This episode tackles one of the most enigmatic doctrines in Christian theology – the Holy Trinity. Adrian Rogers unfolds the layers of this mystery, arguing its significance and uniqueness to Christianity. From components of sacred history found in both Old and New Testaments to the portrayal of God in three distinct persons, Rogers elucidates how the Trinity plays a pivotal role in salvation and the Christmas story. As you listen, you’ll discover how understanding the Trinity can transform your grasp of Christian doctrine, using both divine revelation and deep-rooted biblical teachings.
00:00:00 Introduction and Praise for Adrian Rogers
Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
SPEAKER 02 :
Would you take God’s Word and find the Christmas story in Luke chapter 1? And when you found it, look up here. AND LET ME TELL YOU THAT THE GREAT QUESTION OF THE AGES IS, WHO IS THIS BABY THAT, UH, LUKE TELLS ABOUT IN THE BIRTH OF A CHILD? ANSWER THAT QUESTION RIGHT AND ACT ON YOUR ANSWER AND ALL WILL BE RIGHT. ANSWER THAT QUESTION WRONGLY AND ALL WILL BE WRONG. I WANT TO READ TO YOU JUST ONE VERSE, AND THAT IS LUKE CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE 35. THE ANGEL IS SPEAKING TO MARY, THE VIRGIN MARY. AND HERE’S WHAT THE ANGEL SAID TO MARY, THE ANGEL GABRIEL. AND THE ANGEL ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HER, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, UNDERSCORE THE WORD HOLY GHOST, UH, UH, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE, AND THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE, UNDERSCORE THE HIGHEST. THEREFORE ALSO THAT HOLY THING WHICH SHALL BE BORN OF THEE SHALL BE CALLED THE SON OF GOD, UNDERSCORE THE SON OF GOD, THE HOLY GHOST, THE HIGHEST, THE SON OF GOD. WHO WAS THIS CHILD? WHO IS JESUS? NOW SOME SAY, WELL, HE WAS A GREAT MAN. H. G. WELLS, IN HIS OUTLINE OF HISTORY, THE GREAT HISTORIAN, UH, GAVE A LIST OF THE TEN GREATEST MEN WHO HAVE EVER LIVED, AND NUMBER ONE ON HIS LIST WAS JESUS CHRIST, BUT HE DOESN’T BELONG ON ANYBODY’S LIST. HE IS NOT JESUS CHRIST THE GREAT, HE’S JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY. HUH, HUH, YOU SPEAK OF PETER THE GREAT, CHARLEMAINE THE GREAT, ALEXANDER THE GREAT, BUT YOU HAVE TO SAY JESUS THE ONE AND ONLY, NOT A GREAT MAN. WELL, YOU MIGHT SAY, WELL, HE WAS A MORAL TEACHER. BUT IF THAT’S ALL YOU SAY, YOU’RE WRONG AGAIN. UH, C.S. LEWIS SAID THIS, AND I LOVE THIS QUOTE, SO LISTEN TO IT CAREFULLY. I’M GOING TO READ IT. IT IS GREAT. C.S. LEWIS, A BRILLIANT MIND, SAID THIS, I AM TRYING HERE TO PREVENT ANYONE FROM SAYING THE REALLY FOOLISH THING THAT PEOPLE OFTEN SAY ABOUT HIM, THAT IS, ABOUT JESUS. AND HERE’S WHAT THEY SAY, I AM READY TO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS A GREAT MORAL TEACHER, BUT I DON’T ACCEPT HIS CLAIM TO BE GOD. THEN C.S. LEWIS SAYS, THAT IS THE ONE THING WE MUST NOT SAY. A MAN WHO WAS MERELY A MAN WHO SAID THE SORT OF THINGS THAT JESUS SAID WOULD NOT BE A GREAT MORAL TEACHER. HE WOULD BE EITHER A LUNATIC ON THE LEVEL OF THE MAN WHO SAYS HE’S A POACHED EGG, HUH, OR ELSE HE WOULD BE THE DEVIL OF HELL. YOU MUST MAKE YOUR CHOICE. EITHER THIS MAN WAS AND IS THE SON OF GOD, OR ELSE A MADMAN, OR SOMETHING WORSE. YOU CAN SHUT HIM UP FOR A FOOL, YOU CAN SPIT AT HIM AND KILL HIM AS A DEMON, OR YOU CAN FALL AT HIS FEET AND CALL HIM LORD AND GOD. BUT LET NONE OF US COME WITH ANY PATRONIZING NONSENSE ABOUT HIS BEING A GREAT HUMAN TEACHER. HE HAS NOT LEFT THAT OPEN TO US. ISN’T THAT A GREAT QUOTE? THAT IS WONDERFUL. OH, SOME SAY HE’S A GREAT MAN. OTHERS SAY HE’S A MORAL TEACHER. OTHERS SAY THAT HE IS A, A PROPHET AND A MESSENGER OF GOD. THE KORAN OF ISLAM TEACHES, AND I QUOTE, JESUS WAS ONLY A MESSENGER OF ALLAH. HUH-HUH. OR SOME, UH, OF THE NEW AGERS SAY THAT HE IS A MYSTIC MEDIUM. HUH. THEY SEE, THE NEW AGE GURUS SEE JESUS AS A CHANNEL, YOU KNOW, THROUGH WHICH THEY CAN DISCOVER, UH, THE INNER GOD IN THEM AND, UH, ALL OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE. DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE DEMON SPIRITS WHO TAKE THE NAME JESUS? WHO IS THIS BABY? HE IS GOD IN THE FLESH. NOT