God as Trinity

Christians understand God as the Holy Trinity, which means our God is one and at the same time is three. Let us analyze the same on biblical basis. All the below quotations are from the book “The Orthodox Way” by Bishop Kallistos Ware. The Bible verses are found from “Confessing the One Faith” (by WCC*) and “Njangal Viswasikunnu” (by H. G. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Osthathious). Bible quotes from the New International Version and New King James Version.

 *WCC – World Council of Churches

 In the beginning of the creed, we say, “I believe in One God…” (satya eeka Daivam)

The One true God is the Father, the Son and the Spirit. “Our God is not just a unit, but a union, not just unity, but community.”

John 17: 21: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

**Three Persons in One Essence**

** Presence of Trinity in creation **

Psalms 33: 6: By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
       their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

John 1: 3: Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Gen 1: 2: Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

** Presence of Trinity in the Incarnation and Life of Christ **

 Luke 1: 35: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

 Mathew 3: 16, 17: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."”

During the baptism of Christ, we see all three personalities of God together. Christ as the incarnate human, Holy Spirit as a dove and Father as the voice.

Christ, our GOD

We believe that

“1. Jesus Christ is fully and completely God.

2. Jesus Christ is fully and completely man.

3. Jesus Christ is not two persons but one.”

 

1. Jesus Christ is fully and completely God.

 ** The unity within Father and Christ **

John 10: 30: “I and the Father are one.”

John 1: 18: No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only-begotten son, who is at the Father's side, has made him known..

John 17: 22: And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.

John 14: 9-11: He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

 ** The true way, the ONE way, the ONE God **

John 14: 6: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Only GOD can be the way, truth and life. All the old testament prophets, priests and kings and the new testament apostles and martyrs and fathers, never claimed to be the way, truth and life themselves. All of them pointed God as the way, truth and life, and here Jesus Christ while saying “I am the…” testifies that He Himself is God.

The same is true when Christ said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11: 25).

He is the light, and we humans can only radiate the light. Christ is the light from God which we the believers radiate throughout the world.

 ** Confession of Thomas **

John 20: 28: And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

1 Corinthians 8: 6: yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Thomas testifies the unity of God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ while confessing “My Lord and My God!”

 ** The Eternal Word **

John 1: 1 – 5: 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 nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John continues his account of incarnation in a theological point of view as compared to the other gospels.

 ** The Word Becomes Flesh **

 John 1: 14-18: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Hebrews 1:2: but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

It was the word which was with God in the creation of everything created. And this same WORD was God, John testifies, and the same WORD became flesh, as the divine plan of the Father for the salvation of humans.

 ** More proofs from the Bible **

Colossians 1: 15-17: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Colossians 1: 19: For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.

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

Philippians 2: 5-7: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

This means Jesus has equality with God, but for the love of humans, He emptied Himself.

Philippians 2: 9-11: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 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.

Isaiah 9: 6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

To be continued...