When considering God’s creation of space and time, note how even that proclaims His triune nature. Consider that time is past, present, and future. Space and objects have height, width, and depth. Is past the same as present or present the same as future? No, but they are all aspects of time. In the same way, height is the not the same as width, but both are used to define or describe an object. God’s triune nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is still a mystery, but the scriptures help shed light on this topic. The following includes many passages from God’s word. Consider the passages and the contemplative questions that follow to help better guide your understanding on this topic.
The Name of God Revealed
Exodus 3:13-15 (LSB) 13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.
Note that “God” in verse 13 is the Hebrew word “Elohim,” which is the plural form of God, yet God is one and not more. Also note that where most Bibles display LORD (in all capital letters), this is the tetragrammaton (YHWH) that we pronounce as Yahweh, Yahovah, or Jehovah. Note that in those same Bible translations, you’ll sometimes find the phrase “Lord GOD”. In this case, the Hebrew words Adonai and YHWH are coupled, and so the word “GOD” represents the tetragrammaton in those cases. God is the great “I AM” and never had a beginning – I AM can be translated as “to be”, or “self-existent”.
When considering how most would introduce themselves in this culture (e.g., I am Judah, the son of Jacob, or… I am Moses, the son of Amram), how did God introduce Himself in such a way that demonstrates His self-existence?
God is One
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV) 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Note that the Hebrew word for “God” in this passage in Deuteronomy is also in its plural form. This is why it is a mysterious thing that God is One, yet He has multiple personages, which we will look at in more detail. Even though “God” is in the plural form, what is being proclaimed about Him, and how are we called to be inclined toward Him?
Read the following passages from scripture (and the contemplative questions that follow), and see how God proclaims His triune nature through a tapestry of passages in scripture.
Revelation 1:8 (NKJV) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
God helps reveal part of Himself through His creation. Consider God’s creation of time. How does time, itself, help display God’s triune nature?
Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
Romans 1:20 (NASB1995) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
When we consider God’s creation of space, stars, the planets, and all life on earth, how does that part of His creation proclaim His triune nature?
Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV) 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
When you look at how Jesus is calling his disciples to baptize, what about this statement also proclaims the triune nature (noting what is plural and what is singular)?
Isaiah 6:3 (NLT2) 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
Revelation 4:8 (HCSB) 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming.
When considering the proclamation of God’s holiness, how does that show His triune nature?
Isaiah 45:18a (NIV) For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.”
Colossians 1:16 (CSB) 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.
John 1:3 (KJV) 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Job 26:13 (NKJV) 13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
Psalm 104:30 (ESV) 30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
Noting that Isaiah refers to the Father, Colossians and John are referring to Jesus, and Job and Psalms are referring to the Spirit, what does this proclaim concerning how God creates?
John 3:3-6 (ESV) 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (LSB) 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
What did Jesus teach in John 3, and how is that related to God’s creative process?
In looking at 2 Corinthians, how is being “in Christ” connected to new creation?
Psalm 27:1 (NKJV) The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
John 8:12 (NKJV) Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Psalm 23:1 (NLT2) The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
John 10:11 (NIV) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
What is being proclaimed concerning the LORD (Yahweh), and what does Jesus proclaim?
How is this related to Jesus and God the Father being one?
Isaiah 44:6 (CSB) This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me.
Revelation 1:8 (NASB1995) “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:17-18 (NIV) 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 22:12-13 (NKJV) 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
In reviewing the verse from Isaiah and the passages from Revelation, what titles are being claimed by both God the Father and Jesus?
Can two completely different beings truthfully claim to be the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and why or why not?
Exodus 3:14 (NKJV) 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “
John 8:57-59 (NASB1995) 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Yahweh (God the Father) revealed His name to Moses in Exodus 3. What did Jesus reveal to the Jews that resulted in them desiring to kill Him for blasphemy?
John 18:4-6 (NKJV) 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Jesus, again, speaks the two words “I am” (the same Greek words He spoke in John 8:58, and the same two words recorded in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint in Exodus 3:14, ‘Ego Eimi’) in response to the crowd who’d come to arrest Him. What happened to the soldiers when He spoke those words that resonated His divine power?
