The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-07
DEITY DECLARED.
THE TRINITY EXPLAINED.
The True and Complete Foundation of
Theology Laid.
LECTURE BY REV. R. F. BRADLEY, TO THE SECOND PRES
BYTERY OF THE A. r. P. CHURCH. BRADLEY, S. c.. OCT
20 1000

never reach up TO the height nor fathom tn
depths OF divine being.
J, From Augustine 10 SchleiermRcher an
from the ffth 10 the nineteenth cen tury me-
but their efforts were vain, the profoud
est efforts of classical speculation wer
no better in this matter than heather ora
Gle
Richard fist. Victor conceived trinity o
love, but God was not In the conception
Boehme conceived an imminent process By
which deity evolves into trinity, hut deity
Il does not evolve. The Walfflan School makes
there In more than an act Of the will distin.
gushing person OF the trinity from His fel
lows.
Every effort OF phil sophy has failed to e1-
not a subject OF philosophy, but OF revela
nnn.
While we seek knowledge of this mystery
the divine word. We will consider no learn
ing OF men no patrjstic theology, mo rational.
ism. d philosophy and nothing bnt the sure
testimonies of revelation: To the Bible back,
to the Bible. not only all schools OF philoso-
| the Bible II you would learn the truth con-
cerning It's great Author.
Trinitarian agree that God is one spirit
and there are three persons In his one spirit
one with His spirit, but numerically three In
| relation to each other. Florida apd Italy
and Korea are three peninsulas but one
earth They are three in relation 10 each
other, but In relation to the earth they are
one. each OF them Ia one with the earth and
all OF them are one with ,e earth. And 30
the persons OF the Godhead are three in rela-
tion to each other. but one in relation to the
divine spirit.
Each ofthem is one with the divine spirit
and all OF them are one with the divine
| spirit. This is substantially the creed state
ment OF most Christians both Catholic and
except the part that each divine person per-
forms In redemption this is all that we know
! OF the trinity, the bare statement of the fact
/ that there are three divine persons In unity
persons. the representative nsture OF these
persons, the peculiar functions OF these por-
sons, the trlune baptism Of these persons and
| the individual blessings OF these persons have
church's grace.
But as the outlines Of the globes are filled
IN with oceans, and continents, and Alps.
and lakes like Lennan and valea OF Tempe, 30
the great outlines Of deity are filled 10 With
qualities and principles and characteristics
Infinite God.
In the fourth Chapter OF Johns eplstle II is
the same epiatle 1t is written: HGod 10 light
and In the twelfth chapter OF Hebrews we
read: "Our God 10 consuming fire." These
are not attr ibutes OF deity but they are quail
persons Co.,.
You can say that God is Almighty but you
can not say that be ia almightiness, you can
6a. be 16Hy % uss but yS0 SSu san
that be is Infinitely wise but you can not say
that he Is infinite wisdom. The quality ID
broader Than the attribute and IL compre-
hendB the nature OF the divine person.
| fNtf Nf nnlt In
scriptures, but after them you aeek In vain
| for another. You could find another person in
the Godhead revealed In the scriptures just as
readily az you conld find so another prime anal
qualities and the trinity OF divine persons
correspond 80 exclusively and so exactly that
the conclusion Is forced upon as that the one
belongs to the other. And this truth Is cor
roborated when We apply a particular quality
to particular person.
When we say God the Father 10 love we moi
| only see the fitness OF the quality to the per.
son, but the prophets and apostles rise up and
say God the Son Is light, and the holy Ghost
is consuming fire. Thus the deity which
has trinity OF qualieies has also trinity 81
| persons to exercise these qualities and each
person exercises his own peculiar quail
Now let us consider the nrst person of the
trinity and the quality OF love. II 10 written
that God is love, and by this We understand q
pecially, to exercise the divine love. Herein
is love, not that we loved God but that be
loved us and sent his Son To bo the propetia-
tion for our sins.
child: 1t was the Fathers love that protected
Israel and brought him out OF Egypt. Moses
told the Israelites that God did not choose
them because they were numerous people,
cause God the Father loved them. And when
Balak sent for Balssm to curse Israel the
love OF the Father defeated both the klng
and the prophet. "Nevertheless the Lord
thy God would not hearken unto Balaam,
| but the Lord thy God turned the curse into q
thee" %
The love Of the Father was with the people
In Babylon and he said: When thou passesl
through the watersI will be with thee. and
the rivers they shall not overflow thee.
| When thou walkest through the fire thou
shalt not be burned, neither shall the fame
the Holy One OF Israel thy Ssviour. gave
Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seos for
thee. have loved thee, therefore will give
men for thee and people for thy life. In al
OF his presence saved them.
| In bis love and in his pity he redeemed
them and be bare them and carried them all
| the days Of old. Thus the Father loved bis
them his loving kindness through the ages,
and even when the Son OF man came ano
manifested his love so fully he did not cal %
| TO be the tmpersonation OF divine love, but IL
his intercessor prayer be pleads with hls
father for his paternal love upon his people
II in them and thou in me that they may be
made perfect In one and that the world may
know that thou hast sent me and hast loved
them as thou hast loved me. And have de-
clared unto them thy name and will declare
It, that the love wherewith thou hast loveo
me may be In them and ! In them."
Nothing could con vince us more fully thai
God the Father Is the represen tative OF d.
vine love and the impersonation Of divine
love than the loving Christ pleading with
him for his paternal love upon bis people
God is love and God the Father is the dispen
ser Of that love.
/ / call your attentiop especially to the fac,
that the love OF the Father IL Infinite. II
far off spaces untraveled by the sun, and
there is no limit and no end TO his efforts L
save the fallen creature where salvation !,
possible. consistently with bis justice and
and bis power are all laid under requisitior
and all the sources OF deity must be exhaust
ed before any fallen creature can be lost,
Gods love must cease TO be infinite ant
God himself must cease 10 be before any sou
can be arbitrarily doomed to perdition
Here We see the importance and the indls
pens able necessity OF studying the trinity ant
, learning the nature of the divine persons
Had the writer's of much patristIo theology
known that God the Father was love and
realized that his love was infinite they
would have sought out some other way x
doom soul rather than do 1t by infinite
love.
Imagine mother standing on the bank o
Vesuvius with her infant In her arms whict
she loves more than all things on earth, sup.
pnse the infant by accident has fallen out o
3 or arms and BEEN hurt, and bruised ant
bleeding, 1t is rolling down towards the verg
. OF the crater. Will that mother let 1t rol
over the brink? Will she kick 1t into ths
/ awul fire? No, that mothers love will assert
Itself and she will rush TO the rescue and saw.
her child. And 80 the Infinite love OF Goo
will assert itself and cause Him to rush TO tht
rescue OF his endangered children with ar
| aaparnaaa and q fandaTnesg preQter thar