Today we will look at the Trinity, often defined as "one in ‘essence,’ three in person." What does that mean exactly? God is three Persons, and the name 'God' implies one ‘essence.’ If God is "three Persons," how can there be "one" ‘essence’? The meaning of the term ‘essence’" is very foreign in the Bible and seems more about "what" and not "who." It indicates that the distinction between the Divine ‘essence’ and the Persons of the Trinity is purely conceptual.
The English word '‘essence’' is not found anywhere in the Bible, yet it is used to describe the God of the Bible and sounds very metaphysical. The Greek word 'ousia' is often used to justify the use of the word ‘essence.’ The term is used in the New Testament only in relation to 'the substance' in the sense of goods or property and is never used in reference to God (Luke 15:12-13). Yet it is often used by preachers to explain the ‘essence' of God. The word is defined in most dictionaries as 'the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character; the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing especially opposed to its existence: the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class or identified as being what it is: the most significant element, quality, or aspect of a thing or person; the most important part of something, usually the part that gives it its general character.'
It is said in Theology that the names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit signify the ‘essence’ as nouns, and the names are adjectives predicated of the Persons in the singular only, yet adjectives can also be predicated in the plural. God the One ‘essence’ means a very abstract "being" which can't be one person. That definition seems pretty confusing, to say the least.
The Nicene Creed identifies the Son as "God from God." Does the term "God" signify the divine ‘essence’ existing in the one with that ‘essence’, and God is from God? The word 'God' seems concrete, yet the term 'essence’ seems abstractly paradoxical and, therefore, cannot logically signify a person.
Is God a thing or just one being? Is His ‘essence’ the most important part that gives His general nature? That definition sounds like Modalism which teaches that God has eternally existed, yet He has revealed Himself in three forms – one in the Old Testament as the Father, one in the New Testament as the Son, and one after the Ascension as the Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches that God is unique in existence and nature and does not exist in parts (divine simplicity) but is one unified entity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) with no distinct or separate attributes.
So, how can we understand God as being three persons in one ‘essence’? It doesn't sound very sensical. If they are three persons distinct from each other, that implies distinction in ‘essence’, which contradicts the unity of God's ‘essence’ as each person would have their own nature. That seems a confusing paradox. How do you distinguish between 'person' (hypostasis) and ‘essence’?
Is the ‘essence’ and 'person' the same reality while simultaneously holding a fundamental distinction among the Person(s) in their nature and divine ‘essence’? That doesn't sound like a real distinction but more like a conceptual one that affirms something of the ‘essence’ while denying it of the Persons. Can we simultaneously affirm the unity of the ‘essence’ and the distinction of the Persons?
In Theology, the claim is made that the ‘essence’ of God is the same as a 'person' and that He is three Persons who are one ‘essence’ which means we are not using the name "God" in the same way as when we use the term "man." Does that mean the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each God, and therefore each are God(s)?
Throughout history, the chief dogmatic work of the church Fathers was directed towards affirming the truth of the Oneness of ‘essence’, the fullness of Divinity, and the equality of honor of the Second and Third Person of the Holy Trinity that has the same ‘essence’; each of the Persons has the fullness of Divinity unharmed and immeasurable and are equal in honor and worship.
The vast majority of Born-Again Christians adhere to the doctrine that God is three persons (Trihypostatic) revealed as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is one God. The Father is God. Jesus is God who the Father sent. The Holy Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Father.
It is no wonder that people in and out of the church are confused about who God is. God is often called the Father of Jesus, which infers that Jesus is the Father's offspring, and therefore they are separate individuals just as any human father and son/daughter. In addition, the Person - Holy Spirit, is often explained as if He was the Father's effluence or phantasm. Yet the Bible says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV).
ESOTERIC EXPLANATIONS
Some pretty murky explanations of the Trinity throughout history have led to wild beliefs such as there is just one God who is not triune. He is a singular divine spirit with no distinction of persons and manifests Himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This 'Jesus only' belief implies that God left Heaven when He came to Earth and prayed to Himself, then, as the Holy Spirit, baptized the Disciples at Pentecost.
This teaching also aligns with the heresy of Modalism and posits that God revealed Himself in three modes throughout biblical history. In the Old Testament, God is said to exist in "the mode" of The Father, at the incarnation, in "the mode" of The Son, and after Jesus' ascension, in "the mode" of The Holy Spirit. The modes were said to have never been simultaneous, so the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are said to have never existed simultaneously. Millions of people in the church believe something along those lines. Other offshoots of Modalism are the heresies of Sabellianism, Priscillianism, and Subordinationism, which is a general name of most of the fourth-century heresies such as Arianism, Semi-Arianism, Patripassianism, Macedonianism, and later in the form of Unitarianism.
