The Trinity: One God - Three Persons
- James Ward
- Oct 12, 2017
- 37 min read
Updated: Jul 9, 2023
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
The word "God" in Genesis 1:1 is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim. The word Elohim is a plural word. Elohim is translated as "gods" in the Old Testament, for any other "gods", in any context where it is not referring to the one God of the Bible. Every place in the Hebrew scripture where the word elohim is used, it's plural.
"You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3)
You shall have no other elohim before me.
In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
The very first time the Bible mentions God, it uses a plural word. The one God of the Bible is referred to plurally. But the Bible is absolutely clear, there is only one God.
"There is no god besides Me..." (Deuteronomy 32:39)
"To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him." (Deuteronomy 4:35)
"For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God." (Psalm 86:10)
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." (Isaiah 45:5)
"Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, And there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,“ And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:10-13)
There is only one God, Elohim, and He is the Lord.
"O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth..." (Psalm 8:1)
God is often called "Lord" as a title. This word "lord" means "someone with power and authority; a master or ruler". There is a difference between the words lord, Lord, and LORD. A lord with a lowercase l is a human being who has charge over something. For example, Abraham is called lord (Genesis 18:12, 1 Peter 3:6).
The Lord, with a capital L is a title used of God. It indicates God's complete ownership of absolutely all things. The Hebrew word for Lord is Adonai.
Then there's LORD, in all capital letters. LORD is the translation of the Hebrew word YHWH, Yahweh, the sacred name of God. It's an ancient tradition to not use the name YHWH because it is so holy, so translators disguise it as LORD. Whenever you read the word LORD in all capital letters in your Bible, you should know that the actual word being translated is YHWH, the sacred name of God. In Exodus when Moses asked for God's name, God identified something about Himself. He's the God who IS. He actually exists, as opposed to any other gods who do not actually exist. He says of Himself "I AM". YHWHmeans "I AM".
"Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations." (Exodus 3:13-15)
God established His state of Being with Moses, and revealed His eternal name as YHWH. His name is forever YHWH, "I AM". The word YHWH has truly astonishing depth, and is worthy of many volumes of books about just those four letters, but for our purposes, just know that YHWH is the Old Testament sacred name of God, and it means "I AM WHO I AM", or "I AM", and that English Bibles translate YHWH as "LORD" because of the extreme reverence owed to His holy name.
Elohim is God, and that word is plural.
Adonai is Lord, and is God's main title.
YHWH is the sacred name of God, and it means "I AM".
Those are the 3 Hebrew words I'll be referring to from now on.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deuteronomy 6:4)
"YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is one"
The same Elohim from Genesis 1:1 is called YHWH in Deuteronomy 6:4.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is a declaration of the oneness of YHWH.
"O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth..." (Psalm 8:1)
"O YHWH, our Adonai"
YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is our Adonai.
The Bible is very clear that there is only one God and all three of those Hebrew words are used to describe the same one God. (Deuteronomy 4:35, Deuteronomy 32:39, Psalm 83:18, Psalm 86:10, 2 Samuel 7:22, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 45:18, 1 Corinthians 8:6, James 2:19)
So now that the Hebrew lesson is out of the way, and those distinctions have been made, and I've laid a foundation of clear monotheism (the belief in only one God), I can delve a little deeper. But understand that monotheism, the belief in only one God, is the foundation on which Christian theology is built. God is one, and there is only one God. I will refer back to this foundation later as a reminder. There is only one God, YHWH, and He is the Lord.
God's Complexity
Let's go back to the beginning again.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
The word for "God", Elohim, is a plural word.
"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26)
God is speaking plurally about Himself. God is talking to God about God. "Let Us".
"And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of Us'" (Genesis 3:22)
"Come, let Us go down and confuse their language" (Genesis 11:7)
God is talking to God about God. "Let Us"
So we have our foundation of monotheism, but now add the fact that from the very start of the Bible, God's personhood is referred to both in the plural and in the singular, and God speaks both in plural and in singular about Himself, and even to Himself; "I", "He", "Us", "Our". God is complex in Personhood.
