Understanding The Mystery Of The Trinity
Bishop David Ibeleme
The doctrine of the trinity is one of the most misunderstood in Christendom. As Christians, we believe that, there is one God. We also believe that there are three persons in this one God phenomenon. The question is; how can these beliefs coexist? Many have simply accepted this doctrine “by faith” as a mystery that cannot and needs not to be understood. However, it is important to note that God has given us the mysteries of the Kingdom. Even though we are referred to as sheep in the Scriptures, the Lord doesn’t want us to just “sheepishly” accept everything in the Bible. If He did we won’t have been told the following by Apostle Peter.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15.
You cannot be ready to answer questions regarding your faith unless you know the answers. And you cannot know the answers if you simply accept things sheepishly. Jesus told His close disciples that it’s their right to know the mystery of the Kingdom and the Apostle Paul literally echoes this in his letter to the Corinthian church.
And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God… Mark 4:10-11.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-12.
The Apostle Paul further indicates that the saints of God have the responsibility of knowing and sharing the mysteries of the kingdom to others.
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Colossians 1:25-27.
Jesus told Peter and the rest of the Apostles that they have been given the keys of the kingdom. This is what makes it possible for us to bind (disallow) and loose (allow) things on earth.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19.
In essence, the mysteries of the kingdom have been hid, not from us, but for us. These mysteries include the doctrine of the Trinity (that there are three persons in one God). Unfortunately many if not most believers do not understand this mystery of the Trinity. Some, simply because they do not understand the mystery, have even joined religions like the Watchtower Bible Society (popularly known as Jehovah’s Witnesses) that come against the doctrine of the Trinity. It is therefore important that we understand this mystery so we can educate others about it. I dare say that it is actually our right to understand it.
Various explanations have been offered for this; however, many of them certainly do not satisfy the curiosity of the average man. Here are the more popular explanations and their weaknesses.
The “Sun” And The “Ice-block” Analogy
Some simply say that the Trinity can be explained by likening the concept to the sun. The Father God is likened to the sun, while the Son is likened to the rays of the sun and the Holy Spirit is likened to heat of the sun. The problem with this is that the sun, its rays and heat all refer to the same primary object, the sun, which is one. The rays and the heat do not give us three suns. We must however remember that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, primarily embraces the concept of three persons and not just one.
The “ice-block” theory is very similar to “the sun” analogy. In this the Father is likened to the solid block of ice, the Word or Son to the water and the Holy Spirit to the resulting coldness. As in the “sun” analogy the “ice-block” analogy cannot explain or account for the three distinct persons of the godhead. At best, it depicts one person, manifesting in three different ways.
The “Different Manifestations” Analogy
Others have indicated that the Trinity can be explained simply by realizing that the three persons are actually one person, hence one God. They tell us that God manifested Himself in the Old Testament era as the Father. He then manifested himself as Jesus the Son in the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He is then said to manifest Himself after the day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit. Some have actually advocated this as “The Same Jesus” theology, which purports that Jesus is also the Father and the Holy Spirit at the same time.
The problem here is that firstly, we miss the concept of the three persons, which is very integral to the doctrine of the Trinity: If it is the same person, then we do not have three persons, but only one person manifesting in three ways. Not only does this not explain accurately the concept of the Trinity but it is also scripturally unsound. It does not explain how come or why Jesus on several occasions prayed or spoke with and to the Father? I want you to consider the statements made by Jesus to the Father at Lazarus’ tomb, in the garden of Gethsemane and after He was nailed to the cross. Ask yourself if anyone could make these statements to himself.
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. Yes, I know You always hear and listen to Me, but I have said this on account of and for the benefit of the people standing around, so that they may believe that You did send Me [that You have made Me Your Messenger]. John 11:41-42 (Amplified Version).
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:41-42.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, (that must be the Father) why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23:34, 46.
It is definitely not possible that Jesus was speaking to Himself in the above verses of scripture. If He was, then He would have been beside Himself. In essence He would have been considered mad. Jesus actually spent the entire seventeenth chapter of the book of John talking to the Father in prayer. Now I want you to consider the statements the Father made concerning Jesus at various times in His ministry; following His baptism by John and after He was transfigured before them.
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. Matthew 3:16-17.
But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. Luke 9:32-35.
