Three Gods - but One?

Application:

Three ropes explain the Trinity

Materials You Need:

Three pieces of 6mm soft and pliable cotton rope.
Cut the first piece 30cm, the second 60cm and the third 90cm long.

Effect:

Three unequal lengths of rope are shown to explain the concept of the Trinity. Each represents one of the three Persons in the Godhead, that is God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are shown to be equal in length as one Godhead, yet Each is separate and plays a special role in making Salvation possible for each child who believes.

Performing the Effect:

Grasp the three ropes in the left hand, with the shortest rope on the left and the longest rope on the right-hand side. Hold the ropes in place with your thumb.
Lift the end of the shortest rope (1) and take it over the middle rope (2). Then pass it under longest rope (3) and bring it back over this rope and place it next to its other end (1) on the left-hand side.
Take the end of the middle rope (2) and place it next to the end of the long rope (3) on the right-hand side.
Repeat with the end of the long rope (3) and place it on the right-hand side next to the end of the middle rope.
Keep all the rope-ends in order and grip them with your thumb as you place them in position.
While holding the ends of the left three ropes in your left hand, grasp the right three ends with your right hand and start to pull them outwards and downwards.
Make sure that you keep the loop that is formed hidden in the palm of the left hand. Also make sure that your palm faces the audience at all times to hide what you are doing.
Pull the ends of the ropes fully down, and they will now appear to be equal in length.
After telling the message, roll all the ropes around your left hand and then pull out each rope in turn. Show them to the audience in turn, explaining that although they were equal in length (One God), they are also separate Persons in the Godhead.

Text:

Matthew 3:13-17.

Lesson:

Our text tells about the baptism of Jesus. In verses 16 and 17 a clear picture is given of the three separate Persons of the Godhead (the Trinity):

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from Heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, with Him I am well pleased."

These verses also show that each Person in the Godhead is equal, but have their own work and functions. We will look at these in turn.

God the Father:

(Display the different lengths of rope while you talk). The long rope represents God the Father. In Genesis 1, God created the world. He also created each one of us in His own image. We would have lived forever, but for Adam's sin in the garden of Eden which cost man his life for "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We worship God the Father because He is Almighty and loves us very dearly. God is also faithful and does not want to lose any boy or girl. For this reason, He sent Jesus to become our Saviour.

Jesus the Son:

The middle rope represents Jesus. There would have been no hope for us ever to be able to go to Heaven, as "no man can see God and live". But, Jesus made it possible for our sins to be forgiven, by dying for our sins on the Cross. God raised Jesus to life again (Acts 2:32) and now Jesus is seated at the right-hand of God in Heaven. He is always asking the Father to work in our lives and to bless us.

If we believe that Jesus died for our sins and tell Him all the wrong things we have done, then we can ask God's forgiveness. Jesus will then come into our lives and save us and grant us Eternal Life (John 3:16 and Romans 10:8).

The Holy Spirit:

The short rope represents the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to send us a Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit. He shares the love of God with us and helps us to become Christians by empowering our lives (Acts 1:8). He is our Guide to Heaven (John 16:13-16) and teaches us everything about God. He causes us to bear good fruit (Galatians 5:16-25) by living lives that will please God.

The Godhead:

As we have seen, God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are all part of the Godhead. And yet, the Bible tells us that they are One God and make up the wonderful God we serve. (Perform the effect and display the three equal lengths of rope). Although the ropes were equal in length as One God, Each is separate and plays a special role in making Salvation possible for every child who believes. (Roll all the ropes around your left hand, and then pull out each rope in turn and show them to the audience).

God bless!