LESSON 1, INTRODUCTION:

For a few days, how many I do not know, we will be studying a theme from the Gospel of John. How does this sound? "The Trinity as Found in the Fourth Gospel."

Yes, it does seem that John emphasizes this great Doctrine repeatedly. We believe the Trinity because of such verses as "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." These are Jesus' last words in the Gospel of Matthew. The Trinity is surely there!

And at our Lord's Baptism, the Son coming up out of the water, the Father audibly speaking from Heaven, and the Holy Spirit visibly descending on Jesus as a Dove! That's a Trinity-Heavy Event!

In our next Lesson we will go further. I can hardly wait to share these truths with you! And yes, I believe a real man, the Disciple whom Jesus loved, wrote the Gospel that today bears his name, "The Gospel According to John."

These Studies will surely please the God Whom we love! The God Who expresses Himself in a trinitarian manner, as Father and Son and Spirit!

                   --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 2, JOHN'S AUTHENTICITY:

For today I'd like to discuss what has become a burning issue in the world of theology. Actually, who wrote the Gospel of John? Few in the current world of Biblical academia still believe it was John the Disciple of Jesus! In other words, to them the Gospel is written pseudonymously. Written under a pretended name!

I do not agree!

I believe, as the Church has for hundreds of years now, that John the Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ wrote the Book, under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of God Himself!

This John is also, I think, known as the "Beloved Disciple." In the King James Version, phrased "the disciple whom Jesus loved." See John 19:26 and 20:2, for examples. Then also notice John 20:7 and John 20:20 for more proof.

I want to establish this fact, this John's authenticity, before I write much about his presentation of the Trinity in his Gospel. The message a person shares, his "logos," is not worth anything ... until his character, his reality, his "ethos," has been confirmed!

Now it's true, John does not directly name himself in his Gospel, though. As "writer" I mean. Probably in keeping with his personality. Come to think of it, every time he and Peter appear together, in fact, it's Peter who does the talking! John remains rather silent! That's his nature, it seems.

Then late last night, after preaching three times in a glorious Revival Meeting, I was reading, studying for these lessons. And I saw it! The Gospel of John opens and closes with a statement about his being an accurate depicter of the Life of Jesus!

John can tell us about the Trinity, all right! He is an "eyewitness" to the facts he is discussing! A literary "inclusio" is used in his Gospel to beautifully illustrate this personal "witness" John brings to the New Testament.

Watch please.

John 1:14, the opening paragraph really! "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." We "beheld" Him! The Greek verb is "theaomai," meaning "to look upon, to view attentively!" See our word "theatre" in it! Eyewitness, all right!

Then John 21:24, the penultimate (next to last) verse in the whole Gospel! "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true." And "testifieth" is "martureo" meaning "to have been a spectator to an event!" A witness, even in a legal sense! Absolutely sure of what you have seen!

So we are going to learn from John the "eyewitness" Disciple during the days ahead ... about the Triune God Whom we love and serve!

Yes, The Trinity, especially as presented in the sweetest Gospel of all, the fourth Gospel, John.

              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 3, AN EARLY VERSE ON THE DEITY OF JESUS:

For one to study the Trinity, in any Book of Scripture for that matter, Jesus Christ the son of Mary the Virgin must be declared ... divine! The Son of Mary must be, essentially, the Son of God!

Without that fact, there is no Godhead!

Look what I've just said, clearly echoing the Bible I might add: Jesus is God!

Let me show you one way the New Testament does this, proves this. States this great matter.

The paramount verse in the Old Testament about the unity of God, His exclusiveness, the very bedrock of Monotheism, is Deuteronomy 6:4-5. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

Plain enough!

Most Jews yet say these words, verse four anyway, or they pray them ... every single day they live! "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD."

This is the basis, the fundamental tenet, of Judaism.

Then comes Jesus, many years later, the son of a carpenter ... his contemporaries believed ... and that man claimed to be ... the Son of God?

"Blasphemy," the Pharisees yelled!

Because Moses said, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD." No room there for the son of an unmarried lady!

Now God saves a man named Paul! Shortly after Jesus' Death and Burial and, we believe assuredly, Resurrection! And Paul, now called to preach, writes to the Corinthian Believers the following words. Watch them carefully, since he is radically but obviously incorporating Deuteronomy 4:6 I'm pretty sure! "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." 1st Corinthians 8:6, word for word, King James Version!

See, "One God." Alluding to Deuteronomy 4:6! Even the liberals agree to that fact. Paul hinting at Moses!

But this One God is now being "linked" to One Lord Jesus Christ!

Again: "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

The second little "and" here is a conjunction. Teaching us that the "Father" and the "Son" are equal in deity!

Here, dear readers today, is one of the first verses, chronologically speaking, that identifies the Godhead, another of Paul's terms, with two Members! The God now called Father ... and the Lord Jesus Christ as well!

Not two Gods, which would be polytheism. But God Who is both Father and Son in essence!

We are not ditheistic, meaning believers in two gods, two Gods.

We, as far as Jesus and His Father are concerned, are now at least "binitarian," both Father and Son are divine!

The Holy Spirit is God too, fully so, but He is not in the discussion yet. Stay with us a few lessons, please. I will prove this fact from the Scriptures. Yes, we are Trinitarians now!

Scripturally speaking, the Statement has been made! Jesus Christ, a Man, but also very God the Son!

Human but divine!

John picks up this theme, John the Disciple and the Gospel he wrote as well. And presents to us, more clearly and more fully than any other portion of the Bible I think, the fact of Jesus' absolute identity as God as well!

Such declarations as "I and My Father are One" come to mind! John 10:30 is the reference for this dramatic Truth.

The Trinity as presented in the fourth Gospel! Out subject, our topic, for a few days anyway.

That's where we're headed soon!

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

Jesus, the Son of God!

LESSON 4, JOHN'S GOSPEL, REALLY A BIOGRAPHY OF GOD THE FATHER:

The Gospel of John and its presentation of what's come to be known as the doctrine of the "Trinity." That's the Theme we are studying for a while here on the Website.

In preparing these Lessons I came across a thought that's nearly overwhelming! Gleaned from a little commentary, the statement reads something like this. That John's Gospel is not really a biography of Jesus! Not nearly as much as it's a biography of God, God the Father! In other words, it tells us, teaches us, a vast amount of information about God Himself! Really, much more than do Matthew or Mark or Luke!

Yet, surprisingly, God does not speak much, I mean God up in Heaven, is not heard a lot in John! God is not directly seen in John either, at least not as He is in Habakkuk or Isaiah or Exodus, for examples.

Truthfully, in our fourth Gospel "God the Father" is directly heard but once. Listen to Jesus deliberating about the looming Cross, about Calvary, in His Life. "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him." John 12:27-29

Then how is John a Story about God, about this wonderful Heavenly Father? By means of what Jesus says about Him! Jesus becomes the "Expositor" of God the Father! Listen to John the Baptist's own words, found in John 1:18 about this fact: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." The verb here translated "hath declared" is "exegeomai" in Greek, the basis for our English word "exegesis!" Jesus "exegetes" His Father! It means "to explain, to define, to expose!" Our Lord is an Exegete!

Therefore John's Gospel, because it so heavily records Jesus' Words, is a biography of Jesus' Most Loved Topic, His Father in Heaven!

Yes, I will agree, John is written as narrative. Narrative about Jesus for sure. But in it Jesus says so much about His Father, talking of Him constantly really, that the Major Subject thus becomes Almighty God! The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

John is about what God is, what God is doing, how God is acting through our Saviour, through His precious Son!

Well then, how does Jesus know so very much about God the Father? Because God is Jesus' Very Father! Because, as we increasingly learn through John's unfolding chapters, Jesus is God! Again I use John 10:30, directly quoting the Saviour: "I and My Father are One."

Wow!

Now, it's not been called the "Trinity" yet. In fact it never is directly called the "Trinity" in Scripture, not by that exact Noun. But nonetheless here we have the "roots" of this great vital Truth. God in Heaven! God the Son on earth, virgin-born and sinless and soon to die as Redeemer for lost humanity! That's the essence of John's great Gospel!

Yes, Jesus is divine!

Jesus and God the Father ... inseparable!

One God, exhibiting Himself, so far anyway, as Father and Son! Spirit will be introduced by John real soon now, the Holy Spirit! He is divine as well!

More tomorrow, the Lord willing.

The Trinity!

I believe it.

