As we look at the foundational principles of Christ, it’s first of all very important to look at who God is; because it’s one of the greatest questions we are all going to face in this life. To develop a more intimate relationship with the One who created all things is our ultimate purpose since our original design was to be his vessel. However, to be able to accomplish this we must get a Biblical understanding of who He is.
You can find a lot of distorted versions of who God is today and it can be quite confusing. I’m not even going to make the futile attempt of addressing all of the different views. What I am going to do in this first lesson is take you through some of the main scriptures found in the Bible that will help us to stay focused on the main mission.
As I said in the introduction to this school, studying the Bible can be a very intimidating, confusing, and complex task. I think for a lot of people they just don’t know where to start and they just don’t understand how it all fits together. The Bible does not tell us everything about world history nor does it tell us everything about how to live life. The Bible is history, but it’s telling us the story of God’s redemptive history in time. It’s God’s love story to humanity showing us His redemptive hand through the Hebrew people, his chosen vehicle to redeem a fallen humanity bringing us back to Himself.
The Bible is our reference guide to understanding who God is. It also helps us to understand His mission to redeem, reconcile and restore His creation. In the scriptures God is revealed in many different ways. He is referred to as Creator, Redeemer, Provider, Healer and so on. The most intimate name given to God is Father.
Now as you examine the scriptures you will see that God is revealed as one in three and three in one, that is, a tri-unity or Trinity.
The word Trinity, though not mentioned in the Bible, describes the Godhead or Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. People will argue that since the Bible doesn’t mention the word Trinity then we should not use the word. Well, I’m going to respectfully disagree, and I choose to use the word since I believe it helps us to understand the one true God.
One author has noted that to try and reduce our understanding of God into logical formulas would be like attempting to transfer the Pacific Ocean into a teacup. However, it’s of utmost importance that we come to a basic understanding of the Godhead so that we can properly relate with the One and True Living God. To do that let’s take a look at what the Bible says about God.
It has been said that the book of Genesis gives us the origin and original explanation of all major Biblical doctrine. The Bible starts out by saying: In the beginning God...Here in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 the word for God is Elohim and in the Hebrew language this name has a plural form. To most conservative scholars, Elohim gives a clear indication of the Godhead in Unity or the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being One God but Three Distinct Identities.
Let’s continue to look at the Godhead as seen in the book of Genesis. In Genesis chapter 1 verses 2 thru 3 we see the Godhead in the creation story. We see God the Father then we see the Holy Spirit who was hovering over the face of the deep and then God the Son who is the Logos or Spoken Word creating all things. John opens up his gospel with very similar language. In John chapter 1 verses 1 thru 3 it says "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 anything made that was made".
John was establishing the Deity of Christ from the beginning of his gospel to show that the God who created all things became flesh and walked among us. He was showing us that Jesus was part of the creation story creating all things. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were all creating as the unity of the Godhead and it’s the fountain head of the redemptive story. It’s out of this understanding that God’s redemptive story flows from the book of Genesis to the consummation of all things shown in the book of Revelation.
Let’s now look at Genesis chapter 1 verse 26. ‘God said, let US make man in OUR image.’
It’s one of those scriptures that throws a lot of people for a loop. Again, you have to look at the word used for God in the original Hebrew language which is Elohim; the same word used verses 2 and 3 of this chapter. It’s the Godhead speaking, not three different gods, but three distinct identities in One.
The argument made against the teaching of the Trinity is that it teaches three gods and rejects Monotheism which is the belief that there is one true God. Islam and Judaism both accuse Christians of being idol worshipers because they will claim the teaching of the Trinity is teaching pluralistic gods. It’s just not the case and it’s interesting to note that the very scripture in the Old Covenant that speaks of God's unity has the plural name for God in it. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4 says Jehovah our God (Elohim) is One Jehovah so, the very scripture that is used to teach against the Trinity actually validates the Godhead.
