". . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" - Matthew 28:19
If someone were to ask you what it means that God has a Son, how would you explain it? If Jesus is God’s Son, he obviously has a Father. Does this mean that Jesus is God, or his Father is God? Are they both God? And then what about the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit also God, or perhaps some part of God?
God has revealed himself to us through his written word, which we call the Scriptures, or more commonly, the Bible. The Bible is a collection of ancient writings that were written by men over the span of about two thousand years as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. We can go to the Bible to learn who this God is that we worship.
Three Things to Know About God
God has Always Existed
Before the heavens and the earth existed, God was there. The very first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Logic tells us that it is impossible for something to come out of nothing. Consider the vast expanse of the universe; the innumerable galaxies, stars and planets; the intricate design of even the smallest of insects. The heavens and the earth could not possibly come into existence unless a supreme Being existed beforehand. In Psalm 90:2, the psalmist prayed, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God”. In the Book of Revelation (1:8) God declares “I am the Alpha [beginning] and Omega [end] . . . who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” God has always existed and all things were created by him (John 1:3).
God is One God, Yet Three Persons
God is one God and eternally exists in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We refer to this as theTrinity, or to God as the Triune God. The term Trinity is not found in the Bible, but the concept of God as Triune is woven throughout Scripture. For example, Matthew 3:13-17 describes the baptism of Jesus before he began his earthly ministry in this way:
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
In this single passage, the Father expresses his pleasure in his Son as the Spirit descends upon him like a dove.
But how do we know that God is one, and not three Gods? The first indication of this is found in the creation account. In Genesis 1:26, God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Note the existence of both plurality and singularity in this one passage: “Let us [plural] make man in our [plural] own image [singular].” Many in church history have believed the use of the plural refers to the three persons, (Father, Son and Spirit), while the singular indicates only one image of God. In the New Testament, Jesus instructed his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 - one God, yet three Persons.
Father, Son and Spirit are Equal in Glory
We naturally reason that God the Father must hold a higher position than the Son. If that were true, it would seem that the Father is greater than the Son, and the Son is subject to the Father. Since the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, the Spirit would most likely hold the lowest position within the Trinity, subject to the authority of the Father and the Son. But this is not the case. Since each Person of the Trinity is equally God, and there is only one God, then the Father, Son and Spirit must be one in nature and equal in glory.
There does appear, however, to be a certain "economic" order within the Trinity in that there is a voluntary relational subordination of the Son to the Father, and of the Spirit to both the Father and the Son. Each Person of the Trinity loves the other and is in perfect harmony with each other. This is depicted in the salvation story told in the Gospel of John. God (the Father) sent his only Son into the world so that everyone who believes on him will be saved. The Father always sends the Son, never vice versa. The Son sends the Spirit to dwell within those who believe on him. Because they are equal in nature, and in perfect harmony with one another, there is no resistance to being sent by the other. There is only willful, loving submission within the Trinity.
So, the God of the Bible eternally exists in three Persons, each equal in glory yet distinct in the the way they relate to one another. The late Reginald Heber expressed this beautifully in this familiar hymn:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, Holy, Holy, Merciful and Mighty!
God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity!”