Bible Study Series: The Trinity
Part 2: The Role of the Son, The Slain Lamb of God
by Fraser Gordon
Last time we looked at the Trinity in the Old Testament and how it is not only a New Testament teaching. God has revealed the plan of the Godhead all throughout Scripture. This time we’ll have a closer look into the New Testament, specifically the role of the second member, the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember in the Old Testament He wasn't called Jesus, He appeared as the Angel of the Lord where He dealt specifically with people or the nation of Israel. In the New Testament He takes on humanity and the name Jesus Christ.
Plan A
1Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. This Lamb, who would be slain, was foreordained before the foundation of the world. This goes along with a similar passage in Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. These two passages tell us it was preplanned for the second member of the Trinity, the Lamb of God, to come into the world. It was all part of a plan by the Godhead before anything was created, before the angels, the world, and before mankind. Jesus was foreordained to come into the world and die for you and me.
This is Plan A, not Plan B. Many think that when mankind fell into sin, all of a sudden, oh gosh, God thought, ‘what are we going to do?’ Then He came up with a plan to redeem man. No, there was a plan before anything was created, the Lamb would come into the world and die. That was plan A, not plan B. Galatians says a similar thing, Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. This is God's time, not ours. If it had been up to me, I would have sent the Lord Jesus as the saviour as soon as Adam and Eve had fallen. But God didn't do that. He had a plan and a purpose. His will was to wait 4,000 years before He sent the second member of the Trinity into the world to take on humanity.
God took Abraham and made a nation out of him. He took the Jewish people, a peculiar people, and He gave His laws to them. They were supposed to reveal God to the Gentile world, but they failed miserably. After 4,000 years, when the fullness of time had come, all according to His plan, God sent forth His son. Let's have a look at some of the passages concerning the second member of the Trinity. I want to look specifically at His role in the Godhead.
His birth and baptism
Luk 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." The angel prophesied to Mary of His first and second coming.
Luk 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Here are all three members of the Trinity; the Holy Spirit, the Holy One who is to be born - Jesus, and the power of the Highest - God.
Heb 10:5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- In the volume of the book it is written of Me-- To do Your will, O God.' " When the second member of the Trinity came into the world He had a specific purpose. A body was prepared for Him through the combination of the Holy Spirit and Mary's genealogy. His whole purpose was to do the will of the Father and everything that had been spoken about the Messiah.
So who was this second member of the Trinity? Philippians gives us a little insight into this. Php 2:6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This passage starts with Him in His glory in the heavens and then He comes down to earth, lowering Himself and taking the form of a servant. He starts up, comes down and then is exalted once again in glory where at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. So who was the second member of the Trinity? It says here in verse 6 He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. He was an equal member of the Godhead.
Was Jesus Christ 100% God or was He 100% man? He was both. He was 100% God because He was an equal member of the Trinity. He was a 100% man because He was born of a woman. He was not born with a sinful nature because He was conceived of the Holy Spirit through Mary. He laid aside His right to act as God and refused to live and act on earth as God. This is why in many passages Jesus says that only the Father knows the day or the hour. He limited Himself to being a man but was without sin. So He was both 100% God and 100% man and was 100% obedient to the Father's will.
When the angel prophesied Jesus' birth to Mary we see the involvement of the Trinity. We see the same at His baptism. Mar 1:9 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. This is the same imagery as Genesis 1.2 where the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. Mar 1:11 Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.". At Jesus’ baptism all three members of the Trinity were present; The Lord Jesus, the Spirit coming down upon Him, and then lastly the Father speaks.
I love this verse. Jesus is 30 years old and the Father said "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Have you ever wondered what the Father was pleased about? Jesus had done no miracles, no teaching, He wasn't a travelling evangelist. He had done nothing for the glory of God in the way that we would expect. Yet He pleased the Father. Jesus spent the first 30 years being obedient to His family, being faithful and learning the trade of a carpenter. You see, it's not what we do that pleases the Father as in acts of ministry, it's the attitude we have about our relationship with God. Jesus was pleasing to the Father because He'd learnt from Him in those first 30 years - in obscurity. Even His brothers didn't know who He was. The One that Jesus pleased was the One we all need to please.
The will of God
Heb 10.7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- In the volume of the book it is written of Me-- To do Your will, O God.' So what was the will of God? First and foremost it was to show the world who the Father was. In John's Gospel we read, Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus was there right in the beginning as an equal member of the Godhead. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Then from verse 14, And the Word became 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…18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. I like the Amplified version of verse 18 He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen.
