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TRIUNE LOVE OF GOD
John 3:16
February 24, 2019 – SUN a.m.
  • God did not need to be convinced to redeem sinners.
  • According to the lies of the unbelievers, in the Old Testament God is angry and vengeful type of God. God is angry toward the sin of the world. It’s Jesus Christ who changed the mind of God about sinners, thus Jesus Christ convinced God to plan for redemption of sinners instead of thinking to punish them.
  • Truly God’s wrath abides on sinners and He is wrathful against sin. However, God’s wrath is a function of His Holiness and not the characteristics of His nature. God’s wrath is not His attribute it is a response.
  • Christ crucifixion at the cross was purposely to propitiate the wrath of God. We need to understand well what propitiation is all about.
  • The result of the Triune love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit to the believer as born again is eternal life who plan, prepare and performed the redemption of your soul because of the amazing love of God for you.
I- THE APPLIED RECORD OF THE WORD PROPITIATION
Let us talk first the concept of propitiation.
Hebrews 2:17 NASB “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”
Hebrews 2:17 KJV “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
1 John 2:2 NASB “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
1 John 2:2 KJV “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
     A. The Statement in defining the word Propitiation
  • Propitiation is the act that makes God propitious (favorably disposed toward someone.)
  • Sin cause strong reaction of anger of God’s holiness. Sin also requires strongly the exercise of God’s justice.
  • Hence, the wrath of God remains on sinners, not because God is wrathful but because sinners are sinners.
     B. The Solution of the Annual day of Propitiation
  • In the Old Testament, there is the annual day of propitiation and that was Day of Atonement.
  • Remember, sin corrupted the land and the presence of God in the land was prevented by the pollution in the land.
  • On the Day of Atonement, the sinning man was able to have access to God because He put away His wrath on the basis of the substitute.
Leviticus 17:11 NASB ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’
Leviticus 17:11 KJV “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
  • In Leviticus 17:11 the word “atonement” is propitiation. Atonement is the state of being at one or being reconciled.
  • In the Old Testament times the propitiation was a ritual yearly practices.
     C. The Substitution of Christ to accomplish Propitiation
  • Now, let’s go to the New Testament concept.
  • It is the Propitiation that set aside God’s wrath so that all men around world now have free access to the throne of the grace of God.—1 John 2:2 “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
  • It was Jesus Christ himself performed the propitiation for the sins of the world by incarnation or God who manifested in the flesh and become the permanent substitute by His death, burial and resurrection.—Hebrews 2:17 “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”
     Note: Christ was the propitiation for the sins of the people not His people. The atonement is for everyone. Any sinner enabled to come to God through propitiation. God’s wrath is set aside and that makes a propitiation a great blessed thing.
  • Although there is God’s wrath upon sinners and Christ’s accomplished propitiation does not concludes that the Father is wrathful and the Son Jesus Christ is the loving mediator for sinners.
II- THE ACTIVE ROLE OF THE FATHER IN THE WILL OF SALVATION
  • We can see here the active role of the Father in bringing about every aspect of salvation

     A. The Sensible Personality of God’s Nature

  • Here God’s nature is described for it says God is love (1 John 4:8, 16)

1 John 4:8, 16 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

     B. The Saving Purpose of God’s Action
  • The action of God is described here for it says God so loved (John 3:16)
John 3:16 “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.”
  • God is so much willing and not reluctant to save sinners for it rendered “God so loved”
  • God is not repulsed, disappointed, or drive back  [though wrath is real]—“God so loved the world”.  
  • God holds nothing back but gave sacrificially His best in his love,--“God … gave His only begotten Son”
  • God, satisfies the demands of wrath by granting eternal life to those who believes through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. — “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
  • God is propitiated so that Man can be saved
     C. The Separate Persons of God’s Deity
  • God the Father loved, and God the Son came
  • God the Father provides the propitiation of sacrifice and God the Son Himself is propitiated. Indeed, God is both the subject and the object of the propitiation.
  • Here the actions of propitiation can be only attributed to separate persons of the deity of God.  

III- THE AGENT ROLE OF THE SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION

  • Let take a look on the superintending work of the Spirit in bringing the work of salvation
  • The best way to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus Christ, in the life of our Lord and our Savior.
     A. The Role of the Spirit in the Manifestation of the Word.
  • God sent His Son by the Spirit
Joh1:1, 14 KJV “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14And 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.”—The Manifestation of the Word.
Luke 1:35 NASB “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35 KJV “And the angel answered and said unto her, 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.”
  • The Holy Spirit was Christ’s inseparable companion.  As one author writes “From womb, to tomb, to throne.”  All activities in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, all activities in His life from His birth through His death, through His resurrection, until His ascension occurred in the full presence and by the full power of the Holy Spirit. 
     B. The Role of the Spirit in the Ministry of the Word
  • God anointed the Son for ministry in the world with the Spirit
  • We often talk about the fact that Christ is our model.  He is the one that is our example.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be followers of me as I am of Christ”, that in understanding of the person of Christ and the life of Christ sets for us the course as to how to live.  But I don’t hear that discussed very often in the light of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Lord Jesus Christ, but that is the best way to understand the Christian life, to understand that Christ lived the life that He lived because of the ministry of the Spirit of God, and then to understand that you having the Spirit in you can follow the pattern that is demonstrated in Christ.  He’s the model of the Spirit-controlled life.  He’s the model of the Spirit-filled life.  He’s the model of the Spirit-empowered life.  He shows us what that is in its perfection.  In its perfection. 
Isaiah 11:1-2 KJV “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;”
Isaiah 11:1-2 NASB “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

John 1:32 NASB “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.”—This is John testified
John 1:32 KJV “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him..”
John 3:34 NASB “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.”
John 3:34 KJV“For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.”
     C. The Role of the Spirit in Missions to the world
  • Our sermon text John 3:16 could not occur without the role of the Spirit as an agent in preparation and empowerment of the ministry of the Son on the mission of the Father.
  • Jesus Christ the Son of God is the Anointed One:  
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel”-Luke 4:18 KJV
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel”- Luke 4:18 NASB
  • The Spirit is upon the Son because the Father anointed Him to preach the Gospel:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings”- Isaiah 61:1 KJV
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news”-Isaiah 61:1 NASB
Conclusion:
     Every preaching the purpose of every preacher to help every believers to love God more.
     The Holy God hates sin, and His wrath abides on sinners, but God so loved the sinful men that is why the Father sent His only Son to propitiate His own wrath for the salvation of those who believe.
     Oh what a great Love of God, What a wonderful Saviour. We love Him because He first loved us