son prays, the Father hears, and the Holy Ghost comes. Then we proceed to the Mount of the Ascension, and as Christ bade His disciples farewell, He said, ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.’ Then, once more, if we look at our text we find that Christ says He came into the world to reveal the Father. Thus we see how full the Scripture is of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

III. The offices of the Three Persons.—What are the various offices of the ever-Blessed Trinity? God the Father, if one may reverently say so, propounded the plan for man’s redemption, for man’s salvation. God sent His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ, in obedience to the will of the Father, came. He revealed the Father to us. Then He gave Himself as our sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross, and in Him we have redemption, even the forgiveness of sins. Then, having accomplished His work on earth, He rose again from the dead and ascended gloriously into heaven. Now He sits on the right hand of God as our High Priest, and He ever liveth to make intercession for us. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ.

Do we know God? Do we know God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost? By the power of the Spirit, have we been born again? If we have not known God hitherto, we may know Him to-night—‘Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.’

Rev. Edward Rhodes.

Illustration

‘St. Patrick, when he went to Ireland in the early days of Christianity, tried to instruct the poor ignorant people he found in that country from a leaf of the shamrock. “On that one leaf there are three leaves, and that is exactly the position of the Trinity.” It is on that account that the shamrock has become so revered by the people of Ireland, because in the early days they were taught by it to know God. Others have perceived an illustration of the Trinity in man—in his body, in his soul, and in his spirit. The illustration is not of the best, but still it gives us some idea of what we mean when we say, “One in Three, and Three in One.” ’