Join Ron Kelley, Alan Moore, and Johnny Farr as they discuss Doctrine: Rooted in Truth, Week 5.
The Lesson Plan
Doctrine: Week 5
(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to The Lesson Plan, a podcast designed to help create a memorable and effective lesson. I'm Johnny Farr, one of the married adult ministers, and today I'm joined by two of Preston Woods finest, Ron Kelly, our executive director of Preston Woods Foundation, and Alan Moore, our minister to senior adults. - Good morning, Johnny, thank you. - Hey, Johnny, great to be with you guys here today. - Well, gentlemen, I'm excited about the conversation we're about to have because we're going to talk about doctrine, and more specifically, that our God is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect fellowship and unity. Alan, our teachers have seen the curriculum, we'd love to hear your thoughts on potentially an alternate hook or introduction that they could have if they feel so led to do that. - All right, great, thanks, Johnny. All right, teachers, the hook given in your lesson plan is about discussing some things that may be familiar to us, but not so easy to explain, which is a really good lead into this lesson, as we are familiar with the term Trinity, but explaining it, especially to someone not of the faith or new to the faith, can be quite challenging. As an alternate idea, or even in addition to what's been provided as the hook, I would suggest considering opening with a song. Sometimes we struggle knowing how best to quiet the crowd, everyone's visiting, having a great time catching up, they're drinking their coffee, and then we as directors realize it's time to get started, we can't quiet the room. One of the advantages of Zoom, if you're remembering some of you are still zooming, all you have to do is push the mute button, but we don't have a mute button in person, so I think a great way to start, maybe not every week, is to start with a song. And on this particular Sunday, I suggest a song that speaks of the Trinity, I think of Holy, Holy, Holy. God in three persons, blessed Trinity. So especially the older life groups will know that hymn quite well. Another song that you might consider is one I found on YouTube called the Trinity song, very well named, beautiful arrangement of a song. The one I found was with a guitar and cello accompaniment, just very well done, very worshipable, so you could just play that and let the people kind of, use it to set the tone for talking about the Trinity, but I think that would be good. You could even incorporate that song from the video in with the scripture reading. Maybe read the first three scriptures or so and then play that and pray and then get into the lesson. - I'm glad that you mentioned that it's okay to play something on a device, because I don't know about you Alan, but I can barely sing Happy Birthday in tune. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think it's fine to do that. - Yeah, absolutely. - But Alan is a terrific singer. - He is, yeah, but I don't know that I could sing the Trinity song. I don't know what that well, but it's really nice. So you might consider looking that up and playing that one. - I mean, if you want your people to get a good laugh or chuckle, then have me come and sing one of those songs. We'll jump it into our curriculum. We wanna expound upon point one, which is God is one, God, and yet exists in three persons. Ron, fill us in on your thoughts behind that. - Yeah, thank you, Johnny. Well, our text that we're gonna use in discussing this point is Matthew chapter three verses 12 through 17 and also Matthew 28 verse 19. I wanna quickly read these verses to you here and then we're gonna break it down here a little bit. So here we are, Matthew three starting at verse 12. His willowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying, "I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, let it be so now for thus, it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented and then when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened up to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased." And in Matthew 28 verse 19, it says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Well, the Trinity is one of those theological truths we know to be true because of the evidence we see in scripture, but it's truly beyond understanding for our limited finite minds. At least I know my mind is quite limited and finite here. But one of the great techniques that we see teachers and pastors, theologians, and we even see it in scripture is the use of metaphors to try to explain the Trinity. Now again, a metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unrelated things, typically by stating that one thing is another. An example of that would be if we went out and we had a great meal and at the end of that meal, I made the statement, "The chef is a magician." Now we know he's not a magician, he's a chef. That is what a metaphor is. And you're gonna be given in your notes some great examples, some illustrations of what metaphors are. And I would share those with the class. For example, it's like H2O, which can be either water, ice, or steam. You know, our next, our text today in Matthew chapter three, verses 12 through 17, it also uses a metaphor and it makes a very important point. And just to set up this text, we see where John the Baptist, his ministry was to call people to repent of sin and live in faithfulness to God. He also preached of the coming Messiah who would bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. And John, he baptized with water, but he declared that one far greater than him, the Messiah would come and baptize with fire, the Holy