Understanding the Trinity



EPISODE 8 – ON THIS EPISODE WE TALK ABOUT WHAT THE TRINITY IS AND HOW TO EXPLAIN IT

Resources

50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith by Gregg Allison

The Forgotten Trinity by James White

“Our Mother Who Art in Heaven?” by Desiring God

“The Doctrine of the Trinity” by Jared Wilson

“What is the Trinity?” by RC Sproul

On ESS by Theology Gals (Esther and Hannah both reject Eternal Subordination of the Son.)

Question 10 & 11 from the Westminster Larger Catechism

Q. 10. What are the personal properties of the three persons in the Godhead?
A. It is proper to the Father to beget the Son, and to the Son to be begotten of the Father, and to the Holy Ghost to proceed from the Father and the Son from all eternity.
Q. 11. How doth it appear that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father?
A. The Scriptures manifest that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father, ascribing unto them such names, attributes, works, and worship, as are proper to God only.

1689 LBC Chapter 2 paragraph 3

In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistence’s, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him.

1 John 5:7 “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.”
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
John 14:11 “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 “ For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
John 1:14,18 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
Galatians 4:6 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Heidelberg Catechism Q. 25

Q. Since there is only one divine being, why do you speak of three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
A. Because that is how God has revealed himself in his Word; these three distinct persons are one, true, eternal God.

 

 

 


Content in all Things



EPISODE 7

An article on Contentment by our dear friend Chelsey Meissner which can be found on Whole Magazine

A wonderful Podcast by Marci Ferrell

Podcast Ep 46: Our Need for Contentment

An article by Sinclair Ferguson on Ligonier Ministries

Melissa Kruger teaching on Contentment Ligonier Ministries

Sermon by Charles Spurgeon

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs

 

 


Identity in Christ



EPISODE 6

 

Resources:

Desiring God – Jen Wilkin
Jen Wilkins- discusses setting aside finding our own self worth and looking to Christ for our identity and worth.

5 Day devo on identity by Jasmine Holmes

Rooted

Thankful Homemaker – Marci Ferrell

Marci explains how our identity is not in being a wife or mother or daughter or employee but who we are in Christ.

Books:

 

Slave by John MacArthur   

(slave is about our identity as slaves)

Identity Theft by Melissa Kruger

Online resources for further reading:

What is Sanctification by Ligonier


What is Discernment?



EPISODE 3

 

In this episode we discuss what is discernment and how we apply it to our lives.

Resources:

All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment  by Hannah Anderson

What is Discernment? by Sinclair Ferguson

Follow us on Facebook, on Instagram @thebluestockingbaptists, and email us at thebluestockingbaptists@gmail.com

Support us on Patreon

Please share this episode with your friends and family! Thank you for your support!

  • Hannah&Esther

 

 


Who can I trust?



 

Yesterday, I was reading a blog post by a girl who was talking about what it looks like to trust God. She was talking about how she doesn’t like living her life without a set plan, and it was causing her to wrestle with how she could trust God when she didn’t know what to expect.

Sounds ok so far, who doesn’t wrestle with how to trust God in the midst of trials and challenges that life presents? What was a regular question quickly turned into an unbiblical explanation for how she can trust God more fully. She gave a detailed conversation that she claims she had with God. She claims that God told her that to trust Him she must first trust herself.

I admit when I first read this I was shocked that someone would think the answer to trusting God more fully is to look inward. She continued to talk about how this personal revelation was a mind blowing epiphany. She expressed that if we can’t trust ourselves, how will we ever trust God? I exited out of the post and for the rest of the evening I continued to be so bothered by her words. I thought to myself “Trust myself? How can I possibly trust myself?” Jeremiah 17:9 teaches that MY OWN heart is deceitful and wicked. It asks the rhetorical “who can understand it?” Well, I certainly can’t understand it! Let alone trust it! The texts shows that none of us should rely on own hearts!

This unbiblical thinking is rampant in Christian circles. People are seeking to be affirmed by a quiet still small voice in their hearts that they are “worthy” “loved” and that “we can trust our own judgement.” There are catchy phrases that are used so much I don’t think many of us even notice them anymore. “Just follow your heart,” “God can’t help you unless you help yourself,” ” you need to love yourself before anyone else can love you,” and like the blog post “you need to trust yourself before you will ever trust God.” But, does the Bible actually teaches this? No, it doesn’t.

We need to spend less time learning how to “trust ourselves” and more time learning how to trust God and His word. We do this by the constant “renewal of our minds” (Romans 12:2) through the reading of scripture. We can trust God because he is sovereign and works all things together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). We can trust God because he is unchanging, faithful, and full of mercy. He is also a God who does not lie (Numbers 23:19). What is most concerning to me is that this young woman believes that the Lord whispered into her heart this unbiblical method for growing to trust in the Lord!

If the Lord does not lie, why would he contradict Himself in a personal revelation, when His word teaches that our own hearts are wicked and not to be trusted?