ONLY IS HE THE SON OF GOD, HE IS GOD THE SON. WELL, YOU SAY, HOW CAN THAT BE? HOW CAN GOD BE MANIFEST IN THE FLESH? WELL, WE COME TO A WONDERFUL DOCTRINE THAT I WANT TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT TODAY, AND IT IS THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. THE TRINITY. NOW DON’T THINK THAT WE’RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THEOLOGICAL, UH, SOPHISTRIES. DON’T THINK THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT INCIDENTALS. FRIEND, I WANT TO TELL YOU THE GREAT BATTLE IN THE WORLD TODAY IS OVER THIS DOCTRINE THAT WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT NOW, AND THAT IS THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY, THAT WE WORSHIP ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS. YOU SAW THAT THERE IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY. THE HOLY GHOST, SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE. THAT ONE THAT IS BORN IN THEE, THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST WILL COME UPON THEE, AND THAT ONE WILL BE CALLED THE SON OF GOD.” YOU HAVE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST. THAT IS THE TRINITY. NOW, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE WORSHIP ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS, AND THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE CHRISTIAN DISTINCTIVE. AND YOU WOULD BE AMAZED AT HOW MUCH ERROR AND HOW MUCH, UH, HERESY COMES BECAUSE WE DON’T UNDERSTAND THAT. FOR EXAMPLE, I MENTIONED ISLAM. ISLAM DOES NOT ACCEPT THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. THEY DO NOT, THEY, THEY DO NOT ACCEPT THE FACT THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS GOD IN THE FLESH. UH, YOU, YOU TAKE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES DO NOT ACCEPT THE FACT THAT JESUS WAS GOD IN THE FLESH. THEY DENY THE IDEA OF THE HOLY TRINITY. UH, THE UNITARIANS, UH, DO NOT ACCEPT THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY. AND, AND MANY, UH, FALSE CULTS, UH, DENY, THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY. AND FOR MANY OF OUR BELOVED JEWISH FRIENDS, THEY CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY. UH, THEY THINK THAT PERHAPS WE’RE POLITHEISTS, THAT WE WORSHIP THREE GODS. WE DO NOT WORSHIP THREE GODS. WE WORSHIP ONE GOD, WHO HAS REVEALED HIMSELF AS FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. NOW I WANT TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR, VERY CLEAR THAT JESUS IS GOD. WHEN YOU GET HOME, GET JOHN CHAPTER EIGHT AND READ IT. IT IS AN INCREDIBLE CHAPTER. JESUS IS HAVING AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE PHARISEES AND THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF HIS DAY, AND THEY SNEER AT HIM. THEY DID NOT BELIEVE IN THE VIRGIN BIRTH, IN THIS DIALOGUE BETWEEN JESUS AND THESE, THEY SNEAR AT HIM AND THEY SAY, WE BE NOT BORN OF FORNICATION. THEY WERE IMPLYING THAT JESUS WAS BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. THEN THEY SAID, WE HAVE ABRAHAM FOR OUR FATHER. AND JESUS SAID TO THEM IN JOHN EIGHT VERSE 58, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I am. Not I was. Listen carefully. Before Abraham was, I am. They took up stones to stone him. Do you know why? Because over there in Exodus chapter 3, verse 14, when Moses said to God, who shall I say sent me? Who are you? AND ELOHIM SAID, I AM THAT I AM. YOU GO TELL MOSES, I AM SENT YOU. NOT I WAS, NOT I WILL BE, JUST I AM. I ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS WILL BE. I AM THE GREAT I AM. THEY SAID, HOW DO YOU KNOW ABRAHAM? YOU’RE NOT YET FIFTY YEARS OLD. HE SAID BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS I. INDISPUTABLE. HE IS THE GREAT GOD. BUT NOT ONLY IS JESUS GOD, THE HOLY GHOST IS GOD. YOU READ OVER THERE IN ACTS CHAPTER FIVE WHERE ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRE TOLD A LIE ABOUT SOME MONEY THEY’D GIVEN TO THE CHURCH. AND PETER SAID, WHY HAS SATAN FILLED YOUR HEART TO LIE TO THE HOLY GHOST? YOU’VE NOT LIED UNTO MEN, YOU’VE LIED UNTO GOD. YOU LIE TO THE HOLY GHOST, YOU LIE TO GOD, BECAUSE THE FATHER IS GOD, THE SON