GOD AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE

The Bible is God’s Word through which He has revealed Himself to mankind. God chose to reveal Himself by His own initiative because He is transcendent and unfathomable. He can not be known by human wisdom or effort.  God is Spirit and no one has seen Him. This unique sovereign God of revelation has made known all that He wants people to know about Him. The Bible is His full and final revelation.  

God is revealed in the Bible as ‘Trinity’. This term is not found in the Bible but the fact is clearly taught. Some prefer the term ‘Tri-unity’ in speaking of this truth about God in the Bible. God is one Being eternally existing as three Persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Son is a Messianic title and implies a metaphorical, unique, spiritual relationship Christ has with the Father.   

The God of the Bible is described as being omnipresent (present everywhere), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful). This is true of each Person of the Godhead. There is no difference in their worth or rank among them.

The Bible does not speak of three Gods as in polytheism, where the gods are different in their being. They have influence over different realms, have different degrees of power and have different characteristics. What is taught about the Triune God in the Bible is very different. All three are of the same essence and are co-equal. God who is spirit has no form. As one having personhood, God exists in three Persons for fellowship. The Bible does not try to explain this great mystery but it is to be received by faith.    

There are references to ‘The Angel of the Lord’ in the Old Testament called--    ‘Theophanies’. (Genesis 22:11-15; Exodus 3:2-4; Numbers 22:22-38; Judges 6:11-23) They are understood as appearances of the pre-incarnate Messiah/Christ.    

Christ who is God became a man and He is ‘The Incarnation’. The eternal God became Jesus of history in order to die as a substitute for sinners. He did not cease to be God but laid aside His Divine prerogatives. As true man, He became hungry, thirsty, tired and did not know the times that God the Father knew.  

The OLD TESTAMENT Scriptures supporting Trinity:

Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” Interestingly, the Hebrew word for one here means, one, as in a cluster or a group.

In Genesis 1:26 we see, “Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…..”. First person plural pronoun is used.

 

In Genesis 1:1 where it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The word used for God here is ‘Elohim’, a word unique to Hebrew thinking. It is the masculine plural for “El” which means God. It does not mean gods, when it is used for the God of Israel. But it allows for plurality within the Godhead. 

Isaiah 6:8 says, “Then I heard the voice of the LORD, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” First person plural pronoun is used.

The NEW TESTAMENT Scriptures teaching Trinity:

Matthew 3:16-17, “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting upon Him, and behold a voice out of heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus says in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Paul writes in II Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Jude says in Jude 20, 21, “……praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”

APPLICATION:

This doctrine though is a mystery ought to be accepted in faith and humility. 

Beware of teachings that exalt one Person of the Godhead over the other in the Bible, as there is no rivalry or competition among them.

Reject all cults which deny the existence of Trinity as found in the Bible and teach that God is just one Person.

As there are many subtle false teachings, here is a helpful test. Does the teaching under question accept the identity of the three Persons of the Godhead and the fact that they are co-equal and are of the same essence?