             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 5, JOHN CHAPTER 1 AND ISAIAH CHAPTER 55, LINKAGE:

The Gospel of John begins with proof! Absolute evidence that God exists as Father/Son. We, a bit later into the Book, learn of the Holy Spirit's Deity as well!

Let me show you what I mean. By visiting afresh the Gospel of John's "prologue," its introductory paragraph. All total, the first eighteen verses are involved, making some of the most thrilling statements about Jesus ever! About Jesus in His Relationship with God. God the Son and God the Father, God Almighty!

Here's the Gospel's first line, always tremendously important in any body of literature. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

If we accept the received belief, what Bible-believers have held as truth for two thousand years now ... the noun "word" in our verse, "logos" in Greek ... is another Name or Title for our Lord Jesus Christ! That's certainly how John means it! Jesus, the Word! The Living Word of God!

He may even be modeling his term on something Isaiah said long ago, too! Jesus as "Word of God." Listen to that great old Prophet: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:11, obviously with God talking.

Wow!

In the whole context He, the Lord, says: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Again, Isaiah 55:8-11, King James Version.

If indeed Jesus is "Word" here ... look back to our text verse ... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." What great Truths!

Therefore we preach that Jesus is eternal, everlasting, as is His Father! "In the beginning was the Word." The very "beginning" folks! Not the beginning of the New Testament or the starting point of the Old Testament or the first second of creation! No, in the very "beginning," wherever or whenever that is, Jesus is already there, as is God the Father! Absolutely, positively eternal!

Also here we learn Jesus is "with" God, a specific preposition being used, "pros" in Greek, that carries the idea of being "Face-to-Face" with an Entity! "And the Word was with God." Equality with God! "He thought it not robbery to be equal with God!"

And lastly, let it be seen that Jesus "is" God! A verb in the "eimi" family, "existing" as God! "And the Word was God." What a claim! What a Fact!

That's the beginning of the great doctrine of the Trinity as John, under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes It! In John's corpus I mean, in the best-known Gospel, one we all love so much.

Yes, the Godhead is evident in the Fourth Gospel!

So we have now started our journey. Observing and enjoying the Truth of the Triune God ... as presented by the pen of John the Disciple.

More proof, more material, tomorrow, the Lord willing.

              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 6, JOHN'S FIRST PARAGRAPH, HIS PROLOGUE:

At first I wondered, "Which Gospel best presents the Godhead? The Fact that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit?"

Now don't misunderstand me. All four Gospels believe and teach the Trinity. I simply asked which one most clearly illustrates the Trinity!

Not Matthew, probably. He is writing to the Jews initially. And they are the pioneers in the area of monotheism!

Not Luke either. He presents Jesus as the perfect Man, Who is also God. But the emphasis is clearly on our Lord's humanity, in Luke for sure.

And Mark? He's the shortest of the Gospels. Exalting our Lord as Servant, the humble and obedient One! Mark talks about what Jesus does, far more than what Jesus says!

So it is not illogical to suspect that John, the fourth Gospel, will particularly teach us the truths of the Trinity! Really John the writer puts the words about the Triune God into the mouth of our Saviour! At least most of the time he does so.

But in John's opening paragraph, immediately as the Book begins, Jesus is God, no doubt!

From John 1:1-8 we glean these facts. "Jesus is God. Jesus was in the beginning with God. Jesus made all things. Jesus is the Source of life. He too is the source of real light, spiritual light. Jesus would be rejected by the world, especially His Own people, the Jews. Jesus then would extend salvation to the whole world, to us Gentiles as well! Jesus is God made flesh. He dwelt here on earth too. He was visible. Jesus is the Bringer of real Grace and Truth. Jesus is the fleshly manifestation of God the Father. Jesus is God!"

Wow!

Yes, John's the one, the Gospel that shows us Jesus as God! That proves God is One, but one as Father and Son. And Holy Spirit too we soon shall learn, from John!

Praise the Lord!

Sometime today or tomorrow go and read, in its fullness, John's first eighteen verses. His prologue, they call it.

You will agree.

Jesus is God!

                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 7, JOHN 10 AND PSALM 82 AND JESUS:

Some say Jesus never claimed to be God! They certainly, this doubtful crowd, do not read the Bible literally!

Let me show you a paragraph from the Gospel of John where our Lord directly claims Deity for Himself! It begins with these now famous Words, verbatim from Jesus' lips:  "I and my Father are one." John 10:30, that alone, folks, clearly says Jesus is God! The Son is the Father, in essential Unity!

But back to our text, watch the reaction: "I and my Father are one." Here they respond: "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him." Jesus answered them: "Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?" The Jews answered him, saying: "For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." Jesus answered them: "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" John 10:30-36

Wow!

The Pharisees and their like, unbelieving Jews, just understood Jesus to say that He is God. Indeed, He said that, exactly! And they try to "kill" Him for so doing, violating their belief that God is One! No Son! No Spirit! Just God!

Jesus, the carpenter's son, they thought!

He is not God!

It's wrong to say such things!

Stone Him to death immediately!

Then Jesus uses Scripture! The very Scripture the Jews loved so dearly! The Scriptures to which they appeal for warrant in killing Jesus! Which they quoted in crucifying Him in a few days after this very conversation!

Jesus quotes Psalm 82. Verses 6 and 7 precisely: "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes." God is the Speaker here, too, Almighty God!

He just called some men, judges of Israel likely, but maybe all men ... "gods!" The Creator just said of humans, "They are children of the Most High!" In other words, "Sons of God!"

The Hebrew noun used here for "gods" is "elohiym," suggesting people with great "strength" too. Endowed with power.

Here's the point, although Psalm 82 is difficult to decipher. If God can call men, certain men anyway, "gods" ... how can it be wrong for God the Son to come to earth and call Himself "God!"

What verse of the Bible has He violated?

"Why say ye of Me, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"

Look, Jesus still talking: "Because I say, I am the Son of God!"

Amen!

My point today: The Gospel of John has Jesus, quoting Him word for word, claiming to be God! Vastly expanding mankind's idea of the Deity, of the Creator, of the Redeemer!

He, God, is not just God!

He is now God come to earth to die for sinners!

He is not just God!

He is now God the Father and God the Son!

He is One, yet He is manifested in a muti-fold manner! We now know He is Triune! Father, Son and Spirit!

Jesus utilizes a Psalm to prepare us for the fact, to buttress the truth, to illustrate the doctrine that ... He is God! And that in so claiming He has done no wrong!

Amen!

                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

Matthew says it this way: "Jesus saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Yes, Jesus is God!

LESSON 8, JESUS AS GOD, FORESHADOWED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

The Lord willing, in the next few lessons we're going to notice the many times John, in His Gospel, speaks of God as Father. Then talks about God the Son! And even how he believes in God the Holy Spirit!

And most of these illustrations, these instances, will be "heard" from the Lips of Jesus Himself. A commentary on the Godhead, the Trinity, written by our precious Saviour!

But even so, there is Old Testament "precedent" for believing in God the Son! In His Ministry on earth even! From His Virgin Birth to His Death for sinners to His Resurrection even to His Ascension back to Heaven, to His very current Intercession for us as our Great High Priest!

Two verses come to mind. Jesus knew them well! Let me show these to you. One at a time.

Psalm 2 is certainly a classic in this area. It is "Messianic" to the core! In verse 7 let's hear God talking. "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." But God's words here are a little ambiguous!

Here is God saying that he has a Son! That He has (an only) begotten Son! That such a fact needs to be "declared!" This is more than a "hint" that God is Father and Son! Paul later interprets this sentence in reference to Jesus' Resurrection. Believing that was the moment when God "begot" Jesus! In Acts 13:33, "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee."

Wow!

Another Old Testament Text used to prove Jesus' Deity is Psalm 110. Its very first verse has God saying to Someone, to David's "Lord," a great statement of fact. Folks, this is God the Father speaking to God the Son, no doubt! "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Psalm 110:1

Yes, Jesus, our Crucified and Buried and Risen and Ascended Saviour, is now seated at His Father's Right Hand! And will be until final victory, when all his enemies will be made His footstool!

Wow again!

These Old Testament facts, and many more like them, have helped framed the New Testament view of Jesus as God's Darling Son!

Jesus, Son of God!

Jesus, God the Son!

Jesus, the God/Man!

Perfect in every respect!

This is the very bedrock "heart" of Christianity!

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 9, GOD THE FATHER IN JOHN'S GOSPEL:

The Gospel of John is extremely "heavy" with the idea of our great God being a "Father" too! I have counted 138 times the Greek noun "pater," generally translated "father" in English, occurs in John's twenty-one chapters. It's only "missing" in three chapters, to be exact.

