Content
compiled by Chris Satterthwaite
The
Christian God is referred to as the "Trinity" or a "Triune God". The Trinity concept explains the Christian God
as one God (singular), yet composed of three separate entities: the Father
(aka. Jehovah or Yahweh), the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit (aka.
Holy Ghost, Spirit of God, Christ's Spirit, Spirit of Truth, etc).
The word
"Trinity" was initially assigned at the council of Nicaea in 325 AD,
but the concept preceded this council.
The following background is pulled from Bill Gordon's publication titled
"A Closer Look at the Trinity":
Many
people who reject the doctrine of the Trinity argue that it developed after the
time of the apostles. Most critics of the Trinity point to the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 and the Council of Constantinople in A.D.
381 as the events that introduced the doctrine of the Trinity into the church.
This claim is not supported by the historical record. This can be shown by
examining the writings of Christians before the Councils of Nicea
and Constantinople.
Clement
of Rome wrote a letter to the church at Corinth around A.D. 96. In this letter,
he explains God in terms compatible with the doctrine of the Trinity. He
writes, "Do we not have one God, one Christ, one Spirit of grace which was
poured out on us?" (Cyril Richardson, Early Christian Fathers, New York:
The Macmillan Co., 1970, p. 65). Clement also writes, "For as God lives,
and as the Lord Jesus Christ lives and the Holy Spirit (on whom the elect
believe and hope) . . . " (Ibid., p. 70). In addition, the Trinitarian
formula of Matthew 28:19 is quoted twice in The Didache,
a church manual written around A.D. 90-100.
Ignatius
of Antioch wrote several letters before his death in A.D. 117. He affirmed both
the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ in his letter to the Ephesians.
"The source of your unity and election is genuine suffering which you
undergo by the will of the Father and of Jesus Christ, our God" (Ibid.,
pp. 87-88). In the same letter he also writes, "There is only one
physician-of flesh yet spiritual, born yet unbegotten,
God incarnate, genuine life in the midst of death, sprung from Mary as well as
God, first subject to suffering then beyond it-Jesus Christ our Lord"
(Ibid., p. 90). In his letter to the Romans, Ignatius also refers to Jesus
Christ as "our God" (Ibid., p. 103). Another early Christian named
Justin wrote his First Apology about A.D. 155. In this writing, he declared
that the Son is divine (Ibid., p. 285).
The
doctrine of the Trinity is also implied in Athenagoras'
Plea to Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Aurelius
in A.D. 176-77, "The Son is in the Father and the Father in the Son by the
unity and power of the Spirit" (Ibid., p. 309). Athenagoras
repeats his Trinitarian position later in his Plea, "We speak of God, of
the Son, his Word, and of the Holy Spirit; and we say that the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit are united in power" (Ibid., p. 326).
Irenaeus of
Lyons wrote his work Against
Heresies in the late second century. He writes, "Christ Jesus
our Lord and God and Savior and King, according to the pleasure of the
invisible Father" (Ibid., p. 360). At about the same time, Tertullian
argued that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God in his treatise
Against Praxeas (Justo L. Gonzales, A History of
Christian Thought, vol. 1, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970, pp. 182-183). Other
early Christians also affirmed their belief in the doctrine of the Trinity,
including Origen (A.D. 185-254) and Novatian of Rome
(mid-third century) (Ibid., pp. 226, 242).
The Old
Testament (OT) is mainly focused on God the Father (aka. Jehovah or Yahweh),
but also contains prophecies about Christ.
Examples follow (from "World Religions Made Easy", pg 12):
·
His
birthplace - Micah 5:1-2
·
His
birth by a virgin - Isaiah 7:14
·
Rejection
by his own people - Isaiah 53:3
·
Betrayal
by a close friend - Psalm 41:9
·
Events
as he died - Psalms 22:14-18
·
The
Messiah's sacrifice for his people -
Isaiah 53:6
·
His
resurrection from the dead - Psalms 16:10 and 49:15
The New
Testament (NT) is mainly focused on God the Son (aka. Christ). There are several OT scriptures quoted in the
NT that describe God the Father, but are directed towards Christ. Some of these are discussed in this document.