Another teaching is that the Trinity is three separate beings, each different, that are co-equal, co-powerful, and co-eternal. The early church labeled this view "Tritheism," which denies God's oneness. If the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three separate beings, then it's not really clear how someone can say that God is one or that only one God exists.
ANECDOTAL ANALOGIES
To make things murkier, the church has tried to explain who God is using some interesting analogies. One of them is the "Sun" analogy that suggests, just as the Sun has "three powers" (warmth, light, and circular form), so God has three aspects: the warming power answers to the Holy Spirit; the illuminating power, to the Son; and the form or figure, to the Father.
Another popular teaching is that the Trinity is analogous to H2O (the molecular symbol for water) because H2O can exist in three forms: liquid, gas, and solid. Water at room temperature is liquid. When heated, it turns into a gas (steam); when frozen, it turns into a solid (ice). In the same way, it is reasoned that God is the Father at one moment, but at different times He somehow morphs or transforms into the Son or Holy Spirit.
Others have suggested that using an egg is a great way to explain how God can be one and three. The egg has a shell, white Albumin, and a yoke. There is only one egg with three different parts.
For those who love mathematics, there is the Triangle analogy. An equilateral triangle has three sides that are co-equal with each other. Each side is necessary because if one side were removed, there would be no equilateral triangle. Even though each side is uniquely labeled, all three are the same. The Triangle analogy breaks down because God is seen as an impersonal and non-relational being.
The science-minded attempt to explain the Trinity using examples from the universe that describe the oneness of three that point to a trinity by arguing that everything, in reality, is three-dimensional, such as space, time, energy; matter; air, water; fire, earth; solid, liquid, gas (plasma); past, present, future (eternity); height, length, width (depth), and so on.
These analogies also resemble Modalism because they suggest that only one Being exists, but this Being exists in three different parts that are not co-equal.
The Triune God is clearly seen as "being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20 KJV). He is not confined to three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. He can be in more than one place at a time. He has been seen physically by human eyes many times (Genesis 18:1-33; 19:24; 32:24-30; Exodus 24:11; 33:11-33; Joshua 5:13-15; Judges 6:11-23; 13:3-25; 1 Chronicles 21:16-17; Job 42:5; Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1:26-28; 10:1,20; 40:3; Daniel 7:9-14; 10:5-10; Acts 7:56-59; Revelation 4:2-5; 5:1,5-7,11-14; 6:16; 7:9-17; 19:4; 21:3-5; 22:4).
THE GREATEST MYSTERY
Jesus, as a human being, loved, lived His life, and spoke like no other man has ever done or ever will. Through His act of ultimate humility, He suffered and died on the Cross as God and a human being. In His act of atonement, Jesus chose to be the legal substitute for every person, took all their sins upon Himself, and defeated the evil one completely for eternity at the Cross because He is love.
"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV)
The ultimate magnitude of God's love is manifested in the Cross, where Jesus experienced wrath on behalf of every person that has, is now, or will ever live in this world. At the Cross, the Father and Holy Spirit were involved as the Father poured out wrath, the Son paying the absolute price for the remission of sins as the final sacrificial lamb turning away divine wrath (Romans 1:18, 3:25-2, 5:8-11), and the blood of Jesus offered through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14) for the sins of all human beings. This act of love is the greatest mystery that came directly through love Himself (Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:9, 3:4, 3:9, Colossians 1:27).
The blood of the eternal God was shed and poured out to redeem and set free all who willingly choose to accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior and become Born-Again by surrendering their life to Him (John 3:16; Acts 20:28).
The most profound mystery of God's love is that the King of the Universe - the beautiful God - the supreme Lord of all creation is so passionately in love with every Christian that the Bible describes it as the love of a groom for his bride!
"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7 NIV)
His heart is ravished by them, for He takes great "delight in you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride" (Isaiah 62:4-5).
"You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace. How fair is your love, My sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, And the scent of your perfumes Than all spices!" (Song 4:9-10 NKJV)
Jesus intercedes from Heaven for all Born-Again Christians (Matthew 3:17,14:27; Mark 6:50; John 1:1; 1:14; 8:24,58; 10:30; Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20). He is both love and the Word incarnate. He is the only mediator between God and human beings and is the proper and only object of a person's faith. Salvation is found in no one else (See 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9). He said that if a person does not believe He is God - the "I am" of Exodus 3:14, and receive Him as Lord - they will die in their sins (John 1:1,14, 3:18; 4:2-3, 8:24, 58; 10:30-33, 14:6; 20:28; Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:8).
