The Godhead
"God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM, has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14). God's reference to Himself as the "I AM" was meant to convey God's divine attributes. Instead of "I AM", God could have referred to Himself as the eternal, holy, self-existent, self-sufficient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient creator and sustainer of all that exists.
Eternality refers to God having no beginning or end. Humans are finite creatures trapped in a space-time existence; we are not capable of comprehending something that is infinite. God is infinite. God is not bound by space and time -- He in fact created it, and exists independent of it: "'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).
God is holy. Holiness means that God is pure -- both in thought and in action. In Him there is not even the possibility of doing evil. Secondly, holiness means that God transcends all creation; He is infinite, and we are finite. Everything that has a beginning needs a cause for its being; this includes not only the physical universe, but also the space/time dimension in which we function. A created thing cannot create itself, so it follows that there must exist a first cause, an uncaused cause, that is responsible for everything that has come into being. The uncaused cause could not have come into being, but instead would have to be self-existent. God is the uncaused cause -- the self-existent being through which all that has a beginning has come into existence: "Through him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:3-5)
God is self-sufficient -- He does not need humans. God does not need any of the things He has created. His existence is not dependent upon His creation, but rather, the creation is totally dependent upon the creator: "Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God" (Psalms 90:2).
Omnipotent refers to all-powerful. God is omnipotent -- He has total power and control over His creation: "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Does this mean that God can do anything? No. God cannot do something that violates His nature, or that results in a logical contradiction. For example, God cannot lie; nor can God force one of His creatures to love Him since, by definition, love is something that cannot be forced.
God is omnipresent. Omnipresence refers to God's ability to be fully present everywhere at all times. God exists independent of His creation -- time and space are part of that creation: "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" (Psalms 139:7-8).
God is omniscient. God has full knowledge of all aspects of His creation; His knowledge is absolute: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).
By now it should be clear that God cannot be viewed in an anthropomorphic sense. Though Scripture often refers to God in the masculine (Father), this is not to be taken literally. God is no more a man than He is a plant (John 15:1) or a chicken (Psalms 17:8). God uses typology to convey His divine attributes. Though God is not a man, He has told us how He wishes to be addressed -- which is in the masculine -- and we must honor that: "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name" (Luke 11:2).
Finally, God is one -- He is one in essence and three in person. Person refers, not to 'people,' but to personality. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each fully God; but each exists independently within the essence of the one God. While finite man cannot comprehend infinite God, we can, however, accept God's truths as revealed through the Holy Scriptures. "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Eternality refers to God having no beginning or end. Humans are finite creatures trapped in a space-time existence; we are not capable of comprehending something that is infinite. God is infinite. God is not bound by space and time -- He in fact created it, and exists independent of it: "'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).
God is holy. Holiness means that God is pure -- both in thought and in action. In Him there is not even the possibility of doing evil. Secondly, holiness means that God transcends all creation; He is infinite, and we are finite. Everything that has a beginning needs a cause for its being; this includes not only the physical universe, but also the space/time dimension in which we function. A created thing cannot create itself, so it follows that there must exist a first cause, an uncaused cause, that is responsible for everything that has come into being. The uncaused cause could not have come into being, but instead would have to be self-existent. God is the uncaused cause -- the self-existent being through which all that has a beginning has come into existence: "Through him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:3-5)
God is self-sufficient -- He does not need humans. God does not need any of the things He has created. His existence is not dependent upon His creation, but rather, the creation is totally dependent upon the creator: "Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God" (Psalms 90:2).
Omnipotent refers to all-powerful. God is omnipotent -- He has total power and control over His creation: "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Does this mean that God can do anything? No. God cannot do something that violates His nature, or that results in a logical contradiction. For example, God cannot lie; nor can God force one of His creatures to love Him since, by definition, love is something that cannot be forced.
God is omnipresent. Omnipresence refers to God's ability to be fully present everywhere at all times. God exists independent of His creation -- time and space are part of that creation: "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" (Psalms 139:7-8).
God is omniscient. God has full knowledge of all aspects of His creation; His knowledge is absolute: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).
