His Word Today

⁴ To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. (Titus 1:4 (KJV 1900)

The following message is by Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon. He preached it at the Metropolitan Tabernacle Newington on the Lord’s Day Evening, November 6, 1887. Pastor Spurgeon entitled his message Five Links in a Golden Chain. Today’s installment is the second part of the message.

Carefully note the third link. It is this—WE HAVE A MUTUAL BENEDICTION, for Paul wishes for Titus, “Grace, mercy and peace.”

First, we need “grace” to help. I know how it is with the weak believer—he sees some brave Christian doing mighty works for God and he says, “Oh, I wish that I were like him! Oh, that I were as strong as he is!” And he gets the notion that this more prominent worker has no fainting fits or weaknesses such as he has.

Our next want is, “mercy” to forgive. Titus, perhaps, thought to himself, “Well, Paul wishes mercy for me, but can hardly wish it for himself, for he is such an eminent servant of God, so holy, so consecrated, so zealous, so self-denying, that he does not need mercy.” I reminded you, in our reading, that Paul, in writing to a church, says, “Grace be to you, and peace,” but when he writes to a minister, he says, “Grace, mercy and peace.” It looks as though ministers needed more mercy than their people did.

The third word of the benediction is “peace” to comfort. I hope that many of us know what peace of conscience means, what peace with God means, and what peace with man means. If God has given us His peace, it is a treasure of untold value, “the pearl of great price.” To be at peace with God is better than to be a millionaire or Czar of all the Russians.

Peace of mind, restfulness of heart, quiet of spirit, deliverance from care, from quarrelling, from complaining—I know that I want that kind of peace—and you want it, too, do you not? You need it in your family, in your business, in your own hearts. Well, then, here we meet again, having this same need of peace, and when we get it, we meet once more in finding the same delicious enjoyment of it.

Upon the next part of my subject, which is weightier still, I must say but little. It is this, “Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is, WE ARE ONE IN THE SOURCE OF EVERY BLESSING.

All good comes to us from God the Father, through the one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. I love to think of this—that all the grace, mercy, and peace that come to you—and all the grace, mercy, and peace that come to me, come from the heart of God.

Get to the very foundation of this truth and you will see that we who believe all eat bread baked in the same oven, our clothes come out of the same wardrobe, the water that we drink comes from the same rock, ay, and the shoes that we wear were made by the same mighty Worker who bade Moses say to Israel of old, “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” You have not anything that is worth having but what your Father gave to you. And your Father is my Father—and the hand that passes the blessing to you passes the blessing to me and to the whole family of believers.

These blessings not only all come from the same source, but they all come by the same channel, “the Lord Jesus Christ.” There is the sacred blood-mark on every covenant blessing, whether you have it, or your brother has it, or some Christian far away in India gets it. It all comes by the same divinely appointed channel—the man, the God, Christ Jesus our Lord.

Then, to close, there is one more point of union and that lies in OUR COMMON RELATIONSHIP TO OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. See how Paul puts it, “The Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.”

I must dwell briefly upon every word of this title. First, Jesus is Lord to all His people—and equally to be obeyed by them all, and adored by them all. It is important that, with bowed knee and reverent love, we call Him Lord and God. We put our finger into the print of the nails and the wound in His side, confessing that He is and must be real man, but at the same moment, we cry with Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”

Then comes the next word, “the Lord Jesus Christ.” That will come again when I speak of the word “Savior,” so I pass on to the following word, “the Lord Jesus Christ.” He is, to all of us who believe, the Anointed One, so anointed that every Word that Jesus Christ has spoken is to us infallibly inspired. We believe in Jesus, not only as men say they do today, but we really believe in Jesus, for we believe in His doctrine, in that which He Himself spoke, and in that which He spoke by His inspired apostles.

We cannot separate between Christ and the truth He came to preach, and the work He came to do— nor will we attempt to do so. He is to us the Anointed of God, as Prophet, Priest, and King—and we accept Him in all the offices for which He bears that anointing, do we not, my brethren? I know that we do. As brethren in one common faith, we rejoice in the common Christ whose anointing has fallen upon us, too. Though we are but as the skirts of the garment of our Great High Priest, yet the holy oil upon His head has come down even to us, as it is written, “Ye have an unction from the Holy One.”

The apostle further writes, “The Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” Sometimes, in the Bible, we find the Lord Jesus Christ called, “a Savior.” “Unto you is born in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” That is good, but it is not good enough for what poor sinners need. Our Lord Jesus Christ is not a Savior among other saviors, though He does instrumentally make His people saviors, as it is written, “Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion; and happy are they who, as instruments in his hands, save souls from death, and hide multitudes of sins.” But Jesus is also called “the Savior.” He is “the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe”—the Savior, par excellence.

My Savior, your Savior, our Savior, “The Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” Whenever we feel any disposition to break off from this brother and from that, whom we know to be, after all, saved in the Lord, let us come together with a fresh clasp of the hands as we say to one another, “We rejoice in our Savior and we are one in Him.”

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” (Titus 1:4 (ESV)

The following message is by Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon. He preached it at the Metropolitan Tabernacle Newington on the Lord’s Day Evening, November 6, 1887. Pastor Spurgeon entitled his message Five Links in a Golden Chain.

