Do Christians Believe in Three Godsmychristianwalk.org/Three-gods-or-One.pdf · yes. They insist...

DO CHRISTIANSBELIEVE INTHREE GODS?

MMuslims, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses,and Mormons say

yes. They insist that the orthodoxChristian doctrine of the Trinity isunbiblical and is a hangover fromthe polytheism of Greek andRoman mythologies. Is this true?Or is believing in a three-in-oneGod foundational to biblicalfaith?

To help answer thesequestions, RBC senior researcheditor Herb Vander Lugt haswritten the following pages toshow what the Bible says aboutthe relationship between theFather, Son, and Holy Spirit. It isour prayer that this booklet willhelp you to see why followers ofChrist believe in a three-in-oneGod, and why this doctrine of theTrinity has such great significance.

Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: Roger Markham Smith/TSWScripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 1992,2002 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

Questions At The Door . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

How Important Is The Teaching Of Three In One? . . . . . . . . 4

What Is The RelationshipOf Father, Son,And Spirit?

The Father As God . . . . . 7

The Son As God . . . . . . . 8

The Holy Spirit As God . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Do Christians Believe In Three Gods Or One? . . . . . . . 21

Questions People Ask . . . . . . . . . . 23

What Difference Does It Make?. . . . . . . . 30

Knowing God . . . . . . . . 32

Q0107 Trinity 2col pp 10/27/04 5:39 PM

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

QUESTIONS ATTHE DOOR

IIt’s 10:15 Saturdaymorning. A slow-startingweekend yawns one

more time. Sections of thenewspaper try to makeconversation with a half-empty coffeemaker. A nearlyoverdrawn checkbook waitsto be balanced. Breakfastdishes lie in state on thekitchen table. Then thedoorbell reminds you thatyou owe the paperboy for 2 months of news.

As you open the door,two young men dressed inwhite shirts and ties greetyou with a smile. You’venever seen them before. Yet you recognize them and their briefcase. Othermembers of their faith havevisited you in the past. Youexpect that these two willask similar questions aboutyour spiritual interests. Theywill politely try to give youpamphlets linking our social

problems to a nationalspiritual crisis. They arelooking for people who arewilling to study the Biblewith them.

You don’t invite them in,but you find it hard to turnthem away. You sense theyhave earned a few minutesof your time simply by theirwillingness to stand at yourdoor. You wonder if you’d be willing to do as much for your own faith. Wouldyou knock on the door ofstrangers to talk to themabout the future, about God, and about their soul?

These members of a faith different from yours are doing that. Theseserious-minded visitors have a message of warningabout average, normal, run-of-the-mill church people.They say they can show youfrom your own Bible thatmuch of what church peoplebelieve is actually contraryto the Bible. Christians, theysay, have believed a lie.

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Take, for instance, thechurch’s doctrine of theTrinity, they say. Christiansworship a Father, Son, andHoly Spirit. Yet Moses, the great lawgiver revered by Jews, Christians, andMuslims alike, declared thatthere is only one God whenhe wrote, “Hear, O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lordis one! You shall love theLord your God with all yourheart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”(Dt. 6:4-5).

How, your visitors gently prod, can Christiansbe faithful to Moses and tothe foundations of the OldTestament while worshipingthree distinct Persons ofFather, Son, and Holy Spirit?Is it possible, they ask you,that you have bought into a doctrine that violates themost basic teaching of theBible? Is it possible that youhave unknowingly accepteda teaching that puts you atrisk with God?

The visitors at your door are not alone in theiranti-Trinity conviction. Theyjoin with Jews, Muslims, and several other Bible-quoting voices who insistthat anyone believing in the Trinity has violated the sacred Hebrew Shemarecited twice daily by devoutJews: “Hear, O Israel: TheLord our God, the Lord isone!”

Anti-Trinity groups insistthat when we speak aboutGod as existing in threePersons, we are in realityestablishing three Gods.They rightly declare that theword trinity never appears in the sacred Scriptures. But then they go on to saythat this idea of three-in-onewas transplanted intoChristianity from Greek and Roman paganism.

Is it possible that they areright? Is there evidence thatthis teaching had its origin inpaganism? Is the doctrine ofa three-in-one God biblical?

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HOW IMPORTANTIS THE TEACHINGOF THREE INONE?

OOpponents of theteaching of theTrinity make very

serious claims. They insistthat anyone who believes ina three-in-one God violatesthe first commandment ofMoses in which the Lordstates, “I am the Lord yourGod, who brought you outof the land of Egypt, out ofthe house of bondage. Youshall have no other godsbefore Me” (Ex. 20:2-3).

Yet, for many centurieschurch theologians havealso made serious claims in support of the Trinity.This doctrine, according to church fathers, is not amatter of pagan philosophy.It is not polytheistic. It is nota matter of semantics. Thatthe one true and Most HighGod exists in three distinctPersons is, according to

church theologians, abiblical teaching of thegreatest importance.

Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox branches ofthe church all agree that the New Testament teachingof a three-in-one God is adoctrine firmly grounded inScripture not in philosophy.Together they agree that theTrinity shows us the extent towhich God’s own existence isrooted in the joys of eternalrelationship. The three-in-oneness of God shows us the eternal reality of His love and the enormous price that God paid in givingHis Son as a sacrifice for oursin. The three-in-oneness of God shows that our ownrelationships are important toa God in whom relationshipand love are foundational toHis existence. A three-in-oneGod gives us the example ofone who exists not merely asone, but in the inexpressiblejoy and creativity of aperfectly shared relationship.

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Unlike the many warringgods of pagan religion, andunlike our own history ofbroken relationships, thisGod is always one in mindand heart and action.

All major branches ofChristendom also agree that a three-in-one God isconsistent with the trail ofOld Testament evidence forthe same doctrine. The OldTestament gives strongimplications that thoughGod is one, He is not asolitary Being. OldTestament writers often use language that makes us think of a plurality withinthis unity.

For example, the wordtranslated “God” some 2,570times in the Old Testament isElohim—a plural term. In all except five instances, itclearly refers to the one Godwho is Creator, Sustainer,and Master of everything.

God sometimes used a plural pronoun whenspeaking of Himself. For

example, He said, “Let Usmake man in Our image,according to Our likeness”(Gen. 1:26). Later, afterAdam and Eve had eatenfrom the forbidden tree, God said, “Behold, the manhas become like one of Us,to know good and evil”(Gen. 3:22).

When Moses declaredthat God is one (Dt. 6:4), he used the same word hehad employed to describethe “one flesh” relationshipof a man and his wife (Gen.2:24). The word one inDeuteronomy 6:4 definitelyallows for the idea of aplurality of Persons withinthe unity of the Godhead.

Both Testaments,therefore, give us reason to believe that one can bemore than one. That this isbeyond our ability to fullyunderstand is not reason to reject it, but to try tounderstand as muchas we can of what God has revealed.

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WHAT IS THERELATIONSHIPOF FATHER, SON,AND SPIRIT?

SSome Christians haveattempted to explainthe three-in-oneness

of God by suggesting thatGod has three different waysof revealing Himself to us.Sometimes He portraysHimself as Father,sometimes as Son, andsometimes as Holy Spirit.

The explanation of oneGod in three different rolesmight carry more weight if itwere not for the evidence forplurality within oneness thatwe have already considered.Since the Old Testamentdoes reveal a God who says, “Let Us create man in Our image,” it’s mucheasier for us to understandthe sense of relationship,submission, love, andloyalty that the Scripturesdescribe as existing betweenthe Father, Son, and Spirit.

The New Testament does not reveal these threePersons to us separately, butin a profound sense of unity.It represents all three in arelationship of oneness andlove for one another and for us as well.

The New Testamentrelationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spiritdisproves the conclusion thatthe Father alone should bethought of as the only Trueand Most High God. While it is understandable thatsome would try to protect the oneness of God by seeingthe Son and Spirit as lesserbeings or forces, such aconclusion is not valid.

The Old Testament makesit clear that the one true Godof the Bible is a jealous God.He is a God who, accordingto Isaiah, will not give Hisglory to another (Is. 48:9-12).

The God of the NewTestament, however, links His own name in thethreefold designation as

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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.Just as important, the NewTestament shows us that theFather makes our relationshipto Him dependent on ourrelationship to the Son, and our relationship to the Son dependent on ourrelationship to the Spirit. This God certainly shares Hisglory among three Persons,who in turn offer Their love toall who will accept the love ofthe Father, Son, and Spirit.

To see how the glory of a jealous God is shared inthis oneness of Persons, let’s take a brief look at eachPerson of this one Godheadas described by the Bible.

THE FATHER AS GODAmong those who recognizethe authority of the Bible,few if any doubt the fulldeity of the Father. In manydifferent ways, the Father isrevealed as the personal Godof creation. The Scripturesreveal God as the Father of

the nation of Israel (Dt. 32:6;Isa. 1:2; Hos. 11:1; Mal.2:10). Jesus called God HisFather (Jn. 5:17-18) andtaught us to pray, “OurFather in heaven” (Mt. 6:9).He told us that we are tocome to the Father in Hisname (Jn. 16:23). Hedeclared that both He andHis Father would soon sendHis disciples a divine Helper(Jn. 15:26).

It is clear from theseverses that the Father isGod. God is Father. Theapostle Paul referred to Himas the “God and Father ofour Lord Jesus Christ, theFather of mercies and Godof all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3).

What is important about 7

FATHER

HOLY SPIRIT

SON



the Father’s revelation ofHimself, however, is that He made our relationship to Him dependent on ourrelationship to His only Son.

THE SON AS GODThe New Testament writersrepeatedly refer to JesusChrist as the Son of God.But what does this titlemean?

Jehovah’s Witnesses takethis expression to mean thatHe was a son of God, muchlike angels and other humanbeings. They believe thatJesus was the archangelMichael in human form.

Present-day leaders inJudaism say that Jesus was a great prophet, but nothingmore. Muslims take thesame view. Suzanne Haneef, a well-educatedcontemporary Muslim,points out that the Koranhonors Jesus by teachingthat He was born withoutthe agency of a humanfather, and that He was a

great prophet. But sheinsists that Islam’s sacredbook “states emphatically in passage after passage thatJesus is not God’s Son, . . .that such a notion has muchmore in common with pagan

mythologies in which ‘gods’ fathered semi-divinechildren by human women,than with a true religioncoming from God” (WhatEveryone Should KnowAbout Islam And Muslims,Haneef, 1979, KaziPublications, Chicago).