God is the Creator of everything, so He is uniquely different and separate from everything that we know. Since God is infinite and all-present, and exists outside of creation, God's Being cannot be contained to only one physical place, or else He wouldn't be all-present. But God can penetrate His creation and localize Himself physically, and interact with His creation. We have several examples in the Bible.
"The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night..." (Exodus 13:21)
"The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” (Exodus 3:2-4)
"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent." (Deuteronomy 31:14)
God can appear physically in any form He chooses. We even have passages in the Old Testament where God comes to earth as a Person. Notice that there is a difference between the words "Being" and "Person". God can remain all-present in His Being which is outside of creation, but can also physically localize Himself within His creation, even as a Person, without losing His all-presentness. God appears as a Person several times in the Old Testament.
God walked and talked in Eden, as a Person (Genesis 3:8)
Abraham walked and talked with God (Genesis 12:7-9, Genesis 18)
Jacob physically wrestled with the Lord (Genesis 32)
Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne, wearing His holy robe (Isaiah 6)
Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 other men saw God (Exodus 24)
God walked past Moses, used His hand to block Moses' view, and showed Moses His back, because according to God, no one is allowed to see His face and live.
"Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11)
"You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" (Exodus 33:20)
That is often presented by unbelievers as a contradiction. How can we reconcile the fact that God says no one is allowed to see His face, yet it says Moses spoke with God face to face? And what about the other people I listed, Adam, Abraham, Jacob, surely they saw the Lord's face. They walked and talked with the Lord. There is no indication from the text that the Lord hid His face from those men.
Sometimes in the Bible God interacts with Himself as two distinct Persons. At Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord is on earth as a Person, traveling with a couple of angels. Then the Lord on earth rains down fire from the Lord in heaven.
"Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven". (Genesis 19:24)
God can be on earth and in heaven at the same time, without contradiction. God loses nothing by localizing Himself physically. The Old Testament clearly shows that God comes to earth as a Person and interacts with His creation. We can allow for God's complex personhood and still keep our foundation of monotheism intact. The idea of God on earth interacting with God in heaven does not mean there are two gods. There is only one God Being. But remember there is a difference between Being and Person.
So although God occasionally came to earth in Person in the Old Testament, He normally used human agents like prophets and priests, through whom He would communicate and work. The first priest to appear in the Old Testament is an enigmatic figure named Melchizedek (Genesis 14). He was a priest before Judaism had even been established. This was long before Moses and Aaron, before Exodus. Melchizedek appears in Genesis without any explanation or background.
"And Melchizedek king of Salem [Peace] brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said,
'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.'
He gave him a tenth of all."
(Genesis 14:17-20)
In Hebrew custom, the greater person always blesses the lesser person. The lesser person does not have the authority to bless the greater person.
"But without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater". (Hebrews 7:7)
Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who was the greatest man on earth at the time. He blessed Abraham, so Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. And Abraham did a very submissive thing by giving Melchizedek a tenth of his spoils. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek. This little piece of Genesis 14 is all we have about Melchizedek until Psalm 110.
"The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
(Psalm 110:4)
That's all the Old Testament says about Melchizedek.
In the Beginning was Jesus
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:1-5)
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him." (John 1:10)
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
"He" and "Him" are describing the Word. The Word is a Person. In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. All things came into being through Jesus. If it exists, it's because Jesus created it. The Word entered into His own creation.
"John [the Baptist] testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." (John 1:15-18)
John the Baptist was born before Jesus, but John says that Jesus existed before him.
"He has explained Him". The Son has explained the Father. One Person has explained another Person.
"The only Begotten God" is a Person who has explained "Him", who is another Person, the Father. The Son "explains" the Father. He reveals the Father. Because the Son has been revealed, the Father has been revealed by Him. We only know about the Father because the Son came and told us about the Father.
"He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Colossians 1:15-20)
"All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." (John 1:3)
Jesus is the Creator.
In the beginning Jesus created the heavens and the earth.
