The Riches OF GRACE

“hath appeared to all men.” Titus 2:11

Robert W. Reed

The Trinity

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

I John 5:7

     The God of the Bible is expressed in three different names, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; each eternal and equal in power and glory. We worship only one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity.

“He who will try to understand the Trinity fully will lose his mind, but he who will deny the Trinity will lose his soul.”

- Woodbridge

“Tell me how it is that in this room there are three candles and but one light, and I will explain to you the mode of the divine existence.”

- John Wesley

Introduction

     The hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy,” which proclaims, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty...merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity,” expresses the God of the Bible. In I John 5:7, God has preserved for us the record of Himself. Christianity in its truest form is Trinitarian in its teaching. We approach this subject realizing that we stand on holy ground. I do not attempt to explain this doctrine by the rules of logic, reason, or analogies, but by revelation - the Holy Scriptures.

One God

     The Scriptures clearly teach that there is only one true and living God in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

     Please consider the following Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 4:35, “...the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.”

Deuteronomy 6:4, “...The Lord our God is one Lord:”

Isaiah 43:10-11, “...before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior.”

Isaiah 44:6, “...I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”

I Corinthians 8:4, “...and that there is none other God but one.”

John 17:3, “...the only true God...”

I Timothy 2:5,“For there is one God...”

Mark 12:29, “...the Lord our God is one Lord.”

Plurality in the Godhead

     The word one in Deuteronomy 6:4 refers to a unity. The same Hebrew word for one (echad) is used in Genesis 2:24, when speaking of the oneness of a husband and wife, “...and they shall be one flesh.” The one indicates that those two persons are to be joined in perfect harmony as a unit. The same is true of God, three persons existing in the Godhead in perfect harmony as a unit and yet one God.

     Please consider Genesis 1:26-27, where God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....” Notice the plurality in reference to God. The Hebrew word that is translated God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, which is used here also. It is a plural noun, showing that there is one God in a plurality. Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that man was created in the image of angels, but only in the image of God. The same plural form is used after the fall of man in Genesis 3:22; the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us.” The same plural, personal pronoun is also used at Babel where God confounded the languages in Genesis 11:7, “Go to, let us go down...” According to Genesis 11:8, it was the Lord who executed the decision to scatter the people.

     The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of the glory of the Lord in heaven according to Isaiah 6:1-2. The Trinity is expressed in the words, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts” in Isaiah 6:3. According to Isaiah 6:8, the Lord speaks of proclaiming the gospel and says, “who will go for us?” In Isaiah the Father is clearly seen. In John 12:41, Jesus quotes from Isaiah in reference to Himself, and in Acts 28:25, there was also the presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all included in the Godhead.

Qualities of Deity in All Three

     What is true of one is true of each of the others, all three are considered as:

God:               Father - Rom. 1:7              Omniscient:    Father - Jer. 17:10

                        Son - Matt. 1:23                                        Son  - Rev. 2:2

                        Spirit - Acts 5:3-9                                     Spirit - I Cor. 2:11

Lord:              Father-Matt. 11:25            Omnipresent: Father - Jer. 23:24

                        Son -  Rom. 10:9                                       Son - Matt. 18:20

                        Spirit - II Cor. 3:17                                   Spirit - Ps. 139:7

Creator:         Father - I Cor. 8:6             Omnipotent:   Father - I Pet. 1:5

                        Son - Col. 1:16                                          Son - II Cor. 12:9

                        Spirit - Gen. 1:2                                        Spirit - Rom. 15:19

Eternal:          Father - Rom. 16:26          Truth:             Father - John 7:28

                        Son - Rev. 1:8,17                                      Son - Rev. 3:7

                        Spirit - Heb. 9:14                                      Spirit - I John 5:7

Holy:               Father - Rev. 15:4             Sanctifier:            Father - Jude 1:1

                        Son - Acts 3:14                                         Son - Heb. 2:11

                        Spirit Matt. 3:11                                        Spirit - I Cor. 6:11

Trinitarian Texts

Luke 1:35, “...The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Matt. 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matt. 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

John 14:16-17, “And I (Jesus) will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Eph. 2:18, “For through him (Christ) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

II Cor. 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”

     The author in Proverbs 30:4 attests to the fact that God, who created all things, has a Son. In Psalms 2:2 and 7, the Lord’s anointed is shown to be God’s Son. Then in Daniel 3:25, it is the Son of God who appears as the fourth person in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The Son is also seen in Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7. In Psalms 45:6 “Thy throne, O God,...” is a reference to the Son according to Hebrews 1:8. Hallelujah!

Conclusion

     If we who are finite cannot even understand ourselves, how can we understand God who is infinite? We must simply, by faith, believe the revelation God has given to us in His Holy Word. A denial of the Trinity is a denial of Biblical teaching - Romans 11:36.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”  Acts 16:31

Victory Baptist Church

Pastor Robert W. Reed

14473 Bellingrath Road

P.O. Box 257

Coden, Alabama 36523

(251) 873-4422