Last week we saw that God is Creator and He is a Holy God. God is many other things, loving, caring, just, merciful, graceful, etc. We won’t get into all His attributes. But one of the biggest pillars of the Christian faith is understanding the Trinity.
 
GOD IS A TRIUNE GOD
The Bible never mentions the word Trinity. Yet it refers to God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (aka – “The Godhead”). They are co-eternal, equal in power and of the same essence. One God but with three distinctive characteristics and roles. The three are inseparable. If you leave out one of them, you are not speaking about the God of the Bible. As you read the Bible it is important to distinguish their individual qualities and roles and to see each of them as God. When you look for it, you will see it. 
 
THE TRINITY DURING CREATION
Genesis 1:1, tells us, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… and the Spirit of God was over the waters…” There we see God and the Spirit working together. Where is Jesus? In John 1:1-3 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Where was Jesus? He was right there building, creating, bringing forth all that the Father spoke (willed)… Not only that, it says that Jesus was with God and that Jesus IS God. Colossians 1:15-17 says, all things were created by Jesus and that “He is the image of the invisible God”. The opening lines of Hebrews reveals the Supremacy of Christ. And how Jesus created the universe and holds all things together. It is undeniable that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were working together at the beginning of creation. This speaks about the aseity of the Godhead.
 
THE WORD GOD IS PLURAL
The Bible starts out with, “In the beginning God created…” The Hebrew word for “God” used there is “Elohim.” That is the plural form of Eloa, which also means God. But Eloa is singular while Elohim is plural. From the first verse in the Bible we see the characteristics of the Trinity just by the use of the word Elohim rather than Eloa. In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our image...” Genesis 3:22, God said, “The man has become like one of us…” It is interesting to note that Elohim, one of the primary titles of God in the Old Testament, is used over 2,500 times. Does this mean Christianity is Polytheistic (belief in multiple gods)? No. We believe in one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Again, the word for God there is Elohim (plural). It’s like saying “YAHWEH is our Gods, YAHWEH is ONE.”
 
WHY IS UNDERSTANDING THE TRINITY SO IMPORTANT? 
Because the Doctrine of the Trinity separates Christianity from all other religions. Islam believes in the Creator God of the Bible all the way up to Abraham and his son Ishmael whom they claim was the chosen son rather than Isaac. Islam believes in Eloa (God). And the modern-day Arabic word used for Eloa is “Allah”. But they do not believe in Jesus as God. Jehovah’s Witness’ believe in God but they do not believe that Jesus nor the Holy Spirit is God. Mormonism believes in Father, Son and Holy Spirit but will say they are not coeternal, coequal in power or of the same essence, but rather, Jesus was like one of us and attained his God qualities by obeying God the Father.
 
As I mentioned last week, we cannot simply ask a person “Do you believe in God” since 95% of the people in the world believe in some form of a god or higher power. The question is “what God do you believe in?” The same goes for Jesus. Many may claim to know Jesus or believe in Him, so the question then becomes, “what Jesus do you believe in?” Just as Jesus asked His disciples, “who do PEOPLE say I am?” Then asked, “who do YOU say I am?” We need to be able to articulate who the God of the Bible is. Knowing the distinctive qualities of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and knowing they are One God in three persons working together, co-eternal, equal in power and of the same essence is our 1st Pillar. It would do us well to diligently study the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

​“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.”  (James 2:19). 
 
Statistics show that 95% of people in the world believe in a god, god’s or a higher power. If 95% of the world believes in god, the question we should be asking is not, “Do you believe in God?” The question is “Which god do you believe in?” There are a million different gods; “which god do you believe in?” Is your god a benevolent god? Non-judgmental? Will he accept everyone into His heaven? Or is he mean; an evil dictator ready to zap anyone who falls out of line. Is your god unreachable? Did he create everything then leave us on our own? Does your god show up in or through your deceased ancestors or does he take on the form of inanimate objects or animals? Some may say that god is just a legend or fable to give us hope and live good lives. And some may say that god is whatever you want him (or her) to be. There are a million different ways to create a god in our minds. Chances are high that many people sitting in churches every week, do not know the one true God of the Bible. Many believe He exists, but do they understand the depths of His character, his limitless power and infinite wisdom? Unless we are in His word, learning about Him and experiencing Him, who’s to say we even know Him? Knowing the true God of the Bible is our first Pillar.
 
