God-Part V The Trinity

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)

One of the most important things that we as Christians should know about God is that He is three distinct persons in one entity.

There have been many examples that have been used to describe 3-distinct-parts but still one part.  Some of the more uses are these:

*   The shamrock (3-leaf clover):  Three leaves, but one shamrock. 
*   The Human being:  Consisting of 3-parts including, body, soul, and spirit. 
*   Water:  Water can take the form liquid, solid, or gas.  The cool thing about this last one is that scientist have proven that at absolute zero degrees, for a split second, water can be all three at once.

Gods nature is Triune:  We see clearly that the Holy Bible teaches that though there is only one true God, He is revealed or manifested in three distinct persons.

*    The Father
*    The Son
*    The Holy Spirit

Each is independent of each other, but never do they act independently.  The Bible teaches that there are certain distinct attributes that are only found in God.  And the Bible teaches that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all possess these distinct attributes, and no one else does.

Although the word, "Trinity" doesn't exist in the Scriptures, we have many scriptures that describe its makeup.  In this devotional, I would like to look at five of these scriptures.

1.   In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)
The Hebrew word used here in Scripture for God is "Elohim," which means, "More than two."

2.    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." Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

3.    When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)

This passage above is the perfect picture of the Trinity.  We see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus, while the Father speaks from above.

4.    Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

We see Jesus giving the command to His disciples to go out and to make more disciples and to baptize them in the name of (1) The Father, (2) The Son, and (3) The Holy Spirit; three distinct entities but still one.  Because notice that he didn't say to baptize them in the "Names" but just the "Name."

5.    The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2Corinthians 13:14 (NKJV)

This last verse we will look at is a great verse, because not only does it display the Trinity of the Godhead perfectly, it gives us great insight to each ones attribute.  Each of these attributes is to be imitated (See Eph 5:1).  Let us take a look at these three distinct attributes that make up our God.  They are:

A)    Grace: The "Grace" of Christ banishes self-assertiveness and self-seeking,

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 2Corinthians 8:9 (NKJV)

B)    Love: The "Love" of God puts jealousy and anger to flight,


But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

C)    Fellowship: The "Fellowship" created by the Spirit leaves no room for fighting and division.

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 (NKJV)

It is through the grace shown by Christ (8:9) in living and dying for humankind that God demonstrates his love (Rom. 5:8) and the Spirit creates fellowship (Eph 4:3). This order also reflects Christian experience.

STUDY QUESTION:  What can we derive with regard to God from these scriptures above?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Can you see Jesus' grace, God's love, and the Holy Spirits spirit of fellowship in your life?

APPLICATION: Seek to be an imitator of God, and you will have all three of these attributes.