By now it should be clear that God cannot be viewed in an anthropomorphic sense. Though Scripture often refers to God in the masculine (Father), this is not to be taken literally. God is no more a man than He is a plant (John 15:1) or a chicken (Psalms 17:8). God uses typology to convey His divine attributes. Though God is not a man, He has told us how He wishes to be addressed -- which is in the masculine -- and we must honor that: "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name" (Luke 11:2).
Finally, God is one -- He is one in essence and three in person. Person refers, not to 'people,' but to personality. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each fully God; but each exists independently within the essence of the one God. While finite man cannot comprehend infinite God, we can, however, accept God's truths as revealed through the Holy Scriptures. "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
The Trinity
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19). The oneness of God is taught in the Old and the New Testament. The “triunity” of God is suggested in the Old Testament; it is demonstrated in the New Testament.
This is not a contradiction -- God is one in essence, and three in person. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The word translated "one" is echad. In the Old Testament, echad always refers to one in unity, and never to a singular entity. This verse affirms that God is one in essence, and does not preclude that God is triune.
The Spirit is mentioned many times in the Old Testament; often in the context of speaking, moving, teaching, and leading. This indicates a distinction between God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 30:4 is a powerful Old Testament verse for affirming the Deity of Christ: "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth" What is His name, and the name of His Son? Tell me if you know!"
The New Testament is clear that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. It opens with a powerful statement of Christ's Deity: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Likewise, the Deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly affirmed: "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
There are three co-equal persons in the one Godhead. The word person must not,
however, be understood in an anthropomorphic sense. Only the Son has a glorified, physical body. By the term person we mean that each member of the Holy Trinity possesses the attributes of personality -- knowledge, will, and emotion; yet the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each exist within the essence of the one true God.
The foundation upon which every cult is built is a false view as to the nature of God.
Practically every cult denies the Christian doctrine of the Trinity -- a doctrine based upon the clear teaching of Scripture. Occasionally cultists will use the term Trinity, but will redefine it to fit their own heretical theology. As finite creatures we cannot hope to fully comprehend an infinite God, but we can apprehend God's truths as revealed to us through the Scriptures. That God is one in essence and three in person is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith; it cannot be compromised.
2. The Trinity[1]
Introduction
God is undivided unity expressed in the threefold and equal nature of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Being so far beyond our normal human experience, it is and will likely ever be a great and incomprehensible mystery.
Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) tried to illustrate the Trinity through the use of a psychological analogy. In his illustration, just as a person exists as one being with the three dimensions of memory, understanding and will; so also the Godhead exists as three Persons forming one.
Another common illustration is to consider that we exist as body, soul (mind, will and emotions) and spirit (that part that can experience God).
However, though we may strive to grasp it, we must conclude that it must be understood, not by intellectual speculation but by direct experience. This is not an unreasonable demand. Do we truly understand our spouses through intellectual assent to their heartbeat, respiration, the color of their eyes and hair, their height and weight or through emotional interaction and conversation?
Some may question the point of studying such a particularly deep subject as the Trinity. Paul informs us in 1 Corinthians[2] that the point of the Scriptures is not to increase our knowledge but in order to improve our relationship with the Lord. If Elohim exists in a state of “triunity” then to understand that state is to better understand God. To better understand God is to better grasp His will. To better grasp His will is to better obey Him. To better obey Him is to love Him and be His people.
The word “Trinity” as such does not appear in the Bible. It is a name that humans have applied to identify the concept that is clearly taught in the Scriptures. A recent preference is to refer to the Trinity as the “Triunity” in order to hopefully avoid a couple of misconceptions. One such error is the idea of tritheism. This concept over-emphasizes the distinctiveness of each person of the Trinity to the point where it becomes polytheism, or belief in three separate gods. This is not what Adonaic theology teaches.
Another mistake on the other end of the theological spectrum is to so emphasize the unity of the Godhead that that we begin teaching Unitarianism. Unitarianism ends up contradicting the clear teaching of the Scriptures by saying that only the Father is God and that Christ and the Holy Spirit are lesser and servile beings. That is a complete heresy.
