Refuge Church Of San Antonio
The Trinity
Sunday 10am Worship Service Notes
Locations & Times
Refuge Church Of San Antonio
8101 Eagle Crest Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78239, USA
Saturday 9:00 AM
ROOTED – WEEK 2 / THE TRINITY: GOD IS!
I) Augustine said “If you deny the Trinity, you will lose your soul and if you try to explain the trinity you will lose your mind.”
II) What Is The Trinity?
A) God is: Father, Son and Spirit. One God, three persons, three roles. What I mean by persons is that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit speak, think and have feelings like a person.
B) The word Trinity doesn’t appear in the Bible, but was first introduced by one of the early leaders…Tertullian in 155 A.D. it’s a term that best describes how the Bible explains…One God in three persons.
C) It can be said like this “The Trinity is one God, who eternally exists as three distinct persons — The Father, Son and Spirit — each one fully and equally God and are in eternal relation to and with each other.
D) The Bible declares from Genesis to Revelation that there is only one God and it also teaches that there is no one like God. There is no other God who is all powerful, all eternal, all present and uncreated. This means that god’s such as Baal, Chemosh, Molech, Allah, Buddha, Mother Earth, and Aphrodite (the god of sex) are lead by fallen angels, demons (Deut 32:17; Psalms 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20).
What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 NLT
E) We call God in three persons, a Trinitarian God. Or a God who is a trinity.
III) What Is The Trinitarian God Of The Bible Like?
A. In 1 John 4:8 the Bible says, But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
B) The word love is found roughly 800 times in the whole Bible and it is a word that Jesus often used to describe His relationship with God the Father;
1) John 3:35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his
hands.
2) John 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.
3) John 14:31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the
world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
You can see here the relationship with Jesus and the Father…and see two distinct persons with two different roles but with one purpose.
I) Augustine said “If you deny the Trinity, you will lose your soul and if you try to explain the trinity you will lose your mind.”
II) What Is The Trinity?
A) God is: Father, Son and Spirit. One God, three persons, three roles. What I mean by persons is that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit speak, think and have feelings like a person.
B) The word Trinity doesn’t appear in the Bible, but was first introduced by one of the early leaders…Tertullian in 155 A.D. it’s a term that best describes how the Bible explains…One God in three persons.
C) It can be said like this “The Trinity is one God, who eternally exists as three distinct persons — The Father, Son and Spirit — each one fully and equally God and are in eternal relation to and with each other.
D) The Bible declares from Genesis to Revelation that there is only one God and it also teaches that there is no one like God. There is no other God who is all powerful, all eternal, all present and uncreated. This means that god’s such as Baal, Chemosh, Molech, Allah, Buddha, Mother Earth, and Aphrodite (the god of sex) are lead by fallen angels, demons (Deut 32:17; Psalms 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20).
What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 NLT
E) We call God in three persons, a Trinitarian God. Or a God who is a trinity.
III) What Is The Trinitarian God Of The Bible Like?
A. In 1 John 4:8 the Bible says, But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
B) The word love is found roughly 800 times in the whole Bible and it is a word that Jesus often used to describe His relationship with God the Father;
1) John 3:35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his
hands.
2) John 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished.
3) John 14:31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the
world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
You can see here the relationship with Jesus and the Father…and see two distinct persons with two different roles but with one purpose.
C) In the Old Testament the most scared name for God is Y_A_H_W_E_H_. Y_A_H_W_E_H_ . s a name that is used in the Old Testament 6,823 times to describe the one true God. This name for God is never used to describe lesser gods, or for a human, but only reserved for the One True God. So YAHWEH is a description of the TRINITARIAN GOD.
D) God chose to reveal Himself to His people and to us in this way;
1) Exodus 34:6-7 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The
2) Here is the Trinitarian God of the Bible unpacked as He has revealed Himself in this passage.
(1.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is the ruler over all things.
(2.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is personal, not disconnected like the lesser gods of our culture.
(3.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is a God of compassion. He sees our sin, our pain and our suffering and doesn’t respond with anger, but compassion,…even when He disciplines us
(4.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible doesn’t only rule over us, He is involved with us and became like us for our redemption, for our salvation…to take aways our sins.
