The Doctrine of the Trinity
From the very beginning of the Christian Church there have always been people both within and without the professing Christian Church who have denied the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity. Even in the ranks of the professing Christian Church today there are those who are in reality denying the Trinity by their acceptance and association with those of other faiths. Back in the 1980’s there was a well-documented event held at Assisi in Italy where the late Pope and many leaders of other religions and beliefs met to discuss religious unity. There is actual video footage of this global religious event. Probably a better way of describing the Trinity would be “The Triunity of God.” However, I will use the word Trinity for the sake of the study as this word in itself defines the Godhead.
Every false religion and cult denies the Trinity
Every religion apart from Biblical Christianity denies the great Biblical truth of the Trinity. To deny the Trinity is to deny what God Himself has said in His Word the Bible about the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing needs to be said that many who are genuinely saved out of false cults can have trouble accepting the concept of the Trinity at first because of their indoctrination by false teaching and because of their exposure to spiritual deception perpetrated on them by the cult in which they were involved before they were saved. However, if they are genuinely born again by the Holy Spirit and seek His guidance in this matter when studying God’s Word they will come to see this wonderful truth in the Bible. Only the Holy Spirit Himself can reveal this truth to us. The apostle John tells us this; “As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him” (1 John 2:27).
The spirit of antichrist
When we examine what the Bible says concerning the Trinity it is clear that in dealing with the Trinity we are dealing with the three persons of the Godhead namely God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They are three separate and distinct persons who are all equally God. The Bible is remarkably clear and definite on this subject. To deny the doctrine of the Trinity is to manifest the spirit of antichrist. We can understand this in other religions but when professing Christians deny this great Biblical truth then we have the manifestation of the spirit of the antichrist in the Church. The spirit of antichrist always begins in association with the Church.
As the apostle john tells us; “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. ”(1 John 2:19-23)
Recognizing the spirit of antichrist
There were those who had professed to be believers who ended up denying the very foundational truths that the apostles had been teaching. These people thought their revelations were superior to the apostles and that they could no longer agree with what the apostles taught. So they went off and formed their own religion. In the context of the first letter of John they denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ consequently they were denying the doctrine of the Trinity. This is the spirit of antichrist. You see Satan must first turn the Church against the true Christ so that he can replace Him with the false Christ. “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (1John 4:2-3).
The Apostasy
Some years ago there was a picture of the late Pope kissing the Koran that explicitly says, “God has no Son.” When we see Ecumenism and interfaith ravaging the Church it is clear that we are seeing a manifestation of the spirit of antichrist. While there have always been those around who deny the Trinity in the last days it will become a global phenomena in the professing Christian Church as it progressively moves, and has already moved, towards interfaith and ecumenical associations that will ultimately end with the worship of the Antichrist. Paul speaks of this in his second letter to the believers in Thessalonica. “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion (apostasy-falling away) occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-6).
What are they falling away from?
Paul tells us that the great apostasy of the professing Christian Church will open the way for the Antichrist to be worshipped in the Church itself. “The apostasy” mentioned in second Thessalonians is not only speaking of Christians personally falling away from their faith but also referring to teaching others to fall away by teaching them false doctrines. If the possibility of a believer falling away was not the plain meaning of the text then we ask the question “what are they falling away from then?” Not only this, but according to the scriptures, the man of lawlessness will also be worshipped on the temple mount in Jerusalem. When the apostle Paul said this he was warning us to watch out for the man of sin. This in itself brings up the question that if the Church was to be taken out of the world before the manifestation of the Antichrist then who was Paul talking too at Thessalonica? Obviously he expected that faithful believers would see and recognize the Antichrist before they were gathered up to meet the Lord in the clouds at His Second Coming. This is the plain meaning of the text in its context.
Spiritual deception
Only those who are walking close to the Lord Jesus and walking in the light of His word will be able to recognize the Antichrist when he appears. He will be a master of deception. This is why the Lord Jesus Himself warns the faithful Church about spiritual deception in the last days at least four times in His discourse on the last days in Matthew chapter twenty-four. So then let’s see what the Bible actually teaches about the Trinity.
What then does the Bible Teach us about the Triune nature of God?
The Definition of the Trinity
The Trinity can be defined in this way. “God is the One True God who is One in every way, One in Nature, Will and Being and One in Three Distinct Persons-The Father- The Son and the Holy Spirit. All of them are equal in Divinity and in perfect harmony with everything they think and say and do. They never act independently from each other in any way. They have always existed from all eternity and will always exist. The Trinity existed at the creation and were involved with the creation and through them they created the whole universe itself. ” Even though the word “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible does not mean that the doctrine is not there. It most certainly is?
