God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are One God

In continuing my blog on What We Believe, I will discuss scripturally the concept of there being only one God. From my last post, I posted the fundamental truth:

Fundamental Truth:  There is but One Living and True God, the Great Creator, and there are three persons in the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  Also, the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God's Son Jesus was both human and divine

I would like to build a scriptural foundation for this statement. 

Reference Genesis 1:1-12 New International Version (NIV), This scripture describes creation by God, the heavens, earth, light and darkness, day and night, land and seas, vegetation, sun and moon, animals, and finally mankind.

Important to note in verse 1 is that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. This is the first clue of a multiphase God.  The phrase "Spirit of God" indicates a non bodied aspect of God that drifted aloft above the waters.  The second clue comes from verse 26 where it is written "Let us make man in our image".  The "Us" clearly identifying a plural nature of God. From the context of the scripture there are two personalities identified:  God, and Spirit of God. In this verse:

Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

¹⁹ 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, ...

The plurality is more identified as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This three person plurality is classically called the Trinity. Given that there are three personalities, but we said that God is One.  We can derive this from the insertion: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one (Deuteronomy 6:4)(NIV) Consider this verse:

Isaiah 43:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no savior.

Here Isaiah says that God existed first as God and that no other god will exist after God.  So, even though Jesus was born by a virgin as a man, His godhood always existed in the triune God.  Isaiah did not separate the God the Father and God the Holy Spirit specifically from this verse.  He may or may not of understood the third personality, the creator God known as Jesus Christ or our Savior, as a distinction from just God.  But it is clear that God considers Himself as a joining of the three personalities.  Without any one the Godhead would not be complete.  For us, when we refer to Jesus as God, the other two personalities are not jealous but they yield to one another.  They lift each other up.  If you lift one up, you lift all three up. 

Note how Hebrews acknowledges Jesus as the one who made the universe.

Hebrews 1:2 (NIV)

² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

And remember John 3:16; For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

 

So God, Jesus Christ, our eternal God who created of our universe, set up a wonderful plan to save the man, whom He put a living spirit into, from eternal damnation, from the penalty of man's own indiscretions.

Considers Paul's words:

2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Here Paul identifies the three personalities of God.

Here is another scripture that help establish Jesus relationship.

Luke 3:22 (NIV)

²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus was God's Son because He was conceived of a virgin by the Holy Spirit.  (Reference Matthew 1: 18, Luke 1:30-35) Born a man, yet being God that existed before time.  And since Jesus was fathered by the Holy Spirit, He is truly God's Son as man.  When Jesus refers to Himself as the "Son of Man", He is referring to His humanity along with all of human's vulnerabilities.  So the verse above refers to God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and voice from heaven, God the Father, in context that they are all different identities, in different places, in different forms and free from each other.  But singular in purpose and will. Consider this verse:

John 1:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

If Jesus is the only one who has seen God, then this implies His existence prior to His birth.  Jesus says this is so here:

John 8:57-59 (NIV)

⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Do you remember in the movie "The Ten Commandments" when Moses was talking to God in a burning bush and he asked God what His name was?  (Exodus 3:14) God identified Himself as 'I am who I am'.  With the words "I am" in John 8:58 above, Jesus identified Himself as the one who talked to Moses at the burning bush.  The proof is when they, in verse 59, picked up the stones to stone Jesus because they recognized the reference and that Jesus declared Himself to be God. And this next verse again witnesses that Jesus is the eternal God who came as God's only begotten son.

John 1:1-2, 14 (NIV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.² He was with God in the beginning.

 ¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Now I continue to maintain that the personalities of God are distinct.  I'm not talking about a God with a split personality.  I'm talking about a God that has three individual persons.  Jesus does not have to be where the Father is or the Holy Spirit is.  The Holy Spirit does not have to be where the Father is or where Jesus is.  They are Each capable on His own to do, speak and have His will.  But at the same time they are one together.  One in unity, inseparable, can't exist without the existence of each other.  I have to admit that this concept exceeds my ability to comprehend God.  So as expected, I am failing short of adequately describing God. 

