The Godhead Trio, the biblical version.

The Godhead Trio.

Identifying the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

 Deuteronomy 6:4 (ASV)

 [4]Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:

Here we see that Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. This is clearly singular. This is the Shema. Jesus quoted this to the scribe in Mark 12:28-34. Let's go this passage and get confirmation that Jehovah is one singular being who is God.

 Mark 12:28-34 (KJV)

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Jesus quotes the Shema and says this is the first of all the commandments. It's important to take note of this. When Jesus speaks we must listen and obey. Jesus reiterates that Jehovah our God is one. Now does Jesus mean one in singularity or three in one or a unity of God beings? The scribe understood Jesus to be talking about one being, a "he" and a "him" not a "them" or a "they" who is Jehovah God (verse 32 and 33). This is the greatest commandment according to Jesus, that God is One!  The scribe commended the scribe for his correct understanding of the Shema that God is One and look at verse 34 and what Jesus tells the scribe after hearing the Scribes correct understanding that God is One in singularity "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God".

This is huge!!! This was a perfect opportunity for Jesus to correct the scribe and tell him that Jehovah God was actually 3 in one or one in 3 or a unity of God beings. However, instead Jesus commends the scribe on his understanding of God as one singular being. When we as Christians understand that God is one singular being who is a "He" and not a "they", we are not far from the kingdom of God. So who is this one being who is God? Let's go to words of our Lord Jesus Christ and find out in John 17:3.

 John 17:1-3 (KJV)

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Here in the above passage, Jesus is praying to the Father and on verse 3 eliminates all confusion on who God is with the following "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

There it is, all debates about who God is in identity should be over once and for all. Jesus calls his Father the one true God. This means that the Father is the one Jehovah in Deuteronomy 6:4. This also means that the Father is the one God in Mark 12:28-34 where the scribe, correctly according to Jesus, said God was one and a "he".  Any teaching that God is a plurality is in direct contradiction to Jesus own words. Jesus of course is the Divine Son of God and his Father is the One true God of the Bible.

So in the Godhead Trio of Father, Son and Holy Spirit we have identified who the Father is. Let's look at Matthew 28:19 and try to clear up the confusion regarding this passage.

Matthew 28:19 (KJV)

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:

This passage has erroneously been used to prove that God is a trinity. If we look at the verse, we see that nowhere are all three persons of the Godhead Trio identified as God or that they are merged together as a three in one God being. All the verse does is identify what most Christians in most denominations already believe which is that there is a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons acknowledge the existence of all three.

The verse does not indentify any of the three as God, it just says that there is a Father, a Son and a Holy Spirit. The key is in how we identify each of them. As already shown from clear scripture, we can safely identify the Father as the One true God of the Bible.

So who is the Son?

 John 3:16 (KJV)

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God, who is the Father, gave us His Son as a ransom sacrifice. We know that this is Jesus as he is the one who died on the stake for our sins. So clearly, we can identify Jesus as the Son. Who is Jesus the Son of? Clearly from the above passage, Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus was sent by the one true God to the earth, so clearly there is a distinction between him and God. Jesus can't be something he is the Son of. So out of the three persons of the Godhead Trio mentioned in Matthew 28:19, we have identified two, the Father and the Son.

The Father (Jehovah) is the one true God.
The Son is Jesus, who is exactly that, the Son of the One true God Jehovah.

So far out of the three only one is identified as God and that is the Father. What about the Holy Spirit?

 2 Corinthians 13:14 (KJV)

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Paul gives a farewell greeting to the Corinthians by mentioning all three members of the Godhead Trio. He mentions the undeserved kindness of Jesus who we know is the Son, the love of God who we know is the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit.

The word communion in the greek is "koinonia" which means fellowship, communication, association, intercourse, joint participation, community, distribution.

The word fellowship and communication probably best apply here. The Holy Spirit is the agency in which the Father and Son communicate to us and fellowship (make their abode) with us.

So this begs the question, is the Holy Spirit a being like the Father (Jehovah) or the Son (Jesus Christ) are? Or is it the power of the Father and the Son by which they communicate and fellowship with us. Let's see.

 Romans 8:9 (KJV)

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

In the above passage, we see clearly that the Holy Spirit is identified as both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. This denotes possession. This means that the Holy Spirit is God's and Christ's very own Spirit not a seperate being.

Let's look at the bible definition of Spirit.
Spirit is rendered from the greek word "pneuma" which means a movement of air (a gentle blast), of the wind, hence the wind itself; breath of nostrils or mouth; the rational spirit, the power by which the human feels, thinks, decides.

From the above definition in the greek, we see that Spirit does not mean "being" but rather wind, breath and mind.

