(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
Where does the Trinity appear together in the Bible?
Intro:
Aaaand, this one just in from the Useless Factoid of the Day Department: In archaeology, two royal seals have been found for two of all these kings we’ve been reading about…one for King Ahaz, and one for King Hezekiah. And it just so happens that we really dig into Hezekiah’s story today in 2 Kings.
But we begin here with the NT, and spoiler alert: one of the best verses in the NT that demonstrates Father, Son, and Spirit is right at the end of the chapter.
New Testament segment:
Passage: Matthew 3
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 17
Words: ~359
Before we move into today’s OT segment, I’ll just say one thing about this appearance of Father, Son, and Spirit in one scene. It’s a pretty plain reading, right? You don’t have to do contortionist tricks to see the three in one spot. But here’s the thing — the Trinity is, in many ways, crazy to try to wrap our heads around — three persons, one essence. Now we could go all theology-Jedi and explain how one essence means one God means monotheism. “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Dt 6:4, CSB), but there is a belief by some that is called modalism…as in God appeared in three separate “modes" - one time the Father, another time the Son, another time the Holy Spirit. But you can see how this is a problem when Father, Son, Spirit appear in one place.
Alright, let’s get to King Hezekiah who not only was one of the few good kings, unlike the others, you’ll hear that he actually did some clean up on the pagan worship places, too.
Old Testament segment:
Passage: 2 Kings 18
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 41
Words: ~1298
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 11:29-31
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 3
Words: ~48
The bottom line:
So, just in case someone ever says to you, “But the Bible never uses the word ‘trinity,’” the point is that it doesn’t have to. That’s just a descriptor. And you can ask them, “Where in the Bible does the Trinity appear together?” knowing that it’s more than one place, but clearly in Matthew 3.
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 543.