Christ is All!: Behold Your Triune God!

Justin Taylor explains this diagram here.

In "More Resources" below, see also #12 & #13.

The Trinity: The Bible Teaches 4 Truths

1. There is only one God: Deuteronomy 6:4-5: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Isaiah 44:6: Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god."
1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God . . . .
Ephesians 4:5-6: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all . . . .

2. The Father is God: 2 Corinthians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort

John 6:27: For on him God the Father has set his seal.
John 20:17: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.
Romans 1:7: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. The Son is God: John 8:58: Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John 20:28: Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Titus 2:13: our great God and Savior Jesus Christ . . . .
Hebrews 1:8: But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever . . . ."

4. The Holy Spirit is God: Genesis 1:2: The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Isaiah 40:13: Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD . . . .
Acts 5:3-4: But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
Hebrews 10:15-17: And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
What the Holy Spirit says in these verses is said by the LORD: Jeremiah 31:33: But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.

Also, the Father is not the Son; the Son is the not the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is not the Father.

Trinity or Triune basically means Tri=3 plus Unity=1; So three in one and one in three. There is only one God Who has always existed in three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Kevin DeYoung defines "Person" in Trinitarian language as "a particular individual distinct from the others." David VanDrunen defines "Person" this way: "A distinct, self-conscious agent of action or a self-conscious moral actor. We can say that one Person did something that the others didn't: e.g., only the Father sent the Son, only the Son made atonement, only the Spirit is a seal of our inheritance."

The Westminster Confession Of Faith, Chapter 2, Paragraph 3, succinctly states the doctrine of the Trinity in this way:

In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

Who Created The World? The Trinity!

1. God The Father: Hebrews 1:1-2: Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world.

2. God The Son: Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him.

3. God The Holy Spirit: Psalm 104:30: When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created (Genesis 1:2 also)

4. God: Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Who Accomplished A Great Salvation For Israel In The Exodus? The Trinity!

1. God the Father: Exodus 4:22-23: Then you shall say to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, 'Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, Let my son go that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.'"

2. God the Son: Jude 1:5: Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

3. God the Holy Spirit: Isaiah 63:10-14: But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.

Nehemiah 9:20: You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.

4. God: Exodus 15:1-4: Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea."

How Did The Prophets Speak Of The God Who Would Finally Redeem A People For Himself Forever? The Trinity!

1. God the Father: Isaiah 63:16: For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.

Isaiah 64:8: But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

2. God the Son: Isaiah 9:6-7: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

3. God the Holy Spirit: Ezekiel 36:25-27: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

4. God: Isaiah 53:4-5, 10: Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed . . . Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Who Accomplished The Mystery Of The Incarnation? The Trinity!

1. God the Father: John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

2. God the Son: Matthew 1:20-23: But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).

3. God the Holy Spirit: Luke 1:31-35: And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God."

4. God: Galatians 4:4-5: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Who Accomplished Redemption For God's People At The Cross? The Trinity!

1. God the Father: Romans 8:32: He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all . . .

2. God the Son: Matthew 27:46: Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

3. God the Holy Spirit: Hebrews 9:14: how much more will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (You see all three Persons in this one verse!)

4. God: Isaiah 53:10: Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him . . .

Who Raised Jesus From The Dead? The Trinity!

1. God the Father: Galatians 1:1: God the Father, who raised him from the dead . . . .

2. God the Son: John 2:19: Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

3. God the Holy Spirit: Romans 8:11: If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

4. God: Acts 13:30: But God raised him from the dead . . .

Who Will Bring About The Consummation Of All Things On Judgment Day? The Trinity!

1. God the Father: Matthew 24:36: But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

1 Peter 1:17: And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile . . . .
Matthew 16:27: For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
1 Corinthians 15:24: Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

2. God the Son: John 5:25-27: Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10: when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
Revelation 19:11-16: Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

3. God the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 1:13-14: In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Romans 8:11: If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:23: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Revelation 22:17: The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come."

