The Concept of the Triune God

8/9/2019 The Concept of the Triune God

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The Triune God:

Reflected in the natural world around us

By

Dennis Murphy

5th

June 2003

Copyright 2003 Dennis Murphy


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Table Of Contents

HISTORY OF THE TRINITY ..................................................................................... 3THE NATURAL TRI-UNE WORLD .......................................................................... 7SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES TO THE TRINITY ............................................... 11STRONGS NUMBERS .............................................................................................. 21


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History of The TrinityOr

How did the idea of the Trinity begin

A statement such as the following expresses the idea of the Trinity.

TRINITY. The term by which is expressed the unity of three Persons in the one

God. The Christian doctrine is: (1) That there is only one God, one divine

nature and being. (2 ) This one divine Being is tripersonal, involving the

distinctions of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (3) These three are

joint partakers of the same nature and majesty of God. This doctrine is

preeminently one of revelation. And although it brings before us one of the

great mysteries of revelation and transcends finite comprehension , it is

essential to the understanding of the Scriptures, and, as we shall see, has its

great value and uses.

(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Pressof Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

The main emphasis in the above statement is the word unity. The dictionary gives

the following meanings for this word: agreement, harmony, union (i.e. things that

are joined together as one). When it is used as a number, it means one.

The word Trinity is too general, as it simply means three. The concept is better

expressed as a Tri-Unity, meaning you have a union of those who agree. Most

academic writers in fact, use the term Triune, however many people do not make

the distinction between the two words.

Many people find it difficult to believe in the concept of the Trinity (Tri-Unity) so they

choose instead to believe one of the many religious groups who deny that the Trinity

exists.

It is true that the Bible does not explicitly mention the word Trinity. It does however

talk about three separate personalities who at various times claim to be God. The

question then becomes whether the Bible actually presents these three personalities as

three separate beings, or as One God who is somehow three persons.

It is doubtful whether anyone who depended solely on the revelation contained in theOld Testament alone would have ever come to understand the doctrine of the Trinity as

it stresses the unity of God. (Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD

isone (Strongs No. O.T. 259)

Below is the Strongs Concordance entry for the word one above.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:259 (one)

'echad (ekh-awd'); a numeral from OT:258; properly, united , i.e. one; or (as an

ordinal) first:


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This word is also translated in other places as shown below

KJV-a, alike, alone, altogether , and, any (-thing), apiece, a certain, [daily-], each

(one), + eleven, every , few , first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some,

together,

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:258'achad (aw-khad'); perhaps a primitive root; to unify, i.e. (figuratively) collect (one's

thoughts):

KJV-go one way or other.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Until the idea of the unity (oneness) of God had been firmly established in Israels

mind, it would have been dangerous to introduce the idea that God is a Tri-Unity,

because the surrounding nations worshiped many gods (polytheism).

Many polytheistic religions show evidence of triads of divinities. The Egyptian triad of

Osiris, Isis and Horus are an example. These three correspond to the human family, and

has its father (Osiris) and his son (Horus) along with the mother (Isis). There are many

others, but they all have one thing in common; they are all collections of gods, or states

through which the world, or people pass.

The principal idea in all of these triads is that of three separate gods, or things, which

have been lumped together.

They do not have the slightest resemblance to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity

which stresses the Tri-Unity of God. This is an altogether different concept which will

be examined in the next chapter.

Because God has revealed Himself to mankind in the Bible, and because He is truth, He

must reveal Himself as He is. On this basis, we should expect that although the O.T.

does not explicitly reveal God as a Tri-Unity, the references to His nature will contain

hints of this further revelation of Himself.

The Bible gradually unfolds the full truth concerning God and His plan of redemption

for man. The O.T. sacrificial system found its fulfilment in the sacrifice of the Lamb ofGod, Jesus, in the N.T. and this shed light on the O.T. practices. In the same way, the

explicit statements in the N.T regarding the Trinity, throw light on the more obscure

references to this in the O.T. The revelation of God in the O.T. is not contradicted by

the more complete revelation in the N.T., but rather it is illuminated and extended.

The driving force that led to the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity was the

church's profound conviction that Christ was in fact God. This conviction was largely

based on the Baptismal Formula announced by Jesus in the book of Matthew.