The New Testament,however, teaches that JesusChrist is the “only,” theunique (see p.24) Son ofGod (Jn. 1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 Jn. 4:9). The Scriptures

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FATHER

HOLY SPIRIT

SON



portray Christ as sharing theglory of a jealous God who,through Moses, insisted that no one deserved to beworshiped but God Himself.This God shares His lovewith angels and mortals. But with Christ the Son, He shares His glory.

To see the extent towhich the Son shares theglory of the Father, let’sconsider the evidence of Christ’s words, thetestimony of the apostles,the predictions of the OldTestament prophets, and thedeclarations of the churchfathers.

The Words Of Jesus.The four Gospels recordmany of the words Jesusspoke during His earthlyministry. Even if we did not believe in theinspiration of the NewTestament, we would havegood reason to accept whatthey wrote as accurate. Wehave strong evidence thatMatthew, Mark, and Luke

were written well before AD 70. And although theGospel of John was notproduced until around AD90, the evidence is strongthat it belongs to the apostleJohn, who was actually withJesus throughout His earthlyministry. The apostlesundoubtedly repeated thewords of Christ often as they began to proclaim thegospel. Jesus’ words tell usthat He definitely claimed to be God. We’ll look at onlytwo of the tremendousstatements Jesus madeabout Himself.

In John 8:58 we findChrist’s claim that He neverhad a beginning. Since onlyGod is eternal, this amountsto a declaration of deity. Toa group of hostile religiousleaders, He said, “Mostassuredly, I say to you,before Abraham was, I AM.”Notice, Jesus didn’t say,“Before Abraham was born, I was born.” He said,“Before Abraham came into

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being, I AM.” Abraham wasborn within the frameworkof time. Jesus declared that His own existencetranscends time. He hasalways existed. He had no beginning.

While this declarationthat He never had abeginning is enough toestablish Christ’s deity, some Bible students seesomething more in thisstatement. They claim that Jesus Christ declaredHimself to be the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14. While thispoint can be debated, thevery fact that Jesus Christsaid He never had a

beginning is enough toestablish the claim of deity.

The second statement ofChrist in which He callsHimself God is found inJohn 10:30. While attendingthe feast of dedication atJerusalem, He said, “I andMy Father are one.” Thereligious leaders recognizedthat He was claiming deitywhen He made thisstatement. They startedthrowing stones at Him and said they were doing so because of “blasphemy,and because You, being aMan, make Yourself God”(Jn. 10:33). They understoodour Lord’s words better thanpresent-day Jehovah’sWitnesses do. They realizedfull well that He was sayingmore than if a man said, “I and my wife are one.”This husband would meansimply that he and his wifeare one in their desires,plans, or ambitions. Jesusobviously meant more thanthat. He was saying that He

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“Most assuredly,I say to you,

before Abrahamwas, I AM.”

Jesus



and the Father are one inessence. The Jews knew that Jesus had claimed deityfor Himself.

Jesus clearly saw Himselfas the Son of God. Heviewed Himself as deity.

The Testimony Of The Apostles. Themen who wrote the NewTestament also had nodoubt about the deity ofJesus Christ. Some of themcould remember that day

when their friend Thomassaw the resurrected Christand exclaimed, “My Lordand My God!” (Jn. 20:28).This was not an expressionof surprise like, “Oh myGod!” that we so often heartoday. No Jew in the firstcentury would use God’sname that way. The apostlesrecalled full well that Jesusaccepted this designation ofdeity.

When the apostle John,who was present on thatoccasion, opened hisGospel, he did so as follows:

In the beginning was theWord, and the Word waswith God, and the Wordwas God (Jn. 1:1). He proceeded to declare

that this Word became ahuman being who reflectedthe glory of God (see v.14).The expression in verse 1,“And the Word was God,” is so clear that almost allBible students see it as adeclaration that Jesus Christis God. Jehovah’s Witnesses,

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“The Jews answered [Jesus],saying, ‘For a goodwork we do notstone You, but forblasphemy, and

because You, being a Man, make

Yourself God.’ ”John 10:33



however, do not agree. Theyargue that the last phrase inJohn 1:1 should read, “Andthe word was a god.” Theypoint out that the word Goddoes not have the definitearticle. It does not read,“And the Word was theGod.”

They are correct in thisobservation, but they arewrong when they concludethat it does not ascribe deityto Jesus Christ. Robertson,Wescott, Morris, and otherreputable scholars tell usthat John had good reasonfor omitting the article here.If he had written, “And theWord was the God,” he

would have denied thedistinction between theFather and the Son—anerror made by a man namedSabellius and rejected by thechurch fathers.

