Well, this morning, if you'd enjoy a good mystery, you'll probably enjoy this morning, because everyone in the Christian Church knows about the Trinity. But if you're like me, you are frequently asked, what exactly is it? On some Sunday mornings, we actually recite the Apostles' Creed, which speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But we probably never get a handle well enough to explain exactly what it is. Do we even understand it? And where did it all start? That's another question we ask. Well, the English word trinity actually comes from a Latin word. And that word is trinitas. And that means denoting the number three. A trinitas is an abstract noun. And this word trinitas was formed actually from an adjective in Latin, trinus. And trinus means three each, threefold or triple. The corresponding word in the Greek is trias. Now note the sound is much the same as we move from Latin to Greek. And the meaning pretty much stays the same too. A set of three or the number three. Now, the first recorded use of this Greek word, trias, was echoed by a man called Theophilus. He was from Antioch, and he actually said this word in 170 AD. But when he spoke this word, trias, he did not use it to speak of the Trinity of God. Before we move on, you probably are racking your brain remembering that you've heard that name before, Theophilus. It actually means most excellent. Luke dedicated his gospel, Luke 1.3 and in Acts 1.1, to a man that was named Theophilus. But I'm not referring here about this same Theophilus. Remember, I said Trias was heard for the first time, to echo these words, in 170 A.D. Neither the apostles or Theophilus of the New Testament was around at that point. We're talking about a different frame as far as time goes. However, 43 years later in 213, a Latin theologian came along. You probably heard his name before. His name is Tertullian. And Tertullian in 213 became the first to use the word trinity in a theological sense. Not only did he use it, but he went on to explain that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were of one essence. Very important to remember, they're of one essence, not one in person. Well, what caused Tertullian to write this? Because that's what he did, he actually wrote it. And where did it appear? Well, he wrote what they call a declaration or a response entitled, Against Praxis. Now that begs the question, who in the world is Praxis? Well, he was a heretic. Why do I say that? Praxis denied God's true nature, and Praxis went on to say God is one person. and then said Jesus was only God by virtue of the fact that Christ was one of God's manifestations. Now Praxis had a following for this untruth. This untruth was referred to as the Monarchian heresy. And that's one of the reasons that we had Tertullian respond to it. Now, the idea of Tertullian, that being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, they're of one essence. That's what Tertullian said. They're not one in person. And this revelation was, however, not accepted whatsoever as a central dogma of the church in that time period. It was not until a hundred years later when the first council of Nicaea met. You've heard of that. We've talked about it before in this church. This is where the Nicene Creed was born. But between 213 writing of Tertullian, that writing which is against praxis, and the council meeting in 325, which took place in western Turkey, there were other heresies or beliefs that were being thrown around. I'll mention two of them. Docetism, you've probably heard that term before. This particular belief stated that Jesus was all God. It only appeared that he was human. Now we know this isn't right because our catechism teaches that he was 100% God and he was 100% man. So we know that this is just a heresy and it's not true. But there was a second heresy surrounding by a man by the name of Arius. His name has come up in the church before, I'm sure you've heard it. And Arius had a following. What did Arius and his followers believe? They believe that only God the Father is the true God. This, of course, to Arius meant that the Son and the Holy Spirit were not. We know this heresy as Arianism. Now let's move back to the Nicene Creed, 325. The church at Nicaea, that gathering accepted the trinity as doctrine and also the dogma of the church. And the Nicene Creed was born. We in the church should be very familiar with this creed. When we celebrate communion one Sunday a month, we actually recite it. Now last week we didn't do it because we talked about Catechism question 111 and 113. But on a normal Sunday when we have communion, you're gonna recite the Nicene Creed. One very important part of this Nicene Creed, and this will be familiar to you, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made. Now here's the important part. Being of one substance with the Father. I'll repeat that, being of one substance with the Father. The Greek word there is homeoios. It sounds like a very, very interesting word, being of one substance with the Father. Now isn't that the thought that Tertullian expressed 112 years earlier in 213? And isn't it strange that it took this long for the church to actually declare it as truth One substance, or it is sometimes expressed, I like this term too, one essence, one essence. When you think of the timeline, Jesus Christ was crucified between maybe 27 and 33 AD. But here we have the church finally taking a position 300 years later as to what the Holy Spirit, what the God, and what Jesus means. So if you've ever talked to a Jehovah witness, he'll quickly point out that the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. You probably know that. Maybe that comes as a shock to you. But he or she will wrongly assert that since Trinity is not mentioned, It simply can't exist. Well, this