John and Paul are definitely describing Jesus as God in the above verses.
Paul called Him "our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus". (Titus 2:13)
Peter called Him "our God and Savior, Jesus Christ". (2 Peter 1:1)
Thomas called Jesus his Lord and his God. (John 20:28)
"Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.'" (John 20:28-29)
Jesus forgave sins in Matthew 9, which is something only God can do. He attached His authority to perform miracles to His authority to forgive sin. He was demonstrating His Lordship and His Godhood. (John 20:28)
"And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home." (Matthew 9:2-7)
In Revelation 5, we see Jesus being worshiped in heaven. He receives worship from all of creation, just as the Father is worshiped, because the Son is God and the Father is God. Every created being is worshiping God, the Father and the Son.
"Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'
And every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, 'To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.'" (Revelation 5:11-13)
Greek
A few centuries before Christ was born, the Greek language had become the common language of the civilized world. The Roman Empire controlled the known world, including Israel. During that time, the ancient Hebrew scripture that we call the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek, so that Jews all over the known world could have the scripture in a language they could understand. The New Testament was also written in Greek because it was the common language of the world at that time.
The Greek word for God is Theos.
The Greek word for Lord is Kurios.
Elohim is Theos,"God".
Adonai is Kurios, "Lord".
When Thomas said to Jesus "My Lord and my God", in Greek he was saying, "My Kurios and my Theos". If he had been speaking Hebrew, he would have said to Jesus "My Adonai and my Elohim." When Thomas called Jesus his Lord and his God, he was acknowledging that Jesus is YHWH. He was worshipping Jesus as God. A Jewish man knows what he is saying when he uses those words. Thomas worshipped Jesus.
In the Old Testament, God says of Himself "To Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance." (Isaiah 45:23)
Then in the New Testament Paul says this about Jesus:
"At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)
Isaiah and Paul are describing the same God, receiving worship in the same way. Isaiah 45:23 is Jesus speaking about Himself. Isaiah and Paul are talking about the same Person. Jesus is YHWH.
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah says He saw The Lord.
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke..." (Isaiah 6:1-4)
Then God told Isaiah to go give a message to the people. This is how the message starts:
"He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’“Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed...” (Isaiah 6:9-10)
In Hebrew, the word Adonai is used in Isaiah where it says "Lord". We already know Adonai is a title for YHWH. Every Jew reading those words would know that Isaiah got his message from YHWH. Keeping that in mind, John had this to say:
"These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.” These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." (John 12:36-43)
Sound familiar? John just applied the text of Isaiah 6 to Jesus. If you had asked Isaiah who he saw, he would say that he saw YHWH, Adonai. If you asked John who he saw, he would say Jesus, Kurios. Jesus is YHWH, the God of the Old Testament.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke also apply Isaiah 6 to Jesus, all portraying Jesus as YHWH. (Matthew 13:10-15, Mark 4:10-12, Luke 8:9-10)
Jesus distinguished between Himself and His Father, as two Persons. He talked to the Father, like one person talks to another person. And He talked about the Father, like one person talking about another person. And the Father speaks to the Son, and about the Son, like one person talking about another person.
"While He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)
"But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them..." (Luke 23:34).
"In My Father’s house are many dwelling places..." (John 14:2)
"Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father..." (Matthew 26:53)
"Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who 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?" (John 14:8-10)
"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." (Matthew 11:27)
"I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
Jesus speaks of Himself and the Father as two Persons, yet He indicates a special unity that He has with the Father.
In Christ's high priestly prayer, He says some remarkable things about Himself, and His eternal relationship with the Father. This is one of the most amazing passages in the entire Bible because it gives so much glorious information about the relationship between the Father and the Son. I decided to print all of John chapter 17 because as I tried to find a stopping point, I just couldn't find an appropriate place to cut it off. Every word deserves to be read and cherished. These are the words of YHWH on earth speaking to YHWH in heaven, the Son is praying to the Father.
John 17:
"Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said,
'Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You.
Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:1-26)
Jesus spoke very highly of Himself, in a way that no mere human being could speak, in a way that only God may speak of Himself. He made Himself equal with God. If the words of John 17 came from anyone other than God in flesh, it would be blasphemy. Jesus asked the Father to return Him to the eternal glory they've always had together. Jesus certainly considered Himself Divine. This is why the Jews would pick up stones to stone Him after He would make these amazing statements about Himself. They recognized that He was claiming to be God. The religious leaders of the time were constantly shocked at the exalted things Jesus said about Himself. He claimed things that no mere man can claim. He claimed to be eternal, and He used "I AM" of Himself, identifying Himself as YHWH. He spoke of Himself in the ever-living sense of "I AM", not "I was".
"Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, 'If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.' Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple." (John 8:53-58, Genesis 14:18)
Jesus is eternal, did major miracles, controlled nature, controlled life and death, could read minds and hearts, knew the future and the past, allowed Himself to be worshiped, let people call Him Lord and God, and spoke by His own authority, as would be inappropriate of anyone other than God. Jesus is YHWH.
In case there is any room left for doubt:
Jesus claimed to be God - John 8:24; 8:56-59, John 10:30-33 Jesus is called God - John 1:1,14, 20:28, Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8 Jesus is the image of the invisible God - Hebrews 1:3 Jesus abides forever - Hebrews 7:24 Jesus created all things - John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17 Jesus is before all things - John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:17 Jesus is eternal - John 1:1,14, 8:58, Micah 5:1-2 Jesus is honored the same as the Father - John 5:23 Jesus is prayed to - Acts 7:55-60; 1 Corinthians 1:2, Psalm 116:4, John 14:14 Jesus is worshiped - Matthew 2:2, 11, 14:33, John 9:35-38, Hebrews 1:6 Jesus is omnipresent - Matthew 18:20, 28:20 Jesus is with us always - Matthew 28:20 Jesus is the only mediator - 1 Timothy 2:5 Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant - Hebrews 7:22, 8:6
Jesus always lives to make intercession for us - Hebrews 7:25 Jesus cleanses from sin - 1 John 1:9 Jesus cleanses us from our sins by His blood - Revelation 1:5, Romans 5:9 Jesus forgives sins - Matthew 9:1-7, Luke 5:20, 7:48 Jesus saves forever - Matthew 18:11, John 10:28, Hebrews 7:25 Jesus discloses Himself to us - John 14:21 Jesus draws all men to Himself - John 12:32 Jesus gives eternal life - John 10:28; 5:40 Jesus resurrects - John 5:39, 6:40, 11:25-26 Jesus gives joy - John 15:11 Jesus gives peace - John 14:27
Jesus said, "I AM the Bread of Life" - John 6:35 Jesus said, "I AM the Door" - John 10:7 Jesus said, "I AM the Good Shepherd" - John 10:11 Jesus said, "I AM the Way the Truth and The Life" - John 14:6 Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the world" - John 8:12 Jesus said, "I AM the True Vine" - John 15:1-8 Jesus said, "I AM the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:25 Jesus said, "I AM the First and the Last" - Revelation 1:17, 2:8, 22:13
Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." - John 8:58
The Father and the Son were always in the text of the Old Testament, but the distinction hadn't been revealed yet. It had always been clear to the Jews that God is one Being, but it wasn't revealed yet that the Being of God is more than one Person. The Son hadn't been revealed yet. Now, looking back, we are able to make more sense of the Old Testament.
Melchizedek Revealed
Let's talk about Melchizedek again, the mysterious priest from Genesis who was greater than Abraham and blessed Abraham. Psalm 110 was the other place where Melchizedek was mentioned in the Old Testament. Let's take another look at it now that we understand that the Father and the Son were always in the Old Testament and even spoke to each other.
"The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
'Rule in the midst of Your enemies.' Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.
The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head."
(Psalm 110)
The Lord says to my Lord... This is the Father talking to the Son. God is talking to God about God.