If John had meant to say that Jesus was a lesserform of deity, he would haveused the Greek word theiosinstead of theos. Morris says:

This word was available,and it is found in theNew Testament (e.g. Acts17:29; 2 Pet. 1:3).Moreover, the context

makes it clear that the Wordis God, not merely a quasi-divinity—a being somewherebetween God and createdbeings. The Word existed inthe beginning (Jn. 1:2). TheWord was involved in thecreation of everything (v.3).He possesses a life that isunique—an uncreated lifethat was His from eternityand is the source of spirituallight (v.4).

It is clear that thetranslation of John 1:1

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“In the beginningwas the Word,

and the Word waswith God, and theWord was God.”

John 1:1



is correct: “And the Wordwas God.” The very wordorder in the Greek, the useof theos instead of theios,and the context demand this rendering.

In addition to John’stestimony that Jesus Christis God, we find clearerstatements in the writings of Paul to the same effect.He declared that we asChristians are “looking forthe blessed hope andglorious appearing of ourgreat God and Savior JesusChrist” (Ti. 2:13). Notice, itis “our great God and Savior

Jesus Christ” not “our greatGod and the Savior JesusChrist.” Since Paul put noarticle before the wordSavior, it is clear that he saw Jesus Christ as our great God.

The apostle Peter used a similar Greek constructionwhen he addressed hisreaders as “those who haveobtained like precious faithwith us by the righteousnessof our God and Savior JesusChrist” (2 Pet. 1:1).

In Hebrews 1:8,10, we find the writer quotingseveral Old Testamentverses that clearly refer toGod and applying them toJesus Christ.

To the Son He says: “Yourthrone, O God, is foreverand ever” [a quote fromPs. 45:6] . . . . “You, Lord,in the beginning laid thefoundation of the earth,and the heavens are thework of Your hands” [a quotation from Ps. 102:25-27].

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“Looking for theblessed hope andglorious appearing

of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Titus 2:13



The writer of this epistle,thoroughly schooled in theOld Testament Scripturesand therefore a strictmonotheist, was not one bit reluctant to declare theabsolute deity of JesusChrist. He identified JesusChrist as “God” and “Lord.”

The Predictions OfThe Old TestamentProphets. Even the OldTestament Scriptures, sodear to many Jewish people,declared the deity of thecoming Messiah with crystal clarity. One of theremarkable prophecies thatdoes so is Isaiah 9:6.

Unto us a Child is born,unto us a Son is given;and the government will

be upon His shoulder. AndHis name will be calledWonderful, Counselor,Mighty God, EverlastingFather, Prince of Peace.Two of these names

given to the coming Messiahundeniably express Hisdeity—“Mighty God” and“Everlasting Father.”Jehovah’s Witnessestranslate the first expression“a mighty god” but are notconsistent. They encounterthe same Hebrew expressionin Isaiah 10:21 where eventhey must admit that it refersto Jehovah, the God ofIsrael. The term “MightyGod” as we find it here istherefore a clear declarationof Messiah’s deity.

The name “EverlastingFather” may be translated“Father of Eternity.” But itreally doesn’t matter whichterm we choose. Either oneexpresses deity. Since onlyGod is everlasting, only Godcan be given the name“Father of Eternity.” And the

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“To the Son He says: ‘Your

throne, O God, isforever and ever.’ ”

Hebrews 1:8



prophet declared that thistitle belongs to the “Child”and “Son” who was to comeas the Messiah.

The Declarations OfThe Church Fathers.The early church fathersstruggled to come up with a satisfying answer to thequestion, “Who is the Son?” They knew that the

Scriptures ascribed deity toHim. They also saw in theScriptures evidence that Hewas truly human. But theydidn’t know exactly how thehuman and divine blendedin His one Person. Some putso much emphasis on Hisdeity that they tended todeny His true humanity.Others erred in the otherdirection.

Finally a man namedArius came up with ateaching that actuallydenied Christ’s deity. Hesaid that before Jesus cameinto our world through thevirgin Mary, He pre-existedas the first and highest of all created beings. Thisdenial of our Lord’s deity,though promoted by someprominent leaders at thetime, simply could not standin the face of serious biblicalstudy. Little by little, carefulscholars who worked withthe biblical data concludedthat Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully God.

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“Unto us a Child isborn, unto us a Son

is given; and thegovernment will beupon His shoulder.

And His name will be calledWonderful,

Counselor, MightyGod, EverlastingFather, Prince

of Peace.”Isaiah 9:6



Moreover, they said thatthese two natures—thehuman and the divine—were united in His onePerson. The AthanasianCreed put it this way:

We worship one God in Trinity, . . . neitherconfusing the persons,nor dividing thesubstance. . . . So theFather is God, the Son is God, and the HolySpirit is God. And yetthey are not three gods,but one God.The result is that with

few exceptions, Christiansdown through the ages haveaffirmed the deity of JesusChrist as expressed in theAthanasian Creed. All thegreat divisions of thechurch—Roman Catholic,Orthodox, Protestant,Baptist, and Pentecostal—agree on this point. The vastmajority of those who claimallegiance to Jesus Christhave held Him to be bothGod and man in one Person.

