Most of us are familiar with the word theology and often use it with respect to a particular doctrine. For example, we talk about the theology of the church or the theology of angels or the theology of man, and all of those uses are okay. The term theology, as is defined in the dictionary, means the study of God and his relationship to the universe.
The word theology is rather generic in a certain respect because it needs additional words or can use additional words at least to modify it to make it understandable in a given context. For example, let's take the word serial. That's a generic word, but you can add all kinds of modifiers onto it to describe it, to make it more understandable in a given context. You may have sweetened cereal, you may have dry cereal, you may have natural cereal, you may have whole grain cereal.
So it's one of those kinds of words. Theology is similar to that. The word theology can be modified by words like naturalistic theology, biblical theology, systematic theology, new theology, process theology, liberal theology, evangelical theology. It's one of those kinds of words. Every human being, every organization, every movement, every church for sure, has a theology. By that I mean it has some concept of God, some concept that it worships.
The secret of course is what is meant by God in that organization, that church, that movement. 94, 95% of Americans say they believe in God, but what does that mean? Does that mean the United States has been evangelized, that there are that many Christians? Of course not. The English word God comes from the Anglo-Saxon word good, and I suppose it means the ultimate good very simply. But what does that say? When a person says that he or she believes in God, what does that person really mean?
We as a church have a statement regarding God that we have adopted. We say that we believe in God, and this is what we mean when we say that. It's not that we believe in every God so called, or that we believe in any God, but we believe in this God. We believe that there is one living and true God eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
Let's think about that statement tonight for just a few minutes. It's important for us to think about God, to study God. Not that we're reducing God to some kind of an academic subject, or a certain course in seminary, that's not the idea at all. But there is no pursuit that is higher for a human being than the pursuit of knowing God.
Charles Spurgeon put it this way, nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of a man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the deity. The most excellent study for expanding the soul is the science of Christ and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. What do we mean in the statement that we have adopted as a church?
There are three essential affirmations that are involved in that simple and yet profound statement that I've read to you regarding what our church believes about God. The first affirmation is this, that there is one living and true God, just one. That means that we as a church assert that all other gods, so called, all other objects of worship are false. Whether those be idols or demons or astrology or man himself, all other objects or idols of worship are false.
These may also include the realm of the material, the temporal, like money, power, possession, pleasure. None of these is a God that is worth worshiping, for there is one true and living God. That excludes all possibilities of rivals. There is no God who can rival our God. There are several verses in scripture, of course, that speak to this. I want to turn just to a couple tonight. The first one in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 4 and verse 35.
To you it was shown that you might know the Lord, he is God, there is no other besides him. Deuteronomy 4, 35. Then in verse 39 it says, know therefore today and take it to your heart that the Lord, he is God, in heaven above and on earth below, there is no other. Some people believe that it's generous and broad minded and kind to be able to say, well, God is whatever you call him. Making it possible that there would be many gods that exist.
The fact is that there is only one true and living God who has revealed himself to us in his word. The prophet Isaiah thundered this over and over again. I'd like you to turn just to a couple of verses toward the end of his book, Isaiah, chapter 45. Look in verse 5. God is speaking through his prophet. Look what God says. I am the Lord and there is no other. Besides me there is no God. That is a claim to being exclusive. He says there is no other God, period.
Verse 6 he says, there is no one besides me. I am the Lord and there is no other. In verse 14 he says toward the end of the verse, surely God is with you and there is none else, no other God. Verse 18, for thus says the Lord who created the heavens, he is the God who formed the earth and made it. He established it and did not create it, a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited. So clearly he is defining exactly the one of whom he speaks.
He says thus saith the Lord, the end of the verse, I am the Lord and there is none else. This is affirmed again in the New Testament in several places. The point is this that we as a body of people believe this, that there is only one true and living God, just one. All of the other religious systems in the world that claim to worship a God are false systems. They have either originated demonically or are manmade.
What they do for us is to show us the innate cry, the inborn, inbred need of the human heart to worship. Man must worship something or someone. He is created that way. God of course puts us in contrast to the animals which have no capacity for worship. But we human beings are born with that need to worship God and the ability to worship God. There is one, only one true and living God. That is why God warns his people, Israel in Exodus chapter 20, which is applied to us today in very clear terms.
God says you shall have no other gods before me. Why was he saying that? Why did he give that as one of the Ten Commandments? Because God is jealous for his glory in the first place. God wants his people to worship him and him only. You see there are many religious systems that are thrown at us constantly in our world. Satan is forever putting before us the concepts of false gods that we may worship. God says no other gods before me. There's a practical reason he's told us that too.
It is this, that we become like the God we worship. God is jealous that we become like him. It is for our own good that God gives us that commandment. Look at what happened to Israel when she fell into idolatry. Inevitably, along with that idolatry came the grossest form of immorality. Now look at our society today, a society that has gone after false religious systems. Tell me if it doesn't reflect exactly the same kind of degeneration, immorality.