The Lord speaking to the Lord says "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4)
The New Testament reveals that Melchizedek is Jesus, the eternal high priest who intercedes and mediates between God and man.
"So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest,
but He who said to Him,
'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You'.
Just as He says also in another passage,
'You are a priest forever, According to the order of Melchizedek.'"
(Hebrews 7:5-6)
"In the days of His flesh, He [Christ] offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:5-11)
"Where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek..." (Hebrews 6:20-7:78)
"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem [Isaiah 9:6], priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually." (Hebrews 7:1-10)
Melchizedek is being described as eternal, "having neither beginning of days nor end of life". The book of Hebrews is telling us plainly that Melchizedek is Jesus. (Hebrews 5:5-11, Hebrews 6:20-7:28, Hebrews 7:1-10)
Jesus being the same Person as Melchizedek makes perfect sense, because He is the eternal high Priest of God, the Mediator between man and God, the One who provides the sacrifice and the atonement. He is greater than Abraham because He is the Lord.
"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine..." (Genesis 14:18)
Does "bread and wine" remind you of anyone? (Matthew 26, John 6)
Melchizedek is the King of Peace (Salem). Isaiah called Messiah "Prince of Peace", the same Person who Isaiah described as both a child who was born, and the Son who was given.
"For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us" (Isaiah 9:6)
We already know that God can enter His creation in the form of a man. We've seen Him do that with Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and others. Now we can add Melchizedek to the list of Old Testament physical appearances of YHWH, as a Person. The knowledge that Jesus is God, helps us fill in a lot of difficult passages in the Old Testament. The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 can be understood as Jesus raining fire down from the Father out of heaven.
"Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven". (Genesis 19:24)
And what about that problem of no one being able to see God and live, yet the numerous examples of people seeing God and not dying?
"Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11)
"You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" (Exodus 33:20)
"Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father." (John 6:46)
Now we can understand that Moses talked face to face with Jesus, but wasn't allowed to see the Father's face because no one can see the Father and live. Plenty of people have seen the Son's face, but only the Son has seen the Father. It was Jesus who walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. Jacob wrestled with Jesus. Abraham walked and talked with Jesus, and gave a tenth of his spoils to Jesus, and Jesus blessed Abraham. No one else had the authority to bless Abraham but God Himself, the same God who walked and talked with Abraham.
"Before Abraham was born, I AM.” (John 8:58)
"Before Abraham was born, YHWH."
"The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." (Psalm 110:1)
YHWH says to my Adonai...
The Father says to the Son...
"Sit at my right hand..."
"Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." (Romans 8:34)
The Old Testament is about the coming Savior, but the Jews didn't know that the Savior would be YHWH in human flesh, they thought their Messiah would be a normal man. The fullness of His Person wasn't revealed until the time of His mission on earth, and afterward, particularly after the Holy Spirit came. Everything was according to prophecy. Messiah had to live and die according to scripture, and then the Spirit would come. (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Joel 2)
Messiah had to be human so that human sin could be properly dealt with. He couldn't just be YHWH in a human-looking appearance, and He couldn't just be a normal man. He had to be truly God and truly human. (Romans 5:12-19)
"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus". (1 Timothy 2:5)
"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)
People in the Bible rarely understood what God was doing, only that they were required to have faith in Him, and to do what He says to do. The Jews did not recognize Jesus when He came.
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.
“In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’
(Jeremiah 23:5-6)
We still have our foundation of monotheism, but also the knowledge of God's complex personhood, and the fact that He definitely appeared in Person in the Old Testament. No one has ever seen the Father, so every Old Testament appearance of God in Person was actually God the Son, not God the Father. The ministry of Jesus revealed a distinction between God the Father, and God the Son. So we have firm monotheism but there are definitely two distinct Divine Persons. Jesus revealed the Father to us.
A lot of people think of the Father as the God of the Old Testament, and then Jesus came along and made Himself known. But I believe we've seen here that the Son is the one who usually interacted with His creation in the Old Testament. The Son made Himself known, but the Father was hidden. The Father was not revealed until Christ's earthly ministry. The Father is so holy, we can't know Him unless we know the Son. We can only know the Father through the Son.
