Dr. Reymond’s topic was the Trinity in sanctification, but he wanted to give some background first.What is the Doctrine of the Trinity?
Calvin – God’s special mark of distinction
Christians of first five centuries creedalized from its conviction that Jesus is very God and the Holy Spirit is a distinct person.
Heresy brought us to crystallize in Nicea 325, 381, Ephesus 431 (anti-Nestorian), Chalcedon 451
1. One God eternally immutably indivisible – monotheism – to reject this = tritheism
2. Father, Son and Spirit each distinct (not separate) persons – all share all attributes, yet each has distinct properties the other two don’t have – to reject this = modalism
Father – Paternity – ungenerated
Son – eternally generated
Spirit – proceeds from Father and Son
Internal order
PCUSA – blasphemy
3. Father, Son, Spirit each fully and equally God – to reject this = subordinationism
Why do we believe it?
The Bible teaches it – 20 texts (and bonus material)
Isaiah 48:16 / Isaiah 61:1 / Isaiah 63:9-10 / Zechariah 2:1-10 / Matthew 28:19 / Mark 1:10-11 (synoptic parallels, synoptic = look alike gospels) / John 14:16-26 / John 15:26 / John 16:7-15 / Romans 8:1-11 (abba = father, abba is not “daddy”) / 1 Corinthians 12:3-6 / 2 Corinthians 13:14 / Galatians 4:4-6 / Ephesians 1:3-14 / Ephesians 2:18 / Ephesians 4:4-6 / 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 / Titus 3:4-6 / 1 Peter 1:2 / Jude 20-21
We are not restricted to “all in one verse” texts; other texts show evidence of the Trinity by showing the deity of Jesus and/or the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit.
THERE IS MASSIVE EVIDENCE
Jesus called Theos (God) – John 20:28 / Acts 20:28 / Romans 9:5 / Titus 2:13 / Hebrews 1:8 / 2 Peter 2:1 / 1 John 5:20 – others
Calvin – unless we grasp these we exclude the true God in our minds
Robert Reymond – Trinity is what separates God from idols
Value of Trinity
Vital tenet – it keeps us from idolatry, if we have no Trinity we worship an idol, if you don’t worship God as Triune you worship a false God
Brings biblical doctrine of Soteriology into clear focus
TRINITY IN SANCTIFICATION
You do not sanctify yourself, Jesus still working to accomplish redemption, but also applies redemption through Word and Spirit – Romans 8:5-6, 13 / John 17:17 / Ephesians 1:3
Definitive sanctification
John Murray quote
Sanctification is a process but it is also once for all
Acts 20:32 – sanctified is in the perfect tense, passive participle, action in past effects continue on – Acts 26:18 / 1 Corinthians 1:2
1 Corinthians 6:11 – aorist indicative, action is punctilliar, at a point
Ephesians 5:25-26 – having cleansed – Galatians 2:19-20
Romans 6:2,17-18,20-22 – have been freed
Romans 7:4-6 – we were in the flesh
Romans 7:1-6 – died ending the process of penalty (Enron executive died no longer can be tried)
The law is like a husband that cannot love, only convict, but it makes us desire more
Second husband, grace, can plant seed, bring forth harvest
When Christ died, you died
Decisive breach in the Christian – What is the ground of this?
Just as justification is Christ’s righteousness to us, it is spiritual union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection – union with Christ is the fountain of all spiritual blessing
All Christians are in union with Christ. To the degree that we reckon this to be true (take it seriously), we will experience practical sanctification
Union with Christ: the breach is not just positional but real, existential reality, death to sin in an actual experience – see the “in Christ” statements – as real as an umbilical cord
The Father’s will is your sanctification – definitive and also progressive
Romans 8:13 – continually
Colossians 3:5 – union with Christ means you must
3 fold pattern of the sanctified life
Holy character
His holy will
Christ’s holy life
Agents and Instruments
Progress not dependent on our own efforts
Father – Word
Spirit – death to the flesh
Christ – one thing to next growth
Not passive though, consciously engaged
Philippians 2:12-13
Not doing to the exclusion of willing
Not willing to the exclusion of doing
2 Peter 1 – be diligent
Means of growth
Preaching
Studying the Word
Ordinances
Prayer
Fellowship
Robert Reymond – “death is the greatest means of grace” – to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)
Pastors, people need to see you walking in holiness
Robert Murray McCheyne – holiness walk the most important thing we can teach
It comes from God, so train yourself to be godly
Why do we believe it?