(5.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is a God who is slow to anger. Unlike the lesser gods of many eastern cultures you might here about, our God is patient with those that struggle, but becomes angry with those who refuse to repent and take advantage of His patience.
(6.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is constant, passionate, relentless, extravagant, limitless and trustworthy in the way that He loves.
(7.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God is dependable and truthful. Though the truth often hurts, He doesn’t fail to tell us. This makes Him worthy of all trust and devotion.
(8.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is forgiving. Though He sees all things, He is patient with us, as we reach to be like Him.
E) What we have to remember is that when God gave this description of Himself, it was in the midst of Israel’s sin and rebellion. In the start of Exodus 32 just prior to this encounter where God said who He was… they had forsaken God and created golden calves, worshipped them and said the calves had brought them out of Egypt instead of Yahweh….these people lost their minds.
F) The God of the Old testament is the same God of the New Testament.
D) God chose to reveal Himself to His people and to us in this way;
1) Exodus 34:6-7 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The
2) Here is the Trinitarian God of the Bible unpacked as He has revealed Himself in this passage.
(1.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is the ruler over all things.
(2.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is personal, not disconnected like the lesser gods of our culture.
(3.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is a God of compassion. He sees our sin, our pain and our suffering and doesn’t respond with anger, but compassion,…even when He disciplines us
(4.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible doesn’t only rule over us, He is involved with us and became like us for our redemption, for our salvation…to take aways our sins.
(5.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is a God who is slow to anger. Unlike the lesser gods of many eastern cultures you might here about, our God is patient with those that struggle, but becomes angry with those who refuse to repent and take advantage of His patience.
(6.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is constant, passionate, relentless, extravagant, limitless and trustworthy in the way that He loves.
(7.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God is dependable and truthful. Though the truth often hurts, He doesn’t fail to tell us. This makes Him worthy of all trust and devotion.
(8.) Yahweh, the Trinitarian God of the Bible is forgiving. Though He sees all things, He is patient with us, as we reach to be like Him.
E) What we have to remember is that when God gave this description of Himself, it was in the midst of Israel’s sin and rebellion. In the start of Exodus 32 just prior to this encounter where God said who He was… they had forsaken God and created golden calves, worshipped them and said the calves had brought them out of Egypt instead of Yahweh….these people lost their minds.
F) The God of the Old testament is the same God of the New Testament.
1) John 1:14 So the Word (Jesus) became humanand made his home among us. He (Jesus) was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s (Yahweh) one and only Son.
G) John is telling us that the Father sent Jesus to show us the Father (Yahweh) so that if we have seen the Son we have seen the Father.
IV) Does The Trinity Appear In The Old Testament?
A) Some folks have said that the Trinity only exists in the New Testament, and for this to be true it would mean that God changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Well…lets look and see the truth:
1. Hebrews 13:8 says that, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
2) Colossians 1:15-16, Christ Is Supreme: 15 Christ (Jesus) is the visible image of the invisible God (The Father). He (Jesus) existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him (Jesus) God (The Father) created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth (Genesis 1-2). He (The Father)made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created (Genesis 1-2) through him (Jesus) and for him (Jesus).
3) John 1:1-3, In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. The Word (Jesus) was with God (The Father), and the Word (Jesus) was God.
4) Genesis 1:2, The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) was hovering over the surface of the waters.
5) Genesis 1:26, Then God said, “Let us make human beings
6) Genesis 11:7, Come, let us (The Trinity) go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
7) Isaiah 61:1, The Spirit (The Holy Spirit)of the Sovereign
B) The people of the Old Testament were looking for a coming Messiah… who God the Father had anointed and raised up among them to lead them.
This is what we call progressive revelation: meaning the further we move through the Bible, the clearer the picture of God becomes. The Trinity is not only in the Old Testament, but even clearer in the New Testament.
G) John is telling us that the Father sent Jesus to show us the Father (Yahweh) so that if we have seen the Son we have seen the Father.
IV) Does The Trinity Appear In The Old Testament?