The Father, The Word (Jesus) And The Holy Spirit – Three Persons?
There is no way a man could have been saying these words to Himself. This means that Jesus and the Father cannot be the same person. They are clearly two different persons. Now consider the following Scripture verse:
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1 John 5:7.
I believe that this is the go to verse with respect to the Holy Trinity. It indicates that there are three persons, not just one that manifests in three different forms. The three persons are the Father, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit and these three are one. It is therefore, clear that the Father and the Word Jesus are two different persons. The challenge for some is to prove that the Holy Spirit is a person. This is because there are many who say that the Holy Spirit is a force. Let us look at the following Scriptures which help us to establish that the Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:15-17.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26.
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: John 15:26.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: John 16:7-8.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:13-15.
Notice the number of personal pronouns in the above Scriptures used to describe the Holy Spirit. This means that He is a person, not just a force. Neither is the Holy Spirit a dove or fire. Child of God, the Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a dove or fire or wind or any inanimate thing or element of nature. Although He can manifest Himself in all those forms, He is a person. Notice some of the things Jesus said about the Holy Spirit; He would “take”, “speak”, “show”, “receive” and even “guide” us. These definitely cannot be accomplished by a simple force. It takes a person to do them.
So far, we have established that there are three different persons involved in the phenomenon we call the Trinity. The challenge now is to show how these three persons can be considered as one God.
Are These Three, God?
In order to establish from Scripture that these three persons who can be referred to as the one God, we must look at some qualities or characteristics of God. We will take these attributes, characteristics or qualities and see if they relate to these three persons; the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Creative Attributes: For a person to be God then that person must be credited with creation or creative abilities. No one doubts that the Father is the author of creation.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1.
Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Jeremiah 32:17.
Most, if not all, people believe that these Scriptures refer to the creative attributes of the Father God. The next question would be to see if the Bible portrays the creative attributes of the Word. Look at this verse;
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him (The Word); and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3.
The above Scripture attributes creative abilities to the Word. In case there is still a doubt as to who the Word is, look at the following Scripture which confirms without a doubt that the Word is Jesus Christ.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:14-17.
How about the Holy Spirit, does He have any creative qualities? Though the second verse of Genesis shows the presence of the Holy Spirit at work in creation many might not find the verse convincing enough. Look at this Scripture:
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. Isaiah 40:12-15.
There can be no doubt then that the Holy Spirit also has creative attributes. We have shown that all three persons have creative abilities. This creativity is linked to the concepts of omnipotence and omniscience which I’m sure you know, are two important attributes of God. To be “God” you must be omnipotent and omniscient. We can conclude then that the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit are all omnipotent and omniscient.
Life or Existence in Eternity: To be God you must have been here before all things literally having eternal existence and not being limited by time. This encompasses the concept of omnipresence and immortality. No one doubts that the Father exists in eternity. This is also echoed in Genesis and throughout the Bible.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1.
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17.
If you are not there at the beginning then you cannot be God because something would have existed before you. The Father was here, so was the Word and the Holy Spirit.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2.
The mere fact that you were here at creation shows that you have an eternal capacity or attribute. The Holy Spirit is also called the Eternal Spirit. And it is said of the Word that His going forth is from everlasting to everlasting.
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9:14.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he (Jesus) come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2.
Jesus also described Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and the first and the last in several places in the book of Revelation. We can see that the eternal attribute of God is shared by these three persons, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. Therefore based on what we have shared so far, the three persons (the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit) can accurately be said to be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (present everywhere); all attributes of God.
The Grace Attribute: if you are God, then you must have the ability to release grace and mercy perpetually. The Father is constantly described as gracious particularly in the book of Psalms and other books in the Old Testament era.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Psalm 103:8.
We see this attribute in the Word (Jesus) as well.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:14-17.
The Holy Spirit is also called the spirit of grace.
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29.
All three persons, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit are gracious.
Ability to Receive Worship: If you are God then you can receive worship without question. Holy Angels never accepted worship when people tried to worship them. They actually pointed people to God who alone deserves our worship.
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10.
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. Revelation 21:8-9.
The Scriptures repeatedly warn us not to worship anyone but God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Luke 4:8.
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Colossians 2:18-19.
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Revelation 14:7.
No one doubts this attribute in relation to the Father.
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:10-11.
