THE UNLOCK | The Triune God We Serve

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

— Genesis 1:1

There are some things about God that we can understand because Scripture tells us. And there are some things about God that we can only stand in awe of because He is greater than our ability to fully comprehend Him.

·      The Father.

·      The Son.

·      The Holy Spirit.

·      Three Persons. One God.

We do not have to invent an explanation for who God is. Scripture gives us the revelation.

And when we follow the story from creation, to Christ coming into the world, to His death and resurrection, to His ascension, and then to the coming of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see something remarkable: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not three different gods working independently. Scripture reveals them together in the work of God. This is not a doctrine we have to manufacture. It is something we discover as we read the Bible.

THE BEGINNING: GOD CREATED

Genesis opens with a simple declaration: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

— Genesis 1:1

Then we immediately see something else. “…And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

— Genesis 1:2

The Spirit is present in creation.

Then God speaks. “And God said…”

·      And creation responds.

·      Light appears.

·      The waters separate.

·      The land appears.

·      The heavens are established.

·      Life comes forth.

God creates by His Word.

Then we come to the Gospel of John, and John gives us another revelation about creation: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

— John 1:1

John goes on to say: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

— John 1:3

And then John tells us who the Word is: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”

— John 1:14

The Word is Jesus.

So when we put these Scriptures together, we see the Father, the Son, and the Spirit present in the biblical account of creation.

·      The Father is God.

·      The Spirit of God is present.

·      And the Word, who became flesh as Jesus Christ, is identified as God and as the One through whom all things were made.

Paul says the same thing about Jesus in Colossians: “for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth…”

— Colossians 1:16

And Hebrews says: “…by whom also he made the worlds.”

— Hebrews 1:2

Creation was not the work of three competing gods. It was the work of God. And Scripture reveals the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in that work.

THE SON WAS NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT

Jesus did not suddenly become important when He was born in Bethlehem. John takes us back before Bethlehem. Before Mary. Before Joseph. Before the manger.

“In the beginning was the Word…” Jesus existed before He entered the world as a man. Jesus Himself spoke about His existence before Abraham.

“…Before Abraham was, I am.”

— John 8:58

In John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father about the glory He had with Him before the world existed. Jesus was not God’s backup plan.

The Bible presents Christ as existing with the Father before the world began.

“PREPARE ME A BODY”

Hebrews 10:5 says: “A body hast thou prepared me.”

The writer of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 40:6 and applying it to Christ. The passage continues by describing Christ coming to do God’s will. But Scripture does tell us something very clear: The Son came into the world in a human body to do the Father’s will.

John says: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”

— John 1:14

Paul says: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman…”

— Galatians 4:4

And Jesus repeatedly explained why He came. He said: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

— John 6:38

That is the biblical record. Jesus came from heaven. Jesus became flesh. Jesus came to do the Father’s will. And Jesus came to give His life.

“..the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

— Matthew 20:28

JESUS CAME TO SERVE

Jesus did not come to earth demanding to be served. He came serving. He touched people others avoided. He healed the sick. He opened blind eyes. He raised the dead. He forgave sins. He fed the hungry. He taught the crowds. He washed His disciples’ feet. And He ultimately gave His life.

Jesus said: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister…”

— Mark 10:45

The King served. The Creator walked among His creation. The One through whom all things were made humbled Himself and took the form of a servant.

Philippians 2 tells us that Christ “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…” This is the Jesus we serve.

AND JESUS PRAYED

If Jesus is God, why did Jesus pray? Because Scripture shows us that the Son and the Father are distinct Persons.

Jesus prayed to the Father. Not occasionally, but throughout His earthly ministry.

Before choosing the twelve disciples: “He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

— Luke 6:12

Before raising Lazarus, Jesus prayed to the Father.

In John 17, Jesus prayed at length to the Father.

In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed: “Not my will, but thine, be done.”

— Luke 22:42

And on the cross, Jesus cried: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”

— Luke 23:46

The prayers of Jesus are not something we need to explain away. They are part of the biblical story. The Son came to do the Father’s will.

And during His earthly ministry, Jesus lived in dependence upon and obedience to the Father.