The Hebrew word for “God.”
The word used for God in the Bible is plural in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. It is not “many gods” but Three Persons in a Supreme God. In Genesis 1:26 we read the phrase, “Let us” and it is clear from the Hebrew text itself that God is not talking to Himself but to the other members of the Trinity. Adam and Eve were made in God’s image and likeness and man himself is a Tri-partite being reflecting the triune nature of God in whose image he was created. (Genesis 1:26-27) Then God (Elohim) said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them.”
Man has a tri-partite nature like God
Adam and Eve were created with a body, a soul and a spirit. Paul the apostle mentions the tri-partite nature of man when he refers to the sanctification of the body, the soul and the spirit of a believer. “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ “(1 Thessalonians 5:23).
‘Elohim’ is always plural
In the Bible the noun used for God’s name is “Elohim” is plural but it is always used with a singular verb when it speaks of the true God. This indicates a unity and diversity within the nature of God. This unity and diversity is revealed in Scripture as the doctrine of the Trinity. In the Old Testament when God is called, “Elohim.” It also refers to His absolute Power and Pre-eminence over all things. In the New Testament we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ has the same Pre-eminence as His Father does.
As the apostle paul writes; “He (the Lord Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:15-19).
His eternal nature
Another name for God in the Old Testament is, “Jehovah.” This description of Him reveals His unoriginated Immutable nature, in other words He was never created but has always existed from all eternity and cannot change. In the Old Testament the prophet Micah spoke about the eternal nature of the Lord Jesus when he prophesied centuries before Jesus was actually born. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” The old version of the text says, “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). This is a clear Old Testament prediction about the Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that He, like His Father, has always existed from all eternity.
God Himself cannot change.
He is always the same is perfectly consistent in His nature and His actions. God never has “mood swings” and He certainly never says one thing and does another. He always keeps His Word. “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed” (Malachi 3:6). “The Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever” (Psalm 146:6) The New Testament confirms this fact. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). “If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
The Lord Jesus Christ never changes.
The Old Testament clearly predicts that Jesus was eternal and not created. “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). The New Testament confirms this fact. “For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:17).
He remains a priest forever
Melchizedek we are told in the Bible had no beginning or end but was an eternal high priest of Salem (Ancient Jerusalem) who met Abraham. Melchizedek was in fact a manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-existent form. “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever” (Hebrews 7:1-3). The New Testament also confirms the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, like His Father, does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Melchizedek was a Christophony, i.e., an Old Testament manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-existent form before He took upon Himself a permanent flesh and blood body at His Incarnation.
The Holy Spirit never changes.
He will never say or do anything contrary to God’s word; neither will He act independently from God the Father and God the Son. He is the Spirit of truth and not error. In fact He possesses all of God’s attributes. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—“(Isaiah 11:2). The Holy Spirit Himself proceeds from the Father so He acts and speaks according to God’s perfect will. “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me” (John 15:26). If God never changes and the Lord Jesus never changes then the Holy Spirit Himself never changes because He is God the Spirit.
Some General Scriptures
Before we compare specific references to the nature and character of the Trinity we need to see some general texts that clearly teach us about the Trinity. The First of these is found in the book of Isaiah the prophet. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Here is a clear reference to the Lord Jesus Christ possessing the attributes of God Himself. When He is called “Wonderful Counselor” He is credited with the same nature and character that the Holy Spirit Himself possesses. In John’s gospel the Holy Spirit Himself is called “The Counselor” Then the Lord Jesus is called “Mighty God” clearly distinguishing Him as God. Another title that belongs to God alone is “Everlasting Father” and here in this prophecy Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, clearly applies it to the Lord Jesus Himself. Finally Jesus is called “the Prince of Peace” denoting that the peace He gives is not the kind of peace the world gives but that supernatural peace or “Shalom” which cannot be generated by human effort or design. It is that kind of peace which can be present in the life of a believer even when they are facing the greatest trial of their life. This is “the peace (Shalom) of God and from God that surpasses all human understanding.”
The Prince of Peace
This world also will never know real and lasting peace until the Prince of Peace returns at His Second Coming to reign and to rule from Jerusalem during the Millennium. There can be no lasting peace in the Middle East until Jesus comes again. On that day Jew and Arab and people of every nation and culture will live in peace and harmony. As the prophet Isaiah says, “They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9) What a wonderful day that will be!
In the New Testament we can see the Trinity clearly revealed.
“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 4:23).
