There is one God, but what about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
Q: In how many persons does this one God exist? A: In three persons.
(Matthew 3:16-17; John 5:23; 10:30; 14:9-10; 15:26; 16:13 –15; 1 John 5:20, 2 John 9; Revelation 1:4-5)
This is the post where I might lose some of you. The Trinity is not as simple as our other discussions… but hold on. This is a truth about God that he has chosen to reveal to us in his Word, so we must strive to know him as he has revealed himself. How can we say we love God, if we are not willing to strive to know him as much as we are able?
If you ask the question about how there can be three people who are God, but only one God; you are on the right track. It might be best to begin with some vocabulary today. Trinity is a word that the Bible does not use, but we have since come to use to describe what the Bible teaches. Trinity – This simple word describes the profound truth that our God is one in being and three in person. This is hard for us to understand, but it is possible. We know of beings that are not persons, like rocks and trees. They are beings, but not persons. And we know beings that are persons. We know lots of them, and you are one. Every human being that has ever been has both being and person. When we speak of the Trinity, we speak of a being unlike any other. We are talking about God after all. The God who reveals himself in Scripture is one divine being, in three divine persons.
In our first passage of the day, Matthew 3:16-17, we see all three persons of the Triune God. The Son is baptized, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven. So, we see here the “threeness” of God. Three persons in total harmony. This passage, among others, contradicts the belief that God has chosen to express himself as three different people at different times (sometimes God is the Father, sometimes he is the Son, sometimes he is the Spirit). Here at the baptism of Jesus you see all three persons simultaneously and harmoniously acting.
In John 5:23 Jesus teaches that the Father has given judgement over to the Son so that the Son may receive honor, just as the Father does. Further, he teaches that a failure to honor the Son dishonors the Father who sent him. Clearly there are two persons here. Two are to receive honor. One gives judgement over, one receives it. One sends, one is sent. This contradicts the idea that the Father and the Son are one person. This is sometimes called Patripassianism (from Latin patri– “father” and passio “suffering”). The Father and the Son can’t be the same person because the Father speaks his approval over the Son at his baptism. This false belief is rooted in a misunderstanding of our next verse.
In John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” Now, if we didn’t have all the other passages that teach about the “threeness” of God, it would be understandable if we arrived at the conclusion that Jesus and the Father were in fact one person. But we do have the rest of the Bible. Also, in context it is clear that Jesus is speaking of being united in purpose and will with the Father. There is no disharmony between them. (There is also a reason from the Greek to understand Jesus to be claiming harmony of persons and not unity of person. Feel free to email me for that discussion.) They are truly united, but not a single person.
Like our previous passage, John 14:9-10 teaches the union of the Father & Son. While they are not one person, they are in such union that Jesus can truly say, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”
The person of the Holy Spirit is on display in Jesus’ teaching in John 15:26. He is the one whom the Father and the Son send. Both the Father and the Son (two divine persons) send the Holy Spirit (the third divine person). The Holy Spirit is in union of purpose and will with the Father and the Son who send him. The Spirit is not simply a force. Forces are not sent. Forces do not teach. Forces do not make shepherds (Acts 20:28). Forces do not speak (Acts 13:2).
We see further evidence of both the person of the Spirit, and his union with the Father and the Son, in John 16:13-15. Here the Spirit comes, he guides, he speaks with the authority of the Father & Son, he declares what is to come, he glorifies the son, and he declares that which the Father and the Son have in common.
1 John 5:20 teaches again the two persons of the Father & the Son, and their union. Believers are said to be both “in him who is true” (the Father in this context), and “in his Son Jesus Christ.” John again teaches this union and distinction when he says, “Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9).
We again see a reference to all three persons of the Trinity in Revelation 1:4-5, “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come (the Father), and from the seven spirits who are before his throne (reference to the Holy Spirit that I don’t have room to explain), and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth (the Son).
All of these references to the three persons, who are all God, must be harmonized with the overarching statement of Deuteronomy 6:4 “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” One God, three Persons. I would give you an analogy, but our Triune God is totally unique. I can’t tell you, “The Trinity is like…”, because no matter what I said after that would fall woefully short. So instead, I will leave you with an illustration from Tim Challies website.
Yours in Christ,