IS GOD, THE SPIRIT IS GOD. WE DON’T WORSHIP THREE GODS. WE WORSHIP ONE GOD, BUT THAT ONE GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF AS THREE PERSONS, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, MERCIFUL AND MIGHTY GOD IN THREE PERSONS, BLESSED TRINITY. NOW, THREE THINGS I WANT TO LAY ON YOUR HEART TODAY, OKAY? SEE IF YOU CAN REMEMBER THEM. WE’RE GOING TO THINK ABOUT THE SUBLIME MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY. WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SACRED HISTORY OF THE TRINITY. AND THEN WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SAVING MINISTRY OF THE TRINITY. CAN YOU REMEMBER THAT? THINK WITH ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SUBLIME MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY. YOU SEE, FIRST TIMOTHY CHAPTER THREE VERSE 16 SAYS, AND WITHOUT CONTROVERSY, GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS. GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. NOW THAT’S A MYSTERY. THAT IS A MYSTERY. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRINITY? ONLY BY DIVINE REVELATION. THERE’S NO WAY THAT YOU’RE GOING TO FIGURE IT OUT BY HUMAN INVESTIGATION. THERE’S NO WAY THAT YOU’RE GOING TO COME ABOUT IT BY LOGIC. THERE’S NO WAY BY PHILOSOPHY OR SCIENCE OR MATHEMATICS YOU’RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT THE HOLY TRINITY. AND WITHOUT CONTROVERSY, GREAT IS THE MYSTERY, THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS. GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO FIGURE IT OUT. WESLEY ASKED THIS QUESTION, JOHN WESLEY, HUH, COULD A WORM UNDERSTAND A MAN? IF A WORM COULD UNDERSTAND A MAN, THEN MAYBE YOU COULD UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY. NOW, THE TRINITY IS NOT, UH, CONTRADICTORY TO LOGIC AND REASON. IT’S JUST SIMPLY BEYOND IT. THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS ABOUT GOD THAT WILL NEVER BE UNFOLDED TO YOUR, YOUR LOGIC. YOU SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE IDEA OF THE TRINITY IS ILLOGICAL. FRIEND, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT GOD THAT ARE ILLOGICAL. NOT JUST THE TRINITY. GOD NEVER HAD A BEGINNING. WHAT DOES THAT DO TO YOUR LOGIC? GOD IS EVERYWHERE. THE ANCIENTS USED TO SAY, GOD IS A CIRCLE WHOSE CENTER IS EVERYWHERE AND WHOSE CIRCUMFERENCE IS NOWHERE. YOU SAY, I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. FRANKLY, I’M GLAD YOU DON’T. I WOULDN’T HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE IN A GOD YOU COULD UNDERSTAND OR A GOD THAT I COULD UNDERSTAND. HE IS BEYOND LOGIC. HE IS BEYOND COMPARISON. IT IS A MYSTERY. DON’T TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT. YOU SAY, WELL, I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRINITY. FRIEND, A FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD CAN ASK QUESTIONS THAT NOBODY CAN ANSWER. YOU SEE, THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY DOES NOT DEPEND UPON YOUR LOGIC, UPON YOUR REASON. IT DEPENDS UPON DIVINE REVELATION. PEOPLE RACED THEIR THEOLOGICAL ENGINES TRYING TO FIND SOME COMPARISON TO COMPARE GOD TO, TO EXPLAIN THE TRINITY. PUT THIS VERSE DOWN, ISAIAH CHAPTER 40 VERSE 18, WITH WHOM THEN WILL YE LIKEN GOD? OR WITH WHAT LIKENESS WILL YOU COMPARE HIM? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO COMPARE GOD TO? YOU CAN COMPARE ONE MAN TO ANOTHER MAN, ONE CHAIR TO ANOTHER CHAIR, ONE PIANO TO ANOTHER PIANO, ONE CARPET TO ANOTHER CARPET, ONE BUILDING TO ANOTHER BUILDING, ONE BUG TO ANOTHER BUG. THERE’S ONLY ONE GOD. