Transcript Introduction to Theology Proper

Cornerstone Bible Institute
April 25, 2009
"There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a
contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts
are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its
infinity. Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we
feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, "Behold I
am wise." But when we come to this master-science, finding that our
plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its
height, we turn away with the . . . the solemn exclamation, "I am but of
yesterday, and know nothing."
Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's
deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from
a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so
comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow; so
speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject
of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning."
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John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of
grace and truth.
John 1:17-18 - For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth
were realized through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time;
the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has
explained Him.
Hebrews 1:1-3 - God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the
prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has
spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through
whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and
the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the
word of His power.
"At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I
gave heed to the context of the words, namely, "In it the
righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, 'He who
through faith is righteous shall live.'" There I began to
understand that the righteousness of God is that by which
the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith...
Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had
entered paradise itself through open gates...
And I extolled my sweetest word with a love as great as
the hatred with which I had before hated the word
"righteousness of God." Thus that place in Paul was for me
truly the gate to paradise."
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Psalm 97:9 - For Thou art the LORD Most High
over all the earth; Thou art exalted far above all
gods.
Isaiah 46:9 - For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring
the end from the beginning And from ancient
times things which have not been done, Saying,
'My purpose will be established, And I will
accomplish all My good pleasure';
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Jeremiah 23:23 - "Am I a God who is near,"
declares the LORD, "And not a God far off?
Psalm 8:4 - What is man, that Thou dost take
thought of him? And the son of man, that
Thou dost take care for him?
Cornerstone Bible Institute
April 25, 2009
1.
Nicene Creed AD 325
2.
Chalcedonian Creed AD 451
3.
Athanasian Creed 4th-5th Century AD
Appendix 1, Grudem's Systematic Theology
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homoiousios - "of a similar nature“
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homoousios - "of the same nature"
1.
God is three persons
2.
Each person is fully God
3.
There are not three gods but one God.
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Matthew 11:25-27 -- "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and
intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it
was well-pleasing in Thy sight. All things have been handed
over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the
Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and
anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
John 17:1-3 - "Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that
the Son may glorify Thee, even as Thou gavest Him authority
over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may
give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know
Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
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Luke 4:1 - And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan and was led about by
the Spirit in the wilderness.
John 14:16-17 - And I will ask the Father, and He
will give you another Helper, that he may be with
you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it does not behold
Him or know Him, but you know Him because He
abides with you, and will be in you.
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John 16:7 - But I tell you the truth, it is to
your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper shall not come to you;
but if I go, I will send Him to you.
John 16:14 - He shall glorify Me; for He shall
take of mine, and shall disclose it to you.
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And after being baptized, Jesus went up
immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit
of God descending as a dove, and coming
upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the
heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well-pleased."
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Ephesians 4:4, 6 - There is. . . one God and
Father of all who is over all and through all
and in all.
1 Peter 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.
John 20:27-29 - Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here in
your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your
hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving,
but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My
Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Because you have
seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did
not see, and yet believed."
Titus 2:13 - looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior,
Christ Jesus;
Hebrews 1:8 - But of the Son He says, "Thy throne, O
God, is forever and ever,
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1 Corinthians 3:16 - Do you not know that you
are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?
Acts 5:3-4 - But Peter said, "Ananias, why has
Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. . .
You have not lied to men, but to God."
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Matthew 28:19-20 - Go therefore an dmake disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
1 Peter 1:2 - according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may
obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. . .
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Deuteronomy 6:4 - Hear O Israel! The LORD is
our God, the LORD is one!
1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one
mediator also between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus?
James 1:19 - You believe that God is one; You do
well.
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Modalism
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Arianism
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Tritheism/Polytheism
Cornerstone Bible Institute
April 25, 2009
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Read Ephesians 1:3-14
1. How many times are the Father, Son and Spirit
distinguished in salvation?
2. What is the Father's role in salvation? What is
the Son's role in salvation? What is the Spirit's
role in salvation? Summarize each answer in 1
sentence.
Are you painfully preoccupied with a particular habitual sin?
2. Are you discouraged or depressed by your failure to measure up?
3. Do you frequently experience anxiety that something's about to go
wrong?
4. Does it appear God can use others but not you?
5. Is there something in your past you just can't seem to get over?
6. Do you fear that your past will come back to haunt you?
7. Do your difficult circumstances seem like God's judgment for your
sin?
8. Do you steer clear of intimate relationships or small-group
discussions?
9. When you sin, do you get a vague sense that somehow there'll be a
price to pay
10. Do you seldom think of the cross?
1.
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Ephesians 1:8-9 - in all wisdom and insight He
made known to us the mystery of His will,
according to His kind intention which He
purposed in Him. . .
Ephesians 1:11 - we have. . . been predestined
according to His purpose who works all things
after the counsel of His will,
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John 4:34 - My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to
accomplish His work.
John 5:30 - "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I
judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own
will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
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John 17:4- I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished
the work which thou hast given Me to do.
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Isaiah 53:10 - But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting
Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
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1 John 3:1 - See how great a love the Father has bestowed
on us, that we should be called children of God; and such
we are.
Romans 8:15-17 - For you have not received a spirit of
slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit
of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him
in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
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Matthew 5:17 - "Do not think that I came to abolish the
Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to
fulfill.
Galatians 3;13 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the
Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written,
"Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree“
Romans 1:1-4 - the gospel of God. . . concerning His Son.
. . who was declared the Son of God with power by the
resurrection from the dead
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John 16:7-10 - but I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage
that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come
to you; but if I go, I wil lsend Him to you. And He, when He
comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness,
and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in
Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father,
and you no longer behold Me;
Titus 3:4-6 - But when the kindness of God our Savior and His
love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of
deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His
mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy
Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ
our Savior,
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John 16:13-14 - But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak
on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;
and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall
glorify Me; for He shall take of mine, and shall disclose it
to you.
Acts 1:8 - you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shal lbe My witnesses both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the
remotest part of the earth.
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1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one
mediator also between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus
Matthew 6:9 - Pray, then, in this way: Our Father
who art in heaven,
John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they may
know thee, the only true God…
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Part 1: The Doctrine of the Trinity
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Part 2: Trinity and Gospel
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Part 3: Trinitarian Sanctification (or How to
Change) - next week