The Bible teaches it – 20 texts (and bonus material)
Isaiah 48:16 / Isaiah 61:1 / Isaiah 63:9-10 / Zechariah 2:1-10 / Matthew 28:19 / Mark 1:10-11 (synoptic parallels, synoptic = look alike gospels) / John 14:16-26 / John 15:26 / John 16:7-15 / Romans 8:1-11 (abba = father, abba is not “daddy”) / 1 Corinthians 12:3-6 / 2 Corinthians 13:14 / Galatians 4:4-6 / Ephesians 1:3-14 / Ephesians 2:18 / Ephesians 4:4-6 / 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 / Titus 3:4-6 / 1 Peter 1:2 / Jude 20-21
We are not restricted to “all in one verse” texts; other texts show evidence of the Trinity by showing the deity of Jesus and/or the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit.
THERE IS MASSIVE EVIDENCE
Jesus called Theos (God) – John 20:28 / Acts 20:28 / Romans 9:5 / Titus 2:13 / Hebrews 1:8 / 2 Peter 2:1 / 1 John 5:20 – others
Calvin – unless we grasp these we exclude the true God in our minds
Robert Reymond – Trinity is what separates God from idols
Value of Trinity
Vital tenet – it keeps us from idolatry, if we have no Trinity we worship an idol, if you don’t worship God as Triune you worship a false God
Brings biblical doctrine of Soteriology into clear focus
TRINITY IN SANCTIFICATION
You do not sanctify yourself, Jesus still working to accomplish redemption, but also applies redemption through Word and Spirit – Romans 8:5-6, 13 / John 17:17 / Ephesians 1:3
Definitive sanctification
John Murray quote
Sanctification is a process but it is also once for all
Acts 20:32 – sanctified is in the perfect tense, passive participle, action in past effects continue on – Acts 26:18 / 1 Corinthians 1:2
1 Corinthians 6:11 – aorist indicative, action is punctilliar, at a point
Ephesians 5:25-26 – having cleansed – Galatians 2:19-20
Romans 6:2,17-18,20-22 – have been freed
Romans 7:4-6 – we were in the flesh
Romans 7:1-6 – died ending the process of penalty (Enron executive died no longer can be tried)
The law is like a husband that cannot love, only convict, but it makes us desire more
Second husband, grace, can plant seed, bring forth harvest
When Christ died, you died
Decisive breach in the Christian – What is the ground of this?
Just as justification is Christ’s righteousness to us, it is spiritual union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection – union with Christ is the fountain of all spiritual blessing
All Christians are in union with Christ. To the degree that we reckon this to be true (take it seriously), we will experience practical sanctification
Union with Christ: the breach is not just positional but real, existential reality, death to sin in an actual experience – see the “in Christ” statements – as real as an umbilical cord
The Father’s will is your sanctification – definitive and also progressive
Romans 8:13 – continually
Colossians 3:5 – union with Christ means you must
3 fold pattern of the sanctified life
Holy character
His holy will
Christ’s holy life
Agents and Instruments
Progress not dependent on our own efforts
Father – Word
Spirit – death to the flesh
Christ – one thing to next growth
Not passive though, consciously engaged
Philippians 2:12-13
Not doing to the exclusion of willing
Not willing to the exclusion of doing
2 Peter 1 – be diligent
Means of growth
Preaching
Studying the Word
Ordinances
Prayer
Fellowship
Robert Reymond – “death is the greatest means of grace” – to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)
Pastors, people need to see you walking in holiness
Robert Murray McCheyne – holiness walk the most important thing we can teach
It comes from God, so train yourself to be godly
2 comments:
I appreciate your quote about Finney at the Moor, but the one here ("death is the greatest means of grace") is the one that has stayed with me so far from your summaries.
Funny you should mention that, becasue I was going to use that one, it really hit me as well...
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