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO COMPARE IT TO, TO ANYTHING. DON’T SAY, GOD IS LIKE THIS OR GOD IS LIKE THAT. OH, YOU CAN SEE REFLECTIONS. YOU CAN SEE REFLECTIONS OF THE TRINITY EVERYWHERE BECAUSE GOD MADE EVERYTHING. GOD MADE SPACE. SPACE IS HIGHTH, WIDTH, AND DEPTH. HIGHTH IS NOT WIDTH, WIDTH IS NOT DEPTH. DEPTH IS NOT HIGH. ALL ARE PART OF THE SAME. THEY CANNOT BE SEPARATED. THEY CAN BE DISTINGUISHED. GOD MADE SPACE. GOD MADE TIME. TIME IS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. THE PAST IS NOT THE PRESENT. THE PRESENT IS NOT THE FUTURE. THE FUTURE IS NOT THE PAST. ALL ARE TIME. EACH ARE DISTINGUISHABLE. ALL ARE INSEPARABLE. MAN IS BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT. I PRAY, GOD, YOUR WHOLE SPIRIT, SOUL, AND BODY BE PRESERVED BLAMELESS UNTO THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. YOU ARE TRIUNE IN NATURE. THEY, YOU, YOU’RE SITTING THERE. NOT THREE PERSONS, BUT ONE PERSON, BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT. BUT ALL OF THESE ANALOGIES FAIL. THEY’RE ONLY FAINT REFLECTIONS. OF WHO GOD IS. DON’T FALL INTO THE TRAP OF MODALISM. WHAT IS MODALISM? SOMEBODY SAYS, WELL, I CAN EXPLAIN THE TRINITY. IT’S LIKE ADRIAN ROGERS. HE IS PASTOR, HE IS HUSBAND, AND HE IS FATHER. NO, THAT’S JUST THE DIFFERENT MODES. I’M JUST ONE PERSON. THAT IS, THAT IS A HERESY. THERE ARE THREE DISTINCT PERSONS IN THE TRINITY, FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST, NOT GOD ACTING IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS. THERE’S THE PERSONALITY OF THE FATHER, THE PERSONALITY OF THE SON, THE PERSONALITY OF THE SPIRIT, BUT THESE THREE ARE ONE. WE DO NOT WORSHIP THREE GODS, ONE GOD WHO HAS REVEALED HIMSELF IN THREE PERSONS. NOW THE ONLY WAY YOU’RE GOING TO KNOW THAT, DEAR FRIEND, IS TO TAKE THE BIBLE AND, AND OPEN THE BIBLE. NOW, WE SAID THAT THE MUSLIMS DO NOT ACCEPT THE TRINITY. WE SAY OUR JEWISH FRIENDS DO NOT ACCEPT THE TRINITY. AND WE SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES, AH, DO NOT ACCEPT THE TRINITY. BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING. THEY ALL SAY THEY BELIEVE THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO LET’S TAKE THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE OLD TESTAMENT, NOT THE NEW TESTAMENT. THE OLD TESTAMENT. AND LET’S LOOK IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND SEE WHAT WE FIND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, LET’S LOOK AT, LET’S JUST OPEN THE BIBLE AND THE FRONT DOOR, THE FRONT PAGE, THE FIRST VERSE, AND YOU’LL FIND THE HOLY TRINITY. IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, GENESIS ONE, ONE. IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. AND THE HEBREW WORD GOD IS ELOHIM. AND THAT IS PLURAL. ELOHIM, THE I-M ENDING IS THE PLURAL. A CHERUB IS A SINGLE ANGEL. A CHERUBIM, I-M, MEANS MANY. A SERAPH, THAT’S ONE ANGEL. SERAPHIM, THAT’S MANY. ELOHIM IS PLURAL, BUT IT SAYS THERE, THERE IS A, A PLURAL NOWN, BUT A SINGULAR VERB. IN THE BEGINNING, GOD’S, AND IT MAY BE TRANSLATED THAT WAY, A PLURALITY, CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, A SINGULAR VERB. THE SAME IS SEEN WHEN, WHEN, UH, THE ALMIGHTY CREATED MAN IN GENESIS CHAPTER ONE AND VERSE 26, AND GOD SAID, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE. NOW YOU’D THINK HE WOULD SAY, LET ME MAKE MAN IN MY IMAGE. BUT LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE.” ELOHIM SAID, LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE. THAT IS THE, THE TRIUNE GOD TAKING COUNSEL TOGETHER. THE TRINITY OF GOD IS SHOWN IN THE GREAT COMMANDMENT THAT GOD GAVE TO THE JEWS. HUH, NOW, THE JEWS TOOK THE NAME, UH, JEHOVAH, I AM. YAHWEH AS THE MOST SACRED NAME. WE’VE ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT. SOME ULTRA-ORTHODOX WOULD NOT EVEN REPEAT THAT NAME. THEY WOULD NOT EVEN WRITE IT. THEY WOULD NOT EVEN SPELL IT. WHEN A COPIER WOULD, WOULD COME TO COPY THAT NAME, HE’D PUT DOWN HIS PIN, GET A NEW PIN JUST TO COPY THAT NAME. THAT, THAT’S THE NAME, AH, YAHWEH OR JEHOVAH. NOW, HERE’S WHAT, UH, DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER SIX SAYS IN VERSES FOUR AND FIVE. THIS IS A VERSE THAT EVERY ORTHODOX JEW WOULD WANT TO REPEAT MORNING AND EVENING. HOW HE WOULD, HE WOULD LEARN THIS FROM A CHILD. IT’S CALLED SHEMA. IT’S A GREAT VERSE. IT SPEAKS OF THE UNITY OF GOD, THAT THERE’S ONE GOD. AND WHAT A GREAT VERSE IT IS. LISTEN TO IT. HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD. THE YAHWEH, THE JEHOVAH, OUR ELOHIM IS ONE JEHOVAH. THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD, AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THINE HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIGHT.” AND OUR JEWISH FRIENDS