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6)
There were always hints about the distinctions between Divine Persons in the Old Testament, but the doctrine of the Trinity could not be understood until the full revelation of God was made in Jesus Christ. The Father and the Son were always there in scripture, but the proper distinctions had not yet been made about God's personhood.
In the Beginning was the Holy Spirit
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)
The Holy Spirit is referred to numerous times in the Old Testament, but again, there wasn't necessarily a distinction between persons, only that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of YHWH. (Genesis 1:2, Genesis 6:3, Job 33:4, 1 Samuel 10:6-10, Exodus 33:14, Isaiah 63:11-14, Isaiah 44:3, Haggai 2:5, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Joel 2:28-29)
So in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God was understood as being God, but full knowledge of the Holy Spirit as a distinct Divine Person had not yet been revealed because the Son had not yet revealed this information.
During His ministry, Jesus would often tell His disciples things that they simply did not understand. He told them He was going to die and come back, and they didn't get it. God veils His word, so that it must be revealed by Him in order for it to be understood. He reveals what He wants to reveal, to whom He wants it revealed, when He wants it to be revealed.
"Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said." (Luke 18:31-34)
As we've seen already, Jesus could hide the meaning of His words from some people, and reveal it to others. Jesus often said things to people and they didn't understand Him because He didn't want them to understand. Jesus is YHWH, so He can very easily use language however He wishes, in order to accomplish exactly what He desires.
"And the disciples came and said to Him, 'Why do You speak to them in parables?' Jesus answered them, 'To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.'" (Matthew 13:10-11)
"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:16-18)
Here we see God the Son, referring to God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. This shows three distinct Persons. One Person is discussing two others. Jesus told the disciples that He was going to ask another Person (the Father) to send a third Person (the Spirit) to help the disciples after Jesus' ascension into heaven. Notice the intimate unity Jesus has with the Holy Spirit, and the Father.
One God, three Persons.
Jesus asks the Father, and the Father sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sent to be with us, and in us, as the Helper. But notice at the end, Jesus says "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you". He talks about the Holy Spirit as a Person who will come after Jesus is gone, and then says that when the Spirit is with us, that Jesus will be with us. "I will come to you." There is unity with the Spirit, the Son, and the Father. The three Persons share the same Being called YHWH.
"Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" (Galatians 4:6)
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Son in Galatians 4:6.
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Father in Matthew 10:20.
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a Person, using words like "He", "Him", and "another". But at the same time Jesus says "I will come to you". The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, so when the Holy Spirit is in someone, Christ is in them, and so the Father is in them because Christ is in the Father.
“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you." (John 16:12-15)
"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me". (John 15:26)
"But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." (Matthew 10:19-20)
Jesus distinguishes between Himself, the Father, and the Spirit who is the Helper. Jesus speaks of the Helper as another person. He talks about sending the Holy Spirit to help His disciples after He is gone. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:18)
The Holy Spirit is definitely referred to as a Person numerous times in the Bible, and He is referred to as God. (Ephesians 4:30, Isaiah 63:10, 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, Acts 5:3)
In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes and enters the apostles. They become emboldened and empowered by Him. The New Testament recorded some of the miraculous things the apostles were able to do by the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit of God lives inside of Christians, providing us with the tools we need in order to live the Christian life.