Now there's a second affirmation that we make in our statement. It is this, that this one living and true God is one. That he is indivisible. There are those who tell us that because we worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we believe in three gods. We deny that. We absolutely do not believe in three gods. We believe in one God. There's one true and living God is one. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 4.
This is a familiar verse to those of you who know the Jewish faith. This is a key verse for them. They use this verse to attack Christianity, but it's a verse that we absolutely agree with. For it says in verse 4 of Deuteronomy 6, hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. We do not believe in three gods. We agree with this verse. The Lord is one. The Lord our God is one. There are two primary names for God that are given to us here in this verse.
The first one is Lord, all in capitals, or Jehovah, or Yahweh. That is a singular name. It is a name for God in his self-existence and his self-sufficiency. God needs nothing to exist. He is entirely self-sufficient in who he is. Notice that it says the Lord is our God. There the name is Elohim. That is a plural name, Elohim. The I am on the end of it makes it plural. What is it saying? Well, there are those who say that this plurality is the plurality of majesty.
When the Hebrews wanted to make something majestic, they would say it in the plural to emphasize the glory, the majesty of that which they were speaking about. So God is here telling us that he is majestic, but is there more? Indeed, I believe that there is. It is telling us of God's majesty, but there is a suggestion here in the Old Testament that within the singularity of God, within the unity of God, the oneness of God, there is also a plurality that is involved.
This is the first name by which God identifies himself in the Bible. In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. And it's interesting in that verse that though he used a plural name, Elohim, the verb is singular. Now that doesn't make good grammatic sense to us, but there was a reason for that. God was underscoring the fact that as Elohim, he is one who created the heavens and the earth.
This is the same word for one here, Deuteronomy 6.4, as is found in Genesis 2.24 when it says about man and woman becoming one flesh. You see it is a oneness that is called a compound oneness, not a simple oneness, but a compound oneness. And it's interesting that whenever the Bible uses this word of the deity of God, I should say it this way, whenever the Bible speaks of God as one, it uses this word and not the word for simple oneness.
It is always compound oneness, as in Genesis 2.24 speaking of the husband and wife. The New Testament likewise emphasizes this truth in James 2.19. It says you believe that there is one God. You do well. The demons also believe that. There is one God. This one living and true God is one. The same thing is repeated in 1 Corinthians 8 verses 5 and 6.
One God, the Father. Now I emphasize this because liberal theologians suggest to us that our concept of monotheism, that there is one God, that this concept of monotheism is a product of evolution in religion. They say that mankind began, when he crawled out of the cave some time back, the mankind began his concept of God as polytheism, many gods. And that over the process of time an amazing thing happened. Some people began to believe in monotheism, one God.
But evolution, they say, took place in man's thinking. He went from believing in many gods to some believing in one God. Now is that the way it happened? Is this concept of monotheism in fact the product of evolutionary thought? The answer to that is a resounding no. For the Bible teaches us that in the beginning man had the knowledge of the one true and living God who is one. And that in fact, degeneration took place because of sin and man developed the concept of many gods.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 1 where we see this explained to us. Romans chapter 1. Look at verse 20. He says, for since the creation of the world, his gods, invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they, the pagans, are without excuse. For even though they knew God, notice that.
Now whenever you believe these, whenever is the time period you believe these words apply to, it is true that at one point man believed in one God. They knew God, says the Bible. They did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened, the judgment of God.
Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. What is being said here? It is this, that mankind began with the knowledge of the one true and living God who is one. But because he refused to acknowledge God and to glorify God and to be grateful to God, he was turned to foolishness.
His heart was darkened, his speculations became futile, and mankind created the concept of polytheism, many gods. So the evolutionists have it just in reverse. The liberal theologians have it just the opposite of what the Bible says. The Bible declares that all began with the knowledge of the true God and polytheism developed because of the sinfulness of the human heart in rejecting the knowledge of God.
Now let's go back again to Deuteronomy chapter 6 because I want you to go on to the next verse. We've looked at Deuteronomy 6 for, here is the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. What we're saying here is what we've affirmed in our doctrinal statement that the one true and living God is one.
Now says in verse 5, and in other words because of this that you believe, because of what has been revealed to you about God's nature, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. In other words, because God is one, we are to worship him with an undivided oneness in our own beings. He tells us here in verse 5 that there is to be an undivided devotion of the entire life to God. And the call for that from us is based upon God's essential unity.
There's the application. Now is the third affirmation that we make in our doctrinal statement that's important to grasp. This one living and true God who is one, one in essence, eternally exists in three persons. Equal in every perfection, but distinct in their offices, in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. In other words, we affirm that we are not Unitarians. We believe in the oneness of God, but we believe that God exists eternally in three persons.