kind of false logic we need to have an answer for. And you've got to listen carefully. This is very important. The conceptual idea of the Trinity is implied in both the Old Testament and the New Testament numerous times. In the Old Testament, there looms evidence for the Trinity. You say, really? The Old Testament? Look at Genesis 1.1. If you want to follow along in your Bible, that's fine. I won't read it, but I will explain what it says. The Bible starts in Genesis 1.1, in the beginning, God created heaven and earth. Now this seems simple enough, doesn't it? Not really. Let's look at the word God again. It's the fourth word in the verse, and it follows the phrase in the beginning. The Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1-1 is Elohim. Okay, it means almightiness, but it's just one of the many Hebrew words or titles for God you'll find in the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Now the first two letters of Elohim is E-L. It's singular. Anytime it's used, it's singular. But when it appears at the end of the word, the I-M at the end, it becomes plural. So you're talking about a singular meaning, God created the earth, and a plural individual involved. Very unusual. Look at the word created. It's the fifth word there. It talks about the heaven and earth. As I explained, it's singular. But actually Elohim itself is plural. Note that God is not singular. I am appears at the end of Elohim. Let's look at another verse in the same chapter. Seems strange we're talking about the Trinity and I'm going into the Genesis, but that's what I'm doing. In Genesis 1.26, it says, and God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, over all the creeping things and the things that creep on the earth. Okay. Very important, now this verse actually talks about creation of man. It gives him dominion over the fish, over the sea, and so forth. But look closely at the beginning of Genesis 1.26, and God said, By the way, that's Elohim again in this particular verse. God said, let us make man in our image and after our own likeness. You've probably heard of a fellow by the name of Walter Martin. He died a number of years ago. But in his book, Kingdom of Cults, he asserts that this verse 26 is proof of the Trinity existing. He also ties it in with the monotheistic nature of Isaiah 43, verses 10 and 11. Let me just go to that real quick. It's a very important verse. Once again in the Old Testament, Isaiah 43. 10 and 11. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant who I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be any after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. That particular verse really struck with Walter Martin. We also have another person, David Van Druin. You've probably heard reference to him over the years. He's an OPC seminary professor. He does a lot of writing. He points out something about this same passage, Genesis 126. He says the passage is read, and when it's read in the original Hebrew, it creates a purpose clause. What do I mean by that? He translated, he said, so they might have. Now this turns out to be the second verse in Genesis 1 that suggests that we look at God and we must do so, it has to be seen in the context of what is said, especially in the original Hebrew language, let us. Doesn't say let me, it says let us. So they might have. Let's go to another familiar verse. Deuteronomy 6.4. I won't read it, I'll indicate what it is if you want to follow along, that's fine. This verse, 6.4 in Deuteronomy, is known as the Shema to the Jews. The Shema means word to hear. But not only word to hear, word to obey. Now it's a short verse. It says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Now the Hebrew language has more than one word that can be used to convey the thought one. This is why Greek and Hebrew differs from English. Sometimes English has one word, and they try to get the word that's the closest to the meaning. The Greeks and the Hebrews have a number of words for something, and depending how they use it, it changes the meaning. Now, I said there was a number of words. There's two words for one in the Hebrew. One of the words is yakhet. It's in your notes. Yaket, however, means one only. There's another Hebrew word for one, and that's echad. This is in your notes. But echad means one in a unified sense. You see how it changes depending on the Hebrew word you use? And we read the Bible, we read it as one. Oh, yeah, I know what one is. No, you don't. You've got to go into the Hebrew. It makes a big difference. This particular word, Echart, is the one that's used in Deuteronomy 6.4. It's Echart, one in a unified sense, or one with one essence. Now that same word, Echart, appears a number of places in the Bible. If you can go back to Genesis 2.24, it also appears there. Let me just read that for a minute. Genesis 2.24. It should be 224. Oh, 224, I've got it here. It says, therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. You hear that verse expressed at a lot of weddings. But once again, cleave means that the two become one. but you could actually say the one becomes two if you reverse it. It's used there very consistently with the belief in Hebrew that it has a meaning that you have one, but it's not really one. Eckhart is also used in Jeremiah 1311 where the unity of God and his people are expressed. Notice you've got the unity of God and the people expressed, but the word is one. And Eckhart, once again, the word cleave in the English Bible. Jeremiah 13, 11 says, I cause to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel. So that word Eckhart appears in more than one place, but it's especially important in that first verse that I told you about. Remember, the one Lord, our God, expressed in the Shema means one in a unified sense, just like the