AMONG the friends of Paul, Titus was one of the most useful and one of the best beloved. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles and Titus was a Gentile. I should suppose that both his parents were Gentiles, and in this respect, he differed from Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess. Timothy would well serve as a preacher to the circumcision, but Titus would be a man after Paul’s heart as a preacher to the Gentiles.

He seems to have been a man of great common sense, so that, when Paul had anything difficult to be done, he sent Titus. When the collection was to be made at Corinth on behalf of the poor saints at Jerusalem, Paul sent Titus to stir the members up, and with him another brother to take charge of the contributions. Titus appears to have been a man of business capacity and strict probity, as well as a man who could order the church aright, and preach the Gospel with power.

Paul was, on one occasion, comforted by the coming of Titus. At another time, he was sad because Titus was not where he had hoped to meet with him. Though we know little about him from the Acts of the Apostles, or anywhere else, he appears to have been in every way one of the ablest of the companions of Paul—and the apostle takes care to mention him over and over again in his epistles to the Galatians and to the Corinthians—rendering honor to whom honor is due.

It is a great pity when eminent men forget those who help them and it is a sad sign when any of us do not gratefully feel how much we owe to our coworkers. What can any servant of God do unless he has kind friends to bear him up by their prayers and their help? Paul did not forget to mention his friend and helper, Titus.

Dear brethren, in this particular verse, which I have chosen for my text, it seems to me that Paul has brought together five points in which he was one with Titus. It is a great blessing when Christian men are in union with each other and when they are willing to talk about the bonds that unite them. The more we can promote true unity among Christian men, the better. “First pure, then peaceable,” must be our motto.

First, the truth—afterwards, unity in the truth. We must not be content with merely contending for the faith—we must next fight the battles of life—and do all we can to note the points in which true Christians are agreed. I desire, at this time, to “stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance,” to refresh your memories in regard to all the love that we have borne to one another in the days and years that are now past—and to exhort you to a still closer union in heart unto the glory of God.

There are five things in which Paul seems to me to bring out clearly his union with Titus. I might call them, “five links in a golden chain.” I shall only briefly speak of each of the five and try to apply them to ourselves.

First, Paul says of himself and Titus, that THERE WAS A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM, “Titus, mine own son.”

How comes that sonship? It comes often through God blessing a ministry to the conversion of a soul. Henceforth, he who has spoken the Word with power to the heart bears to him who has heard it the relationship of a father to a son. There are many in this place to whom I stand in this most hallowed relationship. You recognize it, I know, and I desire to express my intense and fervent love to the many of you who have been born unto God by the preaching of the Word here.

The apostle Paul not only said of Titus that he was his son, but he called him his “true” son. The Revised Version correctly translates it, “My true child.” We have, alas! some who have called us “father” in a spiritual sense, of whom we have cause to be ashamed. There are converts and converts. There are those who say they have received the Word, and perhaps they have after the poor fashion in which the brain can receive it, but they have never received it in the heart—so, after running well for a while, they grow weary and turn aside.

Then the apostle, wishing to show how real was the union between himself and Titus, next mentioned that THEY WERE BRETHREN BY A COMMON FAITH, “Titus, my true son after the common faith.”

Yes, beloved, and our faith is also common. It is the same faith in two respects. First, because we believe the same truths, and secondly, because we believe them with “like precious faith.” We who are rightly members of this Tabernacle church have believed the same truths—there is no dispute or discussion among us about the fundamentals of our faith.

To us, there is one God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. To us, there is one Mediator—Jesus Christ the Savior. We believe in the election of grace by the Divine Father. We believe in the vicarious sacrifice of the Eternal Son. We believe in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and in the need of it in the case of every living man, and woman, and child.

We believe in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” I feel intensely grateful for this unity of faith. A church divided in its doctrine—what can it do? If it has to spend its strength in continual debate, what force has it with which to conquer the world? But knowing, as we do know, that the Scriptures are our unerring guide, that the Holy Spirit is the infallible Explainer of the Scriptures, we come to one common fount to learn what we are to receive, and we receive it with one common anointing, even the anointing of the Spirit of God.

More to come. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” (Titus 1:4 (ESV)

I am grateful for my biological family. Growing up, I hold many precious memories of days gone by. I am blessed with a godly wife, two adult children, and their spouses, who love the Lord. The Lord has also blessed my family with several beloved grandchildren.

I am also grateful for my spiritual family. These are they who are my brothers, sisters and mentors who belong to the family of God by His sovereign grace alone, through God-given faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. They have been my counselors, co-laborers in ministry, and intercessors who have prayed for me through the years.

The Apostle Paul had many such individuals in his life. These were members of his spiritual family. It is likely Paul never married (I Cor. 7:7-8; 9:3-12). However, throughout his thirteen epistles he makes mention of many who formed his extended family in Christ. Titus was one such individual. Titus’ background was examined in the introductory essays of this series. Today’s text provides some personal remarks by the apostle concerning his young protégé.