Now granted, certain chapters possess more concentrated emphases on the Fatherhood of God, to be sure. Twelve times in chapter five, for example! The healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda, and Jesus' comments afterward.

And I count twenty-one times "father" is used in John chapter eight. Our Lord's great "I am the Light of the World" Sermon!

But in Jesus' "Upper Room Discourse," His final Sermon before the Cross, the richest deposit of "father" expressions occur, by far! John fourteen through sixteen, not even including the High Priestly Prayer of John 17.

Twenty one times in John chapter fourteen!

Another nine times in John fifteen!

And another twelve times in John sixteen!

Forty-two instances total!

Of God as Father, John's first verse is the famous declaration, eye-witness testimony: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14, glory!

And the last verse: "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." John 20:21

Wow!

Yes, God is Triune, for sure!

His being "God the Father" is part of that Manifestation too! And no Book of Scripture better, more fully, portrays Him as Such than the dear little Gospel of John!

And how will we ever "know" this Father, God the Father? He will be "revealed" to us only one way, through the Son! "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." John 1:18, amen!

More about this, tomorrow, Lord willing.

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 10, JOHN 1:18, IN LOVE:

The Verse on my heart today is John 1:18. It of course speaks of Jesus and His Father, the Trinity being our current Subject of study. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

The only way to really "know" God, our verse promises, is by knowing the His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus "delcares" the Father, the Greek verb used here being our word "exegete." Jesus expounds the Father! Jesus is God the Father's Expositor! Jesus "leads out" Truth from His Father, beautifully displaying it to us who hunger for its treasures!

But note precisely where Jesus is said to be, in relation to God above. "In the bosom of the Father." Greek teachers have enjoyed explaining this little noun for many years now!

"Kolpos" means "bosom" five of its six times, its six locations, in the New Testament. And once it means "creek!" In Acts 27:39, one of Paul's journeys, the shipwreck account.

Jesus is so "in love" with His Father that He abides in His Warm, Inviting Bosom! Much as John the Beloved Disciple enjoyed leaning on Jesus' Breast, presumably. John 13:23, "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved."

Various scholars have explained our clause, "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father," as follows:

Jesus, at His Father's Side!

Jesus, close to His Father's Heart!

Jesus, snuggled close to His Father!

But yesterday I saw this one, "Jesus, in His Father's Lap!"

How sweet, how picturesque, how darling!

In His Father's Lap!

I remember sitting in Grandma's lap, as a lad. In Grandpa's too! Not even counting Mama's! How very close and loving a picture!

John's Gospel is really telling us that the Father and the Son love Each Other to depths that cannot be humanly described.

In fact, They are One!

Paul has coined this word for the Relationship the Trinity enjoy, the "Godhead!" It's "theotes" in Greek, the Godishness! The Godness! The very Deity of the Almighty! See Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, or Colossians 2:9, all from Paul's pen.

Jesus, my Saviour, today ... right now ... the very second ... at the Father's Right Hand! Hebrews 12:2 says so!

In His Father's Lap, literally the Greek idea!

Still in Love!

             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 11, JOHN'S GOSPEL AND THE SON OF GOD:

The "Son" is often mentioned in John's Gospel, too. Very often! Of the fifty-five times the Greek noun "huios," meaning "son," is used in this Gospel, forty-one refer to Jesus, clearly!

This is indeed the Gospel of the Son!

And eight times, more importantly, Jesus is called "the Son of God" in John's little Book, in twenty-one chapters.

Nathaniel definitely says so, John 1:49. "Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel."

John the Disciple, the writer, says so too! "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18

Jesus calls Himself That three times, in John 5:25 and John 10:36 and John and 11:4. Wow! "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." Then: "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" Followed by: "When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."

Martha also uses these words of our Lord in John 11:27. "She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."

The Jews mock Jesus as such in John 19:7. "The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God."

And last of all, the Evangelist, Disciple, writer John again. "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." John 20:31

Truly, the Trinity is emphasized in the fourth Gospel!

Jesus is God!

Lord willing, more tomorrow.

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 12, JESUS' SONSHIP IN JOHN, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:

Jesus is presented as "Son" in John's Gospel more than anywhere else in the entire Bible. Furthermore, this "Sonship" is linked time and time again to a Supernatural Source! Jesus is indeed the Son of God!

Here are the statistics surrounding the fact of Jesus as "Son" in the fourth Gospel's Material.

Lowest on the "scale," Jesus is known as the son of Joseph, twice in John. "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." John 1:45, to which we must also add John 6:42. "And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?" But both these declarations came from people who did not yet intimately know the Lord!

Next Jesus is the "one-of-a-kind Son," the "only begotten" Son! John 1:14 and John 1:18 plus John 3:16 and again in John 3:18, four times!

And as we saw yesterday, Jesus is the "Son of God" eight times in this Gospel, from quite a varied source of witnesses, too!

And our Lord is the "Son of man" thirteen times in John. This may be Jesus' favorite Name or Title for Himself. He is human as well as Divine! I in Revivals often preach He is 100% human and 100% God!

Then Jesus is often, without any qualifying adjectives, "Son" in John, eighteen times if I've counted accurately.

The Greek noun for "son" is "huios." The word appears in the Gospel, the Johannine Edition we're studying, fifty-five times, forty-one of which refer to Jesus.

Wow!

God is God. God is One. But His Oneness includes Father and Son. Holy Spirit too, which we shall discuss, Whom we shall discuss, soon in our daily Lessons here.

The Trinity!

A Bible Fact.

Undeniably so!

             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 13, JESUS, THE TRINITY, AND CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGY:

Theologians today take a number of different views regarding Jesus, "Who He is." Of course old-fashioned Bible believing Teachers all still agree, Jesus is the very Son of God, literally!

But an ever increasing number of "liberal," now calling themselves "progressive," Professors no longer accept the deity of Christ. They actually deny that Jesus is God!

One recently said that no where in all the Bible did Jesus claim to be God, not even remotely he suggested!

Other Bible skeptics think that the Gospels merely represent a set of fables and rumors and legends that slowly developed around the man Jesus, finally proclaiming Him as some sort of a God creature!

Folks, if that's what contemporary scholarship is advancing today, it is wrong! Completely wrong!

If this is the case, I'll just read and memorize and believe and practice Romans 3:4. Where Paul said, "Let God be true, but every man a liar."

Amen!

And God indeed said that Jesus is His Son! Many times, our Lord's baptism being one of them: "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17

But back to these "enemies" of Christ, those who deny His claim to Godhood. Once in the Gospel of John even those who hated Jesus the most spoke of His Essence. They, the "progressives" of that day, knew who Jesus was "claiming" to be anyway! They did not believe Him, not at all, but they knew what He was saying!

And here are their very words, spoken to Pilate at Jesus' Trial, at the proceedings that led to His Crucifixion: "The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." John 19:7, King James Version.

"Because He made Himself the Son of God!" They had heard Him say so time and time again! They followed Him and documented every statement He made!

Yes, Jesus is God!

Now I don't know for sure what they believe today about Jesus' identity at Harvard's School of Theology. Or at Yale or Vanderbilt. But I do know what Jesus said about Himself!

John 10:30 pretty well summarizes it. Jesus' very statement, verbatim: "I and My Father are One."

For me, that settles it.

Jesus said He was God. He says now He is God. He always will be God! He is a vital, intrinsic Member of the Trinity!

One God, expressing Himself triunely!

Hallelujah!

              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 14, JESUS IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, GOD'S SON:

The Sonship of Jesus Christ, His very deity, appears in John's Gospel with great frequency. But I have noticed this, the references to Jesus' Godhood come in clusters. In "blocks" of narrative.

Let me show you what I mean. Take John 3:16-18, for instance. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Now let's count the times Jesus is God's Son here. "Only begotten Son," plus "His Son," plus yet another "Only begotten Son of God!" Obviously, three of these.

Wow!

Now go to John 3:35-36, just a short two verse span! I will simply underline these. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Three times, "the Son" occurs! Not just a son, but the Son! Special, unique!

Then we journey to John 5:19-26, a little longer paragraph but still true to form. "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." Look: "The Son" followed by "the Son" followed by "the Son" and followed yet again by "the Son!" And these phrases are immediately joined by three more identical strings! Yes, "the Son" certainly permeates this entire text, right alongside His Father! God, the Triune Creator and Redeemer! Then He's "the Son of God" in verse 25, near the end of the sentence. And the last verse reverts to "the Son" terminology once again. Eight times He's called "the Son" in a single paragraph, nine all total when "the Son of God" is included!

