Believing in God is important. What you believe about God is also important. What does the Bible say about the deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Getting too deep into this subject threatens to drown any Bible student, so we’re going to use the Scriptures to keep things as simple as possible, but as detailed as necessary.
People ask me, “Do you believe in the Trinity?” Perhaps they ask you that question too. Before proceeding with a yes, I would recommend you ask a follow-up question: “What do you mean by Trinity?” We can’t always know what people mean until they define key terms. Sometimes people ask this question to try to trap Christians. How so? The word Trinity does not appear in the Scriptures. Therefore, people come to the conclusion that it would be unscriptural to believe in the Trinity. Although that conclusion does not logically follow from the fact that Trinity does not appear in Scripture, we will still be careful with the term, especially when conversing with others on the subject.
Typically, this is what is meant by someone who wants to honor God and His Scriptures when using the word Trinity: There is one God whose name is Yahweh (or Jehovah), and He exists eternally in three distinct persons, specifically, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The word Trinity comes from combining tri (indicating three) and unity—God is a tri-unity. We can see God’s tri-unity working from the first page of the Bible. Let’s notice two passages from Genesis 1.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Genesis 1:1–3
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26–27
In that second passage, we can see something peculiar. There is only one God speaking, yet He uses the plural pronoun. From the beginning God is introduced as a singular character but with some sense of plurality. Who does God mean when He says, “us” and “our”?
Some have suggested that this is God using the “royal we.” This poetic form of speech is when someone, usually a person in authority, uses plural personal pronouns to refer to self in order to convey a sense of power and grandeur. Yet, compared to the ancient Hebrew text here, the use of this poetic form is a new development. In other words, people are taking a new form of speech and imposing it onto the first chapter of the Bible to explain why the singular God uses plural pronouns. There is no good reason to believe that’s what’s going on in Genesis 1, because there is no evidence of anyone using this form of speech in the Ancient Near East.
Another explanation that is often provided is that God is speaking with the angels here. Yes, angels are seen around God’s throne in other parts of Scripture. However, as always, we must try to understand a passage in its context before venturing on. The creation and fall of mankind is “bookended” with this pronoun us. We saw it first in chapter one, verse 26. Then, we see it again before Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden.
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
Genesis 3:22–23
Nowhere in the creation account are angels mentioned. It’s not until after this passage that the Bible first mentions angels—when God stations cherubim at the east of the Garden to guard the tree of life. Additionally, there is this striking fact: From the beginning to the end of Scripture, mankind is always said to have been created in the image of God, never in the image of angels.
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 (see also Genesis 5:22 and James 3:9).
Related to the angels explanation is the theory that Yahweh God is speaking to the so-called “Divine Counsel” here. We’re not going to chase this one too far, as it would require questioning and explaining a lot of things about other deities and concepts of “god” from the Ancient Near East, but the same conclusion can be made here as with the angels. Whoever God was speaking to when He said, “let Us make man in Our image,” is presented to the reader as co-creator and co-image. Who is the one who created? In whose image was mankind made? Not the angels. Not other gods. Only Yahweh.
No attempt to explain away this passage can erase the fact that the singular God refers to Himself multiple times as a plurality. This is only the springboard. Reading Genesis 1 does not teach us everything about the deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As the Scriptures continued to unfold, as Jesus arrived on the earth, and as the Holy Spirit revealed the mystery, students were finally given the rest of the truth.
Jesus said to His persecutors:
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
John 5:39–40
After studying Genesis 1 in its context, we can use the rest of Scripture to help us understand what God means in the passage. Why does God refer to Himself as a plurality? Because He, as the singular God, was creating the heavens and the earth as three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All three are working in the first three verses of the Bible. God created. The Word (who is revealed as Jesus in the New Testament) spoke. The Spirit oversaw.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Consider the attributes of the divine being who could create time, energy, space, material, and the laws of nature.
- He would need to exist outside of time. In other words, He must be eternal.
