[0:00] Well, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
[0:15] Welcome to our Sunday school class here at Grace Fellowship Church. We're studying Michael Reeves' book, Delighting in the Trinity. And I trust we'll do that today as we study and as we worship together.
[0:30] And then, if you didn't get one, pick up a missionary prayer guide and let's pray for the nations to be given to our Savior. They do belong to him as the reward of his suffering.
[0:44] Some of you are wrestling with water and wind. And I should say some of us are. Yes, I too. And it's good to be reminded that the wind and the waves still know and obey the one who ruled them while he dwelt below.
[1:07] So we trust ourselves to the Lord during these times. Well, let's pray and we'll dig in. Lord of heaven and earth, our Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you today.
[1:26] We're thankful that our lives are in your hands. That's where we want to be and where we delight to be. Thank you for the mercies of another week that have brought us here together in health and in strength.
[1:42] Thank you for blessings of family and friends and food and fellowship. And now for the Lord's Day, for calling us aside from our normal activities and work for this most blessed market day of the soul that we might feast upon Christ.
[2:04] We might encourage one another in the Lord and indeed delight in who you are and what you are for us. We thank you for your word and for your spirit and we pray, Holy Spirit, that you would show us the things of Christ.
[2:20] Lift him high in our hearts that we would love him more. And we pray you do the same for our children and each teacher and each student in the Sunday school classes here.
[2:34] And do it all around the world. The nations are yours. And we pray that your bride would be gathered again today. You would call them from the north, the south, the east and the west, calling them to be given up and to come and to join you and the bride of Christ.
[2:52] So teach us now. We ask in Jesus name. Amen. I'd like to begin just with a reading of Psalm 124. It says, if the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel say, if the Lord had not been on our side, when men attacked us, when our when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive.
[3:18] The flood would have engulfed us. The torrent would have swept over us. The raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
[3:33] We've escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare. The snare has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
[3:45] According to David. It's a healthy exercise to consider what would have happened if the Lord was not on our side.
[4:00] Now, the Lord was on their side. So why would David and Israel waste their time thinking about if the Lord had not been on their side? That's a question for your response.
[4:12] If he was on their side, why spend time just thinking about if the Lord had not been on their side? Why? Why would he encourage that?
[4:24] Did you hear that? You'd appreciate more. The fact that he is on your side if you know what would have happened if he wasn't.
[4:38] Amen, Jeremy. That's exactly right. It's to stir our hearts up. To felt praise that the Lord is on our side. And that's what he does in verse 6. Praise be to the Lord.
[4:49] He has not let us be torn by their teeth. So that's what this exercise is for. It's to bring us to that point where we actually treasure the fact that God is on our side.
[5:01] He is with us. He is for us. And so we have to deal with the reality that some of us have been Christians for so long.
[5:13] And can become so used to having the Lord on our side that we just kind of yawn and take it for granted. Of course he's on our side. Of course he's with us and for us.
[5:24] And that's not right, is it? That's what the psalmist is saying. That's not right. So to more and more appreciate the wonder of God being on our side, consider the alternative. If the Lord had not been on our side, we'd have been duck soup is how we'd say it today.
[5:39] We'd have been swallowed alive by wild beasts, swept away by the raging flood, trapped in a fowler's snare. And every one of those are vivid images of destruction.
[5:50] That's what would have happened if the Lord were not on our side. We too, if we were left to be prey, easy prey for the world, the flesh, and the devil, if the Lord were not on our side.
[6:02] So we consider what would have happened. And then we praise God with all our heart that the maker of heaven and earth is our help. And he's with us and for us and on our side in this battle of the ages.
[6:18] Now the study of the Trinity, this study of the Trinity has done that sort of thing for me. We can be so used to thinking of God as three in one that we can just nod and say, ho-hum, yeah.
[6:33] I can't remember a time when I didn't believe that. Of course he's three in one. And we might not make much of it or appreciate it as we ought.
[6:44] And my appreciation for the threeness and oneness of God has blossomed in this study and others like it. And it comes in part by just this principle of considering the alternative.