Wow again!

No doubt, Jesus is God!

Fully so! And the fourth Gospel, John's inspired biography of our Lord, most clearly and ponderously presents Him so!

Amen!

          --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 15, THE HOLY SPIRIT TOO:

For two weeks now I've been trying to get to the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, in our discussion of the Trinity. The Triune Godhead as He appears in the Gospel of John particularly.

We have seen the lofty place God the Father, rightly so, inhabits in the fourth Gospel. Then we noticed God the Son, equally divine and equally eternal! And now, beginning today, God the Holy Spirit as well!

But here a surprise awaits us! The emphasis John gives the Spirit of God is much less predominant in his early chapters ... and much more pronounced in his later chapters! Yet we all know that the Holy Ghost is eternal! Even Genesis 1:2 mentions Him, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

If one searches for the noun "spirit" in John, eighteen references appear. If the Greek word, "pneuma," is studied, twenty-three locations are readily spotted. The Greek word "pneuma" is actually translated in our Bibles two primary ways, "spirit" and "ghost."

Though we will notice these facts in more detail later, the general trend or trajectory of the Holy Spirit's Johannine appearances is "less" to "more." Infrequent in the beginning, but much more frequent as Jesus' Death and Burial and Resurrection approach!

Such a fact is in keeping with the Holy Spirit's Personality, really. Jesus, God's only begotten Son, is foremost in early John! And the Holy Spirit, Who inspired the Book anyway, Who is its True Author, is quite pleased with such an arrangement! He always exalts the Saviour! The Third Person invariably uplifts the Second Person, though Both are essentially God! "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself." Wow, John 16:13, Jesus' Own Words! Add John 14:26 to this discussion please. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." The Spirit expounds the Words of Jesus, magnifies Him!

So, later in John, when Jesus is about to die and be raised again and thereafter return to Heaven ... the Holy Spirit, His Ministry, is more clearly brought in to focus!

Still, with all that said, let me show you the very first mention of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. It is when our Saviour is baptized, with Jesus coming up out of the water: "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." John 1:32-33, with John the Baptist being the witness, the eye-witness I might add!

Thus begins our journey!

I am reminded of the words of the old song, "Spirit of the Living God ... fall fresh on me!"

Amen.

           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 16, THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHOUT MEASURE:

Though the Gospel of John does not emphasize this particular Truth, the Holy Spirit was involved in Jesus' coming to earth, His virgin birth ... long before the Spirit's literally descending upon Jesus at His Baptism.

I'm simply reminding you that the first mention of the Spirit in John's Gospel, in reference to Jesus, was the Baptism Event. "And John (the Baptist) bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him, Jesus. And I knew him not: but he, God the Father, that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." John 1:32-33, with the proper antecedents linked to the text's pronouns. Verse 29 of this context adds some further background. "These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing."

Concerning Jesus' miraculous Birth, Matthew carefully records: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Matthew 1:18

Luke adds: "And the angel Gabriel answered and said unto her, to Mary, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35

But John, in his amazing Gospel, does tell us something unique about the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Something that no one else mentions. And that's the fact that God the Father equipped Jesus with the Holy Spirit, with all His ineffable Traits, immeasurably so!

Here's John 3:34-35, word for word: "For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His Hand."

Wow!

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!

The Trinity!

Again, and apart from John's Gospel narrative, at Jesus' Baptism scene, Matthew and Luke both have the Triune Godhead present, simultaneously! Here's Matthew's record: "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo a Voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one location, Matthew 3:16-17.

Luke 3:21-22 relays the same information. "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a Dove upon Him, and a Voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased." Wow, again!

Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit as God, the One Who empowered Jesus in every aspect of our Saviour's Life and Work! Again, John's verse for us today: "For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His Hand."

"Not by measure!"

In an unlimited quantity, an inexhaustible manner!

"Filled" with the Spirit!

God filled with God!

Amen!

           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 17, THE HOLY SPIRIT SAVING SINNERS:

There is a fair amount of discussion concerning today's text from the Gospel of John. In reference to its interpretation. Where Jesus is talking to a man named Nicodemus.

In John 3:5 our Lord speaks: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Then Jesus immediately continues, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." John 3:6

We need to view these words analytically and see if it can be determined whether the Holy Spirit is being named here.

I certainly believe He is!

However, as I've indicated, some theologians and teachers think it's merely the human spirit involved. The psyche, the immaterial part of humanity.

Our King James translators, assuredly so, thought the Spirit of God was the Agent here. They capitalized the "S" in "Spirit!" That fact alone yields weight to my argument, my conviction.

It is definitely the Holy Spirit Who "births" us into the family of God! Who, through Jesus' shed Blood on Calvary, "saves" us human beings, us born in the flesh, delivers us from our sin!

"Born of the Spirit!"

Of course too, when we are regenerated, our human spirits are involved as well. We are no longer "dead" in trespasses and sins. We are no longer spiritually dormant.

We have been "made alive" in Jesus!

But still, via the power and might and love of the Holy Spirit!

And here is John's point, through God the Holy Spirit!

Yes, these lessons are about the Trinity!

Especially as portrayed in the fourth Gospel.

God the Father is Divine.

God the Son is Divine.

And God the Holy Spirit is also Divine!

Is there an element of mystery here?

Certainly!

We are speaking of the Mind of God.

In fact, John 3:8 continues: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

The Holy Spirit's Work is inexplicable in many ways. Being born again is indeed a miracle!

But still, He, the Spirit, is God!

Here's an illustration, another proof to me anyway. In Acts 5, during the Ananias and Sapphira incident, Peter accuses the couple of lying to the Holy Spirit! That's in verse 3. Then in the very next verse, they have lied to God! Teaching, I think, that in the Apostle's mind, that in Scripture, the Holy Spirit is God, is Godhead! "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." Equating the Holy Spirit and God Almighty!

Wow!

The Holy Spirit!

Oh how we should love Him!

           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 18, JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SALVATION:

Jesus has just preached that great Sermon on the "Bread of Life." About the manna. And our Lord did say some hard things during His Message. For example, Jesus identified Himself with the manna! He said that He was the very Bread of Heaven, the Bread of Life! Then He added, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:53-54

Wow!

These words were "too much" for some, no doubt sounding to their natural ears like an eerie form of cannibalism! Eating His Flesh? Drinking His Blood? How would any lost Jew react? And John's Gospel tells us, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." John 6:66

Well then, who can be saved?

And how does one become a true follower of Jesus?

Our Lord now, in yet another personal reference to the Holy Spirit in the fourth Gospel says: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63

I am suggesting to you that the noun "spirit" here, "pneuma" in Greek, is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Even though it is not capitalized in our Bibles here, the Third Person of the Trinity is surely in view. By the way, our King James Version does not always use an initial capital letter when referring to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. For example, Psalm 51:11.

Our Verse again, from the Lips of our Lord.  "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Now here's why I'm convinced we are viewing the Holy Spirit in action! The verb "quickeneth," a translation of "zoopoieo" in Greek, means "to make alive." In other words, "to regenerate!" To cause a "new birth!" A second birth!

Only the Holy Spirit can do such!

Certainly not any human spirit!

Then when Jesus says that His very words are "spirit," again He means Spirit empowered! Spirit inspired! Perhaps even Spirit originated!

If this verse, in its context, does not prove that the Holy Spirit is God, I don't know what ever would.

The Holy Spirit, just as Son and Father, is God!

He is Triune!

He is Trinity!

And John's Gospel, as much as any Book in all Scripture, proves so. Again and again.

In fact, the Lord willing, I will show you another such case tomorrow as our "Trinity in the Gospel of John" continues.

              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 19, THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN:

Today's Verse, from the Gospel of John, centers on the Holy Spirit once again. We are tracing John's "clues" about the deity of the Spirit, about His being very God of very God! As is Jesus! As is the Father!

John chapter four contains an "interview" Jesus experienced with a woman. A lady who was a Samaritan, not of pure Jewish blood! Our Lord sought to introduce her to Himself, to Himself as Saviour of the world! I personally believe the woman was born again that day! In their discussion Jesus refers to the Spirit, the Holy Spirit more than once.

Here are Jesus' words to the lady: "The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

I only need three words here to "preach" a while on the Deity of the Spirit of God! Although I do see a correlation between "truth," the Word of God, and the "spirit," our divine teacher of that truth! The Bible and the Holy Spirit always must work together ... if any lasting and profitable good comes from its inspired pages!

