© F.O’Donoghue 2007
The first step in this study, is to establish the biblical doctrine that there is only one God, though defined in three distinct ‘persons’. Then, we find that each of the persons is called God, each creates, each was involved in Jesus’ resurrection, each indwells, etc. Therefore, God is one, but the one God is in three simultaneous persons. Please note that the idea of a composite unity is not a foreign concept to the Bible; after all, man and wife are said to be one flesh. Similarly, a man can simultaneously be a father, a son and a brother, yet retain his core identity within these three ‘persons’. The idea of a composite unity of persons is spoken of by God in Genesis (Chapter 2).
There is only one God:
Isaiah 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isaiah 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no other God.
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
(See also Isaiah 45:21,22; 46:9; 47:8; John 17:31; 1 Cor 8:5-6; Gal 4:8-9)
The Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit are all Called God individually;
Philp 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Acts 5:3-4 But 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? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
The Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit are referred to individually as Creator;
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Col 1:15-17 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
God in all three persons resurrects;
1 Thess 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Rom. 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
God in all three persons indwells;
2 Cor 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
John 14:17 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.
God in all three persons is everywhere;
1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
Matt. 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Psalm 139:7-10 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
The Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit are individually all knowing;
1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
John 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
1 Cor 2:10,11 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
The Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit individually sanctifiy;
1 Thess 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren
1 Pet 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
The Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit are individually givers of life;
Gen. 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
2 Cor 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Our fellowship is with all three; mentioned individually;
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 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.
Philp 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
The Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit are individually mentioned as eternal;
Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Micah 5:1,2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
All three persons of the Godhead have a will;
Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
1 Cor 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Each of them speaks;
Matt. 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Luke 5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Each of them has love;
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Rom. 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
Each of the three searches the heart;
Jer 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
1 Cor 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
It is widely accepted that the trinity of the Godhead is a mystery, but this does not detract from the clear indications regarding scriptural distinction between the ‘persons’ of the trinity. In ‘Trinitarian’ thinking, the word “Persons” is simply used as a means to convey the distinctions within the Trinity. This in no way detracts from the fact that they are personal, as opposed to impersonal, because God is not an impersonal force. All of God’s attributes are clearly personal. I must concede that the word “Persons”, when used of the members of the Trinity, is an imperfect term, but no universally acceptable alternative has ever been accepted by the Church, so the word remains…The Spirit causes Christians to look to the Father and the Son, but He is still present Himself in this. The Spirit is present as we experience God subjectively, rather than objectively, causing us to look outward to the Father and the Son. The work of the Holy Spirit is to draw our attention to the Father and the Son, rather than to Himself. This is better understood if we compare: John 15:26; 16:15.
John 15:26 But 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:
John 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Some examples of how the Spirit is present as believers experience God can be seen in the following Scriptures:
Acts 7:55-60 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Another example is Revelation 5:8-14. In this text God (the Father) and the Lamb (the Son) are in focus, with all of creation worshipping them. Where is the Holy Spirit? If God is triune, then surely the Spirit should be there. The reality is that the Spirit is there, He is in the apostle John. Follow the context back to see that John was “in the Spirit” when he had this experience (Rev 4:2). So the Spirit is present.
Believers are also said to be ‘in’ the Spirit (Jude 20), and worship ‘in’ the Spirit (Phil. 3:3).
It should also be remembered that the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), so the very act of reading God’s Word, which is living and active (Heb. 4:12), enables one to view the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. So rather than the Spirit being absent, He is very much present, with the Father and the Son, in numerous Bible passages, in the experience of the believer, and in the inspired word of God “for he (Holy Spirit) shall not speak of himself” (John 16:13).
Some have said that because the word trinity does not appear in scripture, that it is not a doctrine. The word doctrine simply means ‘teaching’, and much of what is taught about the trinity is referred to implicitly in scripture. There can be no doubt that the Bible reveals three distinct aspects of God; His triune nature, and the distinction of the offices held by each.
Scripture implicitly revals and teaches the triune nature of God in His overall redemptive work of reconcilliation between Himself and man.