When Jesus spoke these words He was clearly saying that the Trinity would indwell everyone who really loves Him. They would in fact possess the very divine nature of the Father. Of course the way that the nature of God the Father and God the Son indwell the born again believer is through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself possesses all the divine nature of the other two members of the Godhead as we will see further along in this study.
Eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ
Now look again at John’s gospel. “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26). In this verse we are told very clearly that the Lord Jesus Christ has the same eternal life in Him that dwells in the Father and that like His Father He is the true source of all spiritual and physical life. Of course much more could be said about the Life giving power of the Trinity.
Eternal Life in the Holy Spirit
In the book of Romans we are told that the Holy Spirit Himself has the same power to raise the dead as God and the Lord Jesus Have themselves. “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.” In this verse we are clearly told that the Holy Spirit has the same power that God has to raise the dead” (Romans 8:11). In the book of Hebrews the Holy Spirit Himself is called, “The Eternal Spirit” clearly identifying Him as God the Spirit.” “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14). Notice also in the text that the God, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are all mentioned individually. Also God’s Word tells us that the Lord Jesus also has this power and that during His earthly life He had the ability to lay His own life down and to take it up again clearly showing that He is God. “The reason my Father loves Me is that I lay down My life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:17-18).
The Use of the term “Alpha and Omega.”
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
In this verse we are told that God Himself is the beginning and end of all things and that He is the one to come i.e., He Himself will come again in Jesus at His second coming. In fact it is a clear reference to His eternal nature. In the first chapter of Revelation the Lord Jesus refers to Himself as being the beginning and the end or the Alpha and the Omega making Himself God. John records what Jesus said to him, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (1:17-18). It is a wonderful thing to know that what God starts He finishes as the scripture says, “He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” and again the scripture says that He is, “the author and finisher of our faith!”
The Divine Titles given to the Trinity.
“My Lord and my God!”
God’s Word also tells us that divine titles are given to the three members of the Trinity. In the book of Exodus God Himself is called, “Lord and God.” “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). Then in John’s gospel the Lord Jesus is given the same title. When Thomas saw Jesus alive again he called Him “Lord and God.” “Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). In this declaration Thomas was actually worshipping the Lord Jesus and Jesus did not stop him. The Lord Jesus always knew that He was God and that He alone had the right and privilege to be worshipped as God.
The Lord Jesus received worship
Also there are other places in the New Testament where Jesus received worship as God from men and He did not stop them. In the gospels there are 12 specific references recorded where Jesus received worship and in every case He did not stop those people from doing this. Also in the book of Revelation we see that the Lord Jesus is continually worshipped in heaven. (Revelation 5:6-14) When Paul writes to Timothy He clearly says that God Himself is, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). In the book of Revelation the Lord Jesus Himself is referred to as, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16) clearly identifying Him as God.
The Holy Spirit Himself is called God
“Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:3-4). When Peter spoke these words he clearly says that when Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit they had in fact lied to God.
All of God’s nature and character is fully revealed in the Trinity.
The Trinity is Eternal
When the Bible itself speaks of God as being eternal it means that He has always existed, exists now, and will always exist forever. There was never a time when God did not exist and there never will be a time when He ceases to exist. He is unchanging and can never die. So when we speak of the Trinity as being eternal we are saying they have always existed and will always exist.
God Himself is Eternal.
He has no beginning or end but has always existed from all eternity. As Paul tells us in Romans; “Now to Him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him— to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen” (Romans 16:25-27).
The Lord Jesus Christ is Eternal.
He has no beginning or end but also has existed from all eternity. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (from everlasting)” (Micah 5:2)… “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”(Hebrews 13:8)…“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13) If the Lord Jesus is not eternal but was created in the womb as a perfect and sinless human being as the Oneness Pentecostals teach then He cannot be truly God. We know differently in that according to the scriptures God took upon Himself a flesh and blood body and that this person was the Lord Jesus Christ. But to imply that the Lord Jesus had no pre-existence with the Father would in fact deny His deity. The Lord Jesus Christ must have an eternal nature otherwise He could not be God, for God is eternal in nature. To have an eternal nature means that that nature has no beginning and no end.
The Lord Jesus Christ has always existed
The scriptures clearly teach that the Lord Jesus Christ has always existed and will always exist. To deny this is to deny His divinity and to put him on the same level as Adam was before the fall. The difference is that Adam was a created being who had no previous existence, but the Lord Jesus also created in the likeness of Adam, had existed from all eternity but was found to be in human form. The Eternal Word became flesh! As John tells us clearly; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (face to face with God) and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3). Clearly this text teaches the pre-existence and the eternal nature of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that He was “face to face” with God implying their eternal relationship and co-existence. To deny this great Biblical truth is to side with the spirit of antichrist which denies the eternal relationship between the Father and Son. (1 John 2:18-23, 4:1-3)
The Holy Spirit is Eternal.
