Here's an outstanding lesson concerning the Biblical doctrine of the
Trinity
by Edward Bickersteth
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
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Scripture Testimony To The Eternal Godhead
by Edward Bickersteth
The Old and the New Testament alike, assures us that in the trustful
knowledge of One God,-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,-is the
spiritual life of man now and for ever.
The Lord grant that we may continue to bring to the study of his word,
that
humble spirit which prays "That which I see not teach thou me" (Job
34:32).
To one who receives with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save
our souls, the Scriptures already adduced prove beyond contradiction that
as
the Father is God, so is Jesus Christ God, and so the Holy Spirit is God.
This truth, however, must be combined with another, which is revealed with
equal clearness and enforced with equal solemnity:-"I am Jehovah, and
there
is none else, there is no God beside me" (Isa 45:5). The combination of
these truths establishes the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, for "these
Three
must together subsist in one infinite Divine essence, called Jehovah or
God;
and as this essence must be indivisible, each of them must possess not a
part or portion of it, but the whole fullness or perfection of the
essential
Godhead forming, in an unity of nature, One Eternal Jehovah, and therefore
revealed by a plural noun as the Jehovah Elohim, which comprehends these
Three; but with this solemn qualification, that the Jehovah Elohim is in
truth but one Jehovah, Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
This supreme mystery must transcend all the powers of human thought; and
the
question must recur again and again, What saith the Scripture? Our
imaginations must be counted as the small dust of the balance. Thus do you
conceive that the very names "the Father the Son" imply a certain point in
duration beyond which the Father inhabited eternity alone? Your conception
cannot countervail the assertion of Scripture, that the goings-forth of
the
Saviour have been from everlasting (Micah 5:2); or the words of Christ
himself, adopting the formula which declares the Divine self-existence
from
eternity to eternity, "I am the first and the last" (Rev 1:11).
The illustration, before adduced, of the sun, its beams of light, and its
vital heat, may offer some faint resemblance of this great mystery; for
the
beams of light are generated by the central orb; and yet the sun could not
have existed, so far as we know, for a moment without emitting its
radiance,
nor the radiance have existed without diffusing its warmth: so that "one
is
not before another, but only in order and relation to one another." But no
creature can adequately image forth the Creator, who asks, "To whom then
will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?" (Isa
40:18).
Again, do you imagine that the name of him who is alone Jehovah, cannot
comprehend a Trinity in Unity? Your imagination is as nothing in
contradiction of the words of Christ revealing the one Divine name, as
"the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Do you
asseverate the impossibility of three subsistences in one eternal essence?
Remember, I pray you, the words, "Canst thou find out the Almighty unto
perfection?" (Job 11:7). What do we know of the essence of created things?
The pure white light seems indissolubly one; an unscientific man would,
without hesitation, pronounce it uniform, and would utterly deny any
plurality subsisting in its transparent simplicity. The colours of the
rainbow seem evidently manifold; and the same man might refuse to credit
their unity. Science stoops to analyze light; and we are told that-
"The prismatic spectrum consists in reality of three spectra of nearly
equal
length, each of uniform colour; superposed one upon another; and that the
colours which the actual spectrum exhibits, arise from the mixture of the
uniform colours of these three spectra superposed. The colours of these
three elementary spectra, according to Sir David Brewster, are red,
yellow,
and blue. He shows that by a combination of these three, not only all the
colours exhibited in the prismatic spectrum may be reproduced, but their
combination also produces white light. He contends, therefore, that the
white light of the sun consists, not of seven, but of three constituent
lights."-"Lardner's Museum" vol. 7 p. 78.
The unlearned man then, in his incredulity, would have denied an
established
fact. The unity of that pure white light was not so simple as he affirmed.
More constituents than one subsist in its ethereal essence. But has
science
now fathomed the mysteries of light? So far from it, we read-
"Light is now proved to consist in the waves of a subtle and elastic
ether,
which pervades all space, and serves to communicate every impulse, from
one
part of the universe to another, with a speed almost inconceivable. In
this
luminous ether, matter seems to emulate the subtlety of thought.
Invisible,
and yet the only means by which all things are made visible; impalpable,
and
yet nourishing all material objects into life and beauty; so elastic, that
when touched at one point, swift glances of light tremble through the
universe; and still so subtle that the celestial bodies traverse its
depths
freely, and even the most vaporous comet scarcely exhibits a sensible
retardation in its course- there is something in the very nature of this
medium which seems to baffle the powers of human science, and to say to
the
pride of human intellect, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and
here shall thy proud waves be stayed." Here, indeed, the most brilliant
and
profound analysts have continually to guess their way, when they would
trace
out a few of the simplest laws resulting from the existence of such an
ether, and unfold their application to the various phenomena of reflected
and refracted light. It is a great deep of mystery. Science grows dizzy on
its verge when it strives to explore the nature of this subtle, immense
imponderable ocean, which bathes all worlds in light, and itself remains,
by
its own nature, invisible for ever."-Birks' "Treasures of Wisdom",
pp.99-106.
