Trinity: Is God Three in One?

The Bible plainly tells us that God is essentially one in essence.

Deuteronomy 6:4

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: [Emphasis added]

Isaiah 44:6

⁶ Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

I Corinthians 8:6

⁶ But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and wein him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Ephesians 4:6

⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

I Timothy 2:5

⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

However, God is three in personality.  In other words, there are three complete and distinct persons in the Godhead.  This means it can be rightfully said that God is a trinity. 

In each of these following passages there is more than one member of the Godhead under discussion.  Essentially, they are all the same in their deity.

Psalm 110:1

¹ The Lord [God the Father] said unto my Lord [God the Son], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Matthew 3:16-17

¹⁶ 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:

¹⁷ And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 18:19

¹⁹ Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

 Luke 23:46

⁴⁶ 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.

II Corinthians 13:14

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [God the Father], and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Each member of the Godhead is fully God.

• The Father

John 6:27

²⁷ Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Romans 1:7

⁷ To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:1

¹ Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

• The Son

Jesus was truly undiminished deity and true humanity in one Person.

Mark 2:5

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. [Only God can forgive sins.] [Emphasis added]

Mark 14:61-65

⁶¹ But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

⁶² And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

⁶³ Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?

⁶⁴ Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

⁶⁵ And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. [Emphasis added]

John 1:1-5

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.

³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 8:58

⁵⁸ Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. [Meaning there never was a time when He did not exist as God.]   [Emphasis added]

Colossians 1:15-17

¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

¹⁷ And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [As God, Jesus Christ was our Creator.  He antedates all things and by Him all things cohere.] [Emphasis added]

Hebrews 1:1-14

¹ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

² Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

³ Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

⁴ Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

⁵ For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

⁶ And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

⁷ And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

⁸ But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

⁹ Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

¹⁰ And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

¹¹ They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

¹² And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

¹³ But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? [Emphasis added]

As can be plainly seen, this whole chapter [Hebrews 1] is dedicated to the deity of each of the members of the Godhead.  They are all co-equal as God.

Revelation 1:17

¹⁷ And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last [as God, He is eternal, having no beginning and no end]:

• The Holy Spirit

Genesis 1:2

² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God [God, the Holy Spirit] moved upon the face of the waters. [Emphasis added]

II Samuel 23:2

² The Spirit of the Lord [God, the Holy Spirit] spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. [Emphasis added]

Isaiah 48:16

¹⁶ Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit [God, the Holy Spirit], hath sent me. [Emphasis added]

II Corinthians 13:14

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost [all three are co-equal as God], be with you all. Amen. [Emphasis added]

Hebrews 9:14

¹⁴ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit [a reference to God, the Holy Spirit] offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [Emphasis added]

Light is often used in connection with the essence of God.  Here are some examples of where the Bible uses light metaphorically in relation to God.

2 Samuel 22:29

²⁹ For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

Psalm 4:6

⁶ There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

Psalm 36:9

⁹ For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Psalm 43:3

³ O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Psalm 89:15

¹⁵ Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

Isaiah 60:19 

¹⁹ The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

Daniel 2:22

²² He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Numerous authors of the New Testament speak of God as light. In fact, if we count a few indirect references to Christ and light in the synoptic gospels, every New Testament writer references light in relation to God:

Matthew 4:16

¹⁶ The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Mark 9:2-3

² And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

³ And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

Luke 1:79

⁷⁹ To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

John 1:4-5

⁴In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 3:19-20

¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

John 8:12

¹² Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 9:5

⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

2 Corinthians 4:6

⁶ For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:14

¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

1 Timothy 6:16

¹⁶ Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;

Hebrews 1:3

³ Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

James 1:17

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

1 Peter 2:9

⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

1 John 1:5

⁵This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Revelation 21:23

²³ And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

All these passages serve to help us understand more about the essence of God in terms we can understand.