The Fingerprints of God
A Geometric Analogy of the Trinity by Dr. D. James Kennedy

The following are excerpts from a dissertation that Dr. Kennedy gave on the radio broadcast of Coral Ridge Ministries, Truths that Transform.

An audio tape of the broadcast can be provided by Coral Ridge Ministries. Ask for the tape entitled, "The Fingerprints of God."

 

" Let's consider for a moment what the Trinity is not... The Bible doesn't teach that the Father is a third of God, and the Son is a third of God and the Holy Spirit is a third of God. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. So that just won't work. Then there are those that teach, "Well you see the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and there are three separate Gods! There must be because obviously one plus one plus one doesn't equal one, it equals three (1 + 1+ 1 = 3), obviously!"

Yet the Bible very very clearly teaches that there is but One God. As the Jews were so fond of saying, "Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is ONE!" It is worth noting that, one times one times one equals one (1 x 1 x 1 = 1), not three!....

 

...Dr. Nathan Wood, formerly the President of Gordon College, wrote a marvelous book which I-- I'm afraid is out of print, titled the Secret of the Universe. And it's a wonderful book that describes his researches into the revelation of the nature of God as it's found in the Universe. And, I'd like to share some of those things with you because I think they are absolutely fascinating and I believe that you will find them to be so.

 

He points out that anyone who manufactures anything will no doubt leave his fingerprints on the article which he has made. And I suppose that this beautiful pulpit in which I am standing right now, contains on it somewhere the fingerprints of that man or men that made it. And if we were to carefully dust it for fingerprints, we could perhaps find who they were. And he says that therefore, the Universe also contains upon itself the impress or fingerprints of it's maker. As the scripture says that, "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork." And so impressed upon this Universe are the fingerprints of the Triune God.

Now I'm not looking for some metaphor; some simile; some analogy, unless we use analogy in the geometrical sense of the word, where you have a perfect likeness with all of the angles and lines identical. It is the mathematical precise sense that I want to see if we can find the fingerprints of God. Because after all, fingerprints must match exactly... they must not simply be similar one to the other.

 

With that in mind, let us note our surroundings. Not some little isolated instance or example here or there, but the entirety of the Universe in which we live. And we might note that I just said that it is a Universe and that I think is a singular place to begin. It is not a "multi-verse" but a Universe--ONE!!!

 

Universe comes from the Latin words, Uni and verteri-- To turn into one! That all things with their manifold differences turn and form one single Universe. And we will find, if we examine this Universe, that it consists as any scientist will tell you, of space, time and matter. Those three, no more. Furthermore, it is not possible in this Universe which we know, to have any two of those without the other. This Universe always exists of space, time, and matter. This Universe cannot exist as we know it in any other way, but with all three of them. Take away any one of them and you have no Universe.

 

Now if that isn't striking enough, lets turn our microscope up a little higher, and look at each one of those in it's turn and we'll discover that each one of those elements of this triniverse, is itself triune!

 

For example, take the first one, SPACE! Space is made up of longitude, latitude and altitude. Length, breadth and height. These three, no more. Furthermore, it is not possible in the physical Universe to have anything that doesn't contain all three. Everything that we know of in the physical Universe, always under all circumstances contains length, breadth and height. And if you take away any one of those, it ceases to exist. You cannot have one without having all.

Lets move on from space to time. Time, as every schoolboy knows, is composed of the past, the present and the future. These three, no more. And in this world as we know it, you cannot have time, without having all three. Furthermore, from some perspective, all time is at one point all future. In the beginning, when God started time, all time was future. And at the end of time, when God reaches out and lays His hand upon the turning wheel of time and stops it as the angels swore that time shall be no more-- in that hour at that moment all time will be past. And yet, from our existential experience we see that all time is present. And the fact of the matter is, we can existentially know time in no other way, but the present... and this is a remarkable thing.