Trinity does. We must remember that God is all-powerful, he's all-knowing, and he's the ultimate source of reality. And if we're serious about our Christian faith, you must understand the nature of this God in his fullness. expressed through his Trinitarian nature and his sovereignty over all things. The Trinity, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, is one God in three persons. It's one of the most difficult of all Christian doctrines to understand and explain. Some people just say it's very mysterious, but Because of this, the problem is some neglect it. I just can't handle it. It's too hard to understand. Some even write it off. But this is tragic. Why do I say that? Because the faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity. While the Trinity transcends the bounds of human understanding, which is part of the problem, isn't it? We just can't understand it. The doctrine is at the heart of our spirituality. And as we live out our Christian faith, we experience its truth at every turn. Now many oppose the idea of Trinity, this three persons in one. And for many years in this country, there's been an Islamic evangelical campaign taking place. This particular attempt to influence people actually was funded by a number of sources in the Middle East, places like Saudi Arabia. And sometimes that effort is put forth by groups like the Wahhabi who work in the different campuses right here in our country, in our colleges here. Their work is particularly focused on our university campuses, and these groups try to lure our young people away by trying to establish that we have a common God. Christianity and Muslims have a common God, and we have a common word. which is even worse, the Koran and the Bible. This, of course, is not true. We don't, but that's what is being told to our college students. And there's really no time, actually, to go into the vast differences between Islam and Christianity, but let's just say that what Muslims believe is warned about in 2 Peter 2.1. Let me just go to 2 Peter 2.1. It speaks to this issue. By the way, this chapter two in 2 Peter is called the imposter chapter. Some people call it the imposter chapter. It says, but there were false prophets also among the people. even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." And then verse 2 goes down to say, and many shall follow their evil ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken about. So this is what you're dealing with sometimes. So yes, the false prophets spoken about in this verse, 2 Peter 2.1, relates to the Old Testament prophets, but the verse also says false teachers. And by such warnings set forth, they can apply to any God, any false God, one that denies the crucifixion, one that denies the resurrection, just like Islam does. They deny both of these things. And actually, it isn't just that. They say that Abraham prepared his son to be sacrificed. but not the son you think it is, Ishmael. Okay, this is carrying it a bit further. So, Islam, and you gotta remember this too, Islam came along some six or seven centuries after Christ's walk on earth. And remember, Isaiah 43 indicates that no gods will come before me. But six centuries after Christ, here comes a God they call Allah. Here's another verse we should look at, Deuteronomy 13.5. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to mislead thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. That's an important part. So shall thou put to evil away from the midst of thee, Once again, you've got an Old Testament verse that was really speaking about something else then, but it applies so deeply today. The verse, as they say, it says, mislead thee out of the way which the Lord has commanded us to walk. Now these words, of course, apply to Israel, but they also apply to us today. Aside from a lot of other things, What's the bone that Islam continually chops on when speaking about Christianity? Now, I'll tell you what a devout Muslim would claim about our blessed Trinity. It falls under what they call, and here's an Arabic word, I don't know if you've heard it before, shirk. Shirk. Actually, if you go into the Arabic, shirk in Arabic means making a partner of someone. That's what shirk means. Get familiar with that title. You'll hear it probably more and more once I mention it. How would a Muslim explain the word shirk, the Arabic name shirk? Well, they would say that worshiping something as God that is not God is idolatrous. It's the worst sin that a Muslim can commit, and he's fearful of committing it. Muslims would argue that they are monotheistic, not polytheistic, as they view you and I. They think we're polytheistic. There's no room for them to worship more than one God, and that one God they call Allah. Well, Back to the Arabic language, I don't know if you know this, but Allah is actually translated moon god. It was translated before Mohammed even came. So the term moon god tells you all you need to know about the nature of such a god. And we have difficulty even in our country. We look at secularism. And America's baby steps in secularism took place, I would think, back in the 19th century. There was a man, you know who this is, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Hate to tell you he's from my home state, but that's where he was from. He was a great writer. He would write things about Walden Pond, which is the locator not far from where I was brought up. And he and his followers in New England could no longer accept the Trinity. And they formed a church. You know what church they formed? Unitarian Church. What happened when we get into the Unitarian Church and they actually look at the Trinity? Well, Jesus became a moral teacher. And God the Father actually dissolved into pantheism, where He would be tolerant to worship all gods. All gods