The following “Question“ was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and “Answered“ by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Nelly Kaye of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, from the tape, GC 1301-E, titled “Bible Questions and Answers Part 7.“  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. ©1976. All Rights Reserved.

Question

Does Isaiah 48:16 relate to the Trinity?

Answer

That is a very good question and a very excellent observation because indeed it does. Isaiah 48:16 says, “Come near unto Me, hear this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and His Spirit, hath sent Me.”

Now the first thing we want to do is find out who it is speaking. And that’s important. So to find out who is speaking we go back to verse twelve. “Hearken unto Me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am He; I am the first, I am also the last.” Who is the Alpha and Omega of Revelation? Who is it? It’s Jesus Christ. So we know who the speaker is. It is Jesus Christ. The Creator, verse thirteen. “Mine hand has also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens, when I call unto them, they stand up together.” So we know it is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking.

Now we come to verse sixteen, “Come near to Me and hear this,” says the Lord, “I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I:” And He is again speaking of His eternality, “and now,” He says, “the Lord God, and His Spirit hath sent Me.” There you have the whole Trinity. The Lord God, Yahweh , and the Holy Spirit. Yes, this verse definitely does teach the Trinity. As do many, many other verses.

And I think it’s very important for us today to be aware of the fact that we need to uphold the doctrine of the Trinity. I am amazed at how much the Unity Movement has moved into Christianity. It’s really shocking. For example, the largest Pentecostal organization in the world is called the United Pentecostal Church and they deny the Trinity. They do not believe in the Trinity. The United Pentecostal Church. We will be saying more about that in our coming series, because that is one of the theological issues that we must face in that movement. Now beloved to deny the existence of the Trinity is a very serious cardinal error in theology. You are either denying the existence of God the Father, denying the unique existence of the Son, or you are denying the unique existence of the Holy Spirit. And to deny any of those, in my mind, is the ultimate in heresy. So it’s a serious matter. You ought to be very well apprised.

Other passages you might note are Matthew three, where you have Jesus being baptized, the Spirit descending like a dove and the Father’s voice saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” All of them there, all of them present at the same time at the same scene. There are people who want to say, "Well we don’t believe in the Trinity, once He was the Father, then He became the Son and now He is the Spirit." Well, how do you explain all three of them at the baptism at the same time? In Romans 8:9 they are all there. In First Corinthians twelve they are all there. In second Corinthians thirteen they are all there. Ephesians four they are all there. So we believe in the Trinity. That’s a very important doctrine.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's “MacArthur’s Questions and Answers“ by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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