However, Jesus also repeatedly accepted worship without question. He never prevented anyone from worshiping Him. From the time of His birth, when He was a child and to the days following His resurrection from the dead, He received worship.
And when they (the wise men from the East) were come into the house, they saw the young child (Jesus) with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11.
And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Matthew 8:2.
…there came a certain ruler (Jairus), and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. Matthew 9:18.
Then they that were in the ship (the other apostles) came and worshipped him (Jesus), saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. Matthew 14:33.
Then came she (the Canaanite woman whose daughter was sick) and worshipped him (Jesus), saying, Lord, help me. Matthew 15:25.
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. And when they (the disciples) saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. Matthew 28:9, 17.
Even the demoniac worshipped Him
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, Mark 5:6.
And even the angels were told by the Father to worship Jesus.
And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. Hebrews 1:6.
Though there is no Bible verse which clearly or directly shows that the Holy Spirit received worship, the Scriptures allude to the dire consequence of sinning against Him. There is an interesting Scripture that highlights this and it can be used to settle the issue of His importance with respect to His godly attributes.
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:31-32.
The mere fact that the sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven speaks to His deity qualities. Sin against God can be summarized as lack of devotion or worship to Him. One can then say that the Scriptures suggest that the Holy Spirit does in fact receive worship though it is not directly stated.
Must be referred to as God: If you are God, then the Scriptures must call you, God. No one doubts this with respect to the Father. The challenge is whether the Word and the Holy Spirit are ever called God in Scripture. Concerning the Word, He is not only directly referred to as God but He is also called God by the Father.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1.
But unto the Son he (the Father) saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Hebrews 1:8-9.
The above Scripture passage not only shows that the Father is called God, it also shows that the Word (Jesus) is called God. We have established that the Father and the Word Jesus are directly called God in scripture. Now we need to show that the Holy Spirit is also called God in the Bible.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Acts 5:1-4.
That is it: the Holy Ghost is directly referred to as God. We can now see that all three persons are called God in the Bible. Hence, it can be concluded that we have three persons, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit who have been clearly stated in the Bible to be God.
Three Persons As God; But One Godhead?
Seeing that there are three persons called God how come we say there is one God and not three gods? Firstly, you must understand that the word god is a title. You might be wondering what I mean by this. Consider this: just as the words Doctor, Chief and Bishop are titles, the word “god” is a title. There are certain things you do in order to have any of those titles. We established earlier that to have the title, God, you must be omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.
You must also be referred to as God in the Bible. All these qualification have been fulfilled by the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. This means that the Bible supports the idea of more than one person having the title “God”. There are actually several Scriptures that point to plurality of persons in the Godhead, starting with the word Elohim (this could have been translated gods) used to describe God in the first chapter of the book of Genesis and this is followed by the call to make man later in the same chapter.
In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth. 26 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. Genesis 1:1, 26.
Is Christianity Polytheistic Or Monotheistic?
With the kind of understanding we have established so far, one could question why Christianity is still considered a monotheistic rather than a polytheistic “religion”.
To explain this, we must consider what polytheism really means. While monotheism is the worship of one god, polytheism is the worship of more than one god. Polytheism is a feature in religions such as Hinduism, Greek mythology as well as African traditional beliefs where several gods are acknowledged. The key point is that in polytheism, the different gods are like specialists, meaning there is a god for specific things. For example there is a god for fertility, a god for iron ore, a god for love, a god over the weather, a god over the seas etc. The orisa mythology of the Yorubas of Western Nigeria even has a god that rules over evil named Esu. This god is responsible for releasing evil to those who are supposedly deserving of it.
There are many gods because each god deals with an issue that no other god is responsible for. The god of love will not deal with the weather and vice-versa. The question then is: How does this differ from the Christian belief of trinity since it acknowledges three distinct persons as god? Look at our “go to” verse again.
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 1 John 5:7.
We notice that this verse says even though there are three (different) persons, these three persons agree as one. The concept of the trinity is hinged on, this agreement as one. It is the essence of being one and not three gods. In polytheism there are many gods who do not agree, hence they are many and not one god. They are different in their operations.
However, Christianity is considered monotheistic because though there are three persons they agree as one and share the godhead. They are not specialized in their function as God or function independently apart from one another.