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Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

This is the nearest approach to a formal announcement of the doctrine of the Trinity in

the Bible. The principal object of Jesus words here however was not to directlyannounce the doctrine of the Trinity. Rather it was part of the great commission where

He sent the disciples out into the world to preach the good news. However, in the

process of giving the great commission, Jesus casually announces that He is equal with

God.

The disciples were told to baptize people in the name of the Father and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit. It does not say, "In the name of the Father and the name of the

Son and the name of the Holy Spirit" as if these were three separate persons. Rather it

asserts the unity of the three by combining them all within the bounds of the single

Name.

To fully to understand the implication of stating this command to the disciples in this

way, we must bear in mind the significance of the term, "the name" as far as the Jews

were concerned. They did not think of a name simply as a means of identifying a

person as we do, when they were speaking of the name of God. To them this was a

most sacred thing.

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 (NIV)

58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in

this book, anddo not revere this glorious and awesome name--the LORD your

God-- 59 the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants,

harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

It was unthinkable to them that the the name of God could be applied to any one

other than to God Himself. Yet in the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 we find Him

including Himself and the Holy Spirit in the one combined name. This would be

unthinkable unless He believed Himself to be equal with God.

This fundamental belief in the Deity of Christ, as expressed by Him in the Baptismal

Formula, was used by the Church as the measuring stick to test all attempts at arriving

at the Christian doctrine of God. The use of this test led to much argument in the early

Church, and which extends up to the present time.

The principal battles over the doctrine of the Godhead, as a result of the application of

this test, began before the end of the first century A.D. as a result of the many pagan

ideas that were prevalent in the area at that time. These arguments, led Tertullian (160-

220 AD) to be the first to use the word Trinity (Trinitas) in defending the N.T. concept

of the three equal persons who made up the Godhead; although his word was only the

Latin translation of an earlier Greek word trias, employed by Theophilus of Antioch.

The major conflict began with a man called Sabellius about 217-220 A.D. He

apparently taught that the Godhead is a single entity that expressed itself in three

operations at various times, as the Father in creation, as the Son in redemption, and as


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the Holy Spirit, in sanctification. Pope Calixtus was at first inclined to be sympathetic

to Sabellius' teaching but later condemned it and excommunicated him.

Early in the 4th century, Arius, an Alexandrian presbyter, said that Christ is not truly

divine, but is a created being. He began with the Sabellian idea that the Godhead is only

a Trinity inasmuch as it had manifested itself in three different ways, at various times inthe history of the world. He later changed his mind and declared that God did in fact

consist of three Persons, but that these three were unequal in authority. He taught that

the Son and the Holy Spirit owed their existence to the Father and as a result were

creatures created by God.

The principal objection to Arius teaching was that it reduced the position of the Son

to that of a demigod (part man, part god) and reintroduced the pagan idea of

polytheism (many gods) since the worship of the Son was continued in parallel to the

worship of the Father. It also undermined the Christian concept of redemption since

only He who was truly God could be deemed to have reconciled man to the Godhead.

The council of Nicea (325 A.D.) condemned the ideas of Sabellius and Arius along

with a number of other theories, and adopted the formal statement of the Unity of the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while maintaining the distinction of the three

separate personalities. This became known as the Nicene Creed, and was reaffirmed at

various succeeding councils, and is now the generally recognized doctrine of the

Christian church.

Although this ended the heresy in the Roman Empire, Arianism continued among some

of the Germanic tribes up to the end of the 7th century.

Arianism has been revived in modern times by those groups known as Unitarians.

These groups base their religious beliefs on reason and experience. The movement

emerged during the Reformation period in Poland, Transylvania, and England. The

principal characteristics of Unitarians are that they emphasize the Old Testament over

the New Testament, instead of treating the Bible as one complete record of Gods

dealings with mankind. As a result of the emphasis on the O.T. they do not accept the

doctrine of the Trinity, as declared by the Christian Churches.