My three words? "God is a Spirit!" Of course He is! That, dear readers, is absolute PROOF that God and the Spirit share relationship, identity, the status of Godhead! The Apostle's Paul's word, "Godhead," Acts 17:29 and Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9.

Grammarians want to tell us that the article "the" is missing here. It is. Our verse does not read "God is The Spirit." Merely "God is Spirit." More precisely, the Textus Receptus, the Greek Manuscript from which our King James Bible is translated, records Jesus as saying, "pneuma ho theos." The Professor would say, "The God is Spirit."

To me, anyway you express it here, the Trinity is in view. God the Son is talking to the Samaritan woman. God the Father is the Topic of conversation. And God the Holy Spirit is given oneness with the Father, absolute identity really!

What more do people need?

We do serve a Triune God!

Jesus mentioned this great God in Matthew 28:19, clearly so. As He gives His Disciples a great mission to accomplish. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Amen!

Father.

Son.

Holy Spirit.

To God be the glory!

              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 20, THE HOLY SPIRIT, A LIVING RIVER OF WATER:

I don't know if today's Verse for sure "proves" the Holy Spirit is divine. At least not to skeptical minds, but it sure does "lean" that way! I'm convinced! I'll say that much.

Our Lord is speaking in John 7:39. He's in the city of Jerusalem, at the Feast of Tabernacles. As Jesus preached that day, He began to talk about water! During Tabernacles, certain rituals evolved, Jewish practices. One of those practices involved pouring water from a container, from a large flask. This "water" portion of Tabernacles is not mentioned in the Old Testament, not that I can find. Not in Leviticus 23, the "Feast" chapter anyway. But it clearly had become a Jewish "custom" by the time Jesus walked the earth.

Nonetheless, as that public "water" ceremony began, Jesus interrupted, crying loudly these words: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

Wow!

Jesus first likens Himself to this water, this living Water! See It? Hear Him now. "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." This is our Lord declaring Himself God! The Provider of Life for those who are dry and thirsty and dying of dehydration!

But then Jesus continues. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Yes! Jesus is the One in Whom we believe.

But a "translation" is occurring now. Jesus gently changes the focus from Himself to the Holy Spirit. Watch again. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." John 7:38-39

Believe on Jesus, get Life!

Believe on Jesus, receive the "living waters" of God the Holy Spirit as well!

That's exactly the essence of Jesus' Feast of Tabernacles Sermon! "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified."

Wow!

Each one of you readers, you Bible students, must decide for yourself. Is the Lesson here one that validates the Holy Spirit as divine? As God? As One with the Trinity?

I certainly believe so!

He and Jesus, as well as the Father, eternally cooperating to bring about our salvation!

Glory to God!

Glory indeed!

              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 21, COMFORTER AND ADVOCATE, OUR GREAT GOD:

The "Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost," is He God?

Is He divine?

Is He part of what is sometimes called The "Trinity?"

Yes, says the Bible!

But for today's study, from the perspective of the Gospel of John, "yes" says Jesus our Lord too!

The Holy Spirit is God indeed!

Let me prove it so. Using Jesus' Own terminology too. Adopting His favorite Name, His loving Title, for the Holy Spirit.

Read with me directly from a Sermon our dear Lord preached to His Disciples. "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." John 14:16-17

Jesus just called the Holy Spirit the "Comforter," in Greek spelled "parakletos." It most literally means "one called to your side to aid and assist and encourage you!"

Amen!

But now in the little Book of First John, the same writer of this fourth Gospel we've been studying, calls Jesus our "Paracletos!" Watch it, First John 2:2 please. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Wow!

The noun "advocate" used here of Jesus is "parakletos!" The same noun used by Christ of the Holy Spirit!

Amazing!

Here's my point today.

If Jesus is God ... and He is ... the the Holy Spirit is God as well!

Because Both are described, depicted, named by the Same Title! Two different words in English, yet synonyms. But one singular word in Greek, identically so.

The Holy Spirit our Comforter!

The Lord Jesus our Advocate!

Both very God of very God!

"Paracletos!"

Yes, He is Triune!

Father, Son, Spirit ... one God!

               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 22, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN'S GREATEST "CLUSTER" OF HOLY SPIRIT REFERENCES, HIS VERY "HOLY OF HOLIES:"

The major "cluster" of references to the Holy Spirit, in the Disciple John's Gospel, is undoubtedly found in the portion of the book where Jesus gives His "Upper Room Discourse."

Chapters 13-16, inclusively.

We clearly have the Holy Spirit in focus in John 14:16-17. "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Jesus is teaching here.

Then John 15:26, for another example. "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me."

And He is honored yet again in John 16:13. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

This is why I call these amazing "Spirit Passages" clustered, truly concentrated here, in Jesus' last Sermon to His Disciples, before the Lord's Crucifixion. His last Sermon of any length, anyway.

Why this emphasis?

It's simple. Jesus is leaving soon. His Death is impending. After which He will be buried, raised from the dead, and then a few weeks later taken back to Heaven. He will ascend to glory!

When our Lord does so, leaving the Disciples alone ... another Member of the Godhead must come! The Holy Spirit must be sent from the Father!

In John 14:18 Jesus promises them directly, "I will not leave you comfortless." The Greek here says "I will not leave you as orphans!"

Jesus gone.

The Holy Spirit will arrive!

Soon after our Lord made this promise!

At the Day of Pentecost!

And the Holy Spirit is "another" Comforter, see John 14:16 above, using these very words! Well, here's the verse:  "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." Jesus is One Comforter, the Holy Spirit is the Other! The Greek word "another" here means "another of the same kind!"

This logically and theologically teaches us that the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit are Both Divine!

Both equally capable of caring for the saints!

One goes.

The Other comes.

But the Holy Spirit cannot come until Jesus has been "glorified." John 7:39 again: "This spake Jesus of The Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." Not yet crucified, buried and risen, hence glorified!

It sure seems to me that John is saying the Holy Spirit too, is God! Indeed our Lord is "thrice" Holy! Isaiah 6:3 thunders: "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of Hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."

Holy ... God the Father!

Holy ... God the Son!

Holy ... God the Holy Spirit!

Amen!

                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 23, JESUS' HUMAN SPIRIT:

One more thought on the "spirit" as presented in John's Gospel. Before we end this series with some summary lessons on the Trinity as a Whole. I hesitate here, but one distinction must be made.

Every time John uses the word "spirit," even in reference to Jesus, the "Holy Spirit" may not be in view.

Why?

Because Jesus had a human "spirit" too.

He was God, still is indeed. But He also was man, still is that, too! He's the Unique God-Man of eternity!

And as man, Jesus possessed body, soul and spirit! Just like you do, and just like me. Paul proves this tripartite existence for humankind in First Thessalonians 5:23. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Amen!

And John's Gospel, in 13:21 for example, mentions Jesus' human "spirit." Or at least I think so. Here's the verse: "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." See It?

Jesus was "troubled" deeply! One of His Own Disciples was soon to betray Him! "Troubled" here translates "tarasso," meaning "tossed about, sloshed to and fro, agitated." Disturbed as ocean waves in a storm!

Jesus' concerns here went quite deep into his being! involving His very spirit! But this is not a reference to the Holy Spirit of God.

Here's Mark telling us about Jesus' human spirit: "And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?" Mark 2:8

Again in Mark 8:12. "And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation."

Isn't it interesting? Only Mark of the four Gospels uses these exact words of Jesus, "his spirit!"

But John is not far behind.

Jesus, perfect in every way.

Perfect God.

Perfect man.

Perfect Saviour!

"When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." 

God truly "created" us in His Image! And He is Trinity, Father and Son and Spirit. So are we made symbolically, as humans with body, soul and spirit!

Thank You, Lord.

                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 24, JOHN 20:22 AND THE HOLY SPIRIT:

Jesus has been crucified, buried and raised again! He is soon to ascend, way back to Heaven.

But one thing He does, one of many in this post-resurrection period of time, is to "breathe" on the Disciples, in a very special way! Here's how the account reads. "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:" John 20:19-22, the very same evening Jesus was raised from the dead!

"He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." What truly amazing words!

Now later, in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit "officially" and "publicly" and "visibly" and "audibly" and "dispensationally" comes on Jesus' little band of followers. Empowering them to serve the Lord! No doubt about this fact.

But here in John's Gospel this lovely "breathing" event prefigures the Pentecostal phenomenon.