Is such the modest confession of truth after all the triumphs of human
wisdom? Is man only wading, with tremulous footstep, into the shallow
waters
of that unfathomable sea called into existence by the fiat of God, when he
said, "Let there be light, and there was light?" Are we so soon out of our
depth in seeking to understand one of his works? How much rather may we
expect to be humbled as we meditate, and to be baffled if we think we can
comprehend, the glorious Creator himself? Is light a mystery? How much
rather he w ho dwells in the light that no man can approach unto! We know
him only as he reveals himself.
This self-revelation involves a yet greater self-concealment There will be
the manifestation of God in the voluntary condescension of his love: and
there will be the necessary seclusion within the clouds of his
unapproachable glory. W hen a finite being seeks to understand anything of
the Infinite, it must always be so. There will be the fragment of truth
which the student has made and is making his own, and the illimitable
expanse beneath, above, and beyond him. Thus in the field of nature we
read,
"The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have
pleasure
therein" (Psa 111:2). Here is our knowledge. But "No man," says Solomon,
"can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end"
(Eccl
3:11). There is the limit of our knowledge. We are invited to consider his
heavens, to trace his footprints, and to regard the operations of his
hands.
And yet after all, "Lo! these are parts of his ways; how faint a whisper
is
heard of him! the thunder of his power who can understand?" (Job 26:14)
So,
in the majestic course of his patient. providence we adoringly
acknowledge,
"Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints:"(Rev 15:3) and yet we
must
confess, "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy
footsteps are not known" (Psa 77:19).
Humble students are treading an upland path. Their horizon widens every
step
they take. The angels of light, standing on a higher eminence, see further
than they. Still there must be a boundary line which limits angelic
intuition: and whatever lies beyond that line must be a mystery to them,
or,
if made known to them, made known by revelation. We rebuke the want of
modesty in the unlearned peasant who argues from his ignorance against the
declarations of science: surely those blessed spirits would rebuke us, if
we, through preconceived notions of our own, refused to credit the simple
revelations of God regarding his own mysterious Being.
He reveals himself by his names, his attributes, and his acts. And,
therefore, if, combined with assertions that God is one, we find three
revealed in Scripture to whom the same names, attributes, and acts are
ascribed, the same so far as a personal distinction allows; if we look
vainly for any fourth Divine one, or any intimation of more than three; if
we connect with this the intimate and necessary union affirmed to exist
betwixt the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, as when the Lord Jesus
says, "I and my Father are one," and when Paul says, "The Spirit searches
the depths of God;" if, then, we find that every Christian is baptized
into
one Name,-the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost,-we
are led swiftly and irresistibly up to the doctrine (call it by what name
you will) of the Trinity in Unity.
Hence, at the risk of apparent repetition, I shall bring together again
some
few Bible testimonies to the Deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost; combining them in one view; and adding a further declaration from
Scripture of our sole dependence on the alone Jehovah; so that you may see
at a glance, that we are compelled by the Christian verity, "to
acknowledge
the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty
to
worship the Unity."
I.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are eternal.
1. I am the first, and I am the last (Isa 44:6). The everlasting God (Rom
16:26).
2. I am the first and the last (Rev 1:17). Whose goings forth have been
from
of old, from everlasting (Micah 5:2.)
3. The eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14).
The One Eternal is our trust. The eternal God is thy refuge, and
underneath
are the everlasting arms (Deu 33:27).
II.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost created all things.
1. One God, the Father, of whom are all things (1 Cor 8:6). The Lord....
it
is he that hath made us (Psa 100:3).
2. All things were made by him (the Word, etc. John1:3). By him were all
things created, etc. (Col.1:16).
3. Who hath measured, etc. who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord? (Isa.
40:12,13). The Spirit of God hath made me (Job 33:4).
The One Almighty is our trust. Commit the keeping of their souls to
him,-as
unto a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19).
III.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are omnipresent.
1. Do not I fill the heaven and earth? saith the Lord (Jer 23:24).
2. Lo, I am with you alway (Matt 28:20).
3. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? (Psa 139:7).
The One omnipresent God its our trust. He is not far from every one of us;
for in him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:27, 28).
IV.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are omniscient.
1. No one knoweth the Father, save the Son (Matt. 11:27). Known unto God
are
all his works, etc. (Acts 15:18).
