Introduction
We believe that God is a trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. These three are one while manifested to men as separate persons.
We believe God is holy, merciful, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and eternal. He is the supreme and sovereign ruler of the universe, creator of all things and the author of our salvation.
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Psalm 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
The Triune Nature of God
We believe that God is a trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. These three are one while manifested to men as separate persons.
The Scriptural Basis for the Trinity
Old Testament References
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Genesis 1:26
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Genesis 11:6–7
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Isaiah 48:16
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Daniel 7:13–14
New Testament References
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Matthew 3:16–17
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Matthew 28:19
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John 1:1, 14
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Romans 1:7
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1 Peter 1:1–2
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1 John 5:7 (Key Verse)
The Explanation of the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity is clearly revealed in Scripture and yet we still find it beyond our capacity to truly understand the Trinity.
However, we would like to offer a brief summary statement which we trust will help you to understand, at the very least, the concept of the doctrine of the Trinity.
“The ONE God exists in three coexistent, coeternal, and coequal persons, who are one in spirit, purpose, and divine nature, yet three in distinctiveness and function.”¹
The Unified Nature of Each Person
Each of the three members of the Trinity are completely equal in their divinity and in their nature as God. Each one possesses the characteristics of the divine; Eternality, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Immutability.
These three are of one mind and one will. Never has one Person of the God-Head made a plan that the others did not agree with.
Everything that God is, is possessed by all three Persons of the Trinity.
The Distinct Works of Each Person
While each person of the Trinity is coequal in nature, they are each distinct in their works/ministries.
By this we mean that there are certain works ascribed to one Person of the Trinity which are not ascribed to the others. (e.g.… The substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.)
The Attributes of God
We believe God is holy, merciful, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and eternal.
Holiness
The Holiness of God in Scripture
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Leviticus 11:44–45
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Leviticus 19:2
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Leviticus 20:7, 26
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1 Peter 1:16
Holiness is the characteristic of being set apart, consecrated, or dedicated.
Although holiness is the characteristic most closely associated with who God is, it does not define Him, rather it is a descriptor of what God is by His very nature.
God is entirely self-sufficient, being in need of no other person or thing, He is able to be completely set apart from all others in perfect consecration to Himself, in all His infinite perfection.
Mercy
Mercy is the characteristic of compassion and pity that protects another from harm, especially when it is within one’s power to punish or harm them.
It has been said that:
“Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, but mercy is not getting what we do deserve.”
Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
The Mercy of God in Scripture
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Genesis 24:27 …The Lord God… who hath not left destitute my master of His mercy and truth.
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Exodus 15:13 …Thou in Thy mercy hath led…
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Exodus 20:6 …shewing mercy unto thousands…
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Exodus 33:19 …will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
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Numbers 14:18 … The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy…
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Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth…
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Psalm 136
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Romans 9:15 …I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy…
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Ephesians 2:4 …But God, who is rich in mercy…
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Titus 3:5 …according to is mercy He saved us…
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Jude 21 …looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Omnipresence
“By the omnipresence of God is meant that God is everywhere present. This attribute is closely connected with the omniscience and omnipotence of God, for if God is everywhere present, He is everywhere active and possesses full knowledge of all that transpires in every place.”²
We Reject Pantheism
We reject the idea that God is present everywhere, therefore, God is in everything and everything is God.
God is present everywhere, and He is active wherever He is present, but that does not mean that everything is God.
“Pantheism emphasizes the omnipresent activity of God but denies His personality.”³
The Omnipresence of God in Scripture
Jeremiah 23:23–24 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
Psalm 139:7 …whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Job 22:12–14 Is not God in the height of heaven…
Zechariah 4:10 …the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Although God is everywhere present, He is not present in all places in the same manner.
For example, He expressly rules from His throne in the heavens, and it is from His throne that his presence goes forth into all the earth. His rulership is absolute in all the universe, but His throne is the seat of His authority.
William Evans gives this summary:
“God the Father is specially manifested in heaven; God the Son has been specially manifested on the earth; God the Spirit is manifested everywhere.”⁴
Omniscience
Omniscience is the attribute of possessing perfect knowledge of all things.