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In other words, we believe in the Trinity, or a better term, is the tri-unity of God. Now this is intimated in the Old Testament. I've already shared with you the plurality in the name Elohim that God chose to use to reveal himself. This morning as we looked in Genesis chapter 1, we were reminded of what God said, let us make man in our image. God used plural pronouns when speaking of himself as God acting.
Let us make singular verb, man in our image. So there are intimations in the Old Testament of plurality. It doesn't say two or ten or three. But in the Old Testament there is room left for the oneness of God involving more than simple oneness. This of course is confirmed in the New Testament. As the New Testament is progressive revelation, so it gives us additional understanding of the nature of God. The God who is one eternally exists in three persons. We see this in several places.
For example, in Matthew chapter 3 and in the other gospels recording Jesus' baptism. We have the Son of God in human flesh standing there in the Jordan River with John the Baptist being baptized. And as he is baptized there is a voice that speaks from heaven. And that voice says, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. For who would call him my Son but the Father?
And as that voice speaks there is as it were a dove that descended from heaven and lit upon him, which the New Testament says to be the Holy Spirit. And so God exposes himself there to us in his three persons.
The same is found in Matthew 28 and verse 19 where it says that as we baptize people as we did this morning, that the formula that we are to use, the statement that we are to use as we baptize them is I baptize you in the name, notice that singular, not the names, but the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That is the way Jesus said we were to baptize. In 2 Corinthians 13-14 we have a benediction of the Apostle. Take a look at that.
The Apostle blesses the Corinthians as he closes this epistle. And he mentions each person of the Godhead as he does so. Look in the last verse of 2 Corinthians. He says the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. May I remind you of Jesus' statement in John chapters 14, 15, and 16. He speaks to his disciples and to us and he says, I must go to the Father and when I go to the Father we will send to you the Comforter. Who is that?
The Holy Spirit. We sing the hymn, the Comforter has come. Oh spread the tidings around. The Comforter has come. The Comforter is the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks of himself going to the Father's presence and of he and the Father sending to us the Holy Spirit. And it's interesting that each person of the Godhead in the New Testament is declared to be God. God the Father, Romans 1, 7, and multitudes of other places.
The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole book of Hebrews argues for that, but especially the first chapter. He is called God. There is no doubt about his deity. The Holy Spirit? Yes, in Acts chapter 5. You've not lied to men but to God. In just the previous verse he said you've lied to the Holy Spirit. Conclusion, they've lied to the Holy Spirit, they've lied to God, the Holy Spirit is God. Each person of the Godhead is equally worthy of our praise and devotion.
That does not mean that we worship three gods. As Jehovah's Witnesses, as Unitarians, and as many others accuse us. But we do believe in the living God who is one who exists in three persons. You say I don't understand that. Congratulations. You've come to a basic truth about theology. There are many things we can't understand. No human being could ever create the doctrine that I just talked to you about, the doctrine of the Trinity. It's beyond human conception to create that intellectually.
God had to reveal that to us. If we could understand it, it would be suspect. I make no pretense tonight, nor would any sensible person make a pretense of explaining God to you. God cannot be explained. All we can do is go to His Word and explain what His Word says about God. For God has revealed Himself to us in this Word. Someone has said try to understand the Trinity and you'll lose your mind. Deny it and you'll lose your soul. You say is it really that critical? Absolutely.
It is that critical. One cannot deny God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit and be saved. There's a very sincere group of people in our town who have even a large church and a Bible school out on the east side of St. Paul, an apostolic church, who deny the Trinity. It makes no difference what they say, otherwise to deny the Trinity, to deny God's triune-ness, is to deny one of the essential doctrines of the Word of God and puts one outside the realm of biblical Christianity.
It is an essential doctrine. That is why we affirm it in our statement. I suppose that there are many statements that we could put into our doctrinal statement, and frankly in some respects I would like to see it strengthened. But those that are stated for us are absolutely essential in this particular article. Spurgeon said, the proper study of the Christian is the Godhead.
The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can engage the attention of a child of God is the name, the nature, the person, the doings, and the existence of the great God. How much do you think about that? When you go to the Bible and you read it, how much do you think about what God is saying about himself? So often we use the Bible as a roadmap for the day, and certainly God's Word provides direction for our lives.
But remember that God gave us this word primarily to expose himself to us, that we might know him. So as you read the Bible, one of the first questions to ask yourself is, what is that verse, what is that text teaching me about the nature of God? There is no study that is more lofty. There is no course of pursuit that is more important than that of pursuing the knowledge of the living God, who is one, but eternally exists in three persons. We sing about this in our hymns.
Did you notice it this morning in Holy, Holy, Holy? Open your hymn book. I'd like for us to sing in closing a hymn that expresses the worship of the Trinity. It's number 46. The title is Praise Ye the Triune God. And notice how the author of the words divides the verses as we sing this hymn of praise to the Lord. Let's stand together and sing number 46 in our hymnals.