The One God
The one true God has revealed Himself as combining the principles of relationship and unity—that is: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 5:37). Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. Deuteronomy 6:4
Isaiah 43:10-11
Matthew 28:19
2 Corinthians 13:14
John 5:37
The terms "Trinity" and "Persons" referring to the Godhead, although not found in Scripture, are in complete harmony with it. Divine unity is a composite unity. For example, water is one, but is known in three forms: liquid, solid, and vapor. The sun is one, but has three main kinds of rays: light, heat, and energy. A clover leaf is one, but has three parts. The air we breathe is a combination of three main gases: oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide (or argon). Man is also threefold: spirit, soul, and body. The body is composed of three elements: flesh, bone, and blood. Blood is composed of three substances: plasma (liquid), movable cells (corpuscles), and platelets (clotting agents).
We see that everything in Creation bears the unmistakable mark of the Triune God. It is not that there are three gods, as there are not three suns, but the Three cooperate in one mind and one purpose, so that in the best sense of the word they are "One." The Father creates, the Son redeems, the Holy Spirit sanctifies; yet in every operation all Three are present.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is the preferred text of Unitarians (Jesus Only), but when it says that "God is one," it is precisely because in saying "God" (Elohim) a plurality is already expressed, and the text seeks to clarify that although the Godhead is a plurality, it is nevertheless One in nature, power, and purpose. It is as in Genesis 11:6, where God referring to the people says: "Behold, the people is one." The people consisted of thousands of persons, yet they were one in purpose. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Deuteronomy 6:4
Genesis 11:6
The word "Elohim," which in Hebrew is a plural word, appears more than 2,700 times in the Old Testament. On many other occasions plural pronouns and verbs are used, such as: "Let Us," "Our" (Genesis 1:26). "Us" (Isaiah 6:8; Hosea 12:4). "We will come," "We will do" (John 17:11, 22-23). And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Genesis 1:26
Isaiah 6:8
Hosea 12:4
John 17:11, 22-23
At the baptism of Jesus, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were manifested simultaneously (Matthew 3:13-17). Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:13-17
Questions
1. How has God revealed Himself?
2. Name some illustrations from Creation that clarify the doctrine of the Trinity.
3. In which passage of the New Testament are the Three Divine Persons manifested simultaneously?