Is God One or is He Three?

[First and the Last]

Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

God has a body and it is Jesus Christ and within Jesus dwells all of the fullness of God. God the Father and God the Spirit dwell in their fullness inside God the Son.

Within the ranks of trinitarianism, one can discern two extreme tendencies. On the one hand, some trinitarians emphasize the unity of God without having a carefully developed understanding of what is meant by three distinct persons in the Godhead. On the other hand, other trinitarians emphasize the threeness of the trinity to the point that they believe in three self-conscious beings, and their view is essentially tritheistic.

We should consider the dual nature of Christ in the framework of biblical terminology. The term “Father” refers to God Himself—God in all His deity. When we speak of the eternal Spirit of God, we mean God Himself, the Father. “God the Father,” therefore, is a perfectly acceptable and biblical phrase to use for God (Titus 1:4). However, the Bible does not use the phrase “God the Son” even one time. It is not a correct term because the Son of God refers to the humanity of Jesus Christ. The Bible defines the Son of God as the child born of Mary, not as the eternal Spirit of God (Luke 1:35). “Son of God” may refer to the human nature or it may refer to God manifested in flesh—that is, deity in the human nature.

“Son of God” never means the incorporeal Spirit alone, however. We can never use “Son” correctly apart from the humanity of Jesus Christ. The terms “Son of God,” “Son of man,” and “Son” are appropriate and biblical. However, the term “God the Son” is inappropriate because it equates the Son with deity alone, and therefore it is unscriptural.

The Son of God is not a distinct person in the Godhead but the physical expression of the one God. The Son is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:13-15) and “the express image of his [God’s] person” (Hebrews 1:2-3). Just as a signature stamp leaves an exact likeness on paper, or just as a seal leaves an exact impression when pressed in wax, so the Son of God is the exact expression of the Spirit of God in flesh. Humans could not see the invisible God, so God made an exact likeness of Himself in flesh, impressed His very nature in flesh, came Himself in flesh, so that humans could see and know Him.

Many other verses of Scripture reveal that we can only use the term “Son of God” correctly when it includes the humanity of Jesus. For example, the Son was made of a woman (Galatians 4:4), the Son was begotten (John 3:16), the Son was born (Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:35), the Son did not know the hour of the Second Coming (Mark 13:32), the Son could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19), the Son came eating and drinking (Matthew 11:19), the Son suffered (Matthew 17:12), a person can blaspheme against the Son but not the Spirit and be forgiven (Luke 12:10), the Son was crucified (John 3:14; 12:30-34), and the Son died (Matthew 27:40-54; Romans 5:10). The death of Jesus is a particularly good example. His divine Spirit did not die, but His human body did. We cannot say that God died, so we cannot say “God the Son” died. On the other hand, we can say that the Son of God died because “Son” refers to humanity.

As stated above, “Son” does not refer to the humanity alone but to the one person of Christ, who was simultaneously human and divine. For example, the Son has power to forgive sin (Matthew 9:6), the Son was both in heaven and on earth at the same time (John 3:13), the Son ascended up into heaven (John 6:62), and the Son is coming again in glory to rule and judge (Matthew 25:31).

One note needs to be added - the phrase “God the Son.” In John 1:18 the KJV uses the phrase “the only begotten Son,” and the RSV says “the only Son.” However, the NIV says “God the only Son,” and TAB says “the only unique Son, the only begotten God.” These last two versions are based on variant readings in some Greek texts. We do not believe these variant readings are correct. If we could justify the use of the phrase “God the Son” at all, it would be by pointing out, as we have done, that “Son of God” encompasses not only the humanity of Jesus but also the deity as resident in the humanity. However, John 1:18 uses “Son” to refer to the humanity, for it says the Father (the deity of Jesus) is revealed through the Son. This verse of Scripture does not mean that God is revealed by God but that God is revealed in flesh through the humanity of the Son.

 

[Curtis]

Gen 1:26 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."

The word “God” in this verse is plural not singular. God said let “us” make man….. Who was God talking too?

 

[First and the Last]

Gen 1:26 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."

The word “God” in this verse is plural not singular. God said let “us” make man….. Who was God talking too?

