The Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections. God the Father is fully God. God the Son is fully God. God the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Bible presents this as fact. It does not explain it.
1. Who are the three persons of the Trinity?
2. Which one do you relate to most or best? Why?
Four words into the Bible, “In the beginning God,” we already have the Trinity implied. The Hebrew word used for “God,” Elohim, is in the plural form which seems to refer to a triune God. God, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) created the heavens and the earth.
“All sorts of people are fond of repeating the Christian statement that ‘God is love.’ But they seem not to notice that the words ‘God is love’ have no real meaning unless God contains at least two persons. Love is something that one person has for another person. If God was a single person, then before the world was made, He was not love.” C.S. Lewis
3. Explain either point in your own words.
Liberty University declares, “We affirm our belief in one God, infinite Spirit, creator, and sustainer of all things, who exists eternally in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are one in essence but distinct in person and function.
We affirm that the Father is the first person of the Trinity and the source of all that God is and does. From Him, the Son is eternally generated, and from Them, the Spirit eternally proceeds. He is the designer of creation, the speaker of revelation, the author of redemption, and the sovereign of history.
We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, eternally begotten from the Father. He is God. He was conceived by the virgin Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. He lives forever as perfect God and perfect man: two distinct natures inseparably united in one person.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the Son and equal in deity. He is the giver of all life, active in the creating and ordering of the universe; He is the agent of inspiration and the new birth; He restrains sin and Satan; and He indwells and sanctifies all believers.”
4. What are the responsibilities of God the Father?
5. What are the responsibilities of God the Son?
6. What are the responsibilities of God the Holy Spirit?
Matthew 28:18-19 says, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’”
7. What is implied by having all three Persons of the Godhead listed?
Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Mark 12:29 says, “Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’’”
8. How does this verse add to the discussion of a triune God?
“It is commonly said that the Trinity is a mystery. And it certainly is. But it is not a mystery veiled in darkness in which we can only grope and guess. It is a mystery in which we are given to understand that we will never know all there is of God. It is not a mystery that keeps us in the dark, but a mystery in which we are taken by the hand and gradually led into the light.” Eugene Peterson
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 adds, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
9. Who was (and is) the Word?
10. Does this relate to the topic? Why or why not?
Matthew 3:16-17 describes events that happened at the baptism of Jesus, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
11. How were all three Persons present and involved at the baptism of Jesus?
Acts chapter 5 describes the story of Ananias selling a property and telling the apostles that he gave them all the money. Verses 3-4 record, “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.’”
12. Other than the apostles, who did Ananias lie to (two answers)?
2 Corinthians 13:14 adds, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
13. How does this verse add to the discussion of a triune God?
14. Why are the different traits (grace, love, and fellowship) associated with each Person?
The belief in the Trinity is essential, but that does not mean we have to fully understand it. John Wesley said, “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God.”