[7:00] If the Lord had not been three in one, let the Israel of God say, if the Lord had not been three in one, what would that be like?
[7:11] And so we've been pushed to do some thinking in this class just about that very thing. What if the eternal God was but one solitary person, a monad, single being, without a son, without a Holy Spirit, without the other persons in the one God?
[7:30] Without any fellowship or communion, without any goodness and love flowing out to anyone for eternity, just being all alone. Well, that's Allah.
[7:42] That's the God of Islam. And aren't you glad that our God is not like him? Or like any of the other gods who had spokesmen come and present their God to us two weeks ago, as we heard Mark present the various views of God in the world today.
[8:00] They can have their gods. But it's in considering the alternative, what it would be like to have a God who's not three in one, that I'm coming to appreciate more and more the fact that he is three in one and the ramifications of that in our lives.
[8:18] The God of the Bible is beyond invention by man. Nowhere else in religion do we find anything close to the threeness and the oneness of God.
[8:36] There's none like him. There's none but him. One God in three persons. And I want to begin our study this morning with a quote from our 1689 confession of faith.
[8:49] It's found in chapter two. Lord willing, next week I might put it up on the overhead here for you. But it's on the second chapter on God and the Trinity. And after pointing out the three divine persons that constitute the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, or the Word, and the Holy Spirit.
[9:07] It says this. These three persons, one infinite and eternal God, not to be divided in nature or in being, are distinguished in Scripture by their personal relations within the Godhead and by the variety of works which they undertake.
[9:26] Their triunity is the essential basis of all our fellowship with God and of all the comfort we derive from our dependence upon him.
[9:36] Now that's a mouthful and that's why I think it would be good to have it there before you and next week I'll do that. But what it's telling us is that the three persons of the Godhead are not to be separated.
[9:49] They are one. And yet they are distinguished in Scripture. There's a difference between dividing them and separating them from the one God as if we have three gods.
[10:00] No, no, we must not do that. But the Scriptures do distinguish between the persons of the Godhead and the variety of works which they each undertake.
[10:14] Their triunity is the essential basis. So of all of our fellowship with God, now that's claiming a lot. That our fellowship with God is what it is because of the threeness of the persons and their personal relations within the Godhead and the variety and different works which each of them undertakes in our salvation.
[10:36] And that's the basis. That's the foundation of all of our fellowship with God. And it's the basis, the foundation of all the comfort, the encouragement that we derive from our dependence upon this God who is three in one.
[10:53] Fellowship with God, comfort from him. That stuff is important to me. And so this study of the threeness and the oneness of God is important to us. In a practical sense, what difference does it make with my fellowship with God?
[11:11] Well, my fellowship with the Father is to be different from my fellowship with the Son. It's to be different from my fellowship with the Holy Spirit. My fellowship with each person is to reflect the unique work that they have done.
[11:28] So my fellowship with the Father is to reflect the unique work that the Father does in salvation, in my salvation. So I don't thank the Father for dying on the cross for me.
[11:40] He didn't. But I do thank him for sending his one and only Son to die on the cross for me. I do thank him that he didn't spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all.
[11:53] And my dependence upon him as Father is to reflect my relationship to him as Father.
[12:04] As a son to a father. I'm to depend upon him as a son to the Father. And so I come to him as my Father.
[12:15] Depending upon him for all the things that a son needs a father to be and do for him. I don't come to the Holy Spirit as my Father. No, it's the person of the Father.
[12:31] The fact that he is Father is to direct and inform my worship of him as Father. My fellowship with him. My prayers to him. My dependence upon him.
[12:43] It's the same way. My worship and fellowship with and dependence on God the Son. Is to be reflective of my unique or his unique and distinguishing work for me.
[12:56] I don't thank the Father for obeying every commandment for me. He didn't. But I do thank God the Son for becoming a man for me. Being born of woman.
[13:07] Born under the law. That he might yield up a perfect obedience to that law. That he might have a righteousness to give to me. I thank him for becoming man for me.
[13:18] For becoming sin for me. For becoming a curse for me. That I might be redeemed. Made right with God. The Holy Spirit didn't become man for our salvation.