I submit this action taken by our Lord is further proof that God is Triune. That God the Father, via the Virgin Birth, has sent His Son into the world. Jesus being That Son! And that at Jesus' baptism, God the Father placed the Holy Spirit on Jesus, "in" Jesus. "Without measure," that's according to John 3:34. And that God the Son has now just bequeathed, breathed the Holy Spirit upon His disciples!

God sharing God!

Really, more fully described, this is God (the Father) sharing God (the Son) sharing God (the Holy Spirit) with saved mankind, men and women who are born-again!

Furthermore, this "breathing" event in John ("As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you, and when he had said this, he breathed on them") clearly parallels what we call the "Great Commission" in the other Gospels. Or in Acts 1:8 for that matter. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:19-20

And: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8 just mentioned earlier.

Power, the Holy Spirit ... assisting us as we witness for our Lord!

One definition for the Greek word "spirit," spelled "pneuma," is "breath!" A gentle blowing breeze!

Oh for our Lord's "breath" yet today!

Divine breath, at that!

             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

By the way, a grammatical and theological equivalent to Jesus' breathing here is found in Genesis 2:7. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Wow! Maybe too this great day when Jesus breathed on his disciples ... something again came alive! Maybe the embryonic Church! Later "born" on the Day of Pentecost! Just a thought.

LESSON 25, FATHER AND SON AND SPIRIT, IN PERFECT RELATIONSHIP:

The Trinity is indeed presented in John's Gospel, as fully and beautifully as anywhere in the whole Bible. And I learned last night studying for today's lesson that two "views" of the Godhead are possible, again from John's unique presentation in the fourth Gospel.

The Trinity is seen there "theologically." In an on-going discussion about how God saved us from our sin! The Father devised the plan. The Son came to earth and died, executing that plan. And the Holy Spirit in essence administers the plan! Yes, this is theology at its best! Actually a lovely combination of Theology and Christology and Pneumatology, with a dash of Soteriology as well!

But also the Trinity is taught in a "relational" sense! The Father and Son and Spirit "relate" to Each Other in an astounding way. The Father always sends the Son, never does the Son send the Father! That's relationship. The Father and the Son always send the Spirit, never the reverse! And the Godhead always seems to be in constant, perfect communion! Never a cross word! True intimacy!

Furthermore, in John's amazing Gospel  we clearly see the Godhead in that perfect Unity ... several times. Each Member being mentioned reverently and specifically and simultaneously!

Here's the first "appearance." John 1:33-34 at our Lord's Baptism. "And I (John the Baptist) knew Him (Jesus) not: but He that sent me to baptize with water (God the Father), the Same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that This is the Son of God." Wow, this is good!

Next, Jesus teaching His Disciples in the "upper room." John 14:26, word for word. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." In Jesus' Name!

Third, John 15:26, still Jesus is speaking. "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me." Nothing could be clearer, the Triune Godhead!

But there's one more "inter-relational" example, John 20:21-22. "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."

Four instances!

One Bible teacher and author called these references direct proofs of the "interface" between God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Indeed, he is right!

John, the Gospel of the Trinity!

                  --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 26, THE FATHER AND THE SON, A UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP:

Surely by now anyone with an open mind has seen that Jesus is God's Son! Jesus is divine! The Gospel of John, as well as the the rest of the New Testament, have "proved" so time and time again.

Again quoting from the fourth Gospel. Jesus one day said, "I and My Father are One." John 10:30, could He have stated it any more directly?

In fact, His very enemies accused Him of "making Himself equal with God." John 5:18, their very words.

Yet, in the Gospel of John again, Jesus also says things like this: "My Father is greater than I." John 14:28, the whole verse is best: "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I."

Or how do we explain Paul's classic statement in First Corinthians 15:27-28? "For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all."

Wow!

Believing no contradiction here exists, we must reason from a Biblical viewpoint. Is Jesus equal to God the Father? Or is He less than God the Father?

Theologically He is equal!

Relationally He is Son!

For God to be explained as One, yet Triune ... a synthesis of this sort must be reached.

How else can God's Essential Unity be explained? And yet maintain Jesus' Deity, His Equality with God! Philippians 2:6 does indeed say that Jesus "thought it not robbery to be equal with God."

Father, Son, Holy Spirit ... One!

Father, Son, Holy Spirit ... relationally in perfect communion through different in distinction. Each possesses Personality complementary to One Another! For example ... Jesus, the Son of God! Jesus, God the Son! Jesus, the God-Man! One, yet distinct!

By the way, I am open to criticism here. I'm sure better ways of explaining Trinity exists! As long as both truths are accepted, Jesus Deity and Jesus' Sonship, I am fine!

Back to John just a second, this beautiful little twenty-one chapter Biography of our Lord. Herein Jesus certainly lives in absolute filial (relating to a son) dependence on God the Father!

John 5:19, for example. "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." Here Jesus never did a thing of Himself, always "drawing" from His Father!

John 7:16 continues the thought, Jesus never even "taught" anything original! This is wonderful! "Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." His Father's Doctrine!

John 7:28, Jesus is not even in the world because of Himself. He is "sent" of the Father! An Agent of the Almighty! "Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not."

John 10:17, Jesus apparently even believes that He is loved of His Father due to obedience of the Same, even Calvary obedience! "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again."

John 14:31, this one is inexplicable, probably! "But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." He's talking about going to Calvary, folks!

John 17:2, Jesus' very Power is a gift from His Father in Heaven! So is ours! "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." God gave us to Jesus, "whosoever will may come," and Jesus promptly saved us, gave us eternal life!

Finally in John 17:24, Jesus' "Glory" is also dependent upon His Father's constant supply! "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

This is exceedingly precious, these set of verses, this Relationship between the Father and the Son!

Jesus, equal yet dependent on His Father!

As Paul once said, "that God may be all in all." First Corinthians 15:28

Do I fully understand it?

No.

Do I believe it?

Yes!

God's Word is inspired, and infallible!

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 27, THE HOLY SPIRIT TOO:

Let me show you one interesting Paragraph of Scripture! Revealing the Holy Spirit in critical co-operation with God the Father and God the Son! In other words, the Trinity in communion!

"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16:13-15 verbatim, words uttered by Jesus as He neared the Time of His Crucifixion. An Event which our Lord clearly viewed, in John chapters 13-17 anyway, as a "unit" ... right along with His Resurrection, Ascension, and future High Priestly Ministry!

The interaction here between Father and Son and Spirit is lovely to behold! The Father possesses all! The Son, however, desires to share many of these things with us! Us who believe. And the Holy Spirit is the One who does so, teaching us and giving us these precious "nuggets" of Truth, facts that have been given Father to Son to Spirit ... and now to you and me!

That's real fellowship!

Listen to First John chapter one, a parallel thought. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." 1st John 1:3-4

Things seen and heard! Declared from Father to Son to John the Disciple ... to us who have trusted Christ to be All He claims ... via the writing Ministry, the teaching Ministry of the Holy Spirit!

Yes, the Godhead is Triune!

Having for all eternity enjoyed such Perfect Inter-essence!

And He is still in Harmony today, this very second!

And will be for all the future ages!

Never a moment of not being God!

Hallelujah!

         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 28, THE HOLY SPIRIT, HIS MINISTRY:

I was reading late last night, early this morning really. The writer was discussing God the Holy Spirit. He made one of those "unforgettable" statements that stays with readers, even casual readers.

Here's the essence of what he said. Of what he had observed in Scripture, concerning the Third Person of the Trinity.

The Spirit of God came from Heaven and "lighted" on Jesus, the very moment the Son of God came up out of the waters of Baptism. Just like the dove in Noah's time only "rested," after the Flood ... when a suitable place of residence was found!

Read it please. "And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made ... and he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more." Genesis 8:6-12

God the Father had been searching too! For someone on whom, some Perfect One, on whom He could place His Spirit in perpetuity! Noah's dove found a clean place of abode, so did God the Holy Spirit! John the Baptist was an eye-witness to this event in Jesus' life! "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him." John 1:32, amen, on Jesus!

Again, the Holy Spirit, via God the Father's direct Command, descended and remained on Jesus! Equipping the darling Son of God for every area of His Ministry!

But there's more!

That very Same Holy Spirit, now via the Command of Jesus, or at least the Prayer of Jesus to the Father Who subsequently commanded such ... that Unique Holy Spirit has descended on the believers, the followers, of our Saviour! On us who have trusted Christ Jesus and His shed Blood!