The Holy
Spirit is seen in both the OT and NT.
However, since scriptures on the Holy Spirit are far fewer than those
for Jehovah or Christ, I will address the Holy Spirit in a separate section.
Though
inconclusive for this argument, a related topic is God's presence with His
people.
God's Law in
the OT (representing the old covenant between man and God) is replaced by God's
Grace in the NT (representing the new covenant - found in Jer
31:27-34, Eph 2:1-8, John 3:16, Rom 5:1, etc).
Through this transition, we see three different persons of the Godhead
in the presence of God's people.
The OT
occurs in the time of the old covenant (bound by Law), when God the Father (YHWH
- aka Yahweh/Jehovah) was in the presence of His people - the Jews. (Exodus 3:2 - burning bush, Exodus 13:21 -
pillar of cloud/fire, Exodus 33:22 - glory passed by, etc)
The NT
ushers in the time of the new covenant (bound by Grace) after Jesus Christ's
death. For 33 years, Jesus Christ was in
the presence of His people - the Jews.
But after Christ's death, the new covenant was extended to all people and the Holy Spirit was then
provided to/indwelled all Christians, enabling personal relationships with both Jews and Gentiles.
So first Jehovah
was with humans, then Jesus Christ, and now the Holy Spirit.
[NASB
versions listed; pay special attention to the parts underlined]
Verses
showing how Christ is the image of 'God':
2 Corinthians 4:4: “in whose case the god of this
world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they they
might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God.”
Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.”
It is
worthwhile to note that the Greek word for "image" in the two verses
above (referring to Christ), is also the same word used in the following verse
(for man):
1 Corinthians 11:7: “For a man ought not to have his
head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is
the glory of man.”
But in the
next verse we see Christ's "image" of God set apart from man's:
Hebrews 1:3a: “And He is the radiance of His glory and the
exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of
His power”...
Called the Son
of God:
Luke 1:34-35: “Mary said to the angel, "How can
this be, since I am a virgin?" The
angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy
Child shall be called the Son of God."”
A verse
showing Christ's heightened authority:
Matthew 7:28-29: “When Jesus had finished these words, the
crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having
authority, and not as their scribes.”
Christ has authority
over all others (heaven, angels, demons, earth, etc):
Philippians 2:9-11: “For this reason also, God highly
exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so
that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Peter's
confession of "Christ" meant the "Messiah" or "Anointed
One":
Matthew 16:15-17: “He said to them, "But who do you
say that I am?" Simon Peter
answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you,
Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Our mediator
and high priest:
1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator
also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
Hebrews 9:11-12: “But when Christ appeared as a high
priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation'
and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He
entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Christ is the
only route to God:
John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, "I am the
way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."”
John 6:44: “No one can come to Me unless the Father
who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
He had glory
with God before the world existed:
John 17:5: “Now Father, glorify me together with
Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
He is the
only one to ascend into heaven:
John
3:13:
“No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of
Man.”
Christ’s role
in creation and in sustaining that
creation:
Colossians 1:16-17: “For by Him all things were
created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created
through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold
together.”
He forgave
sins (something only God the Father had authority to do in the OT):
Luke 5:20,23: “Seeing their faith, He said, "Friend,
your sins are forgiven you."" ... "Which is easier to say,
'Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of
Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," - He said to the
paralytic - "I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go
home."”
He performed
various miracles and signs:
Matthew 14:25,28: “And in the fourth watch of the night He
came to them, walking on the sea." ... "Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me
to come to You on the water." And
He said, "Come!" And Peter got
out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”
He
controlled the natural elements:
Mark 4:39: “And He got up and rebuked the wind
and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became
perfectly calm.”
Christ
raised the dead:
John 11:43-44: “When He had said these things, He cried
out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." The man who had died came forth, bound
hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth,
Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go.”
He had the
power to raise Himself from the dead:
John 2:19-21: “Jesus answered them, "Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said,
"It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in
three days?" But He was speaking of
the temple of His body.”