Quote from the Encyclopaedia Britannica 2001

Unitarians are virtually Arians in that they are unwilling either to reduce Christto a mere human being or to attribute to him a divine nature identical with that

of the Father. The Christology of Jehovah's Witnesses, also, is a form of

Arianism; they regard Arius as a forerunner of Charles Taze Russell, the

founder of their movement.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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The Natural Tri-une WorldOr

The triune nature if the world is a reflection of God

Romans 1:18-20 (NIV)

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness

and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since

what may be known about God is plain to them , because God has made it

plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the worldGod's invisible qualities-

his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood

from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

In the above quotation God says that people can plainly see some of His invisible

qualities in the things that He has created. In other words, the created world is to someextent a reflection of the Creator.

If one of the attributes (qualities) of the Godhead is that of Tri-Unity, then we should

expect to see this reflected in both the creation of the world and also in His most

important creation; that is man himself.

The actual meaning of the word unity is simply, a union of people or objects,

agreement or harmony, that are at one with itself. If it is used as a number then it

means one. Taking the idea a little further, we could speak of a single (one)

community of people. If there were only one person it would be a unary community,

two would make it a bi-une community, if it had three people it would be a tri-unecommunity, four people would make a quad-une community etc. It simply means a

single harmonious unit that has one or more components or dimensions to it.

Taking the physical world first, we see that it has the tri-une properties of dimension.

We all perceive the world around us in a very down to earth and natural way, as a tri-

une reality. It is so natural, that we do this without even thinking about it. Any object

that exists has the three dimensions of height, width and depth, yet it is still just a

single object. More to the point, any object that does not exhibit the tri-une property

of three dimensions cannot exist in the world in which we live. It is a basic

characteristic of the created world.

Looking at the two pictures below, it is easy to see that there is a significant difference

between a trinity (3) of objects, such as the three chair legs shown below, and a

single chair by itself. However, each one of these objects has the tri-une properties of

length, width and depth.

The picture showing the three chair legs shows a simple trinity of objects.

However, in the case of the chair we have a unity (single object) that is comprised of

the union of several components, and all of these components each have the tri-une

property of three dimensions.


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This fundamental aspect of the created world clearly reflects the Tri-une nature of the

Creator Himself.

Pictures Of The Tri-une Nature Of the Created World

The most significant aspect of the creation was mankind. If one of Gods attributes is

that of Tri-unity, and we are made in His image, then surely we will see this aspect of

his nature somehow reflected in us, because God said:

Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)

26 Then God(Strongs No. O.T. 430) said, "Let us make man in our image, in

our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,

over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along


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the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he

created him; male and female he created them.

Looking first at the original statement to see how God revealed Himself to man, we

find that the word used for God is Elohiym. Below is an extract from Strongs

concordance showing that this word is the plural of elowahh(adeity or The Deity)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:430

Elohiym (el-o-heem'); plural of OT:433; gods in the ordinary sense; but

specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme

God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes

as a superlative:

KJV-angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X

mighty.

+++++++++++++++++OT:433

'elowahh (el-o'-ah; rarely (shortened) 'eloahh (el-o'-ah); probably prolonged

(emphat.) from OT:410;a deity or the Deity:

KJV-God, god. See OT:430.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We then see God using the term Let us create man. The word us is plural and its

reason for use is based solely on the fact that the word Elohiym, for God, is plural.

Only a plurality of persons can justify the phrase, as you do not address objects as us.

How then does mankind reflect this Tri-une nature of God in his makeup?

Apart from the tri-unity of3-dimensionality that mans body possesses, we also have

the tri-une nature of man. God said in Heb 4:12 that man has both a soul and a spirit.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged

sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul(Strongs No. 5590) and spirit

(Strongs No. 4151), joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes ofthe heart.

He also has a body. This makes man a tri-partite being that consists of body, soul and

spirit. This distinguishes man from the animals which have a body and a soul, and from

plants which consist only of a body.

The author of Hebrews used two separate words for soul and spirit. These were

psuche (Strongs No. N.T. 5590) for soul and pneuma (Strongs No. NT: 4151)

for spirit. In the New Testament, the word soma (Strongs No. NT:4983) is

generally used to describe a normal healthy body.


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As the entries for the Strongs numbers (in the chapter at the end) make clear, the

soul describes that part of our personality, mind, will and emotions that spring from

the natural operation of the brain, and which we share with animals.