[13:35] But I do thank the Holy Spirit for enabling the man Christ. To perfectly obey throughout his earthly ministry. And I do thank the Holy Spirit for resting upon the Son of God.
[13:48] As a spirit of wisdom and understanding. The spirit of counsel and of power. The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And that he did rest upon the Son.
[14:02] During his earthly ministry. And now rests upon me in Christ. In my life. As well. As all of those things. And I do thank the Spirit for being.
[14:15] My comforter. My counselor. My helper. My sanctifier. My teacher. My power for witness. And.
[14:26] I depend upon him. For these things. As the one to take the things of Christ. And to show them to me. Revealing Christ's glory to me in the scripture. And thereby transforming me into the image of Christ.
[14:39] That's distinctively the Holy Spirit's work. And I depend on the Holy Spirit. As the one to spread God's love abroad in my heart. He's called the spirit of adoption.
[14:51] Because he assures me that this great God is my father. I depend on him to give me that sense of. God being my father. And I praise him for that work that he's doing in me.
[15:05] God being my father. So my fellowship then. With each person of the Trinity. Is different and unique. To them. Now to be sure there's much overlap.
[15:16] In the works of the Trinity. All of them are divine. All of them are equal as to their divinity. And fully possess all the divine attributes.
[15:29] And are working together in perfect harmony. But it's in their persons. That there are distinctions made. With regard to their works. And my dependence upon them.
[15:41] For those different works. Are distinctly theirs. So in a general and brief way. We can appreciate this. By just reducing it to one sentence.
[15:55] The father has planned my salvation. The son has accomplished. My salvation. And the spirit is applying.
[16:06] That salvation. Planned by the father. Accomplished by the son. Applied by the spirit. You see there. There are distinctions. As to each member of the Trinity.
[16:17] So let's just walk through that. The Holy Spirit planned. My salvation from eternity. I'm sorry. I said the Holy Spirit. Didn't I? The Holy Father.
[16:27] The Heavenly Father. Planned my salvation from eternity. He chose me before the creation of the world. To be in Christ. He gave me to his son.
[16:42] We see that throughout the gospel. Especially of John. That he. He speaks of those. Jesus speaks of those. That you have given me father. Especially John 17. And John 6.
[16:53] Well that. That's. The father in planning. He chose those to be saved. And he gave them to his son. To save them. That he might redeem them.
[17:04] And purchase their salvation. That they might be his bride. His reward. For his work of atonement. And then the father sent his son into the world. To save those. That he had given. Look at John chapter 17.
[17:16] Just to see. This sort of. Statement. Made by Jesus. John 17. You know.
[17:29] This is just before Jesus arrest. And it's. His. High priestly prayer. And he says in. In verse.
[17:40] One. Father. The time has come. Glorify your son. That your son may glorify you. For you. Granted him. Authority. Over all people. That he might.
[17:51] Give eternal life. To all those. You have given him. Do you have it there. In front of you. I want to ask you. A couple questions. Who gave Jesus.
[18:01] Authority. Over all people. The father. How many people. Did he give him. Authority over.
[18:13] All people. And was that. Authority. Given to him. That he might. Give eternal life. To all people. The authority.
[18:26] Was given to him. To give eternal life. To. To whom. To those. He had. Given him. In that. Council of. Of.
[18:36] Of election. You see. We see it here. The father. Giving to the son. A people. Giving him. Authority. Over all people.
[18:47] That he might. Save those. That he gave. To his son. So that's the father. Planning. Salvation. Salvation. Then there's the son. Willingly. Coming. To accomplish.
[18:58] The salvation. Of all. Those that the father. Had given him. And how did he do that? He does it by obeying the law. Perfectly for them. That he might. Give them his righteousness. When they trust in him.
[19:09] And he does it by paying the debt. For all of our sins. On the cross. So that's the son. Accomplishing. The salvation. That the father. Has planned. Doing everything. Necessary.
[19:19] To redeem us. And then the father. Along with the. Risen. Ascended. Glorified son. Together. Send the holy spirit. Down to earth.