God is the possessor of all knowledge whether past, present, or future. Nothing is hidden from His eyes, and nothing is beyond His comprehension or understanding.
The Omniscience of God in Scripture
Job 37:16 …the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge.
Psalm 147:5 …His understanding is infinite.
Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Since God exists outside of time and space, and is not limited in any way by His creation, He can view the entire history and future of the earth at once and nothing can escape His view.
Omnipotence
The omnipotence of God is the divine attribute of being “all powerful”.
There are two Greek words that are used in reference to the power of God.
Dunamis
This is the power or ability to do.
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God has the power to create everything out of nothing.
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God has the power to move mountains.
Exousia
This is the power or authority to rule.
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God has the power and authority to rule over the entirety of His creation.
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God has power over the angelic realm, including all demons.
Scripture Teaches the Omnipotence of God
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Genesis 17:1
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Psalm 91:1
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Jeremiah 32:17
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Revelation 1:8, 19:6
Colossians 1:16–17 tell us the God is the one who created all things and who hold the universe together.
The Power That Holds Creation Together
“8 positively charged protons closely associated together within the confines of its tiny nucleus with 8 neutrons with no charge. According to the laws of physics, these should attract each other and the whole history of electrical phenomena and electrical equipment have been built on these principles known as Coulomb’s law of electrostatic force and the law of magnetism. What holds the nucleus together? Why doesn’t it fly apart. (D. Lee Chesnut)
In seeking to explain the powerful force that holds protons together within the nucleus, scientists coined the phrase “strong nuclear force,” but have no explanation for why it exists.
Karl K. Darrow, a physicist, comments:
“You grasp what this implies. It implies that all the massive nuclei have no right to be alive at all. Indeed, they should never have been created, and, if created, should have blown up instantly. Yet here they are… Some inflexible inhibition is holding them relentlessly together. The nature of the inhibition is also a secret… one thus far reserved by Nature for herself.”⁵
Eternality (Revelation 1:8)
God exists outside of time and is not subject to time.
“When we speak of the eternality of God, we mean His infinity in relation to time… that he is without beginning or end; that he is free from all succession of time; and that He is the cause of time.”⁶
We often say that God has existed forever or that he is eternal, but even there we tend to think of eternity in terms of never-ending time, but in reality, it is never-beginning, never-ending timelessness.
The Timelessness of God in Scripture
Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
The book of Genesis describes the creative work of God and the beginning of the existence of time.
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“In the beginning” – Creation of Time
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“God created the heavens” – Creation of Space
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“And the earth” – Creation of Matter
The Eternality of God Guarantees the Fulfillment of His Word
Since God is eternal and can never die, his promises can never fail as he will be forever present to keep His Word and fulfill his promises.
Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
The Authority of God
God Is the Omnipotent Potentate
He is unlimited if his power and, in his freedom, to use His power to rule all things.
1 Timothy 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
He is the only true ruler who answers to no one else. All other kings only possess power as God allows them to.
Daniel 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
The name Shaddai (often El Shaddai) is used 48 times in the Hebrew Old Testament to refer to God.
The name El Shaddai means “God Almighty” and identifies God as the all powerful one who possesses all authority both in this world and the world that is to come.
God Is the Supreme and Sovereign Ruler of the Universe
He is the supreme and sovereign ruler of the universe, creator of all things and the author of our salvation.
God is the judge of all the earth and everyone who dwells upon the earth.
God the Father has given all authority to Jesus Christ the Son.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
“Power” in the Greek is exousia which means, “privilege, right, authority, and jurisdiction.”
Summary
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God is the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of everything.
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He is one God, but he has expressed himself in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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His throne is in heaven from which he rules over all things and will judge all who reject his salvation.
PART 5 – THE PERSON OF GOD AND THE TRINITY.docx
Sources
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Doctrine 1, p. 44, Old Paths Baptist College.
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William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Moody Publishers, 1974, “The Doctrine of God,” p. 33.
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William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Moody Publishers, 1974, “The Doctrine of God,” p. 33.
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William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Moody Publishers, 1974, “The Doctrine of God,” p. 34.
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Pastor Simeon Western, sermon entitled “Who Is Jesus Christ?”
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Pastor Ian Western, The Attributes of God, p. 41.