The fact that Jesus wasfully human is clearlyrevealed in the Bible. Hewas born a baby, grew andlearned like other boys (Lk.2:40,52), was a carpenter’sson in Nazareth (Mk. 6:3),

became tired like the rest ofus (Jn. 4:6), even admittedthere were some things Hedidn’t know (Mt. 24:36), and on the night before His

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“We worship oneGod in Trinity, . . .

neither confusing thepersons, nor dividingthe substance. . . . Sothe Father is God,

the Son is God, andthe Holy Spirit isGod.And yet they

are not three gods,but one God.

The Athanasian Creed



crucifixion dreaded theordeal before Him (Mt.26:36-46). Yet, the Bible also teaches that Jesus isfully God.

The church fatherscouldn’t explain how Jesus could live as a genuine human being whileremaining God (and neithercan we). However, we are all grateful for the light theapostle Paul shed on thisproblem in the well-knownpassage about Jesusemptying Himself of Hiseternal glory:

Your attitude should bethe same as that of ChristJesus: who, being in verynature God, did notconsider equality withGod something to begrasped, but madeHimself nothing, takingthe very nature of aservant, being made inhuman likeness. Andbeing found in appearanceas a man, He humbledHimself and became

obedient to death—even death on a cross!Therefore God exaltedHim to the highest placeand gave Him the namethat is above every name,that at the name of Jesusevery knee should bow, inheaven and on earth andunder the earth, and everytongue confess that JesusChrist is Lord, to the glory of God the Father(Phil. 2:5-11 NIV).Looking back to Jesus

Christ in His glorious statebefore He became a humanbeing, the apostle said,“Being in very nature God”(v.6). He used the Greekword morphe, translated“very nature,” to make itclear that the outward gloryHe had in heaven reflectedHis essential being. In “verynature” He is God.

The apostle went on to say that Jesus “did notconsider equality with Godsomething to be grasped”(v.6). He let go of the glory

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He possessed as God so thatHe might become a memberof the human family and beour Savior.

The phrase “madeHimself nothing” in theGreek literally reads“emptied Himself.” Of whatdid He empty Himself whenHe became a member of thehuman family? Not of Hisdeity! He remained God.What He did was emptyHimself of the glory Hepossessed and place Himselfin a dependent relationshipwith the Father and theHoly Spirit. Therefore,though He remained God,He became truly human.

Jesus had to be amember of our race to beour proper substitute on thecross. This accounts for thefact that He depended onthe Holy Spirit in the samemanner He expects Hisfollowers to do. He was“filled with the Holy Spirit”when He went into thewilderness to be tempted

by Satan (Lk. 4:1). He castout demons “by the Spirit ofGod” (Mt. 12:28). AlthoughJesus remained God, Hevoluntarily lived with thelimitations of our humanity.

We may not understandfully the relationship of ourLord’s human and divinenatures while He lived herein the state of humiliation.However, the Scripturesmake it very clear thatthough He was God, it wasin His elemental manhoodthat He faced trial, trouble,and pain—even the cross.

This is the Son withwhom the Father shared His glory. This is the Son so closely identified withGod that the Father makes our relationship to Him dependent on ourrelationship to His Son.

Our relationship with the three-in-one God,however, does not end there. As the Father madeour relationship with Him dependent on our

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relationship with the Son, so the Son has made ourrelationship with Himdependent on ourrelationship with the Spirit.As the Father shares Hisglory with the Son, the Sonshares His glory with theHoly Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT ASGODSome who claim to be Bible students do notbelieve that the Holy Spiritis God. A writer forJehovah’s Witnesses, forexample, said, “The HolySpirit is a controlled forcethat Jehovah God uses toaccomplish a variety ofpurposes. To a certain extent it can be likened toelectricity, a force that canbe adapted to perform agreat variety of operations”(Should You Believe In TheTrinity? p.20). They believethat the Holy Spiritfunctions much like theForce that New Agers

portray as pervading theuniverse. They flatly rejectthe idea that the Holy Spiritis a divine Person.

In so doing, however,they contradict Jesus Christ.He clearly perceived of the

Holy Spirit as a Person.Speaking to the apostles on the evening before Hiscrucifixion, Jesus said:

I will pray the Father, andHe will give you anotherHelper, that He may abidewith you forever—theSpirit of truth, whom theworld cannot receive,because it neither seesHim nor knows Him; butyou know Him, for Hedwells with you and willbe in you (Jn. 14:16-17).

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FATHER

HOLY SPIRIT

SON



The Holy Spirit is“another Helper.” Theimplication is clear:Although Jesus would beleaving them, He wouldsend them the Holy Spirit to guide them and empowerthem. This is clearly thefunction of a personal being.

Other Bible passages alsomake it clear that the HolySpirit is a Person. Paulspoke of the “love of theSpirit” (Rom. 15:30). He also told us not to “grievethe Holy Spirit of God”(Eph. 4:30). Only a personal being can love and be grieved.

In addition, the HolySpirit leads and guides(Rom. 8:14), teaches (Jn.14:26), and calls andcommissions (Acts 20:28).

Moreover, this Person isnamed with the Father andthe Son in passages likeMatthew 28:19. The apostlePeter expressly declared theHoly Spirit’s deity when heconfronted a sinning

husband and wife. He asked them why they hadconspired together to “lie tothe Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3).Then he told them that in sodoing, they had “not lied tomen but to God” (v.4).

