The Nature of God
This Sunday, the 4th of September, I'm starting at the Church of the Nazarene in Boksburg. Come along at 8:00 AM if you're around. We'd love to have you worship with us.
And you know, a lot of people have said to me, “Who on earth is the Church of the Nazarene?” “Are they a cult?” somebody even asked me, because they're not a very big denomination in South Africa.
Understanding Our Heritage
So what I want to do this week is to take you through the Church of the Nazarene's Articles of Faith. And I don't just want to do it to show you that we're a traditional orthodox denomination, but much more than that, this is going to help us get back to basics in our faith.
And hopefully, this will help you give words to what you believe. So many of us know that we're Christian, but we can't really explain the different parts of our faith. And I pray that this week will help us to remember all the different things that being a Christian means.
The Nature of God
So let's begin by talking about the nature of God. The first three articles of faith in the Church of the Nazarene talk about the God who is three-in-one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this is fundamental to our faith. We believe that there is one God who is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, and He's revealed in three different persons - the Father, the Son who is Jesus Christ, (who is a Nazarene, that's where the name comes from, no more than that!), and the Holy Spirit who gives us life and sanctifies us today. And all of this is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, which is Article 4.
Living in Divine Unity
This is fundamental to any Christian denomination. This is why the Mormon Church or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can't really be called a Christian Church because they don't believe in the Trinity, which is so clearly revealed in the Scripture.
And so let me ask you today, is your faith rooted in a belief in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit?
And of course, the mystery of the Trinity is far too deep for us to cover in a little 2-minute devotional. But nonetheless, let me ask you, is the Trinity a part of your faith? Are you in love with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—all three?
Somebody once said that our prayers should be rooted in the Trinity. We should pray to God the Father, in the name of the Son, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Or somebody else once said the Trinity expresses the way Christians should relate to God. We worship God the Father, the Creator. We follow the example set by God the Son and love God the Son for reconnecting us to God the Father, and we live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Living in Perfect Community
And here's another thought: The relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is perfect and gives us a basis for how we should live in relationship with each other on earth in perfect community.
And so may the mystery of the Trinity be more than just theology to you, but may it remind you that you serve a God who is one but is revealed in three ways.
May you know God fully by knowing Him as all three persons that He is—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