Paul called Titus “my true child in a common faith.” The word “my” is inferred in the Greek text. True (γνησίῳ; gnesio) means genuine and real. Child (τέκνῳ; tekno) in this context refers to a dear individual, disciple and/or friend. Common (κοινὴν; koinen) means mutual or shared. Lastly, faith (πίστιν; pistin) refers to trust, commitment, dependence and worship. Titus was a genuine disciple and friend of the Apostle Paul. He shared with the apostle faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and sovereign God.

Paul extended his familiar greeting referring to grace and peace. Grace (χάρις; charis) means unmerited kindness or favor. Peace (εἰρήνη; eirene) refers to tranquility and freedom from worry. Grace and peace are from God the Father, the sovereign and immanent One. They are also from Christ Jesus our Savior from the penalty, power and eventual presence of sin. Grace is the basis of our peace with God (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:1-9).

Titus was the ostensible recipient of the letter even though this epistle, like 1 and 2 Timothy, was designed to be read widely. Titus was called my true son, indicating possibly that Paul was responsible for Titus’ conversion. The same phrase was also used of Timothy (1 Tim. 1:2). Or the term may denote a mentor-protégé relationship, or both concepts.^[1]

“Note Paul’s identification of Titus as his “true child in a common faith” (Titus 1:4). Blood ties were important to Paul, but for him our true, eternal family in Christ supersedes mere physical relations,” states Dr. R. C. Sproul.

“The greeting grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior is typical (cf. 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2) except for the last term which was applied earlier (Titus 1:3) to God the Father. Paul used the term Savior in Titus’ letter interchangeably for the first two Members of the Godhead (cf. 2:10 and 13; 3:4 and 6).”^[2]

Titus was Paul’s child because it was to the apostle as a means in God’s hand that he owed his spiritual life, though the time, place, and circumstances of his conversion have not been revealed (see p. 37). The designation child is a happy one, for it combines two ideas: “I have begotten you,” and “You are very dear to me.” Titus was, moreover, a genuine child, natural (not adopted), not a bastard son, not merely a nominal believer. Paul considers himself the father of Titus, not in the physical sense but “in terms of the common faith,” that is, with respect to the faith common to Paul and Titus. The phrase “in faith” (“my genuine child in faith”) in 1 Tim. 1:2 has virtually the same meaning. It is probably best to take faith, as here used, in the subjective sense, a true knowledge of God and of his promises revealed in the gospel and a hearty confidence in him and in his redemptive, Christ-centered love.^[3]

“Scripture says in many places that our real family is formed not by blood ties but through faith in Christ (Mark 3:31–35). Ultimately, only our relationships with true believers will endure eternally, and so we must look to the church to be our family and allow ourselves to be family to other believers. Do you have close relationships with other believers in your congregation? Let us all do what we can to strengthen the bond of love with other Christians,” concludes Dr. Sproul.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

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^[1] A. Duane Litfin, “Titus,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 762.

^[2] Ibid.,762.

^[3] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 343.

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began ³ and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;” (Titus 1:1–3 (ESV)

The rich theology of the Apostle Paul’s introductory remarks to Titus balances our exegetical examination. We must never overlook theological truth when seeking to be accurate in our grammatical understanding of the biblical text. In other words, the goal of exegesis is an understanding of biblical truth. Therefore, what we have observed in vs. 1-2 frames our comprehension of vs. 3.

First, Paul is God’s servant. The apostle did not choose to serve God. Rather, God chose Paul to serve Him (Acts 9:1-16). Likewise, God chose Paul to be an apostle of Jesus Christ (I Tim. 1:12; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11).

Second, the purpose of God’s work in and through Paul was for the faith of God’s elect, or chosen people. It was also for their knowledge of the truth of the Gospel. Such faith and knowledge of the Gospel results in godliness.

Third, God’s plan to save the elect unto eternal life occurred before God created the universe (Gen. 1:1; Eph.  1:3-6).

“Even the opening salutations of Paul’s epistles are theologically rich, and his letter to Titus is no exception. When we look at Titus 1:1–4, we find several doctrinal themes that will reappear throughout the epistle. First of all, we find Paul’s emphasis on God’s authority and how it functions in the ministry of the apostle. Paul does not choose to be the Lord’s appointed herald but is compelled to go forth as His messenger on account of the decree of “God our Savior” (vv. 1–3). Consequently, the eternal life our Creator promised “before the ages began” becomes the possession of the elect as they trust in the preaching of Paul’s gospel, which is the Word of God itself (Rom. 1:1; 16:25; 1 Cor. 1:18–25),” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

God not only chose who He who save, but also the method by which He would save them and how He would communicate this good news. Salvation’s work is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone (Rom 3:21-26; Eph. 2:1-10). God reveals this good news through the preaching of the cross.

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (ESV)

The Lord did this at the proper time (καιροῖς ἰδίοις; kairois idiois). This refers to the unique occasion of Jesus Christ’s incarnation (Gal. 4:1-4).

“Paul’s reference to salvation being manifested “at the proper time” shows us how the work of Jesus forms the very center of human history. Kairos, the Greek word for “time” in Titus 1:3, is the term used for events of great significance, not the ordinary passage of time. The gospel arrived at the proper kairos, at the time God appointed for its arrival (Gal. 4:4), and now we look back on the cross as the center point of history, much as the old covenant saints looked forward to their ultimate redemption,” states Dr. Sproul.