2. No one knoweth the Son, save the Father (Matt 11:27). Lord, thou
knowest
all things (John 21:17).
3. Who being his counsellor hath taught him? (Isa 40:13). The Spirit
searcheth all things (l Cor 2:10).
We worship the One all-seeing God. All things are naked and opened unto
the
eyes of him with whom we have to do (Heb 4:13).
V.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are true, holy, and good
1. He that sent me is true (John 7:28). Holy Father. Righteous Father
(John
17:11, 25). The Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).
2. I am...the truth (John 14:6). The Holy One and the just (Acts 3:14).
The
good Shepherd (John 10:11).
3. The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6). The Spirit, the Holy One (John
14:26).
Thy Spirit is good (Psa 143:10).
We adore the One Lord of infinite goodness. Who shall not fear thee, O
Lord,
and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy (Rev. 15:4).
VI.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost have each a self-regulating will.
1. Him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (Eph
1:11).
2. The Son wills to reveal him (Matt 11:27). Father, I will (John 17:24).
3. Dividing to every one severally as he wills (1 Cor 12:11).
We rest on the will of him who alone is Jehovah. The will of the Lord be
done (Acts 21:14).
VII.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are the fountain of life.
1. With thee is the fountain of life (Psa 36:9). God hath quickened us
(Eph.
2:4,5).
2. In him (the Word) was life (John 1:4). The Son quickeneth whom he will
(John 5:21).
3. The Spirit is life (Rom 8:10). Born of the Spirit (John 3:8).
We depend on one life-giving God. Love the Lord thy God,...cleave unto
him,...for he is thy life (Deut 30:20).
VIII.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost strengthern, comfort, and sanctify
us.
1. Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my soul (Psa 138:3). I will
comfort you (Isa 66:13). Sanctified by God the Father (Jude 1).
2. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Phil 4:13).
If
any consolation in Christ (Phil 2:1). Sanctified in Christ Jesus (1 Cor
1:2).
3. Strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man (Eph 3:16). The
Comforter, the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Being sanctified by the Holy Ghost
(Rom 15:16).
We trust in One God for spiritual power. My God, my strength, in whom I
will
trust (Psa 18:2).
IX.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost fill the soul with Divine love.
1. Every one that loveth him that begat (1 John 5:1). If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).
2. The love of Christ constraineth us (2 Cor 5:14). If any man love not
the
Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 16:22).
3. I beseech you for the love of the Spirit (Rom 15:30). Your love in the
Spirit (Col 1:8).
The love of the One living and true God characterizes the saint. Thou
shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart (Deut. 6:5).
X.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost gave the Divine law.
1. The law of the Lord is perfect (Psa 19:7). The word of our God (Isa
11:8). Thus saith the Lord God (Eze 2:4).
2. The law of Christ (Gal 6:2). The word of Christ (Col 3:16). These
things
saith the Son of God (Rev 2:18).
3. The law of the Spirit of life (Rom 8:2). Holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). The Holy Ghost said (Acts
13:2).
The word of One Legislator is the believer's rule. There is one Lawgiver
who
is able to save (James 4:12).
XI.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost dwell in the hearts of believers.
1. I will dwell in them (2 Cor 6:16). God is in you of a truth (1 Cor
14:25). Our fellowship is with the Father (1 John 1:3).
2. Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith (Eph 3:17). Christ in you, the
hope of glory (Col 1:27). Our fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ (1 John
1:3).
3. The Spirit dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:17). The
communion of the Holy Ghost (2 Cor 13:14).
The contrite heart receives One Divine guest. Thus saith the high and
lofty
One that inhabiteth eternity, I dwell with him that is of a contrite and
humble heart (Isa 57:15).
XII.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are, each by himself, the supreme
Jehovah and God.
1. I am Jehovah thy God (Exo 20:2). Thou, Lord, art most High for evermore
(Psa 92:8).
2. Jehovah our God (Isa 40:3, with Matt 3:3) The Highest (Luke 1:76, with
Matt 11:10).
3. Jehovah God (Ezek 8:1,3). The Highest (Luke 1:35).
The One supreme Lord God is our God for ever and ever. Jehovah, our
Elohim,
One Jehovah (Deu 6:4).
From this brief comparison, which might be elaborated at far greater
length,
Scripture assures us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, have
the
same Divine attributes, concur with a mind and will and heart, personally
independent but unitedly harmonious, in the same Divine acts, and are
addressed by the same Divine names. And further, we learn that our trust
is
not dispersed or confused by this co-equal Godhood of the Sacred Three:
but
that (a way of access being opened in the gospel through the revelation of
the Father in Christ by the Spirit) we rest on, we worship, and we love
One
God.
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