The true and living God is one in being and three in person. A mystery? Yes! A contradiction? No. He has eternally existed in the three distinct persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of those distinct persons is God, and yet there is only one God.”
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The Tri-Unity of God
I think all of us would agree that we ought to believe in and proclaim the God revealed in Scripture, rather than a god of our own imagination. Would you agree? Well, if that is the case, we need to discover who God is in His core essence.
We have already discovered from Scripture that God is self-existent. He is the first Cause of everything that is, but was not caused by anyone or anything else. We need Him to exist, but He does not need us to exist. He is independent, self-sufficient, and everlasting. He is in a whole other class than any created thing, which came into existence at some point. God never came into existence. He just is. He is the great “I Am”!
Well, we want to move further this morning to discover from Scripture who God is in His core essence.
If you were to survey the man on the street, you would discover that there are many different views of God. I will just mention eight of them.
- Atheism: this is the belief that there is no god.
- Agnosticism: this is the view it is not possible to know whether God exists or not.
- Polytheism: this is the view that there are many gods. The ancient Egyptian and Greek religions were polytheists as well as Mormons today.
- Pantheism: this is the view that God is the universe with all of its forces and laws. Some African traditional religions and Native American religions would be classified as pantheists.
- Henotheism: devotion to one particular god out of several. Some Hindus are henotheists because they believe in many gods, but worship one as supreme.
- Deism: belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe. The term is used chiefly of an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that accepted the existence of a creator on the basis of reason but rejected belief in a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind. They might say that God is like a watchmaker who makes a watch, winds it, and then walks away from it forever. This view was popular among Americans and European elites during the time of the Revolutionary war. It is usually agreed that several of our founding fathers were Deists, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
- Monotheism: this is the view that there is only one God. Adherents of monotheism would include Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
- Trinitarianism: this is the view that the one true God has eternally existed in three distinct persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians hold to this view of God.
Saints, the goal of my message this morning is to help you understand, and articulate and defend the doctrine of the Trinity, which I believe is what the Bible teaches about the nature of God. I actually debated whether I should bring a teaching on the Trinity, because I felt it was so basic that perhaps it was not needed. However, the more I thought about it and talked to other believers, the more I realized that most Christians are not able to articulate, or defend the doctrine of the Trinity from Scripture. So, we are going to take our time this morning to really get clear on this important teaching about God.
I’m going to ask three questions this morning.
What is the Biblical teaching on the Triune nature of God?
How have some groups deviated from the Triune nature of God?
What are some practical implications of the Triune nature of God?
We are going to define the doctrine of the Trinity. Then we will look at some deviations from the doctrine of the Trinity. Finally, we will seek to show some practical implications of the doctrine of the Trinity.
1.What Is The Biblical Teaching on the Triune Nature of God?
The word “trinity” is not found in our Bibles. It means the “tri-unity” of God, or the “three-in-oneness” of God. Allow me to give a definition of the Trinity: “God eternally exists in the three distinct persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each of these persons is fully God, and there is only one God.”
In other words, “God is one in being and three in person.” You might think that this definition involves a contradiction, but it’s really not. If I said that God is one in being and three in being, that would be a contradiction. Also if I said that God is one in person and three in person, that would be a contradiction. But to say that God is one in being and three in person is not a contradiction. What is the difference between a “being” and a “person”? Your being defines what you are. Your person defines who you are. I am a human being – that’s what I am. But I am Brian Anderson, husband, father, pastor, business owner, child of God. That’s who I am. Humans are one being, one person. God is different. He is one being, three persons.
I’m going to break down the definition of the Trinity in three statements:
1) There is only 1 God. Does the Bible teach this truth? Is there only one God according to the holy Scriptures?
Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
James 2:19, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
Isaiah 45:5-6, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
So, I think you will agree with me at this point that the Bible very clearly teaches that there is only one God. The Bible teaches monotheism.
2) God eternally exists in three distinct persons. If there are three distinct persons, this means that the Father is not the same person as the Son, and the Son is not the same person as the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Let’s see if the Scriptures bear this out.
The Son is a Distinct Person
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That word “with” tells us a lot. It tells us that the Word is a distinct person from the Father.
John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” This relationship of love between the Father and the Son indicates a distinction of persons.