In today’s featured text, the word preaching (κηρύγματι; kerygmatic) means the proclamation of a message ((Matt.12:41; Luke 11:32; Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 1:21; 2:4; 15:14; 2Ti 4:17; Tit 1:3).^[1]

The Lord entrusted (ἐπιστεύθην; episteuthen) or into the care of this message and method to the Apostle Paul. The Lord has also entrusted this responsibility to pastor/teachers (2 Tim. 4:1-5). God our Savior has given this command.

“From eternity God promised life everlasting, but “in due season” (here used as in 1 Tim. 2:6; 6:15; see Gal. 4:4) he revealed it. Strictly speaking, however, it was not life everlasting itself in its glorious heavenly phase that was revealed to earth-dwellers (how could it be?), but the word of God with respect to it. Hence, the change from “life everlasting” in verse 2, to “his word” in verse 3. In the form of (or: by means of) the good news which Paul proclaimed and which by order of “God our Savior” (see on 1 Tim. 1:1) had been entrusted to him (see 1 Tim. 1:11–13), this word or message of God with respect to Christ and his gracious gift had now been made manifest.”^[2]

In the fullness of time God sent His Son
Immanuel, now behold incarnate Love
A virgin and her child, a Savior meek and mild
The star become the sign in the fullness of time

Prophets long they foretold the promised dawn
Hail God of God, Light of Light, begotten One
By Whom all things were made, there in a manger laid
Now born to us this night in the fullness of time

Holy, holy, holy moment
God has come to dwell with us
Glory to the Lamb, the great I Am who came…
On that night divine in the fullness of time

Hosts of angels resounded at His birth
And hosts of angels will endless tell His worth
And He shall come again, His kingdom has no end
All things made new, made right in the fullness of time

Holy, holy, holy moment
God has come to dwell with us
Glory to the Lamb, the great I Am who came…
On that night divine in the fullness of time

On that night divine in the fullness of time
Born to us this night in the fullness of time
The star became the sign in the fullness of time

Holy, holy, holy in a manger lowly
Christ the Son now veiled in flesh in our humanity
Kingdom’s bow before Him, heaven and earth adore Him
God here in person, Hail His majesty. – Matt Papa/Matt Boswell

Soli deo Gloria!

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^[1] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

^[2] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 342.

² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” (Titus 1:2 (ESV)

The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning May 8, 1864 by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. The sermon text is Titus 1:2. The sermon title is What God Cannot Do.

III. But I shall now come to make a practical use of the text, in the third place, by observing HOW WE OUGHT TO ACT TOWARDS GOD IF IT BE TRUE THAT HE IS A “GOD THAT CANNOT LIE.”

Brethren, if it be so that God cannot lie, then it must be the natural duty of all His creatures to believe Him. I cannot resist that conclusion. It seems to me to be as clear as noonday that it is every man’s duty to believe the truth, and that if God must speak and act truth, and truth only, it is the duty of all intelligent creatures to believe Him. Here is “Duty-faith” again, which some are railing at, but how they can get away from it, and yet believe that God cannot lie, I cannot understand.

If God has set forth the Lord Jesus Christ as the propitiation for sin, and has told me to trust Christ, it is my duty to trust Christ, because God cannot lie. And though my sinful heart will never believe in Christ as a matter of duty but only through the work of the Holy Spirit, yet faith does not cease to be a duty. And whenever I am unbelieving and have doubts concerning God, however moral my outward life may be, I am living in daily sin. I am perpetrating a sin against the first principles of morality.

If I doubt God, as far as I am able, I rob Him of His honor, and stab Him in the vital point of His glory. I am, in fact, living an open traitor and a sworn rebel against God, upon whom I heap the daily insult of daring to doubt Him.

Many believers cannot be comfortable without signs and evidences. When they feel in a good frame of mind—ah! then God’s promise is true, when they can pray heartily, when they can feel the love of God shed abroad in their hearts, then they say, “How God has kept His promise.”

Ah! but my brother, that is a seeing-faith. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Faith is to believe in God when my heart is as hard as the nether millstone, when my frames are bad, when I cannot pray, when I cannot sing, when I can do nothing good. To say, “He has promised.

Come now, will you kick against the promise because of its greatness? Do not so, but let your doubts and fears be hushed to sleep, and now with the promise of God as your pillow, and God’s faithfulness as your support, lie down in peace, and behold in faith’s open vision the ladder the top whereof leads to heaven. Trust the promise of God in Christ, and depend upon it that He will be as good to you, even to you, as His own Word, and in heaven you shall have to sing of the “God, that cannot lie.”

I would that these weak words of mine, for I am very conscious of their feebleness this morning, may nevertheless have comfort in them for any who have been doubting and fearing, that they may trust my Lord. And sure, I am that if they begin a life of faith, they will begin a life of happiness and of security. “The just shall live by faith,” and well may they do so, when they have to trust in a “God, that cannot lie.”

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” (Titus 1:2 (ESV)

The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning May 8, 1864 by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. The sermon text is Titus 1:2. The sermon title is What God Cannot Do.

