The Triune God being a mystery

Scripture Reading

Isa. 45:5; 1 Cor. 8:4; Matt. 28:19 Jn. 1:1; 2 Cor. 3:17; Heb. 1:8-9; Rev. 1:4; 4:5; 5:6.

Outline
I. God being only one

II. God being Triune — Father, Son, and Spirit

III. A mystery of mysteries

Text

I. God being only one

First, we must be clear that there is only one God. God is one. There is no other God. Our
God is the only God; both the Old and New Testaments make this abundantly clear. Isaiah
45:5 says, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." First
Corinthians 8:4 says, "There is no God but one." In the whole universe there is only one true
God. The God who has a good pleasure, will, eternal purpose, and economy is one. The God
who chose us and predestinated us is one. The God who created the heavens, the earth, and
man for His purpose is one. The God who loves man is one. The God who became incarnated
to die for us so that we might be redeemed, forgiven, washed, justified, and reconciled is one.
The God who resurrected to be our life to regenerate, sanctify, transform, conform, and
glorify us is one. We have only one God: not two, three, or many, but one.

II. God being triune — Father, Son, and Spirit

Although our God is one, there is something mysterious about Him. He is three-one, or
"triune" (in Latin, "tri" means three and "une" means one). That is why we call Him the
"Triune God." You may wonder where this term comes from, since there is no such number in
human mathematics. In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus says, "Baptizing them into the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Here the Lord speaks clearly of the three —
the Father, Son, and Spirit. But notice that the word "name" is singular. You may even say
that the name of our God is "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Because of Bible verses like
these, we can see that our God is one-yet-three and three-yet-one.

III. A mystery of mysteries

The Triune God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is a mystery — in fact a mystery of mysteries!
Small and finite as human beings are, we can neither understand it thoroughly nor define it in
a full way. John 1:1 says, "The Word was with God, and the Word was God." By the clause
"the Word was with God," we understand that the Word and God are two, for the Word was
with God. But "the Word was God" indicates that the Word and God are one, for the Word
was God. Are They one or two? They are both. This is a mystery.

Second Corinthians 3:17 says that "the Lord is the Spirit." Here the Lord and the Spirit are
one, for the Lord is the Spirit. Then the same verse speaks of "the Spirit of the Lord." This
indicates that They are two. Are the Lord and the Spirit one or two? It is a mystery.

Notice that in Hebrews 1:8-9 the Son is addressed as God; then God is referred to as "His"
God: "But as to the Son, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever...therefore God, Your God,
has anointed You." How can you explain this? Can you say, "O God, Your God"? This is also
a mystery.

Finally, in Revelation 1:4, 4:5, and 5:6 we read that the one Spirit of God (Eph. 4:4) is called
"the seven Spirits." Here is another mystery. Dear brothers and sisters, we must learn simply
to accept the pure Word.

This mystery should not bother us too much, however. Many things relating to life are not
understandable to men; we can only have a general idea of them. For instance, although we
have life in our physical body, no one can explain this life thoroughly, for it is a mystery.
Furthermore, there is a spirit within us — this is even more of a mystery. What is the life of
man? And what is the spirit of man? No one can give a full explanation. If we cannot
comprehend such a comparatively small mystery as man, we should not expect to be able to
fully understand the great mystery of the Triune God — the Father, Son, and Spirit. There are
many other unexplainable things in the universe. Electricity is one example. With our limited
minds we can only understand that some things are so, but we cannot perceive why they are
so. If we cannot fully understand something like electricity, how much less can we
understand the Triune God!

Summary
Although we cannot understand this mystery of the Trinity of the Godhead, we can receive
and enjoy this mysterious God. We cannot understand, but we can enjoy! In former days men
had no knowledge of vitamins, yet they greatly enjoyed their benefit. Praise the Lord! The
Triune God is not for us to understand, but to enjoy. All that He is for us to enjoy is revealed
in the Scriptures. Although we cannot fully understand it, we may, according to all that is
declared in the Bible, accept whatever is said and enjoy Him.

Questions

1. Quote two verses, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament, that
tell us there is only one God.

2. What does the term "Triune" mean?

3. Can you find three verses in the New Testament that refer to all three of the Trinity?