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God
is a trinity of persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The
Father is not the same person as the Son; the Son is not the same person
as the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is not the same person as Father.
They are separate persons; yet, they are all the one God. They are in
absolute perfect harmony consisting of one substance. They are coeternal,
coequal, and copowerful. If any one of the three were removed, there
would be no God.
There is, though, an apparent separation of some functions among the
members of the Godhead. For example, the Father chooses who will be
saved (Ephesians 1:4); the Son redeems them (Ephesians 1:7); and the
Holy Spirit seals them (Ephesians 1:13).
A further point of clarification is that God is not one person, the
Father, with Jesus as a creation and the Holy Spirit as a force (Jehovah's
Witnesses). Neither is He one person who took three consecutive forms,
i.e., the Father who became the Son who then became the Holy Spirit
(United Pentecostal). Nor is the Trinity an office held by three separate
Gods (Mormonism).
The chart below should help you to see how the doctrine of the Trinity
is derived from Scripture. The list is not exhaustive, only illustrative.
The first step is to establish how many Gods exist: one! Isaiah 43:10;
44:6; 45:14,18, 21, 22; 46:5,9.
"I am the LORD, and there is no other;
besides Me there is no God" (Isaiah 45:5).
|
FATHER |
SON |
HOLY SPIRIT |
| Called God |
Philippians
1:2 |
John 1:1,14;
Colossians 2:9 |
Acts 5:3-4 |
| Creator |
Isaiah
64:8, 44:24 |
John 1:3;
Colossians 1:15-17 |
Job 33:4, 26:13 |
| Resurrects |
1 Thessalonians 1:10 |
John 2:19, 10:17 |
Romans
8:11 |
| Indwells |
2 Corinthians 6:16 |
Colossians
1:27 |
John 14:17 |
| Everywhere |
1 Kings 8:27 |
Matthew
28:20 |
Psalm
139:7-10 |
| All knowing |
1 John 3:20 |
John 16:30 |
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 |
| Sanctifies |
1 Thessalonians 5:23 |
Hebrews
2:11 |
1 Peter 1:2 |
| Life giver |
Genesis
2:7 |
John 1:3, 5:21 |
2 Corinthians 3:6,
8 |
| Fellowship |
1 John 1:3 |
1 Corinthians 1:9 |
2 Corinthians 13:14 |
| Eternal |
Psalm
90:2 |
Micah 5:1-2 |
Romans
8:11 |
A Will |
Luke 22:42 |
Luke 22:42 |
1 Corinthians 12:11 |
| Speaks |
Matthew
3:17 |
Luke 5:20, 7:48 |
Acts 8:29,
11:12, 13:2 |
| Love |
John 3:16 |
Ephesians
5: 25 |
Romans
15:30 |
| Searches the heart |
Jeremiah
17:10 |
Revelation
2:23 |
1 Corinthians 2:10 |
| We belong to |
John 17:9 |
John 17:6 |
... |
| Savior |
1 Timothy 1:1,
2:3, 4:10 |
2 Timothy 1:10;
Titus 1:4, 3:6 |
... |
| We serve |
Matthew
4:10 |
Colossians
3:24 |
... |
| Believe in |
John 14:1 |
John 14:1 |
... |
| Gives joy |
...
|
John 15:11 |
Romans
14:7 |
| Judges |
John 8:50 |
John 5:21, 30 |
...
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