And to think, I still had the words in my mouth about the dreams God sent to Joseph to care for Jesus, the coming and then newborn Savior of the world, who slept under Joseph’s roof.  ‘Dreams?  Are there other ways God speaks to his children?  Oh certainly, we must talk about those—most especially as we launch further into the deep of Matthew and will read the words of God that Jesus taught; we must be able to discern that God is speaking to our hearts and minds if we are but able to receive it.  Oh, yes, God speaks.  The question remains, ‘Are you able to hear him?  Or is there too much noise in your life?’

And further to think that just because I happened by a Bible discussion at a table as Shannon said, ‘but what did Christine mean when she said Jesus is the only person born who has always been alive?’  ‘Well, yes of course, dear Shannon, because Jesus is part of the eternal God head, the three-in-one.’  And so began a foray into the scriptural basis for the three distinct persons of the Trinity.  We have considered the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, and now we endeavor to unpack God himself. 

I wish to start by saying,

"Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee." Augustine

Instantly, we distinguish God in the trinity (in our western minds in the 21^st century) as God the Father, but he is so much more!  You see, when we jump to God the Father, we almost omit his eternal being, before Jesus came as our Messiah.  Most of the Old Testament—that is, before Jesus came to earth—does not refer to God as Father; in fact only 15 times, and that is usually with regard to being the Father of the nation of Israel.  Jesus refers to God as Father 65 times in the first three gospels, and more than 100 times in John’s gospel.¹

God is the originator of all.  Creation happened at his behest, his timing.  The names of God, (most of them spoken out by him), reveal so much more about the nature of our great God.  Those who know your name put their trust in you ~ Psalm 9.10.  Accordingly we see that when Moses wrote, In the beginning, God [“Elohim”] created the heavens and the earth.² The Hebrew word he used was ELOHIM: God -  “Creator, Mighty and Strong.”³ From the Bible’s first sentence, the superlative nature of God’s power is evident.⁴ Elohim is used 240 times in the Old Testament as the source of all that is.⁵

YHWH / YAHWEH / JEHOVAH: “LORD” - The revelation of the name is first given to Moses “I Am who I Am” Exodus 3:14 - I love this dialogue between Moses and God.  First of all, God had to tell Moses he was standing on holy ground, but when we are tuned in to the Holy Spirit, he often lets us know we are standing on holy ground. 

Strictly speaking, Yahweh or Jehovah is the only proper name for God. Translated in English Bibles “LORD” (all capitals). This name specifies an immediacy, a presence. Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance (Psalm 107:13), forgiveness (Psalm 25:11) and guidance (Psalm 31:3).  ‘Yahweh’ is used 6828 times in the Old Testament – God is the God who is present and near to all who call on him.

ADONAI: “Lord” (Genesis 15:2; Judges 6:15) – used in place of YHWH, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men. In the Old Testament, YHWH is more often used in God’s dealings with His people, while Adonai is used more when He deals with the Gentiles.

God set the plan of redemption in motion.  When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son … Galatians 4.4-7  God showed us who he is by sending us Jesus.  The Father creates a plan, Jesus Christ implements the plan and the Holy Spirit administers the plan.⁶  Therefore we see that both the Son and the Holy Spirit are submissive to God the Father.

Further, God alone knows when Jesus will come a second time.  Jesus said of the day and time, No one knows…only my Father.⁷

So much great information about our good and great, magnificent God!  But for today, “in conclusion, I pray, “O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”⁸

Draw us to yourself, God, we pray.  Amen.

Christine

1 – Fatherhood of God, Robert H. Stein

2 - Genesis 1:1.Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:33

3 – the plural form of Eloah accommodates the doctrine of the Trinity.

4 - A great site that answers questions simply and in a straightforward manner – Got Questions?  http://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html#ixzz3I73hJpv6

5 – John Stott

6 - Charles Stanley, Jesus.org

7 – Matthew 24.36, 44

8 - A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God