The Important Doctrine of the Trinity
The important biblical doctrine of the Trinity is often little appreciated by those who believe it. Everyone knows that this doctrine more than any other separates Christianity from all heathen religions and from the sects, but few see why it is important to them personally. It seems sometimes an abstract doctrine that has little to do with life or assurance.
Nevertheless, this doctrine is very important, even for such practical matters as family living.
Consider first the fact that the doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that this Triune God is the only true God. It does this by showing us that He is beyond our understanding. It makes us ask; “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?” (Job 11:7).
Though we believe that He is three persons in one God, we confess that we do not fully understand this. Nor should this trouble us, for He is God: if we could fully comprehend Him, He would be no greater than our finite minds. He would not be God at all, but an idol fashioned by our own minds and hearts.
In this way, the doctrine of the Trinity is the source of all true repentance, humility, reverence and worship. Reminding us that He is God, it brings us to our knees before Him so that we say with Job; “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
Second, the doctrine also teaches us that God is all our salvation, and all our hope. Everything we need is in Him. He is the Father—our Father for Christ’s sake. He is the only-begotten Son—our elder brother. He is the Holy Spirit, who comes and goes like the powerful wind, who can be in our hearts and work there with irresistible power even before we know of His presence.
When we need to know the love of God, we think of Him and pray to Him as children to a Father. When it seems that no one knows our needs or understands our trials, He reminds us that His Son has come in the flesh and was touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15)—that He is indeed our elder brother. When we feel far from God and without peace, His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
In trouble and distress, in loneliness and sorrow, in joy and obedience, He is our God—not a god who is far off, but a God who is near. He is our God whom we love and in whom we may safely put our trust.
Do you know this true God? Do you worship Him and put your trust in Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? There is no God beside Him, and none other is worthy of our reverence and praise. Rev. Hanko
The Lord Creates Evil (3)
“Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6).
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things” (Isa. 45:7).
In our last article in the News we pointed out that especially the passage in Isaiah quoted above teaches that God is also sovereign over sin. We began a discussion of other passages in Scripture which teach the same truth and called attention to David’s confession that God “told” Shimei to curse David.
Another, perhaps even stronger passage, is found in II Samuel 24 and I Chronicles 21. In these passages we are told of David’s sin in numbering the people. But Scripture also explains how David committed this sin.
In I Chronicles 21:1 we are told that Satan was behind David’s sin: “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” Here it is clear that this sin of David was an effort on Satan’s part to bring trouble to Israel. But II Samuel 24:1, which explains the same event, carries us one step farther back to God Himself: “And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.”
The two passages are not in conflict with each other but clearly mean to teach that while Satan was the immediate adversary of Israel and the one who moved David to commit this sin, God stood behind Satan. God was angry with Israel (for what reason we are not told) and God used Satan to provoke David to commit this sin so that He could bring judgment upon the nation. God was sovereign over this sin of David.
Was David, therefore, not responsible for his own sin? Indeed he was. The text itself makes this clear. When the deed was done, we are told that “David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (II Sam. 24:10).
In I Chronicles 21 we are told that “God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (7-8).
A terrible judgment came upon Israel for David’s sin.
But there are other passages.
In the very context of the passage in Isaiah quoted above, God calls Cyrus “my shepherd” (44:28) and God’s “anointed” (45:1). God tells Cyrus that God has held his right hand to subdue nations.” And all this was true even though Cyrus was a wicked man who never knew the Lord (45:5).
Solomon explains how this is possible when, in Proverbs 21:1 he says: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”
While there are many other passages in Scripture which teach this same truth, perhaps the most striking are two passages in Acts which speak of the terrible sin of crucifying Christ. Peter, in his great Pentecostal sermon, speaks of Christ’s crucifixion in these words: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (2:23). And the church, while praying after the persecution of the apostles, says: “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (4:26-28).
Clearly Scripture teaches that even the most heinous sin ever committed was under the firm control and direction of our sovereign God who was executing His counsel.
Were those who were responsible for killing Christ excused? Of course not. But that does not alter the fact that God was sovereign in all this.
Scripture is very clear on this point. And this is the teaching of that startling statement in Isaiah 45:7. The very word that is used underscores this truth: “I make peace, and create evil.” That is the same word which is used in Genesis 1 to describe God’s act of creation.
He who believes in the Scriptures, believes in a sovereign God! Prof. Hanko
For Whom May We Pray?
“Are we to pray for the salvation of all men, or only the elect?” This is the question we’ve chosen to answer in this issue of the News.
The text that is often used to prove that we should pray for the salvation of everyone is I Timothy 2:1; “I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.”
We should notice that this text does not teach that we must pray for all men without exception, no more than it teaches in the context that all men without exception will be saved. The passage very clearly refers to all kinds of men. As verse 2 shows, it is primarily an exhortation to us to pray for those who are in authority over us, something we often forget to do. We must pray for all kinds of men, including rulers, because God will have all kinds of men to be saved, and because Christ died for all kinds.
Nevertheless, the passage is helpful in two respects. It does show that we can and even ought to pray for those who are not saved. Most kings and rulers, as we well know, are wicked men. It also shows that there are different kinds of prayer that we can make for others. The passage mentions four different kinds. Without discussing each, we can certainly understand that there are circumstances where it is possible to make supplication and intercession for someone without giving thanks for them. How very difficult it would be for us to be thankful for a king or ruler who was persecuting the church!
All this does not really answer the question, though. The question asks whether we should pray for the salvation of all men. To this the answer is, “No.” Believing in predestination, we would then be praying contrary to the will of God, according to which He has determined that only some shall be saved.
In this we have the example of Jesus’ great intercessory prayer in John 17. There Jesus prays not for the world but those whom the Father had given Him (9), both those who were present and those who would believe on Him (20).
But that does not tell the whole story. I suspect the questioner is not really asking whether we can or should pray that everyone in the world may be saved. More likely the question is this: “If we pray only for the elect, does that mean we cannot pray for someone—perhaps a dying friend—unless we first know that he is elect?”
If we could only pray for the elect we would not be able to pray for anyone. We can never know finally who the elect are (cf. the parable of the wheat and tares in Matt. 13:24-43). If we understand the question to mean, “Should we pray only for believers?” then I Timothy 2:1-2 answers our question, as we have already pointed out.
We can and ought to pray for others that they may be saved, exactly because we do not know whether they are elect. We must do this, committing the matter to God and submitting ourselves to His will. Yet it is our solemn obligation before God to do this as parents for our unbelieving children, as pastors and elders for all those who hear the gospel and as neighbours for those who are part of our lives but do not know Christ.
There are countless examples in Scripture for this. One of the clearest is in Romans 10:1, where Paul prays for Israel—his brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh—that they might be saved. He even goes as far as to say in Romans 9:3 that he could wish himself accursed from Christ for them. That is earnest intercession and a great example for us! May we never cease to fulfil that happy obligation and fulfil it believing that the Lord will answer it in the salvation of all those whom He has given to Christ. Rev. Hanko