In John 10:30, Jesus said that He and the Father are one. The people in front of Him clearly understood what He was saying because they picked up rocks to stone Him.
In John 14:8-9, Jesus told Philip that to see Jesus is to see the Father.
In order to see the transcendent, invisible Father and Spirit, we have been given the immanent, visible Son. They are so uniquely indivisible that to see one is to see the other. To understand one is to understand the other. To love, obey and worship one is to give the same honor to the other.
Another major error of those who overemphasize the unity of God is to say that the one divine person appears at different times in different manners. Since they refer to these different “masks” of God as modes of appearance, their concept is called “modalism”.
Tritheism, Unitarianism and Modalism all go against the teaching of the Scriptures which state that there is only one God[3] yet this one God is three Persons – Father, Son and Spirit.[4] That statement is not contradictory. A contradictory statement is one that directly pits its principle elements against themselves. For example the following statements are contradictory:
“I am a bear”
“I am not a bear”
To say that the Trinity is one in essence while being three persons, while being out of our normal experience, is not contradictory.
The Trinity in the Bible
Because the idea of a community of Persons forming one Person is so foreign to us, the concept was revealed to humanity progressively over time. Thus the idea is far more clearly expressed in the New Covenant than in the Old. However, we get intimations of the Trinity from the very beginning of the Holy Scriptures.
All three were involved in the creation process. This would shed light on the use of the word “us” in Genesis 1:26-27. There we see the “Us” of the Trinity balanced by the “God” (singular), “His” and “He” (both also singular). God was not using the “majestic we” as some claim, else He would consistently follow that practice, not only in these two verses but throughout the Scriptures. We also see that to be “in the image of God” entailed two persons, one male and the other female, together forming Mankind.
If you examine the Bible, carefully allowing the Scriptures to comment on Scriptures in the Adonaic style of midrash called “hafokh ba”, you will come to the conclusion that:
1. All three were involved in the creation process.[5]
2. All three are called God.[6]
3. All three are eternal.[7]
4. All three are holy.[8]
5. All three are true.[9]
6. All three raised Jesus from the dead.[10]
7. All three give eternal life.[11]
8. All three are prevenient in the issue of salvation.[12]
9. All three sanctify.[13]
10. All three work in us, enable us.[14]
11. All three teach us.[15]
12. All three speak through humans. [16]
13. All three appoint spiritual leaders for us.[17]
However, we do not only derive the doctrine of the Trinity from fragmentary comments found throughout the Scriptures.
Sabellianism
During the third century a false doctrine was introduced to the Church that was called Sabellianism. Sabellius was a Libyan priest who taught that the Trinity was simply a way of describing three aspects of the one person that is God. According to Sabellius God wears his Father hat, his Son hat, and his Spirit hat, successively; one at a time; not simultaneously. Sabellianism is often called modalism. According to them the Son is the Father is the Spirit - but one at a time; in modes of being, not distinct Persons. So for example, Sabellians insisted that God the Father was active in creation, God the Son was involved in redemption and God the Holy Spirit is presently involved in sanctification.
You will find modern counterparts to this heresy in a theology called “Oneness Pentecostalism”. Two well-known adherents of this theology are T.D. Jakes and the music group “Philips, Craig and Dean.”
Like all the best lies there is an element of truth to this teaching. The problem is not in what they believe each Person’s primary role is but in the overemphasis of that role. By doing this they functionally denied the Trinity’s operation as a unified whole in every aspect of the universe.
There are many verses in which the Trinity as a simultaneously functioning whole may be demonstrated in a single passage. The Scriptures flatly repudiate Sabellianism by the Gospel descriptions of the Lord Jesus’ baptism[18] where we see the Son being baptized and the Father speaking from heaven while the Spirit descends in the aspect of a dove simultaneously.
The Sabellians distinguished between the Son’s role in redemption and the Holy Spirit’s in sanctification. But Peter said,
Also, the Great Commission demonstrates the equality and continuous working of all three Persons.