- He would have to be powerful enough to provide all the energy needed for the lifespan of the universe. In other words, He must be omnipotent.
- He would need to be big enough to reach from one end to the other end of a seemingly unending universe. In other words, He must be infinite.
- He would have to be at all places at once to ensure order and creation. In other words, He must be omnipresent.
- He would need to have the knowledge of not just how the laws of nature work, but also have the creativity to write the laws to begin with. In other words, He must be omniscient.
Read the Bible from start to finish, and you will notice that these five attributes of God—eternality, omnipotence, infinitude, omnipresence, and omniscience—are attributed to all three persons of the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We will explore all three members of the Godhead in the next lessons (linked below).
Briefly let’s notice places in Scripture that attribute deity to each of them.
- In 1 John 3, John marvels at the fact that since our Father is the Father in Heaven, we are considered the children of God. The Father is God.
- In John 20, when Thomas is presented with the irrefutable proof of the resurrection of Christ, he calls Jesus “my Lord and my God.” Jesus is God.
- In Acts 5, when Peter rebukes Ananias for his attempted deception, Peter says that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. The Spirit is God.
Not only do we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all involved in creation, we also see them appear together several other times in Scripture. Likely the most famous is at Jesus’ baptism.
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:16–17
Jesus explained how the apostles would receive their ministry and revelation after He ascended:
These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 14:26
If you’ve been rescued from the bondage of sin, who do you thank? See how Peter explains how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit play a role in the salvation of those who are:
…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:2
Similarly, Paul rejoiced in the transformation of the Christians in Corinth with this verse:
And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11
Some people have said the concept of the triune God is absent from the Old Testament. Although the truth is much clearer to see in the New Testament, the prophets of old were also inspired to teach the truth about the Godhead.
“Come near to Me, hear this:
Isaiah 48:16–17
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit
Have sent Me.”
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you by the way you should go.”
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all there in the beginning, and were constantly involved in the guiding of the children of Israel.
Paul ended 2 Corinthians with this benediction:
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
Clearly, the Bible writers believed in the unity of God. There is only one God. They also believed in the deity of the Father, the deity of the Son, and the deity of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament reminds all Christians that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell within them (see John 14:23 and Romans 8).
The subject of deity is immense, and volumes have been written on it. To attempt to make the vast subject simpler, many teachers have resorted to illustrations to explain the concept of a triune God. For example, some say the Trinity is like an egg—three parts (the shell, the white, and the yolk) make up the egg. However, there is a massive problem with that illustration. An egg, indeed, is made up of three parts. But God isn’t. The Father is fully God. So is the Son. So is the Holy Spirit. The yolk is not the entire egg, nor the shell, nor the white. Some have said, “Look at me. I’m triune. I’m a husband, a father, and a brother.” However, God doesn’t switch up roles like I do. No illustration can fully explain God’s deity. Many critics of the Bible, therefore, have given up in frustration because, in their mind, if they cannot fully understand a subject, it cannot be true. But just because it escapes the finite mind does not mean the Trinity is illogical. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct beings who are fully the one God. If you’re having a hard time wrapping your mind around that, you’re starting to see why both complicated volumes and simple illustrations are out there. In reality, there is no perfect illustration to represent the triune God, which should cause you to—not give up, but to—pause. And praise.
If our infinite God truly could be understood simply by looking at the parts of an egg, then one could reasonably ask, “Is God truly great?” Perhaps we can rest in Jesus’ interaction with Martha while she grieved over the loss of her brother. Jesus speaks with her about the difficult concept of the resurrection and the life. As a teacher, I often want to ask students, “Do you understand this?” That’s not what Jesus asks Martha after His teaching. He asks, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26).
How can a single article lead someone to fully understand the Godhead? It cannot, but I do hope it helps. The Father has the full essence of God. The Son has the full essence of God. The Spirit has the full essence of God. I will not ask, “Do you understand this?” Instead, I ask, “Do you believe this?”