Yes, He is "upon" us and "in" us ... and He will "dwell" there for evermore! In like pattern as He had done to Jesus! Here's the fact concisely stated: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." John 14:16, Jesus talking.

Wow!

God the Holy Spirit is, indeed, Trinity!

He is Divine.

He is simply, by faith I accept it, God!

           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 29, JESUS AS GOD'S DWELLING PLACE:

In the Old Testament the very place of God's Residence was always a significant matter. Presumably God was in Heaven when He created what we know as planet earth. Yet He, the Almighty Himself, came down to this little planet by the sixth day, to create humanity! To create Adam!

Where God lives!

What a noble line of thought!

Yet when Jesus comes to earth, via the Virgin Birth, He is said to "be" the very Place where God lives! God lives in Jesus! God is Jesus!

Here's what I'm saying, just as God "lived" in the Old Testament Tabernacle, so is Jesus now said to be that very Tabernacle! John 1:14 best proves my point. Let's read it, about the Incarnation. "And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The verb "dwelt" here is spelled "skenoo" in Greek, and literally means "to pitch a tent," more so, "to tabernacle" in a given place! Yes, Jesus is the Tabernacle! Every piece of furniture in that grand structure is a symbol of our Lord as well!

This is Jesus the Son of God!

This is Jesus the Goal of the entire Old Testament!

In the Old Testament Jacob met God at a place called "Bethel." The word signifies, as you know, "the House of God!" There angels appeared to the patriarch, ascending and descending a ladder to heaven, Genesis 28:12. But Jesus when on earth became Bethel, listen to our Lord talking to Nathaniel in John 1:51. "And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Wow! Then Jesus is the Way to Heaven, the very Ladder of which the Old Testament spoke!

Jesus and the majestic Temple, how about that one? That glorious structure Solomon built in which to worship God! In a debate with His enemies our Lord spoke: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body." Jesus' literal Body, equated to the Temple! And not Herod's either, the real one!

And the water, that grand river, likely the one flowing from God's Throne in Ezekiel chapter 47, the Prophet narrating: "Afterward he, the angel, brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side." Jesus says of Himself in John 4:13-15, talking to a thirsty woman at Jacob's Well, "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." Yes, Jesus is where God lives!

Furthermore, I personally believe that Jesus typifies, symbolizes, but even more than that, "embodies" the very Shekinah Glory presence of God as well! I know He did on the Mont of Transfiguration! That Hebrew verb, "shakan" indicates "residence, indwelling, remaining" in a certain place! Just being at home! And John the Baptist saw such. "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him." John 1:32, plus this fact: "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." Jesus, Shekinah, Holy Ghost, Temple ... John 3:34. "Home" of the Holy Spirit, "without measure," limitless!

Certainly, Jesus is where God lives!

And once our dear Saviour was raised from the dead, He returned back to Heaven, bodily ascended! And now ... miraculously so ... we are the places where God lives!

The Holy Spirit "inhabits" us who believe!

All because of Jesus!

Is Jesus Trinity?

Is He God?

Is He divine?

Yes indeed!

               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 30, THE TRINITY IN COMMUNION:

Let me share a thought.

It's been a blessing to me all night long!

Since reading it just after coming back to the apartment, from this week's Revival Meeting. In Greenville, South Carolina if anyone's interested!

The Holy Spirit, along with God the Father, indwelt and remained with Jesus!

Here's proof: "And John (the Baptist) bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him (Jesus). And I knew him not: but he (God the Father) that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." John 1:32-33

Furthermore, John 10:38, Jesus talking: "That ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him."

Plus John 14:10-11. "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."

And the very Same Holy Spirit, and the very Same God the Father ... also indwells and remains in us who are saved by Grace! Yes, the God who lived in Jesus is also the God who lives in us ... because we have trusted Jesus! In fact, wonderfully, Jesus is in us too! The Triune Godhead ... right now within such old sinners ... but who have been gloriously washed and cleansed and sanctified and soon glorified! Saints now, in fact!

As proof, in John 14:16-17 Jesus says: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Wow!

Add John 14:20-23 now. "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

Indwelt by Father, Son and Holy Ghost, in a relationship like Jesus enjoyed with the Godhead! Perhaps to some diminished degree, Jesus is Lord, yet again perhaps potentially to the same degree!

Tomorrow morning I will add to this thought, the Lord willing. With two more "phases" to go! This one Truth today is more than many of us can handle!

This great fact being so, let's fellowship with the Godhead! I mean personally and intimately and reverently so!

With God the Father!

With God the Son!

With God the Holy Spirit!

If the above verses are right, and they are, each Member of the Trinity lives within you this very second!

And has since the moment you were born-again!

And will do so until you meet Him face-to-face!

He will never leave you nor forsake you either!

Hallelujah!

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 31, THE TRINITY AND OUR SPEECH:

The Gospel of John tells us that God the Father "sent" the Holy Spirit to empower Jesus all His Life, His Life on earth two thousand years ago. Especially today we notice that the Spirit equipped Jesus to "speak" the things He should. Spirit-generated talk, no wonder they said of our Lord, even His enemies, "Never Man spake like this Man." John 7:46

Let me show you proof of my assertion. The Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus, from the mouth of John the Baptist. "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." John 3:34, where "He Whom God hath sent" is the Spirit! The second part of the verse makes this sure. "Speaketh" here is spelled "laleo," the "conversational" verb in Greek!

Elsewhere in John, on the same theme. Jesus is talking, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63, the Spirit and the Son here being nearly indistinguishable!

Yes, even Jesus speaks only under the Power, Guidance, Discernment of God the Holy Spirit! No wonder the Psalmist prophesied of our Lord, "Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." Psalm 45:2

Wow!

Now one step further.

That Same Holy Spirit, Who handled Jesus' Speech, also is available to us in the same capacity! To help us talk right, to speak in a way that pleases God! Amazing!

The Gospel of John again. Jesus still teaching, watch the distinction now. "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." John 15:26-27, the Holy Spirit "testifies" of Jesus ... then we bear witness" or "testify" of Him too! Presumably using the same words! The same Greek verb is used in each case, anyway, "martureo." Saying things so precious to us that we are not ashamed of them, that we would even die for them! Being a "martyr," according to the etymology!

Another verse showing how the Holy Spirit is our speech Coach! Jesus, tell us please: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16:12-15, the Spirit "talking" to us! Preparing our words, our testimonies! We speak the things of our Lord that the Holy Spirit has "revealed" to first to Jesus! Then to us via the Word of God!

The thrilling fact is that what God the Father did for Jesus in the area of vocabulary, through the Holy Spirit ... the same God the Father does for us, through the Holy Spirit as well!

Oh, to talk right!

"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Colossians 4:6

"Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Ephesians 5:18-19

Let's pray for Spirit guidance ... over our lips today! The Psalmist certainly did in 141:3. "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." That "watch" being the Holy Spirit!

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

One more Verse about words and Jesus, from Isaiah 50:4. Jesus is testifying, prophetically, seven hundred years prior to the Virgin Birth: "The Lord GOD (the Father) hath given me (the Son) the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." Training in speech! God wakes Jesus every morning to teach Him how to talk! How to help others!

Oh, how we need this today!

LESSON 32, THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE TRINITY:

The Trinity, especially as seen in the Gospel of John!

That's been our Topic of study now for nearly a month, perhaps a little more! And yet I see a "thought" involving the Godhead that I simply must share. It shows inter-communion between Father and Son and Spirit ... with us included too! Us who have believed in Jesus' Name, who have been born-again!

The Father gave the to the Son the Holy Spirit ... because He loved Him. God so loved His Son, only begotten and virgin-born! "For He whom God hath sent (the Holy Spirit) speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him (to Jesus). The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." John 3:35-35, including, obviously, the Holy Spirit! No, here precisely the Holy Spirit!

Now, I suggest the Father in Heaven also has given us the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ our Lord ... for the very same reason! Because He loves us too! Jesus tells us ... "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." John 14:21, with this "manifestation," in Greek "emphanizo," meaning an "exhibition, appearance, a  sudden burst of light," clearly None Other than the Holy Spirit Himself! And again two verses later, "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Now it's love, the very love of God, that brings the Father and the Son into our lives! We become the very abode, dwelling place, of the Trinity! Father and Son and Holy Spirit! Living together, in union and harmony! Because of love!

This gets complex at times.

We are swimming in theological waters way over our heads!

But then again we are considering the All-Wise God, too!