The role of the Spirit is to testify of Christ (John 15:26), convict the world of sin (John 16:8), give gifts to God's children (1 Corinthians 12), guide His disciples into all truth (John 16:13), and reveal the meaning of scripture (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). He indwells believers and changes them, conforming them to Christ, sealing them forever as His children. (John 14:17, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 1:13, Titus 3:5, Colossians 1:27, Romans 8:15-17, Romans 8:29)
The Holy Spirit is The Spirit of Christ (Galatians 4:6)
The Holy Spirit is The Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 3:16)
The Holy Spirit is The Spirit of Truth (John 15:26)
The Holy Spirit is The Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18)
The Holy Spirit is Creator (Genesis 1:2, Job 33:4)
The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4)
The Holy Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14)
The Holy Spirit is all-present (Psalm 139:7-10)
The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed (Matt. 12:31)
The Holy Spirit has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11)
The Holy Spirit loves (Romans 15:30)
The Holy Spirit speaks (Acts 8:29; 13:2)
The Holy Spirit can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29)
The Holy Spirit can be lied to (Acts 5:3)
The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30)
The Holy Spirit appears as wind (Acts 2:1-4)
The Holy Spirit appears as fire (Acts 2:3)
The Holy Spirit appears as a dove (Matthew 3:16)
The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus (Matthew 1:20)
The Holy Spirit led Jesus (Luke 4:1)
The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus (Luke 4:14)
The Holy Spirit was upon Jesus (Luke 4:18)
The Holy Spirit resurrected Jesus (Romans 8:11)
The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus (John 15:26)
The Holy Spirit is the author of scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Timothy 3:16)
The Holy Spirit is the interpreter of scripture (1 Corinthians 2:1, Ephesians 1:17)
The Holy Spirit baptizes (John 1:23-34, 1 Corinthians 12:13-14)
The Holy Spirit calls (Acts 13:24; 20:28)
The Holy Spirit convicts (John 16:8)
The Holy Spirit guides in truth (John 16:13)
The Holy Spirit Inspires prayer (Ephesians 6:18, Jude 20)
The Holy Spirit gives access to the Father for believers (Ephesians 2:18)
The Holy Spirit gives assurance to believers (Romans 8:15-16, Galatians 4:6)
The Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers (I Corinthians 12:8-11)
The Holy Spirit gives life to believers (Titus 3:5, Romans 8:11)
The Holy Spirit helps weakness in believers (Romans 8:26)
The Holy Spirit sanctifies believers (1 Peter 1:2, Romans 15:16)
The Holy Spirit fills believers (Acts 2:4)
The Holy Spirit indwells believers (Romans 8:9-14, Galatians 4:6)
The Holy Spirit Intercedes for believers (Romans 8:26)
The Holy Spirit leads believers (Romans 8:14)
The Holy Spirit frees believers (Romans 8:2)
The Holy Spirit produces fruit in believers (Galatians 5:22-23)
The Holy Spirit seals believers (Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30)
The Holy Spirit strengthens believers (Ephesians 3:16, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:4)
The Holy Spirit teaches believers (John 14:26)
In the Beginning Was The Trinity
There is no doubt that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. YHWH is Elohim. It makes sense that the word Elohim is a plural word. It makes sense that God would be complex, because He is God. Everything about Him is complex. God is three co-equal and co-eternal Persons who have always shared the One Being called YHWH. The three are eternally joined, eternally inseparable, eternally one, eternally God. Tri+Unity=Trinity.
YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)
I AM is our plural God, I AM is one.
The doctrine of the Trinity is the unavoidable result of accepting all of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament together as one full revelation of God. Christians call the Bible God's word. We believe it's special because it was breathed out by God. So we respect the entirety of the book, and accept it all together as one unit. (2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Ephesians 1:17)
When we accept the full revelation of God from the Bible, we are faced with this mind-bending fact of God's complexity, that God is one Being who exists as three Persons. Putting the facts together logically and honestly, there is no other biblical view of God other than the Trinity.
YHWH is HOLY! HOLY! HOLY! (Revelation 4:8, Isaiah 6:3)
In the beginning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth.
"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him." (1 Corinthians 8:6)
Hear O Israel! YHWH is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. YHWH is one!