The spirit is that part of us that sets us apart from the animals as conscious rational

beings. It is that aspect of our being that enables only man in the entire creation toacknowledge God, and is also that part of us that is responsible for the creative works

that have produced the civilization that characterises man.

The body is described as a temple in which God lives.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and thatGod's Spirit

lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for

God's temple is sacred, andyou are that temple.

Our spirit also lives in this body, as shown below.

2 Corinthians 5:2-5

2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3

because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 Forwhile we are in

this tent,(Strongs No.NT:4636) we groan and are burdened,because we do

not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that

what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

To sum up, this world reflects the Tri-une nature of God as He declared in Romans

1:18-20, by the fact that only 3D objects exist in this universe. In addition the Bible,

backed up by the facts around us, testify that man, alone in the living world, is also

constructed as a tri-une being. We are all single individuals that are composed of the

body, soul and spirit. If we lacked any one of these attributes, we would not be

considered to be a whole (unified) person.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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Scriptural References To The TrinityOr

How the people in Christs day accepted this doctrine as normal

The Bible does not explicitly mention the word Trinity. It does however talk about

three separate personalities who at various times claim to be God.

Both Christ and the New Testament writers all describe the Godhead as a Tri-unity with

an assurance which testifies that this mode of speaking is no longer a novelty to them.

To them this is a firmly established concept of God. This is seen in the fact that no one

questioned Jesus when He gave the Baptismal Formula. (Ref. pages 4&5)

Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Christ and the apostles are also emphatic that each Person of the Tri-une Godhead

(Father, Son & Holy Spirit) is a distinct personality. The New Testament gives the

same worship to each of these three Persons, and the same work is ascribed to each one

of Them. This is done in such a way as to indicate that these three are united in the one

God, while maintaining the monotheism of the Old Testament.

Old Testament References To The Tri-unity Of God.

The most striking reference in the O.T. is the use of the name Elohiym (Strongs No.

OT:430) (Ref. Strongs numbers) which is the plural form of the word elowahh(Strongs No. 433) which describes a deity or the Deity. The word Elohiym is the

one that is almost always found in the original O.T. text, and which is translated as God

in English translations of the Bible.

God was emphatic that He was echad(Strongs No. OT:259) when He said in:

Deuteronomy 6:4

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD isone (Strongs No. O.T. 259)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:259 (one)'echad (ekh-awd'); a numeral from OT:258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an

ordinal) first:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There is only one way in which He can be both united and plural and that is if He

is Tri-une. There are no other possibilities.

It is significant that the first use of the word Elohiym occurs in Genesis 1:2. God has

introduced Himself as plural right from the very first reference to Himself.


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The fact that the word Elohiym is plural is the reason that many passages are translated

as let us ("Let us make man in our image," Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8).

Other hints to the Tri-une nature of God are found in the fact that the expression the

LORD God is repeatedly used throughout the O.T. It is saying that Jehovah is the

plural God. Literally, Jehovah Gods

Genesis 2:15 (NIV)

TheLORD (Strongs No. OT: 3068) God(Strongs No. 430) took the man and

put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:3068 (LORD)

ah (yeh-ho-vaw'); from OT:1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish

national name of God:

KJV-Jehovah, the Lord. Compare OT:3050, OT:3069.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Although it is less clear, the use of the threefold formulas shown below also hints at the

threefold (Tri-une) nature of God.

Numbers 6:22-27

22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, `This is how you are

to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 "'"The LORD bless you and keep you; 25

the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26the LORD

turn his face toward you and give you peace." 27 "So they will put my name on

the Israelites, and I will bless them."

Isaiah 6:2-3

3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD

Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

In the work of creation we find that the Bible says that God created the world. Yet we

find that it also says that the Spiritof God was involved.

Genesis 1:1-21:1 In the beginning God(Strongs No. OT: 430) createdthe heavens and the

earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface

of the deep, and the Spirit (Strongs No. OT: 7307) of God (No. 430) was

hovering over the waters.

In the New Testament we find John saying that Jesus made the world.

John 1:1-3

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word

was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were

made; without him nothing was made that has been made.


