IS THE TRINITY DOCTRINE BIBLICAL ?
ARE THERE THREE PERSONS IN ONE GOD OR IS JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER AS WELL AS THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, OPERATING IN DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS OR MODES ?
WHAT IS THE TRUE NATURE OF THE GOD OF THE BIBLE AS REVEALED IN THE SCRIPURES?
WHO IS THE “US” AND “OUR” IN GENESIS 1:26, 3:22, 11:6-7 AND ISAIAH 6:8 ? Pt.3
BY SISTER HAPPINESS AIBANGBEE.
FEB. 12TH, 2021
THE SHEMA YISRAEL
The Shema Yisrael or Sh’ma Yisrael; “Hear, O Israel” is taken from one of the book of the Torah, Deuteronomy 6:4. It serves as a centerpiece belief in Judaism . The first verse encapsulates the monotheistic essence of Judaism: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one LORD”
This is the bedrock of Judaism and the Christian Faith. The Israelites in Bible time, did not worship many gods, neither do Christians who believe in the Trinity worship many gods. The Trinity does not composed of three gods, rather it consists of three persons existing in One God.
Perhaps we can evaluate this in the same biblical approach which the Lord used to defined a husband and a wife who are joined together in Holy Matrimony, the bible say that they are no longer two, but ONE. -Matt. 19:5-6. The equation goes like this; 1+1 = 1. This is the mystery of the marital union of one man and one woman becoming not two people, but one. Add children and then you have the family as a miniature (but very imperfect) version of the Trinity.
Let me try and illustrate it this way. Mr. John Sr. and his wife Janet and their son John Jr. makes up the John family. It is one family, although there are three persons who make up this family. It can never be regarded as three family, never, it remains One family, made up of three individuals.
(Please note that the Trinity is not a marital union. This is just my feeble attempt to try and get you to understand the Triune God who exist in three Persons and yet remain One God)
In like manner, the GodHead comprised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three distinct persons constitutes the One indivisible Lord God of Israel, the God of the Bible, the same God who Christians throughout the ages worship. And this is what we will be looking at in this particular post.
Trinity is the theological term applied to God to indicate His perpetual existence as three distinct Persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) who nevertheless remain one indivisible God.
The concept of the Trinity as revealed in the Holy Bible , clearly shows that there is one God, and yet there are three distinct persons in this one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4″ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord”
Who is this Lord God of israel, what did he revealed about himself ? The answer is found in the Holy Scripures. Let’s begin from the very beginning.
Genesis 1:1 ” In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Genesis 1:2″ And the earth was without form, and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVED UPON THE WATERS”( Emphasis mine.)
The Blessed Holy Spirit was already at work in creation from the very beginning. We will come to that later.
Now let’s go to verse 26.
Gen 1: 26 “And 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” ( emphasis mine)
Salient points from Genesis 1:26
- Let US make man
- In OUR IMAGE
- After OUR LIKENESS.
Who was God the Father speaking to ? Was He talking to himself ? Well , it would be simply absurd to think that God the Father was talking to himself. You can also deduce from this narrative that whoever God the Father is speaking to, is of or are of the same essence, substance, the same nature with the very Person who is speaking . Those He is speaking to equally shared in the “Divine Nature or GodHead” He was speaking to a “like Person or like Persons.” Persons who are distinct from him and yet are of the same image and likeness just as He is.
This can be seen from the choice of words He used; let” US” plural, make man in “OUR IMAGE” plural, after ” OUR LIKENESS” again Plural. Take note of the fact that God did not say, I want to make man in my image and after my likeness. If that was the case, we may be tempted to say that perhaps God the Father was soliquizing ! But he wasn’t. He was talking to the other members of the GodHead.
Do you remember that Colossians 1: 15 and 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Christ Jesus is the image of God ? You can understand better what the Father meant when he said; ” Let US make man in OUR IMAGE”
In Genesis 1:26, after the council meeting of the GodHead where the decision to create man was reached, the outcome of that deliberation was seen in Genesis 1:27
Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of him, created he him…”
Here is a perfect revelation of who the GodHead is. Three Persons in one God, One God , brethrens, not three gods. There are three Persons with the same Divine Nature in the GodHead. That is what played out in Genesis 1:26-27. In verse 26, God the Father was addressing the Son and the Holy Spirit, ( Remember the Holy Spirit was already at work as He moved upon the waters) telling them that they the Trinity or the GodHead should create man.
