"EVEN HIS ETERNAL POWER AND GODHEAD"

Text: Romans 1:20
Introduction:
    	A. Read Romans 1:16-22
        		1. Not a lesson on atheism or agnosticism.
			a. for them, I have just two words: "poor fool" - Psalm 14:1.
        		2. Focus on one word in this text - "Godhead."
        		3. Teaching the truth today will prevent confusion generated by sectarians
 			    on this issue.
            		a. Jehovah's Witnesses - Jesus is not God, just a prophet.
            		b. United Pentecostals - Jesus is the only God
            		c. Evolution of God proponents - OT God was Jehovah; NT He
			    became Jesus Christ; after resurrection He became the H.S.
			d. Deity/Humanity of Jesus issue among brethren; mere man vs
			    Deity only.
        		4. Interesting theories, but no scripture to back them
    	B. What saith the scriptures?  What is "Godhead?"
        		1. Godhead - "the condition or state of being God; the divine essence of
 			    being God; the divine nature."
        		2. Usage - Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:20; Col. 2:9; 2Peter 1:4
        		3. Since it is the condition of being God, let's discuss the only three beings
	 		    that are ever called God in the Bible.

I. THREE ARE CALLED GOD
    	A. God the Father - Jude 1
    	B. Jesus Christ, His Son - Heb. 1:8.
    	C. The Holy Spirit - Acts 5:3-4

II. THEY ARE ONE IN:
    	A. Agreement - John 6:38
    	B. Aim - John 17:22-23
    	C. "How can they be one?"
        		1. Matt. 19:5 - two people become one flesh.
        		2. John 17:20-21 - all believers become one.
        		3. John 10:30 - The Father and Son are one.

III. THEY ARE SEPARATE IN:
    	A. Function
        		1. The Father is the authority & architect – Eph. 3:10-11.
        		2. The Son is the servant & steward – Eph. 3:8-9.
        		3. The Spirit is the communicator & comforter - Eph. 3:2-5.
    	B. Favor 
		1. 2Cor. 13:14


IV. DISTINGUISHING BEYOND DISPUTE
    	A. John 15:26; 14:26, 16; Acts 10:38; Eph. 2:18; Matt. 3:16-17
    	B. The Father is not to be confused with the Son or the Holy Spirit.
        		1. 1John 4:14-15
    	C. The Son is not the same being as the Father or Spirit.
        		1. 2John 3
    	D. The Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son.
        		1. John 15:26

V. FROM BEGINNING TO END
    	A. Collaborated in Creation - Gen. 1:1, 26.
    	B. Adjudicate together on Judgment Day.
        		1. Rom. 2:16; Acts 17:31; John 16:7-11
    	C. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have always been and
	     will always be.
        		1. Psalm 90:2; Heb. 13:8; John 14:16

VI. COMFORT BEYOND CALCULATION:  DEITY DWELLS IN US
	A. Jesus was literally “God with us.”
		1. Matt. 1:20-23; Heb. 10:5, 2:9, 17
     		2. Deity Indwells Humankind By Means of an Agency.
    	B. God the Father dwells within us - 2Cor. 6:16.
        		1. God dwells in us through the agency of love - 1John 4:12, 16.
        		2. The indwelling of God within us through love influences us to love one
 			    another - 1John 4:7-11, 17, 19, 21.
    	C. Christ dwells within us - Eph. 3:17.
        		1. Christ dwells in us through the agency of faith - Gal. 2:20.
        		2. The indwelling of Christ within us through faith influences us to dedicate
			    ourselves to Him and to persevere in trial - Eph. 3:16-19; Col. 1:27-29.
    	D. The Holy Spirit dwells in us - 2Tim. 1:14.
        		1. Nothing in the scriptures suggests that the indwelling of the Spirit is
 			    unique from the indwelling of God and Christ.
        		2. The Holy Spirit dwells in us through the agency of the word - Eph. 5:18;
 			    Col. 3:16; Rom. 8:4-9, 12-17.

	E. The Word is the agency through which the Spirit influences us.
		* What can the Spirit do within us that cannot be accomplished by the word?
			* Perhaps the Spirit might give us faith -- the word does that, Rom. 10:17.
		* He might give us a new birth -- word does that, 1 Pet. 1:23.
		* He might give us light -- word does that, Psa. 119: 130.
		* He might give us wisdom -- word does that, 2 Tim. 2:14-15; Psa. 19:7.
		* He might convert us -- word does that, Psa. 19:7; Rom. 10:17.
		* He might open our eyes -- word does that, Psa. 19:8.
		* He might quicken us -- word does that, Psa. 119:50.
		* He might give us understanding -- word does that, Psa. 119:104.
		* He might sanctify us -- word does that, John 17:17.
		* He might save us -- word does that, James 1 :21.
		* He might purify us -- word does that, 1 Peter 1:22.
		* He might cleanse us -- word does that, John 15:3.
		* He might make us free from sin -- word does that, Rom. 6:17-18.
		* He might build us up -- word does that, Acts 20:32.

	F. The Holy Spirit dwells in us through the agency of the word.
        		1. For example, one may say he chopped down a tree. Do you understand
	 		    that he did it with bare hands or by means of an ax?
        		2. A man flew to Paris. Do you understand he flew by flapping his arms or
 			    that he went by "means" of an airplane?
        		3. Does the Holy Spirit as a person immediately and without means enter
 			    into and inhabit the body of a Christian separate and apart from the
 			    influence of His revealed word? 
				a. If so, how does this differ from demon possession?
        		4. If so, what does He do for the Christian as a result of this bodily in
 			    dwelling that is not said to be accomplished through the medium of His
 			    teaching in the revealed word? 
			a. How does this affect or alter Bible truth regarding the action of
			    human free will in obedience?
		5. If the literal, bodily indwelling of the Holy Spirit does nothing more for
		    the believer than does the word, what is the purpose of the indwelling?
			a. Is God redundant?

Conclusion:  
	A. God the Father dwells in us through Love.
		1. God the Son dwells in us through Faith.
		2. God the Holy Spirit dwells in us through the Word.
		3. 2Cor. 13:14