Q: Is Jesus really God? After all, the Bible never mentions the Trinity.
In Genesis 1:26 the Scripture reads,
And God said; Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
It is apparent that the “us” in this verse refers to more than one person. Likewise in Genesis 11 the Scripture records the Lord’s destruction of the Tower of Babel and He says,
Genesis 11:7
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Here again, the use of the term “let us…” clearly refers to more than one person, and yet, the Bible clearly teaches there exists only One True God.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Isaiah 45:22
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isaiah 43:10-12
10: Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11: I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. 12: I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
Through the Prophet Isaiah, God declares that He is the only God, and that He is the only Savior of the world.
The Triune God
The historical teaching of the church regarding the triune (three in one) nature of God is that within the nature of the One God there are three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (or Ghost); all own the same attributes (characteristics) and are, in fact, the One and only true God. The church believes the “us” in Genesis 1:26 refers to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Triune God. This is one of the mysteries of the Bible. It is not easy to understand or even to explain simply because the human mind is finite (limited). However the following Scriptural evidence supports God’s existence as a Trinity.
The Holy Spirit
The Bible declares the Holy Spirit to be both a person and God.
The Holy Spirit – A Person – Christ refers to the Comforter (Holy Spirit) as a person – He!
John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
It is Jesus’ testimony that the Holy Spirit is a person, and that person proceeds out from the Father.
In Acts Chapter 5 Peter confronts a man named Ananias caught in a lie over the amount of a financial gift given to the church!
Acts 5:3-4
3: But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4: Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
There are many folks who believe the Holy Spirit to be nothing more than the invisible force of God. But you cannot lie to a force! You can only lie to a person. Peter proclaims the person of the Holy Spirit to be God!
The Lord Jesus Christ
The Bible declares the Lord Jesus Christ to be God.
In the Old Testament Book of Isaiah is found a verse of Scripture very familiar to all Christians and especially highlighted during the Christmas Season.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
There is no escaping the fact that this verse clearly attributes to this new born babe every name of the Godhead; Wonderful Counselor [the Holy Spirit], the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
In Exodus 3, when God called Moses to return to Egypt, Moses asked God what name he will use when he comes before the Hebrews. God said, “I AM that I AM.” The Hebrews would recognize this name as being that of God; the One who is, the One who was, and the One who always will be – the everlasting, and the eternal God. Now, in the New Testament, Jesus is confronted by antagonistic Jews and they declare he identify himself. Who are you, Jesus?
John 8:56-58
56: Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. [Pastor’s Note: Abraham had been dead for over two thousand years] 57: Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58: Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Here Jesus takes the very name of God and applies it to Himself. And the Jews were so enraged over this application that they immediately picked up stones to stone Him to death for blasphemy! This is made clear in John 10 where again the Jews seek to stone the Lord Jesus.
John 10:30-33
30: I and my Father are one. 31: Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32: Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33: The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying, and furthermore, the marvelous works which he had accomplished served only to reinforce the fact that he was God the Son.
The Apostle John writes in Chapter 1 of his Gospel:
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14
And the Word was made 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.
Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” There is so much evidence found in the Scriptures that clearly attests to Jesus being both man and God at the same time, and we find ample evidence also in the Scriptures that the one true God exists in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Who raised Jesus from the dead??
When we think about the Trinity, it is often helpful to ask the question – Who raised Jesus from the dead? The answer to this question is most often…GOD!
Yet, when we look closely at the Scriptures, it becomes a bit confusing to us!
Let me share with you what I mean. In Paul’s opening Salutation to the church at Galatia he writes,
Galatians 1:1
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead; )
Who does Paul give credit to for raising Christ from the dead – God the Father? But now turn with me to 1 Peter 3. Peter is sharing with us the sufferings of Christ and provides the following insight:
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Peter tells us that Jesus was made alive (quickened) by the Spirit! There seems to be some contradiction here. But is there? Paul tells us that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, and yet Peter gives the credit for this great miracle to the Holy Spirit. Well, if there is contradiction, we have more to come – listen to what Jesus has to say about his own resurrection…
John 2:19
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up
John 2:21
But he spake of the temple of his body.
So here we have God the Father raising Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit raising Jesus Christ, and we have the LORD Himself taking credit for his own resurrection. But now look with me at one more verse!
Romans 10:9
…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
If the Bible is the Word of God, and God cannot lie, then the scriptural evidence given therein regarding the person of Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit, and the person of the Father, support the existence of One God in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You cannot have the God of the Bible without the work of all three.
So the question remains: Who raised Jesus from the dead?
The only true answer is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!
When we understand the triune nature of God, we can understand strange verses like Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
Who is the US – The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost?
The Holy Trinity!
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