Then verse 27 says ” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him…”
Instead of “so gods ( Plural) created man in their images. ., the Bible said God( singular) , created man in his image…” The “US” and “OUR” in Genesis 1:26 ( which referred to the three distinct Persons in the GodHead) gave way to ” So God ( singular) created man in his image(singular) instead of our images. In the image of God ( singular) created he him.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes of understanding in this matter in the name of Jesus Christ.
Genesis 3:22
Gen. 3:22 ” And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as ONE OF US (Plural) to know good and evil…” (Emphasis mine)
” One of US? ” Who is US ?
Another reference to the PLURALITY of Persons in the GodHead. The man whom God, created in Genesis 1:27 have fallen into sin and disobedience. Here the Father once again addressed the GodHead”… Behold the man is become as ONE OF US…” As one of US. Clearly, God is one, but there are three Persons in one God.
Still in Genesis. Look I started with Genesis for you to know that the concept of the Trinity is not a borrowed pagan doctrine.It did not come from Church fathers (as they call them) of the early Church contrary to what many believe. It was right there from the very beginning, from the very first book of the bible.
Now, another reference. This came about, when men decided to form the first One World Government. I call them the earliest globalists. Instead of spreading over the surface of the earth as God intended, they decided to build a city and one gigantic edifice where they will live. And what is more, they aspired to build this tall tower till it reaches heaven. Everything was being put in place, they had bricks and mortars. Genesis 11:1-7
Gen 11:7
7 “Go to, let US GO DOWN and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”( emphasis mine)
Again the same question , who is the let US go referred to ? Once again, the Trinity is at work.
Isaiah 6:8 “
” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Not who will go for “Me”( singular) but who will go for “US”(Plural.)
In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew plural noun “Elohim” is used. In Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun for “us” is used. The word “Elohim” and the pronoun “us” are plural forms, definitely referring in the Hebrew language to more than two. This again denote the aspect of plurality of persons in the GodHead.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Matthew 3:16-17
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Note this.
- The Spirit of God distinct Person.(Do you recall how the Spirit of God moved upon the waters on the first creative day in Genesis 1:2) was seen coming down from heaven upon Jesus in the form of a Dove
- The Son Jesus Christ, was on earth, at that very moment, distinct.
- The Father who is ever seated on his throne, spoke from heaven and his voice was heard.
Let me ask you this, in this scenario, was it Jesus Christ in the dimension of Father who sent Jesus Christ in the dimension of the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ in the dimension of the Son and at the same time speaking to Jesus Christ the son ? Did he switched to three different dimensions simultaneously to act or perform this feat ? What heresy !
This is another coming together of the GodHead. The Son was on earth, ready to launch his Ministry, God the Father opened the heaven and asked the Holy Spirit to come upon the Son( The Father empowered the Son in his human form while on earth and anointed him with the Holy Spirit -Acts 10:38) and then he himself spoke from heaven , publicly introducing and confirming the Sonship of Jesus Christ and his affection for him.
After his resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ went on to further open our eyes to the realization that there are three Persons in One God and established the Triune nature of the GodHead affirming what was stated throughout the Scripures beginning from Genesis.
” Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”- Matt. 28:19
Take note of the fact that this particular verse is in perfect harmony with Genesis 126-27, 3:22, Genesis 11:6-7, Isaiah 6:8, Matt. 3:16-17 etc.
Isaiah 48:16 “16 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.”
Isaiah 61:1″ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Here lies the Trinity. The Spirit =The Holy Spirit, the Lord God = God the Father, Me = the Son Jesus Christ.
The two passages from the book of isaiah cited above are references to the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in those verses.
So also is 2 Corinthians 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.”
1 John 5:7 states: “There are three that testify in heaven, the Father, the Word,(Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.”
In Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1, the Son is speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Compare Isaiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19 to see that it is the Son speaking. When the Lord Jesus Christ read Isaiah 61:1 in the temple, he said in Like 4:14-19 that , that Scripture was fulfilled that day. That means he is the one it referred to.
Let me summarized everything we have learned from the word of God so far about the nature of the God of the Bible with this sobering truth. Beloved, I want you to pay rapt attention to this.
- The Lord God is One. And there are three distinct Persons in the One True God.
