CHRIS LEE | Contributor
Understanding what God has revealed about Himself as a being is pivotal to understanding the rest of Scripture. An understanding of God as a triune being will inform our Christology, soteriology, and much more. For this reason, the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the essentials of the Christian faith. Any belief system that denies or alters this doctrine is, by definition, something other than orthodox Christianity.
As a Seventh-day Adventist, I grew up within such a belief system. Among other errors, I was taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were kind of like a family, that although they are three separate beings, they are united in purpose in the same way that a husband and wife often have the same goals and agree on many things. In this extremely tight-knit unity, they could be said to be “one” just as a husband and wife are said to become “one flesh”.
However, if there are three beings who are god, then there are actually three gods. Christianity has long rejected any form of polytheism (many gods) including the heresy of tritheism (three gods). Christianity is fiercely monotheistic, so it is important to start this study with the most basic, foundational truth about the God we worship:
There is Only One God, There Are No Others
This first Biblical truth rules out both polytheism and tritheism. The Bible is quite clear that there is only one God (one Being). There are many texts, in both Testaments, that teach this truth, but perhaps the quintessential one is the verse that is at the center of the Jewish prayer known as “the Shema”:
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”—Deuteronomy 6:4 (NASB)
Not only is God one in his being, but there are no others.
“Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.”— Deuteronomy 4:39 (NASB)
We need to take the words of the Bible seriously. The Bible never suggests that it’s almost like there’s one God but really there are three beings that are like a close a close family. Rather, the Bible emphatically states that there is only one God and there are no others. In classic Christian formulation, we say that God is one in His being, essence, or substance. God’s essence or substance is not divisible and does not have parts. He is one single, living being.
However, if we stopped with this first truth, we would not have a full picture of God. The second important truth God has revealed is that:
The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God
The Father is God
I am not aware of any group that disputes that the Father is God ,and there are many texts that explicitly state this.
[O]ne God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.—Ephesians 4:6 (NASB)
The Son is God
There are, however, a number of belief systems that deny the that the Son is fully, eternally, the one Lord God Almighty. A number of early Adventist leaders disputed this fundamental Christian belief. This is a heresy known as Arianism. It would be beyond the scope of this brief study to present a full accounting of the many passages that teach the full divinity of the Son, so only a few will be referenced here.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.—John 1:1 (NASB)
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” 8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 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’?”—John 14:7-9 (NASB)
When speaking with those who deny the full divinity of the Son, I have also found it helpful to reference Old Testament passages that refer directly to God or that use the personal name of God (YHWW or “Yahweh”). These can then be compared to New Testament passages that attribute the exact same attributes and titles to Jesus. Look, for example, at the texts below and see how the how the name of God is used:
Who is the first and the last?
“Thus says the LORD [YHWH], the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD [YHWH] of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.’”— Isaiah 44:6 (NASB)
When I saw Him [Son of Man], I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,”— Revelation 1:17 (NASB)
“One crying in the wilderness” came to prepare a way for whom?
A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD [YHWH] in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”— Isaiah 40:3 (NASB)
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’’”— Matthew 3:3 (NASB)
Who is “Lord of Lords?”
“For the LORD [YHWH] your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.”— Deuteronomy 10:17 (NASB)
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”— Revelation 17:14 (NASB)
To whom shall every knee bow?
“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.” — Isaiah 45:22-23 (NASB)
…so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, — Philippians 2:10 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit is God
As an Adventist, I had at best a fuzzy idea of who or what the Spirit is and tended to think of Him as some sort of impersonal force emanating from God. My previous understanding was consistent with a false belief system referred to as the Pneumatomachian heresy, or Macedonianism. This heresy denies the full divinity or personality of the Holy Spirit. I now understand that the Bible presents the Holy Spirit as being both fully God and personal. In this part of the study, we will cover a small sampling of passages demonstrating that the Spirit is fully God.
The Holy Spirit is Referred to as God and Is Equal to the Lord
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” — Acts 5:3-4 (NASB)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. — 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NASB)
The following passages teach that the Holy Spirit has all the incommunicable attributes of God. These are the attributes that cannot be given to any created being but are only possessed by the one true God.
The Holy Spirit is Eternal
[H]ow much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? — Hebrews 9:14 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit is Omnipresent
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? Psalms 139:7 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit is Omniscient
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.— 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NASB)
The following Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit is involved in all the works of God.
The Holy Spirit as Involved in Creation
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. — Genesis 1:2 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit Was Involved in the Incarnation
The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” —Luke 1:35 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit Gives Life
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.—Romans 8:11 (NASB)
In Part 1 of this study, we have covered these biblical teachings:
- There is only one God, there are no others.
- The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
In Part 2 we’ll cover the personhood of the Holy Spirit. We’ll also deal with another heresy known as modalism by presenting the third biblical truth: the Father, Son, and Spirit are personally distinct.
- 3. The Trinity - August 1, 2024
- 2. The Holy Spirit Is a Person - July 25, 2024
- 1. God Is One - July 18, 2024