Who is the Holy Spirit?According to the Scriptures,the Holy Spirit is a Personwho rightly shares with theFather and the Son the titleand the glory of the MostHigh God.

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“Go therefore andmake disciples

of all the nations,baptizing them in

the name of the Father and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit.”Matthew 28:19



DO CHRISTIANSBELIEVE INTHREE GODS OR ONE?

TThe Bible definitelyteaches that the Fatheris God, that the Son is

God, and that the HolySpirit is God. It also showsthat each has a distinctpersonality. That adds up to three Gods, right? Yes, if we are working withmathematics or thinking ofthree separate people. Butwe are dealing with a Godwho is revealed in the Bibleas one God, who has existedeternally as three distinct(not separate) Persons.

God is one Being, not three. It follows that the Father, Son, and HolySpirit are not three separatePersons. We can distinguishbetween them, but wecannot separate them.

As distinct Persons, eachfunctions in His own unique

manner. The Father is theOriginator, the Son is theAgent, and the Holy Spirit is the Administrator orApplicator. Each lives withthe other two in an I-Yourelationship. Each Person is self-conscious and self-directing. Yet one Personnever acts independently ofthe others or in oppositionto them. The mind, will, andemotions of each Person isin perfect unity with themind, will, and emotions of the other two.

All three Persons wereinvolved in the creation of all things. It was “byHim” (Jesus Christ) that God created all things (Col.1:16). The creation story inGenesis 1:2 portrays theSpirit of God as “hoveringover the face of the waters.”

In salvation, “God [theFather] so loved the worldthat He gave His onlybegotten Son” (Jn. 3:16).After Christ’s resurrectionand ascension to heaven,

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both He and the Father sentthe Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:16;16:7).

The distinction betweenthe three Persons in theGodhead was clearly inevidence at the time of ourLord’s baptism. In Matthew3:16-17 we see the Soncoming up out of the water,the Holy Spirit descendingin the form of a dove, andwe hear the Father in anaudible voice declaring,“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus affirmed the Trinitywhen He commanded Hisdisciples to baptize “in thename of the Father and ofthe Son and of the HolySpirit” (Mt. 28:19).

One God in threePersons! He is the GodChristians worship andserve. In this God we have a heavenly Father who lovesus with parental love and atgreat cost sent His one andonly Son to die on the crossfor our salvation. In this

God we have Jesus Christ, a brother who became oneof us to take the punishmentwe deserved, whounderstands our pain, and who isn’t ashamed tocall us His brothers andsisters even though wecontinue to be weak andimperfect. In this God wehave the Person of the HolySpirit as our Helper—adivine Comforter who livesin us to strengthen us andgive us victory over sin.

This triune God hears us when we pray. He understands us and feelswith us when we suffer. Hewill be with us at the time of death to see us safelyhome. How important and how comforting it is to believe in the triune God of the Bible!

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QUESTIONSPEOPLE ASK

What about thecharge made byMuslims and Jehovah’sWitnesses that thedoctrine of the Trinitycame from paganism?

This charge is withoutfoundation. The pagansworshiped many gods.Sometimes these gods werearranged in groups of three,but they were alwaysseparate beings. They neverworshiped one God whoexisted in three persons.

Anti-trinitarians often citethe Hindu triad Brahma,Vishnu, and Shiva as atrinity. But these three godsare by no means a unity.They quarrel and fight andindulge in wicked passions.

Sometimes people try to see a similarity betweenthe Lord Jesus and LordKrishna, the Hindu god who is portrayed as theincarnation of Vishnu.

But Krishna is not ahistorical person. Moreover, the myths portray him as a god with both good and badcharacteristics. He had hislovers and was not alwayshonest.

Since all threePersons in the Trinityare equally God, isn’t itwrong to refer tothem as the first,second, and thirdPersons?

No, these terms do notindicate rank. They refer to the function of eachPerson—the Father asOriginator, the Son as Agent,and the Holy Spirit asApplicator. Salvation, forexample, originates in theFather’s love, is provided in the coming of Jesus, andis made real in our livesthrough the Spirit. In thissense we can speak of thefirst, second, and thirdPersons of the Trinity.

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The Bible speaks of Jesus as the “onlybegotten” and“firstborn.” Doesn’tthis indicate that Hehad a beginning?

The Greek wordmonogenes is used to refer to Jesus Christ five times in the New Testament (Jn.1:14,18; 3:16,18; 1 Jn. 4:9).The King James Versiontranslates it as “onlybegotten.” In the past,Christian scholars, believingas they did in the deity ofJesus Christ, referred to Himas having been “eternallybegotten.” Today, however,new light on the Greek word has led scholars to seemonogenes as the compoundof the words only and kindor class. Jesus Christ is “theunique Son,” “the only oneof His class.” Every other“son” of God (angelic andhuman) is a created being.Jesus always existed.

The term firstborn is used two ways in the New

Testament. In Colossians1:18 and Revelation 1:5, itrefers to Jesus as the first torise from death in a glorifiedresurrected body. In Romans 8:29, Colossians1:15, and Hebrews 1:6, it refers to Jesus Christ asthe God-man who has theplace of preeminence over all creation, just as thefirstborn in a Jewish familyhad over his siblings. Thesereferences in no way denyChrist’s deity.