See Luke 24
for resurrection proof and content thereafter.
Two verses
from the OT that show God’s existence (the Father) before creation:
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.”
Psalms 90:2: “Before the mountains were born Or You
gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting,
You are God.”
Now,
switching over to verses speaking directly of Christ:
Isaiah
6:9:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government
will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
John
8:58:
“Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born,
I am. ”
Micah 5:2b: “From you One will go forth for Me to be
ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of
eternity.”
John 1:1-2: “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
John 6:62: “What then if you see the Son of Man
ascending to where He was before?”
John 16:28: “I came forth from the Father and
have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the
Father.”
John 17:5: “Now Father, glorify me together with
Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
These parallel
the creation in Genesis, indicating Christ’s existence before all created
beings:
John 1:3: “All things came into being through
Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Colossians 1:16-17: “For by Him all things were
created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created
through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things
hold together.”
In the following
verse, Christ is before the Earth and remains after it perishes.
Hebrews 1:10-11: “And ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid
the foundation of the Earth, And the Heavens are the works of Your hands;
They will perish, but You remain; and they all will become old like a
garment,’”
Now, here
are two verses which initially seem to contradict an everlasting existence of
Christ:
Revelation 3:14: “To the angel of the church in Laodicea
write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation
of God, says this:”
Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.”
The Greek
word 'panta' used in John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16-27
above, means Christ created "all things", and not "all other
things". Two initial comments on
the problematic verses:
1.
If
"all things" were created through Christ, how could Christ create
himself? This is illogical. Augustine is cited as arguing the same idea,
on page 11 of “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture” by Peter Gorday. He stated,
“God cannot be thought of as having begotten in time the Son through whom he
has created the times.”
2.
Does
the Bible list a separate creation, where God creates the Son? No. This
view is not supported by the Bible.
These last
two verses (Rev 3:14 and Col 1:15) seem to oppose the concept of Christ always
existing, and suggest at face value that Christ was created. However, if the Bible is truly God's word,
"inspired by God" or "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), then it must agree
and cannot contradict itself.
Let's dig a
bit deeper and get to the root of the seeming contradiction. To continue, we need to return to the
original source to see how the same Greek words are used and translated in
different locations.
Revelation 3:14:
...“the Beginning of the creation of God”
After looking at Rev 3:14 with the Zondervan NASB Reference and Concordance, I found an
interesting distinction for the Greek word used for “Beginning”. Beginning or “archē”
(the transliteration of the original Greek word) has the general Greek meaning “beginning” or “origin”. However, according to Zondervan,
in context it was used for either
“first in point of time” (i.e. beginning or origin) or “first in rank” (i.e.
ruler or chief). If we use the “first in
point of time” meaning to represent Revelation 3:14, we do so in direct
opposition to the aforementioned verses - specifically John 1:1-3 and Col
1:16. Interestingly enough, the verse is
in agreement with the rest when we use the second meaning “first in rank”.
So the conflict found within
Revelation 3:14 appears to be an issue of interpretation from Greek to
English. The English word “Beginning”
could accurately be interpreted “Ruler” or “Lord”.
Colossians
1:15: …“the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.”
Just a few verses later in
Colossians, the idea is relayed a bit differently with the same Greek word (translated
in English as "firstborn"). Colossians
1:18 states, “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first
place in everything.” This phrase is again
used in Revelation 1:5: "firstborn from the dead".
Notice the "firstborn of all
creation" and "firstborn from the dead". I don't think this is talking about a
physical birth or a physical death. There is another distinction to be made, specifically
our change in disposition to God. I'm
referring to us dying to our sinful nature, and being born into a spiritual
life with Christ.
Christ's
physical death on the cross, created the new covenant of Grace (Jer 31:27-34, Eph 2:1-8, John 3:16, Rom
5:1). He knew no sin, but was given all of humanity's sin
on the cross (2 Cor 5:21). It's important to
mention that since God cannot look at sin, we require the washing through
Christ's gift of Grace in order to enter God's presence. This is the same reason God the Father turned
from Christ the last moment on the cross (Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34).