Spirit, and he would bring judgment on those who did not follow him here. And what we see in our text where John the Baptist, he declares that the one to come to him after him, the Messiah will come with his willowing fork in his hand. Now I was really blessed, my wife and I, several years ago, we were able to go to Israel. And the day we went to Bethlehem, there is a village or a part in there in Bethlehem, where they tried to recreate the days of Jesus. And we actually saw a demonstration of this willing fork. There was a small field that had wheat growing. And the gentleman putting on this presentation had the willing fork and he used it to toss the freshly harvest wheat into the air. And the useless chaff would just be blown clear by the wind and the heavier wheat would fall back to the ground and be gathered up. And what we see here in John the Baptist's metaphor, the wheat represents those who represent and follow Christ. While the chaff symbolizes those who reject him, John declares unbelievers will burn with unquenchable fire, referring to the eternal judgment of God's wrath and before we move on from this text, I think there's two additional and really incredible points that need to be made. First is John the Baptist did not want to baptize Jesus because he knew who Jesus was. He knew Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God and he had no sins to repent. And in verse 15, we see where Jesus responded to John. He says, let it be, so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. What does this mean? This speaks to Jesus's sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary where he bears the transgressions of sinners and credits them with his perfect righteousness. So anyways, this also though represented the start of Jesus's public ministry. And when we look at verses 16 and 17, again, when it says, and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were open to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him and behold, a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. And what we see here is all three members of the Godhead, they inaugurated Jesus's public ministry. We see in the text where Jesus rose up from the water and the spirit of God descended on him like a dove. And then we see the voice of God the Father proclaiming, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. So what we have here, this is the Father and the Holy Spirit publicly endorsing the son for this kingdom mission on earth that he would have here. You know, in our last two life group studies where we looked at the life of King David and we just wrapped up the book of Exodus, we saw where there were so many false gods and false idols that the people chased after. And one thing that set Israel apart here from the other ancient Near Eastern nations was a concept called monotheism where their belief was in one God. And when all of the nations around them were worshiping a God for fertility, another for war and so on, the Jews were adamant that they maintain that there was only one almighty God who is Lord of heaven and earth here. And so monotheism is the foundation of everything that the Jews believed here. And this is what makes the concept of the divinity of Christ, the divinity of Christ very difficult for the Jews. And this is also why they wanted to stone Jesus for blasphemy. We're gonna see that in our lesson next week. And but the Trinity won God in three persons here. And to wrap up point number one, you know, we look at Matthew 28 verse 19. And in the final words of Jesus giving his marching orders in the great commission, verse 19 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, "baptizing them in the name of the Father "and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." And the thing we need to point out is the presence of the three titles that are given here, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, yet is done with a singular name. It doesn't say names, it says name. And that tells us that they are one. Jesus was equating the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, all as God, yet also distinct persons. And we see that in so many other passages and you're gonna be given multiple passages. And I would encourage you to share those passages with your class because all of this affirms the Trinity. You know, even though the Jews struggle with the Trinity, when we look at the Old Testament, we see it reveals a God who is one, but is also plural. Let me give you some examples here. We see some statements in Scripture from God. The first one comes from Genesis chapter one, verse 26. Notice that the Lord says, "Let us make man in our image." Also, we see in Genesis chapter three, verse 22, he says, "The man has become like one of us." And then lastly, in Genesis 11, verse seven, we see where the Lord said, "Let us go down here." You know, even the Hebrew word for God, Elohim, is plural. And God is a plurality, but also one. And this is profound, but very difficult to really comprehend, you know, for most here. And what I would share with you, what I think will help clear this all up, you're gonna be given a diagram in your packet, the shape of a triangle. And this diagram at the top of the triangle is the Father, the left corner is the Son, and on the right, the Holy Spirit, and the lines that connect all of them, I would draw this up on the board, or I would hand this out to the class, but we have the words is not, telling us that the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Son, the Holy Spirit is not the Son, but in the middle of this triangle, we have the word God, and it's connected to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and it tells us that God is the