Knowing Our Triune God

The doctrine regarding the Trinity (the three Persons of the Godhead) isn’t something that any finite individual can fully comprehend. The concept is beyond the grasp of our mortal minds. And yet, God has given to mankind a great deal of information about the Trinity throughout the Scriptures—information that His created beings may and must understand, albeit imperfectly. Although the term “Trinity” isn’t found in any Bible verse, that which the Trinity comprises is found from Genesis through Revelation. In Genesis:1:26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
See All..., God declared, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (emphasis added, here and throughout). Isaiah:48:16Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
See All...: “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.” The Gospel of Matthew ends with this commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (28:19).

What the Bible declares about the Godhead (Acts:17:29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
See All...; Romans:1:20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
See All...; Colossians:2:9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
See All...) is very clear: there is only one God. “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else” (Isaiah:45:5-6 [5] I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: [6] That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
See All..., et al.). There is only one God, yet God is made up of three Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That they are individual divine Persons is also very clear. Jesus, who affirms His own deity (John:8:24-27 [24] I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. [25] Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. [26] I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. [27] They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
See All...), continually refers to the person of God the Father as His Father. The religious leaders of the Jews sought to kill Him because He said “that God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (John:5:18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
See All...). In John:14:26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
See All..., Jesus tells of the “Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things….” Again, three divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In Genesis:1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All... we find “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The Hebrew word for “God” there (and in more than 2,000 other OT places) is elohim, which means “gods.” Moreover, the plural noun elohim is nearly always used with a singular verb, which plays havoc with the grammar. Likewise, throughout the Old Testament, God is presented as a plurality by using the plural pronouns “us” and “our,” e.g., “Let us make man in our image.” “The man is become as one of us.” (Genesis:1:26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
See All...; 3:22). Since Scripture declares God to be “One,” such usage either loads the Bible up with multiple contradictions, or what is presented simply underscores the fact that the Bible teaches that God is one, yet made up of three Persons. The Godhead has not only perfect harmony and unity but diversity. That’s why there must be more than one divine Person included within God.

Although we cannot naturally fathom a triune God due to the transcendent nature of such a concept, we can see that reason and logic support the very idea. God must be perfectly unified in mind and in purpose in all things—which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit indeed are. When Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John:5:19Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
See All...), He was not saying that He had no power to do anything but that He was conforming to the will of His Father in everything. He confirmed this in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke:22:44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
See All...) as He faced what He would have to experience in order to pay for the sins of mankind. He prayed to the Father: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew:26:39And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
See All...). Jesus completely submitted Himself to His Father.

The “God” that is worshiped by Jews, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Oneness Pentecostals is a single entity and is therefore incomplete. How so? The Scriptures teach that God is love, and love must have an object. Therefore, a singular Eternal Being would have no one to love prior to His creation of human beings, whom He could love. That would make such a god imperfect and in need of created beings, which isn’t the case with our triune God. Throughout eternity, “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand” (John:3:35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
See All...). “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou [Father] hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John:17:26And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
See All...). At the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father declared regarding Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew:17:5While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
See All...).

One of the major features of the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself. Without such information coming directly from God, man is left with only his own speculations about his Creator, which is always a dangerous position. The great commandment is to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is impossible to love God this way unless we know Him in truth—and that can occur only if we understand, with the help of the Holy Spirit, what He has declared about Himself in His Word (1 Corinthians:2:14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
See All...).

Jesus prayed for and continually exhorted His followers to be unified in the faith and to demonstrate this through their love for one another: “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John:17:21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
See All...). His relationship with His Father is the perfect expression of what He desires, even commands, of those who follow Him. Love is ultimately what is being revealed: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John:15:9-10 [9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. [10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
See All...).

Consider the following, not only in regard to the unreasonable concept of God as a solitary Being, who would be therefore incomplete, having never had another eternal person to love and with whom to have fellowship prior to the Creation, but more so in what takes place within the perfectly unified relationship among the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those who preach the superiority of the Father based upon Jesus’ statement: “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all” (John:10:29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
See All...) miss the context, which underscores God’s power to keep those who believe in Him.