Jesus said that He would ask the Father to give the disciples the Spirit to act as their counselor. What does John teach concerning the role of the Trinity in our continued spiritual well-being?
Each Person has a separate role at times. They are distinct and different yet not diminished by their differences. Paul, when he addressed this very issue of different functions or roles had this to say:
Paul’s grateful prayer concerning the believers in Thessalonica shed light on the process of salvation, sanctification and glorification of the saint. Paul thanked the Father that the Thessalonicans had been chosen through the Spirit to not only be saved and sanctified but to obtain the glory of the Son.[19]
Compare that to Paul’s description in Galatians.
How about in this admonition to Titus?
Or what about this blessing Paul gave to the Corinthians?
The concept of “three in one” or “triunity” has important applications to our daily walk. Paul applied his theology of the Trinity to church unity when He addressed the Ephesian church. He said that just as many Christians form one body of Christ, so the three Persons of the Trinity form one God.[20]
Finally, Jude taught us about the relationship between our understanding of the Trinity and our prayer life. He said,
[1] Hand out both the study sheet and “The Concept of the Trinity in the Bible”
[2] 1 Corinthians 8:1-3
[3] Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
[4] Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
[5] Father (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 33:6; 33:9; 148:5; Proverbs 3:19); Son (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17); Spirit (Job 26:13; 33:4; Proverbs 8:27-31). Note: Wisdom in Proverbs is a personification of Ruach’, the Spirit of God, Who is referred to in the New Covenant as “Sophia” the Spirit of Wisdom.
[6] Father (Exodus 20:2); Son (John 20:28); Spirit (Acts 5:3-4)
[7] Father (Romans 16:26); Son (Revelation 22:13); Spirit (Hebrews 9:14)
[8] Father (Revelation 4:8); Son (Acts 3:13-14; Revelation 15:3-4 Note: though the wording of the title given is nearly identical to Revelation 4:8, this is called the “Song of the Lamb”.); Spirit (1 John 2:20)
[9] Father (Psalm 31:5; John 7:28); Son (Revelation 3:7); Spirit (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:5-6; 5:6)
[10] Father (1 Corinthians 6:14); Son (John 2:19); Spirit (Romans 8:11)
[11] Father (Romans 6:23); Son (John 10:27-30); Spirit (Galatians 6:7-8)
[12] Father (Psalm 107:19-20; John 6:44; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14); Son (2 Timothy 2:3-5); Spirit (Titus 3:4-6; 1 Peter 1:12)
[13] Father (Romans 8:28-31); Son (Hebrews 2:11); Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2)
[14] Father (Hebrews 13:20-21; Philippians 2:13); Son (Colossians 1:28-29); Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11)
[15] Father (John 6:45; Isaiah 48:17-18; 54:13); Son (Luke 21:12-15; Galatians 1:11-12); Spirit (Zechariah 4:4-6; John 14:26; 1 John 2:20)
[16] Father (Hebrews 1:1); Son (Luke 21:14-15; 2 Corinthians 13:3); Spirit (Matthew 10:20; Mark 13:11; 2 Peter 1:21)
[17] Father (Jeremiah 3:15; 26:4-6); Son (Matthew 10:5-7; Ephesians 4:10-13); Spirit (Acts 13:2; 20:28)
[18] Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
[19] 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
[20] Ephesians 4:4-6
This is not a contradiction -- God is one in essence, and three in person. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The word translated "one" is echad. In the Old Testament, echad always refers to one in unity, and never to a singular entity. This verse affirms that God is one in essence, and does not preclude that God is triune.
The Spirit is mentioned many times in the Old Testament; often in the context of speaking, moving, teaching, and leading. This indicates a distinction between God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 30:4 is a powerful Old Testament verse for affirming the Deity of Christ: "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth" What is His name, and the name of His Son? Tell me if you know!"