Why does this verse use a plural pronoun for God? Before we answer this, let us note that the Bible uses singular pronouns to refer to God hundreds of times. The very next verse uses the singular to show how God fulfilled verse 26: “So God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man.” We must therefore reconcile the plural in 1:26 with the singular in 1:27 and 2:7. We must also look at God’s image creature, which is humanity. Regardless of how we identify the various components that make up a person, he definitely has one personality and will. He is one person in every way. This indicates that the Creator in whose image humans were made is also one being with one personality and will.

Any interpretation of Genesis 1:26 that permits the existence of more than one person of God runs into severe difficulties. Isaiah 44:24 says the LORD created the heavens alone and created the earth by Himself. There was only one Creator according to Malachi 2:10. Furthermore, if the plural in Genesis 1:26 refers to the Son of God, how do we reconcile this with the scriptural record that the Son was not born until thousands of years later in Bethlehem? The Son was made of a woman (Galatians 4:4); if the Son was present in the beginning, who was His mother? If the Son was a spirit being, who was His spirit mother?

Since Genesis 1:26 cannot mean two or more persons in the Godhead, what does it mean? The Jews have traditionally interpreted it to mean that God talked to the angels at creation. This does not imply that the angels actually took part in creation but that God informed them of His plans and solicited their comments out of courtesy and respect. On at least one other occasion God talked to the angels and requested their opinions in formulating His plans (I Kings 22:1922). We do know that the angels were present at the creation (Job 38:4-7).

Other commentators have suggested that Genesis 1:26 simply describes God as He counseled with His own will. Ephesians 1:11 supports this view, saying that God works all things “after the counsel of his own will.” By analogy, this is similar to a person saying “Let’s see” (let us see) even when he is planning by himself.

Others explain this passage as a majestic or literary plural. That is, in formal speaking and writing the speaker or writer often refers to himself in the plural, especially if the speaker is royal. Biblical examples of the majestic plural can be cited to illustrate this practice. For example, Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar, “We will tell the interpretation thereof before the king,” even though Daniel alone proceeded to give the interpretation to the king (Daniel 2:36). King Artaxerxes alternately referred to him-self in the singular and the plural in his correspondence. Once, he wrote, “The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me” (Ezra 4:18). In a letter to Ezra, Artaxerxes called himself “I” in one place (Ezra 7:13) but “we” in another place (7:24).

The use of the plural in Genesis 1:26 also may be similar to the plural Elohim in denoting the greatness and majesty of God or the multiple attributes of God. In other words, the plural pronoun simply agrees with and substitutes for the plural noun Elohim.

Still another explanation is that this passage describes God’s foreknowledge of the future arrival of the Son, much like prophetic passages in the Psalms. We must realize that God does not live in time. His plans are real to Him even though they are in the future as far as we are concerned. He calls those things that are not as though they are (Romans 4:17). A day is as a thousand years to Him and a thousand years is as a day (II Peter 3:8). The Incarnation existed from the beginning in the mind of God (John 1:1). As far as God was concerned, the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world (I Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8). It is not surprising that God could look down the corridors of time and address a prophetic utterance to the Son. Romans 5:14 says that Adam was a figure of Him who was to come, that is, Jesus Christ. When God created Adam, He had already thought about the Incarnation and created Adam with that plan in mind.

Taking this idea a step further, Hebrews 1:1-2 says that God made the worlds by the Son. How could this be, seeing that the Son did not come into existence until a point in time much later than creation? (Hebrews 1:5-6). To paraphrase John Miller, God used the Sonship to make the world. That is, He hinged everything on the future arrival of Christ. Though He did not pick up the humanity until the fullness of time was come, it was in His plan from the beginning, and He used it and acted upon it from the start. He created humans in the image of the future Son of God, and He created humans knowing that although they would sin the future Sonship would provide a way of salvation.

God created humans in the beginning so that they would love and worship Him (Isaiah 43:7; Revelation 4:11). However, by reason of His foreknowledge God knew that they would fall into sin. This would defeat God’s purpose in creating them. If this was all there was to the future, then God would have never created humans. However, God had in His mind the plan for the Incarnation and the plan of salvation through the atoning death of Christ. So, even though God knew humans would sin, He also knew that through the Son of God they could be restored and could fulfill God’s original purpose. It is apparent, then, that when God created humans He had the future arrival of the Son in mind. It is in this sense that God created the worlds through the Son or by using the Son, for without the Son, God’s whole purpose in creating humans would have failed.

