The Three In One
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. God is one in being or essence but He is three in person. There are three persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — Who together subsist in the one Divine essence. These three are equal. There is no subordination in the Trinity. The Father is not greater than the Son nor is the Son greater than the Holy Spirit. All are equally eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, etc. The three persons are equally God.
This, however, does not mean that there are three gods. No! We do not believe in three gods. There are not three divine wills, nor three divine minds, nor three divine powers, but only one. Nor may we say that the three persons of the Trinity are each only one-third god so that God is divided. The Bible teaches us that there is only one true God Who is one, simple, spiritual Being. Moses instructed God's people, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord... (Deut. 6:4). The apostle Paul agrees with Moses when, under the inspiration of God he writes, Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. (Gal. 3:20).
Nevertheless, the Bible also teaches us that God is three in person. We see a plurality of persons already in the Old Testament. We read in Gen. 1:26, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... God talked with Himself as the Triune God. In Ps. 33:6 we read, By the word (Son) of the Lord (Father) were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath (Holy Spirit) of his mouth. The doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught in the New Testament. Jesus said, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost... (Matt. 28:19).
The Father
In the Bible the name Father is often used to refer to the triune God, not the first person of the Trinity. The triune God, as the Creator and Sustainer of all, is called Father. But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him... (I Cor. 8:6). The triune God, as the Savior of His chosen people is called Father. We read in Deut. 32:6, Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? This is why God's people pray to the triune God, Our Father which art in heaven... (Matt. 6:9).
This name, Father, is also used of the first person of the Trinity to express the relationship He has with the Son, the second person. The apostle John writes, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18). The Son is the only begotten Son of the Father. The distinct personal property of the Father is that He generates the Son — He is Father. Just as a human father begets children, so the Father begets the Son. There is, however, no superiority in that. For this generation is an eternal act that is performed within the divine being and the Son is as active in it as the Father. The apostle John writes, In the beginning was the Word (the Son), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3). The distinct personal property of the Son is that He is begotten- He is Son. Besides generating the Son, the Father with the Son breaths forth the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ
The second person of the Trinity took upon Himself a human nature so that He became real man as well as remaining very God. 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. (John 1:14). This is Jesus Christ, the Savior. He is the person of the Son with both a human and a divine nature. It is essential, therefore, that we believe that Jesus Christ is God. The Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, and other cults are revealed as false churches by the fact that they deny the Deity of Christ.
The Bible clearly teaches that Christ is God. Isaiah the prophet wrote concerning Christ, ...his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6). Here Christ is said to be everlasting. Only God is everlasting. He is even directly called God. In Col. 1:16 He is said to be the Creator, For by him (Christ) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible... No mere man can make the world. Only God is Creator. Christ could forgive sin. He told the man who was sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. (Mark 2:5). Only God can forgive sins. He is called by Divine names. John writes, 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. (I John 5:20).
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, equal to the Father and the Son. The distinct personal property of the Spirit is that He proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Father breathes out the Spirit to the Son and the Son breaths Him out to the Father. Jesus says, 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 15:26). The Spirit, however, is not some impersonal power or force. The Spirit is a person, like the Father and the Son. This fact is demonstrated by John 14:16-17 where we read, 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... God's people are not comforted by some force. No! The Holy Spirit is the Comforter because He is a person Who loves and cares for His people.
The Holy Spirit, moreover, is a Divine person. He is God. This is denied by many, but the Bible makes it very clear. It is taught in the history of Ananias and Sapphira. We read, 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? Here the lie is said to be against the Holy Spirit. But we read, Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why has thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (Acts 5:3-4). The lie was against God not man. All the works of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit. He is Creator. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen. 1:1-2). He is Savior. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5).
God’s Covenant Life
Because God is triune, the life which He lives in Himself is a covenant life. Because there are three distinct persons in the Trinity Who subsist in one Divine essence, there is within the Godhead the highest possible likeness, unity, and harmony. God the Father has perfect fellowship and communion with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Father knows and loves the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son knows and loves the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows and loves the Father and the Son. There is a perfect bond of friendship between the three persons of the Trinity. Thus the life which God lives is a covenant life. This life of the Eternal God is the basis for the covenant bond which He establishes with His people. He takes His people into His own blessed life of covenant friendship. In fact, the covenant which God establishes with His people is a picture and manifestation of the glorious covenant life of God.