The New Testament is clear that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. It opens with a powerful statement of Christ's Deity: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Likewise, the Deity of the Holy Spirit is clearly affirmed: "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
There are three co-equal persons in the one Godhead. The word person must not,
however, be understood in an anthropomorphic sense. Only the Son has a glorified, physical body. By the term person we mean that each member of the Holy Trinity possesses the attributes of personality -- knowledge, will, and emotion; yet the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each exist within the essence of the one true God.
The foundation upon which every cult is built is a false view as to the nature of God.
Practically every cult denies the Christian doctrine of the Trinity -- a doctrine based upon the clear teaching of Scripture. Occasionally cultists will use the term Trinity, but will redefine it to fit their own heretical theology. As finite creatures we cannot hope to fully comprehend an infinite God, but we can apprehend God's truths as revealed to us through the Scriptures. That God is one in essence and three in person is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith; it cannot be compromised.
2. The Trinity[1]
Introduction
God is undivided unity expressed in the threefold and equal nature of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Being so far beyond our normal human experience, it is and will likely ever be a great and incomprehensible mystery.
Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430) tried to illustrate the Trinity through the use of a psychological analogy. In his illustration, just as a person exists as one being with the three dimensions of memory, understanding and will; so also the Godhead exists as three Persons forming one.
Another common illustration is to consider that we exist as body, soul (mind, will and emotions) and spirit (that part that can experience God).
However, though we may strive to grasp it, we must conclude that it must be understood, not by intellectual speculation but by direct experience. This is not an unreasonable demand. Do we truly understand our spouses through intellectual assent to their heartbeat, respiration, the color of their eyes and hair, their height and weight or through emotional interaction and conversation?
Some may question the point of studying such a particularly deep subject as the Trinity. Paul informs us in 1 Corinthians[2] that the point of the Scriptures is not to increase our knowledge but in order to improve our relationship with the Lord. If Elohim exists in a state of “triunity” then to understand that state is to better understand God. To better understand God is to better grasp His will. To better grasp His will is to better obey Him. To better obey Him is to love Him and be His people.
The word “Trinity” as such does not appear in the Bible. It is a name that humans have applied to identify the concept that is clearly taught in the Scriptures. A recent preference is to refer to the Trinity as the “Triunity” in order to hopefully avoid a couple of misconceptions. One such error is the idea of tritheism. This concept over-emphasizes the distinctiveness of each person of the Trinity to the point where it becomes polytheism, or belief in three separate gods. This is not what Adonaic theology teaches.
- Deuteronomy 6:4 states that the Lord is One.
- Isaiah 45:21 teaches that there in only one God and there is no other god besides Him.
- Galatians 3:20, while dealing with Jesus as our Mediator, still reiterates that God is one.
- James 2:19, written by the Lord’s half-brother, says that those who believe that God is one do well.
Another mistake on the other end of the theological spectrum is to so emphasize the unity of the Godhead that that we begin teaching Unitarianism. Unitarianism ends up contradicting the clear teaching of the Scriptures by saying that only the Father is God and that Christ and the Holy Spirit are lesser and servile beings. That is a complete heresy.
In John 10:30, Jesus said that He and the Father are one. The people in front of Him clearly understood what He was saying because they picked up rocks to stone Him.
In John 14:8-9, Jesus told Philip that to see Jesus is to see the Father.
In order to see the transcendent, invisible Father and Spirit, we have been given the immanent, visible Son. They are so uniquely indivisible that to see one is to see the other. To understand one is to understand the other. To love, obey and worship one is to give the same honor to the other.
- John 14:16 HCSB And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.
Another major error of those who overemphasize the unity of God is to say that the one divine person appears at different times in different manners. Since they refer to these different “masks” of God as modes of appearance, their concept is called “modalism”.
Tritheism, Unitarianism and Modalism all go against the teaching of the Scriptures which state that there is only one God[3] yet this one God is three Persons – Father, Son and Spirit.[4] That statement is not contradictory. A contradictory statement is one that directly pits its principle elements against themselves. For example the following statements are contradictory:
“I am a bear”
“I am not a bear”
To say that the Trinity is one in essence while being three persons, while being out of our normal experience, is not contradictory.