ETERNAL GOD 
The Bible never mentions the origin of God. The opening lines of the Bible just say, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1). It doesn’t go into any explanation of the origins of God, rather, the fact of the presence of God is a given. When God revealed Himself to Moses, He called Himself “I AM” (Exodus 3:14-15). “God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers —the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob —has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.” This description of Himself reveals His eternal characteristics. God is always here, always in the present, always existing in an eternal now; whether ten-thousand years ago, today, tomorrow or ten-thousand years from now… “I AM”! Our minds cannot understand the extent of this claim since everything we know of has a beginning and an end. But that’s how God can be the God of our ancestors as well as our God, because He is eternal. And that’s why Jesus made the claim, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” And He goes on to say, after His crucifixion and resurrection, “Surely I will be with you always until the end of the age.” (Jn 8:58; Mt 28:20). A word that best describes the eternal, self-originating and self-sufficiency of God is “Aseity.” This word describes the qualities of not needing anything other than itself to exist. God is self-existing and eternal. He doesn’t need anything from man or any part of creation to exist. He always was, is, and always will be God. He is the Great I AM.
 
CREATOR GOD
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. The word Genesis means beginnings or origins. Many questions can be answered by going back to the beginning to see how things came about. Whether we’re questioning, the existence of the universe, trees, mountains, plants, animals, humans, sin, murder, lust, stealing, etc. Almost any question can somehow be answered by going back to the beginning of creation. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 give us the creation account. Then everything else follows from there. That’s the uniqueness of the Bible. Only the Bible gives us details of how everything came about and why it was created. Only the Bible gives us the details of who created it and when. Did you know you can build a timeline back to Adam through the detailed historical accounts found in the Bible? That’s because the Biblical historical accounts are true and are proven by science and archaeology, as well as our global historical accounts of humanity. God created everything and He wants us to know how, why, when and who created it. As Paul tells us in Romans 1:20, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” 
 
HOLY GOD
God’s holiness is where most people misunderstand who God is. Most people know that God is a God of love. He is powerful, created everything, always existed, is in control of everything, but do they understand His holiness? Holy means pure, perfect, unblemished. God is perfect and pure in all His ways. There is no flaw in Him. Adam and Eve were created perfect and pure. They walked with God. The whole earth was created perfect and pure, there was no sin. Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 3), sin entered into creation. This is extremely important to understand. That one act of disobedience marred the perfection of all creation. Sin separates us from God. Because God is holy, perfect and pure we cannot have a relationship with God. As a result of that one act of disobedience to God, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden of Eden, which represents perfection, eternal life and a continual relationship with God. So that perfect relationship was severed; we now face death and eternity without God. Sin’s curse has affected all who enter into this fallen world, which includes you and me and all humanity; no one is exempt, we are all separated from our holy God. We must remember that God didn’t stop loving Adam and Eve and out of hate cast them out. No, it’s because God could no longer fellowship with imperfect beings that the relationship was broken. The Bible tells us that “we have all sinned and fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Ro 3:23). And the “wage of sin is death” (Ro 6:23). God CANNOT be with us since we are impure. There is no connection between pure and impure. The two cannot mix. So God cannot simply allow everyone into heaven or anyone for that matter unless something is done about our sin problem. Again, it's not because a lack of love on God's part but it is because of our sinful (impure) state. Enter in Jesus! “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16). We were helpless and bound for hell, but God, IN LOVE, steps in and provides a way. Jesus is the way; the ONLY way for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of a perfect relationship with a Holy God. In the fourth Pillar we will cover the topic of Salvation and how our relationship can be restored with the One and only Eternal, All-powerful and Holy God.

Pillars of the Christian Faith
 
We are starting a new series. This series is sparked by our previous series, “A Different Gospel.” In sharing about the different gospels a few weeks ago, I mentioned “The Liberal Gospel”, which picks and chooses what to believe from the Bible and the Christian faith. These liberal views become the doctrines of the liberal gospel. We must take into consideration and caution that the liberal gospel is always changing; it has no solid ground to stand on due to its constant shifts through time and circumstance. But still, the liberal gospel has been around since the Garden of Eden when Satan was able to trick Eve into thinking, “Did God really say that?” Through time and even more so now with the internet and its vast amounts of information, liberal views abound, developing what we now call “Progressive Christianity.” You can see more on this topic in the previous series under “The Liberal Gospel.” 
 
In an effort to thwart any liberal views, my goal in this series is to lay out a foundation of the Christian faith. The pillars of the Christian faith are the solid and unshakeable rocks of truth that Christianity stands upon. These are the pillars that have stood the test of time through every wave of teaching, heresy and cultic tendency. 
 