The church father Augustine once said that in the old covenant, the new is concealed in the new covenant, the old is revealed.
Let’s take a look at the Godhead as seen in the New Covenant. It’s at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River that we see the Godhead in open view. In Matthew chapter 3 verses 16 thru 17 it says when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him and behold a voice from heaven said:
“This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased”.
So here in this text we see Jesus the Son of God coming up from the waters of baptism. Then we see God the Holy Spirit descends from heaven upon Jesus and then we hear God the Father speak from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son”. It’s hard to deny the Godhead from this scripture because it’s in open view for all to see.
One way to interpret the Bible is to compare one verse to another talking about the same thing. So, let’s look at a few more scriptures that can be compared to this same concept of the Godhead because when you compare similar text together it gives you a fuller understanding of the subject you are studying.
Let’s read John chapter 14 verse 16 thru 26. In this text God the Son is speaking and he says, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live".
Jesus was referring to the time when he would be resurrected from the dead. He would then ascend to be seated at the right hand of the Father as our heavenly High Priest and the Spirit would be poured out upon his body in the earth. He goes on to say here in John that if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still 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 that I have said to you. You can see in this section of scripture that Jesus speaks of the Father as He, of the Holy Spirit as He and of Himself as I.
Jesus validated the doctrine of the Godhead and so did the apostolic authors.
The apostolic benediction in II Corinthians chapter 13 verse 4 demonstrates the doctrine of the early church. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; God the Son, and the love of God; God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit; God the Holy Spirit be with you all". Ephesians chapter 2 verse18 again declares this truth saying, for through Him; The Son we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Again, we see the Godhead clearly taught by the apostles.
Although the Bible never uses the exact word Trinity it is a term that the church uses to understand the Godhead. It simply means threefold or three in one. In the 19th century the author Dr. Dale said, from eternity to eternity God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…There is but one God, but in the Godhead there are three persons. There are not three gods, but in the life and being of the one God, there are three centers of consciousness and activity, and these are known to us as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let’s look at a few illustrations in nature that demonstrate the Godhead. Take the example of water. The one substance of water can be in the form of Ice, Steam and Liquid. In all of these forms they never cease to be water. Now they may come in different forms with different functions, but they are still H20. Let’s look at man who is made in the image of God. Man is one united or whole person. However, man is a threefold being made up of spirit, soul and body as Paul taught us in I Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 23. So just like God there are three parts of the one man. The Bible is full of this threefold understanding.
In Proverbs chapter 22 verse 20 it says that God has written to us in excellent things. The Hebrew word for excellent things in this scripture is shalosh and it means a triple, a triangle, a threefold measure. Here are some examples of this threefold understanding in scripture. In Exodus chapter 23 verse 14 thru 16 it tells us about the three Jewish Feast which are the Feast of Passover, The Feast of Pentecost, and The Feast of Tabernacles.
If you look at the Jewish Tabernacle of Moses or later the temple of Solomon which was the center of Jewish worship, you have 3 different sections of the tabernacle. You have the outer court where you have the Brazen Altar for sacrifices, then you have the inner court or holy place where the table of shewbread, golden lamp stand and altar of incense was and then you have the holy of holies where the Ark of the covenant was placed. So, you have the outer court, inner court and holy of holies.
Then if you look at I John chapter 2 verse 12 thru14 we see that John speaks of children, young men and fathers. Paul in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 says that we have the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Jesus used the analogy of the blade, ear and full corn in regard to how things grow. I could take you through numerous more examples in the word of God concerning the abundance of 3’s.
When we look at the abundance of three's that God uses in His word it’s evidence that God is endeavoring to convey some truth to us concerning His own Triune Being. The Christian author Deverne Fromke has called the Trinity the Divine Run-Around. The Spirit points us to the Son. The Son points us to the Father. The Father says this is my Beloved Son...Hear him! It's imperative that we keep a clear perspective of the Godhead. The Bible clearly shows us the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s important that we understand and develop this relationship.