He has no beginning or end but also has existed from all eternity. “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14).
The Trinity is Holy.
When the Bible speaks of God as being Holy it means that in His nature and character and conduct He is absolutely pure and perfect in every way and completely free and separate from all sin and imperfection of every kind. He, “who alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). Imagine what happens to everything at the centre of a nuclear explosion. It is instantly dissolved and ceases to exist. The light that radiates from the very centre of God’s being is much more powerful and bright than multitudes of nuclear explosions going off at one time. The light that comes from God is pure and unmixed light and continuously flows from Him never wavering in its brilliance and intensity. Sin and rebellion cannot exist in His presence. All darkness is instantly dissolved in the brilliance that radiates from Him. He cannot have anything to do with sin neither does he let us get away with it in our lives.
God Himself is Holy.
He is totally separate in his nature from sin and imperfection of any kind. “And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3)… “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8)… “Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4).
The Lord Jesus Christ is Holy.
In his nature and character He is completely free from sin and imperfection of any kind. “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you” (Acts 3:14)… “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7: 26).
The Holy Spirit is Holy.
In his nature and character He is completely free from sin and imperfection of any kind. “And who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4)… “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14)… “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth” (1 John 2:20).
The Trinity is Present Everywhere.
God is present everywhere. There is no place to hide from Him because He is everywhere. He cannot be contained neither does He dwell in man-made temples but is everywhere filling the whole universe. “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24)... “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands” (Acts 17:24).
The Lord Jesus Christ is present everywhere.
While He is a resurrected man in heaven he does not have any limitations. We can see this aspect of the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration when He was able to pass from the time dimension of this physical world into the eternal realm and appear with Moses and Elijah where time as we know it down here on earth does not exist. Jesus Himself could do this. Remember what He said in John chapter three about this. “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man who is in heaven”(John 3:13). By saying “who is in heaven” He clearly identified Himself with the eternal God and with the eternal unbroken relationship He had always had with the Father. No wonder when He preached and did miracles and performed healings that He could say He was only doing what He saw His Father doing at all times. “Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what he sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. Yes, to your amazement He will show Him even greater things than these” (John 5:19-20). Even when the Lord Jesus walked this earth in a human body He could still see into the realms of eternity where time and space do not exist. In John chapter 20 after His resurrection He was able to pass through physical matter because He appeared to His disciples in the room when the doors were locked. “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19).
The Holy Spirit is present everywhere.
There is no place on earth or in the universe where He does not dwell. He is the eternal Spirit and inhabits every part of time and eternity. Like the Father and the Son He inhabits the universe. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). Wherever a believer goes in the world or whatever the circumstances, whatever they face in this life they have the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ with them and indwelling them by His Holy Spirit. Whether in life, sickness, adversity, affliction and anxiety or when facing death itself He has said “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). The Greek language puts it this way, “Never, no never, no never will I leave you or forsake you.” What wonderful assurance for the anxious, the tried and the troubled child of God when facing adversity! Indeed it is written; “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him from them all!” While this text applies to the Lord Jesus it also applies to faithful believers.
The Trinity is All Knowing.
God knows everything there is to know. If He knows about everything then He certainly knows all about us. What may be dark and confusing to us is not to Him. As it is written; “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD…. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (Psalm 139:1-4, 11-12).
The Lord Jesus Christ knows everything there is to know.
He knows what we are thinking at all times and what we are going to say and do in the future. He is able to see into the hearts of men and understand their thoughts completely. “The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you” (John 21:17)… “But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man” (John 2:24-25). In the book of Revelation we see the resurrected Jesus walking among the lamp stands that represent the Church. He sees what is happening in the Church. He sees the thoughts and intents of the hearts of His people. He knows everything about them that there is to know. He sees all of their thoughts, their activities, their motives and their deeds.
The Holy Spirit knows everything there is to know.
He Himself searches the deep things of God and reveals to us the things He knows. If He knows the deep things of God then He certainly knows all about you and me. “But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
The Trinity were all involved in Creation
God the supreme creator of everything was co-creator with the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Christ and by the creative power of the Holy Spirit God brought the whole physical universe into being by the power of His Word. When He and His Son spoke the Holy Spirit went into action and brought about that which the Father and Son had spoken.
God created everything.
His creative power gave life and breath to everything He created. “In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).
