I’m working on publishing a book called, God’s Foundations (working title). I want to submit rough drafts of parts of it on this blog in hopes that some might read and give feedback. So here goes…

God’s Foundations
God & Jesus (Book 1)

At the beginning of our studies, I want us to consider first the very Person we are claiming to worship and follow. Do we worship God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit? Are they 1 Being or Distinct? The answer to all of this is YES. But we need to see what God says on the matter, and why it’s so critical to start our studies here.

God is 1

Amidst Roman “Gods”

Before going any further in this exploration of God, let’s start at a very root level. Namely, how many “Gods” are there?

To Jesus and the Jews of his day, this was not just a theoretical exercise. There was a sort of pantheon of gods in the Roman empire during this time, so it was a bold cultural stance for a Jew to resist the tsunami of Roman gods and stick to only worshipping the God revealed in the Bible (Ligonier Ministries 2025).

Thus, the question of how many true Gods there were at the time of Christ was a hot social issue.

Amidst Other “Gods”

And, of course, the people of God did not only live through the Roman empire, but even before the days of Jesus and Rome they had endured the Grecian, Persian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Egyptian empires as well, all with their assortment of gods.

Yet amid all these competing opinions, the God of the Bible has always been clear: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

This was a statement made by God back in the time of Moses (1,500 years before Christ). And it was repeated by the Jews of Jesus’ day, and beyond to the present day.

Jesus Teaches Only 1 God As Core Belief

What’s more, Jesus Himself uses this Scripture to show the importance of knowing there is only 1 God. So let’s dive into this for ourselves.

Open to Mark 12:28. You’ll notice, first, this is right after some Sadducees (who were Jewish leaders at that time) asked Jesus about the resurrection. They’re asking these sorts of “gotcha” questions, and Jesus keeps giving them the best answers. They just don’t have any good comeback, because Jesus has all the wisdom.

The Most Important Command

So after all this debate, in Mark 12:28, we read:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them [the Jewish leaders and Jesus] disputing with one another, and seeing that he [Jesus] answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?

You see him asking him point blank, “What is the most important thing for us?”

Now, before going further, we all need to see that whatever Jesus answers here is fundamental for us all. He’s asked about THE most important command, so we better pay attention to His answer:

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  (Mark 12:29-31)

Jesus, here, puts these 2 commandments together.

And He’s not making either command up on the spot. As said above, the first command (“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”) is a quotation from something that Moses talks about 1,500 years before Jesus even entered earth and had that conversation.

This is in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and it’s referred to as the “Shema”. This was considered foundational then and still is today for Jews and Christians. It’s a foundational teaching and a core tenet of who God is.

The Beginning of the Command

It begins in Deuteronomy 6:4:

               Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Note that it starts there. This is the most fundamental thing for Judaism, and Jesus picks it up in Mark 12, as well: The Lord our God, the Lord is… how many?… ONE.

Then Deuteronomy continues, saying:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deut. 6:5)

This is the same thing in essence that Jesus quotes in Mark 12. You can see clearly He is quoting from Deuteronomy 6 when He says, “This is the most important commandment.” And it starts with God being 1.

The Beginning of the Command Explained

Now let’s read further the episode in Mark 12:

And the scribe said to him [Jesus], “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he [God] is one, and there is no other besides him.” (Mark 12:32)

So the scribe is saying, “Yes, you’re right in saying God is 1 and there’s no other beside Him.” And he goes further, saying:

“And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:33)

Again, the scribe is essentially repeating back to Jesus what Jesus taught them, and says, “You’re right.” They both start by confirming that God is 1, and that there’s no other God, and that we need to love Him, and God’s not looking for external things as much as He’s looking for us to love Him with our whole being.

Then note Jesus’ response:

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34)

Notice that Jesus saw that this man answered “wisely.” That’s the Bible saying that Jesus was affirming this man’s answer. He saw the man’s answer as the right answer, a good answer.

And what the man said is that, “God is one, and there is no other besides him,” (Mark 12:32). Such an answer is a good and wise answer to Jesus. In fact, this answer, as we saw, began with what Jesus said, which actually began in Deuteronomy 6: “Hear o Israel…the Lord is one.”