The Trinity in the Bible
Because the idea of a community of Persons forming one Person is so foreign to us, the concept was revealed to humanity progressively over time. Thus the idea is far more clearly expressed in the New Covenant than in the Old. However, we get intimations of the Trinity from the very beginning of the Holy Scriptures.
All three were involved in the creation process. This would shed light on the use of the word “us” in Genesis 1:26-27. There we see the “Us” of the Trinity balanced by the “God” (singular), “His” and “He” (both also singular). God was not using the “majestic we” as some claim, else He would consistently follow that practice, not only in these two verses but throughout the Scriptures. We also see that to be “in the image of God” entailed two persons, one male and the other female, together forming Mankind.
If you examine the Bible, carefully allowing the Scriptures to comment on Scriptures in the Adonaic style of midrash called “hafokh ba”, you will come to the conclusion that:
1. All three were involved in the creation process.[5]
2. All three are called God.[6]
3. All three are eternal.[7]
4. All three are holy.[8]
5. All three are true.[9]
6. All three raised Jesus from the dead.[10]
7. All three give eternal life.[11]
8. All three are prevenient in the issue of salvation.[12]
9. All three sanctify.[13]
10. All three work in us, enable us.[14]
11. All three teach us.[15]
12. All three speak through humans. [16]
13. All three appoint spiritual leaders for us.[17]
However, we do not only derive the doctrine of the Trinity from fragmentary comments found throughout the Scriptures.
Sabellianism
During the third century a false doctrine was introduced to the Church that was called Sabellianism. Sabellius was a Libyan priest who taught that the Trinity was simply a way of describing three aspects of the one person that is God. According to Sabellius God wears his Father hat, his Son hat, and his Spirit hat, successively; one at a time; not simultaneously. Sabellianism is often called modalism. According to them the Son is the Father is the Spirit - but one at a time; in modes of being, not distinct Persons. So for example, Sabellians insisted that God the Father was active in creation, God the Son was involved in redemption and God the Holy Spirit is presently involved in sanctification.
You will find modern counterparts to this heresy in a theology called “Oneness Pentecostalism”. Two well-known adherents of this theology are T.D. Jakes and the music group “Philips, Craig and Dean.”
Like all the best lies there is an element of truth to this teaching. The problem is not in what they believe each Person’s primary role is but in the overemphasis of that role. By doing this they functionally denied the Trinity’s operation as a unified whole in every aspect of the universe.
There are many verses in which the Trinity as a simultaneously functioning whole may be demonstrated in a single passage. The Scriptures flatly repudiate Sabellianism by the Gospel descriptions of the Lord Jesus’ baptism[18] where we see the Son being baptized and the Father speaking from heaven while the Spirit descends in the aspect of a dove simultaneously.
The Sabellians distinguished between the Son’s role in redemption and the Holy Spirit’s in sanctification. But Peter said,
- 1 Peter 1:2 HCSB according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for the sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Also, the Great Commission demonstrates the equality and continuous working of all three Persons.
- Matthew 28:19 HCSB Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus said that He would ask the Father to give the disciples the Spirit to act as their counselor. What does John teach concerning the role of the Trinity in our continued spiritual well-being?
- John 14:16 HCSB And I (Jesus) will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor (the Spirit) to be with you forever.
- John 15:26 HCSB "When the Counselor (the Spirit) comes, the One I (Jesus) will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father--He will testify about Me.
- John 16:13-15 HCSB When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. (14) He will glorify Me (Jesus), because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. (15) Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I told you that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you.
Each Person has a separate role at times. They are distinct and different yet not diminished by their differences. Paul, when he addressed this very issue of different functions or roles had this to say:
- 1 Corinthians 12:3-6 HCSB Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. (4) Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) There are different ministries, but the same Lord. (6) And there are different activities, but the same God is active in everyone and everything.
Paul’s grateful prayer concerning the believers in Thessalonica shed light on the process of salvation, sanctification and glorification of the saint. Paul thanked the Father that the Thessalonicans had been chosen through the Spirit to not only be saved and sanctified but to obtain the glory of the Son.[19]
Compare that to Paul’s description in Galatians.
