Deuteronomy 6:4 — Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.
Psalm 90:1-2 — Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
God is eternal: no beginning and no end.
A controversy, and a mystery
Since the late second century C.E. there is controversy concerning the nature of the Godhead. Is God a solitary person, simply manifested in three forms? Are there three separate personalities, each of whom possesses the nature of deity? This remains a mystery to many people.
Many people have found the biblical teaching of the Godhead hard to understand. The Bible tells us that there is one God, co-existing in three distinct Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our human minds have difficulty understanding this divine mystery of the Godhead. In the limited imagination of humanity, the concept of one God, yet three distinct persons, is hard to accept by many. It is one of the biggest mysteries of all time.
We have to believe it for the sake of our salvation. If we do not understand the biblical definition and overview of it, we can lose out on eternity. Yet trying to understand this mystery can blow our minds if we approach it through the way of simple carnal human thinking.
The most important thing is this: the doctrine of the Godhead is revealed in God’s word, and even though it may seem difficult to explain, we cannot dismiss it without serious consequences.
The word itself
The term “Godhead” is used three times in Scripture — Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9 — and should not be confused with the trinity. The trinity is another concept which was brought about to satisfy the initiators.
The word “Trinity” is a Catholic teaching borrowed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and some Evangelicals. It is a doctrine borrowed from Arianism. The Godhead is scriptural, but the word trinity cannot be found, so let us follow the Bible definition.
Acts 17:29 — Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
The Godhead cannot be likened or compared to anything. God is sovereign, supernatural, divine, sublime, extraordinary, superior, and His ways are past finding out. He tells us that the secret things belong to Him forever.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
The things that are for our learning are revealed.
Romans 1:20 — For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
Colossians 2:9 — For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
One God, three distinct Persons
The Bible states that the Godhead is comprised of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the three are distinct Persons, although one God.
People have asked the question: how can God be One and at the same time be three Persons? First of all, God is a Spirit — remember that you and I have never lived in the spiritual realms. This is one of the mysteries of God, and we should prayerfully accept and believe it.
The Bible is the Word of God, and it plainly tells of the plurality of God, yet He is one God.
1 John 5:7 — For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
To accept His Word means to believe what God has revealed. The truth of the Godhead is revealed by God Himself.
Genesis 1:26-27 — And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
The first is plural — let us make man in our image. The second is singular — in the image of God created he him.
All three at the Jordan
Matthew 3:16-17 — And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The Godhead is comprised of three intelligent Beings.
John 3:16 — 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.
This makes it abundantly clear that the Father sent His only begotten Son. The Father never came Himself. In this verse He speaks from heaven while His Son was on earth. The Father is not the Son. When Jesus came, all three identified themselves at His baptism.
Mark 1:9-11 — And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
This is convincing evidence that the three were manifested at once in diverse appearances.
Christ, here speaking to the woman at the well, said God is a Spirit, while He the Son of God was in the flesh.
John 4:24 — God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
John, speaking of the Father, says no man has seen Him — but we have seen His Son in the flesh.
John 1:18 — No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
1 John 4:12 — No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
The Father has always been invisible. Jesus is the visible representation of the Father and the active agent of creation (John 1:1-3, 14; Hebrews 1:1-3).
The Holy Ghost, the other active agent of the Godhead
Jesus addresses the Holy Spirit as He (John 16:7). He is a personal being with intelligence, and all three are involved in our salvation.
Matthew 28:19 — Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
The Spirit of God speaks:
Revelation 2:7 — He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…
He has emotions:
Acts 15:28 — For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.
Ephesians 4:30 — And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
He works signs and wonders:
Romans 15:19 — Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
The Father is in heaven and the Son is there as our High Priest and Mediator, but the Holy Ghost is with us on earth as their representative.
He brings regeneration
John 3:5 — Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
He helps us to pray. If you want to understand the mystery of the Godhead, acquaint yourself with Christ, and through the Holy Ghost He will enlighten you.
Through His Spirit, you will find faith to see the invisible, believe the incredible and receive the impossible.
2 Corinthians 13:14 — The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
On the Christ this study calls the visible representation of the Father, Getting to Know Jesus takes up Philippians 3:10 and knowing Him personally. On His work as High Priest, The Sanctuary works through the types and the services that pointed to Him. On the enemy who misrepresents God, Origins of Evil traces where evil came from and how it ends.
If this study has raised something you would like to talk through, the team reads every message: ask a Bible question, or send a prayer request.
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The Sanctuary
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Philippians 3:10
Getting to Know Jesus
To know Christ is more than knowing about Him. Paul counted everything else loss for this one knowledge — and Scripture says it is eternal life itself. A study of Philippians 3:10 and what that knowledge costs and gives.