Holy Spirit

The Trinity is one of those distinctively Christian doctrines that separate us from other faith groups in the world. The early church tried to give a synopsis of this teaching with short Triads of Trinitarian Truth.

I’ll share one of these very early Triads of Trinitarian Truth with you.

1. The Father is God, but He is not the Son and is not the Holy Spirit
2. The Son is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit.
3. The Spirit is God, but He is not the Father or the Son.

The doctrine of Trinity is not explained in Romans or hidden in some secret chapter in Hezekiah, but it is the way the Bible reveals God. The whole Bible teaches Trinity.

The word TRINITY is a theological construct. We invent the word to explain a biblical phenomenon, to encapsulate in a word something unique that the Bible teaches.

There is no doubt that the Bible teaches Trinity.

1. The Bible identifies the Father as God.
   1. in such passages like Ephesians 6:23, Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
   2. This is more than just saying that God is like a father or that He is fatherly. Rather, there is a person who chooses to reveal Himself as THE Father and this person is Deity in the ultimate sense.
   3. There are many verses like this which identify the Father as God.
   4. The Bible identifies the Son as God.
      1. John opened his gospel with a powerful affirmation of Christ’s deity.  John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
         1. i.      The only religious group in the world that describes that verse as anything less than the fullness of deity in the ultimate sense is the Mormon Church.
         2. ii.      Historically they have been labeled a cult for this reason alone.
      2. The former skeptic Thomas cried out in John 20 when he saw the resurrected Christ, “My Lord and my God! Jesus did not correct Thomas for Jesus Himself had said numerous times that He was equal with the Father.
      3. Romans 9:5 labels Jesus as God blessed forever.
      4. Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1 refer to the one person Jesus as our God and Savior.
      5. The deity of Jesus is further proven by the words of God the Father Himself. God the Father refers to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8 in this way, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
   5. The Bible identifies the Holy Spirit as God.
      1. In Acts 5:3 Peter asked Ananias, Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? In the next verse Peter says, You have not lied to men but to God.

The Trinity can be summarized in a simple syllogism: The Bible teaches there is only one God. Yet it calls three persons God. Therefore, the three persons are the one God.

As the Great Shema declares in Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And this one God has revealed Himself as three distinct persons.