A) Some folks have said that the Trinity only exists in the New Testament, and for this to be true it would mean that God changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Well…lets look and see the truth:
1. Hebrews 13:8 says that, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
2) Colossians 1:15-16, Christ Is Supreme: 15 Christ (Jesus) is the visible image of the invisible God (The Father). He (Jesus) existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him (Jesus) God (The Father) created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth (Genesis 1-2). He (The Father)made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created (Genesis 1-2) through him (Jesus) and for him (Jesus).
3) John 1:1-3, In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. The Word (Jesus) was with God (The Father), and the Word (Jesus) was God.
4) Genesis 1:2, The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) was hovering over the surface of the waters.
5) Genesis 1:26, Then God said, “Let us make human beings
6) Genesis 11:7, Come, let us (The Trinity) go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
7) Isaiah 61:1, The Spirit (The Holy Spirit)of the Sovereign
B) The people of the Old Testament were looking for a coming Messiah… who God the Father had anointed and raised up among them to lead them.
This is what we call progressive revelation: meaning the further we move through the Bible, the clearer the picture of God becomes. The Trinity is not only in the Old Testament, but even clearer in the New Testament.
V) Does The Trinity Appear In The New Testament?
A) We can see the Trinity at work in Mary’s conception;
Luke 1:35, The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High (The Father) will overshadow you. So the baby (Jesus) to be born will be holy, and he (Jesus) will be called the Son (Jesus) of God (The Father).
B) We can see the Trinity at work in Jesus’ baptism;
Matthew 3:16-17, After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were openedand he (Jesus) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him (Jesus). 17 And a voice from heaven (The Father) said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
(1) Jesus is being baptized, the Holy Spirit is coming upon Him and the Father is speaking from heaven. All three Persons are there doing something different.
C) We can see the Trinity at work in the great commission;
Matthew 28:19, Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(1.) Again, we are commanded by Jesus, to baptize people in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism in one name in three persons.
D) We can see the Trinity at work within our salvation;
1 Peter 1:2, God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his (Father) Spirit (Holy Spirit) has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him (The Father) and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God (The Father) give you more and more grace and peace.
(1.) God knew us, sent His Son for our redemption, and gave us the Holy Spirit to continually renew us and keep us until the Day of Christ.
E) God the Father devised the plan of salvation. God the Son came to die on the Cross in our place for our sins. God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in Christians and ensures our salvation. One God, in three distinct Persons.
VI) Why Should We Study The Doctrine Of The Trinity?
A) Many stop short in their understanding of the God of the Bible and give way to laziness. We say it’s okay to love God in our hearts, but this love the Lord your God with all your mind stuff is for the scholars, for the students and for the pastors. Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 Luke 10:27 command us to love God with both our minds and our hearts.
B) We want to study the Trinity because God is a Triune God, meaning that He is three persons in One. If we treasure our relationship with God, then we should treasure the revelation of God that He unfolds before us.
C) We want to study the Trinity because the great demonic trinity is about to surface and sweep the globe (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4; Revelation 13:2-4, 11-12).
A) We can see the Trinity at work in Mary’s conception;
Luke 1:35, The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High (The Father) will overshadow you. So the baby (Jesus) to be born will be holy, and he (Jesus) will be called the Son (Jesus) of God (The Father).
B) We can see the Trinity at work in Jesus’ baptism;
Matthew 3:16-17, After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were openedand he (Jesus) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him (Jesus). 17 And a voice from heaven (The Father) said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
(1) Jesus is being baptized, the Holy Spirit is coming upon Him and the Father is speaking from heaven. All three Persons are there doing something different.
C) We can see the Trinity at work in the great commission;
Matthew 28:19, Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(1.) Again, we are commanded by Jesus, to baptize people in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism in one name in three persons.
D) We can see the Trinity at work within our salvation;
1 Peter 1:2, God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his (Father) Spirit (Holy Spirit) has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him (The Father) and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God (The Father) give you more and more grace and peace.
(1.) God knew us, sent His Son for our redemption, and gave us the Holy Spirit to continually renew us and keep us until the Day of Christ.