We
learn in Romans 5:18-19 that through Christ's death, "there resulted
justification of life to all men." The
sins of the world were washed from Christ.
We read in 1 Cor 15:20 that: "Christ has
been raised from the dead and became the first fruits of those who are
asleep". Then He appeared to different folks on Earth
(1 Cor 15:5-8), rose to Heaven and was seated at the
right hand of God the Father (Mark 16:19).
Ephesians
2:5-6 says this to us about God: "even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus."
Romans
6 shows further explanation: "Or do you not know that all of us who have
been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life."
Christians are to consider themselves "dead to sin, but alive to
God in Christ Jesus."
So there
is Biblical credence (in both denotation and connotation) for the "firstborn
of all creation" and "firstborn from the dead" to
mean the first to be cleansed of sin and enter God's presence.
The
conclusion: We find that Christ always
existed.
God
is worshipped alone:
Exodus
34:14: “for you shall not worship any other god, for
the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”
Deuteronomy
6:13:
“You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him
and swear by His name.”
1
Samuel 7:3: “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel,
saying, "If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign
gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your
hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the
hand of the Philistines.”
Christ
reiterates this command and rebukes Satan for requesting worship:
Matthew
4:10 (see also Luke 4:8): “Then Jesus said to him, "Go,
Satan! For it is written, 'You shall
worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" ”
Angels
instruct John to worship God alone:
Revelation
19:10: “Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do that;
I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of
Jesus; worship God. For the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."”
Revelation
22:8-9: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these
things. And when I heard and saw, I
fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
But he said to me, "Do not do that.
I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of
those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."”
Christ
does not rebuke people for worshiping Him.
The Greek root word 'proskuneo' for worship is
used in all of the following verses (including those translated as 'bow'
below):
Matthew
14:33: “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him,
saying, "You are certainly God's Son!"”
Matthew
28:9:
“And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them.
And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.”
John
9:38:
“And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him.”
Matthew
8:2:
“And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said,
"Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."”
Matthew
9:18:
“While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed
down before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and
lay Your hand on her, and she will live."”
Matthew
15:25: “But she came and began to bow down before Him,
saying, "Lord, help me!" ”
God
tells the angels to worship Christ. This
is especially important when God has already said He alone should be worshiped
and that He is a Jealous God (Exodus 34:14 above):
Hebrews
1:6:
“And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, "And
let all the angels of God worship Him." ”
Christ
wasn't just special, but we see he was actually called God in different
locations. Let's start with the
following verse, where Jesus Christ is "the Word":
John
1:1:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.”
Notice it does
not say "the Word was a god", as translated in the New
World Translation (NWT) for the Jehovah Witnesses. Greek translation rules prohibit the
translation from saying "a god".
In short, the definite article does not exist and so sentence structure
denotes a predicate. There are also
context issues with saying "a god", since the God of the Bible is not
polytheistic.
John
10:30: “I and the Father are one.”
Philippians
2:11:
“and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians
2:5-7: … “Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the
likeness of men.”
Christ
identifies Himself in the same way God identified Himself to Moses in Exodus
3:14:
John
8:58:
“Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born,
I am.”
Jesus Christ
was both man and god:
Colossians
2:9:
“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”
God the Father
says the following about the Son (Jesus Christ):
Hebrews
1:8-11: “But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your
God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above your companions. And ‘You,
Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the Earth, And the Heavens
are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain; and they all
will become old like a garment,’”
Note that
the previous verse comes from Psalms 45:6-7 and Psalms 102:25-26. It's interesting to see writers of the NT use
verses from the OT (as paralleled here through David's writing in
Hebrews). These OT verses are speaking
of God the Father, where the NT verses are speaking of Jesus Christ.
Scripture
shows another comparison in Psalms 89:26 with God, and Titus 2:13 with Christ:
Psalms
89:26: “He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God,
and the rock of my salvation.” [In NIV "the rock
of my salvation" is translated "the Rock my Savior"]
Titus
2:13:
“looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great
God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
Zondervan
mentions that the previous verse in Titus 'can also be translated "the
great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ" as
it appears in the KJV, but the NASB rendering better represents the Greek
construction'.
