Bible Doctrine 2: The Godhead
God’s Word teaches:
That the Godhead consists of three separate, distinct, and recognizable personalities and qualities, perfectly united in one. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are different Persons in the Godhead, not merely three names for one Person – Matthew 3:16,17; 2, Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19,20.
The Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Bible clearly teaches that each member of the Godhead is God; separate, distinct and recognizable personalities and qualities perfectly united in one. The Father is called God (1 Corinthians 8:6; Psalm 89:26; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Matthew 6:9), the Son, Jesus Christ, is called God (Isaiah 9:6,7; John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8), and the Holy Ghost is called God (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16,17; 6:19,20; Hebrews 3:7-9; 10:15,16; Jeremiah 31:31-34). From the foregoing it is clear that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct Persons, co-eternal, co-existent and co-equal in power and divine attributes that make each God. The word “GOD” in Genesis 1:1 means Elohim and in Hebrew language this is the plural of El (The Strong One). “ Elohim” (The Strong Ones) appear more than 2,700 times in the Old Testament and this plurality is seen in: “Let us make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness”; “The LORD said…. let us go down, and there confound their language” (Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:6,7; John 14:23; Psalm 2:3). The Godhead is also referred to as the Holy Trinity (Romans 1:20).
The unity of the Godhead is scripturally evidenced in the execution of all divine plans and purposes. At creation, a significant fact about the Godhead emerged with the use of the plural noun “us”, by God Himself (Genesis 1:26). Elementarily, this implies the involvement of more than one personality in the creation of man. The same word continued to recur first, after the fall of man (Genesis 3:22), and on the threshold of God’s perfection to curb the foolish excesses of man, by wisely confounding him with
diverse languages (Genesis 11:7). The testimony of scriptures on the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ reveals the perfect unity of the Godhead. It was God’s anointing and the Power of the Holy Ghost that enabled Jesus to fulfill His ministry (Acts 10:38). The divine-human relationship also confirms God in three persons perfecting the relationship of man with the triune God (Ephesians 2:18). The complimentary functions of the Trinity are referred to in almost all the books of the New Testament (Matthew 3:16,17; 28:19; Mark1:10; John 16:7-15; 6:37,44; Romans 8:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:25; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Corinthians
12:4,7; Acts 10:38).
The three personalities in the Godhead acted together in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father did not only make His Son available to assume the garb of human flesh preparatory for His vicarious mission (John 3:16), He dispatched an angel to announce the impending birth of the Saviour of the whole world by a virgin. This was a supernatural work that was subsequently fully perfected by the power of the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:26,35).
Further proof of the truth about the Godhead became clear at the baptism of Jesus Christ, when the Father sent the Holy Ghost in bodily form as a dove upon Christ, and God Almighty Himself made a public proclamation of Jesus as His beloved Son (Matthew 3:16,17). Even at the onset of His ministry, Jesus affirmed the companionship of God the Father and the Holy Ghost with Him. It was only by their combined workings that He was to fulfill His multi-pronged ministry of preaching the gospel, healing the sick, delivering the captives, etc. (Luke 4:18). Truly, the work of redemption, which Christ completed by submitting Himself to die on the cross, was a joint venture with the Father and the Holy Ghost (Hebrews 9:14), as was the second work of grace, sanctification or holiness, by which man is cleansed from his in-bred depravity, the fallen nature he inherited form Adam (John 17:17; Romans 15:16). Also, the Godhead is at work in empowering believers through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, to discharge the duties handed them by God (John 15:26; 16:7-15; Luke 11:13). Christ’s command as He handed down the Great Commission to His disciples was to baptize all that repent and believe the gospel, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19). Even today, our prayer involves the three personalities in the Godhead. We direct our prayers to God the Father (Luke 11:2; 22:42; 23:34,46; John 17:1,5,24-26; James 1:5) through Jesus Christ, the Son (John 14:13,14; 15:16), and of course, without the help of the Holy Spirit all our prayers will be in vain (Romans 8:26).
The Godhead is the universal testimony of the scriptures, for “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word (Son) and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). It is only the perfect work of the Godhead that has continued to sustain us on a day-to-day basis as believers (2 Corinthians 13:14). The Godhead is a great mystery, which is clearly beyond the finite mind of the unsaved natural man (1 Corinthians 2:14). The believer accepts the gospel truth of the Trinity by faith, recognizing that God remains the eternal repository of all mysteries (Deuteronomy 29:29); that with respect to His being or essence, God is one; with respect to His personality, God is three; and the essence must neither be divided nor the persons confused. In spite of the great mystery surrounding it, the doctrine of the Godhead has always proved to be eminently rich in spiritual and practical values. And for all those willing, the Lord Jesus Christ promises the advent of a blissful reign by the Godhead (John 14:23; Revelation 3:20).
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