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The only way that the Bible can claim that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit can all be

responsible for the creation, is if they are in fact one (unified).

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

General Biblical References To The Tri-unity Of God

The approach taken so far in this study has been to present the history of the word

Trinity and to show that most academic writers have used the more descriptive term

of Tri-unity. It has been shown that the O.T. term that is translated as one, is in fact

the Hebrew word echad (Strongs No. O.T. 259) which stresses the unity of God.

It has also been shown that the 3-dimensional world is a reflection of the Tri-une God

as He claimed in Romans 1:20; and that we find no difficulty in accepting that the

world is tri-une and it could in fact be nothing else.

There are literally dozens of references to the idea of the Trinity throughout both the

Old and New testaments; too many to deal with individually. In view of this, we will

finish off by only looking at a few representative scriptures that describe the Holy Spirit

and Jesus and their relationships to the Father.

The Holy Spirit

The scriptures present the Holy Spirit as God, a person and the one who lives in

Christians.

The Holy Spirit as God

There are two general forms of blasphemy:

It is often used in the sense of any speech directly dishonouring God (1 Kings21:10; 2 Samuel 12:14; Psalms 74:18; Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:24)

For a man to claim the attributes of God. It was this form of blasphemy that theJews charged Jesus with (Matthew 26:65; Luke 5:21; John 10:36).

In the Old Testament to blaspheme the name of God incurred the death penalty, and inthe New Testament blasphemy against the Holy Spirit remains the one unpardonable

sin. The fact that the death penalty was applied in the O.T. and no forgiveness is

applied in the N.T. directly links God the Father and God the Holy Spirit as one and the

same Tri-une Godhead, as blasphemy can only be committed against God.

Matthew 12:31-32 (NIV)

31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the

blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a

word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against

the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.


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Note the equivalence between blaspheming the name of God and the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 24:15-16 (NIV)

15 Say to the Israelites: `If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible;

16anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The

entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when heblasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

In 1 Corinthians.3:16 we find that the Holy Spirit lives in the temple of our bodies.

Here we see that it is actually God who is living in us.

2 Corinthians 6:15-16 (NIV)

16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are

the temple of the living God.As God has said: "I will live with them and walk

among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

The Holy Spirit as a person

A person thinks, speaks, has emotions (grief) and lives in dwellings. The Holy Spirit is

said to do all these things. Forces, such as magnetism or electricity do not participate in

any of these things as the Unitarians who deny the Tri-unity of God would have people

believe.

John 16:12-14

12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when

he, the Spirit of truth, comes,he will guide you into all truth.He will not speak

on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet

to come. 14He will bring glory tome by taking from what is mine and making

it known to you.

Isaiah 63:10 (NIV)

10 Yet they rebelled andgrieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their

enemy and he himself fought against them.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17(NIV)

16 Don't you know thatyou yourselves are God's temple and thatGod's Spirit

lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for

God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

John 14:16-18 (NIV)

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give youanother Counselor to be with

you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accepthim , because it

neither seeshim nor knowshim. But you know him, forhe lives with you and

will be in you.


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Jesus

Jesus as God

The Bible presents Jesus as both fully man and fully God. This is consistent with the

overall view of the Bible which tells how God established the universe and created man

to rule over it, under the sovereignty of God. Of how mankind fell into sin and theconsequences of this, along with Gods plan to redeem man and the universe to himself.

The end of this redemptive plan is to see the Christians, who are to inherit the earth

(Matthew 5:5) reigning over a regenerated world under the sovereign rule of God

as He had originally intended. The Bible records that Jesus is to reign on earth for a

thousand years before handing the kingdom over to the Father.

The Bible also says that God is the only Ruler, but it also says that Jesus is the one

who is going to be the Ruler. Christ also has the title of Lord of Lords and King of

Kings but Timothy says this applies only to God who alone is immortal

1 Timothy 6:14-16 (NIV)

4 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord

Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed

and only Ruler, theKing of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone is immortal

and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To

him be honour and might forever. Amen.

Revelation 17:14

14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them

because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with him will be his called,

chosen and faithful followers."

