Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctly first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Aiello. 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 closing of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.

Gary Hedrick: Thank you and welcome to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us as we continue this series of studies on the Trinity. We said last time that the Trinity is one of the main lines of demarcation between Christianity and traditional Judaism. It forms the watershed between these two great world religions because it goes right to the heart of what historic Christianity believes, and that is that Jesus is God. It also goes right to the heart of what traditional Judaism has been saying for the past 2,000 years, and that is that Yeshua of Nazareth couldn't have been God.

So this is the line of demarcation between Christianity and Judaism, and it's easy to understand why because the Jewish people have always been champions of monotheism. 3,000 years ago, when people in Egypt, in Europe, in India, and in Asia were worshipping gods and goddesses of the sun, the stars, the rivers, and trees, and who knows what else, the Jewish people were worshipping the one true God.

I was here at the office the other night, and an anti-Semite called on the phone. This guy went into a tirade about the apostate Jews and how they're the cause of most of the world's problems. So I interrupted him and I said, "Sir, what nationality are you?" Proudly, he said, "My people are from Germany." I said, "Sir, do you realize that when your ancestors were still swinging from the trees in the Black Forest, the Jewish people had already developed a very advanced civilization in the Middle East?"

They had already built the first temple, which was one of the greatest architectural achievements of ancient times. I said, "Sir, did you know that?" Well, he said he didn't know it. A lot of people don't, but the fact is that the descendants of Shem and the descendants of Ham developed their civilizations more quickly than the descendants of Japheth did. You can read about it in our booklet on Germany and the European Nations in Prophecy.

But one thing that set the Jewish people apart from their pagan neighbors was that Israel acknowledged only one true God, only one. But the fact remains that many questions about this one God were left unanswered in the Old Testament. For example, why is he sometimes described as an incorporeal spirit, the Hebrew word ruach, while on other occasions he is depicted as a physical being?

Why are plural pronouns used in heavenly conversations, like where God says, "Let us make man in our image"? And who is the divine son that's mentioned on several occasions? Basically, what it boils down to is: how can one God be characterized in three distinctly different ways? Obviously, more information was needed. Christians believe that new light was given in the pages of the New Testament.

The New Testament expands on the concept of God's unity by giving us a glimpse of the infinite complexity which exists within that unity. It reveals that he is, in fact, a tri-unity. First, he is Abba, or father. Second, he is the promised son, or the Messiah. And third, he is the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of holiness, or the Ruach Elohim, the Spirit of God. So you have a father, a son, and a spirit, three in one and one in three.

They constitute a divine unity which is known in the Jewish Bible as Jehovah Adonai Elohim God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But here's the catch: the fullness of the triune Godhead is not revealed in the Old Testament. There are many hints and many clues, many foreshadowings, but the Trinity is not explicitly revealed in the Jewish Bible. Now remember, we said the process of revelation moves gradually from the simple to the more complex, from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

The New Testament is the key that unlocks the mysteries of the Old Testament. So the mystery of God's tri-unity isn't explicitly revealed in the Old Testament, but we see the Trinity wonderfully revealed in the opening chapters of the New Testament. Turn with me to the first book in the New Testament, the book of Matthew, and we'll read this together. This is where we have the triune God clearly and fully manifesting himself for the first time in holy writ. Now watch this.

Matthew chapter 3, beginning in verse 16, says, "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: verse 17, And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." There it is, the first clear, full manifestation of the triune God in the entire Bible.

The voice from heaven was that of Abba, the heavenly Father. The one being baptized was the Messiah, God's son, the second person of the Godhead. And the Holy Spirit manifested himself in the form of a dove: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And there was no debate about the triune nature of God in the days of the early church. Did you know it wasn't until well after the day of Pentecost that the church began to wrestle with the distinctions between the three persons of the Trinity?

Tertullian was one of the first theologians to defend the threeness aspect of God in his battles with the Monarchians, who asserted God's absolute oneness. The Council of Nicea was later convened to resolve the doctrinal dispute between Arius, who was a theologian from Alexandria, Egypt, and Athanasius, an Egyptian churchman and scholar. The resulting Nicene Creed, issued in AD 325, represented a concerted effort by early theologians to analyze the biblical data describing the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

A few centuries later, the Athanasian Creed elaborated on the concept of God's tri-unity in this statement. It said, "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance." And we're going to be getting into a lot of the biblical evidence for the Trinity as we get into this study, but we need to understand first of all that we're not limited only to the biblical data.

The fact is that there is a triune imprint on the entire universe. Much like an artist leaves his or her trademark signature on a work of art, God has left his own personal distinctive imprint on all of creation. For example, the book of Genesis tells us that man was created in God's image, after his likeness. Is it merely coincidental, then, that man's essential makeup is triune, or to use the theological term, tripartite?

Each of us consists of body, soul, and spirit. The body is the physical part of man: the blood and bones and muscles and tissue. The soul is the non-material part of man: our mind, will, and emotion. And the spirit is that inner sanctuary of God-consciousness that distinguishes us from the animal kingdom. So man is triune. And since he's created in the image of God, we might also deduct that the creator is triune.

Notice how the universe itself is tri-dimensional, consisting of space, time, and matter—a Trinity of sorts. These three dimensions are distinct from each other, yet they are indivisible, just like the Trinity. Furthermore, space itself consists of length, breadth, and height. Time consists of past, present, and future. And physicists tell us that matter consists of energy, motion, and phenomena.

Dr. Walter Martin, the late great Christian apologist, pointed to water as a simple illustration of God's triune imprint on creation. Here's what he said: take water, H2O, to a lab and place it in a test tube. Pump all the air out of the test tube and freeze it to zero temp. If you will look, you can find that the bottom of the tube is solid, the middle is liquid, and the top is vapor.

How remarkable. There is one substance, water, yet under the proper conditions, it exhibits three distinct aspects simultaneously—a tri-unity of sorts. Some scientists believe light energy exhibits triune characteristics because it consists of heat, light, and chemical rays. First, there are infrared rays or heat rays, consisting of light energy that is felt but never seen.

Second, there are luminiferous rays or light rays, which are seen but cannot be felt. And third, there are actinic rays or chemical rays that are invisible and can neither be felt nor seen. So it's evident that we live in a universe which bears the image of its triune creator. He has left these clues everywhere because he wants you to know him. That's the bottom line, my friend.

All of this theological jargon and technical terminology doesn't mean a thing if you miss the main point. And that is that God has revealed himself because he wants you to know him. Do you? If not, you can meet him today, right now, simply by trusting him as your Lord and Savior and Messiah. Well, that's all the time we have for today. It's been good to have you with us today. We'll continue with this on the next program, Lord willing. And I'll see you then. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: 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're hearing here on the broadcast available on compact disc with the same title, Do Christians Worship Three Gods? This series is available for a suggested gift of $12. This set is a very effective witnessing tool.

Several Jewish people who have come to the Lord in the past have told us that reading this book on the Trinity, more than anything else, helped them understand and believe the gospel. More than anything else, it helped them realize that believing in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is not the same as polytheism. 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, Post Office Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. 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 Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on Do Christians Worship Three Gods? right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the freewill contributions of our listeners in this area.