Once again when we see the Word “God” used here in the construction of the Hebrew language speaks of three persons in the One God and that the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters to bring about creation. The word “hovering” has the idea of a mother hen sitting on her eggs until the chicks are brought forth into their new life. When the earth was formless and empty, God by the creative power of His breath gave it form, shape and order and through His Spirit brought into being something new and beautiful.
In Luke’s Gospel chapter one verse 35 we read where the Holy Spirit came upon Mary the mother of Jesus and overshadowed her to create in her the eternal Son of God as a human being. The word Luke uses “to overshadow” has the same meaning as in Genesis. God through His Spirit hovered over Mary’s womb and by His Word caused Jesus to be conceived in Mary’s womb. The eternal living Word of God Himself was made flesh in Mary’s womb by the creative power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew also confirms the virgin birth of Jesus when he says, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). Then in verse 19 we read where, “What was conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” another clear reference to the virgin birth.
When a person is born again the Holy Spirit hovers over the fallen human spirit misshapen by sin and rebellion and by His breath brings about the new creation. When we are born again the creative power of the Holy Spirit infuses into our human spirit the seed of God’s word regenerating that seed causing God’s own divine nature to spring up in the soil of the heart. (Luke 8:11) (1 Peter 1:23) (2 Peter 1:4)
The Lord Jesus Himself was also the One through whom God created everything that exists in the universe.
The Lord Jesus was also present at creation and involved in creation Himself. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made…He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him” (John 1:1-3, 10).
The Lord Jesus is Himself the Living Word of God who continuously upholds all things in the universe by His powerful words because He is God the Son. He is the eternal word of God made flesh and in Him is the same life giving power that resides in God His Father. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3)… “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17).
The Holy Spirit is the one who activates the Word of God.
By His creative power He brought into physical existence the creation of the universe. The universe was a picture on the inside of God the Father and the Son that God released into the physical realm by His powerful Word. The KJV version of the Bible says that, “The worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen (manifested in the physical realm) were not made of things which do appear (i.e., physical things). (Hebrews 11:3).”
In other words God did not use any physical substance when he brought about the creation of the universe. It was only by the power of His Word alone that the universe was launched into existence. He “framed the picture” as it were. He had a picture on the inside of Himself what He wanted to create and spoke that picture into physical existence by the creative power of His word alone and nothing else. Through the Spirit breathed word God made human beings, Adam being the first man He created. “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7)…”The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).
The Trinity all possess the Source of Eternal Life.
God Himself is the source of Eternal Life.
This eternal life is not just a life we enjoy in heaven but a quality of life that we can possess down here. It is the very divine life of God Himself breathed into our spirit by the Holy Spirit. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it… I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:21,25, 26). This is a very clear and remarkable reference to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ who has the same life-giving power that resides in His Father in heaven.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is also the source of Eternal Life.
When He speaks the Holy Spirit takes that word and makes it a living reality in the mind and heart of a person causing them to receive spiritual sight and eternal life. “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6: 40)… “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28)… “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)… “And, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9)…”That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” (1 John 1:1-2). Clearly the Lord Jesus Christ’s Eternal Nature is also revealed in the texts.
You cannot know God personally until you come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and Lord. Only through Him alone can any person approach God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only doorway back into a living and personal relationship with God. The Lord Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him” (John 14:6-7)… “For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:2-3)… “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).
The Holy Spirit Himself is also the source of Eternal Life.
He is the One who breathes upon the dead human spirit making it alive to God and bringing that person onto a living and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit takes the words of Jesus (the Bible) and makes its truth a living reality in our life. This is how we are born again. Jesus Himself said this was so. “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). The Holy Spirit takes the seed of God’s word and sows it into the soil of the human heart causing God’s divine nature to spring up in the soil of the heart. This is what Jesus was talking about in His parable of the sower. (Luke 8:1-15)
The Holy Spirit Himself has the same power that God the Father and God the Son have to raise the dead. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death….But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:1-2,10,11)… “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:8).
Conclusion
The doctrine of the Trinity runs all through the Bible.
In the light of the Biblical evidence presented in this study it is remarkably clear and definite that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are the three persons in the Trinity. They have always existed and will always exist. To deny this wonderful and eternal truth of God’s word is to side with the spirit of antichrist that denies the Father and Son relationship in the Godhead. It could be that you are a new believer in Jesus Christ and still struggle with the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity but if you will totally submit your mind and especially your will unconditionally to the Holy Spirit to teach you, and if you will diligently read and study God’s Word then you will come to accept and rejoice in this wonderful Biblical truth.
The Truth will set you free!
“Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:16-17)… “If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31b-32)… “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth….As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him” (1 John 2:20,27).
