God revealed Himself on the pages of the Bible.
God already revealed things about Himself and some are hard to understand from a human perspective- But all are true.
We believe many things though we don’t fully understand.
I am sure you will agree with me this truth that We don’t understand many things in detail but we still believe those things to be true. When a medical doctor explains your sickness and how it can be cured, you may not understand many of the details but you believe what your doctor said about yourself. You travel on the plane though you don’t understand the complexities of Airbus or Boeing. Many things we all don’t understand but still believe. Try to study mathematics, science or even history. You will end up in saying “I don’t know many things”. Typically you and I, if we are smart, during our lifetime may become some-what especially skilled in certain bodies of truth but not in all. It’s not possible to master all knowledge.
Did this ever cross your mind? God who created the earth, heaven and all the countless galaxies, how hard it must be for you and me to fathom and understand Him and His plans in our puny minds and hearts?
God revealed certain things about Himself and us.
It is true God had revealed a lot about Himself in the pages of the Bible. He revealed that He created all things, He is sovereign over all, He is all powerful, all knowledgeable, all present everywhere at the same time, He is loving, He is truth, does not lie, He is altogether holy and perfect, we have a problem of sin and we cannot find solution to this problem in ourselves, He hates sins but loves a sinner when he repents of his sin and call on Him. He gave a solution to our sin problem. He temporarily solved the problem of sins in the old testament period (olden times) through animal sacrifices – a lamb, bull or even a turtle can be sacrificed to pay for the sins of people and get fellowship back with God. But all these animal sacrifices were pointing toward a perfect sacrifice – the sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of Christ which will take away the sins of the whole world. This is why John said by looking at Jesus Christ “behold the lamb of God….
These are some of the things God revealed to us. To be frank, there are much more things God revealed to us in the pages of the Bible and in the person of Christ. God revealed a lot about future events in the Bible and it’s a marvelous area of study. However, my point is this – Because we are mere humans, there are a lot of things we cannot understand about God because He is God and we are not, He lives outside the natural world and environment. It’s impossible to know all about God. Bible says God is ‘transcendent’ and what this means is God is above and of course beyond our understanding. Bible says in Isaiah 53:8-9, ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”. Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 this-“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
Certain things He said about Himself becomes hard for us to understand and fathom in our mind. Like a scientist explains the scientific things or a medical doctor explains the complexities of certain uncurable diseases, we may not fully understand what God said about Himself. But we should believe because God said this about Himself.
Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
True -Trinity is hard to understand from our perspective.
Triune nature of God is a truth God revealed about Himself and humans finds it hard to understand. Some people criticize Christians because we teach the triune nature of God. But keep in mind Bible declares God is one and the same Bible declares the triune nature of God all through the pages of the Bible in the old testament and in the New Testament even from the first book of the Bible called Genesis. The triune nature of God or trinity is a truth God revealed about Himself. I can admit that we won’t understand fully the nature of God in our finite mind. It remains incomprehensible to human mind but being incomprehensible doesn’t mean we ignore this truth about God. You and I may not understand fully in our human mind does not mean this is not a truth. It remains as a truth because this is how God revealed Himself in the Bible.
Trinity defined.
What is the definition of the Trinity? Trinity simply means God is one and at the same time God is three in one. As I said above this revelation about God is beyond our imagination and understanding but Bible reveals this is true about God. One of the good dictionaries called Webster’s gives this definition, “The union of three divine persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one divinity, so that all the three are one God as t substance, but three person (or hypostases as to individuality).” The three persons in tri-unity or trinity mean having the same substances but distinct in subsistence. This does not mean three persons like three individuals. It is like one divinity and within one divine being three personalities.
Bible verses about One God.
Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”.
Isaiah 43:11, “I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me”.
Isaiah 42:8 “I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.”
Isaiah 43:10, “Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.”
Mark 12:29, Jesus said, ““The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’’
1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony [a]given at [b]the proper time.”
John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one”.
1 Corinthians 8:6 says, “But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.”
Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
The passages about God who is One is also Three:
The tri-unity of Godhead is revealed in the Bible. In the Bible, we can see many places God used plural form to call Himself. The examples are Genesis 1:26, 3:22 and Isaiah 6:8. The Hebrew name of God is a plural word. ‘Elohim’ and “El”- Elohim is plural and El is singular. This itself shows the reality of God being plural is His form. In Genesis 1:26 God said, ”Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.” This is seen as a hint of the plurality in Godhead.
Son of God is in the Old Testament.
Bible says in the Old Testament in Psalm 2:7 the LORD has a son. It says, “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”.