- Galatians 4:4-6 HCSB But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (5) to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (6) And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father!"
How about in this admonition to Titus?
- Titus 3:4-6 HCSB But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior, (5) He saved us--not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. (6) This Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Or what about this blessing Paul gave to the Corinthians?
- 2 Corinthians 13:14 HCSB (13:13) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
The concept of “three in one” or “triunity” has important applications to our daily walk. Paul applied his theology of the Trinity to church unity when He addressed the Ephesian church. He said that just as many Christians form one body of Christ, so the three Persons of the Trinity form one God.[20]
Finally, Jude taught us about the relationship between our understanding of the Trinity and our prayer life. He said,
- Jude 1:20-21 HCSB But you, dear friends, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, (21) keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.
[1] Hand out both the study sheet and “The Concept of the Trinity in the Bible”
[2] 1 Corinthians 8:1-3
[3] Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
[4] Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
[5] Father (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 33:6; 33:9; 148:5; Proverbs 3:19); Son (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17); Spirit (Job 26:13; 33:4; Proverbs 8:27-31). Note: Wisdom in Proverbs is a personification of Ruach’, the Spirit of God, Who is referred to in the New Covenant as “Sophia” the Spirit of Wisdom.
[6] Father (Exodus 20:2); Son (John 20:28); Spirit (Acts 5:3-4)
[7] Father (Romans 16:26); Son (Revelation 22:13); Spirit (Hebrews 9:14)
[8] Father (Revelation 4:8); Son (Acts 3:13-14; Revelation 15:3-4 Note: though the wording of the title given is nearly identical to Revelation 4:8, this is called the “Song of the Lamb”.); Spirit (1 John 2:20)
[9] Father (Psalm 31:5; John 7:28); Son (Revelation 3:7); Spirit (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:5-6; 5:6)
[10] Father (1 Corinthians 6:14); Son (John 2:19); Spirit (Romans 8:11)
[11] Father (Romans 6:23); Son (John 10:27-30); Spirit (Galatians 6:7-8)
[12] Father (Psalm 107:19-20; John 6:44; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14); Son (2 Timothy 2:3-5); Spirit (Titus 3:4-6; 1 Peter 1:12)
[13] Father (Romans 8:28-31); Son (Hebrews 2:11); Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2)
[14] Father (Hebrews 13:20-21; Philippians 2:13); Son (Colossians 1:28-29); Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11)
[15] Father (John 6:45; Isaiah 48:17-18; 54:13); Son (Luke 21:12-15; Galatians 1:11-12); Spirit (Zechariah 4:4-6; John 14:26; 1 John 2:20)
[16] Father (Hebrews 1:1); Son (Luke 21:14-15; 2 Corinthians 13:3); Spirit (Matthew 10:20; Mark 13:11; 2 Peter 1:21)
[17] Father (Jeremiah 3:15; 26:4-6); Son (Matthew 10:5-7; Ephesians 4:10-13); Spirit (Acts 13:2; 20:28)
[18] Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
[19] 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
[20] Ephesians 4:4-6
Summarizations of the Biblical View of the Trinity
Definition: God is one in being or essence, but exists eternally in three distinct, co-equal “persons”.
Intimated in:
Plural self-address: Genesis 1:26-27; 3:22 (Elohim is the plural of El or Eloah); 11:7; Isaiah 6:8
Tri-holiness: Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8
Heresies concerning:
Unitarianism:
Definition: Belief that there is only one ultimate god and that the Holy Spirit and the Son are lesser servile beings.
Refuted by: John 10:30; 14:8-9, 16 (allos [Strong’s #243] means “another of the same kind as opposed to heteros [Strong’s #2087] which means “another of a different kind”); Matthew 3:16 (cp Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)
Polytheism:
Definition: Belief in many gods.
Refuted by: Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
Tritheism:
Definition: Belief that there are three separate and completely different gods.
Refuted by: Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
Modalism (aka Sabelianism):
Definition: The three distinct divine persons are seen as merely three manifestations of “modes” of god’s person.
