I am a monotheist. Monotheists share the belief that there is only one God and, therefore, only one divine essence. The identity of this God differs from religion to religion, but there is fundamental agreement that there is only one God, no matter who He happens to be.
As a monotheist, I agree with other monotheists that there is only one God and only one divine essence. The Bible has revealed that this divine essence belongs equally to three distinct divine persons: God, for example, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In other words, the Father, Son, and Spirit are all fully divine, possessing identical divine attributes. Being fully equal, none is more or less God than the other. There are not three gods. There is only one God. In this article, I intend to show how I came to this conclusion based on much Biblical evidence.
We start with Genesis 1:1, which says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
The word God is interpreted from the Hebrew word Elohim. Elohim shows that God is a plurality of being. I find it interesting that later in the Bible, we also find that God is Love. This clearly indicates that God is a social unit of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
1 John 5:7 says, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
John, in his gospel, writes all about the Word. He says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
He then continues in John 1:2&3: “2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made.“
Later in this chapter, we discover that the Word is the Son of God. Therefore, Jesus was with God in the beginning. The New Testament tells us that God is the Father. So the Son was with the Father when the world was being created. So, let’s return to this Genesis narrative.
Genesis 1:1-3 says “1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
So, in using the entire Bible, we see the Word as Jesus Christ the Son. We see the Father creating the world through His Son, and in verse 2, we see the Spirit also there, hovering over the face of the waters, as Elohim creates light.
Now I have been working through the Bible book by book preparing different sermons, series, and other research. And as I read it occasionally, I find a passage here and there that mentions all three members, and then I note them. Most of the time, when I find these, I am working on something else. For example, in a recent study on the Biblical Sabbath, I happened upon Matthew chapter 12 where Jesus heals on the Sabbath, and the disciples harvest grain on the Sabbath. I read verse 28, which says “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Jesus always talked about the kingdom of God, and in this verse, He stated that He Jesus Christ cast out the demons and healed a man’s sight by using the Holy Spirit. There are many, many verses and passages in both the New and Old Testaments that also include all three. The most common is Matthew 28 when Jesus appears to his disciples after His resurrection. He says in Matthew 28:18-20 “18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
I personally believe that life experiences are a lesson from God. Jesus didn’t just make this up when he asked us to baptize the unbeliever in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit, Jesus lived it and experienced it. For example let’s examine his baptism recorded in Matthew. Matthew 3:16&17 says “16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and [b]He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus is coming out of the water and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him. While this is happening on Earth the Father says this is My beloved Son. Jesus when He is instructing us to baptize tells us from His experience look at His example and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Peter about his baptism when he says in Acts 10: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit. Peter is giving a testimony of this baptism which Peter most likely was in attendance of.
We also know that Jesus preached it in John Chapters 14 & 15 in John 15:26 Jesus says “When the Helper comes, whom I [Jesus] will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me . . .”
The Holy Spirit did indeed come as Jesus promised hear again is the words of Peter on the day of Pentecost believed it and he preached it in Act 2:33 which he says “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Jesus] has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
Earlier I mentioned by the way of the entire Bible for example both John chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 1 to conclude that there exists as one God the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit. As I continue in my study of the Bible I find in Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to Me [the Son], hear this: I [the Son] have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I [the Son] was there. And now the Lord God [Father] and His Spirit Have sent Me.”
It probably would be good of me to note that there is not one single word in the whole of the Bible that would say trinity which means unification of three. However, clearly the Bible indicates the divinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Multiple passages include all three as separate distinct divine individuals all with one purpose the salvation of you and me.
Deuteronomy 6:4&5 says “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
This verse still is clearly in my mind that there is only one God. Not three gods. Just one. We find this same word in Genesis 11: 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one..”. Did one person build the tower of Bable? Certainly not, this is talking about a unification of people building together the tower.
In the rest of the Bible we see that this one God performs that act of salvation through the Father who gave us His only Son, and the Son Jesus Christ who died for you and me giving eternal life to all who believe. Jesus left us with a Helper, a Teacher, and also, just like Jesus and Advocate, the Holy Spirit to guide us to a better understanding of who God really is.
I end this article with a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”