Now, Dr. Wood writes a paragraph which I think is so incredible that I'm going to ask you to listen to it carefully. Turn up your volume, sharpen your focus, put up your antenna and try to get this. I'm going to read the same paragraph twice-- exactly twice, with four changes. But listen to it the first time…(By the way, where does time come from? Some people think it comes out of the past, because we come out of the past. But that's not true, time comes out of the future, and we meet it head on. Today, yesterday was tomorrow! And a week ago it was next week. And some time ago it was next year, but now its today. So time comes out of the future, meets us in the present that recedes into the past. Everybody should know that I trust.)

Listen carefully:

 

  • "The Future is the source! The Future is unseen, unknown, except as it continually embodies itself and makes itself visible in the Present. The Present is what we see and hear and know. It is ceaselessly embodying the Future, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. It is perpetually revealing the Future, hitherto invisible. The Future is logically first! But NOT chronologically first. For the Present exists as long as time exists, and was in the absolute beginning of time.

    The Present has existed as long as time has existed. Time acts through and in the Present! It makes itself visible only in the Present. The Future acts and reveals itself through the Present. It is through the Present that time , that is that, the Future enters into union with human life. Time and humanity meet and unite in the Present. It is in the Present that time, that the Future becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life.

    The Past in turn, comes from the Present. We cannot say that it embodies the Present, on the contrary, time in issuing from the Present into the Past becomes invisible again. The Past does not embody the Present, rather it proceeds silently, endlessly and invisibly from it. The Present therefore, comes out from the invisible Future. The Present perpetually and ever newly embodies the Future in visible audible livable form and returns again into the invisible time in the Past. The Past acts invisibly. It continually influences us in regard to the Present. It casts light upon the Present. That is its great function. It helps us to live in the Present which we know, and with reference to the Future which we expect to see!"

    •

    Now all of us would say, of course, that is exactly the way time operates! And now, Dr Wood repeats that same paragraph and changes four words. In place of Time, is God. In place of the Future, the Father; in place of the Present, the Son; in the place of the Past, the Holy Spirit. Now listen again:

  • "The Father is the source! The Father is unseen, except as He continually embodies Himself and makes Himself visible in the Son. The Son is what we see and hear and know. He is ceaselessly embodying the Father, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. He is perpetually revealing the Father, hitherto invisible. The Father is logically first! And yet, NOT chronologically first. For the Son exists as long as God exists, and was in the absolute beginning of God.

    The Son has existed as long as God has existed. God acts through and in the Son! He makes Himself visible only in the Son. The Father acts and reveals Himself through the Son. It is through the Son that God , that the Father enters into union with human life. God and humanity meet and unite in the Son. It is in the Son that God, that the Father becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life.

    The Spirit in turn, comes from the Son. We cannot say that He embodies the Son, on the contrary, God in issuing from the Son into the Spirit becomes invisible again. The Spirit does not embody the Son, rather He proceeds silently, endlessly and invisibly from the Son. The Son therefore, comes out from the invisible Father. The Son perpetually and ever newly embodies the Father in visible, audible, livable form and returns into the invisible God in the Spirit. The Spirit acts invisibly. He continually influences us with regard to the Son. He casts light upon the Son. That is His great function. He helps us to live in the Son which we know, and with reference to the Father which we expect to see!"

    • Now my friends... that is not a simile or metaphor. That is an exact geometric analogy. And furthermore, it is the divine Hand of the Triune Jehovah: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

    Do you know Him? Do you love Him? One of the most incredible things is that this doctrine of the Trinity emerged out of Israel, perhaps the most fiercely monotheistic people that ever lived upon this earth! Who everyday repeated their shamah...

    The Lord our God is ONE. And yet out of that, arose the teaching of the Trinity. How did that come to be? My friends, it happened not theoretically, not abstractly, but it happened experientially, because they met Jesus Christ. And they discovered after asking their questions, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the waves obey his voice?" And over and over again, ever they ask, "What manner of a man is this?" and finally they discovered that this was indeed the incarnate God dwelling in their midst. And they came to know Jesus, and when they came to know Him, they came to know God as He really was, the tri-une Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They came to know Jesus who told them that his Father had sent him. They came to know Jesus who told them that he was going to heaven and would send to them the Holy Spirit. And if you would know God my friends, you must know him experientially, you must know Him by meeting Jesus.