The Creator who reveals Themselves in the pages of the Bible

I wrote this up some time ago and thought I'd pass it on in the hope that it may help clarify the teaching on the triune nature of God that is revealed in the Holy Scriptures (i.e. the Bible).  I hope that it helps Christian believers get a firmer grasp of the Creator who revealed Himself, and too, I pray it is an aid to those friends of mine reading this who are not Christians but who are earnestly desiring to understand who the God of creation is.  Enjoy and I hope it does just that.

Yahweh the Triune God
A Concise Doctrinal Statement (without being too much so)

Holy Scripture, in its totality, displays and describes God the Creator of all things as being One, and yet simultaneously holds forth this one God as being eternally existent in three distinct persons: Father, Jesus and Spirit. These three persons are portrayed in Scripture as having distinct roles from one another, but still being equal in essence. That is to say, they all are fully, completely God but they are not identical, rather they are “tri-united”. We are also shown that the relationships, roles and authority structure between them are not merely temporary, time-bound arrangements, but rather, have their origin within and between the Father and Son and Spirit from all eternity.

    Concerning God’s “oneness”, we can see this taught clearly in the Old Testament and/or Covenant scriptures in Deuteronomy 6.4 and Isaiah 44.6 - 45.25, as well as in the New Covenant in 1st Corinthians 8.4, James 2.19, 1st Timothy 2.5, Ephesians 4.6 and Mark 12.29-30. In these passages the Scriptures teach a singularity to Him, an all-completeness that is presented unequivocally and comprehensively to the reader, but without a hint of rational explanation, nor wordy qualifications.

     In regards to the triunity of God – three being one – we are given multiple glimpses and hints throughout Scripture that help to illuminate the mystery of this paradox. Even in the earliest Old Covenant books this plurality to Yahweh God can be discovered. Passages such as Genesis 1.26 where God (singular) says “Let Us (plural) make man in our (plural) image (singular)”, or later on in Isaiah 6.8 “I [Isaiah] heard the voice of the Lord (singular), saying, ‘Whom shall I (singular) send, and who will go for Us (plural)?’ ”.

     This plurality to God can also be seen from a different angle when we consider the Angel of Yahweh. In the Old Covenant the Angel of God is spoken of as the messenger of Yahweh throughout the Old Covenant, and yet Scripture time and time again relates that the Angel of Yahweh is Yahweh. This can be read in passages such as Genesis 22.11-18, Judges 2.1-2 and Exodus 3.1-6. This again communicates – though in a veiled way – that God is much more than one solitary being as we understand beings to be from our own finite experience. What we come to find, is that this Creator God – Yahweh – waits until Jesus and the consequential New Testament/Covenant scriptures, to open the veil wider so we can understand Him more clearly.

     So as we search through the New Covenant Scriptures, we uncover that God’s pluralness is given a fuller, clearer revelation concerning the three distinct persons who are the One God. This can be understood as the unity and distinction of God. Perhaps the best example of this is found in Matthew 28.19 when Jesus commands His disciples to “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”. Here we see that all three – Father, Son, Holy Spirit – are called by one, singular name and not names, signifying the essential unity of all three but clearly invoking three individual, specific names, thereby showing forth a distinctness of persons. So we see with God there is both unity and diversity. The unity is without uniformity and the diversity is without division. Other significant New Covenant passages that invoke the three persons of God as being One, and yet as a community, can be found in 1st Peter 1.2, Mark 1.9-11, Matthew 3.16-17, 2nd Corinthians 13.14, Romans 8.9-11, Revelation 1.4-5, Acts 20.28, 2nd Thessalonians 2.13-14, and Ephesians 1.3-14.

     Finally, the individual uniqueness of each person’s relationship and role within the Godhead did not originate with the coming of Creation, or even the Incarnation of Jesus, but rather has existed in the triune nature of God before time began (see Romans 8.29; Ephesians 1.4; Revelation. 13.8; John 1.1-3, 14; 3.16; 17.4-5). In other words, the Father has always been the Father, and the Son has always been the Son, and the Holy Spirit has always been the Spirit from eternity. They do not, nor ever have, capriciously interchanged or switch roles, nor will they fabricate new ones for a future time or event. The Father is the Head (1st Corinthians 11.3; 15.28) and creator. The Son -- that is Jesus -- is the eternal Word by whom and for whom all Creation is and holds together (Hebrews 1.2; John 1.3; 1st Corinthians 8.6), who reveals the Father (John 5; Heb. 1), and honors and obeys the Father (John 4.34; 6.38; 8.49); and the Spirit is the eternal supporter or helper that is commissioned by the Father and the Son who goes forth joyfully to do all that Son and Father ask, and doing it forever (John 14.15-17, 26; 15.26; 16.7).

     Yahweh, one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, always and forevermore.