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There’s Q&A at the end that includes the excellent questions:
“Why does Paul call us sons but also slaves?”,
“Is there any place for self-offering to God?”,
“You dislike the “Omnibeing”, do you mean to say that Jesus is not all-powerful, all knowing, etc?”
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HAILSHAM LENT COURSE – The Outgoing God
Week 5: THE OUTGOING GOD
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RECAP: The Trinity is not a maths problem, it’s the good news that God is love
The Trinity is the THREE-UNITY of God – God is Three Persons United in Love
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How is God Three? – Eternally distinct Persons.
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How is God One? (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Eternally united in love. “Perichoresis” – the round dance of the Three
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Use of “one” in the Bible: Genesis 2:24; 11:6; 34:16; Exodus 24:3; 26:6; Deuteronomy 6:4; Joshua 9:2; 10:42; 2 Samuel 2:25; 2 Chronicles 5:12; 30:12; Ezra 6:24; John 17:11,20-21
God is one the way a married couple or a united church is one.
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When Trinity Goes Wrong (Heresies)…
Arianism: Jesus is not as God as God is God! (JWs)
Modalism: There’s one Person wearing 3 masks (Oneness Pentecostalism)
Tritheism: There are three Gods doings their own thing. (Mormons)
Fourth Thing: Having a “God” beneath or beyond the Persons. (Shamrock)
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Our biggest problem:
We try to reconcile the omnibeing with the Trinity.
We need to replace the omnibeing with the Trinity.
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The Roles of the Persons
2 Corinthians 13:14
Isaiah 11:1-5; Is 42:1-4; Is 48:12-16; Is 61:1-3
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The Father is the Loving Sender / Initiator
John 3:16, 35; 1 John 4:8-9
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The Son is the Beloved and Obedient Sent-One / Executor
Psalm 40:7-8: John 5:30
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The Spirit is the Personal Empowerer / Perfector / Applier
Acts 10:38; Romans 8:14-16
All things are FROM the Father, THROUGH the Son, BY THE POWER OF the Spirit.
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What does it mean that the Son is “eternally begotten”?
By the Spirit and through the Son, God is eternally outgoing
Life-giving, Communicating, Shining, Loving
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Richard Sibbes: “God’s goodness is a communicative, spreading goodness. . . . If God had not a communicative, spreading goodness, he would never have created the world. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost were happy in themselves and enjoyed one another before the world was. But that God delights to communicate and spread his goodness, there had never been a creation nor a redemption. God useth his creatures not for defect of power, that he can do nothing without them, but for the spreading of his goodness.”
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If God is eternally outgoing, what is “godliness”, “faith”, “sin”, the Christian life?
“The Christian lives far above themselves in Christ through faith and far beneath themselves in their neighbour through love.” (Martin Luther)
“God does not need our good works, our neighbour does.” (Martin Luther)
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Philippians 2:1-18: An outgoing God makes for an outgoing people
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CONCLUSION: Look again to Christ. Be filled by His Spirit. Know the Life-Giving Father. And overflow to the world. This is our participation in the divine nature!
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