Foundationsof The Faith

-You cannot understand the Gospel or your own salvation without understanding the Trinity. -It is impossible to be forgiven of our sins unless God is a Trinity. -It is impossible to worship God for His acts, in history and in your personal life, without a clear understanding of the Trinity. -It is impossible for the relational God described in the Bible to exist unless He a Trinity. -We will never understand ourselves or our purpose without understanding the Trinity in whose image we were created.

O ld Testament Deuteronomy 6:4 4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” New Testament James 2:19 19 “ You believe that God is one. You do well” Isaiah 43: “You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am Yahweh, And there is no savior besides Me.”

Clarification: The Trinity is the theological description of God who exists as three persons. Yahweh is the proper name of the God who exists as three persons.

Exodus 3:13-15 “ Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 “ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘the LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. אֶֽהְיֶ ֖ ה אֲשֶׁ ֣ ר אֶֽהְיֶ ֑ ה אֶֽהְיֶ ֖ ה יְהוָ ֞ ה Verb “to be” who“I am the One who always is” 3:13 Moses asks God His name. 3:14 God explains the meaning of His name. Watchman 3:15 God reminds Moses of His name Yahweh. Not a title

Exodus 3:13-15 “ Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 “ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. אֶֽהְיֶ ֖ ה אֲשֶׁ ֣ ר אֶֽהְיֶ ֑ ה אֶֽהְיֶ ֖ ה יְהוָ ֞ ה Verb “to be” The name Yahweh is from “to be” who“I am the One who always is” 3:14 God explains the meaning of His name. Gregory 3:15 God reminds Moses of His name Yahweh. God’s very name, Yahweh, communicates: - I am the eternal God. - I am here with you today. - I will be here when you wake up tomorrow. - I do not forget or change my mind. - I keep my promises to my people. God’s very name, Yahweh, communicates: - I am the eternal God. - I am here with you today. - I will be here when you wake up tomorrow. - I do not forget or change my mind. - I keep my promises to my people. The name Yahweh was powerfully important to the Israelites Notice: God did not say “Yahweh” is my temporary name in relation to the Israelites. God said, “This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” Thus, 6,500 times God’s people call upon Him by His name Yahweh.

Exodus 3:1-6 1 Now Moses was pasturing the... 2 The angel of the L ORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the L ORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Exodus 3:1-6 1 Now Moses was pasturing the... 2 The messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the L ORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Exodus 3:13-15 “ Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 “ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. אֶֽהְיֶ ֖ ה אֲשֶׁ ֣ ר אֶֽהְיֶ ֑ ה אֶֽהְיֶ ֖ ה יְהוָ ֞ ה Verb “to be” The name Yahweh is from “to be” who“I am the One who always is” 3:14 God explains the meaning of His name. Gregory 3:15 God reminds Moses of His name Yahweh. God’s very name, Yahweh, communicates: - I am the eternal God. - I am here with you today. - I will be here when you wake up tomorrow. - I do not forget or change my mind. - I keep my promises to my people. God’s very name, Yahweh, communicates: - I am the eternal God. - I am here with you today. - I will be here when you wake up tomorrow. - I do not forget or change my mind. - I keep my promises to my people. The name Yahweh was powerfully important to the Israelites Notice: God did not say “Yahweh” is my temporary name in relation to the Israelites. “This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” Thus, 6,500 times God’s people call upon Him by His name Yahweh. What about us?

Yahweh is still our God today. – - Yahweh is the eternal God who redeemed us. - Yahweh is here with us today to strengthen us in the face of today’s trials. - Yahweh will be here tomorrow when we wake up to meet all of our needs. - Yahweh will not forget us or change His mind about us. We are His adopted children: Forgiven and Beloved. - Yahweh has kept and will keep His promises to us. We can live with sure hope of eternity with Him.

It is Biblical Yahweh is the name that the writers of Scripture call God 6,500 times more occurrences than “God” -Secular anthropologists call Israelites “Yahwists” It is Relational Yahweh is God’s name! Melissa Vs Woman

In Our Worship If, we are Yahweh’s people receiving Yahweh’s promises? Then, we are on a first name basis with the God of the Universe! Yahweh calls us by name and offers us the same intimacy.

In our Witness When speaking to our neighbors about our relationship with God, we have the privilege of speaking in clear, precise and distinct terms. We are not devoted to “god”. We are devoted to Yahweh: the promise keeping God of the Bible! Erwin Lutzer, “The statement, ‘I believe in God’ is perhaps one of the most meaningless statements we can make today.” We can’t be content with vagueness!

1) There is one true God who eternally exists and always keeps His promises. His name is Yahweh. 2) From the beginning, Yahweh has described Himself as being three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Making Man in Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7 1: 26 “God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; … 1: 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” 2:7 “Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Dealing with man’s first sin in Genesis 3: “Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, live forever”— 23 therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden” Judging man’s rebellion after the flood in Genesis 11:6-9 6 “ Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So Yahweh scattered them … Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth” From the very beginning, Yahweh presents Himself as “Us” or as three persons.

Isaiah 48: “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. 13 “Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together… 16 “Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now Yahweh God has sent Me, and His Spirit.” Yahweh has always revealed the fact that He is three persons

John 1:1-18 Jesus’ Reality: Eternal Intimacy with the Father 1 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 17 for although the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son— the One who is at the Father’s side— He has revealed Him.”

John 1:1-18 Jesus’ Role: Revealing the Father 1 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 17 for although the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son— the One who is at the Father’s side— He has revealed Him.”

1 John 4:7-15 Our Reality: New Intimacy with the Trinity 7 “ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God… 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” 1 John 4:7-15 Our Role: Revealing the Trinity 7 “ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God… 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” -The church has been given profound intimacy with the Trinity. -In the absence of Jesus, we now have the role of explaining the Trinity by the way we live. How do we put the Trinity on display? -The church has been given profound intimacy with the Trinity. -In the absence of Jesus, we now have the role of explaining the Trinity by the way we live. How do we put the Trinity on display?

Our role on earth is to put the Trinity on display by the way we live. Displaying the image of the Trinity is accomplished primarily in our relationships with one another. -

Colossians 3: “ put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him…” 12 “as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Point: We reflect our Triune God as we live in loving unity with one another.

John 17:11 “ Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” Our Pattern is Trinitarian: - We are made in the image of the Trinity -The three people of the Trinity have lived in perfect relationship; perfect love and unity for all eternity. Our Purpose is Trinitarian : -We were made to display the Trinity by our loving unity with one another. Our Plight is Trinitarian : -We are intensely relational by design. -We crave community: to know and be known, to love and be loved… We will never understand ourselves or our purpose without understanding the Trinity in whose image we were created.

The Deal of a Lifetime We get to enjoy Christian love and unity. The world sees our glorious Triune Creator.

1) There is one true God who eternally exists and always keeps His promises. His name is Yahweh. 2) From the beginning, Yahweh has described Himself as being three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Next Two Weeks: 1) What do we mean that God is three “persons”? 2) How can one God be three distinct persons? 3) The Father is Yahweh God 4) The Holy Spirit is Yahweh God 5) The Son Jesus is Yahweh God