Study GuideNovember 11-25, 2012

The Trinity: Drawing Near to the Mystery ..................................................................................5The Deep Truth of God (Lesson 1, November 11) .......................................................................8 Galatians 4:4-7

The Tie That Binds God (Lesson 2, November 18) ....................................................................10 John 17:20-26

All Together Separate (Lesson 3, November 25) ......................................................................12 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Table of Contents

Believed, Yet IgnoredIt has sometimes been said that the Trinity is the most mysterious doctrine in the Bible, and therefore is best left alone. Whether or not we accept this statement, many Christians live in light of it. Those of us who are Christians tend to “believe” in the Trinity because it has always been a core teaching of the church. At the same time, the reality of the Trinity tends not to have any practical impact on our daily lives.

If the doctrine of the Trinity is true and biblical, then it should be more than a theoretical belief. If it is a foundational teaching of the Christian faith, it seems like it should emerge from the background and the creeds, and impact our lives in a personal way.

Responding to MysterySome of us love mysteries. We love to read mystery novels, explore conspiracy theories, and mine the mysteries of science. When we see a mystery, we want to figure it out! On the other hand, some of us are intimidated by mysteries. We would rather avoid thinking about things that don’t seem to have nice and neat resolutions.

With the Trinity, both of these responses can be dangerous. If we respond to the mystery of the Trinity by trying to figure it out, we can end up either frustrated. Or we can end up accepting an inferior or incorrect explanation of the Trinity. Or we can even end up rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity because it seems to counter-intuitive.

However, if we respond to the mystery of the Trinity by ignoring it, then we create distance between us and God. God’s Triune nature is the foundational truth of who he is. If we choose not to think about it and engage with it, we miss out on embracing a core truth of the God who has create us and saved us.

Drawing Near to a Personal GodWhile it is mysterious and confusing, the biblical idea of the Trinity is not something to be avoided. Far from it. The fact that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the very basis for the fact that human beings can have a relationship with him. The fact is that God did not become interested in relationship when he created us. He has always been in relationship. God is not an individual in isolation, but rather a community of persons. Before the world was ever created, God has existed in a perfect loving relationship.

Understanding the Trinity is not hopeless. At the same time, we should not have the expectation that we will understand it completely. Since the time of the early church, the doctrine of the Trinity has been the most mysterious and confusing teaching in Christianity. However, the fact that we may never understand every in and out of the Trinity does not mean that we cannot embrace its basic truth and draw near to God in response.

This series will certainly not answer every question about the Trinity. You will not walk away from these three lessons with the mystery solved. However, God-willing you will walk away from this series embracing the reality of the Triune God and ready to draw near to him in relationship.

The Trinity Drawing Near to the Mystery

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4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Main PointThe one true God eternally exists in three persons.

IntroductionProbably the most mysterious and confusing teaching in the Bible is the doctrine of the Trinity. It has a way of defying analogy. How can the one and only God be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? How can three be one, and how can one be three? Isn’t this a straightforward contradiction?

When we ignore the doctrine of the Trinity, many harmful things happen. For starters, we feed a habit of suppressing our natural questions about God. Also, we choose not to pursue a reality that will bring us joy and understanding. On top of these, we practice a pattern of separating our faith from our daily lives. The harmful impact of ignoring what the Bible teaches about God will have far-reaching effects in our lives, whether we realize it or not.

This lesson will dive into the biblical teaching on the Trinity. You will be invited to interact with the Bible’s powerful teaching about this foundational truth about God. And, in so doing, you will be invited to respond with joy to this wonderful reality about him.

Getting Started1. Take 2-3 sentences and explain your understanding

of the Trinity.

2. What doubts or questions come to your mind when the subject of the Trinity is raised?

3. What practical significance do you believe that the doctrine of the Trinity has for the daily life of Christians?

Digging InRead Galatians 4:4-7.

4. In this passage alone, write down what the Apostle Paul says about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Father

Son

Holy Spirit

5. According to verses 5-7, what is the practical impact of the Father sending the Son?

6. Verse 4 says that God sent his Son. Look up the following passages and write down what each teaches about the identity of God’s Son.

John 10:27-30

The Deep Truth of God (Lesson 1, November 11)Galatians 4:4-7

John 14:9-11

Colossians 1:15-20

Hebrews 1:1-3

7. Verse 6 says that God has now sent us the Spirit of his Son. Look up the following passages and write down what each teaches about the identity of the Spirit.

John 16:7-11

Acts 5:3-4

1 Corinthians 2:10-12

Hebrews 9:14

Wrestling With IssuesNo sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendour of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one. When I think of any one of the three I think of him as a whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that one so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided light. --Gregory Nazianzen (4th Century Theologian)

8. Read the quote above and write out your response to it.

9. Some people look to solve the puzzle of the Trinity by saying that there is not one God, but rather three gods (tri-theism). Others try to solve it by saying that there is one God, but that sometimes he reveals himself as a Father or a Son or a Holy Spirit (modalism). Look up the following passages, and write down how each of them speak to those two explanations.

Deuteronomy 6:4

Matthew 3:16-17

2 Corinthians 13:14

10. Is it possible to embrace an idea that seems really hard to understand? If so, how?

Taking it to Heart11. What is your reaction to the idea that adoption into God’s

family comes not as the result of a solitary God acting in isolation, but instead as the result of a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working in cooperation?

12. How does the Apostle Paul’s description of the inner workings of the Trinity give insight into what it means to reflect God’s image in your own relationships?

Notes

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20My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one—23I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.25Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

Main PointThe persons of the Trinity are eternally bound together by mutual love.

