1 +1 + 1 = 1?

Let’s just say that Math was not one of my strong points. However, even I know that this answer cannot be right. Can it?

Well, it cannot be mathematically right. But it is theologically right.

Math says, “No, no, no! 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 is wrong.”

But the Bible says, “Yes, yes, yes! 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 is right.”

I’m speaking of course of the Trinity, God in three persons.

STOP! Don’t click away yet. I know that word” “Trinity” sounds terribly complicated, and even boring, but with the help of the Shorter Catechism, I believe we can keep it simple and even interesting.

The secret is to accept we will never fully understand this, and be cool with that. We can get lots of enjoyment out of things we don’t fully understand. I don’t understand how a brown cow can eat green grass and produce white milk, but I can still enjoy a milkshake! I have no idea how a plane can fly, but I can still entrust myself to a metal cylinder and enjoy the awe of flying at 30,000 ft and 500mph. We don’t need to fully understand something to enjoy it, to be awed by it, or to benefit from it.

Same with the Trinity. I don’t need to fully understand it to trust God, to enjoy God, and to be awed by God.

So, with that, let’s note three facts about the Trinity.

1. Evident Threeness

Shorter Catechism 6 says: There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost…

It’s very obvious from the Bible that there are three different persons all of whom are God.

It’s not 1⁄3 of a person + 1⁄3  of a person + 1⁄3  of a person = 1 God.

It’s 1 full person + 1 full person, plus 1 full person = 1 full God.

2. Essential Togetherness

…and these three are one God…the same in substance…

Although there are three persons, all of whom are God, we don’t have three Gods, but rather one.

It’s not 1 person + 1 person + 1 person = 3 Gods.

It’s 1 person + 1 person + 1 person = 1 God.

3. Equal Throne

The three persons are…equal in power and glory

We don’t have a small 1 + a medium 1 + a large 1 = 1 God.

No all the “1’s,” all the persons, are equal in power and glory. They all sit on the same throne at the same level and they are all to be equally worshipped.

Before I was converted, this idea of the Trinity was one of my biggest obstacles to believing the Gospel. I couldn’t figure it out at all and that put me off believing. When I was born-again, I started reading a book on the Trinity and it almost sent me back to unbelief again!

So I left it, trusted the Bible’s teaching (as simplified and summarized in the Shorter Catechism), and over time, through Christian experience, I have come to grasp the Trinity in a way that my mere intellect never could.

In my Christian experience, I have a relationship with three persons, each of whom is equally God, and all of whom are one God. I can’t explain it, and I’ve found no book that fully explains it. But it works!

Previous installments in the Shorter Catechism video series
Introduction: A Summary not a Substitute
Question 1: Why am I here?
Questions 2-3: What is Truth?
Questions 4-5: The Unanswerable Question

“Will I need an umbrella in Grand Rapids tomorrow?”

Siri: “There’s no rain in the forecast for tomorrow.”

“When was Gettysburg?”

Siri: “I found this for you.”

“What’s the speed of light?”

Siri: “Let me check that for you. This might answer your question.”

“What is God?”

Siri: “I would ask that you address your spiritual questions to someone more qualified to comment, ideally a human.

“What…is…God?”

Siri: “My policy is the separation of church and silicon.”

“WHAT IS GOD!?”

Siri: “It’s all a mystery to me.”

Actually it’s all a mystery to just about everybody. Libraries have been filled by people trying to answer the question, and most of the books have left us none the wiser.

“What is God?”  This is the question no one can answer, isn’t it!

Well, actually, the Westminster Shorter Catechism had a stab at it and while acknowledging it’s not a complete answer, it’s probably the best brief answer anyone has ever given. Question 4 asks “What is God?” and the catechism answers:

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

We’re taught three truths about God here. First, God is Unfathomable. The first words bring us face to face with the immeasurable mystery of God’s being. He is a spirit – he can’t be seen or touched. He is infinite – He can’t be measured. He is eternal – He has no beginning or end. He is unchangeable – no ups, no downs, no developing, no weakening.

Want to blow your mind? Just pick one of these words and think on them for a few minutes. God is Unfathomable – we will never reach the end of knowledge about God. We will never say, “O, I get it now!”

Second, God is Understandable. Some people have heard “God is unfathomable,” and said, “O well, there’s no point in even trying to understand God. But the wonderful thing is that God has made Himself known using words, ideas, and concepts that we can actually grasp. The catechism speaks of God as wise, powerful, holy, just, good, and truthful. We can get that, can’t we. That takes some of the mystery out of it. We’ll never get to the end of God, but these words get us to the beginning.

Third, and this is huge relief, our God is Unique. Catechism 5 asks, “Are there more gods than one?” Answer: “There is but only, the living and true God.” We don’t need to get to know any other god! Because there is only one. Oh, there are many called gods, but they are neither living nor true. They are dead and false. There’s only one true and living God, and that’s the one we’re focusing on.

So, our God is Unfathomable, Understandable, and Unique.

If you know that, like the men who wrote the catechism over 400 years ago, you know more than Siri!

Thanks to my son Angus who is filming and editing this series. To view the previous films click here. 

“What is truth?”

Pontius Pilate’s not the only one who asked that question. I’m sure we’ve all asked it from time to time. It’s certainly a very common question today. And the answers vary hugely.