 

[Curtis]

the plural in Genesis 1:26 refers to the Son of God, how do we reconcile this with the scriptural record that the Son was not born until thousands of years later in Bethlehem?

Jhn 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.


Col 1:16 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:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Jesus Christ aka as the Word of God (Who is God) created ALL things visible and invisible. He existed before ALL things as he is the eternal God.


If you do not believe that Jesus is God (the I Am) you will die in your sins.

Jhn 8:23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Jhn 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
Jhn 8:25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

 

[B-A-C]

However, the Bible does not use the phrase “God the Son” even one time.

That exact phrase, no, not that I could find, but is the Son called God?

Heb 1:8; But of the Son He says, "YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
Heb 1:9; "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."

John 5:18; For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

So, I'm not sure if this statement is said in ignorance, or deliberate misinformation. It seems that Satan and the demons know who Jesus is.

Matt 4:3; And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
Matt 4:6; and *said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'"
Matt 8:29; And they cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"

Mark 3:11; Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, "You are the Son of God!"

Luke 22:70; And they all said, "Are You the Son of God, then?" And He said to them, "Yes, I am."
John 10:36; do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

Peter's greatest revelation?

Matt 16:15; He *said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Matt 16:16; Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matt 16:17; And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

The exact phrase "Son of God" is used over 40 times in the New Testament.

 

[First and the Last]

That exact phrase, no, not that I could find, but is the Son called God?

Heb 1:8; But of the Son He says, "YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. . . . God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” The first portion of the above passage clearly refers to the deity in the Son, while the second portion refers to the humanity of the Son. The writer of Hebrews quoted a prophetic passage in Psalm 45:6-7. This is not a conversation in the Godhead but a prophetic utterance inspired by God and looking to the future incarnation of God in flesh. God was speaking prophetically through the psalmist to describe Himself in a future role.

 

[B-A-C]

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. .

That's right the Father is speaking to the Son here, Calling Him "God".

 

[First and the Last]

That's right the Father is speaking to the Son here, Calling Him "God".

This is not a conversation in the Godhead but a prophetic utterance inspired by God and looking to the future incarnation of God in flesh (Son). God was speaking prophetically through the psalmist to describe Himself in a future role. The Son was not in existence (except in the thoughts, mind and plan of God) until the conception in Mary's womb. But was God from the beginning of His human life (conception)

 

[B-A-C]

The Son was not in existence (except in the thoughts, mind and plan of God) until the conception in Mary's womb.

Then how did He create the universe in everything in it? How He did He exist before Abraham? How did He watch Satan get booted from heaven?

John 1:3; All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Col 1:16; 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:

John 8:58; Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Luke 10:18; And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

 

[First and the Last]

Then how did He create the universe in everything in it? How He did He exist before Abraham? How did He watch Satan get booted from heaven?

John 1:3; All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Col 1:16; 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:

John 8:58; Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Luke 10:18; And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

As God not the eternal Son.

 

[First and the Last]

Then how did He create the universe in everything in it? How He did He exist before Abraham? How did He watch Satan get booted from heaven?

John 1:3; All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Col 1:16; 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:

John 8:58; Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Luke 10:18; And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

“Son of God” never means the incorporeal Spirit alone, however. We can never use “Son” correctly apart from the humanity of Jesus Christ. The terms “Son of God,” “Son of man,” and “Son” are appropriate and biblical. However, the term “God the Son” is inappropriate because it equates the Son with deity alone, and therefore it is unscriptural.

 

[Andyindauk]

Is God absolutely monotheistic, inseparably and numerically One or is He three separate distinct persons?

I was made in the image of God. I'm part of a trinity, I have a body, soul and spirit. The difference is that it's not possible to separate the three until I die.

With God, all things are possible.

 

[Curtis]

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

Not only was the Word with God in the beginning he (the Word) himself is also God.