Father, God is the Son, and God is the Holy Spirit here. I always think pictures can help, I know in the way I learn, pictures help, so don't miss out using this diagram. - Yeah, I'm so help, that's so helpful, Ron, that you're giving us just those suggestions, and thank you for explaining the context of that farmer separating the wheat from the chaff. Your thoughts on that made me so grateful for a church like Preston, where that wants to spend time to help ground our people, 'cause that's essentially what the farmer is doing in that visual, he's taking a big giant rake, he's throwing up wheat up in the air, the seeds, the things of substance fall, the chaff, the thin, papery kind of substance, float in the air, and that's the last thing that we want our people to do, float around by different doctrines. We want them to be grounded in substance. - That graph is so good, I mean, I've known this truth for many years, of course, as a believer, but I've never seen that graph that just shows it visually so well, so it's so good. - Alan, let's transition to talking point two, which is all three persons of the Trinity have existed forever in unity. - Yeah, what a great truth. We've been given three great passages to support the truth that the Trinity have always been and will always be, and so I want to start my time with just reading through these, Genesis one, one through three, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters, and God said, let there be light, and there was light. And then John one, one through four, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, he was with God in the beginning, and through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made, in him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. And then the third passage Colossians 1, 16, and 17, for in him, for in God all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Those are three great passages. Now I'm gonna break away in just as a side note, a little practical comment here. This has nothing to do with the Trinity. This has to do with practicality of teaching and of sharing with your class. I would encourage you to give these passages just to three different people ahead of time. Write them on an index card, tell them you'll call them when it's time to read them. You know, Pastor Graham or whoever's preaching can't do that in worship, obviously. They're doing all the speaking. But I think it's best if the teachers allow others to take part, have some ownership to this, so one way to do that. - The one way to do that. - Yeah, and one way to do this is just share their reading with them, but I would never call on them without giving them a heads up ahead of time. You wouldn't want them to fumble and be embarrassed by that, but. - Especially if it's a passage with a whole bunch of names of people. - Oh yes. - That one always catches me. - Yeah, but I encourage you to take time. Use these scriptures, be sure to read them. Don't just reference them 'cause they add such power. Okay, now back to our talking point. All three persons of the Trinity took part in creation. In the beginning God, whom we know as God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. Although Genesis one only references God the Father and the Spirit of God being present, we were reminded in John one, as we just read, that Jesus has always been as well. The Word was with God and the Word was God. God didn't create Jesus. He has always existed with God the Father from before time. Our lesson refers to the Nicene Creed, which states that God the Son was begotten, not made or born. The word begotten means of the same substance. Not born or created or made. We are all familiar with John 3 16, and in the King James version, it says that God gave His only begotten Son. Jesus is the only begotten Son in that He is the only Son of God who is of the same substance of God. He has always existed. This is called the doctrine of eternal sonship. Now this is in your lesson. I just think thought it was worth bringing out. Throughout the Old Testament, we not only see God the Father, but we see the Spirit of God actively working in the lives of His people. And we also see God the Son, whom scholars call the pre-incarnate Christ. God the Son before He became incarnate. And was born as Jesus of Nazareth. I like this sentence found in your lesson plan. God the Son didn't just sit in heaven waiting to be born as Jesus. He was active in the Triune God's plan to rescue the world the whole time. That's so good. I recently heard this and wanted to end this portion with this truth. From the beginning of time, the Triune God, the Trinity existed and enjoyed a loving relationship in perfect fellowship in unity, which is the main point of today's lesson. The Father loved the Son. The Son loved the Spirit. The Spirit loved the Father and so on. The Triune God, the creator of the universe, did not require anything outside Himself to be loved. Rather, out of an overflow of His love, God created the heavens and the earth. Oh how He desires this loving relationship with us, His children. He created a scripture says, we read it earlier, by Himself and for Himself. We were made in His image and for His glory. So as we're moving through these studies and learning more of what we believe and why we believe it, may it spur us on to a life of obedience in Christ. From the words of Jesus in John 13, 34, 35, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you're my disciples if you have love one for another. - That's good. You know, a big part of this series is to, again, help ground our people in proper right doctrine, theology rooted in God's word. And in this concept of Trinity, there are some potential slippery