II. Let us pass on to look at THE BREADTH OF MEANING IN THE TEXT.

When we are told in Scripture that God cannot lie, there is usually associated with the idea the thought of immutability. As for instance— “He is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent.” The word “lie,” here includes beyond its ordinary meaning the thought of change, so that when we read that God cannot lie, we understand by it not only that He cannot say what is untrue, but that having said something which is true He never changes from it, and does not by any possibility alter His purpose or retract His word.

This is very consolatory to the Christian, that whatever God has said in the divine purpose is never changed. The decrees of God were not written upon sand, but upon the eternal brass of His unchangeable nature. We may truly say of the sealed book of the decrees, “Hath he said and shall he not do it? hath he purposed and shall it not come to pass?”

We read in Scripture of several instances where God apparently changed, but I think the observation of the old Puritan explains all these. He says, “God may will a change, but He cannot change His will.” Those changes of operation which we sometimes read of in Scripture did not involve any change in the divine purpose.

God wills a change, but He never changes His will. And when the last great day shall come, you and I shall see how everything happened according to that hidden roll wherein God had written with His own wise finger every thought which man should think, every word which he should utter, and every deed which he should do. Just as it was in the book of decree, so shall it transpire in the roll of human history.

But we must not, while talking in this manner, forget the primary meaning, that He cannot be false in His thoughts, words, or actions. There is no shadow of a lie upon anything which God thinks, or speaks, or does. He cannot lie in His prophecies. How solemnly true have they been! Ask the wastes of Nineveh. Turn to the mounds of Babylon. Let the traveler speak concerning Idumean and Petra. Turn even to the rock of Sidon, and to Your land, O Immanuel.

As God is true in His prophecies, so is He faithful to His promises. Have you and I, dear friends, a confidence in these? If so, let us try them this morning. Sinner, weeping and bemoaning yourself, God will forgive you your sin if you believe in Jesus. If you will confess that He is faithful and just to forgive you, He has promised to do so, and He cannot lie.

Christian, if you have a promise today laid upon your heart, if you have been pleading it, perhaps for months, and it has not been fulfilled, I pray you gather fresh courage this morning, and again renew your wrestling. Go and say, “Lord, I know You cannot lie, therefore fulfill Your word unto Your servant.”

His threatening’s are true also. Ah! sinner, you may go on in your ways for many a day, but your sin shall find you out at last. Seventy years God’s long-suffering may wait over you, but when you shall come into another world you shall find every terrible word of Scripture fulfilled. You shall then know that there is a place, “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” You shall then experience the “wailing and gnashing of teeth” unless you repent. If you will believe in Jesus, you shall find the promise true, but if you will not, equally sure shall be the threatening.

We might thus go through everything which concerns God, from prophesy to promises, and threatening’s, and onwards, and multiply observations, but we choose to close this point by observing that every word of instruction from God is most certainly true.

It is astounding how much sensation is caused in the Christian church by the outbreak every now and then of fresh phases of infidelity. I do not think that these alarms are at all warranted. It is what we must expect to the very end of this dispensation. If all carnal minds believed the Bible, I think the spiritual might almost begin to doubt it. But as there are always some who will attack it, I shall feel none the less confidence in it.

Beloved, we may rest assured that we have not a word in the book of God which is untrue. There may be an interpolation or two of man’s which ought to be revised and taken away, but the Book as it comes from God is truth, and nothing but truth. Not only containing God’s Word, but being God’s Word; being not like a lump of gold inside a mass of quartz, but all gold, and nothing but gold, and being inspired to the highest degree. I will not say verbally inspired, but more than that, having a fullness more than that which the letter can convey, having in it a profundity of meaning such as words never had when used by any other being, God having the power to speak a multitude of truths at once.

Nothing can set forth in words to us the hatred and detestation which God has in His heart of anything which is untrue. O that we knew and felt this, and would glow with the same anger, seeking to exterminate the false, slaying it in our own hearts, and giving it nothing to feed upon in our temper, our conversation, or our deeds.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

The following essay is Dr. J.I. Packer. It is from his book Concise Theology.

“This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).

The Old Testament constantly insists that there is only one God, the self-revealed Creator, who must be worshiped and loved exclusively (Deut. 6:4-5; Isa. 44:6– 45:25). The New Testament agrees (Mark 12:29-30; 1 Cor. 8:4; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:5) but speaks of three personal agents, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, working together in the manner of a team to bring about salvation (Rom. 8; Eph. 1:3-14; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 1 Pet. 1:2). The historic formulation of the Trinity (derived from the Latin word trinitas, meaning “threeness”) seeks to circumscribe and safeguard this mystery (not explain it; that is beyond us), and it confronts us with perhaps the most difficult thought that the human mind has ever been asked to handle. It is not easy; but it is true.