The word "Holy" means set apart. So the Holy Spirit is the set apart power and presence (wind), lifeforce (breath), and wisdom (mind) of God and Christ.

The Holy Spirit is a person in the sense that it is the very power, presence and mind of the Father Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ. So yes, the Holy Spirit feels and thinks and can be grieved and lied to (rational spirit). The Holy Spirit is not a seperate person apart from the Father and the Son.

There is however, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God which are all the same Spirit.

So now that we have identified all three persons of the Godhead Trio, let's continue with this study on the three powers in heaven and their unity.

 Ephesians 4:4-6 (KJV)

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

There is one Spirit which confirms that in Romans 8:9 when talking of the Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ, it is the same Spirit. Thereby the Holy Spirit is the same as the Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ. There is one Lord which we know to be Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6). There is One God which we know to be the Father  (1 Corinthians 8:6 and John 17:3). Here the One God is identified as the Father and is said to be above all including Christ. God (Jehovah) is through and in us all and this is because His very own Spirit  (the Holy Spirit) lives in us when we become born again by accepting His Son Jesus as our personal Saviour.

 1 Peter 1:2 (KJV)

2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Here Peter gives a greeting to the brethren  in the threefold Godhead Trio. The Father is once again identified as God. The Spirit  (Holy Spirit) is what sanctifies us by giving us the power and wisdom of Jehovah and His Son. The Holy Spirit as we know is God's and Christ's very own Spirit not a seperate being. The sprinkling of the blood of Jesus is what reconciled us to God the Father. We cannot come to Jehovah God but by His Son Jesus Christ and believing that it was his blood that was shed for our iniquities.

  1 Timothy 1:16-17 (KJV)

16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

So in verse 16, Paul talks of believing on Jesus Christ to life everlasting. Notice in verse 17 where Paul says "Now unto", this clearly means he is now going to another topic in this case, a person. He talked about Christ in verse 16 and now he talks about God who clearly is the Father. How do we know this is only about the Father. Because of two words "invisible" and "immortality". Jesus was clearly seen by many people during and even after his earthly ministry and even in the old covenant times (Angel of Jehovah). Jesus said no one has seen the Father except himself. Jesus no man can see theFather and live. Many people saw Jesus so clearly this verse is not about him.

Jesus is the express image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). He is also the firstborn of every creature. So this eliminates Jesus as being "invisible" and being "immortal" as there was a point in time where Jesus personality did not exist. Jesus was given immortality by the Father when he was raised from the dead. Jesus was dead in the grave for three days so obviously he doesn't have innate immortality as only the unbegotten Father Jehovah has that. The substance that Jesus is made of is eternal, as he was begotten from the eternal God Jehovah and Jesus of course is fully Divine.

In Revelation 1:18 Jesus says himself that he was dead. This eliminates him from being innatley immortal. The bible also says God cannot die (Habukkuk 1:12) but Jesus did in fact die. The other scriptures describing the Father as the One true God of the Bible harmonize with 1 Timothy 1:7 being about the Father.

 Revelation 14:7 (KJV)

7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Here we have the first angels message. "Fear God, and give glory to him". Who is  this talking about? This is clearly talking about the Father whom we have clearly identified as the One true God. In Revelation 7:2, we see that the 144,000 are sealed with the seal of the living God. In Revelation 14:1, we see that this seal is the Father's name written on the 144,000 foreheads. So clearly the living God is the Father Jehovah. So now in the first angels message, we are to warn the world of God's coming judgment. We are to proclaim with a loud voice to the world that they need to fear God (the Father).

 1 John 5:7 (KJV)

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

The above passage has been determined by most biblical scholars to not be authoritative as it is not found in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. I don't want to delve to deeply into that subject so I will instead attempt to interpret the verse for those who cling on to it as authoritative. Even though I don't believe this verse to be authentic scripture, there is nothing about this verse that is unbiblical. Unfortunately it has been used to attempt to prove a false concept of God.

This passage has erroneously been used to prove that God is a trinity. If we look at the verse, we see that nowhere are all three persons of the Godhead Trio identified as God or that they are merged together as a three in one God being. All the verse does is identify what most Christians in most denominations already believe which is that there is a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons acknowledge the existence of all three. Scripture elsewhere clearly alludes to the unity of the three persons of the Godhead Trio. Why should that surprise us. The key again is in how we indentify the three persons. As we have went through scripture on this subject we clearly see that:

The Father (Jehovah) is the one true God (Mark 12:28-34, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 8:6)

The Son is Jesus Christ who is exactly that, the Son of God  (John 3:16, Matthew 16:13-20).

The Holy Spirit is the actual Spirit of God  (Jehovah) and of Christ (Jesus) and not a seperate person apart from the Father and the Son (Romans 8:9, Ephesians 4:4-6).