Revelation 19:11-16

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose

rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His

eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name

written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe

dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven

were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and

clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the

nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of thefury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this

name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

The statement that it is God himself that will rule on the earth for 1000 years is

confirmed in the quotation below. This is taken from the description of the events that

lead up to, and include, Christs return.

Zechariah 14:3-5

3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the

day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of

Jerusalem , and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west,


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forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving

south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will

flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then

theLORD (Strongs No. OT:3068) my God(Strongs No. 430) will come, and

all the holy ones with him.

These two words, the LORD God, are used repeatedly throughout the O.T. They

literally say Jehovah is the plural God. (Ref. page 12). In the passage above, this title

is referred to Christ.

Both Isaiah and Matthew call Jesus God.

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child

and will givebirth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:66For 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

Matthew 1:22-23(NIV)

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23

"The virgin will be with child and willgive birth to a son, and they will call him

Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."

Jesus himself claims to be God.

Matthew 26:63-66 (NIV)

3 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under

oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."64 "Yes,

it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will

see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on

the clouds of heaven."65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has

spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have

heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they

answered.

Luke 5:20-21(NIV)

20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves,

"Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God

alone?"

John 10:31-38 (NIV)

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I

have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do

you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the

Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." 34


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Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods'?

35 If he called them `gods,' to whom the word of God came-and the Scripture

cannot be broken- 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very

own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy

because I said, `I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my

Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe themiracles, that you may know andunderstand that the Father is in me, and I in

the Father."

In the passage above the Jews are saying that claiming to be the Son of God is the same

as saying that that you are God. Jesus confirms this by saying that He and the Father are

one and the same.

In Revelation we find Jesus telling John, while he was in exile on the island of Patmos,

of the things that would occur before Jesus returned again. In it He claims to be God.

Revelation 1:1 (NIV)1 The revelation of Jesus Christ , which God gave him to show his servants

what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his

servant John,

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was,

and who is to come, the Almighty.

Below we have Jesus claiming to be the Alpha and Omega, which we find was the title

applied to God in the passage above.

Revelation 22:12-17 (NIV)

12 "Behold , I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to

everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 "Blessed are those who

wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go

through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice

magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone

who loves and practices falsehood. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you

this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and

the bright Morning Star." 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let himwho hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes,

let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Is it possible that Jesus is simply a created being?

As created beings, angels came into existence at some definite point in time. By

definition, they have not existed from infinity past as God claims that He has.

In Psalm 90:1-2 we find Moses saying that God has existed forever:

1.Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.


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2. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

In Revelation 22:13 (below) we find Jesus claiming to have existed from forever. On

this basis Jesus clearly cannot be an angel or any other created being.

Revelation 22:12-17 (NIV)

12 "Behold , I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to

everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

The world was never put under the control of angels rather it was put under man, who

in turn answered directly to God Himself. Not only are we to run the world, we will

also have charge over the angels. If Christ is an angel we would be ruling over Him, not

the other way round.

Hebrews 2:55It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we

are speaking.

1 Corinthians 6:2-3 (NIV)

2 Do you not know that thesaints will judge the world? And if you are to judge

the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that

we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

God declared that Christ was far superior to any created being, either man or angels. He

says that angels are to worship Him (verse 5). Worship is reserved for God alone. He

actually declares that Christ is God (verse 8 below). In verse 10 He says that Christ laid

the foundation of the world, yet in Genesis 1:1 He declares that God made the world.

Christ cannot be a created being, He must be God Himself.

Hebrews 1:1-14 (NKJV)

1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the

fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,

whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the

worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His

person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by

Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance

obtained a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have

begotten You"?

And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"? 6 But

when He againbrings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels

of God worship Him."


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7 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a

flame of fire."

8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter

of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. 9 You have loved

righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointedYou With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

10 And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And

the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain;

And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,

And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I

make Your enemies Your footstool"? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits

sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Angels are ultimately going to be lower than the position of man. This means that

Christ could not possibly be an angel, or other created being.

1 Peter 1:12 (NIV)

12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when

they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have

preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.Even angels

long to look into these things.

Angels can sin. If Christ had been an angel, He could not possibly be the sinless

sacrificial Lamb of God, who was to atone for the sins of the entire world.

Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our

weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we

are-yet was without sin.

2 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned , but sent them to hell,

putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

God has strictly forbidden the worship of angels. If Christ was an angel He cannot

possibly be our Lord.

Deuteronomy 5:7 (NIV)

"You shall have no other gods before me.

Colossians 2:18-19 (NIV)

18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels

disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he

has seen, and his un-spiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.


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Revelation 19:9-10

9 Thenthe angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the

wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of

God." 10At this I fell at his feet to worship him.But he said to me, "Do not

do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the

testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit ofprophecy."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When the Bible is taken as one complete book, and all the references to the Father, Son

and the Holy Spirit are taken in their proper context and without trying to force any

unnatural interpretation onto the text, there is only one conclusion that can be reached.

That is that these three Persons are all part of the one Tri-une Godhead.

This conclusion is reached because it is the one and only statement that is consistent

with both the overall theme of the Bible, and all of the individual statements concerningeach of the Persons who collectively make up the Godhead.

Furthermore, the concept of the Tri-unity of God is reflected in the 3D world in which

we live. This statement is also consistent with the claim that God makes in Romans

1:18-20 where He says that those things that can be known about Him, by means of

natural knowledge, as opposed to what He has revealed in the Bible, can be plainly

seen in the things that He has made.

Taking all of these things together, there is only one inescapable conclusion that any

person who honestly, and openly studies the Bible can come to. That is, that the

Biblical claim of the Tri-une God is true.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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Strongs Numbers

Below are a number of entries for the more important Hebrew words in the original

Biblical text and which are used in this document. They are taken from Biblesoft's New

Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew

Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:430

Elohiym (el-o-heem');plural of OT:433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically

used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally

applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:

This word is also translated in other places in the KJV as shown below

KJV-angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

+++++++++++++++++

OT:433

'elowahh (el-o'-ah; rarely (shortened) 'eloahh (el-o'-ah); probably prolonged (emphat.)

from OT:410;a deity or the Deity:

KJV-God, god. See OT:430.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:3068 (LORD)

ah (yeh-ho-vaw'); from OT:1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewishnational name of God:

KJV-Jehovah, the Lord. Compare OT:3050, OT:3069.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NT:5590 ( soul)

psuche (psoo-khay'); from NT:5594; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or

concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thusdistinguishedon the one hand from

NT:4151 , which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from NT:2222,

which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively

to the Hebrew OT:5315, OT:7307andOT:2416):

KJV-heart (+-ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NT:4151 (spirit)

pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); from NT:4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze;

by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital

principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God,

Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit:


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22

KJV-ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare NT:5590.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:5315

nephesh (neh'-fesh); from OT:5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of

(abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense(bodily or mental):

KJV-any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-]

contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in

jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-,

thyself-), them (your)- selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would

have it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:7307

ruwach (roo'-akh); from OT:7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or

even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, aregion of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its

expression and functions):

KJV-air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]),

tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:2416

chay (khah'-ee); from OT:2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year),

strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or

living thing), whether literally or figuratively:

KJV-+ age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life (-time), live (-ly),

living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw,

running, springing, troop.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NT:4983 (body)

soma (so'-mah); from NT:4982; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide

application, literally or figuratively:

KJV-bodily, body, slave.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NT:4636(tent or tabernacle)

skenos (skay'-nos); from NT:4633; a hut or temporary residence, i.e. (figuratively) the

human body (as the abode of the spirit):

KJV-tabernacle.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NT:2222

zoe (dzo-ay'); from NT:2198; life (literally or figuratively):


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KJV-life (-time). Compare NT:5590.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:259 (one)

'echad (ekh-awd'); a numeral from OT:258; properly, united , i.e. one; or (as anordinal) first:

KJV-a, alike, alone, altogether , and, any (-thing), apiece, a certain, [daily-], each

(one), + eleven, every , few , first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some,

together,

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:258

achad (aw-khad'); perhaps a primitive root; to unify, i.e. (figuratively) collect (one's

thoughts):

KJV-go one way or other.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

END

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Documents

The Concept of the Triune God