The doctrine springs from the facts that the New Testament historians report, and from the revelatory teaching that, humanly speaking, grew out of these facts. Jesus, who prayed to his Father and taught his disciples to do the same, convinced them that he was personally divine, and belief in his divinity and in the rightness of offering him worship and prayer is basic to New Testament faith (John 20:28-31; cf. 1:18; Acts 7:59; Rom. 9:5; 10:9-13; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Phil. 2:5-6; Col. 1:15-17; 2:9; Heb. 1:1-12; 1 Pet. 3:15). Jesus promised to send another Paraclete (he himself having been the first one), and Paraclete signifies a many-sided personal ministry as counselor, advocate, helper, comforter, ally, supporter (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15). This other Paraclete, who came at Pentecost to fulfill this promised ministry, was the Holy Spirit, recognized from the start as a third divine person: to lie to him, said Peter not long after Pentecost, is to lie to God (Acts 5:3-4).

So, Christ prescribed baptism “in the name (singular: one God, one name) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”—the three persons who are the one God to whom Christians commit themselves (Matt. 28:19). So, we meet the three persons in the account of Jesus’ own baptism: the Father acknowledged the Son, and the Spirit showed his presence in the Son’s life and ministry (Mark 1:9-11). So, we read the trinitarian blessing of 2 Corinthians 13:14, and the prayer for grace and peace from the Father, the Spirit, and Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:4-5 (would John have put the Spirit between the Father and the Son if he had not regarded the Spirit as divine in the same sense as they are?). These are some of the more striking examples of the trinitarian outlook and emphasis of the New Testament. Though the technical language of historic trinitarianism is not found there, trinitarian faith and thinking are present throughout its pages, and in that sense the Trinity must be acknowledged as a biblical doctrine: an eternal truth about God which, though never explicit in the Old Testament, is plain and clear in the New.

The basic assertion of this doctrine is that the unity of the one God is complex. The three personal “subsistences” (as they are called) are coequal and coeternal centers of self-awareness, each being “I” in relation to two who are “you” and each partaking of the full divine essence (the “stuff” of deity, if we may dare to call it that) along with the other two. They are not three roles played by one person (that is modalism), nor are they three gods in a cluster (that is tritheism); the one God (“he”) is also, and equally, “they,” and “they” are always together and always cooperating, with the Father initiating, the Son complying, and the Spirit executing the will of both, which is his will also. This is the truth about God that was revealed through the words and works of Jesus, and that undergirds the reality of salvation as the New Testament sets it forth.

The practical importance of the doctrine of the Trinity is that it requires us to pay equal attention, and give equal honor, to all three persons in the unity of their gracious ministry to us. That ministry is the subject matter of the gospel, which, as Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus shows, cannot be stated without bringing in their distinct roles in God’s plan of grace (John 3:1-15; note especially vv. 3, 5-8, 13-15, and John’s expository comments, which NIV renders as part of the conversation itself, vv. 16-21). All non-Trinitarian formulations of the Christian message are by biblical standards inadequate and indeed fundamentally false, and will naturally tend to pull Christian lives out of shape.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

“The doctrine of the Trinity has always bristled with difficulties, and therefore it is no wonder that the Church in its attempt to formulate it was repeatedly tempted to rationalize it and to give a construction of it which failed to do justice to the Scriptural data.” — Louis Berkhof

The following essay is from Ligonier Ministries. Author unknown.

The early church father Tertullian is believed to have been the first to use the word, Trinity. In his treatise Adversus Praxean, Tertullian refers to the “Trinitas unius Divinitatis, Pater et Filii et Spiritus Sancti” (the Trinity of the One Divinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

Tertullian provided the building blocks regarding the multiplicity of persons (Latin personae), but later fathers provided the essential vocabulary to understand and defend Trinitarian doctrine. Athanasius was the great defender of the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son—i.e., that the Father and Son are the same in essence—after the Council of Nicaea, and the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa) drew the clear distinction between the meaning of essence and person.

The Cappadocian Fathers were the determinative voices in the outcome of the Council of Constantinople, which built on the Council of Nicaea by clarifying the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit in light of His unity of essence with the Father and the Son. Nicholas Needham explains, “The Cappadocians fashioned the language of Trinitarian orthodoxy that we still use today. In addition to the term ousia for the divine nature, they defined the term hypostasis to express the reality of the divine persons.”

In the early church, the deity of the Son was the central point of doctrinal contention. The Christian church’s definitive presentation of the core truths of the doctrine of the Trinity was established at the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) and at the Council of Constantinople (AD 381). In both councils, Christological error was refuted and doctrinal precision established. The essential elements of the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity were codified in the Nicene Creed (also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, because it was refined and expanded at the Council of Constantinople).

After the Cappadocians, Augustine further refined established trinitarian distinctions. His De Trinitatis (On the Trinity) is one of the most significant theological works in church history. Herman Bavinck explained the importance of Augustine’s articulation of the Trinity:

[Augustine] does not derive the Trinity from the Father but from the unity of the divine essence, nor does he conceive of it as accidental but rather as an essential characteristic of the divine being. It belongs to God’s very essence to be triune. In that regard personhood is identical with God’s being itself. . .. Each person . . . is identical with the entire being and equal to the other two or all three together. With created beings that is different. One person does not equal three but, says Augustine, “in God that is not so, for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together are not a greater being than the Father alone or the Son alone; but these three substances or persons, if they must be so called, are at one and the same time equal to each individually” (De trin., VII, 6).