USE THIS AS A PRIME TEXT FOR THE UNITY OF GOD, AND WELL THEY MIGHT. BUT LET ME TELL YOU, IT ALSO SPEAKS OF THE TRINITY, BECAUSE WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS, THE LORD OUR ELOHIM, OUR GODS, IS ONE LORD. THAT’S VERY INTERESTING. AND THE WORD ONE, ECHAD, E-C-H-A-D, IS ONE, IT DOESN’T MEAN A SINGULAR ONE. IT MEANS A COMPOUND ONE. YOU SAY, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? WELL, IT, IT, FOR EXAMPLE, IN GENESIS CHAPTER TWO VERSE 24, THEY TOO SHALL BE ONE FLESH, SPEAKING OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. THAT’S A, A COMPOUND UNITY. IN GENESIS ONE VERSE 16, UH, GENESIS 11, UH, UH, VERSE SIX, RATHER, WHEN GOD LOOKED DOWN AT THE TOWER OF BABEL, HE SAID, UH, BEHOLD, THEY ARE ONE PEOPLE. TALKING ABOUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE. UH, IN, IN, UH, HEBREWS 13 VERSE 23, THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF ONE CLUSTER OF GRAPES, A BUNCH OF GRAPES. FIRST SAMUEL 13 VERSE 17, AN ARMY, ONE COMPANY. FIRST CHRONICLES 17 VERSE 21, ONE NATION. I’VE JUST GIVEN YOU THESE TO SHOW YOU THAT THE WORD ONE IS, IS A COMPOUND ONE. NOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THIS THING, THE LORD OUR GOD IS A UNITY, ONE UNITY, THE LORD OUR GOD’S. WE’RE TALKING NOW OLD TESTAMENT. YOU SEE, THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHES THAT THE GREAT, ETERNAL GOD HAS A SON. I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT. I’M TALKING ABOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT. PUT THIS VERSE DOWN, DANIEL CHAPTER THREE VERSE 25. THE, THOSE, AH, THREE HEBREW CHILDREN WERE THROWN INTO THE FIERY FURNACE. I LOVE THAT STORY. YOU KNEW IT SINCE A CHILD. AND THE OLD KING LOOKED IN THERE AND THIS IS WHAT HE SAID, LO, I SEE FOUR MEN LOOSE, WALKING IN THE MIDST OF THE FIRE, AND THEY HAVE NO HURT, AND THE FORM OF THE FOURTH IS LIKE THE SON OF GOD. AND THE LORD JESUS STEPPED OUT OF HEAVEN AND TOOK A STROLL THROUGH THAT FURNACE WITH THESE BOYS. UH, PROVERBS CHAPTER 30 AND VERSE 4, WHO HATH ASCENDED UP INTO HEAVEN, OR DESCENDED? WHO HATH GATHERED THE WIND IN HIS FIST? WHO HATH BOUND THE WATERS IN A GARMENT? WHO HATH ESTABLISHED ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH? WHAT IS HIS NAME, AND WHAT IS HIS SON’S NAME? IF THOU CANST TELL, I CAN, IT’S JESUS. PSALM CHAPTER TWO, VERSES SIX AND SEVEN. GOD IS TALKING ABOUT THE WICKED MACHINATIONS OF THE KINGS OF THIS EARTH WHO DON’T WANT THE LORD AND HIS CHRIST. AND YET HE SAYS IN VERSE SIX, YET HAVE I SET MY KING UPON MY HOLY HILL OF ZION. I WILL DECLARE THE DECREE THE LORD HATH SET UNTO ME, THIS IS JESUS SPEAKING, THOU ART MY SON. THIS DAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE. FRIEND, THAT’S OLD TESTAMENT. THAT’S OLD TESTAMENT. GOD’S GOING TO SET HIS SON, THE LORD JESUS, UPON HIS HOLY HILL OF ZION. YOU EVER PLAY CHECKERS? YOU MOVE A MAN IN THE KING’S ROW AND SAY, CROWN HIM? THAT’S WHAT GOD’S GOING TO DO, FRIEND. HE’S GOING TO PUT HIS SON RIGHT THERE IN THE KING’S ROW AND SAY, YOU CROWN HIM. I’VE SET MY KING UPON MY HOLY HILL OF ZION. IN ISAIAH 9 VERSE 6, FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, AND UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN. NOT A SON BORN, A CHILD BORN, A SON GIVEN. AND THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER, AND HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR. NOW LISTEN TO THIS, THE SON, HIS NAME IS CALLED MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE. THE SON IS THE MIGHTY GOD AND THE EVERLASTING FATHER. AND THE WORD, UH, MIGHTY GOD IS EL GABOR. YOU KNOW WHAT IT LITERALLY MEANS? GOD-MAN. GOD-MAN. NOW, THE, THE CULTISTS WILL SAY, WELL, THAT’S, THAT’S SPEAKING ONLY OF MIGHTY GOD, NOT ALL MIGHTY GOD. JESUS IS THE MIGHTY GOD, NOT ALL MIGHTY GOD. I SAY, HOW MANY GODS DO YOU WANT, FRIEND? THAT’S IDOLATRY. THERE’S ONLY ONE GOD, HE IS THE MIGHTY GOD, AND THIS SAME TERM, MIGHTY GOD, IS USED IN THE VERY NEXT CHAPTER IN, IN ISAIAH CHAPTER 10 VERSE 21, THE REMNANT SHALL RETURN, EVEN THE REMNANT OF JACOB, UNTO THE MIGHTY GOD. IT SPEAKS UNEQUIVOCABLY OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AND