IntroductionMany of us have worked in environments that used organizational charts. These charts help bring clarity about who is in charge, who answers to whom, how conflicts are resolved, and how decisions are made. The idea is that there needs to be some foundational idea behind making an organization work that way it should, instead of spinning out of control.

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that God is not an individual in isolation, but rather a community of persons. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, crude as this question may sound, how does this community of persons work? Is there an organizational chart, outlining clear procedures for decision-making? Does the Godhead function like a military with a chain of command? How does this whole thing work?

This lesson will explore what the Bible says about the bond of the Trinity. Jesus identifies the foundational truth of the Trinity and explains how this foundational truth guides the life of the Godhead.

Getting Started1. What are some reasons why relationships fall apart?

2. What are some different strategies that people use for the purpose of making partnerships work?

Digging InRead John 17:20-26.

3. Go back and read the entire chapter of John 17 to get some context. In verse 20, who is Jesus talking about when he says “them” and who are those who will believe in him through “their message”?

4. According to verses 20-23, what is Jesus’ ultimate desire for those who will believe in him?

5. What does Jesus say about the depth of unity that he desires for his people?

If the Father is in him and he is in them, then the Father is in them: they are drawn into the very life of God, and the life of God is perfect love. . . .If Christ is in his people and the Father is in him, it follows that they share in the eternal love which the Father has for the Son. --F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John

The Tie That Binds God (Lesson 2, November 18)John 17:20-26

6. Verse 23 ends with Jesus saying, “Then the world will know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” What does this statement tell us about the love shared by the Father and the Son?

7. According to verse 24, what is the relationship between the shared glory of the Trinity and the shared love of the Trinity?

8. Write down everything Jesus says in verses 23-26 about the Father’s love for him, and how it relates to the Triune God’s love for us.

Wrestling With IssuesThe mystery is that long before any human being came into the picture God was already love. God had already existed as a community of love. The Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Father, and the love between the Father and the Son was embodied in the Spirit. As St. Augustine of the fourth century put it, “God is (at once) Lover, Beloved, and Love itself.” --Darrell W. Johnson, Experiencing the Trinity

9. What are the implications of Christian unity (both with God and with one another) being based on love instead of fear or authority or shared interest?

10. The New Testament consistently teaches that the Father sent the Son, and the Son obeyed the will of the Father. How does love remain the foundation of a relationship that includes authority and submission?

11. Give an example of how authority can exist in a relationship and yet not replace love as the foundation of the relationship.

Taking it to Heart12. How does the mutual love of God between the persons in

the Trinity provide a model for your human relationships?

13. How does the mutual love of God between the persons in the Trinity impact the way you view your interactions with God?

Notes

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4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Main PointThe unity in diversity that exists in the church is rooted in the Trinity.

IntroductionThere are many books are movies that present a bleak view of the future. Books like 1984 and Brave New World present a vision in which individuality is squelched in favor of uniformity. Everyone must look the same, act the same, and think the same for the purpose of keeping society running in a well-ordered manner. In these grim visions of the future, there is no room for diversity.

Some people believe that within Christianity there is no room for diversity. After all, all Christians are required have the same beliefs and the same morality. Don’t all Christians have to act the same, think the same, and worship the same? The big question behind this view is this: Is Christianity, and the God of the Bible, the enemy of diversity?

This lesson will explore a profound implication of the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. The amazing truth is that God not only allows for diversity among his people, but his very nature is the basis for the possibility for human beings to have unity in diversity.

Getting Started1. For you personally, what is the best and worst thing about

spending time with people who are very different from you in personality, temperament, and life experience?

2. What would be some positive and some negative results if you only spent time with people who were exactly like you?

3. What are some ways that diversity helps a team, or a company, or a family?

Digging InRead 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.

4. Verse 4 speaks of gifts of the Spirit. Read verses 7-11. What does this passage tell you about gifts of the Spirit?

The three terms—gifts, service, and working—relate closely to one another, but they are not synonymous. Each item is the source of the one that follows: service comes from gifts, and working from service. --Holman New Testament Commentary

5. Just as Paul relates gifts to the Spirit, he relates service to the Lord (Jesus Christ) and working to God (the Father). What does the flow of these three verses say about the nature of the Triune God?

6. Paul could have simply said that there is one God and many different gifts given to his people. What point is made by Paul citing the Trinity in this passage?

All Together Separate (Lesson 3, November 25)1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Notes

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7. Read verses 15-20. Against what danger does this passage warn us?

8. Read verses 21-24. Against what danger does this passage warn us?

9. Focus back onto verses 4-6. How does the reality of the Trinity relate to the Christian understanding of diversity?

Wrestling With IssuesThe holy and undivided Trinity is a union of unbroken love. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit do not manipulate each other for their own ends, nor can they be deconstructed so as to disclose that the real situation is other than it first appears. The Trinitarian love is pure and just, good and kind. The persons are distinct, and the union is undivided. There is no conquest of unity by diversity, nor of diversity by unity. The three are one, and the one is three. -- Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity

10. The doctrine of the Trinity provides the basis for diversity in gifting, personality, race (Ephesians 2:11-13), gender (Galatians 3:28-29), and many other areas. It does not however provide a basis for diversity in core beliefs (1 John 5:11-12). Why is the one kind of diversity good and the other not?

Taking it to Heart11. Think of some people with whom you have a hard time

relating. How does the doctrine of the Trinity impact what your attitude should be toward these people?

12. Do you ever question your own place in the world or in the church because you don’t feel that your gifts are as impressive as the ones other people have? How does the doctrine of the Trinity speak to you when you question your own contribution to God’s plan?

13. How can you participate in celebrating and promoting diversity within the body of Christ?