can be worshipped. The Holy Spirit, they really did a job on the Holy Spirit. He evolved into the bonds of community. And although the Trinity is not clearly defined in the New Testament, It is made very clear. Why do I say it's made very clear? We're gonna get into some scriptures now. Jesus made it clear to us what the Trinity is. He actually explained the Trinitarian nature of God to his disciples, and he did it at a time of crisis. It was in a time period where many of his followers remained very confused about his mission. They were in fear of being actually rounded up, crucified, imprisoned, whatever, punished in some way. They actually were looking for reassurance. And they asked Jesus to show them the Father so that their commitment would not falter. This happened in John 14, eight, where that question was posed by Philip. So let's look at what the answer was in verse nine. John 14, 9. He's answering Philip now. It says, Jesus said unto him, have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Very interesting response. Actually, later on in John, John 10.30, Jesus is heard to say, I and my Father are one. And John 10.38, towards the end of the verse, he says, the Father is in me and I in him. And then Jesus promised something to them. He said that I'm going to give you a helper. This appears in Acts 1.8, and it's a very interesting situation. He said, I'm going to give you another helper. Let me look at John 14.16 here and read that. By the way, if you haven't figured it out, the book of John concentrates a lot on Jesus' divine nature, and that's why you get into these discussions in John. Okay, John 14, 16. Jesus' words, and I will pray the Father, and he shall send you another comforter. Listen for that word, another, you can let it pass right by. Another comforter that he may abide with you for 10 minutes. No, it says forever. Now the word another, I said concentrate on that word in verse 16. Back to the Greek. The Greek word is allos. What does allos mean? It means exact, just like another Jesus. The comforter, you've heard that term before, parakaleto, means helper. Now John could have used a different Greek word for another. Remember I told you, they don't use just one or two words. They use different words and they change the meaning. The other word he could have used for another is heteros. Heteros, but that Greek word means a different kind. Okay, not an exact one. So when you read that, you can pass right over that word another. I know what another is. No, you don't. until you go into the Hebrew, it changes everything. He used allos, which means exact. One would say as the same essence, just like Tertullian once said back in the year 213 AD. Now in John 14.26, He makes a promise to his apostles. He says, I'm gonna teach you all things. And all things kind of include supernatural recall. Remember, John 14, the comfort of promises. Father and Jesus would come to dwell within them through the Holy Spirit. That's what the promise was. And the disciples would then know the joy and true peace instead of being so upset at the time. Jesus used the Trinity to reassure his disciples. And speaking of disciples, by the way, Apostle John was one of Jesus' closest friends. And during his earthly ministry, he probably understood Jesus better than most people. He could see something in Jesus and he could get something from Jesus that most people can't get. Now John also wrote another very important verse. It started his book in John 1.1. How does John 1.1 start? It starts in the beginning and it goes on to say, and we're talking about really Christ here, Christ with God at creation and Christ with God through eternity. And John called Jesus the Word. Another Greek word, logos. Logos in the Greek, because Jesus was how God told people about himself. Now that's very important. The idea of logos is how God taught people through Jesus about himself. They say, well God, he's so distant, we can't. Listen, this particular verse. takes care of that problem. Let's look at another verse from the book of John. I'm really stuck in John, aren't I? But there's a reason for it. John 8.58, you've heard this verse before many times. Okay, John 8.58. Jesus said unto them, verily, verily. Now, anytime you hit a verily, verily stop, it means this is really important. If it wasn't important, you'd get a verily. You got a verily, verily here. So listen closely. I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. You've heard that verse many, many times. In the Old Testament, it was said pretty much the same way in Exodus 3.14, when he said to Moses, I am, meaning that he was always there in time and space. So we have both Old Testament and New Testament connections to consider. So Jesus, he was uniquely divine, but he was also eternal. The Jews recognize where the I am is written in Exodus 3.14. And when he said it in the book of John, they went ballistic. They realized that Jesus was forgiving sin, something that only God could do. And many looked at Jesus in a very blasphemous way because of Jesus' declaration in John 8.58, which we just read. Now back to Logos. In John 1.1, Logos is a self-expression of God. It's also an introductory title for Jesus by John. That's the important part. And logos in Greek philosophical circles was understood to mean an impersonal animating force or a principle of the universe. Notice how the idea of creation is being applied to our Lord in John 1.1. Logos also entails a number of other things. It entails the wisdom of God, and the wisdom is talked about in Proverbs 8. How is it defined in Proverbs 8? Wisdom is better than rubies, is what it says. Wisdom is very important. Also, there's this creative word in John 1, 1, and it makes you think back to Psalm 33, 6, where Logos talks about Jesus, the breath of His mouth, breathing