The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity

This answer was also foundational in Deuteronomy 6 to basic Christianity and even before that to basic Judaism. The Lord is 1. There is only 1 God. And Jesus, in Mark 12, calls this the beginning of the greatest commandment of all: that there’s only 1 God.

So we see this repeated: Deuteronomy 6 says it; Jesus says it; and the man repeats it. And just to be crystal clear, the man says himself, “God is 1 and there’s no other beside him.” That’s what it means. And Jesus affirms this, saying, essentially, “Yes that’s exactly what it means. You’re wise in what you’re saying. This is right.”

So we see very clearly there is only 1 God. This is clearly affirmed here. And that according to Jesus this is part of the greatest commandment. This is part of the most foundational thing about who God is and what we should know about how to serve Him: that there’s only 1 God.

Jesus Affirms This Elsewhere

Of course, Mark 12 is not the only place Jesus affirms God as 1. You’ll note, for instance, in John 17:3 that Jesus references Him as, “the only true God”.

The Early Church Agrees

Before looking elsewhere, it’s worth pausing to consider the weight that Jesus’ words should have over our life. As we’ll see in the next part of this teaching, Jesus is God in the flesh, so His teachings should hold the utmost authority for every Christian.

Further, we should expect His earliest followers to agree with Him that:

  1. There is only 1 God.
  2. This is of foundational importance to know.

And this is exactly what we find.

James Teaches God is 1

For instance, Jesus’ brother (James) writes by the Holy Spirit:

You [the Christians he’s writing to] believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

(James 2:19)

Here he is in the middle of chastising the early church for believing the right things about God while living in sin. James says, in essence, you accurately believe core things about God, but you are wrong in how you’re living.

And you can see in verse 19 that one of the core beliefs they got right is that “God is one.” This was core to James and core to everyone he writes to. And James says clearly, “you do well,” to believe that. Because it is indispensable to a true faith in God.

In fact, as James quickly points out, “Even the demons believe [that God is 1]—and shudder!” It’s so foundational and such a clear teaching about God being 1 that even the demons know this (and it gives them fear to know it).

Paul Teaches God is 1

Beyond James, we also see the early church leader Paul affirm this in multiple places (through the Holy Spirit):

  • Romans 3:30 – “God is one”.
  • 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 – “there is no God but one”.
    Even though someone or something might also be called a, “god,” there’s only 1 true God. In fact, some places in the Old Testament reference other “gods”. When that happens, it’s condescending and mocking at times. It’s meant to show what Paul says here: none of those so-called “gods” are truly God.
  • Galatians 3:20 – “God is one.”
    In context here, his argument hinges on there being only 1 God.
  • 1 Timothy 2:5 – “There is one God”.

Jews & Christians Concur: There’s Only 1 God

Going through all this, I hope you see that the concept of there being only 1 God is fundamental and foundational to Jews (e.g. Deuteronomy 6) and Christians. In the time of the early church, it was assumed that Jewish and Christian audiences would be fiercely monotheistic[1].

Even sources outside the Bible show that Romans had to deal with Jews differently at that period because they were so fiercely monotheistic (Ligonier Ministries 2025). And the New Testament church followed suit by also tightly holding onto the view that God is 1.

This is why in one sense you won’t find chapter after chapter expounding this, because it’s so basic and assumed: “Even demons believe [it]” (James 2:19).

Thus, we must resolutely reject it when someone comes to us trying to teach otherwise, because the New Testament is so adamant on this point.

God the Father

So far, we’ve seen that Jesus and the early church (as well as the Jews of Jesus’ day) undeniably regarded God as 1. True Christians must all be monotheistic at the core.

So who is this 1 God that Jesus and others reference?

Well, He’s the same One we pray to, and many will remember that Jesus teaches us a sort of template for our own prayers that begins, “Our Father…” (Matthew 6). So right there we can see that this God is called “our Father.”

He is our Father, since He created us and adopts us into His family when we come to Him (more on that in a later lesson). But He is also Jesus’ father. You can see, for instance, when Jesus is praying alone in John 17, that He begins his prayer saying, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1).

If God is the Father, then Jesus is the Son here. Another familiar passage in John shows us as much: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Or, for those who know it from the King James Version: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16, KJV).