Thomas'
confession of Christ after inspecting His resurrected body:
John
20:28: “Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord
and my God!"”
Jesus Christ
says that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father (Jehovah):
John
14:9-11: “Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and
yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
and the Father is in Me? The words that
I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me
does His works. Believe Me that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me; otherwise believe because of the
works themselves.”
Christ
referred to as Might God and Eternal Father:
Isaiah
6:9:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government
will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
The
following Comparison table for Yahweh and Jesus, is taken from page 67 of
"Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses", by Ron
Rhodes:
|
Description |
As Used of Yahweh |
As Used of Jesus |
|
Yahweh
("I AM") |
Exodus
3:14 Deuteronomy
32:39 Isaiah
43:10 |
John
8:24 John
8:58 John
18:4-6 |
|
God |
Genesis
1:1 Deuteronomy
6:4 Psalm
45:6,7 |
Isaiah
7:14; 9:6 John
1:1,14 John
20:28 Titus
2:13 Hebrews
1:8 2
Peter 1:1 |
|
Alpha
and Omega |
Isaiah
41:4 Isaiah
48:12 Revelation
1:8 |
Revelation
1:17,18 Revelation
2:8 Revelation
22:12-16 |
|
Lord |
Isaiah
45:23 |
Matthew
12:8 Acts
7:59,60 Acts
10:36 Romans
10:12 1
Corinthians 2:8 1
Corinthians 12:3 Philippians
2:10,11 |
|
Savior |
Isaiah
43:2 Isaiah
43:11 Isaiah
63:8 Luke
1:47 1
Timothy 4:10 |
Matthew
1:21 Luke
2:11 John
1:29 John
4:42 Titus
2:13 Hebrews
5:9 |
|
King |
Psalm
95:3 Isaiah
43:15 1
Timothy 6:14-16 |
Revelation
17:14 Revelation
19:16 |
|
Judge |
Genesis
18:25 Psalm
50:4,6 Psalm
96:13 Romans
14:10 |
John
5:22 2
Corinthians 5:10 2
Timothy 4:1 |
|
Light |
2
Samuel 22:29 Psalm
27:1 Isaiah
42:6 |
John
1:4,9 John
3:19 John
8:12 John
9:5 |
|
Rock |
Deuteronomy
32:3,4 2
Samuel 22:32 Psalm
89:26 |
Romans
9:33 1
Corinthians 10:3,4 1
Peter 2:4-8 |
|
Redeemer |
Psalm
130:7,8 Isaiah
48:17 Isaiah
54:5 Isaiah
63:9 |
Acts
20:28 Ephesians
1:7 Hebrews
9:12 |
|
Our
Righteousness |
Isaiah
45:24 |
Jeremiah
23:6 Romans
3:21,22 |
|
Husband |
Isaiah
54:5 Hosea
2:16 |
Matthew
25:1 Mark
2:18,19 2
Corinthians 11:2 Ephesians
5:25-32 Revelation
21:2,9 |
|
Shepherd |
Genesis
49:24 Psalm
23:1 Psalm
80:1 |
John
10:11,16 Hebrews
13:20 1
Peter 2:25 1
Peter 5:4 |
|
Creator |
Genesis
1:1 Job
33:4 Psalm
95:5,6 Psalm
102:25,26 Isaiah
40:28 |
John
1:2,3,10 Colossians
1:15-18 Hebrews
1:1-3,10 |
|
Giver
of Life |
Genesis
2:7 Deuteronomy
32:39 1
Samuel 2:6 Psalm
36:9 |
John
5:21 John
10:28 John
11:25 |
|
Forgiver
of Sin |
Exodus
34:6,7 Nehemiah
9:17 Daniel
9:9 Jonah
4:2 |
Mark
2:1-12 Acts
26:18 Colossians
2:13 Colossians
3:13 |
|
Lord
Our Healer |
Exodus
15:26 |
Acts
9:34 |
|
Omnipresent |
Psalm
139:7-12 Proverbs
15:3 |
Matthew
18:20 Matthew
28:20 Ephesians
3:17; 4:10 |
|
Omniscient |
1
Kings 8:39 Jeremiah
17:9,10,16 |
Matthew
11:27 Luke
5:4-6 John
2:25 John
16:30 John
21:17 Acts
1:24 |
|
Omnipotent |
Isaiah
40:10-31 Isaiah
45:5-13 |
Matthew
28:18 Mark
1:29-34 John
10:18 Jude
24 |
|
Preexistent |
Genesis
1:1 |
John
1:15,30 John
3:13,31,32 John
6:62 John
16:28 John
17:5 |
|
Eternal |
Psalm
102:26,27 Habakkuk
3:6 |
Isaiah
9:6 Micah
5:2 John
8:58 |
|
Immutable |
Isaiah
46:9,16 Malachi
3:6 James
1:17 |
Hebrews
13:8 |
|
Receiver
of Worship |
Matthew
4:10 John
4:24 Revelation
5:14 Revelation
7:11 Revelation
11:16 |
Matthew
14:33 Matthew
28:9 John
9:38 Philippians
2:10,11 Hebrews
1:6 |
|
Speaker
with Divine Authority |
"Thus
saith the Lord," used hundreds of times |
Matthew
23:34-37 John
7:46 "Truly,
truly, I say..." 36 |
Part of the
"mystery" of the Trinity is due to a lack of knowledge on the Holy
