In these days people have spread rumors that our teaching concerning the Trinity is heretical. We want to let people know that we believe in the Trinity according to the pure word of God. This message is intended to be not only a declaration to the critics, but also a help to the dear saints in the local churches, that all may know what we believe according to the scriptures regarding the matter of the Triune God.
This matter of the Trinity has been a subject of great argument and strong disputation among Christians ever since the second century. During the last eighteen or nineteen centuries, the argument has never ceased. It has been utilized by the enemy to destroy the unity of the saints. Do not get caught in the snare of endless debate. We must come back from the traditional terms, sayings, and teachings to the pure Word of God. The controversy concerning such a mystery as the Trinity is endless. Be on the alert to avoid this trap. My burden in this message is to fellowship with you regarding this mystery from the pure Word.
We must be governed by the revelation that God is uniquely one. The Bible tells us that God is one. However, because the first occurrence of the word God (Elohim) in the Bible (Gen. 1:1) is in the plural number, some people translate it as “Gods.” This is preposterous. It is appalling to speak of “Gods.” Psalm 86:10 says, “Thou art God alone.” It does not say, “Ye are God alone.” The pronoun is the second person singular, not the second person plural. The Hebrew word for God in this verse, Elohim, is in triple number. If you consult the markings in the Newberry Bible, you will find there an indication that “God” here is triple in number. Nevertheless, Psalm 86:10 does not say, “Thou art Gods.” It says, “Thou art God alone.” The word “alone” must control our thought. “Thou art God [not Gods] alone.”
Perhaps some will ask, “If you say that God is only one, how could God in Genesis 1:26 refer to Himself as ‘Us’ and speak of ‘Our’ image? Is there one God or more than one? If you say that God is one, how can He refer to Himself using the pronouns ‘Us’ and ‘Our’?” My answer is that He is the Triune God and that the Trinity is a mystery. If you can understand the Trinity thoroughly and define it adequately, it is no longer a mystery. In the realm of mathematics or chemistry, things can be scientifically analyzed by the human mind. That is science, not mystery. If you can use your supposedly clever mind to understand the Triune God, He is no longer a mystery. Because none of us can understand the Trinity adequately, it remains a mystery. Do not ask me why. I do not know why. I can only say, “The Bible tells us so.” Do not argue; just take the pure Word of God.
In both the Old Testament and the New, we are told clearly and definitely that God is one. Isaiah 45:5 says, “I am the Lord...there is no God besides me.” Although the word for God here is also in triple number, this verse does not say, “There is no God besides us”; it says, “There is no God besides me.” Therefore, in Ephesians 4:6 and 1 Timothy 2:5 we find clearly stated the conclusion that there is one God. Do not get into the snare of thinking that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three Gods. First Corinthians 8:4 says, “There is no God but one.” Hallelujah for one God! This is a basic and conclusive principle.
Why then do we believe that there is one God? Is this just our interpretation? We can all say, “I believe that God is uniquely one, for the Bible tells me so.”
This one unique God is Triune. I do not know how to explain this, although for many years I tried. During the past fifty years, I spent a great deal of time analyzing and trying to understand the Trinity. Since I could find no way to resolve it, I gave up long ago. I said to myself, “Little man, you are too small. You can never understand the Trinity adequately.”
Isaiah 6:8 says, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Is God “I” or “Us”? We may say that He is both. Although I cannot say why, I know that He is both “I” and “Us.” I do not know why. As we have already mentioned, in Genesis 1:26 God refers to Himself as “Us” and speaks of “Our” image. The same principle is used in Genesis 3:22 and 11:7.
We find the same thought in the New Testament. In John 14:23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” In this verse we read of “We” and “Our.” Surely “We” and “Our” are plural. Are the “Father” and “I” two Gods or one? Surely they are one. Then why does the Lord say “We”? If you answer, “Because here you have both the Father and the Son,” then I would ask you, “How could one God be both?”
In John 17:11 the Lord prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given to Me, that they may be one even as We are.” Notice that here again the Lord speaks of Himself and the Father as “We.” Why a plural pronoun if They are one? I do not know. It is a mystery, beyond the reach of human language or understanding.
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