Biblical Theology
G04 God: God in Three Persons

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All the Bible verses quoted in this article are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

The Three Persons of One God

Some people claim to be children of God but deny the doctrine of “One God in Three Persons.” They cannot distinguish between essence and person. They do not understand that an essence may have one person, like angelic beings, but an essence can also have multiple persons, like the divine essence of God and human essence.

The doctrine of “One God in Three Persons” teaches that there is only one God, but God manifests in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Those who oppose the doctrine of “One God in Three Persons” cite some verses from the Bible to support the idea that God only has one person. However, when we carefully read those verses, we find that the Word of God teaches that there is only one divine essence, but the Word of God does not teach that God has only one person! On the contrary, the Bible, through many verses, affirms that God manifests in three persons.

Here are the truths about the doctrine of “One God in Three Persons” affirmed by the Bible:

1. There is only one self-existing and eternal essence. That essence created all things. The Bible calls that essence God, the Creator. That essence self-identifies as “I Am That I Am!” The name is transliterated into English as “Jehovah.”

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you'” (Exodus 3:14).

The verb “am” (H1961), meaning “to exist,” used in God’s statement carries the following meaning: “I have been existing, I am existing, and I will be existing.” Thus, the phrase “I Am That I Am” means “I am the One who has been existing! I am the One who exist! And I am the One who will exist” The proper name of God should be accurately translated into English as “I Am Self-existing and Eternal.”

“This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6).

“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me. I am the LORD, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:5-6).

“Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:22).

“As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4).

“And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all” (1 Corinthians 12:6).

All the Bible verses above and many others affirm that there is only one God; furthermore, there is no other God besides Him. However, that does not mean that God has only one person. The following Bible verses assert that God has one person called “the Father,” one person called “the Son,” and one person called “the Holy Spirit.” All three persons are referred to as God in the Bible, sharing the same name.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

In the original Greek language of the Bible, the term “name” is a singular noun. We see that there is only one “name” used for the three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That name is the name “I Am That I Am,” which God proclaimed in Exodus 3:14.

This demonstrates that there is only one God, but God has three persons.

The Bible explicitly calls the Father God, calls the Son (the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ) God, and also calls the Holy Spirit God. Therefore, the doctrine of the “Three Persons of One God” is a doctrine of the Bible.

2. There is only one person of God called the Father, or *God.

“Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My *God, and your *God” (John 20:17).

“Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to *God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:24).

“The *God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not” (2 Corinthians 11:31).

“We give thanks to *God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you” (Colossians 1:3).

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to *God and the Father by Him” (Colossians 3:17).

“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of *God and our Father” (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

“And hath made us kings and priests unto *God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:6).

3. There is only one person of God called the Son, or the Lord Jesus Christ.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with *God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

In the original Greek language of the Bible, the noun “beginning” means origin or source; used here, it implies past eternity. The verbs “was” and “is” in John 1:1, 2, and 4 are in the imperfect tense, indicating an action that was happening and continues to happen.

“The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:33).

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (Philippians 2:6).

“For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

“But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O *God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore *God, even Thy *God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:8-9).

In Hebrews 1:8-9, God in the person of the Father calls God in the person of the Son by the title “*God,” (the noun God with the definite article). This is because God the Father has given God the Son His own title, as stated in John 17:11-12, “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which you have given Me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in Your name, which You have given Me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (English Standard Version).

4. There is only one person of God called the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit, or the Spirit of the Father, or the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16)?

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19)?

The Name “I AM THAT I AM”

The Bible uses the name “I AM THAT I AM” for all three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as we see in the command of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in Matthew 28:19:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).

The noun “name” is used in the singular form, meaning it is one name shared by all three persons of God.

When we read and compare the following Scriptures, we see:

1. The Bible calls “I AM THAT I AM” *God (the God, the Father):

“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, Thou art the God, even Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: Thou hast made heaven and earth” (Isaiah 37:16).

“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; *God himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18).

2. The Bible calls “I AM THAT I AM” the Lord Jesus (the Word, the Son):

John 12:35-41

35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,

40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

41 These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory, and spake of Him.

Compare verse 41 above with Isaiah 6:1, 3, and 5:

Isaiah 6:1-7

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

3. The Bible calls “I AM THAT I AM” the Holy Spirit:

Acts 8:25-27

25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Compare with Isaiah 6:8-13:

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.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Hebrews 10:15-17

15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Compare with Jeremiah 31:31-34:

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Doctrine of “One Person God”

There are some Protestant denominations that teach: There is only one person of God, but He is referred to and called by many different titles. This doctrine teaches that there is only one God, who is the Creator. The title “Father” is used to show that He is the Father of all. The title “Son” is used to show that He is God incarnate. The title “Holy Spirit” is used to show that He is God present in the bodies of His people.

This doctrine employs the following analogy to illustrate their belief in the “One Person God” doctrine, also known as the “Oneness” doctrine:

Mr. John II Smith is the “father” of Mr. John III Smith, the “son” of Mr. John I Smith, and the “husband” of Mrs. Jane Smith. Despite being referred to by different titles – father, son, husband – he remains one individual, Mr. John II Smith.

However, those who believe in the doctrine of “One Person God” forget that: On the day the Son was baptized, the Father from heaven said, “You are My beloved Son,” and the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove.

They also forget that the Son Himself declared, “The Father has sent Me” (John 5:36; 20:21) and “I am going to the Father” (John 16:28; 17:11, 13; 20:17). It is the Son Himself who proclaimed that He will send the Comforter, namely the Holy Spirit, to come and remain in the world (John 16:7). They also forget that the Son sits at the right hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit dwells in the bodies of God’s people.

Simply by reading John 17, we can clearly see that the Father and the Son are two different persons. Yet the Oneness Pentecostal denomination, with around 24 million believers worldwide, is blind, accepting the doctrine of “One Person God.”

Conclusion

When we distinguish between essence and personhood, we will no longer find the doctrine of “One God in Three Persons” difficult to understand. However, we still cannot fully comprehend this mystery. There are realities in our material world that we have yet to understand, so how can we fully understand the mysteries of God?

“There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid” (Proverbs 30:18-19).

We will delve into the details of each person in the Godhead in the upcoming chapters.

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
08/31/2013