WHERE WAS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The Holy Spirit was not absent while Jesus was on earth. The Spirit was actively involved. Before Jesus was born, the angel told Mary: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee.”

— Luke 1:35

Jesus’ earthly life began through the work of the Holy Spirit.

At Jesus’ baptism, something extraordinary happens.

·      Jesus is baptized.

·      Jesus is praying.

·      Heaven opens.

·      The Holy Spirit descends upon Him in bodily form like a dove.

·      And the Father’s voice comes from heaven: “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” 

— Luke 3:22

Look at what Scripture gives us in that moment:

·      The Son is in the water.

·      The Spirit descends upon Him.

·      The Father’s voice speaks from heaven.

The three are revealed together. Not three gods. One God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

THE SPIRIT LED JESUS

Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, Luke tells us: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”

— Luke 4:1

Jesus was led by the Spirit. He entered the wilderness. He faced temptation. And He came out of that experience in the power of the Spirit.

Luke 4:14 says: “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.”

The Holy Spirit was active in Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Acts 10:38 summarizes it this way: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth “with the Holy Ghost and with power.”So while Jesus was walking the earth, the Father had not abandoned Him. The Spirit was not somewhere distant. The Spirit was at work.

JESUS AND THE FATHER

Jesus’ relationship with the Father was central to His earthly ministry.

·      He talked about the Father.

·      He obeyed the Father.

·      He prayed to the Father.

·      He came from the Father.

·      He represented the Father.

·      And He returned to the Father.

Jesus said: “I and my Father are one.”

— John 10:30

Yet He also spoke to the Father and prayed to Him.

That is why we have to let Scripture speak rather than trying to reduce God to something that is easier for us to explain.

·      The Father is God.

·      The Son is God.

·      The Holy Spirit is God.

·      Yet the Father is not the Son.

·      The Son is not the Holy Spirit.

·      And the Holy Spirit is not the Father.

Scripture shows distinction without presenting three gods.

THEN JESUS TELLS THEM HE IS LEAVING

This is where the disciples’ world begins to change. Jesus knows He is going to the cross. He knows He is going back to the Father. And He knows His disciples are going to struggle with His departure. So Jesus begins preparing them.

He tells them: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”

— John 14:16

Jesus does not tell them: You’re going to be alone. He tells them the opposite. You are going to receive another Comforter.

And Jesus identifies that Comforter: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost…”

— John 14:26

The Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells them what the Spirit will do:

“He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The Holy Spirit would teach. The Holy Spirit would remind. The Holy Spirit would remain. The Holy Spirit would be with them.

And Jesus says something that is easy to miss: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

— John 14:18

Jesus was going away physically. But His disciples would not be abandoned.

JESUS SAID IT WAS BETTER THAT HE GO

This may be one of the hardest statements to understand.

Jesus said: “It is expedient for you that I go away.”

— John 16:7

Why? Because if He did not go away, the Comforter would not come to them, and we would not have been redeemed/saved.

Jesus says: “But if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

Think about the timing. Jesus was preparing them for His death. Then His resurrection would come. Then His ascension. And after His departure, the Holy Spirit would come. Jesus was not abandoning His people. He was telling them that another part of God’s work was about to unfold.

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK

Jesus tells us specifically what the Holy Spirit would do.

In John 16, Jesus says the Spirit would:

·      Convict the world of sin.

·      Convict the world of righteousness.

·      Convict the world of judgment.

·      Guide believers into truth.

·      Speak what He hears.

·      Glorify Jesus.

Jesus said of the Spirit: “He shall glorify me.”

— John 16:14

That matters. The Holy Spirit’s work does not compete with Jesus. The Spirit points to Jesus and points us to Jesus. The Spirit glorifies Jesus.

·      The Father sent the Son.

·      The Son came to do the Father’s will.

·      The Son promised the Spirit.

·      And the Spirit would glorify the Son.

THEN JESUS ASCENDED

Jesus completed the work He came to accomplish.

·      He died.

·      He was buried.

·      He rose again.

·      He appeared to His disciples.

·      And then He ascended.