Scripture calls us to die to self and to live for Christ (Col 3:3,Gal 2:20). We as human beings are so self focused. We are constantly looking inward, and we are constantly looking for God to make us feel good about ourselves. Instead, we should be looking to the King of Heaven with reverence.

The Bible isn’t about us, the Bible is about Christ.

If a still small voice is telling us to put our trust in anyone or anything apart from Christ alone, it is a false message. We were given the sufficient word of God for our protection and our good. We are told that it trains us in righteousness and equips us for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17) So while I do agree with this young woman that we should ask ourselves the question “how can I learn to trust God?” I disagree with her conclusions.

The answer isn’t becoming more self focused – it is becoming more Christ centered. We can trust the Bible, and we should not give heed to personal special revelation as it is extra biblical and unnecessary in the Christian life. I trust the Lord fully because His word is reliable. If I struggle with doubt or confusion, I should go to His word. It is there that I will find the answer to this pressing question, and Lord willing he will show this young woman that learning trust God does not originate from within. Rather, that learning to trust originates from God who uses the scriptures by His Holy Spirit to teach us about who we are, sinful and weak. As well as, who God is and why he is the only one in whom we can trust.

Hannah Oliver


What is the Gospel?



EPISODE 2

Esther and I are extremely excited about this episode. We hope you check out the resources.

What is the gospel? By Ligonier

Book Recommendations:

The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges

What is the Gospel? (9marks) by Greg Gilbert

Church resources:

Church Search

Contact us:

Gmail: Thebluestockingbaptists@gmail.com

on Facebook: The Bluestocking Baptists

Support us on Patreon

 


What is our Standard?



EPISODE 1

 

On this episode we discuss scripture, and why scripture is our ultimate and final authority. We define scripture as the 66 books found in the Bible today. 39 from the Old Testament and the 27 books from the New Testament. These 66 books are called our canon. Canon is “a rule that provides direction and a standard against which to measure.” Where did we get the canon we have today? In order for a work to be classified as canonical it had to meet a certain criteria. Its content had to be truthful and not contradict previously accepted books of scripture. It needed apostolic or prophetic authorship, or written by one closely associated with an apostle or prophet. Often time’s miracles were performed by God through men to validate their message. The writing needed to have been accepted as God’s Word by the ones who originally received it. Our canon first began when God commanded Moses to write down revelation and read it to the people of Israel in Exodus chapters 24. This is the origin of Genesis to Deuteronomy (also called the Torah or Pentateuch). God had Moses preserve the revelation in the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 25. After Moses died, God inspired prophets and authors to write the Old Testament history, Hebrew poetry, major and minor prophets and wisdom literature. God’s people came to recognize that these writings were also part of the canon of scripture. 1st Century Jews believed that the Pentateuch, major and minor prophets, and writings (historic, poetic, and wisdom) were canonical. Jesus knowing this, told his disciples in Luke 24:44 that all that was written concerning him in the entire canon was to be fulfilled.

We believe the Bible to be a central component in the Christian faith, without the Bible as our standard we have no way to discern what is true and false. In this episode we go into more detail why we trust the Bible and why the Bible is the ultimate standard. We also added some resources that aided in our research, and that we found to be edifying. We really hope that you take the time to listen to the whole podcast! May the Lord bless and keep you

Hannah&Esther

 

Resources:

On how scripture is self authenticating  

Scripture Alone by James White

Standing on the Rock by James Boice Montgomery

Follow us:

On Facebook

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Podcast Episode 1: What is our standard?


Why “The Bluestocking Baptists”?



          After flirting with the idea to do a podcast together, Hannah decided to ask Facebook world for some ideas on names for a podcast hosted by two Reformed Baptists women. After a few humorous suggestions from our Presbyterian brothers and sisters, Amy Breece suggested Bluestocking Baptist.
In the 18th Century, there was a group of women, led by Elizabeth Vesey who wanted to move away from hosting gatherings where guests played card games to hosting co-ed gatherings where women with intellectual and literary interests could engage in deep conversations. Elizabeth Vesey invited Benjamin Stillingfleet, a botanist, translator and author, to one of her gatherings but he declined her invitation, confessing that he did not have the proper attire to attend a gathering with such high class guests. Elizabeth insisted that Stillingfleet come and assured him that his bluestockings would do. Bluestockings were the casual wear in that time period and were seen as informal. The nickname “Bluestocking society” stuck.
To quickly summarize, Hannah and I believe…

Scripture is our highest authority rather than tradition
One can be justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, rather than good works. (Ephesians 2:1-7 & Galatians 2:15-16)
In the priesthood of all believers (Hebrews 7:23-28)
That Baptism is for believers only (Mark 16:16, Acts 8:36-37, Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12, Acts 18:8, Matthew 3:16 & John 3:23)

For a more in-depth summary of what Hannah and I believe you can check out the beliefs outlined in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. (Click here to check it out)
We decided that since we wanted to be a simple, informal podcast for the average woman interested in learning about Christian doctrine and practice, “The Bluestocking Baptists” was a perfect name.

-Esther Faulkner