O N E

We have spent the last few weeks looking at the “omni” attributes of God being His Omnipresence, Omniscience and His Omnipotence. This week, we will look at how God is three in One or Triune or a Trinity. As Christians we know about God the Father, Jesus the Son and Holy Spirit but we sometimes struggle to explain how we know that. How do we know that our God is three in One?

Well, we know because God has revealed Himself that way to us. Right from the very beginning in the book of Genesis, God let’s us in on a secret. There is more than One Person to the Godhead. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The Hebrew word for “God” in that verse is “Elohiym” which we know as Elohim. “El” means mighty and strong, so right from the beginning, God tells us He is mighty and strong. The “him” part of Elohim is a plural ending in Hebrew, which tells us that God is actually Gods. Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning Gods…”. That’s the very first verse of the entire Bible telling us that God is strong and mighty and He is plural – there is more than One Person. 
 
Now when we read Genesis 1:2, we are first told that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. So that’s two Persons, God and His Spirit right in the beginning. If we do not know anything else at least by the second verse of the entire Bible we have that information. God wants to be known by us, He is not hiding! Genesis 1:26 goes on to say, “Then God said, “Let us make a man and a woman in our image to be like us…””. There it is again, multiple. More than one.

Does this mean there is more than one God? No! We have one God who has three Persons. There is no other God than Him. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord [Jehovah] our God [Elohim/ Gods], the Lord [Jehovah] is one.” The words in [brackets] are mine. So, there must have been some confusion for a second and God thought to clear the air and said effectively, “Yes, Elohim, your Gods is in fact One God”.

We are going to look at Isaiah 63:7-10 which shows us all three Persons of God in one place. Isaiah 63:7 says, “I will tell of the Lord ’s unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love.” The Lord in that verse is translated “Jehovah”, which is the term used to refer to Father God.

Verses 8-9 say, “He said, “They are my very own people. Surely they will not betray me again.” And he became their Savior. In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.” These verses speak of Jesus our redeemer and Savior. How wonderful is that? We get a glimpse in Isaiah of what the coming Messiah would do for us.

Verse 10 says, “But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.” We end with the very first Person we encounter in Genesis 1:2, Holy Spirit. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that is our God. One God.

Jesus was all over the Old Testament, but He is sometimes referred to as “the angel of the Lord” because His time to be revealed had not yet come. An example of this is with Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac, it says in Genesis 22:11-12, “…but the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven, saying, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes, I’m here,” he answered. “Do not lay a hand on the boy or harm him,” he said, “for now, I know you are fully dedicated to me, since you did not withhold your son, your beloved son, from me.”

Why would the angel of God say Abraham was dedicated to him unless it was the Lord Himself speaking? So, some Bible scholars believe that Jesus made some appearances in the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord.

In the New Testament, we finally learn His Name. Matthew 1:21 says, “And she [Mary] will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” So God is three in One or a Trinity or a Triune God. Three different Persons but so uniquely united that they are One. Like the same way that the Bible describes two people who are married as one (Genesis 2:24), they are still individuals but spiritually joined as one person. That’s how it is with our God. He is three Persons but joined and united as One. One God.

I will leave you with this classic example where we see the Godhead all together in one place which is at Jesus’ baptism. Matthew 3:16-17 says, “And as Jesus rose up out of the water, the heavenly realm opened up over him and he saw the Holy Spirit descend out of the heavens and rest upon him in the form of a dove. Then suddenly the voice of the Father shouted from the sky, saying, “This is my Son—the Beloved! My greatest delight is in him.””

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.