The Godhead is foundational to our faith and every time in Church history this teaching has been compromised, the other foundational truths have been abandoned or compromised. In the opening video to this school of discipleship the introduction to Section I: The Established Foundation we talked about heresy. I want to talk a little about heresy because there are different religious groups that have different opinions about the Godhead or Trinity.
You are probably familiar with Jehovah Witnesses, Jews and Muslims who all use the same Bible that we use and all reject the teaching of the Trinity. In a nutshell they reject the Deity of Christ and say that Jesus was just a man and not God. We will look at this further in Lesson 6: Messiah, but to say that Jesus Christ is not God is to reject the faith that he established and the apostolic writers confirmed. The virgin birth and Jesus Christ being God in human flesh is the foundational basis of our faith. To reject that foundational understanding is to reject the gospel and there is no middle ground on that truth. The scriptures are clear and there can be no compromise to the humanity and Deity of Christ.
I actually started writing this foundational course while I was on the mission field in Canada. I already had a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, but I finished up my Master’s Degree in Theology while I was in Canada. The beginning of this school of discipleship was actually the thesis for my master’s degree.
I received my Theological training through The Church of God which is a Pentecostal denomination. It was pre-internet days, so I was doing my Master’s Degree in Theology by correspondence, but the city I lived in just outside of Toronto had a Baptist Theological Seminary. I got to know them there and they allowed me to use their library. It was a great learning opportunity because I was getting a Pentecostal view of Theology and at the same time I was reading more conservative Baptist or traditional evangelical viewpoints. It was challenging me to think through all the things I was being taught. The contradictory views actually helped me in my development. I feel like it made me more well-rounded in my views. I was being exposed to a lot of contradictory theological viewpoints, so I had to dig in and figure out for myself what the scriptures really mean. I was leading a small congregation while I was finishing up my master’s degree.
Once I had finished my degree I then moved to Montreal where I served time as a Missionary. When I first arrived in Montreal, I did not speak any French and the Province of Quebec offers free French classes for new immigrants. I started attending classes to learn French and it was a great experience. I was the only American in a class full of people from literally all over the world. We had people from Syria, Afghanistan, Romania, Russia, Iran, Jamaica, and Lebanon all sitting there learning French together five days a week for 3 months. There was an older gentleman that I got to know. He was from Jamaica and was a pastor of a Pentecostal church in Montreal who just wanted to learn French so he could reach more people. He was one of the few people who spoke good English so on our breaks we would talk about Theology, missions and just fellowship. He was what we call a Oneness Pentecostal.
Just a brief history of Pentecostalism so you can understand. Pentecostals trace their roots back to the turn of the century at the Azusa Street revival of 1906 in Los Angeles, California. It was actually a black preacher William Seymour who was one of the main leaders of that revival. Soon after by 1913, the movement began to splinter off. In 1913 the Pentecostal movement split between Trinitarian Pentecostals and what is called Oneness Pentecostals. I grew up in Texas and like any good Texan I grew up a Baptist. That’s a joke, but when I grew up most Texans identified as Baptist, like if you go to Quebec Canada most French will call themselves Catholic even though most rarely step foot in a church. At the age of 19 in 1989 I was delivered from drugs in a Pentecostal church which was part of the Assemblies of God. The Assemblies of God is the largest Pentecostal denomination and they are Trinitarian along with the Church Of God with whom I finished my theological training.
Now when I was talking to this Jamaican Oneness Pentecostal pastor in Montreal I was not very aware of what Oneness Pentecostalism was about. I was still young in my late 20’s and he was a man in his 50’s so he was more well versed in scriptures than I was at the time. I had just finished my master’s degree and as I said I was actually writing portions of material for this school. We got on the subject of the Trinity one day as we were talking. I had no idea it was a controversial subject within Pentecostalism. He started telling me why he did not believe in the Trinity and started giving me scriptures to back up his belief system. I listened and actually went home and started looking at the scriptures he was sharing with me. As I listened to him and studied the word of God, I realized we believed pretty much the same thing; we were just looking at it from two different viewpoints.