[19:32] To apply. This great salvation. So the spirit. Then comes. To apply to me. Personally. All that the. Father planned.
[19:43] And all that the son. Accomplished. For me. He comes. And he regenerates me. He brings me. From spiritual death. To life. He indwells me. And works in me.
[19:53] To will and to do. Of his good pleasure. Sanctifying me. And so forth. You see the distinctive. Works of each person. Of the Godhead. Basically laid out here.
[20:05] Different persons. One God. Different persons. With different roles. All working together. In the salvation. Of the same favored sinners. Chosen by the father. Redeemed by the son.
[20:16] Born again. By the spirit. Now. Since that's the case. Since that's. How salvation works. Do you think.
[20:26] Our fellowship. With each person. Of the Trinity. Ought to be uniquely different. From the others. That there ought to be. Some things. About our worship. That are.
[20:38] Distinctly. Fatherly. And others. That are. Son. Like. And some. That are. Directed. Toward the spirit. Our fellowship.
[20:48] Our worship. And our praise. Then. Should reflect. Each one's. Work. Let me give an example. All examples. Have their weaknesses.
[21:03] But I want to. Give this point. Okay. So. You're in a fiery crash. Automobile crash. And. There you are. Unconscious. In your car. And. The automobile's on fire.
[21:13] But a passerby stops. And he pulls you out of the burning car. The EMTs come. And they save your life. Keeping you alive. To get you to the hospital. The surgeons there.
[21:24] Perform life saving. Surgery. Upon you. Then nurses. Tend to you. For the next. Three months. Changing your wound. The packing on your wounds.
[21:36] And all the rest. And then the hospital administration. Decides just to waive the cost completely. And says we have a fund for that. And so. There's no bill. So. After three months in the hospital.
[21:49] You finally go home. You find a card. And. And you send it to the hospital. And. And it says thanks to everyone for everything. All right.
[22:00] Good for you. You said thanks. But what would be better. Than that. Yeah. Some of you say.
[22:11] Oh that'd be great. If I could just do that. What would be better than that though. Yeah. They did different things.
[22:21] Didn't they. In the work. And. And so. If you could. If you could. At least. Maybe one card. Speak about. The way that the surgeons there.
[22:33] And the nurses there. And the ministry. All the different ways that. They contributed to your well-being. To thank them. Even so. Our thanks. To God.
[22:43] Ought to go deeper. At least sometimes. Than just. God. Thank you for saving me. Well that's fine. We sing that song. Thank you. Lord.
[22:54] For saving my soul. Okay. I'm not. Against that. I'm just saying. It ought to go deeper. Our fellowship. Ought to go deeper. To where we specifically. Thank each person.
[23:05] For their distinctive works. And saving us. And that's so enriching. To our fellowship. With each person. Of the. Of the. Of the Godhead. That the confession. Actually says.
[23:15] It's the essential basis. For all of our fellowship. With God. And. Of all the comfort. That we derive. From our dependence on him. So to understand.
[23:25] What each member. Of the Godhead. Is doing. In our salvation. Deepens our dependence. On them. And our comfort. To know what. Each person.
[23:36] Is doing. Gives me encouragement. And comfort. Now. That's a rather long. Introduction. We're coming then. To chapter three. In.
[23:47] Michael Reeve's book. Delighting in the Trinity. The Trinity. In salvation. Is what we're considering here. And I think. It's just a brief review. Of where we've been.
[23:58] To see where we're at now. Would be helpful. The first chapter. Roger. Set before you. The Trinity. Before creation. Before creation.
[24:08] So I was in Columbia. And I haven't. Caught up with. The tapes yet. So. Could someone tell me. What was God doing. Before the creation. When there was nothing.
[24:19] But God. What was God doing. Having fellowship. Within the Godhead. Okay. Having fellowship. Within the Godhead. Can you. Can you spell out.
[24:31] Anything. About that fellowship. What does the Bible. Tell us. About that fellowship. Okay. How does this call. In the person. In the life.