E) God the Father devised the plan of salvation. God the Son came to die on the Cross in our place for our sins. God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in Christians and ensures our salvation. One God, in three distinct Persons.
VI) Why Should We Study The Doctrine Of The Trinity?
A) Many stop short in their understanding of the God of the Bible and give way to laziness. We say it’s okay to love God in our hearts, but this love the Lord your God with all your mind stuff is for the scholars, for the students and for the pastors. Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 Luke 10:27 command us to love God with both our minds and our hearts.
B) We want to study the Trinity because God is a Triune God, meaning that He is three persons in One. If we treasure our relationship with God, then we should treasure the revelation of God that He unfolds before us.
C) We want to study the Trinity because the great demonic trinity is about to surface and sweep the globe (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4; Revelation 13:2-4, 11-12).
Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessnessis revealed—the one who brings destruction.4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4 NLT
VII) What Are Some Major Doctrinal Errors Regarding the Trinity?
A) Most negative doctrines regarding the Trinity spring from one of these truths that are perverted or mis taught or simply ignored;
1) There is one God.
2) Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each fully God.
3) God is three persons.
B) What seems to happen is that one of these three points is stressed more than another, causing us to leave the whole for a part.
C) Here are the three major errors from culture past and culture present regarding the Trinity.
1) Modalism
(1.) This false doctrine teaches that God is not three Persons but is One of them at a time, not separate in three different places at one time.
(2.) Modalism believes that God the Father was at Creation, the Cross, and the Upper Room playing the role of the Son and the Spirit.
(3.) Folks that adhere to this false teaching go under the name “Jesus Only.” They leave out the Father and the Spirit…They represent millions of believers across the earth, but they deny the Biblical definition of the Trinity. Several supposed Christian denominations…(Joyce Myer/ Word Of Faith Movement)…many Pentecostal Denominations)…NOT ALL.
(4.) Jesus’ baptism takes care of this error (Matthew 3:16-17).
2) Arianism
(1.) This false doctrine teaches that because God is one, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are not God, but of the highest created beings.
(2.) So although Christ was fully man, He was not fully God.
(3.) Folks that adhere to this false teaching are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who deny the Trinity, and see Jesus as created and the Holy Spirit as some sort of cosmic force, but not God.
(4.) Thomas’ encounter with the risen Christ takes care of this error (John 20:25-29).
VII) What Are Some Major Doctrinal Errors Regarding the Trinity?
A) Most negative doctrines regarding the Trinity spring from one of these truths that are perverted or mis taught or simply ignored;
1) There is one God.
2) Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each fully God.
3) God is three persons.
B) What seems to happen is that one of these three points is stressed more than another, causing us to leave the whole for a part.
C) Here are the three major errors from culture past and culture present regarding the Trinity.
1) Modalism
(1.) This false doctrine teaches that God is not three Persons but is One of them at a time, not separate in three different places at one time.
(2.) Modalism believes that God the Father was at Creation, the Cross, and the Upper Room playing the role of the Son and the Spirit.
(3.) Folks that adhere to this false teaching go under the name “Jesus Only.” They leave out the Father and the Spirit…They represent millions of believers across the earth, but they deny the Biblical definition of the Trinity. Several supposed Christian denominations…(Joyce Myer/ Word Of Faith Movement)…many Pentecostal Denominations)…NOT ALL.
(4.) Jesus’ baptism takes care of this error (Matthew 3:16-17).
2) Arianism
(1.) This false doctrine teaches that because God is one, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are not God, but of the highest created beings.
(2.) So although Christ was fully man, He was not fully God.
(3.) Folks that adhere to this false teaching are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who deny the Trinity, and see Jesus as created and the Holy Spirit as some sort of cosmic force, but not God.
(4.) Thomas’ encounter with the risen Christ takes care of this error (John 20:25-29).
3) Tritheism (of Polytheism)
(1.) This false doctrine teaches that the Father is an exalted man who became a god and that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are spirit children from the father, which makes them unequal because both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are created, not uncreated.
(2.) Folks that adhere to this false teaching are the Mormon’s, who deny the Trinity, and who see the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as created beings and unequal.