Refuted by: Matthew 3:16 (cp Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)
All three Persons seen together:
Matthew 3:16 (cp Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22); Matthew 28:19; John 3:34; John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:13-15; Acts 1:4-5; 2:33; 10:36-38; Romans 1:3-4; 8:9-11, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 12:3-6; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 13:14 (cp Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2); Galatians 4:4-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Titus 3:4-6; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 3:18; 1 John 5:6
God is one in essence:
Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
They are distinct:
Father sends the Son and the Spirit (John 15:26; Galatians 4:4)
Identity of the Angel of the Lord (Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:21-22)
Hypostatization of the Word (Psalm 33:6; 107:20; 110:1 [cp Acts 2:33-35]; John 1:1-15)
Occasions when people saw God (Genesis 12:7; 17:1; 18:1; 26:2, 24; 32:30; 35:9; 48:3; Exodus 3:16; 4:5; 6:3; 24:9-11; 33:11, 23; Numbers 14:14; Deuteronomy 5:4; 34:10; Judges 13:22; 1 Kings 22:19; Job 42:5; Psalm 63:2; Isaiah 6:1, 5; Ezekiel 1:27; 20:35; Amos 7:7; 9:1; Habakkuk 3:3-5)
Contrasted with the fact that “no one has seen God the Father” (Exodus 33:20; Deuteronomy 4:12; Matthew 11:27 (cp Luke 10:22); John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; 1 John 4:12, 20; 3 John 1:11 [expresses why])
Jesus is the Trinity’s interface:
John 1:18; 6:40; 12:45; 14:8-10; 15:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 John 5:20
Intimated in:
Plural self-address: Genesis 1:26-27; 3:22 (Elohim is the plural of El or Eloah); 11:7; Isaiah 6:8
Tri-holiness: Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8
Heresies concerning:
Unitarianism:
Definition: Belief that there is only one ultimate god and that the Holy Spirit and the Son are lesser servile beings.
Refuted by: John 10:30; 14:8-9, 16 (allos [Strong’s #243] means “another of the same kind as opposed to heteros [Strong’s #2087] which means “another of a different kind”); Matthew 3:16 (cp Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)
Polytheism:
Definition: Belief in many gods.
Refuted by: Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
Tritheism:
Definition: Belief that there are three separate and completely different gods.
Refuted by: Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
Modalism (aka Sabelianism):
Definition: The three distinct divine persons are seen as merely three manifestations of “modes” of god’s person.
Refuted by: Matthew 3:16 (cp Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)
All three Persons seen together:
Matthew 3:16 (cp Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22); Matthew 28:19; John 3:34; John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:13-15; Acts 1:4-5; 2:33; 10:36-38; Romans 1:3-4; 8:9-11, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 12:3-6; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; 13:14 (cp Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2); Galatians 4:4-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Titus 3:4-6; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 3:18; 1 John 5:6
God is one in essence:
Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21; Galatians 3:20; James 2:19
They are distinct:
Father sends the Son and the Spirit (John 15:26; Galatians 4:4)
Identity of the Angel of the Lord (Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:21-22)
Hypostatization of the Word (Psalm 33:6; 107:20; 110:1 [cp Acts 2:33-35]; John 1:1-15)
Occasions when people saw God (Genesis 12:7; 17:1; 18:1; 26:2, 24; 32:30; 35:9; 48:3; Exodus 3:16; 4:5; 6:3; 24:9-11; 33:11, 23; Numbers 14:14; Deuteronomy 5:4; 34:10; Judges 13:22; 1 Kings 22:19; Job 42:5; Psalm 63:2; Isaiah 6:1, 5; Ezekiel 1:27; 20:35; Amos 7:7; 9:1; Habakkuk 3:3-5)
Contrasted with the fact that “no one has seen God the Father” (Exodus 33:20; Deuteronomy 4:12; Matthew 11:27 (cp Luke 10:22); John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; 1 John 4:12, 20; 3 John 1:11 [expresses why])
Jesus is the Trinity’s interface:
John 1:18; 6:40; 12:45; 14:8-10; 15:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 John 5:20