Many answer, “Science is truth.” They say that the only truth there is is truth that science can prove. The only truth there is is truth that can be empirically verified – it can be seen, touched, heard – it can be demonstrated to be true by scientific experiments.

Others say, “There is no truth.” It doesn’t exist. We can have opinions, feelings, strong sentiments, but there are no such things as “truths.”

More commonly, people say, “It’s impossible to know what’s true.” They are not denying the existence of truth only the possibility of discovering it and knowing it for sure. It may be out there but who’s to say what’s true for sure?

“What’s true for you may not be true for me,” is another response. The idea is that we can all have our own truth, but we must not force it on to others or try to change other’s truths. Truth depends on the person, the place, the time, the situation.

“Everything is truth!” Sounds so ridiculous, but it’s an increasingly popular view. You can have 100 philosophies or 100 religions all saying completely different and contradictory things, and yet these people will say that it’s all true! These are just different roads to the ultimate truth. We certainly mustn’t ever say that something is false!

Or what about “My lie is truth.” OK, no one ever actually says that. But if you think of all the false religions and cults in the world, that’s effectively what their advocates are saying. They are holding on to a lie and yet they are proclaiming, “This is the truth.”

So what is truth? The Bible is the truth. Or, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism 2 says:

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

What does this answer tell us about the Bible?

First, it tells us that this is Divine Truth

“THE WORD OF GOD which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments… “God has the Truth and He’s made it known in the Bible.

Second, it is Directive Truth.

“The Word of God…is the only rule to DIRECT US.” This is not advice. God’s saying “This is truth. Believe it. Follow it.”

Third it is Delightful Truth

It “directs us how we may GLORIFY AND ENJOY HIM.” There’s delight for God there (we glorify Him), and there’s delight for us too (we enjoy Him).

Fourth, it is Dependable Truth

The next Catechism answer, number 3, states: “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to BELIEVE concerning God…” We are to believe what God has revealed. We are to trust it, depend upon it, lean our whole lives upon it.

And fifth, it is Demanding Truth

“…and what DUTY God requires of man.” The Bible is very practical. It’s not just about what we are to believe but also about what we are to do. God expects us to respond to His Word with faith and obedience.

Thanks again to my son Angus who is filming and editing this series. The previous films on the Westminster Shorter Catechism are:
Introduction: A Summary not a Substitute
Q1: Why am I here?

Imagine you’re at a shooting range and there are lots of targets with prizes underneath. If you hit that one, you win a rubber duck. If you hit that one, you win a stuffed teddy. If you hit that one, you get a goldfish. And so on. But right in the middle is the biggest target and it has a prize of a million dollars. But no one is shooting at it. People are walking away delighted with their rubber duck and their cute teddy but the biggest target with the biggest prize goes unclaimed!

That’s mad, you say. That would never happen. Or at least, “If I was there, it would never happen!”

But you know, that’s what’s happening all over the world every day. And it’s very possibly happening in your little world too.

God sets himself forth as the biggest prize we could possibly enjoy in this life. But the vast majority of people are shooting for rubber ducks and cute furry teddies: boyfriends, girlfriends, FB, computer games, sports, jobs, money, pleasure, cars, houses, etc. Lots and lots of rubber ducks and furry teddies. But the huge million dollar prize, God, goes unclaimed. In fact few are even aiming at Him

That’s not a recent problem. 350 years ago a number of pastors got together and wrote a brief  Q&A about God. And their first question was: “What is the chief end of man?” What should be our number one target? What should we aim at above anything and everything else?

They answered: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

To put it in a more popular way: Our number one target in life is God, and He’s also our greatest prize and enjoyment. That’s why you and I are on this planet for these few short years.

We’re here to end in God. Whatever else we aim at in life, let’s make sure we aim towards God above all.

We’re here to exalt God, to worship God, to praise God, to lift Him up in our thoughts, in our affections, in our words and in our actions.

We’re here to enjoy God. Enjoy God? You may think that these two words do not belong in the same sentence. Enjoy God? Well the main reason for that is that He’s not your chief end, your greatest aim in life. As long as God is second, you won’t enjoy anything in life, and you’ll actually blame God for that.

End in God, exalt God, and enjoy God. And you’ll not only live a more worthwhile life on earth. When it’s time to leave, you’ll leave with much more than a rubber duck!

This is the second film in the series on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, filmed and edited by my son Angus. The introduction to the series can be viewed here:
Introduction: A Summary not a Substitute

A Summary not a Substitute: An Introduction to the Shorter Catechism

This is a bit of a Father/son venture. My 14-year-old son Angus is helping me put together a series of short videos on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. He filmed and edited this brief introduction to the structure of the Catechism. We’re hoping these films and outlines might help introduce young people to this wonderful summary of the Christian faith.

I.    Introduction (1-3)

II.  What we are to believe (4-38)

A. God’s Nature and Character (4-6)
B. God’s Creation and Providence (8-11)
C. God’s “Problem” (12-19)
D. God’s Salvation (20-38)

1. The Redeemer (20-28)
2. The Application of Redemption (29-31)
3. The Benefits of Redemption (32-38)

III. What we are to do (39-107)

A. God’s Law (39-84)
B. God’s Gospel (85-107)

1. Faith (86)
2. Repentance (87)
3. Means of Grace (88-107)

a. The Word of God (88-90)
b. The Sacraments (91-97)
c. Prayer (98-107)