THE GREAT PROMISE
Jesus commanded the Disciples after the Resurrection and before His return to Heaven to:
"not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1:4-5 NIV, see also Luke 23:49)
He promised to permanently send the Holy Spirit, "the Counselor… from the Father," who would "testify" or prove, affirm, and demonstrate that Jesus is Lord (John 15:26 NIV) so that all those who would put their trust in Him would "receive power" to be His "witnesses…both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8 NIV). This was not a new promise. The gift of the Holy Spirit was promised in the Old Testament:
"...for with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing..." (Isaiah 28:11-12 KJV)
After His Resurrection, Jesus regenerated ten Apostles when He "breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven" (John 20:22-23 NIV). At that moment, they were Born-Again because they received the Holy Spirit. However, they had not yet been endued with power. That would come on the Day of Pentecost and was a totally separate and distinct experience.
The other 110 Disciples who were with them in the Upper Room were still not yet regenerated. They believed in Jesus but had yet to receive the Holy Spirit to become Born-Again. Believing that Jesus is God is not the same as receiving Him. Even the "demons believe that - and shudder" (James 2:19 NIV). This is also the case with men at Samaria, Ephesus, and those at Cornelius's house who were not yet Born-Again because they had not yet received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14; 10:44; 18:24).
It is clear from the New Testament that there is the underlying assumption God is Triune. The Triune God is co-eternal and of the same nature. One God in three persons means one personal multi-dimensional God who lives and works in three different ways at the same time outside of all human-imposed restrictions of knowledge, comprehension, and understanding (Exodus 20:3-6; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5, 4,18,21-22; 46:9; 47:8; Deuteronomy 6:4). This doctrine is represented throughout the Bible and is arrived at systematically by looking at the totality of Scripture. It is the proper representation of Scriptural revelation concerning the nature of God.
The Triune God is love (Hosea 11:4; Jeremiah 31:3; Mark 1:41; 10:16; 1 John 4:8,10), all-powerful (Job 42:2; Psalm 115:3; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26), all-knowing (Psalm 139:1-6; Isaiah 46:9-10; John 2:25), does not change (Psalm 102:27; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17), holy (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 24:3; Isaiah 40:25; Habakkuk 1:13), a spirit (John 1:18; 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16) and truth (Isaiah 44:8-10; 45:5; Numbers 23:19; Romans 3:3-4; John 14:1-2,6; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2).
The Triune God exists together and for each other as infinite love that defies human description, understanding, or comprehension. Because they are love, they trust one another without hesitation and will do whatever the other asks. They desire to find those who will love and trust Them just as They love and trust each other. The Bible says that God is omnipresent throughout the Cosmos and cannot be contained by it (Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 23:24).
"….the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?" (2 Chronicles 2:6 NIV – also 2 Chronicles 6:18; 1 Kings 8:27)
God is not pantheistic, nor does He spread through 'things' because He created everything out of nothing. The sum of reality, which comprises time and eternity, Heaven and Hell, light and darkness, is not seamless with God. He is not 'mother nature' and does not permeate or fuse His Being or presence with, or into, His creation, as He is holy and exists eternally separate from the temporal creation (Isaiah 40:18-22; Romans 1:19-23; Revelation 4:10-11).
Christians are commanded by Jesus to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19 NIV - see also Matthew 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6).
The infinite Majestic God revealed in the Bible is not some impersonal universal mind or consciousness that fills space and matter. The Bible teaches that the eternal God is unique in existence and nature and does not exist in parts (divine simplicity) but is one unified entity with no distinct or separate attributes who always existed in eternity past and into eternity future in three persons – God, the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, are unique and separate individuals who have always existed together with no point of origin with their own personality with each having their own spirit-body, mind, and spirit and are not the essential parts of one Being (Deuteronomy 33:27; Isaiah 44:6; 57:15; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 2:6; Psalm 147:5; Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:24-28). Jesus is not the Father's offspring, nor is the Holy Spirit the "ghost" or effluence.
The Father is a distinct person from Jesus, the Son, and He is a distinct person with personal expressions from God, the Holy Spirit. Yet, they share together 100% the one identical full and complete divine nature, having all the essential attributes possessed of each because God is one and three in the doctrine of the Trinity; the Father is God and not the Son, the Son is God but is not the Father, and the Holy Spirit, is God but is not the Father or the Son. Fallen human beings need to stop using confusing human language to try and explain or define who the infinite God is. He is the great "I Am the I Am" - period!