So loved of God ... that we are now receptacles, bearers, of the Holy Ghost Himself! "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" First Corinthians 6:19, using "naos" for temple here, the noun that indicates the "Holy Place" itself! Not simply the "outer courts" or distant environs!

Wow!

        --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

I think it's hard for some us us to realize that Jesus was indeed "empowered" by God as He lived His earthly Life two thousand years ago! When He came to die for us lost sinners. But listen to our Lord Himself, "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." John 5:19, notice the underlined clause.

Add John 5:30 to the milieu. "I (Jesus) can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

And John 8:28. "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." Wow!

Even the Pharisees acknowledged this fact. "If this man (Jesus) were not of God, he could do nothing." But sirs, He is of God! He is God the Son, literally so, John 9:33.

And Jesus, upon victoriously returning from His forty day Temptation experience, is described by Luke this way: "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about." Luke 4:14, where the noun "power" is literally "strengthened," a cognate form of the "dunamis" family of Greek words. Empowered by the Holy Spirit of God! Jesus certainly was!

The Trinity, interactive indeed!

LESSON 33, JOHN'S GOSPEL AND THE TRINITY, A TWO-FOLD VIEW:

Let me show you today a little "view" of the Gospel of John that is new to me. At least I've never seen it presented this way. It's sort of a two step approach to the whole Gospel. Pretty accurate, too, I might add!

John chapters 1-12 seem to have a different emphasis than do John chapters 13-21. Such a structure almost divides the book in half.

Let me be a little more precise. In the first section, again chapters 1-12, we see Jesus the Son of God in a horizontal relationship with mankind, men and women alike. Jesus loves people! He died for us old sinners to be saved! Think of the specifics here. In John 2 Jesus at a wedding. In John 3 Jesus and Nicodemus. In John 4 Jesus and the woman at the well. In John 5 Jesus healing a paralyzed man. In John 6 Jesus feeds the multitudes! In John 8 there's Jesus and the adulteress. In John 9 the man born blind is healed, by our Lord of course! In John 11 Lazarus is raised from the dead! In John 12 Jesus eats a meal with friends.

Yes, the pattern is quite clear. Jesus' Ministry, in John's Gospel at least, is certainly focused on the needs of people! Physical but more so, spiritual needs!

In John chapters 13-21 all this changes. It's Jesus and His Father! And Jesus and the Holy Spirit! Everything is vertical all of a sudden! In chapters 13-16 Jesus considers Himself already dead, buried and risen ... and ascended back to Heaven! From there He sends the Holy Spirit back to earth, to aid us who are saved! In fact, John 17, that great prayer Jesus voices to His Father, may be the most vertically framed chapter of Scripture in all the Word of God!

Then comes Calvary!

And even then (in John, the fourth Gospel) Jesus' vicarious Death is presented as the Son pleasing the Father, dying for the sake of obedience to his Father in Heaven! His public statements from the Cross, again in John's Gospel, concern His Mother Mary, the human participant in the Virgin Birth, providing for her! And His classic cry, "I thirst," based we think on a fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture, Psalm 22. Even these event s are vertical in emphasis, I suggest! Both statements having a vertical flavor!

Amazing!

Just remember ... John 1-12, horizontal.

John 13-21 ... vertical.

Each of these two units present the Triune Godhead providing salvation for the lost. I sure have enjoyed this series of lessons. And plan to study this great theme further in the weeks and months ahead.

Wow!

           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 34, SENT OUT ... TO BRING IN, THE TRINITY IN MISSION:

The Gospel of John ends with a clear reference to the Trinity. Jesus, having recently been raised from the dead, says to His Disciples: "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." John 20:21-22

Jesus is talking, teaching His Followers.

He references His Father, Who "sent" Jesus into the world.

And He subsequently yet immediately "breathes" on them to receive the Holy Spirit!

Father, Son, Spirit, the Triune Godhead!

And this last mention of the Trinity in John's Gospel deals with missions! With witness! With soul sinning! With telling the Message of the Gospel! "So send I you!"

Wow! First John 4:4 beautifully and rhythmically tells part of that Story: "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world."

The eternally-in-fellowship Godhead, going forth through the washed-in-the-Blood, miraculously born-again children of God, disciples ... reaching out to others, lost souls, to bring even more men and women into fellowship with God and each other!

That's Family!

Jesus was sent from heaven to earth.

The Holy Spirit, after Jesus' Death and Resurrection, was sent into the world.

And now we who have been saved are also sent into all the world.

Sent forth!

Isaiah's words come to mind, "Here am I Lord ... send me!"

But watch this, as soon as we are sent to win the lost. We are to bring them back to Jesus! To lead them into a closer walk with Him!

Sent out ... to bring in!

That's the very trajectory of the Gospel of John too! In its first chapters Jesus is "sent" to earth to save the lost! In its final chapters Jesus is "leading" all His own into closer and closer intimacy with His Father!

Even scientifically speaking, "centrifugal" force sends one away from its core. The Trinity sends us to the unsaved! ("Centrum" in Latin means "center! And "fugere" means "to flee!")

The same body of science tells us that "centripetal" force in turn draws one back to its axis, its center! The Trinity draws us further and further into Jesus, into deeper love and fellowship and communion! (With "centrum" again meaning "center" and "petere" meaning "to seek!")

Jesus sent to us!

Jesus bringing us back to the Father!

A fresh, new view for me!

I thought it worth sharing with you all too!

Jesus, what a wonderful Saviour He is!

            --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

LESSON 35, JOHN 17 AND THE TRINITY:

In all our discussion about the Trinity in John's Gospel ... chapter seventeen, Jesus' great Prayer, has not been a focus. Not a central one anyway.

One reason for this is that the whole unit, all twenty-six verses, is quite difficult to organize. To outline, Jesus is certainly at liberty praying!

This much is discernible, however. In verses 1-5 Jesus prays for Himself. In verses 6-19 Jesus prays for His immediate disciples. And then in verses 20-26 Jesus prays for future disciples, those who will believe on Him through the witness of those contemporary saints!

These three divisions, loosely called, present God's Plan of Salvation in a three-fold manner, a triune view! The past, the present and the future aspects of redemption!

In the first five verses Jesus mentions the fact that He was, to use Peter's Words now, "foreordained" as the Lamb of God, "before the foundation of the world." That's past tense, all right!

In the next fourteen verses Jesus reveals the present aspect of salvation. Men and women being saved and serving Him, including sharing the Gospel Story!

Then in those last seven verses a future aspect of the Scheme is told. We all some day will be with Jesus in Heaven, sharing the very Love and Glory our Lord has known from ages past.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Godhead, sharing in our Salvation and Sanctification and Glorification for all time! Of course God actually inhabits eternity! He is the ageless One! The Alpha and the Omega!

There has perhaps never been a moment, a single second, that the Lord has not has us in mind, those who would believe on His name!

Certainly the Gospel, then, is the greatest Message ever delivered!

No wonder the angels so desire to look into it! Peter in his first Epistle was once discussing the Prophets, those Old Testament giants of the faith. He writes of them, "unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." The verb "look" is "parakupto," a blend of two Greek words, "beside" and "to bend over!" The angels can't get over it, the grand Plan of Salvation!

Neither should we!

           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

Praise God, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Or Jesus words, best of all: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

LESSON 36, OUR GIVING GOD, TRIUNE INDEED:

Today's thought is sort of an overview. A synopsis of one area in which the Gospel of John accents the doctrine of the Trinity. In this case, John along with the other three Gospels as well.

The giving nature of the Trinity!

Our God is so very gracious.

Watch.

God the Father gave in order to provide our salvation. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

God the Son gave in order for us to be saved as well! He gave Himself, dying on the Cross of Calvary. "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." John 10:11, Jesus speaking. Then four verses later, "As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep."

The Father and the Son have also given us a joint Gift, God the Holy Spirit! "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." John 15:26, buttressed by John 14:16. "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." Amazing!

And the Holy Spirit? Oh, how He gives to us! In John's Gospel, the Holy Spirit gives us companionship, guidance, guardianship, knowledge, and so much more!

See the pattern?

God the Father gives.

God the Son gives.

God the Holy Spirit gives.

The Triune Godhead ... the great Giver!

Hallelujah!

               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

What are we to do with all these aspects of God's Gift? Of the manifold blessings that flow from His Person? In First Timothy 6:17 Paul speaks of the "living God," teaching us to trust in Him. He ... "Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."

Enjoy God today!

Amen!

THE LORD WILLING, A NEW LESSON AGAIN TOMORROW MORNING. JUST ONE MORE TO GO ... POSSIBLY TWO!