LESSON OBJECTIVES
Goals
1. To help students begin to understand the Trinity as it is defined in the Bible
2. To equip students with a basic knowledge of who God is (His names) and what He does (His work), based on Scripture
3. To inspire students to let God work through them to impact those around them
Topics
Character of God, Christianity, Knowing God
Scripture Memorization
Deuteronomy 6:4
OPENING PRAYER (5 to 10 minutes)
GROUP BUILDING (10 minutes)
GETTING STARTED (7 minutes)
In our icebreaker, “I Am Famous” we saw a lot of famous people, but today as we continue our study in theology, we’re going to talk about the most famous person ever to exist, God.
Let’s play another game. We’re going to try and describe God. It sounds childish, but it’s going to take some grown-up thinking to do it. We’re going to go through the alphabet and try to use every letter in the alphabet to start a word to describe who God is. I’ll start. God is awesome. Who wants “b?” (good luck with q, x, and z!)
Alright, good job. We can try to define God in lots of ways, but as we’ve discussed, we have to base our theology in Scripture. So let’s figure out who God is.
DIGGING IN (25 minutes)
Read Acts 2:36-39
In this passage, several God-words are used: “God,” “Lord,” “Christ,” “Jesus,” “Holy Spirit.” In these verses Peter is talking about salvation, and he doesn’t go out of his way to define what he means by each of these terms. Is Jesus God? What about the Holy Spirit? If so, are there more than one God? How do we keep it all straight?
Names for God:
The Bible, the basis of all our theology, attaches many different names to God. In fact, there are dozens of different names attached to God in the Old and New Testaments. All these names can be boiled down to four main names.
• El, the general name for God, like “God” in English
• Elohim, used 680 times in OT, a plural word; not singular
• YHWH (Jehovah), not used for centuries by Jews, closest to being a “name”
• Adonai (Lord), signifies sovereignty, “Lord,” He’s the boss
What is interesting in the Bible is that God is referred to using plural words. Moreover, Jesus is referred to as God, calls Himself God, and the Holy Spirit is called God, too.
Check out these passages which refer to God using plural words
• Genesis 1:1-2; 26
• Matthew 3:13-17
• Matthew 17:1-7
• John 10:23-30
• John 18:33-37
Now look at these three texts, in which Father, Son, and Spirit are each called “God.”
• Father: Philippians 1:2 (There are 14 other occasions of the phrase “God and Father” in the Bible)
• Son: John 1:1, 14
• Spirit: Acts 5:3-4 (Note that “Holy Spirit” and “God” are used interchangeably in this text)
So we have God saying things like “let us make man.” We have Jesus saying that He and the Father are “one.” We have Jesus saying “I am,” which to the Jewish ear was Him saying the same thing God says to Moses at the burning bush. And we have all three persons of the Trinity being called “God.”
Discussion Questions:
1. How can God be more than one and yet one at the same time?
2. How would you explain this to an unbeliever?
3. Does your head hurt yet? Why is this even important?
If we can’t even explain what the Bible says about who God is, what kind of faith are we really living? While we cannot know everything about God, we should know something about Him. And don’t worry! He can be known.
Read Acts 17:24-27 and James 4:8
If we want to, we can know God. But how can we explain Him?
The Trinity:
The Bible never uses the word “trinity.” However, this word is a very biblical one. The idea is simple. God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4). However, if you read that passage in Hebrew, the word “one” does not mean singular. In fact, it’s the same word used to describe the relationship between husband and wife in Genesis 2:24. Of course there are distinctions between husband and wife, but they are unified as well. “Elohim” is a plural word. In Hebrew, the ending ‘im’ always denotes a pluralness.
The word “trinity” is a compound word. There is three (“tri”) and unity (“nity”). What do we mean when we say God is three in one? There are a few metaphors that have been offered to explain this theology.
• Tertullian, in church history, described God using the sun as a metaphor—the sun itself, the sun’s rays, and what the sun reflects off of
• Augustine, in church history, used a personal example. Every person has memory, intelligence, and will. Our mind has three functions, but one mind.
Technically, each of these breaks down the more you dissect them. After all, you’re trying to explain God—eternal and almighty—using human terms. But here are a couple more examples which demonstrate that you can have three persons in one essence. You can have one source and three powers.
• H20 can exist in three forms: solid (ice), gas (steam), and liquid (water). H20 cannot be ice, steam, and water simultaneously, however. God can be Father, Son, and Spirit simultaneously.
• An individual can be three persons. I am a father, a son, and a youth minister. I relate to people based on these persons within me, one individual.
God is One, but not singular. He’s plural, but not multiple. He’s three persons (Father, Son, and Spirit) in One essence (God). He’s three powers (Father, Son, and Spirit) in one source (God).
MAKING IT REAL (15 minutes)
I’d Why does all this matter? It matters because who God is determines how He interacts with man. In other religions, God never comes to earth. Muhammed never claimed to be God; Jesus did. If the Holy Spirit dwells within is, as Scripture says, then God lives in the believer—no other religion believes that. If God lives in us, it should change the way we live! How does this not matter?
God Does:
Earlier, we described God using letters of the alphabet. We came up with some good stuff. But what does God do?
1. God Creates
Read Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17; Job 33:4
Discussion Questions:
1. In which of these is Jesus called creator? (Colossians 1)
2. In which of these passages is the Holy Spirit referred to as a creator? (Job 33)
3. Can we conclude form the Bible that God – Father, Son, and Spirit created all that has been created?
4. What difference should this make in the way you live? Why does it matter that you were created by God?
2. God Loves
Read 1 John 4:8, 16; John 3:16; Ephesians 5:25; Romans 15:30
Discussion Questions:
1. How does it make you feel to know that God is, by His very definition, loving?
2. How have you seen God’s love manifested in your life?
3. In what ways do you think Father, Son, and Spirit love uniquely?
3. God Resurrects
In future weeks, we’ll talk about what it means to be saved. But let’s say this much right now as it relates to what God can do in our lives, though we are dead in our sin, He has resurrected us and given us new life.
Read 1 Thessalonians 1:10; John 2:19; Romans 8:11
4. God Knows Everything
Theologians call this being “omniscient.” The bottom line is that God – Father, Son, and Spirit knows everything.
Read 1 John 3:20; John 16:30; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you live aware that God knows everything? What do you think living like that would look like?
2. If God knows everything, that means He knows your heart, your hurts, and your deepest worries. How does it feel to know the God of the universe is intimately aware of your emotions and needs?
3. Do you ever try to hide from God? Why is that pointless?
This isn’t all God does, obviously. We didn’t talk about how He provides, indwells, saves, makes holy, judges, or possesses. It would take forever to try and explain everything God does. But the point here in brining all this down to something personal is that God – Father, Son, and Spirit is active in your life. The question is, are you aware of it?
The Trinity, God in three persons yet unified as one power source, cares about you. Even in all His might, He is concerned about your relationship with your mom, how you spend your time alone, and the secrets you hide. God is knowable. If we seek Him.
CLOSING PRAYER (2 minutes)
It’s my prayer that you will seek God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 4:29). Let’s pray that we can all do that more today.