slopes. One of those slippery slopes is the incorrect theology of modalism, which claim that God is one person who manifests Himself in different modes rather than as three distinct persons. Ron, you really have an opportunity here in talking point three. Where the big idea here is that Jesus said that He and God, the Father, are one. To help people not slide into modalism. - Right. Well, we're gonna be in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 22 through 39. And, you know, the Jews, they wanted to kill Jesus. The words of Jesus in describing who He clearly was, this was blasphemy in their eyes here. And we know some of the critics of Christianity say, Jesus never claimed to be God. As a matter of fact, I met a man, I was at an event several years ago, and I met a man from another faith, and he came up to me, he was engaging with me, and he made the comment, he says, you know, we really believe in the same things. It's all really one religion and one God. And I finally asked him the question, who do you say Jesus is? And his response, and he said it with great enthusiasm, Jesus was a great man. He was a great teacher. He's even a prophet like Abraham. But this man had zero understanding of the divine nature of Christ. Jesus Christ was God in human flesh. So those who say Jesus never claimed to be God are simply wrong here. And the crowd in this passage that we have here in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, they immediately recognized Jesus was claiming not only to be sent from God, but that he was God himself. As a matter of fact, if we look at verse 33, the Jews answered him, it is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you being a man make yourself God. And this is why they plan to stone him, which was an Old Testament, you know, laws punishment for blasphemy. And many other ancient Near Eastern cultures, that they believed in the divinity of their kings. We just saw that with our study in the book of Exodus. They believe Pharaoh was the son of the sun God, and we certainly saw through all the plagues, all the different gods and idols there. But God's law was explicit to the Jews that this was not to be the case with their kings. Israel's kings ruled over the people as God's representative, but they were no higher than any other Israelite. And so when Jesus, being a Jew, claimed to be the son of God and one with the father, the people were stunned. And if he wasn't telling the truth, this was a grievous sin worthy of death. But Jesus clearly claims his works proved that it was true. And we have a couple of verses here in our text. We see in chapter 10, verse 25, it says, Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe the works that I do in my father's name bear witness about me. We see in verse 32 where Jesus said, I have shown you many good works from the father for which of them are you going to stone me? And then lastly in verses 37 through 38, if I am not doing the works of my father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and understand that the father is in me and I am in the father. See, Jesus was not simply a human king, a prophet or a priest. He was the son of God, God himself in flesh. And Jesus was talking about much more than just being sent from God. Just being a prophet or even just being the Messiah. This was even more than saying God's spirit was in him. He said the father was in him and he was in the father. And this is the key part right here. God's spirit has come upon human beings in the past. We see with the spirit has come into individuals. The spirit has left them. We as believers today, when we repent and trust Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior, we are told, we are indwelled with his spirit. But here, Jesus is clearly saying that he was God. He never claimed anything less here. And in wrapping up this point, I would just share that Jesus also claimed unity with God the spirit when he talked about his body as a temple and theologically, the temple is where God's Holy spirit dwells. And so I would just state here that stating the divinity of Christ, it matters. It's a big issue. It's not enough to say that he was a great teacher or even a prophet, how can we truly believe in the gospel message if we don't without a doubt, no, Jesus was God in human flesh. That God on the cross who humbled himself to die for us sinners, my quiet times that I have, I think about this amazing gift that we have been given. God in human flesh and yet he sacrificed for a sinner like us. And it chokes me up, it humbles us, but he clearly said that he was God. And a lot of people had a problem with that back in Jesus' time. - That's right, and a lot of people have a lot of problem with it today as well. - He doesn't claim to be God the Father though, right? - Right. - And the Father doesn't claim to be the spirit. - Right. - That's where the three and one are charged. - Going back to our chart there. - Yeah, I think that chart is gonna be invaluable as we go through all of these lessons reminding our people about who he is and who he is not. - And this whole conversation is such a joy to have with you and teacher. Thank you so much for all the preparation that you're doing to help communicate God's word well and memorably to the people that God has entrusted to your care. Everything from the printed curriculum that we've provided for you as well as this podcast this week is designed to help you communicate this main point. God is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect fellowship and unity. Teachers, we're praying for you and so thankful for you. We'll see you next week here on the lesson plan podcast. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]