If Jesus is God,how could He die?Who held the worldtogether while Godwas dead?

Jehovah’s Witnessesseem to think they havedropped a bombshell onChristians with thesequestions. What they don’trealize is that in the Bible,death for humans is notcessation of existence. It isthe separation of the soul-spirit from the body.

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When Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30)and said, “Father, into Yourhands I commit My spirit”(Lk. 23:46), He didn’t passout of existence. His soul-spirit went to Paradisewhere He was soon joinedby the thief who hadrepented. On the third day, His soul-spirit wasunited with His glorifiedresurrection body.

If Jesus is God,why did He say,“MyFather is greater thanI”? (Jn. 14:28).

In His humanity, havingvoluntarily laid aside Hisglory as God, He had madeHimself temporarily “lowerthan the angels” (Heb. 2:9).In this state of humiliation,He could speak of theFather being greater thanHe. He would not have saidthis before the incarnation,nor would He say this todayin His state of exaltation.

Why did Jesusseemingly deny thatHe claimed deity forHimself by pointingout that the OldTestament prophetsapplied the term“gods” to humanjudges?

The incident to whichthis question refers is foundin John 10:31-39. The Jewishleaders were about to stoneHim for saying, “I and MyFather are one” (v.30). Atthis moment, He called totheir attention the fact thatPsalm 82:6 says of humanjudges, “You are gods.” But Jesus was not puttingHimself on the same level as these mere humans. Heset Himself apart from themby affirming that He hadbeen uniquely sent fromheaven. However, He didn’tproceed to explain clearlyHis absolute deity becausethese people were not readyfor this truth.

Therefore, just as Jesus 25



had used parables to revealtruth to those who wereready for it, and to conceal it from those who were notready (Mt. 13:10-17), Henow spoke in terms thatwould both reveal andconceal. The prejudicedpeople did not understand.As a result, it was possiblefor Peter a few months laterto address people who hadagreed to Christ’s crucifixionand say, “Yet now, brethren,I know that you did it inignorance, as did also yourrulers” (Acts 3:17). In short,Jesus did not deny His deity.He simply referred to it insuch a way that He didn’tanger those not ready toreceive it.

If Jesus is God, whydoes 1 Corinthians15:24-28 tell us that at the end of time,He will deliver thekingdom to God theFather and becomesubject to Him?

In this passage, Paul told us that the time iscoming when Jesus will have completed His work as Messiah and Mediator.While here on earth, Hefulfilled the law for us, paidthe price for our sin, andbroke the power of death.Today He is the head of the church. Sometime in the future, He will call thechurch to heaven at therapture (1 Th. 4:13-18).Then He will return to earthto rule as depicted in manyOld Testament passages(Isa. 2:1-4; 11:1-9; Jer. 23:5-6). After His reign of 1,000years, He will crush onefinal rebellion (Rev. 20:7-10), purge our present earth-system with fire, and bringout of it the new heavensand new earth (2 Pet. 3:10;Rev. 21–22).

Paul declared that at this time, Jesus Christ as the God-man Mediator willleave His place in the centerof the stage, subject Himself

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to God the Father, andresume His original placewithin the Trinity as beforeHis incarnation. The onlydifference will be that Heshall, throughout all eternity,retain His glorifiedhumanity.

If Jesus is God,why did He say He was going to return to His God?

Jehovah’s Witnessesoften ask this question. Theverse to which they refer isJohn 20:17, which says, “Iam ascending to My Fatherand your Father, and to My God and your God.” They say that Jesus placedHimself in the samerelationship to God as Mary Magdalene, the personto whom He was speaking.But if that is what Jesusmeant to do, why didn’t Hejust say, “I am ascending toour Father and our God”?

Jesus made thisstatement to make sure

Mary Magdalene wouldrecognize that Hisrelationship to God was different from herrelationship to God. Jesus is God’s Son by nature.Mary Magdalene was God’schild by adoption. Jesuscould speak of God as His God through an eternal relationship. MaryMagdalene could think ofGod as her God by virtue of the grace He revealed inChrist.

The words of Jesusrecorded in John 20:17,therefore, depict the fact that Jesus’ relationship toGod the Father is unique.

Is it all right toaddress our prayers to Jesus or the HolySpirit?

We know that it is rightand proper to pray to Godthe Father. Jesus told us tosay, “Our Father in heaven”(Mt. 6:9). We also know thatwe are to come to the Father

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in the name of Jesus,expecting Jesus to respond(Jn. 14:14). Stephen, at the moment of his death,addressed the Lord Jesus(Acts 7:59-60). We have no Bible passage that eitherdirects us to pray to theHoly Spirit or gives us the example of doing so.However, we know that Heis involved when we pray.Paul told us that the Spirit“helps in our weakness” and“makes intercession” whenwe do not know what topray for (Rom. 8:26).

It follows that weprobably should normallyaddress the Father when we pray. We should come to Him in the name of Jesus.We should rely on the HolySpirit to lead us in ourpraying. We should alsodepend on the Spirit tointercede for us when wedon’t know what to say. We probably need not beunduly concerned aboutwhich Person we address.