Spirit. This makes sense, considering
the Holy Spirit appears far less in the Bible than God the Father or Son. It's good to establish some foundation. This section serves as an introduction to the
Holy Spirit only; it is not comprehensive.
The first
appearance of the Holy Spirit is found in the second verse of the Bible:
Genesis 1:2:
“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
Personal
name
At first
glance, the Holy Spirit lacks a personal name.
But let's look at other unnamed spirits in the Bible.
Matthew 12:43-45:
“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through
waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from
which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in
order. Then it goes and takes along with
it sever other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live
there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this
evil generation.”
The
subject in the verses above is an "unclean spirit", which finds "seven
other spirits more wicked than itself".
They aren't named, but are spirits qualified by the attributes
"unclean" and "wicked".
Similar naming is found in other verses:
Mark 1:23-26:
“Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit;
and he cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus
of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy
us? I know who You are - the Holy One of
God!"”
Mark 5:8-10:
“For He had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean
spirit!" And He was asking him, "What is your name?" And he said to Him, "My name is
Legion; for we are many." And
he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ”
Acts 19:13-16:
“But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted
to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, "I adjure you by Jesus who Paul preaches." Seven sons of one Sceva,
a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize
Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" And the man, in whom was the evil spirit,
leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled
out of that house naked and wounded.”
We
see Jesus having conversations with the "unclean spirit" in the
synagogue and with the "legion" of unclean spirits in the demonic by
the tombs of Gerasenes. And then the "evil spirit" in Acts
talked to the seven men before beating them up and ripping their clothes off.
These
spirits were personalities with a mind (conversing/reasoning), emotional
responses (fear of removal), and will power (in this case, to do evil). These spirits were not named, though they
were referenced by the type of spirit.
In
the same manner, we see 'Holy' as the qualifier/name for God's Spirit - the Holy
Spirit.
Personal
pronouns
There are
many personal pronouns used to refer to the Holy Spirit (eg.
"He" and not "it"):
John 14:16-17:
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may
be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him
because He abides with you and will be in you.”
The
following verse sticks out in my mind because the Holy Spirit (not Christ or
Jehovah) refers to Himself as "Me" and "I":
Acts 13:2:
“While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have
called them.”
Fills
all believers
The Holy
Spirit fills all believers:
John 7:39:
“But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to
receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet
glorified.”
Acts 5:32:
“And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God
has given to those who obey Him.”
Romans 5:5:
“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
1 Corinthians 2:12:
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit
who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to use by God.”