out forcibly, creating the universe. And it also is an indication of His revealed Word. And in John 6.68, Peter says, and this is very important, Thou hast the words of eternal life. So John 1.1 finishes with the phrase, and the word was God. Now interestingly enough, I have a King James version here. That last word, God, is translated as God in my Bible. But if you've got an ESV, it suddenly changes the meaning and it becomes he. John was trying to express to people by the use of he, that it's Jesus we're talking about here. And that's the reason it changed in the ESV when they did a revamping of that particular book. But my King James says God, ESV says he. Okay, so what we read in the Bible discloses the Trinitarian nature of God, and it's done so in a historical sense. God the creator, Then Jesus, the Son, as he appears at the beginning of the New Testament, and then the Holy Spirit confirming the church, which it did in Acts 2. The New Testament itself is clearly Trinitarian in nature, in its witness. Just think about the Great Commission, that particular verse. The next to last verse in Matthew 28, 28 and 19, in fact. What's the wording of that command? It says, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So this baptismal formula, which came out of Matthew 28, might be called Christianity's first creed. Why do I say that? Well, it anticipates a number of things. Some of the writings that came later The Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, which we talked about, the Athanasian Creed, which I didn't talk about, but I'll also brought that into being. These thoughts, God's Trinitarian nation, they're echoed in the New Testament. In fact, if you look at 2 Corinthians 13, 14, it's the last verse in 2 Corinthians. The closing salutation in that verse is Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit. They're mentioned. And it ties grace and loving with all three of them in that particular verse. Now back to the early church. Ever since the time of Christ, people have puzzled over how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit could be one God. And this thought was very hard for the Jews. They were very monotheistic in their understanding of God. And they said, gee, this Trinity is a mystery. It's an example of God's revelation beyond what we can know or imagine. But far from being the product of speculation by theologians, the Trinity actually emerged from what Jesus taught to his followers. And we saw that in all the verses. The early church affirmed its belief in one God, and they strenuously fought against those people who were teaching against this doctrine. We saw that earlier when I mentioned Praxis and Tertullian. God was, in the words of the Nicene Creed, I'll repeat for a second time, one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and the God was known as Father. Now this same early church, it grappled with the testimony of Jesus. just what should his mission be described as? They weren't sure about it. There was certainly a need to strike a balance between his humanity and his divinity, but on the other hand, everyone understood that the oneness of God had to be maintained. How could God be one? How could the sacrifice of Jesus really be the sacrifice of God? That question came up all the time. What did Jesus mean when he identified himself with the Father? Well, we saw that in the John verses, didn't we? And in the early centuries, there was a school of theology. It was in Italy called the Sabellians. More heresy, okay? Their idea, the Sabellians, was that Jesus could not have been totally distinct from the Father. What were they thinking? They said, well, it's one God merely appearing or revealing itself in three different modes. First, we have God the Father, and then became Jesus Christ, and then along comes the Holy Spirit. It's almost a metamorphosis-type approach to it. Of course, it's all wrong. Of course, it just, it wasn't true at all. And it didn't explain, here's the important thing, that particular belief for the civilians didn't explain why Jesus is pictured praying to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. And Jesus was profoundly dependent upon the Father. And you see that everywhere in the Gospels as you read them. Now, there was another great church father, this one more or less supported this idea, Athanasius, and he stood out against Arian thought. Remember, Arian thought, where Jesus was thought of a being not fully divine. We talked about it earlier. But Athanasius rightly stated, if Jesus was only a man, he could not be our savior. And only if Jesus was fully man and fully God would there actually be a reconciliation taking place with the Father. That's why the church in the fourth century confessed in the Nicene Creed, true God from true God. We see a lot of gods out there, don't we? True God from true God of one being with the Father. Now the early church made an effort to clearly explain just what the Trinity means. They relied on scriptures, many of the scriptures that I've read this morning, to answer this mystery. In John's Gospel, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit five times by the emphatic pronoun he, makes it very personal. Very personal. Both Jesus and the Apostles speak of the Holy Spirit possessing the three chief characteristics of personhood. Let's look at how they apply to the Spirit in another verse, Romans 8.27. It reads, 827, and he that searches the hearts, knowing what is the mind of the spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Very important. And in John 16, 13, it talks about the same mind that will guide you to the truth. And isn't that what we're all shooting for, the truth? There's also a second characteristic beside the mind of the Holy Spirit, feeling. Feeling. In Ephesians 4, 