John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The Father sent the Son. Is this saying that the Father sent Himself? No! It’s saying the Father sent the Son. You see, the Father did not die for your sins. The Son did.
1 John 2:1, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” In order to be our Advocate with the Father, Jesus had to be a distinct person from the Father.
The Spirit is a Distinct Person
John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.” If the Holy Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son, then He cannot be the same person as the Father or the Son.
However, one big question that people raise today is whether the Holy Spirit is really a person. For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses deny that the Holy Spirit is a person. They say that the Holy Spirit is a power or force, similar to electricity. Well, let’s think this through. When Jesus teaches His followers to make disciples He tells them they are to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (Mt.28:19). Similarly, in 2 Cor. 13:14, Paul writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” In both of these texts, the Spirit is linked in a coordinate expression with the Father and the Son. Since we all admit that the Father and the Son are persons, it seems highly unlikely that the Spirit is not a person.
Furthermore, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit teaches, bears witness, intercedes, is grieved, speaks, loves, can be blasphemed, resisted, strives, equips, directs, gifts, regenerates, inspires, convicts, guides and discloses. Does a power like electricity love? Does it become grieved? Does it speak? Can it be blasphemed? Of course not! All of these Biblical statements strongly teach that the Spirit is a person, just like the Father and the Son.
3) Each Person is Fully God.
The Father is God.
Ephesians 4:6, “One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
The Son is God.
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 20:28, “Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Romans 9:5, “from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”
Philippians 2:5-6, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God”
Titus 2:13, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,”
Hebrews 1:8, “But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.”
2 Peter 1:1, “to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”
You might say, “Brian, how can Jesus be God when He clearly said, “The Father is greater than I”? It is true that the Father is greater in His role than the Son. The Father sent the Son, and the Son obeyed the Father’s will. But is the Father greater in His being than the Son? The President of the United States is greater than I am in his role. He is the most powerful person in the world, where I am a nobody. But is the President greater in His being than I am? Is the President more human than me? No, of course not. Both of us are 100% human beings. In the same way, the Father and the Son are both fully God, so the Father is not greater in His being. He is greater in His role as the One who sent the Son into the world.
The Spirit is God.
Acts 5:3-4, “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 that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” First Peter says that Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. Then He says He lied to God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.
1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Now the temple of God is the place where God dwells. However, Paul goes on to say that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Therefore, Paul believed and taught that the Holy Spirit is God.
Further, Jesus taught that we are to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So, if the Holy Spirit is not God, but is Michael the archangel as the Jehovah Witnesses teach, would Jesus tell us to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Michael the Archangel? It seems ludicrous, doesn’t it?
All 3 Persons Possess the Same Divine Attributes:
Attribute Father Son Holy Spirit
Eternality Ps.90:2 Is. 9:6; Mic. 5:2 Heb. 9:14
Omnipotence Rev.1:8 Is. 9:6 Rom.15:19
Omniscience 1 Jn. 3:20 Jn. 21:17 1 Cor. 2:10-11
Omnipresence Jer. 23:24 Mt. 28:20 Ps. 139:7
Holiness Ex. 15:11 Acts 3:14 Acts 1:8
Truth Jn. 7:28 John 14:6 Jn. 15:26
Goodness Ps. 100:5 Acts 10:38 Neh. 9:20
All 3 Persons Perform Divine Works
Creation of the World Gen. 1:1 Jn. 1:3 Gen. 1:2
Creation of Man Gen. 2:7 Col. 1:16 Job 33:4
Resurrection of the Dead Jn. 5:21 Jn. 5:21 Rom. 8:11
2. How Have Some Groups Deviated From the Triune Nature of God?
Men love things they can understand. Early on in the history of the church some deviated from the Scriptural teaching on the Triune nature of God because they couldn’t stand to live in tension. Whenever you deny one of the three truths about God that we mentioned before, the result will be heresy.
Modalism. This teaching says that there is only one God, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God – so far so good. But they deny that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons from one another. They teach that God is only one person who appears in three different modes, hence the term “modalism.” They say that God appeared as Father in the Old Testament. Then the same divine person appeared as the Son in the gospels. Later the same person revealed Himself as the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. Or, to put it differently, modalism sees God as an actor who changes clothes and appears as three different characters in a movie. Sometimes this doctrine is referred to as Sabellianism, because a man by the name of Sabellius lived in Rome in the early third century taught this doctrine.