IN, IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, THAT BABY IS CALLED THE MIGHTY GOD, WHERE THERE CAN BE NO QUIBBLE ABOUT IT. HE’S THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE FATHER OF ETERNITIES. NOW, YOU SAY, PASTOR ROGERS, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THE MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY. THAT’S RIGHT, THE MYSTERY OF IT. YOU SAY, I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. THAT’S RIGHT, FOR GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT YOUR WAYS, HIS THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGH ABOVE THE EARTH. HOW HIGH IS UP? YOU TELL ME. TELL ME HOW HIGH IS UP? YOU CAN’T DO IT, CAN YOU? WELL, FRIEND, THAT’S HOW FAR GOD IS FROM YOUR UNDERSTANDING, OKAY? DON’T YOU PUT GOD IN YOUR LITTLE SUITCASE OF A MINE AND SLIP OFF ALL THE NECKTIES THAT ARE STICKING OUT. NO, NO. GOD IS GOD. SOMEBODY SAID, DEFINE THE TRINITY, YOU LOSE YOUR MIND. DENY THE TRINITY, YOU’LL LOSE YOUR SOUL. THAT, THAT, THAT’S THE SUBLIME MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY. BUT THINK WITH ME, NOT ONLY ABOUT THE SUBLIME MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY, THINK ABOUT THE SACRED HISTORY OF THE TRINITY. YOU CAN, WHILE YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY, YOU CAN SEE THE TRINITY AT WORK. FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. REMEMBER THAT VERSE WE GAVE YOU, GENESIS ONE ONE, IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. WE ALL AGREE TO THAT. BUT NOW TURN TO JOHN ONE, VERSES ONE THROUGH THREE. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND WHAT IS THE WORD BUT AN EXPRESSION OF AN IDEA, THE ARTICULATION OF AN IDEA. JESUS IS THE EXPRESSION, THE ARTICULATION OF THE UNSEEN IDEA OF GOD. AND IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD. NOW WATCH THIS. WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. THE SAME WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD. ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM, AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE. GENESIS 1, 1, GOD THE FATHER. JOHN 1, 1 THROUGH 3, GOD THE SON. JOB 26, VERSE 13, BY HIS SPIRIT HE GARNISHED THE HEAVENS. WELL, WHO DID THE CREATION? GOD THE FATHER, SON, OR HOLY SPIRIT? YES. YES. YOU SEE THE TRINITY IN CREATION. YOU SEE THE TRINITY IN THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK, THE BIBLE. WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT WROTE THE BIBLE. FOR EXAMPLE, UH, SECOND TIMOTHY CHAPTER THREE VERSE 16, ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD. THAT’S FINE, GOD THE FATHER. FIRST PETER ONE VERSE TEN, OF WHICH SALVATION THE PROPHETS HAVE INQUIRED AND SEARCHED DILIGENTLY, WHO PROPHESIED OF THE GRACE THAT SHOULD COME UNTO YOU, SEARCHING WHAT OR BY WHAT MANNER OF TIME THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST WHICH WAS IN THEM DID SIGNIFY. WELL, HUH, THIS SAYS THAT IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST THAT WROTE THE BIBLE. BUT THEN IN SECOND PETER ONE VERSE 21, FOR THE PROPHECY CAME NOT IN OLD TIME BY THE WILL OF MEN, BUT HOLY MEN OF GOD SPAKE AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HOLY GHOST. WHO WROTE THE BIBLE, GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, OR GOD THE HOLY GHOST? YES. THEY ALL, ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS INSPIRED THIS BOOK, WHO BROUGHT THE SAVIOR INTO THE WORLD. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE CONCEPTION OF THE SAVIOR. LUKE ONE VERSE 35, AND THE ANGEL SAID UNTO HER, THE HOLY GHOST SHALL O, COME UPON THEE, AND THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE. THEREFORE THAT HOLY THING THAT SHALL BE BORN IN THEE SHALL BE CALLED THE SON OF GOD, FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST. WHEN, WHEN THE LORD JESUS COMMISSIONED THE CHURCH, BATHUE 28 VERSES 18 THROUGH 20, GO YE THEREFORE AND TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY GHOST, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I’VE COMMANDED YOU. NOW, IT WOULD BE SHEER BLASPHEMY TO PUT THE NAME OF JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE SAME LEVEL WITH