John 10:29-30 (NASB1995) 29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 “I and the Father are one.”
John 14:8-9 (ESV) 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
What is Jesus conveying through these passages that helps us better understand God’s oneness?
Isaiah 43:11 (LSB) I, even I, am Yahweh, and there is no savior besides Me.
Philippians 3:20-21 (NKJV) 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Acts 4:12 (NASB1995) 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
What does Yahweh claim concerning salvation, and what is proclaimed concerning Jesus?
How do these claims demonstrate the oneness and triune nature of God?
Psalm 107:28-29 (ESV) 28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Matthew 8:26 (NKJV) 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
What did the LORD (Yahweh) do in Psalm 107, and what did Jesus do that demonstrated His divine nature in Matthew’s gospel?
Exodus 20:2-6 (ESV) 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Matthew 4:10 (NKJV) 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ “
Matthew 2:2 (NKJV) 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:11 (NKJV) 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 14:33 (ESV) 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 28:9 (NASB1995) 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
Matthew 28:17 (ESV) 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
John 20:28 (NASB1995) 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
In Exodus, as God speaks the 10 commandments to Moses, what, concerning worship, is proclaimed in that passage?
In Matthew and John’s gospels, what are the people doing to Jesus, and how does it help display His true divinity and oneness with God?
Revelation 19:10 (LSB) 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow slave with you and your brothers who have the witness of Jesus. Worship God! For the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 22:8-9 (CSB) 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
Looking at John’s interaction with a powerful angel, what was he inclined to do?
How did the angel respond to demonstrate that only God is to be worshipped?
Now, let’s look at some passages that demonstrate God’s divine ability and how Jesus demonstrated He had the same ability when He came in the flesh:
Psalm 139:1-4 (LSB) 1 O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Yahweh, You know it all.
Matthew 6:8 (NKJV) Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Psalm 147:5 (NIV) Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
2 Chronicles 6:30 (LSB) 30 then listen from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men,
1 John 3:19-20 (CSB) 19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.
1 Corinthians 4:5 (NASB1995) Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.
Matthew 9:3-4 (ESV) 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
Matthew 12:25 (HCSB) 25 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”
Luke 6:7-9 (CSB) 7 The scribes and Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a charge against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts and told the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand here.” So he got up and stood there.
How is this yet another way that the oneness of Yahweh’s and Jesus’ divine nature is demonstrated?
Though the New Testament does record Jesus telling the apostles that they have the authority to forgive those who have sinned against them, we know that when it comes to sinning against God, only God has that authority. Let’s look at some passages that show that God the Father and Jesus received this divine authority:
Exodus 34:6-7 (LSB) 6 Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
Numbers 14:18 (NASB2020) 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in mercy, forgiving wrongdoing and violation of His Law; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’
Psalm 86:5 (NIV) 5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Isaiah 43:25 (NLT2) 25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
Mark 2:3-12 (NKJV) 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” 6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”–He said to the paralytic, 11 I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
How did Jesus demonstrate to the skeptical scribes that He, indeed, has the divine power to forgive as only God can?
Isaiah 9:6 KJV – 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
In this prophecy concerning Jesus, how does it help tie in the triune nature of God?
Micah 5:2 (NASB1995) “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
In this prophecy concerning Jesus’ birth location, what do we learn about the nature of who Jesus is that proclaims His divinity?
Psalm 95:6-10 (ESV) 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
Hebrews 3:7-9 (ESV) 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.
What do we find in these 2 passages that show that Yahweh (God the Father) and the Holy Spirit are one God?
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NKJV) 31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah– 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:15-16 (LSB) 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,” He then says, 17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Again, looking at these two passages, how do we see the oneness of the Holy Spirit and the LORD (Yahweh)?
Acts 5:3-4 (HCSB) 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the field? 4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God!”
How did Peter interchange God and the Holy Spirit in this passage?