I might mention here the NetBible commentary on the words “only begotten,” since that can be confusing to some people regarding how God could have a begotten Son:

Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12; 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). (NetBible.org, https://netbible.org/bible/John+3, Note 37, accessed 9/19/25)

So in all this, we see that God is Father to Jesus in a unique way. But He is clearly God and clearly Father. We can put these 2 things together and call Him what the church has called Him for centuries: God the Father.

God the Father is Assumed

Now, mostly you won’t read “The Father” when you read about God. Instead, He’s simply referred to as “God.” And the Bible is full of references to this God.

Starting from Genesis 1:1 – the very first verse in the Bible – we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Notice, there is no introduction for God. He just is! That’s the point. “In the beginning God…” He was there; He always has been there; He is God.

So this God you see throughout the Old Testament is the same One Jesus is praying to when He calls Him “Father.” And this is the Lord God referenced in Deuteronomy 6 and Mark 12, when Jesus says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Mark 12:29).

Jesus is God’s Unique Son

So far you’re probably tracking. If anything, you might think I’ve been a bit redundant or overly thorough because it seems pretty basic. But now that we’ve established:

  1. God is 1, and
  2. God the Father = God

We’re going to consider a bit more who Jesus is.

Yes, as we said above, Jesus is clearly the Son of God the Father. In some sense the name “Father,” sort of gives away that Jesus must be His Son. And, also shown above, He is a special, unique Son of God.

In Some Sense, All Humans are God’s Children

On a different level, all of humanity can be considered God’s, “offspring,” (Acts 17:28), as Paul says this to a non-Christian audience. Or, similarly, Adam in Luke 3:38 is also called, “the son of God,” simply because He was made directly by God. Fair enough; in this way all of humanity is a child of God, simply because we are made according to His image (see Gen. 1:28).

Christians Are Covenantal Children of God

But there is also a special covenant sonship reserved only for Christians (that is, those who believe and follow Jesus). By “covenant sonship” I mean it is a pledge, position, and confirmed relationship that Christians have with God and no one else has this position. We’ll talk about this more later, but for now you can see such sentiments laid out in John 1:12-13:

“To all who did receive Him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Here the reference is to all those who have been born spiritually. Jesus calls this being “born again,” (John 3:3), or “born of the Spirit,” (John 3:6). This right and privilege of being a child in God’s covenant is reserved, as is clear, to those who believe in Jesus. To be in His covenant, you are pledged to Him and He to you in a way unique from non-Christians. We will discuss this more later, but for now just know that there is a special, covenantal status of being a child of God reserved only for Christians.

Jesus is the Unique Son of God

But further still—and back to the point at hand—Jesus is the unique Son of God. This is why immediately after God says all believers, “become children of God,” (John 1:12), He follows this up by saying, “the Word [a name for Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us…the only Son from the Father,” (John 1:14, emphasis added).

Did you catch that? After saying all believers are, “children of God,” (John 1:12) we are told that Jesus is, “the only Son from the Father,” (John 1:14). There is a clear contrast being made here. Jesus is a unique Son of God, unlike any believer, and even more unlike all of humanity.

And John 1:14 is not alone in calling Jesus the “only Son” of God (or, “only begotten Son,” as it says in some translations, see note above). We can see this repeated elsewhere:

  • John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
  • John 3:18: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
  • 1 John 4:9: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

In all this it is abundantly clear that Jesus stands unique as God’s only son. Yes, we all can be adopted as sons of God upon belief in Jesus, but we can never attain to equal status as God’s only, unique, begotten Son. That is forever reserved for Jesus alone.

Thus, if you’re following so far, it might seem initially that we have a few different classes of of people:

  • God the Father
    • Jesus, God’s Son
    • Believers
    • All humans

But the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, God’s Son, is even tighter than this. Yes, they are distinct from each other, but let’s see how John describes Jesus elsewhere (and note that John is the only author of the Bible to call Jesus God’s only Son, so we should pay especially close attention to how He clarifies and qualifies what He means by this statement).

Jesus is God

John 1:1-3

If you go to the very beginning of John’s gospel, you see that He establishes something right away that is critical in understanding Jesus. John 1:1-3 reads:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

You have here Someone called, the “Word.” And if you remember from John 1:14, the Word is certainly a reference to Jesus: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…the only Son from the Father.”

But in John 1:1, he doesn’t call Jesus “God’s Son,” or even, “God’s only Son.” He has the audacity to say, “the Word was God.” Full stop.