Psalm 2:12 asks to pay homage to the Son. It says, “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may [b]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
Proverbs says in 30:4, “Who has ascended into heaven and descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has wrapped the waters in [a]His garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name or His son’s name?
Surely you know.” You see it says about the creator “what is His name or His son’s name”. Therefore even the Old Testament Hebrew Bible talks about the Son of God.
The Son is called God (Mighty God and eternal Father) in Isaiah 9:16. “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will [a]rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 7:14 says calls the Son of God Immanuel (God with us), “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” This prophecy was fulfilled at the time of birth of Christ (the Son of God). Matthew 1:22-23, “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name [y]Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
Trinity in Godhead.
Isaiah 48:16-17 is a verse where the trinity – God, Christ and Holy Spirit is seen in one verse.
It says, “Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the first I have not spoken in secret,
From the time it took place, I was there.
And now the Lord [a]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
All three God, Jesus Christ, the Son and the Holy Spirit are called divine (God) in the Bible.
Father is God.
I Peter 1:2, John 6:27, and Romans 1:7 says Father is God.
Son (Jesus Christ) is God
1 John 5:20, Colossians 2:9, Romans 9:5. Hebrews 1:8, Gospel of John 1:1 and 1:14, John 5:23, Revelation 1:8, Hebrews 1:8-9, Revelation 22:13 says the Son is God.
Holy Spirit is God
Acts 5:3-4, Psalms 139:7-8, 1 Corinthians 2:10-11,1 Corinthians 3:16, Acts 5:3-4, Hebrews 9:14 refer Holy Spirit as God.
Yet Bible distinguishes Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit
Luke 3:21-22 shows us Jesus, Holy Spirit like dove and Father’s voice from heaven. It says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you, I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:15-17 describes the same incident described above.
I alluded Isaiah 48:16-17 above. But I want to bring to your attention these verses are one of the strongest proves for the trinity of God presented in the Old Testament literature.
It says, “Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the first, I have not spoken in secret,
From the time it took place, I was there.
And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
The above verse shows three distinct persons- Father is talking in the beginning portion and then says the Father and the Holy Spirit sent the Son.
What is final sum of all these?
What is the sum and substance of all our discussion above? God revealed Himself to us in the pages of the Bible. So much He revealed about Him and His plans. A major portion of His revelation to us includes His nature and personality and our nature and personalities. At the final outset, God is sovereign, perfectly good, loving and holy and God judges sin but yet loves sinners like you and me.
Certain things He revealed about Himself are difficult for us to understand in our little mind now. One that belongs to this category is the triune nature of God. God is one and the one God has three separate ‘persons’. Each in one Godhead has His own personality and will. Humanly speaking it is hard for us to fathom but remember God is far bigger than us and His nature and His ways are distinct and different from our nature and ways. God left several tri-unity or trinity examples in His creation.
Man is one but three distinct parts – body, soul, and spirit. Body is the outer layer that we touch, smell and sense. The soul is that part of humans where we feel, think, calculate. Spirit is deep inside of mankind where we can have fellowship and union with God. When a child of God who accepted Christ as his savior dies in this world, Bible says his body goes to the grave, soul ends but the spirit goes to the presence of the Lord and then we will get a new glorified body suitable for heaven. Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:78, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
Every day we use water to drink, wash and bathing purposes. Water is one yet it has three in it. Water is H2O means it has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atoms. Water can exist in three distinct forms as well – liquid, ice, and vapor.
A tree has triunity – It has root, trunk, and branches.
A building triunity – It has a foundation, walls, and roof.
Look around God left several examples of the Trinity in nature. These are not perfect examples of the triune nature of God, I admit. But there is evidence for trinity all around us in this universe God created.
God revealed Himself in the Trinity or tri-unity nature in the most admirable and God-breathed book in this world. I understand and admit knowing the fully unknowable God in our present nature and condition is hard and difficult but one day we will clearly understand what is trinity means and what God meant by this when we see Him face to face. Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” We will wonder at gazing at God in near future in heaven and we will enjoy His presence and worship Him eternally for His majesty, glory and for saving a wretched sinner like us and sharing in us His glory.
Prayer time: Remember God is perfectly holy and He loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life here on the earth and for your future in heaven. The only way to God is Jesus Christ and by putting your faith and trust in Christ you can be saved now. If you never accepted Christ as your savior, please pray with me like this:
God my Father in heaven, I believe you gave Jesus Christ for my sins and He died, buried and resurrected for my sins. I believe Christ as my savior. Please save me. Amen!
If you prayed this prayer, please go to contact/prayer tab and send me a note.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.