Pillars of faith are not just a Christian concept. Everyone has their pillars. Whether we’re talking about religion or personal worldviews, we all have pillars of faith. We find pillars in the main religions as well as tiny cults. We see pillars of faith in tribes from the far unreached areas of the Himalayas as well as our neighbor next door. Many of these pillars are passed on from generation to generation through religious beliefs, superstition, “old-wives’ tales” or culture. No matter how crazy these beliefs may sound, to these people it is what they believe. People live and die clinging to their pillars. That’s why it’s so hard for people to place their faith in Jesus. In order to do so, their walls need to come tumbling down. As we understand the pillars of the Christian faith, we can have the confidence needed to chip away at the false pillars of religion, superstition and culture in ourselves, our family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. But we must remember to chip away with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15-16).
 
Pillars of the Christian Faith

1. God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Trinity)
2. The Bible and it’s Authority
3. The Fall of Man
4. Salvation 
5. The Church

 
These five pillars are deep and could take years to cover in depth. My attempt is to give us the basics of each pillar in the next five weeks. I will try to capture the main points while keeping it short and sweet. If anything, this is just to whet your appetite. Your faith grows as you start to hunger for truth and feast for yourself on God’s amazing words and promises. As always, be prepared to give a reason for your hope and why you believe what you believe. These are your pillars. Will your foundation stand the test of time? Remember the story of the man who built his house on the sand? (Mt 7:24-27) 
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If the word gospel means “good news” then what’s the good news? That we are saved? That we get to go to heaven when we die? Is that all there is or is there something more? 
 
As we talked about last week, the gospel message and salvation are about so much more than just forgiveness of sins and getting into heaven. The primary message of the Gospel is the inauguration of the kingdom of God. It’s within this “kingdom of God” that there is forgiveness of sins, power and a new life now and forevermore. To understand the gospel of Jesus we must understand what the kingdom of God is. 
 
What is the kingdom of God? A kingdom is where a king rules, holds power and authority, and for the most part, is highly honored and respected among the people residing within that kingdom. So now, when talking about the kingdom of God, we are talking about 1) an invisible kingdom; as Jesus said in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.” 2) it is where God reigns, holding all power and authority, and is highly honored among the people of His kingdom. When we reduce the gospel to promote some worldly pursuit, power or pleasure, or make it all about us, we are missing the heart of the gospel. In reality we are preaching a different gospel and working against the advancement of God’s kingdom rather than for it. We must remember that everything about the kingdom of God goes against our worldly and human intuitions. That’s why the first word of the gospel is repent (turn). John the Baptist said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 3:2). Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mk 1:15). The second word is speaking of a kingdom that has come upon us… or, is near. In other words, turn from the ways of the kingdom you are following now, for a new kingdom is near.
 
In this context, the gospel is the good news of God establishing His kingdom within and among sinners. To understand the gospel, then, we must understand the kingdom of God. That’s why Jesus mentions and teaches about the kingdom of God throughout His ministry and time with His disciples. When Jesus called people, He didn’t lead them in a prayer of forgiveness. He simply said, “Follow Me.” Salvation is a matter of following Jesus into His kingdom. This kingdom has a King. And this King is the King of kings! He is above all other kings that ever reigned. He is good. He is faithful. He is loving and forgiving. He is highly honored, respected and revered among nations of people. He holds all power and authority and His kingdom will never end! That’s so much more than we can say for any earthly kingdom that ever existed. To that end we say, BRING IT ON, GOD! Which literally means, “Thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven…”
 
But there is a cost. To be a part of this kingdom you must “deny yourself and take up your cross”. You must die to your old life, your old kingdom values and goals and follow Jesus into this new way of living, not according to our fleshly desires but according to the Spirit. The gospel is a matter of following Jesus and constantly turning from our ways. It will require self-denial and maybe even our life. It’s a daily commitment and lifestyle not a one-time decision. That’s why Jesus warned people to “count the cost.” 
 
Is that the gospel you signed up for? Do you understand the cost? Maybe the question we should be asking is, “Am I willing to pay the price?” Anything less is not the gospel of Jesus. Anything less is a “different gospel” that Paul warned us about in Galatians 1:6-8 and 2 Corinthians 11:3-4. Anything less will not lead us to God or heaven. 
 
The gospel you preach is the kind of disciple you make. Be wise and do your part to grow in the knowledge, love and joy of the Lord and pass it on to another.
 
"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor,
how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
--David Livingston