 

[First and the Last]

I was made in the image of God. I'm part of a trinity, I have a body, soul and spirit. The difference is that it's not possible to separate the three until I die.

With God, all things are possible.

I don't deny that God couldn't be three persons at one time. That is just not what the Bible teaches. Plus the Bible said we are made in the image of God. If He can be separated at will so should we, after all we are in his image and likeness.

 

[First and the Last]

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

Not only was the Word with God in the beginning he (the Word) himself is also God.

The word, yes not the Son. The word became flesh and the Son at a specific time. The Word is eternal not the Son.

 

[joestue]

I have a body, soul and spirit.

Would like to know what those words mean to you.

 

[Curtis]

The word, yes not the Son. The word became flesh and the Son at a specific time. The Word is eternal not the Son.

1Jn 5:20 We also know that the Son of God has come. He has given us understanding. Now we can know the One who is true. And we belong to the One who is true. We also belong to his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God. He is eternal life. (NiRV)

Pro 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?


Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

 

[Charlie24]

The word, yes not the Son. The word became flesh and the Son at a specific time. The Word is eternal not the Son.

I agree that the Christ became the Son at a specific time in history. He was born of a virgin by the Spirit of God. He had to be born by the Spirit and not of man or else He would have been born with a sin nature as we are. If he had been born of Joseph, He would Himself have needed a Savior, being born in sin. But He wasn't born with the sin nature.

The Scripture doesn't tell us in what form Christ existed as the Word, before the foundation of the world. We suppose He existed as a spirit, just as God the Father. But we know Christ existed before the world began because John and Paul tell us He is the Creator of all things.

Christ was the Word, He was God along with the Father in infinity past. He became a man, "the Word became flesh" to deliver us from our sins.

When He became a man and I believe at the same time, "the Son of God" that didn't change the fact He was God from infinity past.

In addition to being God from the very beginning with the Father, He has become our Redeemer/Savior, our Mediator, our High Priest, etc. through His finished work on the Cross and His resurrection.

He is still "The Word" even though He is a man. "The Word became flesh" means He is God in the flesh and has revealed the Father to us being of the same nature and attributes as the Father in Himself.

Jesus Christ is exactly what Isaiah said He is, "the Almighty God," and He is independent of the Father in action but not in essence.

 

[Charlie24]

I agree that the Christ became the Son at a specific time in history. He was born of a virgin by the Spirit of God. He had to be born by the Spirit and not of man or else He would have been born with a sin nature as we are. If he had been born of Joseph, He would Himself have needed a Savior, being born in sin. But He wasn't born with the sin nature.

The Scripture doesn't tell us in what form Christ existed as the Word, before the foundation of the world. We suppose He existed as a spirit, just as God the Father. But we know Christ existed before the world began because John and Paul tell us He is the Creator of all things.

Christ was the Word, He was God along with the Father in infinity past. He became a man, "the Word became flesh" to deliver us from our sins.

When He became a man and I believe at the same time, "the Son of God" that didn't change the fact He was God from infinity past.

In addition to being God from the very beginning with the Father, He has become our Redeemer/Savior, our Mediator, our High Priest, etc. through His finished work on the Cross and His resurrection.

He is still "The Word" even though He is a man. "The Word became flesh" means He is God in the flesh and has revealed the Father to us being of the same nature and attributes as the Father in Himself.

Jesus Christ is exactly what Isaiah said He is, "the Almighty God," and He is independent of the Father in action but not in essence.

You can beat your brains out trying to understand the relationship between the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, but you can't understand it.

Not until the resurrection when the mortal is changed to the immortal. Then we will understand.

The Scripture goes to no effort whatsoever to explain what we call the Trinity, it's just a reference word, nothing else.

That's because the mortal mind has no capacity to understand it. It's a different realm of understanding, and so are many other things found in Scripture.

 

[Bill Taylor]

i was just adding more insight into what was quoted. Trying to show that there is no such thing as the eternal Son because He was begotten at a specific time in Mary's womb and was God from the beginning of His human life.

Neither B-A-C, you, nor I can give an accurate definition of our Elohim beyond his name being Yahovah and He loves us in spite of our attitudes.