[24:42] If. There was not. For any. There was no. Father. Okay. So there was. This. This was a loving. Fellowship. And. Forever and ever. Before there was a creation. The father was loving.
[24:53] The son. And the son. The father. And the spirit. The father and son. And all the rest. John 17. 24. Jesus. In this prayer. You see it. There in front of you.
[25:04] Father. I want those you've given me. To be with me. Where I am. And to see my glory. The glory you have given me. Because you love me. Before the creation of the world. That's what they were doing. Before the creation of the world.
[25:15] They were loving one another. And. And verses four and five. Here of John 17. And now father. Glorify me in your presence. With the glory I had with you.
[25:26] Before the world began. This glory. This splendor. This awe. That I had with you. That we shared together. And enjoyed together.
[25:37] Before the world began. So. We see. What was going on. Before the creation. What a difference from just.
[25:50] A single person. God. Where. Before creation. What was he doing. All by himself. There was no outflow of love.
[26:00] Is what we've seen. But not so with the Trinity. And so God was planning. And decreeing. All that would happen in time. Planning creation. Planning the fall. Planning redemption.
[26:12] Through Jesus Christ. Of a multitude of sinners. That no man can number. An eternal covenant. Relationship. Between the father. And the son. And the spirit. As we've just said.
[26:22] The father. Choosing. Whom. Would be saved. The son. Redeeming. The spirit. Applying. So there's no room. For boredom.
[26:33] Boredom. Within. The Trinity. When you're planning. All things that are ever. To happen. And. Enjoying. One another's. Loving. Fellowship.
[26:45] And glory. Together. As God. In the three persons. Well then we. We came to chapter two. And we move from. The Trinity.
[26:55] Before creation. To the Trinity. In creation. And Mark. Set before us. What. The Trinity. Was. Doing. In creation.
[27:06] Remember. It's interesting. That. Again. We see the father. Planning creation. And yet. Executing it. Through. His word. Which we come to find out.
[27:17] As a person. John one. In the beginning. Was the word. And the word. Was God. And the word. Was with God. And the word. Became flesh. That's Jesus. And so he's. He's the planner. Of it.
[27:28] And yet. He executes creation. Nothing was created. That. He did not create. Jesus Christ. And then. Also. By his breath. Which we come to find out.
[27:38] Is a person. As well. The spirit. The breath. That brings. To life. And so. We find. God. Active.
[27:48] In. Creating. The father. Through the son. And through the spirit. Creating the world. And the crowning jewel.
[27:59] Of that. Creation. Was what? Mankind. Made in his own image. Male and female. And.
[28:10] They were made. To reflect. To experience. First of all. This love. That God had. In the trinity. Forever. He's now. Sharing it. With. His creature. His creatures.
[28:22] Adam and Eve. And they're now. Brought into that. That. That wonderful. Fellowship. Of love. Within the Godhead. And then. Are to express it.
[28:32] To one another. As husband and wife. And. Later on. As neighbor. And so on. Princess Schaefer. Used to. Refer to God. As the infinite.
[28:43] Personal. God. God. And it's because. He's trinity. That he is personal. He has personal. Relationships. Because of their. Interpersonal.
[28:54] Fellowship. Among the three. Persons of the Godhead. From all eternity. Our God. Is a God. Who excels in. And is capable. Of personal. Relationship. He has them.
[29:04] Within the Godhead. And now. In creation. He has them. With mankind. That he's made. In his image. So that. We can enjoy. That fellowship. That.
[29:16] So. In creation. God. Stooped. To invite us. Into that. Fellowship. Of love. That it existed. Forever. Within the Trinity. That we could. Experience. The very love. That God.
[29:27] Has for the son. And the son. Has for the father. We could. Experience that. Ourselves. Enjoying. The fellowship. Of the Trinity. And then.
[29:38] That we might. Also. Reflect that love. Found in God. And received. From God. To our husbands. And our husband. And wife. And children. And neighbor. And also.
[29:50] Express it. Back to God. As well. And that's. Really. The great obligation. Of man. Isn't it? The two great commands. Is to love God. With all our heart. And to love our neighbors.