- This truth is self evident in the Bible beginning from Genesis 1:26-27, 3:22, 11:6-7. Isaiah 6:8. With phrases such as ” Let US make man” “In OUR image” “After OUR likeness”- Genesis 1:26-27 “The man has become like ONE OF US” – Genesis 3:22″ Let US go down” -Genesis 11:6-7 ” Who will go for US”- Isaiah 6:8. Significantly, the book of Genesis which is the very first books of the bible and the Torah was written by Moses, a staunch Israelite, a devout Jew, the one who received the Laws and the Ordinances from God directly. He is the one that wrote the book of Genesis where we first got the revelation of the Triune God. He is also wrote the book of Dueteronomy 6:4 Which contained the SHEMA YISRAEL. Or the ” Hear O Israel, The LORD our God is one LORD”
In effect, the patriarch Moses who penned down both books of the Torah understand fully the true nature of the God of israel, the one true God. - The revelation of the Triune God is further reiterated in the New Testament. Matt. 3:16-17, Mark 1:9-11 Luke 3:21-22. Matt. 28:18
Therefore, there are three persons in one God according to the revelational word of God. These three persons is the One True God. Not three gods. Thus , the bible could say in Genesis 1:1 that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And that very same chapter in verse 26 talk to others about creating man in OUR IMAGE AFTER OUR LIKENESS.
Now from the revelation of the God in the bible we can deduce this;
That the members of the GodHead or Trinity were all involved in creation of both the heavens and earth and even man.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AS CREATOR.
You can see the role of the Holy Spirit in creation of the earth from the very beginning. Genesis 1:2, He moved upon the waters. Job 33:4 ” The Spirit of God made me” You can better understand this verse in view of what Genesis 1:26-27 The Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of man. He was one of those the Father was addressing. Psalm 104:30″ Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created, Thou renewest the face of the earth” Flowing from this backdrop, the Holy Spirit alongside the Father and the Son were all involved in creation.
Now the Son, Jesus Christ.
JESUS CHRIST AS CREATOR
Colossians 1:15-16
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
GOD THE FATHER.
Nehemiah 9:6
“Thou…hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee” Read Isaiah 45:7, Isaiah 66:2 Rev 4:11.
THE TRINITY IN THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION.
Now at creation the Father made his intentions known to the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let US make man in OUR IMAGE AFTER OUR LIKENESS Genesis 1:26
It was done. Man was created in the image of God after his likeness.
A short while later, man decided to hearkened to the voice of the enemy and go into rebellion against his Maker.
Once again, you see the Father rising up to the challenge and spoke once more to the other members of the GodHead,”… behold the man is become AS ONE of US” Genesis 3:22 .
Consequently, God the Father decided to send his only begotten Son to the earth to rescue man from sin and death. John 3:16. But who came upon this Godly Jewish young woman who was chosen as a vessel through which the Son of God is to be born ? The Holy Spirit. Matt. 1:34-35. Do you see the cooperation that exists in the GodHead ? At Jesus baptism , the Father spoke loudly from heaven, something he did on a regular basis during Christ Ministry as the Holy Spirit came upon him.
You can see from this analysis, how the members of the Trinity or the GodHead work in unity and cooperation since the creation of the earth and man
This is the God of the Bible, the God whom Christians worship. He is One God, comprising of three distinct persons.
You may recall the illustration of the John family. One family, but three distinct persons who made up that family. John Sr. his wife Janet and their son John Jr. are not three families. They are three persons, yet one family.
It is not one individual who sat on the throne, governing the universe. His Son is always at his right hand. The Holy Spirit is assigned to do many things.
Beloved God who revealed himself in the Holy Bible does not “switch” states or modes.
God the Father have never become the Son or the Holy Spirit at anytime. He remains the Father, the Jesus Christ remain the Son before and during his life on earth, and even after he had gone to heaven. The Holy Spirit remain the Holy Spirit. He is not the Father or the Son. The idea that God manifests Himself differently at different times and in various contexts (like water manifests itself variously as solid, liquid, or of gas) is called modalism, and it is a heresy to be avoided.
Any teaching that does not
acknowledge God as three distinct Persons in One God is at variance with the scripures , hence it’s unbiblical, hellish and satanic.
More to come, stay tuned.
God bless you.
Sister Happines Aibangbee
David Abankwah 