Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: 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 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 close of the program to tell you about our special offer.

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

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right. Thank you. It's good to have you with us listening friend as we continue this series of programs on the Trinity. And we're wrapping up this series of studies by talking about the Trinity at work. What are some of the practical applications of the doctrine of the Trinity? And on the last program, we were talking about the Trinity at work in the creation. We saw how each person of the Trinity was active in the process of creation. And it's interesting. We were talking about the vast amount of raw energy that would have been required during that creation week, the tremendous amount of power that was required just to get our own solar system started with all the planets and moons and the sun and forces of electricity and magnetism and oceans and mountains and life.

And God made it all. He created everything in the universe, stars, galaxies, solar systems, nebula, asteroids, comets, planets, mountains, everything. Think not only of the raw power that was required, but also the creative genius. Think of how the universe is designed with infinite complexity and detail. And God did it all. And then think about this. The Bible says the creation is the work of God's fingers. Psalm 8 verse 3 says, when I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained. God created the universe with his fingers.

It was easy. He did it with his fingers. Didn't even work up a sweat. He just spoke the worlds into existence and they appeared. But when it came time to redeem the human race, look at what the Bible says. Isaiah 52 verse 10, the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Listen. He created the universe with his fingers. But when it was time to redeem his people, he rolled up his sleeves, literally. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm, it says.

He rolled up his sleeves and went to work. You see, the hardest thing God ever did wasn't to create the worlds. That was simple. That was easy. The real work was redemption. Because redemption involved something that was impossible. God had to do something that was impossible, something that no one in a million years would ever have dreamed was possible. And that was God had to die. Why? Because he was the only one in the universe who was qualified to pay the price for our redemption. And that's what we've been talking about, the miracle of the incarnation, that God became a man and walked on this earth for over 30 years, probably something like 37 years if he was born in 5 BC or so, and he was crucified in AD 31 or 32.

For 37 years, God walked among us. Immanuel, God with us. So in the creation, we have the triune Godhead working collectively, working together, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit working in harmony. Now, since we've started talking about redemption, let's go ahead and talk about the Trinity at work collectively in redemption. And since we're right here in Isaiah chapter 52 anyway, let's flip over a page to chapter 53 so we can see how the Father and the Son are involved in redemption. Remember, we're talking about functions and responsibilities that are shared by the three persons of the Trinity.

Isaiah 53 verse 6 says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Now look at what he says. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. Who's he talking about? He's talking about us, all of us. This isn't just Israel, although the Messiah came to Israel first and the gospel was for the Jew first. The fact is we're all in the same boat when it comes to sin. We're all sinners.

King David said in Psalm 51 5, behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. That is from birth he was a sinner. You see, we don't have to learn to be sinners. We come by it naturally. These psychologists who say we're all born with a clean slate and it's our environment that makes us bad, I always wonder if they've ever raised any children. Because anyone who's ever raised children knows that children don't have to learn to be bad. They have to learn to be good, not bad. That comes naturally.

You don't have to teach a child to lie. You don't have to say, now listen Johnny, if you break something and you want to get out of it, just blame it on your little brother. He's too young to defend himself anyway. It'll work every time. Listen, you don't have to tell him that. He'll figure it out all by himself. And that's what Isaiah is talking about when he says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And you know it really is true. I mean about sheep, sheep are really like that.

Our home church is the Liberty Bible Church in Eureka, Illinois. That's in central Illinois, which is mostly farming country. And there used to be a farmer there in Woodford County who raised sheep. And Ralph Wilson and I used to go visit this old farmer once in a while and he told us one time, he said, these sheep are the dumbest animals I've ever raised. He said, they wander away and get lost, they get hurt, they get in trouble. He said, you just got to keep an eye on them all the time. And that 's why Isaiah says we're like sheep because we're sinners.

That's the bad news. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. Now, here's the good news. Watch what he says. And the Lord, that's L O R D, all caps. It's the Hebrew word Yahweh. In Hebrew, it's four letters, Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey. Y H V H. It's a reference to God the Father. And the Lord, God the Father, hath laid on him, and that's the Messiah, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. The Lord hath laid on him, the Messiah, the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53 verse 6. So the bad news is that we're all sinners.

We have a sin debt. Our account with God is bankrupt. But the good news is that the Lord has made arrangements for the account to be paid in full. Now how did he do that? Simply by charging our sin debt to Yeshua's account. God the Father laid on him, that is God the Son, the iniquity of us all. That's the Father and the Son, both involved in the great work of redemption. Over in the New Testament, we have that familiar passage in John chapter 3. For God, and that's God the Father, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that's Jesus, God the Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16. Now, what about the third person of the Trinity, God the Spirit? Is he involved in redemption? Glad you asked. Look right here in John chapter 3 verse 6. It says Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. So when we come to faith in Christ, we are born of the Spirit because the Spirit of God is the one who imparts life.

It was the Ruach Elohim, the Spirit of God, who breathed life into Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. That's what the Hebrew word Ruach means. It means breath or spirit. The Ruach Elohim is the Spirit of God or you could say the breath of God. He's the one who imparts life. Genesis 2:7, and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils what? The breath of life. And man became a living soul. So in the Garden of Eden, it was the Spirit of God who imparted physical life to Adam and Eve.

And at the moment of salvation when we trust Christ, it's the spirit of God who imparts spiritual life. We are born of the Spirit. It was also the spirit of God who breathed life into the church. On the day of Pentecost, it says in Acts chapter 2 that they were all with one accord in one place when what happened? And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, it says, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house. That was the Spirit of God, the breath of God breathing life into his church. And these were mostly Jews, by the way.

It was a Jewish church, the church at Jerusalem. We are also told that the agent of conviction in salvation is the Holy Spirit. It says in Revelation, and the Spirit and the bride, that is the church, the bride of Christ, the Spirit and the bride say come. And let him that heareth say come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17. So that's the Trinity in redemption, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Well, we're out of time. Let me ask you, did you ever have trouble understanding election and predestination?

Well, next time I'll show you how you can understand subjects like election and predestination simply by looking at them from the perspective of the Trinity. So join us, won't you? I'll see you then. You take care. 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 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 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 free will contributions of our listeners in this area.