The Spirit, we have said, is the ultimate expression of God. Such a statement touches the doctrine of the Trinity, one of the most mysterious doctrines in the Bible and one which has caused endless debate. The Bible does reveal to us that God is three and yet also one. This is what the term triune means.
Yet we cannot liken the Trinity to three persons forming a corporation. God is not corporate! The many saints comprise one Body, but it is not consistent with the truth to say that the three Persons of the Godhead form one body. For several years now we have tried to avoid using the word Persons in referring to God. Three Persons too easily conveys the thought of three Gods.
God is one. Both the Old Testament and the New make this abundantly clear. Isaiah 45:5 says, “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me.” First Corinthians 8:4 says, “There is none other God but one.” In the whole universe there is only the one true God, and this God is one, not divided into three.
There is another side, however, which the Bible presents. Notice how God speaks in Genesis 1:26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Why does God here refer to Himself as plural? Verse 27 says, “So God created man in his own image.” Here God is referred to as singular. Is God singular or plural? He is triune, both three and one. Verse 27 indicates that He is singular, but how many “us” and “our” means we do not know until we come to Matthew 28:19!
This verse 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.” This word was spoken to the disciples after the Lord was resurrected. This verse indicates to us that God is triune; notice, however, that “name” is singular. The Father, Son, and Spirit are three, but the name is one.
There are several other indications of the Trinity in the New Testament. 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. Amen” (Gk.).
Ephesians a number of times implies that God is triune. In 3:14, 16, and 17 Paul says he bowed his knees to the Father, that we would be strengthened through His Spirit into the inner man, that Christ may make His home in our hearts. In 4:4-6 we have one Spirit, one Lord, and one God and Father of all. See also Ephesians 1:11-13 and 2:18.
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