The following verse puts to rest any superiority of one member of the Godhead over another: “I and My Father are one” (v. 30). Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are all co-equally God and are in absolute agreement with one another. Nevertheless, they have different roles within the Godhead. God the Father is the chief authority of the Godhead and oversees His Son and the Holy Spirit regarding His purpose for creation and His plan for salvation: “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” “The Father loveth the son, and hath given all things into His hand.” “And [Jesus] said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (John:3:35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
See All...; Luke:2:49And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
See All...). Jesus points to the sovereignty of the Father in His answer to Pilate: “Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above” (John:19:10-11 [10] Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? [11] Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
See All...).

God the Father’s plan is quite clear: “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John:4:14And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
See All...). It was in His love for mankind that He sent the Son into the world: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John:3:17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
See All...). In Isaiah:43:11I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
See All... we are told that there is only one Savior: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” Yet in Titus it is declared that God is our Savior and that Jesus is our Savior. Moreover, the Scriptures proclaim that Jesus is our “great God and our Saviour” (Titus:1:3-4 [3] But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; [4] To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
See All...; 2:13). These verses can be reconciled only in our triune God. Both the Father and Jesus are God. They send the Holy Spirit (John:14:16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
See All...; 15:26; 16:7). All three glorify one another (John:17:1These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
See All...). Jesus submits to the Father, and the Holy Spirit submits to both the Father and the Son (Matthew:26:39And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
See All...; Luke:11:13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
See All...; John:15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All...).

Although each divine Person has a different role within the Godhead, they nevertheless all function in perfect accord with one another. When Jesus, whom the Father sent, became a Man, the God-Man, and went to the cross to pay the full penalty for the sins of mankind, the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice in order to reconcile humanity to Himself: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter:1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
See All...). This was the plan of God, authorized by the Father, executed by Jesus, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The role of the Holy Spirit is to “testify of [Jesus]” (John:15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All...). Furthermore, He convicts the world of sin, enables sinners to be born again, seals them, helps them to understand the Scriptures, and guides and empowers them for godly living and witnessing (John:16:8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
See All...; 3:5; 2 Corinthians:1:22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
See All...; John:14:26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
See All...; 16:13; Acts:1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
See All...). Although in submission to the Father and the Son, He is nonetheless fully God, “the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth [goes forth] from the Father” (John:15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All...).

Of the three Persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood and thus is often diminished or rejected, both within and without the church. Cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Way International, Armstrongism, and Unitarian Universalists teach that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal active energy force. They have either changed the personal pronouns referring to the Holy Spirit in their bibles or have rationalized the Scriptures to fit their unbiblical doctrine. John:14:16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
See All... and 16:13-15 are among numerous others that plainly identify the Holy Spirit as a personal Being: “And I 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….Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.”

Other related verses involve actions that cannot reasonably be applied to an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit is lied to and resisted; He personally communicates, forbids, reacts favorably, authorizes, helps one to love, helps believers to pray, and prays for them. He teaches, personally indwells believers, gives spiritual gifts to believers, is grieved, and seals believers; He prophesies, and He superintended the writing of the Scriptures (Acts:5:3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
See All...; 7:51; 13:2; 16:6; 20:28; Romans:5:5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
See All...; 8:13, 26-27; 1 Corinthians:2:13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
See All...; 6:19; 12:8-11; Ephesians:4:30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
See All...; Philippians:2:1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
See All...; 1 Timothy:4:1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
See All...; 2 Peter:1:20-21 [20] Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. [21] For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
See All...). Such things can be the function only of a personal Being and can be denied only by imposing one’s unbiblical and prejudiced view of the Holy Spirit.

Although the doctrine of the Trinity gives believers wonderful insights into the character of God, it also provides clarity regarding how we’re to relate to one another in a manner that’s pleasing to Him and that produces fruitful results in our lives. For example, we can use the picture of the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to learn about the way that God intended for a marriage between a man and woman to function. As noted, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equally God. In the same manner, the husband and wife are co-equal—though their roles differ, neither is considered superior in God’s eyes. He is biased toward neither. Submission is another area in which the union of man and woman in marriage is a picture of the Trinity. The husband is the spiritual head, with his wife in submission to him, just as Jesus is in submission to His Father, and the Holy Spirit submits to the Father and the Son.

Just because someone doesn’t understand all that the Bible says about the Trinity doesn’t mean that he is unable to believe the true gospel and be saved. However, when one’s ignorance of the Godhead turns into a rejection of what the Scriptures teach about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that becomes a belief in a false god and consequently another gospel that can save no one. Searching out what the Word of God says about the Persons of the Godhead will increase our understanding and therefore our love for them: “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John:5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
See All...).  TBC