Notes compiled by Marty Zide and Steve McAtee
So far we have seen that God is three persons and that each person is fully God. We must take it one step further and show that these three are one. Otherwise, we would be supporting polytheism, but that is not what the Bible teaches.
Is. 45:5-6 -I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Is. 45:21-22 -Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.
James 2:19 -You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Distinctions Between the Members of the Trinity
Since all three members of the Trinity are fully God and fully share in all the same attributes, are there any differences that exist between them?
The differences that exist within the Trinity, revolve around their functions, not within their being or essence. The differences can best be seen in what each person does.
The differences that exist within the Trinity can be seen in what each member did in the provision of redemption.
Eph. 1:3-6 -Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus the Messiah to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Eph. 1:7-12 -In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight ...In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Messiah would be to the praise of His glory.
Eph. 1:13-14 -In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
The differences that exist within the Trinity can be seen in what each member did in the creation of the universe.
Gen. 1:3 -Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light.
John 1:3 -All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Col. 1:16 -For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Gen. 1:2 -The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
Coming Next – Illustration of the Trinity
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