God is beyond our imaginations. But He has given us hints about Himself and about His plans. He gave us scripture. In the Bible God clearly says that He is the only true and real God. That is crystal clear. Monotheism is the foundation of Christian Theology. There is one God and only one God. Then Jesus revealed to us the inescapable fact that He is God. He also prayed to God, His Father. And God the Father spoke out of heaven to the Son and about the Son, audibly in the presence of eyewitnesses. The Father and the Son are God. Jesus also described the Holy Spirit as a third Person, who is also God. Jesus clearly spoke of Himself, His Father, and the Holy Spirit as three Persons. Therefore, God is a single complex Being who exists plurally as three Divine Persons. Three co-equal and co-eternal Persons share the one Being called YHWH, or God. Jesus is YHWH just as much as the Father is YHWH, and so the Holy Spirit is YHWH.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deuteronomy 6:4)
YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is one!
I AM is our plural God, I AM is one!
Most of the time when someone has a distorted view of the Trinity, it's because they are confusing the categories of being and person. Monotheism is to being as Trinity is to persons. God is one Being and three Persons without contradiction because those are two different categories. We do not believe God is one Person and three Persons, or one Being and three Beings. Both of those would violate the law of noncontradiction because they are illogical. The doctrine of the Trinity does not violate the laws of logic, although many unbelievers refuse to accept these distinctions and refuse to let us define our own beliefs. They prefer to misrepresent what we believe and then label it as illogical, even after being corrected.
Over the ages, false teachers have taught different views and led people astray. Christians have always recognized these false teachers as heretics who are outside of orthodoxy. This is why it's so important to maintain a scriptural view. Many false religions have a misunderstanding of the Trinity. Some do it by outright rejecting the New Testament passages that describe Jesus as God, while others will simply retranslate or reinterpret the text to make it say whatever they wish it said. A denial of Christ's Godhood is probably the most common attack against the doctrine of the Trinity.
A great number of well-meaning Christians do not understand the doctrine of the Trinity. Many of them inadvertently have a heretical view. Modalism is a common heretical belief among professing Christians. Modalists believe God is one Being and only one Person. Modalists believe that God manifests Himself in three different modes. They do not believe that YHWH is three co-eternal and co-equal Persons, but that He has always been one Being and only one Person. Some modalists believe God can change modes back and forth, and some believe He used to be the Father, then He became the Son, and now He's the Spirit. But this is clearly not the God who we describe as the Trinity. The Being of God has always existed as three Divine Persons. God does not change. Modalism has always been recognized as heresy.
"I, the Lord, do not change" (Malachi 3:6)
Another incorrect view of God is called Unitarianism. Unitarians believe there is only one God but Jesus is not Him. They believe only the Father is God and Jesus is merely a man. The best they can say of Jesus is that He is special among other men but they still believe He is not divine or eternal, not God.
"...our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13)
"...our God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1)
Jesus is YHWH
The Father is YHWH
The Holy Spirit is YHWH
There is only one God: YHWH
Christians believe if anyone is teaching a different view of God besides the Trinity, that person is outside of the Christian faith. We see them as being in serious error and needing to be corrected and even evangelized because they are not believing in the true Christ. We do not call them brothers. That's how central this doctrine is to the Christian faith. The Bible warns numerous times about false teachers infiltrating Christian churches, teaching heresy, and taking people away with them. They are called false teachers, false prophets, wolves in sheep's clothing, because they are not really Christians. (2 Peter 2:1-3, Acts 20:29-31, Jude 1:4, Matthew 24, Galatians 1)
"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many." (Matthew 24:11)
"Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 3-4)
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30)
Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (John 15:26). The Spirit will guide us to all truth (John 16:13). The word of God is truth (John 17:17). So if you have the Spirit of Christ, you will be guided to the truth, by the Spirit, through His word, to the real Christ, to the real God of the Bible. The Holy Spirit will always guide people to Christ, always to the God of the Bible, never away from Him. If a person is believing in another god or gods, they do not have the Holy Spirit, and they do not have Christ, so they do not have the Father. Therefore they are not Christians, not saved, not having eternal life, not going to heaven when they die. Believing a false gospel does not save anyone. Anyone who is in Christ has the Spirit of Christ, and He will always lead His children to the truth, to the real Christ. His children know Him and follow him.
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me." (John 15:26)
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6)
"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)
Thanks for reading. God bless.
Comments