(3.) John’s account of creation takes care of this (John 1:1-4).
D) You might say, what’s the big deal? Well the three groups that we just mentioned, Jesus only (United Pentecostal Church International UPCI), Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons represent ALMOST 40,000,000 MILLION from between 2008-2022. That’s a lot of people who are being taught wrong and can’t see the truth.
VIII) What Are Some Practical Applications of the Trinity?
A) Trinitarian life is humble.
1) When we look into the mystery of God, we see His depth and it causes us to be humbled. We understand our need for God and rely on Him.
B) Trinitarian life is loving.
1) We love God, love ourselves, love one another, love our neighbors, love strangers and even love our enemies. Jesus lived His life this way as an example to us about how to live. We are called to do the same.
C) Trinitarian life is worshipful.
1) This means we worship God through singing, serving, working and praying through the Holy Spirit, to the Father in the name of Jesus.
D) Trinitarian life is relational.
1) This means that we live our life just like the Trinity. In loving, kind, patient, open and honest community with those around us. Do people know you? Are you kind? Are you open?
E) Trinitarian life is unified and diverse.
1) This means that just like the Trinity is connected to one another, so are we. We are called to live in unity with one another, while not losing our own personalities.
F) Trinitarian life is submissive.
1) This means that we submit our lives first to Jesus, to the Church leadership, to other Christians and to the other authority that is over us. Just like Jesus submitted Himself to the Father and even to other leaders in His day, so also do we.
(1.) This false doctrine teaches that the Father is an exalted man who became a god and that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are spirit children from the father, which makes them unequal because both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are created, not uncreated.
(2.) Folks that adhere to this false teaching are the Mormon’s, who deny the Trinity, and who see the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit as created beings and unequal.
(3.) John’s account of creation takes care of this (John 1:1-4).
D) You might say, what’s the big deal? Well the three groups that we just mentioned, Jesus only (United Pentecostal Church International UPCI), Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons represent ALMOST 40,000,000 MILLION from between 2008-2022. That’s a lot of people who are being taught wrong and can’t see the truth.
VIII) What Are Some Practical Applications of the Trinity?
A) Trinitarian life is humble.
1) When we look into the mystery of God, we see His depth and it causes us to be humbled. We understand our need for God and rely on Him.
B) Trinitarian life is loving.
1) We love God, love ourselves, love one another, love our neighbors, love strangers and even love our enemies. Jesus lived His life this way as an example to us about how to live. We are called to do the same.
C) Trinitarian life is worshipful.
1) This means we worship God through singing, serving, working and praying through the Holy Spirit, to the Father in the name of Jesus.
D) Trinitarian life is relational.
1) This means that we live our life just like the Trinity. In loving, kind, patient, open and honest community with those around us. Do people know you? Are you kind? Are you open?
E) Trinitarian life is unified and diverse.
1) This means that just like the Trinity is connected to one another, so are we. We are called to live in unity with one another, while not losing our own personalities.
F) Trinitarian life is submissive.
1) This means that we submit our lives first to Jesus, to the Church leadership, to other Christians and to the other authority that is over us. Just like Jesus submitted Himself to the Father and even to other leaders in His day, so also do we.
G) Trinitarian relationships are relationships where nothing is hidden, nothing is lied about, nothing is done out of selfishness, nothing is done in secret and everything is done for God’s glory and other’s good…it’s tough but it’s a choice and it brings freedom from living this way.
H) If you’re a Christian and you’re not in relationship with God…well, you are CHOOSING to live opposite of the life God has told us and wants us to live.
SO…Seek Him out and live for God the week. The Father has given us the SON (The Word) for directions and an example of how to live…He has given us the Spirit to Guide and comfort us throughout our days….
Tap into that and realize…if you are in a relationship with Jesus….This is real!
H) If you’re a Christian and you’re not in relationship with God…well, you are CHOOSING to live opposite of the life God has told us and wants us to live.
SO…Seek Him out and live for God the week. The Father has given us the SON (The Word) for directions and an example of how to live…He has given us the Spirit to Guide and comfort us throughout our days….
Tap into that and realize…if you are in a relationship with Jesus….This is real!