In 1916 a group broke away from the Assemblies of God denomination when all ministers were required to hold to a Trinitarian statement of faith, and formed a new denomination called the United Pentecostal Church. The UPC holds God is one being and one person, but that He manifests Himself in different ways, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You may have heard the illustration that the Trinity is like the same man who is a father, husband, and employee. However, that does not illustrate Trinitarian belief. It illustrates modalism. In the illustration there is only one person who appears in different modes or roles. We need to beware of modalism. It is an ancient heresy that still appears in different forms.
Arianism. This teaching denies that the Son and the Spirit are fully God. The teaching arose from a man named Arius who was a Bishop of the church of Alexandria. He taught that God created the Son, and before that time the Son and the Spirit did not exist, only the Father. He emphasized texts which stated that Christ is the “only begotten” Son. He reasoned that if Jesus was begotten, then he must have been brought into existence. He appealed to Colossians 1:15 which mentions Jesus as the “first born of all creation.” In 319 A.D. Bishop Alexander called a meeting of the elders. He was discussing the Father, Son and Spirit, when he was interrupted by Arius who announced, “If the Father begat the Son, then He who was begotten had a beginning existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not.” This erupted into a huge debate with much controversy. Emperor Constantine was only interested in preserving the peace in the Roman empire. He convened a council in Nicea to settle the issue. He invited 1,800 bishops, but only 400 came. At the meeting, Arius stood up and repeated his view of God. Much debate followed.
Finally a creed was written to put down Arius’ view. This is what the creed stated, “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, very God from very God, begotten not made… And those who say, “There was a time when He was not” and “He did not exist before He was made” and “He was made out of nothing”… the Catholic Church anathematizes.” In the end Constantine ordered all books of Arius burned “so that his depraved doctrine shall be entirely suppressed and so that there shall be no memorial of him left in the world.”
However, we still have Arianism being taught by the Jehovah’s Witnesses today who say that Jesus is the first and greatest creation of God, and that the Holy Spirit is not a Person, but only a force or power.
3. What Are Some Implications of the Triune Nature of God?
We can have a relationship with God. God is Relational. The Father, Son, and Spirit have existed together throughout eternity in a relationship of perfect love and unity. Remember, that God exists in three distinct persons. What are characteristics of persons? They love, hate, are grieved, rejoice, and make rational choices. Well, of course, God does all of these things. God is personal. What that means is that you can have a personal relationship with God! If God were only a cosmic force, or if He were what the Deists imagine (a Creator who walked away from His creation forever), we could never have a relationship with Him. But because God is personal, we can have a relationship with Him.
Jesus taught in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” What a beautiful statement! My friends, Christianity is not simply knowing intellectually some things about God. A true Christian is one who has entered into relationship with God. Jesus said in John 17:3, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” And again, we are back to communion with God. Don’t settle for anything less than this. God wants you to have a relationship with Him. Pursue it!
We can learn how to relate to one another. In marriage, the husband is the head and leader, and the wife is the helper who is called to submit. In families the parents are to lead, and the children are to obey. In churches, the elders are called to lead, and the congregation is called to submit and follow. Admittedly it is difficult to take on the role of the one who must submit to others. But in the Trinity we find a perfect model for our relationships with others. Jesus is equal with the Father, yet submitted Himself to the Father. Therefore, submission in its proper context is not demeaning or a sign of inferiority. It is the will of God. When you are struggling in a relationship, look at the example of Jesus. Follow Him. Children, wives, church members take heart! When your godly role is that of submission, look at Jesus, and the sting will go right out the window. By following in His steps, you are being conformed to the most beautiful image ever imagined!
We can have great confidence in our Salvation. Since the Father, Son, and Spirit are all fully God, we can have complete trust in their work on our behalf. If Son were a created being, and the Spirit were a mere force, I would have very little confidence in my salvation. After all, how could a mere creature save my soul? I need the power of God to save me! But the Bible teaches that the three persons of the Trinity assume different roles in our salvation. The Father chooses whom He will save. The Son redeems by His blood. The Spirit seals and sanctifies. But because Jesus is fully God, His precious blood completely removes my sin! Because the Spirit is fully God, when He seals me for the day of redemption, I am secure. When He sanctifies me, I am transformed. Thank God that my salvation is the work of God!
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