I’ve studied the view of Oneness Pentecostalism and when it comes to the Trinity they are correct that the word is not in the Bible since we’ve made up the word to explain the Godhead. I personally think we are talking about the same thing. We are just looking at the subject of the Godhead from differing perspectives.
I put a picture on the screen to explain the point I am trying to make. You have two people looking at the same thing but seeing it from two differing views. One is seeing a number 6, but the other is seeing a number 9 and it’s because they are looking at it from different perspectives.
Oneness Pentecostals tend to focus very strongly on the Deity of Christ using Colossians chapter 1 verse 19 as their main text. It says in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him.
I agree with them, but to just focus on this perspective is limiting your viewpoint. I’m not making a defense for Oneness Pentecostal's views because there are things I really disagree with them about, but I am saying the doctrine of the Trinity is multidimensional. God is so much larger than our little three-dimension corner of reality because God is not confined to time and space. He has subjected Himself to our time and space through the virgin birth when the eternal Son became a man. However, we lack the understanding and vocabulary to truly give meaningful descriptions to the Godhead.
To the natural mind the Unity of God and the Trinity of God are contradictions, but both doctrines are clearly taught in the Bible.
You know there are truths and mysteries in this life that are beyond the grasp of fully understanding with our finite minds. Peter in his second epistle said that our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. One author has noted that almost every heresy is the result of people trying to carry what God has revealed in part to seemingly logical conclusions.
I am going to repeat something I said at the start of this lesson. To try and reduce our understanding of God into logical formulas would be like attempting to transfer the Pacific Ocean into a teacup. You don’t have to fully grasp the understanding of the Godhead. Honestly, I don’t fully understand it and I don’t believe we are going to fully understand this truth until we see God face to face either at death or at the return of Christ.
I teach this opening lesson because origins matter and we must have a foundational understanding of the God who created all things. As I said in the introduction to this school, it’s only by staying true to the central message of Christ that we can live healthy and productive lives as a people of mission.
The word for ‘sound’ in Titus chapter 2 verse 1 actually means to be healthy, sound and physically well. Sound doctrine always produces healthy living.
I do want to say that God is not a legalist and our salvation is not based on believing all of the right things. Salvation is based on faith in what Christ has done for us not having all our doctrines lined up in the correct rows or parroting certain truths. You can get a parrot to repeat words, but it does not change them. Our salvation is based on the death, burial, and a living relationship with the resurrected Christ. We are not saved by the Bible, but the author and finisher of our faith, the one who inspired the Bible. The scriptures point us to the Living Christ who wants to change us from the inside out so that our lives demonstrate his likeness.
I cover the subject of the Trinity because I believe it’s important for us to get a grasp on understanding who God is so that we can relate with Him. Like I said in my introduction video The Established Foundation, I am wanting to teach you practical theology which is teaching that helps you relate with God so that you can fulfill his will and not just fill your head with knowledge. Developing a deeper relationship with God should be the ultimate goal of our lives. However, to be able to pursue a more intimate relationship with Him you must get a firm foundation.
The goal I have is that you get to know your Creator but that does not mean that you are always going to completely comprehend everything. We need to know and experience the work of the Son of God on the cross. The Bible says that to as many as receive Christ to them he gives the power to become His children through new birth. We have been placed into Christ and he is our identity. We have been covered and cleansed through the blood of Christ. We need to be in constant communion with the person and power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us, teaches us and brings us into a practical application of all that Christ has accomplished for us. We must seek an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.
I am going to end this lesson saying if we will seek to know the person, plans, and ways of God then He will reveal them to us. If you enjoyed this lesson, then please subscribe to my YouTube channel so I can reach more people and you will be notified when I post more videos. Please share this information with your friends on any social media platforms that you may use.
Next Lesson: Lesson 2 - What is Man?
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