30, we are told we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit and will. The third characteristic, 1 Corinthians 12 tells us what gifts he grants to his followers. In fact, Ben did a sermon on February 20th about these gifts. I know you all have your notes from it, but he did, February 20th. So for these three reasons, mind, feeling, and will, the Nicene Creed calls the Holy Spirit both Lord and giver of life. This is important. He calls the Holy Spirit both Lord and giver of life. As Lord, we're thinking about the Holy Spirit now. As Lord, the Holy Spirit is fully God. Okay, as giver of life, the Holy Spirit restores our fellowship with God. And the Spirit is one who makes us holy, sets us apart for God. And through this Holy Spirit, we begin to understand the words of life as found in the Bible. And by the power of the Spirit, we are raised to new life. This Holy Spirit's very busy, if you can notice. He's very, very busy. Now, by the fourth century, the church had a complete understanding of the Trinitarian nature of God. Took a long time to get there. We didn't even have the word Trinity when we started out, but it was 325, and they had an understanding. And at the Council of Nicaea, which we previously mentioned, they put it in writing. And at that point, the whole church professes one God in three persons. And these three persons are distinct from one another. Yeah, they're distinct from one another, yet they're related to each other. Each of them fills a different role, but each complements the other. Yet in each of these three persons, the fullness of God resides. That's the part you have to remember. The fullness of God resides. So the three persons of the Trinity are distinct, but God is one. And we believe this as Christians, and we also find that the Trinity can be a real mystery to people. We're sometimes baffled by it. But let's be honest, there's many concepts we encounter in life that are baffling. And yet they're still valid. I think about higher mathematics, which I never figured out. I was so lucky to get through the course in college on it. I could never figure it out. But it's true. I know it's there. And advanced physics, both can be very complex. But that doesn't mean they don't exist. The same with the Trinity. Very complex, but it exists. And since we're talking about the nature of God, how could a true understanding not present you with similar difficulty? But our Creator God is not distant. He's not unapproachable as the judging God known as Allah. Allah is unapproachable, very, very judgmental. And He's not the same as what our God is. Our Father is close beside us in the sun, and we encounter this God in the person of Jesus. Now, there was a pope years ago, Benedict, I think was his name, Benedict, and he once said about Jesus that Jesus was God with a human face. What a nice way to think about Jesus, God with a human face, a loving God, forgiving God. So as we looked at the Holy Spirit, we're thankful that he dwells within us. The Holy Spirit enables us to live out God's will despite all of its demands. There's a lot of demands when you do this. And we should be thankful for this same Holy Spirit because he enables you and I to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. The Trinity does some other things. It enables us to better understand the scriptural teaching that God is love. We saw that in 2 Corinthians 13-14. And the essence of God, of the Bible, it's sort of intertwined with his triune nature of Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. Now the three of them pour out love to one another, and each receives love in return. And our realization of the Trinity should be a common part of our everyday Christian experience. Just think about the Lord's Prayer. We'll probably recite that today. I'm sure we will. What happens in the Lord's Prayer? We invoke the Trinity every time we recite the Lord's Prayer. Our Heavenly Father supplies our daily bread. Jesus, in his blood, forgives our sins. And the Holy Spirit helps us to overcome temptation. Remember, part of the Lord's Prayer is about temptation. He helps us overcome it. So understanding the Trinity changes our view of the world and of God's character. One last thing. All three persons of the Trinity play key roles in creating the world and sustaining the world. The Father speaks the world into existence through His Word, and we further see Christ sustaining the world. There's one more verse I want to read for you, Colossians 1, 16. Yeah, it's chapter 1, 16 and 17. It says, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist You know, the late Chuck Colson read that verse, and he called Christ, because of reading that verse, he's the glue of the world. That's how we looked at Jesus Christ. One last thing. I don't know if you all got your bulletins, but each and every Sunday, we get the Trinity being preached to us. It'll start right at the beginning. The pastor will get up today to say in the apostolic greeting, greetings from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. You get to the middle of the program, we're going to have a response song. Just look at it if you have your bulletin. All praise to God the Father be, all praise eternal Son to Thee, whom with the Spirit we adore forever and forevermore. Then we get down to the bottom of the program with the end of the worship, we sing the doxology. And we praise, what's the last words that are echoed out of our mouth before we close the service? Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now what I'm gonna say to you is that we do that every Sunday, but I don't think we realize it. It's at the beginning, it's at the middle if you missed it, and down near the end, here it comes again one more time. So when it happens today, you know, okay, I got it, I got it.