Ephesians 3:16:
“that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,”
Science says
the same object/person (Holy Spirit in this case) cannot be in different places
at the same time, hence the Holy Spirit defies the created rules of our
universe. But before we dismiss the Holy
Spirit as being a personal entity, let's compare a similar quality discussed in
scripture about Jesus Christ:
Matthew 18:20:
“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there
in their midst.”
The ability
to be present in multiple places as once does not disqualify Christ from being
a personal entity, no more than it does the Holy Spirit.
Attributes
of a personality
Courses in
Artificial Intelligence at college taught me the three attributes required for
defining a personality (or unique individual):
Mind, Will, and Emotion. The following
verses exemplify these attributes in the Holy Spirit.
The Holy
Spirit demonstrates a mind:
Isaiah 11:2:
“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and
understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of
knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 2:10-11:
“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all
things, even the depths of God. For
who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of that man which
is in him? Even so the thoughts of God
no one knows except the Spirit of God.”
Romans 8:27: “and
He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because
He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
The Holy
Spirit demonstrates its own will:
1 Corinthians 12:11:
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually just as He wills.”
Acts 16:6:
“They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian
region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in
Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying
to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;”
The Holy
Spirit demonstrates emotion:
Ephesians 4:30:
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the
day of redemption.”
We find other
actions of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, further demonstrating a personality...
where the Holy Spirit teaches, sends, comforts, etc.
The most
powerful reference I could find of the Holy Spirit to God:
Acts 5:3-4:
“But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to
the Holy Spirit ... You have not lied to men but to God"”
Scriptures
addressing each in the same context:
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”
1 Corinthians 12:4-6:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and
the same Lord. There are varieties
of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.”
2 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.”
Ephesians 4:4-6:
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one
hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
Titus 3:4-6:
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in
righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus
Christ our Savior”
Both Jesus
and God are cited as raising Jesus from the dead:
John 2:19-21: “Jesus answered them, "Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and
will You raise it up in three days?"
But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”
1 Corinthians 6:14:
“Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through
His power.”
The
following scripture references Gen 1:2-4 during creation when God also says
that "Light shall shine out of darkness":
2 Corinthians 4:4-6:
“in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving
so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God.
For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and
ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Light shall
shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone
in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Christ.”
It's
interesting to think about God in this context. Who is the "One" who "has
shown" in Paul's heart (the author)?
Is this Christ, the Holy Spirit, or God the Father? Because we see the face of Christ, we know
the Holy Spirit shines in hearts of men, and we have John 6:44 saying that
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him".
Another
verse pointing at all three:
Romans 8:11-14:
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells
in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation,
not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh - for if you are living
according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting
to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Here is a
fun one to read. Both the "Holy
Spirit" and "God" are named.
Notice the "spoke from God" part at the end, and remember that
Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1):
2 Peter 1:20-21:
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's
own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but
men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Two more verses
showing a very close relationship between the three:
John 16:13-15:
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears,
He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of
Mine and will disclose it to you. All
things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and
will disclose it to you.”
Romans 8:27: “and
He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is,
because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Singular
tense with God
Zechariah 14:9:
“[God Will Be King over All] And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in
that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.”
Romans 3:30:
“since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the
uncircumcised through faith is one.”
1 Corinthians 8:6:
“yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things
and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all
things, and we exist through Him.”
Jude 1:25:
“to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory,
majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Mark 12:29:
“Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is
one Lord;”
Mark 12:32:
“The scribe said to Him, "Right Teacher; You have truly stated that He
is One, and there is no one else besides Him;”
Plural
tense with God
Genesis 1:26a:
“Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness”...
Genesis 3:22:
“Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of
Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take
also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”
Singular
tense with man/woman after marriage
Matthew 19:5-6:
“and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together,
let no man separate.”
Conclusion:
Despite
our inability as humans to understand how three distinct entities make up one
God, we find unmistakable parallels in the Bible between the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Christians refer to
this concept as the "Trinity" or "Triune God".
Let us keep
Job's response in mind, after he was rebuked by God for his lack of faith,
induced by a lack of knowledge:
Job 42:3: “ 'Who is
this that hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things
too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”