[30:01] Ourself. Well. That speaks of a. Relationship. You see. And. It flows. From the father. Down to the son. So you've seen these. These.
[30:11] Chocolate. Fountains. At parties. Consider a three tier. Chocolate fountain. Chocolate is the goodness.
[30:22] And love of God. Some of us really believe that. It is that. It's one of his gifts. Isn't it? And it's found at the top.
[30:32] Okay. At the top tier. There's God. From all eternity. Father. Son. And Holy Spirit. Enjoying that fellowship. Of love. And goodness.
[30:43] Together. Abounding. In. Joy. In one another. And then in creation. It overflows.
[30:54] Down to the second tier. Down to man. That he created. To enjoy this. Trinitarian love. Relationship with God. But in receiving that love. It's not to stop.
[31:04] It's not to end with us. Is it? It's to flow on down. From us. To our neighbors. And. And to one another. In the church. And so on. And then back up to God.
[31:16] The. To complete. The love of God. And this is the love of God. Complete. You see. It's not to. It's to stop with us. It's to go on. This cycle. Of never ending love.
[31:27] And. And we love. Why? Because he first loved us. And. And that. It first came from. The top tier. Of the eternal. Love of the fellowship. And the trinity. And it spilled to us.
[31:38] And because we've tasted. That chocolate love. We now share it with others. And we. We pour out our love. Back to the father. It's a constant flow. Of loving. Because we have first.
[31:49] Been loved. But then something happened. In God's good creation. Man's fall into sin. Which interrupted. Which broke. That fellowship.
[32:00] And has separated us. From God. So. That's where we've come. In chapter 3. What God was doing. Before creation. Chapter 1. And what he did. In creation.
[32:11] Chapter 2. And now. The trinity. And salvation. For in salvation. God stoops. Not. Not now. To his creatures. His good creatures.
[32:22] But he's now. Stooping to his sinful creatures. To redeem. And restore us. Back into that. Loving fellowship. With him. That we had. But lost. In the garden.
[32:32] Due to the fall. Now I want you to see that. In scripture. Turn to 1st Corinthians. Chapter 1. In verse 9. I've tried to. State it. And illustrate it.
[32:43] What we're talking about. In terms of this. Eternal. Loving. Fellowship. In God. Spilling down. To creation. And. Now.
[32:54] The fall. But I want you to see. That in salvation. God is. Is restoring. That. Fellowship. That was. Broken. By sin. So. 1st Corinthians.
[33:05] Chapter 1. In verse 9. Verse says. God.
[33:16] Who has. Called you. Into fellowship. With his son. Jesus. Christ. Our Lord. Is faithful. Now. If you just take. What goes before. The comma.
[33:27] First comma. And what goes. After the second comma. What is the statement. Being made. God is faithful. But now. What is.
[33:40] Between the two commas. What is it. That God has. Called us to. Now that word. For called. There's two kinds of call.
[33:52] In the scriptures. There's the general call. It's what happens. Every time. The gospel is preached. Everyone is invited. To come to Christ. Without distinction. That's the general call.
[34:03] It's to go into all the world. And to invite people. To Jesus Christ. A genuine. Well-meant. Offer of the gospel. That Jesus Christ. Is pleading.
[34:14] The preacher is pleading. On behalf of Christ. Come and be reconciled. To God. That's the general call. But then there's a specific call. An effectual call.
[34:25] That. Goes out. With that general call. That when that general call. Goes out. Many people. Just reject it. And say. Ho hum. No thanks. I'm fine without Jesus. I don't need him in my life.
[34:37] They've never said anything. More foolish than that. They'll find out one day. Just how badly. They need him. When they stand alone. Before God. In judgment. But for now. They don't need him. So they reject the general call.
[34:48] And many of you rejected it. For many many years. And then that same call. Maybe it. Didn't come through different. Words.
[35:00] Same call. Maybe same people. Same preacher. Same scripture. You're reading. It came to you. With a fact. Not just in word. As Paul says. But with.
[35:11] Power. With the Holy Spirit. And deep conviction. Such that. You saw your need. For this savior. And you saw how he perfectly. Meets your need.
