Messianic Perspectives

Liz Ayala: Stay with us as we discuss the question, do Christians worship three gods? Right here on Messianic Perspectives. Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Ayala. Today Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the doctrine of the Trinity. Does it really mean that Christians worship three gods, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Some people think so, and that's what we want to find out. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer.

And now with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you. It's good to have you with us listening friend as we conclude this series of programs on the Trinity. And we're wrapping up this series by talking about the Trinity at work. What are some of the practical applications of the doctrine of the Trinity? Well, so far we've seen the Trinity at work in creation and in redemption. And today we want to look at the Trinity at work in election. You know, predestination and election are two doctrines that a lot of us have difficulty understanding, but the Bible teaches that we are elected and predestinated to salvation.

You can wiggle and squirm and fuss if you want to, but there's no way around it. The Bible teaches that you and I listen, you and I were elected or chosen by God to be his children even before the foundations of the world. And every time we talk about election and predestination here on the radio, there's a preacher out on the East Coast who calls the radio station where our program is carried to register his complaint that we're teaching false doctrine. Well, brother, if you don't like it, don't call the radio station. Don't even bother to call me because I didn't write it.

Get in touch with God because he's the one who put it in the Bible. Let me show you how to look at the biblical teachings of election and predestination from the perspective of the Trinity because I think it'll help you understand what it's all about. You see, the Bible presents salvation from three different perspectives. First, you have the perspective of God the Father. Then you have the perspective of God the Son. And finally, you have the perspective of God the Holy Spirit. Three perspectives. It's sort of like looking at a diamond under a light from three different angles.

From one angle, the diamond may have a blue color. From another angle, it may look white. From another angle, there may be a pink cast to the stone. So one person sees blue while someone else sees white or pink or whatever. But which one is right? The answer is they are all right because there are three different perspectives. Now let me show you what we're talking about. First of all, from the perspective of God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, you and I were saved. Now watch this. From the perspective of God the Father, we were saved when?

Before the foundation of the world. If you have a Bible handy, turn with me to Ephesians chapter one and we'll look at verse four. Here's what it says. According as he, that is the Father, hath chosen us in him, Christ, when? What does it say? According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. You see, you and I were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, before the creation thousands and thousands of years ago, before the world even existed.

So from the perspective of God the Father, we were saved before the foundation of the world. What that means is that ultimately salvation is solely by grace. You and I can't take any of the credit, my friend. It's the sovereign act of God the Father. But remember, there's another perspective. Let's move on. Number two. From the perspective of the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, you and I were saved at the cross almost 2,000 years ago. Let's look together at Galatians chapter two verse 20. Paul says, I am crucified with Christ. Literally, I have been crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Do you know what that means? It means that 2,000 years ago when Christ died on the cross for all practical purposes, I was crucified with him. When he died, I died. It's called identification. We are identified with him in his death just as we're identified with him in his burial and resurrection. That's what the ordinance of baptism is all about.

Identification. Colossians 2:14 says, my certificate of debt was nailed to the cross with the Messiah 2,000 years ago. It talks about the writing of ordinances that was against us. You see, what they used to do was when they crucified a criminal, they would nail a certificate to his cross enumerating the crimes he had been convicted of. That was his certificate of debt. That's why they nailed a board over Jesus' head that said he was the king of the Jews because that was the only thing they could think of that he had done wrong or that they thought he had done wrong.

He said he was king of the Jews. But when he died, Paul says in Colossians, it was like my certificate of debt and yours was nailed there to his cross. So for all practical purposes, that's when we were saved. That's the second perspective on salvation. Number three. From the perspective of the third person of the Trinity, God the Spirit, salvation occurs at the point in time when we receive Christ as Savior. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the one who imparts spiritual life and baptizes us into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. So from his standpoint, we are saved at the moment we trust Christ as Savior and Messiah. Those are the three perspectives on election. First, from the perspective of God the Father, I was saved when he chose me before the foundation of the world. Second, from the perspective of God the Son, I was saved 2,000 years ago when Christ died on the cross. And third, from the perspective of God the Holy Spirit, I was saved at the moment I trusted Christ and received him as Savior and Lord.

