The Trinity in 60 Seconds

God is one. Matthew 28:19 says that Father, Son and Holy Spirit have one “name.” Jesus prayed to the Father. God is not three Gods but one, indivisible and yet three persons. Jesus calls God’s angels His, judges the world, is the resurrection, the life, is the Word which was God, and is Lord meaning God in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is a person. He makes decisions, teaches, guides, makes the things of Jesus known, convicts the world of sin, can be grieved, blasphemed, possesses a rational mind, can be lied to, resisted and we can have fellowship with Him. God is three and one — a mystery.

Baptize How

Does baptism mean only immersion? In the Bible it can mean wash (Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38; Acts 22:16), Israel passing through the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:1-4), and Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion (Mark 10:38). When Jesus and the Ethiopian eunuch were baptized, they came up out of, or up away from the water. That could be ankle-deep water and coming up a bank. This does not prove immersion (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10 & Acts 8:38-39). Was the baptism of fire pictured in tongues of fire on the head (Acts 2)? The mode is not as important as the act of baptism (Acts 2:38).

Baptize Who

In Matthew 28:19 we learn that Jesus expected His disciples to make disciples and be “baptizing them.” Discipleship includes baptism. Baptism does not finish instruction. It begins it. On three separate occasions in the New Testament whole households were baptized (1 Corinthians 1:16; Acts 11:13-14; Acts 16:15, 31, 33). Logic would dictate that at least one of those households contained children. As a child was circumcised in the Old Testament so may they be baptized in the New Testament (Colossians 2:11-12). As entire families of ancient Israel were baptized into Moses in the Red Sea, so children may be baptized today (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

Make

In Matthew 28:19 the disciples were told to “make.” Christianity is not an insular religion, but one of action and we are commissioned to “make disciples of all nations.” Disciples are pupils, scholars, trained, instructed. The word nations means more than national boundaries alone would imply. It includes the idea of different races and peoples of different customs. By use of the word all, it means that nobody is left out. We may not have opportunity to personally cross cultural lines with the Gospel, but we can pray for those who do. In a world that needs the Gospel, God challenges us to a level of thought beyond worldly nationalism.

Go

In Matthew 28:19 the first verb in the Great Commission is to go. This is not the Great Suggestion, but a commission. It would be easier just to stay at home and not go. It would be more convenient not to make that phone call or be involved in a difficult world, but we are not given that option. Our job is the saving of souls. Every Christian has this same commission, to go, make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them all that we have learned from Christ.  These four specific verbs to go, make, baptize and teach are the responsibility of every Christian, not just pastors.

The Holy Spirit Flows

When Jesus said that out of our hearts would flow living water, John 7:39 says, “this He spoke concerning the Spirit.” As the Holy Spirit flows like rivers of living water from within, a very important spiritual gift is evident. The Holy Spirit gives many gifts to believers, and first in 1 Corinthians 12 is wisdom. Proverbs 18:4 speaks of the mouth being deep waters and a very important gift of the Holy Spirit is emphasized, “The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.” It is in wisdom that the Gospel must be preached and in wisdom that Christians will gently lead their non-Christian neighbors to salvation in the Lord.

Living Water in the OT

Jesus’ words that “out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” comes from the Old Testament. Psalm 1 says that those who delight in God’s law are like trees planted by rivers of water. Ezekiel 47:1-12 describes water flowing from the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem and making the desert to the south productive. The Apostles often used allegorical interpretations of the Old Testament. Allegory helps us understand the Holy Spirit flowing from heavenly Jerusalem into and out of Christians as a blessing to others around them. Does the Holy Spirit flow from us to others? Do we love our neighbors and thereby quench their spiritual thirst?

Rivers of Living Water

In John 7:38 Jesus said, “He who believes in Me... out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” A rule of desert survival is not to drink stagnant water, but to look for a source of running water, sometimes called “living water.” To drink from the living water that Jesus gives, only requires belief in Jesus. The Holy Spirit flows from God to us and and we are satisfied. Christianity is not a selfish religion practiced in isolation from others. What we have received from God ought not to stay within us, but should flow out of us like living water, rather than staying still and becoming stagnant.

Come to Me and Drink

In John 7:37 Jesus stood on the last day of the Festival of Tabernacles and announced, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” The Feast of Tabernacles, is an autumn festival (Leviticus 23:33-36) commemorated since the Exodus with small booths made from leafy boughs. In Jesus’ day the High Priest went from the Temple to the Pool of Siloam and filled a container with water. He re-entered the Temple through the Water Gate. Along with a wine offering, he poured the water onto the base of the altar. The water symbolized the Holy Spirit poured out upon people as it flowed down the Temple steps into the outer courts.

If Anyone Thirsts

In John 7:37 Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts...” The benefits of water far outweigh artificial and addictive sugar-laden drinks. The benefits of true religion far outweigh counterfeits. According to WebMD, water keeps us slimmer, boosts energy and lowers stress due to dehydration, builds muscle tone and prevents cramps, reduces wrinkles from the inside, aids regularity and reduces kidney stones. It truly satisfies. In a parched land, thirst was well-known. God promised Israel living water (Proverbs 18:4; Isaiah 58:11), like water for a thirsty land (Isaiah 44:3), water without price (Isaiah 55:1), a powerful symbol of life. As water truly satisfies physically, belief in Jesus satisfies forever.