[35:22] As a sinner. And you embraced him. In faith. That was an effectual call. That actually. Brought you. To Christ. Christ. And in the Bible. That's also referred to.
[35:32] As God's call. We have examples. Of that call. In Romans chapter. Eight. Twenty eight to thirty. And we know. That all things.
[35:43] Work together. For good. To those who love. God. To those who are. The. The called. Does. Does. Does. Does. Does. Everything work together. For good. For everybody.
[35:53] Who hears the general call. No. They're going to hell. If they don't repent. That's not good. Not talking about. The general call there. To those who are.
[36:05] Who love God. Who are. The called. They have been. Effectually. Called. Irresistibly. Called. All their hindrances. And obstacles.
[36:15] Have been. Pulled aside. And they've been. Brought. Drawn. To the Lord Jesus. With an effectual. Call. Irresistible. Call. That's the I. In tulip.
[36:26] Irresistible. Call. And that's why you came. Because the word came. In more than word. It came in power. Of the Holy Spirit. To call you. To Christ.
[36:37] To actually bring you. To Christ. Now that's the call. That we have here. In first Corinthians. Chapter one. And verse nine. God. Who has. Called you.
[36:48] Called you out of darkness. And brought you into the light. Called you out of the power of Satan. Into the. The kingdom of Christ. Christ. What has he called you into?
[37:00] He's called you to go to heaven. When you die. Bless God. He has. Our destiny is heaven. No longer hell. But what does this text tell us? He's called us into.
[37:14] Fellowship. Koinonia. Shared life. Participating. With Christ. In life. The whole of my life. Is no longer alone.
[37:25] Apart from Christ. Separate from Christ. He's now brought me back. Into relationship. With Christ. And to himself. Through Christ.
[37:35] To the father. And the spirit. So. Notice. What we're called for. What we're saved for. It's. It's to be brought back. Into this fellowship. With the father.
[37:46] With his son. Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Lord. So. What we lost. In the fall. Is restored.
[37:57] In Jesus Christ. As we're called. Effectually. To him. Now that's the. Intimate reality. Of our so great salvation. I mean salvation.
[38:09] It's like a. A gift within a gift. Within a gift. We just keep seeing. And unpacking. All that's. This so great salvation is. But. But. But surely. Right at the heart. Of it.
[38:19] Is this relationship. Of fellowship. With the triune God. Intimate fellowship. That they have enjoyed.
[38:29] For all eternity. And now. I'm brought into it. To share in that fellowship. Personal relationship. And then.
[38:40] Over to first John. Chapter one. The other passage. That I. I want you to see. That these things are. I set them before you. Without scripture. And now. I'm backing up. To give you the scripture.
[38:51] To hopefully. Show you the authority. Of. Of why these things. Need to be believed. And. And acted upon. This is why God.
[39:02] Has saved us. To fellowship with him. With his son. And so. John. Who begins his gospel. Within the beginning. Was the word. And the word was. With God. And the word was God.
[39:13] Is now. In. Introducing. His epistle. In similar language. John. The apostle. Speaks. In. One. One. That which was. From the beginning.
[39:24] Which we have heard. Which we have seen. With our eyes. Which we have looked at. And our hands have touched. This. We proclaim. Concerning. The word of life.
[39:36] The life. Appeared. We have seen it. And testified. To it. And we proclaim. To you. The eternal life. Which was with the father.
[39:48] And has appeared. To us. What was the word of life. Doing. Before he appeared. To John. And the apostles. Here on earth.
[39:59] What was he doing? What does it say? Where was he? With the father. John.
[40:10] One. Eighteen. The son. Was forever. In the bosom. Of the father. Enjoying face to face. Warm. Intimate. Friendship. Fellowship. Joy with the father.
[40:22] And so. So he's saying. This. This word. This. Jesus. That we touched. And handled. He was with the father. But now he's appeared. To us.
[40:32] Well. We proclaim. To you. That we have seen. And heard. What we have seen. And heard. Why? So that you. Also. May have fellowship.