How many Gods are there? I hope you remember how adamant Jesus and others were to insist there is only 1 God. Yet here Jesus is none other than God Himself.

You’ll notice, in fact, that 2 things are said of Jesus right away in John 1:1: “the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So we see two truths simultaneously:

  1. Jesus is distinct from God
  2. Jesus is God

Further still, “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him…” (John 1:2-3).

You might remember that the entire Bible begins with these 4 words: “In the beginning God” (Gen. 1:1). That is, God (the Father) had no introduction or beginning of days. He always was (and always will be).

Well, Jesus is introduced in remarkably the same way in John’s gospel: “He was in the beginning with God,” (John 1:2) and He was creating all things (John 1:3ff). He likewise has no beginning. As God the Father always was, so God the Son (Jesus) always was. As God the Father is God, so God the Son is God.

A Logic Problem

Understandably, it might feel logically impossible to affirm these 3 things at once:

  1. God is 1
  2. God the Father = God
  3. Jesus = God

After all, kindergarten math would tell you that 1 + 1 = 2 (though I might interject that 1 * 1 = 1, but that doesn’t dispel all our difficulties at once either).

That said, I think there are a lot of ways to help us see (and even be changed by) the truth of all this.

Mark 12: One Lord

For starters, briefly turn back with me to Mark 12:29, the passage where Jesus so clearly affirmed that God is 1.

By way of review, in Mark 12:29 Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4, saying, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

Simple enough, right?

  1. The Lord is God
  2. The Lord is 1

And He’s almost assuredly referencing God the Father as the Lord here. I think we can all agree on that, right?

Mark 12: Two Lords

But look now at what He says next in Mark. Immediately following the Mark 12:28-34 conversation in which He declares The Lord God is 1:

“And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,

“’The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’”

David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?’” (Mark 12:35-37)

This is such a remarkable point, let’s consider it carefully point-by-point:

  • First, the Jews were (rightfully) expecting the Christ (i.e. the Messiah, the Chosen Deliverer of God’s people) to be a descendant of David. This is prophesied in 2 Samuel 7:13, and declared right at the beginning of the New Testament: “Jesus Christ, the son of David,” (Matt. 1:1, see also Romans 1:3; etc.)
  • But Jesus is challenging them to consider that this doesn’t mean He is merely a human descended from David. Otherwise, David might be seen in some way superior to the Messiah, as if the Messiah was a “David Junior,” so to speak. Instead, Jesus uses a Messianic Psalm written by David (Psalm 110:1), to show that David recognized the Messiah to be superior to David. At the beginning of this Psalm, there are 2 people called, “Lord”. To refresh our memory, Jesus quotes, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand…’” (Mark 12:36 quoting Psalm 110:1).  Thus you have, (1) “The Lord”, and (2) “my Lord”. “The Lord” is clearly God, and “my Lord” is the Messiah, referred to as David’s Lord.
    • As an important aside, elsewhere in Scripture, the Messiah is prophesied to be Israel’s, “Shepherd,” who is also called, “David,” (see Ezekiel 34:23). This can’t mean the actual David would be Messiah, since Ezekiel wrote hundreds of years after David died. Instead, it was a shorthand way of saying the descendant of David. But this Messiah is not only a descendant of David according to Ezekiel 34, He is also explicitly called, “the Shepherd of my sheep,” and, “the Lord GOD,” (Ezekiel 34:15). Listen to how clear this is, “they [Israel] shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people…you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God,” (Ezek. 34:30-31). Unmistakably, this is a prophecy showing that Messiah = David’s descendant = Israel’s Shepherd = God Himself. And if you look at John 10, Jesus says in the clearest terms that, “I am the good shepherd,” (John 10:14). Read for yourself Ezekiel 34 side-by-side with John 10, and you’ll see many indicators that Jesus saw Himself to be the prophesied Shepherd of Ezekiel 34. This means, germane to the point at hand, Jesus saw Himself as both (1) David’s descendant, and (2) God Himself. Hallelujah and glory to God! More on this later.
  • Back to the point at hand, in Mark 12:35-37, Jesus points out that The Christ/Messiah was greater than David. His argument hinged on 1 word: “Lord”. That is, the Christ = David’s Lord. And he who is called Lord is greater than he who calls him Lord. Thus, how could a father (in this case, David) call his son (the Messiah), “Lord,” unless the Messiah is superior to David?
  • He makes this argument based on Scripture, and it carries a level of force with his crowd.