GOD THE FATHER IF THEY WERE NOT ONE IN THREE AND THREE IN ONE. YOU SEE, THE HOLY TRINITY, FOLKS, YOU SEE THE HOLY TRINITY NOT ONLY IN SUBLIME MYSTERY, BUT IN SACRED HISTORY, IN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD, IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE SCRIPTURES, IN, IN THE CONCEPTION OF THE CHRIST, IN THE COMMISSIONING OF THE CHURCH, THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE HOLY TRINITY. BUT HERE’S ONE LAST THING AND WE MUST WRAP THIS UP. I WANT YOU TO SEE AT THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON, NOT ONLY SUBLIME MYSTERY, AND NOT ONLY SACRED HISTORY, HA HA, BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE, THANK GOD, THE SAVING MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, OF THE SON, AND OF THE FATHER. THOU SHALT CALL HIS NAME JESUS, FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS. NOW I’VE, I’VE REFERENCED A LOT OF SCRIPTURES AND NOT GIVEN YOU TIME TO TURN TO THEM, SO I WANT YOU TO TURN TO THIS ONE. TURN TO, UH, EPHESIANS CHAPTER ONE. WOULD YOU DO THAT? PAUL WRITES HERE ABOUT OUR SALVATION. AS A MATTER OF FACT, SOME, HUH, SAY THIS IS THE LONGEST SENTENCE IN THE BIBLE, THE SENTENCE. I’M NOT GOING TO READ THE ENTIRE SENTENCE, BUT IT’S LIKE PAUL GETS STARTED AND HE CAN’T STOP TALKING. AND WHAT PAUL IS GOING TO DO HERE IN EPHESIANS ONE, HE’S GOING TO GIVE YOU THE HISTORY OF SALVATION. AND HE’S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE HOLY TRINITY. AND HE JUST KEEPS TALKING, AND HE KEEPS TALKING, AND HE KEEPS TALKING. IT’S KINDA LIKE THAT LITTLE POEM I HEARD, UH, ONCE THERE WAS A POET FROM JAPAN WHOSE POETRY NO ONE COULD SCAN, AND WHEN TOLD IT WAS SO, HE SAID, YES, I KNOW, BUT I ALWAYS TRY TO GET AS MANY WORDS IN THE LAST LINE AS I CAN. AND, UH, THIS IS WHAT PAUL IS, PAUL IS DOING. HE JUST, HE JUST KEEPS ON TALKING AND TALKING ABOUT SALVATION. NOW I WANT YOU TO SEE, AND BY THE WAY, LISTEN FOLKS, DON’T THINK THAT I’M JUST, AS I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, I’M JUST TALKING ABOUT THEOLOGICAL SOPHISTRIES AND NICETIES AND INCIDENTALS. HEY, THIS DEALS WITH YOU. THIS DEALS WITH YOUR DESTINY. THIS IS HOW YOU GOT SAVED. THIS IS WHY YOU’RE GOING TO HEAVEN. THAT’S WHY WE’RE IN THE CHURCH TODAY. NOW LISTEN TO IT. WHAT IS THE TRINITY IN SAVING MINISTRY? WELL, BEGIN IN, IN VERSE THREE, FOR EXAMPLE, BLESSED BE, THIS IS EPHESIANS ONE THREE, BLESSED BE THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO HATH BLESSED US WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS, ACCORDING AS HE HATH CHOSEN US IN HIM, UNDERSCORE, HATH CHOSEN US IN HIM, BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. YOU TALK ABOUT OLD-TIME RELIGION. BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, THAT WE SHOULD BE HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME BEFORE HIM IN LOVE, HAVING PREDESTINATED, UH, US UNTO THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, ACCORDING TO THE GOOD PLEASURE OF HIS WILL, TO THE PRAISE OF THE GLORY OF HIS GRACE.” NOW PUT THIS DOWN ABOUT SALVATION. GOD TAUGHT IT BEFORE YOU WERE EVER BORN. IT WAS IN THE HEART AND MIND OF GOD. GOD SEES YOU SITTING IN THIS CHURCH TODAY. GOD KNOWS THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE ALL TOGETHER. AND FRIEND, UH, GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU. GOD HAS SELECTED YOU, UH, TO BE, UH, HIS CHILD. LOOK IN VERSE FOUR, HE HATH CHOSEN US IN HIM. THE ONLY REASON THAT WE COULD CHOOSE HIM IS BECAUSE HE FIRST CHOSE US. AND WHY DID HE CHOOSE US? FOR A MIRACLE, THAT WE SHOULD BE HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME BEFORE HIM IN LOVE. HUH, HEY FOLKS, THAT’S THE GOSPEL. HE CAN TAKE A ROTTEN, NO GOOD, LOW-DOWN, SCUMMY, VILE SINNER LIKE ADRIAN AND MAKE HIM HOLY AND BLAMELESS. THAT’S WONDERFUL. THAT’S SALVATION. AND THIS IN HA, HAVING PREDESTINATED US UNTO THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST. A man might, in this Bible times, have sired a child, but that child might be the offspring of a slave. So in order to make it legal, he has an adoption ceremony where that child becomes an heir and a joint heir with