[40:43] With us. John is saying. I want you. To fellowship. With me. And. Our fellowship.
[40:54] Is with the father. And with his son. Jesus Christ. We write this. So that our joy. May be complete. So. John is saying. Me and every other.
[41:07] Apostle. And believer. In Jesus. Are enjoying fellowship. With the father. And the son. And I'm writing this. To you. And. I wrote these things down.
[41:17] I recorded. That my gospel. And now again. And my epistles. All about Jesus. To what end? What. What's the so that. Of the gospel.
[41:28] That you might have fellowship. With us. And. And. And. And our fellowship. Is with the father. And his son. You see again. We've been called. Into fellowship. With. The son. And now we see.
[41:39] And with the father. And I. And. And. Other scriptures. Will show us. With. The spirit. As well. The fellowship. Of the spirit. I think it's first. Corinthians. Chapter 13.
[41:52] May the grace. Of our Lord. Jesus Christ. And the love of God. And the fellowship. Of the Holy Spirit. Be with you all. Precious thing. We. We have fellowship. With the father.
[42:04] The son. And the Holy Spirit. And that's. That's the salvation. That we enjoy. It was. For that purpose. To that end. That. God the father.
[42:14] Chose us. And God the son. Came and obeyed. And. And died on the cross. For us. And the Holy Spirit. In our lifetime. Came and. Regenerated us. And. And called us.
[42:26] To. To Christ. It was that we might enjoy. Fellowship. With the Trinity. Well. If that's the case. Then. Surely. Our fellowship. With the Trinity.
[42:37] Ought to be more. Than just. One blob. Of God. As it were. We ought to. Worship him. As one God.
[42:48] Not three. But we also ought to. Worship. Each person. For their distinctive. Roles in our salvation. We ought to depend upon. Each person.
[42:58] For their distinctive. Works that they do. On our. In our lives. We ought to draw. Comfort. And encouragement. From. Their activity. In our lives.
[43:09] Distinctive activity. You remember. We're back. We'll close with this. John 17. Three. He's just said. Father. You granted.
[43:20] Your son. Me. Authority. Over all people. That he might give. Eternal life. To all those. You've given him. Verse three. Now. What is this. Eternal life.
[43:31] That I give. To those. That you've given me. Well. It's that they may know you. The only true God. And Jesus Christ. Whom you've sent. That's.
[43:42] Personal. Relationship. Isn't it? That's what Paul. Was crying. About. In chapter three. Of Philippians. I want to know Christ. He already does know it.
[43:53] But there's more to know. Of him. And that's the eternal life. To which we're called. And when we get to heaven. We'll see there's more. To know of him. And for the endless ages. We'll be.
[44:04] Basking. In this. Fellowship. Of knowing. Loving. Serving. God. The father. Son. And Holy Spirit. Any questions. Before we.
[44:15] We conclude today. Comments. Yeah. Roger. This whole study. On the Trinity. Has. Made me. So. Appreciate.
[44:26] The incarnation. Of Christ. Because. You've got. The three. All fellowship. In one another. He sends the son down. The son. Totally identified.
[44:36] Even in the flesh. Identifies with us. Call himself. The son of man. And then. Drugs us up. Into this. Glorious. Fellowship. With.
[44:47] The Trinity. Amen. He came down. To bring us up. That's it. Good. Any other. Testimonies.
[44:58] Questions. So. Let's. Let's notice that. As we read our Bibles. That's one place to start. And even as. You hear the word of God preached.
[45:10] Whenever there's a reference. To God. Or the son. Or the spirit. Don't just think. God. But. But think of the three persons. Within the Godhead. And. And what is being said.
[45:22] About each one. And very often. When just the word God is found. It's often referring to. God the father. He is.
[45:34] The God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so. When you see that. It's not always. Referring to the. The Trinity. But. When it says that God sent his son into the world.
[45:47] Who has the son. The father does. So. So you'll need to tease out. When you see the word God. If it says God. Sent his son. You know. It's talking about God the father.
[45:59] Any other thoughts. Questions. Go and be blessed. And enjoy the Trinity. Thank you.