Firstly, the will of God for the second member of the Trinity when He came into the world was to reveal who God was. In verse 14 we read, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Lord Jesus Christ brought God into the open and revealed what the Father was like; God's nature, character, the way that He acts, and the things that He says. This is mentioned in Hebrews; Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. This is the Son Jesus Christ 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
There are two aspects of the revealed will of the Father, The first is in verse 3, being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. His first and foremost role was to reveal God to this dying sin ridden world. When they looked at the Lord Jesus Christ they saw God in the flesh. They saw in the way He lived and acted what God was like. The second is also in verse 3, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The will of the Father is twofold. One to die for the sins of the world, to make those that were unrighteous righteous, to bridge the gap between God and man and pay a price that you and I could not pay. The righteous for the unrighteous, the just for the unjust, that we may have eternal life and live. But first and foremost, it was to bring God into the world. Here was a man on earth, a normal man, who was rightly adjusted in His relationship to God. Born without sin revealing the Father. That is normal. When we are born again, we are redeemed into that. Normal is being in a relationship with God, obedient to His will so that God may have us as image bearers. Just as the Lord Jesus Christ was.
Colossians has the same imagery, Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. The second member of the Trinity is given first place, all the honour and glory. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. It pleases the Father that the fullness of the Godhead would dwell in the Son. We get the same message in Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. So we start to see that the will of the Father was fully played out in the Son. His role was to reveal God and die for the sins of the world.
He will lose none
Let's look at a conversation between Jesus and his Father in John 17:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. This is repeating what we read earlier in Philippians 2.6-11. The Lord Jesus, as the second member of the Trinity, lowered Himself and became obedient to the Father’s will. The first part of the Father’s will is in Joh 17.4 I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. He died as the sin substitute, the only holy one that has walked earth - the second Adam. Then He says in vs 5 Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. He started at an exalted position, He came down, and then He is elevated again back into the position He once had. John 17:6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. That is a wonderful thing - believers are a love gift from the Father to the Son. The Son came into the world, glorified the Father and made Him known. Because of what Christ did on the cross, the Father gives as a gift to His Son all those who believe in the work of the second member of the Trinity. They are given from the Father to the Son as a love gift - the Bride of Christ.
John 6 is another passage that talks about the will of God. Joh 6:37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
The will of God is that He would lose none of who the Father had given Him. There is a wonderful security here for all believers. Salvation was accomplished through the second member of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was done by His death as an acceptable sacrifice, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous. That He may pay a debt that you and I cannot pay and in doing so obtains an everlasting salvation and everlasting life. He will lose none of all those the Father gave Him. You and I are 100% secure because it's a work done by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's secure because it's done by Him, kept by Him and we will be raised 100% secure in Him. The wonderful thing about the way this Trinity works is that the Father gave the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a plan before the foundation of the world. He was the Lamb slain - He came, took on humanity and died for the sins of the world. So the Father gave the Lord Jesus Christ and when Jesus came into the world He glorified His Father.
Three work as One
John 17.4 says, I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
The Father gave the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son, who lives to glorify His Father. The role of the third member of the Trinity, whom we'll look at next time, is to glorify Christ. They all work as one body, one glorifying the other, not taking the honour on themselves. The Father has glorified the Son and given Him a name above every name. The Son glorified the Father when He came to earth and revealed what God was like. When the Son left, the Holy Spirit came to exalt and glorify the work of the second member of the Trinity. It's amazing how these three all work. They're not individuals, they are one and they all work for the glory of another.
Sometimes we might think Jesus lived how He did because He was God. Remember, He laid aside His right to act as God and became dependent on the Father. In His humanity, He was tempted, He was weak, and He knew what suffering was because He was 100 % human. Jesus needed the life of God. He needed the Holy Spirit to live in Him and comfort Him. In Heb 9.14 it says, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? We see in this passage all three members of the Trinity - Christ, the Eternal Spirit, which is another name for the Holy Spirit, and God. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus says. "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” to the point where He's under such agony and turmoil in his soul, He sweats drops of blood, (which, by the way, they believe is humanly medically possible). The Lord Jesus Christ laid aside His Godhead and therefore needed the Holy Spirit to be able to say, nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." Mat 26.39. He offered himself to the will of the Father to be offered up as a perfect sacrifice upon that cross for you and me.
The third member of the Trinity
The second member of the Trinity left His position, came down to earth, revealed who the Father was and died for the sins of the world that you and I may be free. As Jesus was about to leave He introduced the third member of the Trinity. He told his disciples in John 16.7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
As the Lord Jesus Christ is nearing the end of His ministry on earth He introduces the third member of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is given the titles, Helper, Comforter - the Paraclete who comes alongside. Next time we will have a look at the role of this third member. God had a role - it was ultimately His will that everything took place. The second member of the Trinity’s role was to lay aside His deity and become a man, and the third member of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. His role is as important as the other two. He is called the Spirit of Truth, the Helper and He will glorify Christ. They all live to elevate another member of the Godhead, they're not in it for themselves.
God bless and I pray you've seen something in here that will draw you closer to this God whom we serve. Amen.