4. God: 2 Peter 3:11-13: Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

For a helpful sermon on the Trinity and the consummation, see: Trinity And The Consummation

An Encounter I Had With A Modalist

I met a follower of the false teacher, Gino Jennings, at Broad and Olney this past week. He (and Gino Jennings) deny that God is one God in three Persons. Instead, he says God is one God Who manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is the same modalist false teaching that men like Creflo Dollar and T. D. Jakes promote.

You can read more about this false teaching, sometimes known as oneness Pentecostalism, here. And this is an excellent essay by Fred Sanders critiquing the oneness Pentecostal, modalist position.

One of the things this man kept saying over and over again is that the word "Trinity" is not found in the Bible, so therefore, the Trinity is false teaching about God, and it does not exist. This is like if the Sadducees told Jesus the word "resurrection" is not in the Hebrew Scriptures, so therefore, the resurrection is a false teaching, and it does not exist.

But Jesus actually proves the doctrine of the resurrection by using a Scripture passage THAT DOES NOT use the word "resurrection"! The concept of "resurrection" is there in the text, even though the word is not there. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures will you find the word "resurrection" used, yet Jesus says to the Sadducees:

You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. Matthew 22:29-32

This is called good and necessary consequence. Though the word "resurrection" is not found in the Hebrew Old Testament or in the words Jesus chose to teach the doctrine of the resurrection, the concept is there all over the place. And not only is the general resurrection found in the Old Testament, but so is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

False teachers often like to focus on one set or series of verses in the Bible that seem to support their false teaching, but they fail to take into account all the Biblical data. Modalists focus on the verses that teach Jesus' deity, but they fail to submit to all the verses that teach the distinctions between the Persons of the Trinity and those that teach that these Persons are co-equal and co-eternal. On the other hand, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, and other false teachers who deny the deity of Christ focus on the verses that teach Jesus is a man (which He is, but He's also truly God!), and they like to focus on the verses that teach God the Father and God the Son are different and distinct Persons, but they fail to to submit to the verses that teach Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit is God. When you take all the Biblical data into account and rightly divide the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, you trust in, submit to, worship, and behold the one and only true and living God: the Triune God! Mike Winger made a helpful video answering many objections to the Trinity.

Modalists Deny That The Son Of God Has Existed Forever

Modalists wrongly claim that the Son of God came into existence when He came into the world through the virgin birth. This is actually a denial of the deity of the Son. God doesn't have a beginning, yet modalists claim they believe Jesus is God. If Jesus is God, then He never had a beginning. Jesus says: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Revelation 22:13)

These are some of the Scriptures that teach the Son of God has existed forever: He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and He was sent down from heaven by the Father:

John 1:1-3, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . . .
John 17:5: And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Colossians 1:15-17: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Philippians 2:5-11: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Hebrews 1:8-10: But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions." And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands . . . ."
1 Corinthians 8:6: yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
John 3:17: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 6:38, 41: For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me . . . So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."
John 6:51, 57-58, 62: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh . . . As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me . . . This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever . . . Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

We See The Trinity In Action At Jesus' Baptism

1. God the Father is speaking: Matthew 3:17: and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

2. God the Son is being baptized: Matthew 3:16: And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water . . . .

3. God the Holy Spirit is descending like a dove: Matthew 3:16: the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him . . . .

We See The Father Is Distinct From The Son In The Garden Of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:39: And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

We See The Father Is Distinct From The Son Because The Son Says There Are Two Witnesses

John 8:16-18: Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.

Jesus often speaks of Himself and His Father as two, distinct Persons. This is all over the book of John and other places in Scripture. Here are several examples:

Matthew 20:23: He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

John 5:17: But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
John 5:20: For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.
John 5:22-23: The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
John 6:43-46: Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me - not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father."
John 14:28: You heard me say to you, "I am going away, and I will come to you." If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

We See The Trinitarian Names All Together In Scripture

Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . . .
2 Corinthians 13:14: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Jude 1:20-21: But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
1 Peter 1:1-2: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Hebrews 9:14: how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Ephesians 3:14-19: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.