Yesterday Todd’s sermon was “Father, Son and Holy Spirit…The Nature of God.”
Beginning in Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1, God introduces Himself by the Hebrew word, “Elohim”. The Hebrew word for God is “El”. Elohim is a plural form of the word “El”. However, Elohim is used in a singular sense. So it refers to a “plural of majesty”. Genesis 1:1; 1:26; 2:24, Deut 6:4, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, John 1:1-3; 5:17-18.
An example of the relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a couple. Couple is singular but is made up of 2 people.
The Father is God; the Son is God but not the Father, the Holy Spirit is God but not the Father and not the Son.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not synonyms, but they all refer to God.
There is a spiritual dimension to God that our physical minds cannot grasp. So does it matter if we understand their differences?
Todd explained that it IS important because of how we think about God…our image of Elohim. This determines what our faith will look like. Why? Because if we don’t understand Elohim, then our faith gets unbalanced.
In John 14:8-10 Jesus reveals the Father. We can’t understand the Father without Jesus revealing Him to us.
Matthew 11:27 is clear that if we overempathize the Father and ignore the Son, we can never actually know the Father. So God becomes impersonal and our faith is unsure.
Therefore we must know Jesus before we can understand God.
John 14:26 tells us we need the Holy Spirit to teach us. Without the Holy Spirit we struggle to know Jesus. If we don’t know Jesus, then we can’t understand God.
The Scriptures tell us that all 3 are equal.
So the way we think about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit determines the kind of Christianity we have, There must be a balance. We can’t overempathize one part over the other. If we do, our faith is lopsided or unbalanced.
To have a comprehensive, well-rounded faith, we need to have a proper understanding of the Father…of the Son…and of the Holy Spirit. All 3 are God but they are not the same as each other. They are equal in power…in authority, and have one purpose and thought. In Matthew 3:16-17 all three appear at the same time.
Elohim is ONE God…one in purpose and function, but made up of three Persons.
The Father is God over usThe Son is God with us.The Holy Spirit is God in us.
Prayer updates:Please continue to lift up those on the prayer sheet in the bulletin.
Lela Highley’s son, Duane has seen significant reduction in his tumor. Praise God. MRI in 3 months. Prayers for complete healing.
Martha Jackson has been dealing with extreme back pain due to fractures in her spine. She is having tests tomorrow. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and complete healing for Martha.
Lynda Gallimore is Chris Campbell’s cousin. She had knee replacement on May 12th but is still in hospital experiencing confusion and hallucinations. Prayers please for her recovery.
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday: Helping the Community in New Palestine 5:00 pm Sugar Creek Woods Apartments
Wednesday: Stepping Stones dinner and Bible study 6:00 P.M.
Thursday: Bible Study 10:00 A.M.
Saturday: Feed The Homeless downtown