All three hear us when wepray. All are involved in theanswers. Besides, no envy orjealousy exists within theTrinity.

Can we use anyillustrations to explainthe doctrine of theTrinity?

Probably not. I’ve seenpeople hold up an egg andsay, “The yolk, the white,and the shell make up theegg. This is three in one.”But the yolk is fat, the whiteis albumen, and the shell iscalcium—no real unitythere. Some have said thatwater can exist as ice, liquid,and steam. But in any form,it is just water—not three inone. A minister thought hehad a remarkable illustrationwhen he said, “I am a fatherto my family, a pastor to mychurch, and a citizen in mycommunity—three in one.”But he was actuallyrepeating the heresy thatFather, Son, and Holy Spirit

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are three characteristics ormodes or relations of theGodhead—three ways Godworks.

The closest analogiesprobably can be found inthese clusters of three: (1) in the universe—space,time, and matter; (2) in matter—energy,motion, and phenomena; (3) in time—past, present,and future.

But these analogies addlittle light to the subject ofthe Trinity. At best they mayonly reflect the three-in-oneness of the Creator.

We must learn to livewith a God we cannot fully

comprehend. As C. S. Lewishas written:

If Christianity wassomething we weremaking up, of course, we could make it easier.But it isn’t. We can’tcompete, in simplicity,with people who areinventing religions. How could we? We’redealing with fact! Ofcourse, anyone can besimple if he has no facts to bother about(Beyond Personality: TheChristian Idea Of God,London: Geoffrey Bles,1944, p.19).

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We must learn to live with a God

we cannot fullycomprehend.



WHATDIFFERENCEDOES IT MAKE?

WWhy put so muchemphasis on the

doctrine of theTrinity? What if a personhas faith in a personal God,views Jesus as the highest of all created beings,believes He died for sinnersand arose from the grave,and is trusting in Christ for salvation? Isn’t that faithadequate for salvation? Yes it is, but that person willbelieve in the Trinity when itis presented to him. It is oneof the most basic and mostlife-related teachings of theBible.

To underscore itsimportance, we will see how it impacts the mostwell-known verse in theBible:

For God so loved theworld that He gave Hisonly begotten Son, thatwhoever believes in Him

should not perish buthave everlasting life (Jn. 3:16).If you don’t believe in

the Trinity, you would haveto say that this verse teachesthat God sent the firstcreated being to die that wemight be saved. But why issending one created being(even the first one) to saveother created beings such a big deal? What makes thata supreme demonstration ofGod’s love? It’s nothing morethan God sending one of Hiscreatures to save others.

But if you do believe inthe Trinity, you accept thisverse as a declaration of abreathtaking truth. It tells us that God loves us somuch that He, in the Person of Jesus Christ, came to share our pain and provide salvation atgreat cost. The apostle Pauldeclared that “God was inChrist reconciling the worldto Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19).This statement makes

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Calvary the suprememanifestation of God’sholiness and love.

We often speak of whatJesus suffered on the cross.But what of the Father?What of the Holy Spirit?If a mother and father sufferas they watch their childendure pain, why not theFather and the Holy Spirit?The relationship of thePersons within the Godheadis closer than that of familymembers.

We have a triune Godwho has shared, and stillshares, the pain of Hiscreatures. He who chose tocreate and give His moralcreatures freedom to sin,and thus bring pain anddeath into His world, alsochose to share our sufferingand sorrow.

We serve a God who inChrist suffered for us, a Godwho in Christ conquereddeath for us, a God who inChrist understands our pain,a God who because of what

He did in Christ willsomeday bring all of Hischildren into a world where there will be no more suffering, death, or tears.

The Allah of the Muslimfaith isn’t this kind of God.The Jehovah portrayed byJehovah’s Witnesses isn’tthis kind of God. Only thetriune God of the Bible canbe this kind of God.

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He who chose to create and give

His moral creaturesfreedom to sin,

and thus bring painand death into His world, alsochose to share our suffering and sorrow.



KNOWING GOD

AAprofessor whorealized that becausehe had clashed

with certain leaders hewould never receiveacademic advancement said to J. I. Packer, “Itdoesn’t matter, for I’veknown God and theyhaven’t.” To Muslims andmany others this soundsblasphemous. They think of God as so great and sodifferent from us that all wecan expect to do is knowHis will and surrender toHim the best we can.

Yes, God is so differentfrom us and so awesomelygreat that we cannotcomprehend Him fully. He is incomprehensible. But He is knowable!

Why? Because He hasreached down to us. Hemade Himself known topeople during past ages bysupernatural appearancesand audible speech. Then

about 2,000 years ago, He made Himself known in the Person of Jesus Christ.Hebrews 1:2 tells us that “in these last days He hasspoken to us by His Son”(NIV).

You can know God by looking to Jesus andbelieving on Him. Read the portrait of Him in theGospels. Pay attention toHis words. Set yourself toobey Him. Jesus promised,

“If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether Myteaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own”(Jn. 7:17 NIV).When you see that He

is indeed “the way, the truth,and the life” (Jn. 14:6) andreceive Him as your Savior,you will become God’s child(Jn. 1:12). Before long, youtoo will be able to say, “Ihave come to know God.”

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