Similarly, if there were 100 medical doctors in Trinidad & Tobago or any other nation and if all of them do exactly the same thing and none of them knows more than the others or is specialized in any other field of medicine, then we can simply say that even though we have 100 persons who are called doctors, there is still essentially only one doctor. This is because none of them is specialized in any other field and they all agree as one. They are therefore like we said earlier essentially the same doctor. We would then have 100 persons in one doctor and not 100 different doctors. This is because you would get exactly the same treatment no matter which doctor you went to. They are all essentially one doctor. I believe that makes it a little clearer to you.
However, someone might question Jesus’ earthly ministry in this context? The answer to this is that in His earthly ministry Jesus did not function as God, He functioned as a man under the unction of the Holy Spirit because He divested or stripped Himself of His deity qualities while he was on the earth.
Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, Philippians 2:5-9 (The Amplified Version).
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19.
As you can see in the above Scriptures He functioned on earth as a man, not as God. It is conclusive that the three persons, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit agree as one in everything therefore we have one God, not three.
The Doctrine of Interpenetration
I believe that some of you might still be wondering how these three could be one. To understand this, I want you to consider Jesus’ ministry. He made a strange statement when He prayed for His disciples’ future ministry before He went to the cross. He described a relationship between Him and the Father.
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:20-23.
Jesus said that He is in the Father and that the Father is in him. He went ahead to pray that we His followers, may be one in Him and the Father. How can this be? This is described by many Bible scholars as the “doctrine of interpenetration”. Before I explain this further, we need to consider how Jesus described the Holy Spirit in relation to Himself.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:15-17.
He called the Holy Spirit “another comforter”. Herein lies the key to understanding this relationship. The Greek word in this Scripture for “another” is “allos” and it means “another of the same kind”. Just as we were told, that Jesus and the Father had the same attributes before Jesus came to earth, so too do Jesus and the Holy Spirit have the very same attributes.
The doctrine of interpenetration asserts that Jesus is in the father and the Father is in Him at the same time. Jesus once told the disciples that if you have seen Him, then you have seen the Father.
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. John 14:7-11.
Zoe – The Eternal Connection
The question is: how can the Father be in Jesus and Jesus in the Father at the same time? To answer this, we would use what I call the “bucket analogy”. This speaks of us looking at the three persons in the godhead as buckets. Let us start by looking at the Father and Jesus as buckets A and B; with the Father being A and Jesus being B and let us make the church or the Holy Spirit, bucket C. Ask yourself, how can bucket A be in bucket B and then bucket B be in bucket A at the same time and how can both A and B be in C and C be in them?
I know this might sound confusing but relax and review the question again. The only way this can happen is, if one considers that the buckets are of the same kind. If they are of the same kind, then everything in bucket A is also in bucket B, so the two buckets are in each other and the same goes for bucket C. How is this possible? Think about this.
To better understand the “bucket analogy, we would likened it to animal life forms. Hence, what makes a dog a dog is, dog life. Similarly, what makes a chicken a chicken is chicken life, what makes a goat a goat is goat life and what makes a man a man is man or human life. Consequently, we must also conclude that what makes God, must be God life. This life is called Zoe or Eternal life. It is what makes God, God. It is the life of God. Look at this Scripture.
For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; John 5:26.
What makes God the Father to be God is Zoe or eternal life. This same life is in Jesus so this is why He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. The Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit all have the very same life, which makes God, God. Hence, the three of them are named God. However because they agree as one we have one God, not three gods.
Jesus in John 17 brought us into the equation;
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:20-23.
We are now in Christ because we have been given the same life. That is the only way we can be part of the interpenetration the above verses speak about.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13.
We are not trying to get eternal life, we already have it. Eternal life is not just living forever; it is the very life or nature of God and it has been given to us. We are His children therefore we have His nature. Our interpenetration with the godhead is actually extended unto one another because the Bible says that we are members one of another.
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25.
The mystery of the Holy Trinity was not hidden from us but rather for us.
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: Mark 4:11.
Through the wisdom of the Word we have been able to rightly discern the purpose, difference and the consequences of these paradoxical positions of three persons called God and yet we have one and not three gods.
When next someone tries to tell you that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is heretic, you can settle down and properly explain it to them without getting offended or getting into an argument with them. You are now in a position to humbly answer anyone who asks you about your faith.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1 Peter 3:15.
Praise God forever more!