And it's interesting. You can look at church history and see how different movements have arisen to defend one or the other of these perspectives. We've got the Calvinists, for example, who look at salvation from the perspective of God the Father. And they say, God elected his people to salvation before the foundation of the world. And they're right. He did. But then we've got the Arminians who think the Calvinists are heretics. The Arminians say, wait a minute now. We're not saved until the moment we trust Christ as Savior. And so they put more emphasis on human responsibility while the Calvinists put more emphasis on God's sovereignty because they're looking at it from two different perspectives.

And so you 've got theological movements built around these different perspectives of salvation. But what we need to realize is that these viewpoints aren't necessarily contradictory. In many cases, they're complementary. You see, sometimes our problem is that we have this tunnel vision thing where we can see our own little narrow viewpoint and that's all. And we think we're right and everyone else is wrong and we're ready to burn at the stake anyone who doesn't dot his eyes and cross his t's just like we do. That's like three people looking at a diamond under a light and one of them says, why it's blue.

And another one says, no, it's not. It's white. And so they start arguing over what color it is. Well, the truth is they're all right. They're looking at the same subject from three different directions. And that's the case here because the Bible presents salvation from three perspectives because the God of salvation is a triune God. So that's the Trinity at work in election. Now what about the Trinity at work in intercession? Did you know that prayer is a Trinitarian practice? When we look at what the Bible says about prayer, we find that all three persons of the Trinity are instrumental.

They are involved because ordinarily when we pray, number one, we address the Father, heavenly Father. Number two, we pray in the name of the Son. And number three, we are prompted in our prayers by the Spirit. Ephesians 6:18 says we're to pray in the Spirit. According to the Bible, both the Son and the Spirit intercede with the Father on our behalf. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God. That's God the Father who also maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:34.

Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26. So that's the Trinity at work in intercession. Prayer to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Well, we are still not finished, but our time is up. I hope you 'll take the time to order the booklet if you haven't already. It goes into a lot of detail that we didn't have time for in these three weeks of programs.

Not only that, but there's a special section at the end of the booklet that includes a question and answer section and also a special glossary of terminology. You 'll find definitions in the glossary for a lot of Jewish words and phrases. Some people say it's worth getting the book just to have the glossary. So if you haven't already ordered this special booklet, I hope you'll listen carefully as we give you the ordering information here in just a moment. In the meantime, it's been good to have you with us for these past three weeks, listening friend.

We'll do it again. You take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Ayala: Thank you Gary and thank you listening friend for tuning in today. Now let me tell you about our special offer for this month. It's Gary Hedrick's booklet entitled, do Christians worship three gods? In this 70 page booklet, Gary addresses head-on the question of whether or not the doctrine of the Trinity makes Christianity incompatible with the teachings of the Jewish Bible or what we call the Old Testament. It's available for a suggested gift of $7. After all, the Jewish people have always been champions of monotheism. The central creed of Judaism is Deuteronomy 6:4 which says the Lord our God is one Lord, not three.

So when a Jewish person becomes a believer in Jesus, isn't he forsaking his monotheistic Jewish heritage? Surprisingly enough, the answer is no. And you'll find out why in this interesting booklet. It has an informative question and answer section and also a helpful glossary of Hebrew words at the end. The title again is, do Christians worship three gods? Then we also have the programs you are hearing here on the broadcast available on two CDs with the same title, do Christians worship three gods? This series is available for a suggested gift of $12. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order.

If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. Even if you're one of our regular listeners, you still may not know that we're much more than just a radio program. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries, one of the largest missionary organizations in the world. We currently have missionary families serving the Lord all over the world including the United States, Canada, South America, England, France, and of course Israel. So when you write, consider helping us with a gift above the suggested amount.

We'd be very grateful. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I 'm Liz Ayala. Join us next time, won't you, for another edition of Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas and is made possible on this station by the free will contributions of our listeners in this area.