Now, if you can recall, this argument is being made in Mark 12:35-37, immediately after Jesus says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one,” (Mark 12:29). So even if you didn’t totally follow Jesus’ arguments in Mark 12:35-37 line-by-line, I hope you can still appreciate that at the core of Jesus’ point in Mark 12:36 is that Messiah = David’s Lord.

In fact, not only does Jesus assert Messiah = Lord, but He shows via Scripture that David said there are 2 Lords: “The Lord [i.e. God the Father] said to my Lord [i.e. the Christ, who is God the Son].”

Mark 12: One Lord or Two Lords?

Thus, remarkably, Jesus quickly goes from saying, “the Lord is one,” (Mark 12:29), to asserting 2 Lords: “The Lord said to my Lord” (Mark 12:36).

Where Mark 12:29 sees only 1 Lord, Mark 12:36 shows us 2 Lord’s.

Mark 12 & John 1: Two Called God

Even more, where Mark 12:29 is adamant that there is 1 God, John 1:1 shows 2 who are called, “God”: God (the Father) and the Word (God the Son).

Hebrews 1: Jesus is God and Lord

And these are by no means the only passages asserting such things about Jesus.

For instance, turn with me now to Hebrews 1. In this passage, the writer is asserting firmly that Jesus is greater than angels. At this point, the reasons he’s making such an argument will have to wait for another time. But regardless his reasons, it is clear that Hebrews 1 is trying to lay out reasons Jesus is greater than angels.

In doing this, he hits at the core of Jesus’ nature. He’s quoting different Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in Jesus and shows who Jesus really is based on all these Scriptures.

You’ll see, for instance, that in Hebrews 1:13 he quotes Psalm 110:1 as relevant to Jesus, which is the same passage we’ve been considering in Mark 12:36, saying that God tells Jesus, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Hebrews 1:13 quoting Psalm 110:1).

You’ll recall that the full passage is: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’” (Mark 12:36 quoting Psalm 110:1). So the writer of Hebrews clearly affirms Jesus as “My Lord” that “The Lord” is talking to, when you look at the full context of the passage.

Hebrews 1: Jesus is Lord

But he goes on further. In Hebrews 1:8-12 we read: “But of the Son [i.e. Jesus] he [God the Father] says… “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning…”

Here, Hebrews 1:10 is quoting from Psalm 102:25-27 and very plainly sees that as referring to Jesus. Once again, He is the Lord. And even further, He’s the one who created everything at the beginning. Sound familiar? Remember John 1:1-3?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him…” (John 1:1-3)

So far, hopefully you’re seeing all the pieces coming together. Jesus = Lord = God = Creator.

But also, look further at what we read about the Person of Psalm 102:25-27, by opening up the entirety of that Psalm. Not only is He the Lord who created everything at the beginning, but He’s also:

  • “JEHOVAH,” the Hebrew title for God – see Psalm 102:1, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 24
  • God who is to be worshipped: “Worship the LORD [Hebrew, JEHOVAH],” (Psalm 102:22). This is something reserved for God alone (see Acts 10:26; Rev. 19:10)

Psalm 102 is very clearly a reference to “The Lord our God” who is 1 of Mark 12:29 and Deuteronomy 6:4. And yet right here in Hebrews 1:10-12, the author says this refers to “the Son,” (i.e. Jesus, see Hebrews 1:8).

Hebrews 1: Jesus is God

And even before this, in case there was doubt left, the author of Hebrews refers to Jesus, “the Son,” as “God” Himself:

“Of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you…’” (Hebrews 1:8-9).

This time, He sees Jesus as the King prophesied about in Psalm 45. But he’s not just any king. If he were a mere human king, the author of Hebrews wouldn’t be able to make his point that Jesus is, “much superior to angels,” (Hebrews 1:4). No, this king is ALSO called “God.” Read again Hebrews 1:8: “Of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God…’” Just like John’s gospel, here Hebrews can say that Jesus is God’s Son, yet also, “God.”