One particular phrase became controversial over the course of church history. In the eleventh century, the Western church added the word filioque (and the Son) to the Nicene Creed, in keeping with centuries of liturgical practice and the biblical testimony that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, not the Father alone. Eastern Orthodox churches rejected (and continue to reject) the filioque clause, which contributed to the break between the Eastern and Western churches in 1054.

The Reformed confessions and catechisms of the seventeenth century concur with the early and medieval church regarding the doctrine of the Trinity. The Westminster Standards summarize the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory” (Q&A 5). The Westminster Larger Catechism notes that the members of the Godhead are “distinguished by their personal properties” (Q&A 9), which are defined in this way: “It is proper to the Father to beget the Son, and to the Son to be begotten of the Father, and to the Holy Ghost to proceed from the Father and the Son from all eternity” (Q&A). This distinction serves to delineate the order of existence among the members of the Godhead. The Father is commonly said to be the first person of the Godhead, the Son is the second person, and the Spirit is the third person. This does not suggest any subordination in the Godhead. Rather, it reflects the persons of the Godhead in their personal capacity and their order of operation. Salvation comes to us from the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit, and we return praise to God by the Holy Spirit through the Son unto the Father.

“In the formula of the Trinity, the church bows to sacred Scripture, honoring both the unity of God and the distinctions among the persons of the Godhead. The formula made use of terms such as person, subsistence, hypostasis, in an attempt to get at the unity and the distinction within God Himself. In addition to affirming the deity of Jesus, without which deity it would be blasphemous for Him to be an object of worship in the church, the Holy Spirit is also described in the Scriptures in terms of divine attributes. He is omnipotent. He is omniscient. He is infinite. He is eternal. He is actively involved in the divine work of creation, and in conjunction with His being the author of life and human intelligence, He is active in empowering the work of Christ in redemption. We see in the Bible that the work of creation involves the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, just as the work of redemption includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are testified to uniformly by the Scriptures as being divine. They are not three gods, because the unity of God remains axiomatic in the Monarchianism of sacred Scripture. The church still declares that the Lord our God is one. He is one being, though we must distinguish within that one being the subsistence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” — R.C Sproul, “Triune Monarchy” Tabletalk magazine

Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

The following essay is from Ligonier Ministries. Author unknown.

“This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).

Although the word Trinity does not appear in Scripture, the essence of the doctrine is revealed in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God’s triunity is alluded to rather than explicitly revealed. This is due, in part, to the preparatory nature of Old Testament revelation. In the Old Testament, God did not fully reveal all that He intended to reveal throughout redemptive history. We need the New Testament revelation to give us the full unfolding of the Old Testament revelation that prepared God’s people for the new covenant.

Additionally, the monotheistic character of God is emphasized in the Old Testament in such a way as to contrast the truth of Israel’s God with the polytheism of the surrounding pagan nations. This emphasis on the singular nature of God was meant to protect the people from the idolatry of the nations. There are, however, significant Old Testament allusions to the multiplicity of persons in the Godhead.

Consider the following:

• Certain theologians—most notably Peter Lombard and Martin Luther—found an allusion to a multiplicity of persons in the Godhead in the use of the divine name Elohim.
• Throughout church history, many theologians have accepted the Trinitarian character of the communication of the divine council in Genesis 1:26, 11:7, and Isaiah 6:8. The alternative proposal that God was speaking to the angels is unlikely, since Genesis 1:26 reveals that God makes man in His “own” image rather than in the image of angels.
• There are many passages in the Old Testament in which the persons of the Godhead communicate to one another or refer to one another (e.g., Ps. 45:6–7; 110:1; Zech. 2:8–11; Heb. 1:8–9). This is a strong proof of the Trinitarian character of God in the Old Testament.
• Many early church, Lutheran, and Reformed theologians held to the view that the “Angel of the Lord” (Hebrew malakh YHWH) was a preincarnate manifestation of the second person of the Godhead—namely, the Logos.
• The revelation of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament—in distinction to the Father (Isa. 63:16) and the Son (Ps. 2:7; Prov. 30:4)—bears strong witness to the multiplicity of persons in the Godhead (e.g., Gen. 1:2; Ex. 35:31; 2 Sam. 23:2; Isa. 63:10; Ezek. 2:2). The Spirit is the agent of creation, sustenance, power, revelation, and the application of redemption in the Old Testament.

When we come to the New Testament, we see the mystery of the Trinity more clearly unfolded at the baptism of Jesus. All three persons of the Godhead are present when Jesus is baptized. The Father speaks about the Son while the Spirit descends upon the Son (Matt. 3:13–27).

Additionally, the persons of the Godhead are specifically mentioned alongside one another in in the New Testament (Luke 1:35; 3:21–22; Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:3–4; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2). In the Gospels, the Son prays to the Father on numerous occasions, thereby proving that He is in some way distinct from the Father and that the Father and Son are not merely different modes or manifestations of the same divine person, as suggested in the view known as modalism (Luke 22:42; 23:34, 46; John 12:28; 17:1). Rather, Jesus is God incarnate—the eternal Son of God—in perfect unity with and yet distinct from His Father and the Spirit. Jesus speaks explicitly of all three persons of the Godhead in His discourse in John 14–16.