Now lets talk about Jesus in his humanity.  Jesus had to learn, eat, work and could die like all men.  In His earthly walk He puts down His own rights as God and walked as a human in the Spirit and listened to the voice of God the Father.  In John 5:19, He said he could do nothing by Himself. So He had to depend on the Holy Spirit like you and I.  Jesus gave up His supernatural abilities as God but as a Man had to walk obediently in the Spirit of God obeying the Father God just as Jesus asks us to walk obediently in the Spirit and according to Jesus purpose.  He said we, his children, can and will do even greater works than Jesus did. Though Jesus could, He did not do the miracles within Himself but through the Holy Spirit.  So we can have the very same anointing, we can also walk filled with the Holy Spirit.  In Acts chapter 2, God poured out his Spirit on the Church.  He is still pouring out His Spirit and God wants to work through us.  

Now this is powerful for us if we can put this into full practice in our lives.  If we walk in the Spirit, obedient to Jesus voice and His calling.  Nothing will be impossible too us.  Jesus did all His miracles by the Holy Spirit.  He did not utilize the authority He had as God but He depended upon God the Father and the Holy Spirit just as we have to walk in the authority of Jesus as His children and depend on the Holy Spirit.

When you pray in Jesus name, is this a tag line you put at the end of your prayer or request. Or is the whole prayer inline with God's will and prayed as a request that will benefit God's Kingdom?  Did you hear God's voice via the Holy Spirit telling you to pray for that request? Or maybe that prayer is really a request for something from God to consume in your sinning? Is it really for the purposes of God?

For example, I am presently having neck problems.  This problem is preventing me from going out and doing certain fun, adventurous, thrilling activities.  These are not ungodly activities but they are not activities that will directly give God glory as opposed to writing or witnessing for Christ.  If God heals me will I stay here and type as I'm doing now or will I leave the computer and go fishing, hunting, gold mining, hiking, etc. to the point I am no longer focused on Christ in my activities.  Nothing is wrong with these activities except they take my focus away from the things God has for me to do.  But I do know that God wants to heal me.  I pray for healing but am I putting God at a disadvantage because of my lust for life and disobedience?  So then is my lust and disobedience preventing God from answering my prayers?  So I pray for God to root out these sinful tendencies that I would be more able to please him.  Then as I learn to walk closer to His will, the power of God will be more evident in my life.  The 'flesh' will be better 'buried'. I will cease to be running my own course but follow Christ.

Here is another verse establishing Jesus and his dependency on God the Father.

John 5:17-30 (NIV)

¹⁷ In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

It is my prayer that I can see what God is doing so that I may be effective as a Christian.  Saul before he was converted to Christ was found "kicking against the goads" (Acts 9:1-5, 26:13-15).  I believe his heart was right in that He was pursuing God with all his Heart.  But Paul missed God and was found working against Him.  Are we, in our enthusiasm working for God or against Him?  How do you know unless you're walking in the Spirit and hearing His voice?

Next I want to describe God as a Holy God.  Consider these verses.

 

Hebrews 1:1-13 (NIV)

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father"?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son"?

⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him."

⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,
    and his servants flames of fire."

⁸ But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy."

¹⁰ He also says,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
¹² You will roll them up like a robe;
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end."

¹³ To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet"?

 

 

Revelation 4:8-11 (NIV)

⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,'

who was, and is, and is to come.”

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

¹¹ “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.”

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty...  He is worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power.  Hebrews 1:3 says that the Son is the radiance of God's being.  It is said that if anyone saw God's face they would surely die. How majestic is this. 

If you've read all these scriptures, you see how the Bible describes God as Eternal, Creator, Savior, Holy, Worthy, and Higher than the Angels.  There are three personalities to God:  The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  There is one God, that is to say the three personalities are in united and dependent upon each other and there is no other god that has ever existed or will ever exist.