Before His ascension, Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father.

He said: “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”

— Acts 1:5

Then He told them: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.”

— Acts 1:8

And then Jesus ascended. The disciples watched Him go. But the story did not end at the ascension. It was moving into another chapter.

THE PROMISE WAS FULFILLED

Acts 2 tells us what happened. The disciples were together and the day of Pentecost came. And: “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”

— Acts 2:4

The promise Jesus made was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit came. The same Spirit who was present in creation. The same Spirit who was involved in Jesus’ conception. The same Spirit who descended upon Jesus at His baptism. The same Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness. The same Spirit through whom Jesus ministered in power. The same Spirit Jesus promised to His disciples. Now came to dwell in His people.

THE UNLOCK

Here is what I don’t want us to miss. Sometimes we talk about God as if the Father is somewhere far away, Jesus came and left, and now we’re just trying to figure life out with whatever strength we have left. That is not the picture Scripture gives us.

The Bible gives us something much bigger.

·      The Father sent the Son.

·      The Son came into the world.

·      The Son gave His life.

·      The Son rose again.

·      The Son returned to the Father.

·      The Father sent the Holy Spirit.

·      The Holy Spirit came.

·      And the Holy Spirit is still at work.

There is a divine work happening from Genesis to Revelation.

·      Father.

·      Son.

·      Holy Spirit.

·      Not three gods. One God.

And yet Scripture gives us the distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The God we serve is not distant.

·      The Father loves.

·      The Son came.

·      The Spirit dwells.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?

It means that when we pray, we are not talking to a God who does not understand what it means to walk through this world.

·      Jesus walked here.

·      He experienced hunger.

·      He experienced weariness.

·      He experienced rejection.

·      He experienced grief.

·      He experienced temptation.

·      He prayed.

·      He suffered.

·      He obeyed.

·      He died.

·      And He rose again.

And before He left, He made sure His followers knew: You will not be left alone. The Comforter is coming. And according to Jesus, the Holy Spirit would be with us forever.

So when we say: “Father…” We are approaching the God Jesus taught us to pray to.

When we say: “Jesus…” We are calling on the One who came into the world, gave His life, rose again, and is the way to the Father.

When we say: “Holy Spirit…” We are speaking of the One Jesus promised would come, teach us, guide us, remind us, empower us, and glorify Christ.

This is the God we serve.

And perhaps the real unlock is not that we can completely explain God. Maybe the unlock is that we can know Him because He has chosen to reveal Himself. The Father revealed His love through the Son. The Son revealed the Father. And the Holy Spirit reveals and glorifies the Son. That is not something to casually pass over. That is something to get excited about. That is something to worship.

THE SCRIPTURE TRAIL

If you want to study this for yourself, don’t just take my word for it. Open the Bible and follow the trail:

Creation

·      Genesis 1:1–3

·      John 1:1–3, 14

·      Colossians 1:15–17

·      Hebrews 1:1–3

The Son Comes Into the World

·      Matthew 1:18–23

·      Luke 1:26–35

·      John 1:14

·      Galatians 4:4–5

·      Hebrews 10:5–10

Jesus and the Father

·      John 5:19–30

·      John 6:38–40

·      John 10:30

·      John 17

·      Luke 22:39–46

The Holy Spirit and Jesus

·      Luke 3:21–22

·      Luke 4:1–14

·      Luke 10:21

·      Acts 10:38

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

·      John 14:15–27

·      John 15:26–27

·      John 16:5–15

The Ascension and the Coming of the Spirit

·      Acts 1:1–11

·      Acts 2:1–21

ONE LAST THOUGHT

The Bible does not ask us to understand everything about God before we worship Him.

It asks us to believe what He has revealed.

·      The Father.

·      The Son.

·      The Holy Spirit.

·      One God.

And from the beginning of creation to the coming of the Spirit, Scripture gives us a story of God at work.

So before you rush past this, stop.

Read it again.

And ask yourself:

Do I really understand the God I say I serve?

Because the more we see Him in Scripture, the more there is to discover.

And the more we discover, the more we should say: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.”

-Lady Janee Woods