all of the children. Now, friend, we are predestinated unto this adoption. That is, we are not only spiritually but legally the children of Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will. What does that mean? WELL, AND THEN LOOK IN, IN, IN VERSE SIX, TO THE PRAISE OF THE GLORY OF THE, OF HIS GRACE WHEREIN HE HATH MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED. NOW GET READY FOR A BLESSING. FRIEND, LISTEN, WE WERE CHOSEN IN THE PAST WE’RE PREDESTINED FOR THE FUTURE AND WE’RE ACCEPTED IN THE PRESENT. THIS SALVATION COMES FROM GOD THE FATHER. GOD FOUGHT IT. BUT WATCH THIS, JESUS BOUGHT IT. BEGIN NOW IN VERSE SIX, TO THE PRAISE OF THE GLORY OF HIS GRACE WHEREIN HE HATH MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED, THE BELOVED IS JESUS, IN WHOM, THE BELOVED, WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE. GOD THOUGHT IT IN ETERNITY PAST. JESUS BOUGHT IT ON THE CROSS SO LONG AGO WITH HIS RICH RED ROYAL BLOOD. JESUS BOUGHT OUR SALVATION. WE HAVE FORGIVENESS OF SIN. THE WORD FORGIVENESS ACTUALLY MEANS TO BEAR AWAY, TO CARRY AWAY. YOU GO OVER THERE IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, YOU’D FIND OUT THAT THE HIGH PRIEST WOULD ONE DAY TAKE TWO GOATS AND, UH, TAKE THAT GOAT AND ONE GOAT UH, THE, THE PRIEST WOULD LAY HIS, UH, THAT GOAT WOULD BE SLAIN AND HIS BLOOD WOULD BE PRESENTED THERE AT THE ALTAR. AND THEN THE, THE PRIEST WOULD TAKE ANOTHER GOAT CALLED THE SCAPEGOAT, LAY HIS HANDS ON THE HEAD OF THAT GOAT AND CONFESS THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE UP, UPON THAT, GOAT’S HEAD, AND THEN THAT GOAT WOULD BE LED OUT INTO THE WILDERNESS, NEVER TO RETURN AGAIN. TALKING ABOUT OUR LORD THROUGH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR SINS BEING BORN AWAY, TAKEN AWAY AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST, BURIED IN THE GRAVE OF GOD’S FORGETFULNESS. WHAT IS OUR SALVATION? WHAT IS THE SAVING MINISTRY OF THE HOLY TRINITY? GOD THE FATHER FOUGHT IT. GOD THE SON BOUGHT IT. AND GOD THE SPIRIT BROUGHT IT. I WANT YOU TO NOTICE ALSO VERSE 13, THIS SAME THING, IN WHOM YE ALSO TRUSTED, AFTER THAT YE HEARD THE WORD OF TRUTH, THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION, IN WHOM ALSO AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE. YOU KNOW WHAT A SEAL MEANS IN BIBLE TIMES? IT MEANS A FINISHED TRANSACTION. IT MEANS OWNERSHIP AND IT MEANS PROTECTION. THAT’S WHAT WE HAVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THAT’S WHAT WE HAVE IN GOD THE FATHER. THAT’S WHAT WE HAVE THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. NOW, WHAT’S HE SAYING? HE’S SAYING, LISTEN, THE HOLY TRINITY, THAT’S THE SAVING MINISTRY OF THE TRINITY. THAT’S WHY JESUS SPLIT THE HEAVENS, CAME TO THIS EARTH, WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN, LAY IN, IN STRAW. WHY? IT’S THE SAVING MINISTRY OF THE HOLY TRINITY. GOD THOUGHT IT, JESUS BOUGHT IT, THE HOLY SPIRIT BROUGHT IT. YOU’RE SELECTED BY THE FATHER, SAVED BY THE SON, AND SEALED BY THE SPIRIT. THAT’S GOOD, ISN’T IT? EVEN IF I SAID IT, THAT’S GOOD. THAT’S GOOD. THAT’S THE MINISTRY OF THE BLESSED TRINITY. YOU SEE THE BLESSED TRINITY ON CHRISTMAS, WHEN THAT LITTLE BABY WAS BORN. THE HOLY GHOST OVERSHADOWED MARY. THE LITTLE BABY, THE SON OF GOD, WAS THE SON OF THE HIGHEST. HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, GOD IN THREE PERSONS, BLESSED TRINITY. AREN’T YOU GLAD FOR CHRISTMAS? IF YOU WANT TO BE SAVED, WOULD YOU PRAY A PRAYER LIKE THIS? OH, GOD, JUST PRAY IT. GOD, I’M A SINNER. MY SIN DESERVES JUDGMENT, BUT I NEED MERCY. THANK YOU, JESUS, THAT YOU PAID FOR MY SIN WITH YOUR BLOOD ON THE CROSS. I BELIEVE YOU’RE THE SON OF GOD. I BELIEVE THAT GOD RAISED YOU FROM THE DEAD. AND RIGHT NOW, BY FAITH, I RECEIVE YOU INTO MY LIFE AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR, TO LOVE YOU AND FOLLOW YOU THE REST OF MY LIFE. COME INTO MY HEART. SAVE ME, JESUS. COME INTO MY HEART AND SAVE ME, JESUS.” AND THEN PRAY THIS, LORD JESUS, BECAUSE YOU DIED FOR ME, I WILL LIVE FOR YOU AND HELP ME NEVER TO BE ASHAMED OF YOU. IN YOUR NAME I PRAY, AMEN.
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