Isaiah 6:3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. This is a great deep where faith must receive mysteries on the authority of God, and reason be satisfied with the fact that He has revealed it. The objection that it is contrary to reason is weak, for nothing can be contrary to reason except what lies within its boundary. This lies in a region far above it. We can only know so much of God as He reveals. He would not be God if His nature were not mysterious to us. We are mysteries to ourselves. God's works are often mysteries to us. Can we expect to comprehend Himself! I. THE DOCTRINE IS INTERWOVEN WITH THE WHOLE TEXTURE OF REVELATION. Indications of plurality in unity meet us in the first chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1:26, 27), "Our image." "His image." This becomes more definite as we advance (Numbers 6:22-27). Threefold mention of Jehovah, yet "My name" (see Isaiah 61:1). These Old Testament indications are remarkable because given to a people prone to polytheism. They are inexplicable except on the ground that a mysterious trinity existed in the unity of the Godhead, This mystery was breaking out amidst the shadows of the darker dispensation. A seed of truth only needing fuller light to develop it. It came out most distinctly in the New Testament. Besides many passages which assert the Deity of Christ and of the Spirit take three cardinal passages (Matthew 3:16, 17; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). At Christ's entrance on His ministry this truth shines out not so much as dogma but as fact. The very porch of the church, facing the world, has "the name" (not names) of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost inscribed on it. Dedication to the Trinity in baptism is dedication to the one God. The apostolic benediction invokes a Divine blessing from each Person; indicates their equality and their unity. II. THE SCRIPTURES PRESENT THIS MYSTERY IN A PRACTICAL ASPECT. It is interwoven throughout with the living realities of faith; presented to the heart for affectionate embrace, rather than to the head for intellectual apprehension. Explanations of the infinite would be lost on finite minds: so the Bible reveals the Persons of the Trinity, not in their incomprehensible relations to each other, but in their appreciable relation to us. We find the doctrine underlying every truth, every hope of the Gospel. Take as illustrations Romans 8:9, 16, 17; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 4:4-6; Ephesians 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14; Titus 3:4-6; Hebrews 9:14; Revelation 22:1. Thus each person cooperates in our redemption: the Father planning, the Son performing, the Spirit applying the work of redeeming love. If angels bowed and adored, with what reverence and gratitude should we exclaim, "Glory be to the Father," etc. 1. How much they reject, who reject the Gospel! A whole Trinity of grace, and love, and power! 2. How much they secure, who embrace the Gospel! What a Father, Saviour, Sanctifier! 3. Not a mere orthodox profession will bless us, but the sanctifying power of this creed in our hearts. Christ found and received by faith, through the Spirit, as the Son of God and our Redeemer, will unlock that mystery to the heart, which is beyond our poor reason to comprehend. (W. P. Walsh, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. |
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