The person of God is a mystery. It is far beyond our limited, human understanding. Thus, whenever we touch this matter, we need to be very careful and must avoid going into too much detail. In the second century the church fathers argued a great deal concerning this matter, and the things they argued about remain unresolved to this day. This is because the person of God is a mystery that is beyond the limits of our understanding. Whatever we say concerning this mysterious topic must be based upon two things—the revelation in the Scriptures and our experience. In addition to the Scriptures, we must consider our experience, but our experience must always be based upon the Scriptures and must never contradict the Scriptures.
The first sentence of the Scriptures reveals that God is triune. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the original Hebrew text of this verse the word God is not singular but plural. In the Newberry Reference Bible Mr. Newberry put symbols next to certain words in the text of the King James Version to indicate the number, tense, or time of the corresponding words used in the original Hebrew text. Next to the word God in Genesis 1:1 he put three horizontal lines, indicating that the number of the Hebrew word for God is plural. This reveals that God has the aspect of three. This does not mean, however, that there are three Gods. This can be seen from the verb used in this verse. Although in this verse the subject God is plural in number, the verb created is not plural but singular. This is quite peculiar. Anyone who knows grammar knows that the subject and the verb of a sentence should match in number. If the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural. The fact that the subject God is plural and the verb created is singular reveals that God is triune, or three-one.
In several other verses in Genesis God refers to Himself in the plural. Genesis 1:26 begins, “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” In 3:22 God says, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us,” and in 11:7 He says, “Come, let Us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” In Isaiah 6:8 the Lord also refers to Himself in the plural when He asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” Do these verses mean that there is more than one God? Surely they do not, for other verses in the Bible clearly state that there is only one God. Isaiah 45:5 says, “I am Jehovah and there is no one else; / Besides Me there is no God.” First Corinthians 8:4b states, “There is no God but one,” and 1 Timothy 2:5a declares, “For there is one God.” Although the Bible clearly reveals that there is one God, God Himself repeatedly refers to Himself in the plural number. This is a mystery that we cannot understand.
Isaiah 6:3 records the way in which the seraphim praised God in the Old Testament. They declared, “Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts.” Revelation 4:8 describes the way in which the living creatures praise God in the New Testament. They proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God the Almighty.” Why is it that in both the Old Testament and the New Testament God is praised in the same way, and why is it that both the seraphim and the living creatures repeat the word holy three times? Would it not have been enough for them to say “holy” one time? Surely this is an indication of God’s triune being.
In Numbers 6 the Lord spoke to Moses regarding the way in which Aaron and his sons were to bless the children of Israel. Verses 22 through 26 say, “Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the children of Israel; you shall say to them, Jehovah bless you and keep you; Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; Jehovah lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Here again we have something that is done three times. This is a threefold blessing. The first part of this blessing is that Jehovah would bless the children of Israel and keep them. This refers to God the Father (Eph. 1:3; John 17:11, 15; 1 Pet. 1:5). The second part of this blessing is that Jehovah would make His face shine upon them and be gracious to them. This blessing speaks of light and grace, which are related to God the Son (Luke 1:78; Matt. 4:16; John 9:5; 1:14, 16-17). The third part of this blessing is that Jehovah would lift up His countenance upon them and give them peace. This refers to the Holy Spirit, who brings us the Lord’s presence and gives us the peace of God (14:16-18; Phil. 4:7). Thus, the threefold blessing in this verse points to the Triune God.
The Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 also alludes to the Divine Trinity. At the opening of this prayer the Lord prays, “Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth” (vv. 9-10). Here the Lord says the word Your three times. The first time—“Your name be sanctified”—refers to the Father. The second time—“Your kingdom come”—refers to the Son, for the Son is the King of the kingdom (Col. 1:13; Rev. 11:15; 19:16). The third time—“Your will be done”—refers to the Holy Spirit. Both the blessing in the Old Testament and the Lord’s prayer in the New Testament are threefold.
The New Testament is filled with verses that highlight three aspects of the Triune God. Second Corinthians 13:14 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Matthew 28:19 reads, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In this verse the Greek word for name is singular, but the one name is shared by three. This is a mystery, revealing to us that God is triune.
Ephesians 1:3 also speaks of the Triune God, saying. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.” In the phrase God and Father we see God the Father; in the phrase our Lord Jesus Christ we see God the Son; and in the phrase every spiritual blessing we see God the Spirit. Here the three of the Trinity are clearly seen. Ephesians 3:14-17 further reveals the three of the Triune God. Verse 14 says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father.” This speaks of God the Father. Verse 16 continues, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man.” This verse speaks of God the Spirit. Then verse 17 says, “That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith.” Here we have God the Son. These three verses show the three of the Godhead working together.
The Bible reveals that God is three—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—but this does not mean that there are three Gods. The Bible clearly states that God is one, and there are several verses that join the three of the Godhead together. For example, Isaiah 9:6 reveals that the Son is the Father. This verse says, “For a child is born to us, / A Son is given to us; / And the government / Is upon His shoulder; /And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.” The child who is born is the Mighty God, and the Son who is given is the Eternal Father. The fact that the child is God and the Son is the Father is beyond our understanding. Some theologians attempt to explain this verse by saying that the Son is not the Father but is simply called the Father. The reason they put forth this explanation is that they believe that the Son and the Father are separate. This explanation, however, is not according to the Scriptures and is not reasonable. It would be unreasonable for people to call you Mr. Smith if you were not Mr. Smith. If people call you Mr. Smith, then you must be Mr. Smith. The Son is called the Father because the Son is the Father. John 14 also reveals that the Father and the Son are one. In verse 8 Philip asked the Lord to show them the Father. In verse 9 the Lord responded to Philip, “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” The Lord’s answer shows that He and the Father are one (10:30). While Isaiah 9:6 and John 14:8-9 reveal that the Son is the Father, 2 Corinthians 3:17 unveils that the Son is the Spirit. This verse begins, “And the Lord is the Spirit.” The Son is the Father, and the Lord, who is the Son (4:5), is the Spirit. We may not be able to understand this, but we must accept it, for this is the revelation of the Scriptures.
Zechariah 2:10-11 is another mysterious passage. These verses say, “Give a ringing shout and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for now I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst, declares Jehovah. And many nations will join themselves to Jehovah in that day and will become My people; and I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent Me to you.” In these verses the One who will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel is Jehovah, but this One is also sent by Jehovah. He is sent by Jehovah, and He is Jehovah. How can this be? This matches the revelation of the rest of the Scriptures. In John 5 the Lord repeatedly declared that He had been sent by the Father (vv. 23, 30, 36-38), and in Isaiah 9:6 we see that the Son is the Father. The Son is sent by the Father, and the Son is the Father.
Romans 8:9-10 also shows us that we cannot divide the three of the Trinity. Verse 9 says, “But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Yet if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” The Spirit of God dwelling in us equals our having the Spirit of Christ. This shows that the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ. Then verse 10 continues, “But if Christ is in you...” This proves that the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself. This is the teaching of the Scriptures. No one can deny that God is three-one. Based upon this revelation, students of the Bible use the word trinity. Some would argue that the word trinity is not in the Scriptures. It is true that we cannot find such a word in the Bible, but we cannot deny the fact that such a thing exists.