The divine personhood of the Spirit is taught throughout the pages of the New Testament—and most strikingly in the references to His speaking (Acts 13:2; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17). “The Holy Spirit says,” “The Spirit said through . . .,” and “As the Spirit says,” are common ways in which Old Testament citations are introduced in the New Testament. The New Testament speaks both of the eternal divine equality between the Father, Son, and Spirit and of the functional subordination of the Son to the Father in the work of redemption that He performed as the incarnate God-man.

Theologians have commonly distinguished between the ontological Trinity and the economic Trinity. The ontological Trinity describes God as He is in Himself. In the ontological Trinity there is absolute divine equality without any subordination of being. As to the being and attributes of God, the Son is absolutely equal to the Father (John 1:1; 8:58; Col. 1:15, 19; Heb. 1:3). The economic Trinity describes the persons of the Godhead in God’s external working. As to the work of God in redemption, there is functional subordination of the incarnate Christ to the Father (John 5:19–23; 1 Cor. 11:3). This subordination in time as Christ carried out the work of salvation fulfilled the Father’s commitment to send the Son and the Son’s commitment to purchase our redemption that was made in the covenant of redemption (John 10:17–18, 12:49; Titus 1:2).

The term ‘Trinity’ is not a biblical term, and we are not using biblical language when we define what is expressed by it as the doctrine that there is one only and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence. A doctrine so defined can be spoken of as a Biblical doctrine only on the principle that the sense of Scripture is Scripture. And the definition of a biblical doctrine in such unbiblical language can be justified only on the principle that it is better to preserve the truth of Scripture than the words of Scripture. The doctrine of the Trinity lies in Scripture in solution; when it is crystallized from its solvent it does not cease to be Scriptural, but only comes into clearer view. — B.B. Warfield, “The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity”

Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (ESV) – “⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

The Bible teaches there is One God who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each person possesses the divine essence.

In church history, there were two distinct viewpoints concerning the nature of God. The first was Homoiousia. This Greek word means “of a similar nature,” which was used by Arius in the fourth century to affirm that Jesus Christ was a supernatural heavenly being but not of the same nature as God the Father. The second was Homoousias. This Greek word means “of the same nature.” This was word used in the Nicene Creed to teach Jesus Christ was of the exact same nature as God the Father and therefore was fully divine as well as fully human.

There have been several errors throughout the church’s existence concerning the Trinity. The se erroneous views are as follows.

1. Modalism. The heretical teaching that holds that God is not really three distinct persons, but only one person who appears to people in different “modes” at different times. Also called Sabellianism. ^[1]
2. Arianism. The erroneous doctrine that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.^[2]
3. Tritheism. The belief that there are three gods.^[3]
4. Subordinationism. The heretical teaching that the Son was inferior or subordinate in being to God the Father. Also called ontological subordination, but different from economic subordination, which has been the historic view of the church.^[4]

What then is the biblical View of the Trinity?

God the Father. He is the Creator of all things (I Cor. 8:6; Heb. 12:9; James 1:17), the Father of Israel (Deut. 32:6; Isaiah 63:16), and the Father of all believers in Christ (Matt. 5:45; 6:6, 9, 14; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:4-7). God the Father is the First Person of the Trinity. John 1:14, 18; 8:54; 14:12-13), and who planned the word of redemption, creation, and providence (Eph. 1:3-6).

God the Son. He is the second person in the Trinity (John 1:1-18; Col.1:15-21; Heb. 1:1-3), the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14, 18; 3:16-18; Gal. 4:4). He is the Messiah chosen of the Father (Matt. 8:29; 26:63; John 1:49; 11:27; 17:1-5). He is eternally begotten of the Father (Psalm 2:1-7; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:1-5), and who mediated the work of creation (John 1:1-3, 10; Heb. 1:1-3). The Son mediates the work of redemption. (Eph. 1:3-12; I Tim. 2:5).

God the Holy Spirit. He is the third person in the Trinity (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:1-15; Rom. 8:26). He possesses intelligence (John 14:26), possesses emotion. (Isaiah 68:10; Eph. 4:30), possesses a will (Acts 16:7; I Cor. 12:11), proceeds from the Father and the Son (John 15:26; 16:7; Rom. 8:9l Gal. 4:6), and applies creation and redemption (Gen. 1:3; Job 26:13; Luke 1:35; John 3:34; I Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 2:22).

Biblical Passages for the Trinity.

Isaiah 61:1 (ESV) – “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; See Luke 4:17-18.

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV) – “¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV) – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Revelation 1:4–6 (ESV) – “⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

One author writes, “The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith and to Christian living, since knowing God is at the heart of biblical religion and God is fully revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the unfolding of the divine mystery. The one true and living God eternally exists in three distinct yet inseparable persons. The creeds and confession of the church summarize the essential biblical truths about the triunity of God, providing theological nuance and support for this foundational doctrine. Nevertheless, the doctrine of the Trinity has also been frequently misunderstood, misrepresented and perverted. Considering biblical support for the doctrine of the Trinity and its historical development will help us more accurately comprehend this precious truth.”

Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

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^[1] Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith, ed. Alexander Grudem, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2022), 609.

^[2] Ibid.,  597.

^[3] Ibid.,  616.

^[4] Ibid., 615.