Jesus is God and Lord

Thus, so far we’ve seen that:

  • John 1:1 calls Jesus, “God”
  • Mark 12:36 calls Him, “Lord”
  • Hebrews 1:8 calls Jesus, “God”
  • Hebrews 1:10 calls Him, “Lord” (and sees Him as Jehovah who is worshipped in Psalm 102)

If we only consider these passages (though there’s many more that could be added), we already see that somehow, within “The Lord our God” who is 1 of Mark 12:29 (quoting Deuteronomy 6:4) there is room for God the Father AND Jesus (God the Son). I know that might be tough to swallow for some people. At the least, it probably doesn’t feel logical. But that doesn’t mean it’s an outright contradiction.

Light is a Wave and Particle

Consider, for instance, the phenomenon of light. This has been something that perplexes scientists to this day. But somehow it can be proved that light is a particle, and yet light is also a wave. Last I’ve heard, this is something that seems irreconcilable and contradictory to scientists. Yet they just have to throw their hands in the air and say both things are true. Even if it can’t be explained how they are true, they still must conceded that these things are true.

1 Corinthians 8: One Lord God = God the Father + God the Son

And before we leave this point, let’s look at 1 more passage that saliently testifies to the same truth.

Open now to 1 Corinthians 8:4-6. You can see at the beginning of the passage that the matter at hand deals with food offered to idols. Here, Paul writes, “We know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that there is no God but one.’” (1 Cor. 8:4). True enough. There’s only 1 God (as has affirmed above), and idols are not Him.

Paul goes on,

“For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist,” (1 Cor. 8:5-6a).

Now I want to stop right there for just a brief moment. What he’s about to say next is incredibly important. But so far, consider his point. There is only 1 God, the maker of the universe. This agrees with Genesis 1:1 and Deuteronomy 6:4. In fact, he seems to have Deuteronomy 6:4 in mind, as he starts the passage by saying, “there is no God but one,” (1 Cor. 8:4, a direct quote from Deut. 6:4). So he’s showing what we’ve said already: there is only 1 God, and all these other so-called “gods” and “lords” don’t match the “The LORD our God,” who, “is one,” (Deut. 6:4). Paul could’ve stopped right there, but he doesn’t. May we have ears to hear what he says next (I’ll rewind just a bit to get the full context):

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Cor. 8:6, emphasis added)

Do you see what Paul has done here? He is clearly referencing Deut. 6:4, which declares 1 LORD God, yet He is perfectly comfortable seeing Jesus as fitting into that passage.

Furthermore, He puts them (God the Father and God the Son) together as the unique creator (just as other passages above did, when insisting that Jesus is Lord and God).

And even more, remember, he is talking here of worshipping false idols and “so-called ‘gods’ and ‘lords’” (1 Cor. 8:5). Paul is clear that you should not worship anyone different than the 1 Lord God. And he’s also clear that God the Father and God the Son are that 1 Lord God.

He even goes on later in the same passage to fairly casually say, “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents.” (1 Cor. 10:9). If you’re reading this quickly you might miss the seismic claim he just made.

Here he is clearly referencing the Israelites’ journey in the desert, and their subsequent sins during that time (see 1 Cor. 10:1-13). And then in 1 Cor. 10:9, he’s referencing the episode in Numbers 21:4-9 where the Israelites, “became impatient…and the people spoke against God,” (Num. 21:4-5).

In plain sight, the Israelites put God to the test, and so, “the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people,” (Num. 21:6). But Paul doesn’t quite say that in 1 Cor. 10:9, does he? Let’s read it again, with emphasis now: “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents.” (1 Cor. 10:9). Yet again, Paul effortlessly transposes Christ into the place of God. This is all incredibly consistent with what we’ve covered so far.

Thus, we’ve seen so far that passages such as John 1:1; Mark 12:36; Hebrews 1:8-12; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; and 1 Cor. 10:9 see Jesus as:

  • Distinct from God the Father (e.g. “with God,” “the only Son from the Father,” John 1:1a, 14)
  • Yet also God Himself (e.g. “the Word was God,” John 1:1b)

But if we’d have eyes to see, this shouldn’t surprise us terribly. Even before Jesus enters history in the virgin’s womb (Matthew 1; Luke 1), we can see various hints of a Person and Messiah who is:

  • Distinct from God
  • Yet simultaneously is God

For instance, from the very start of the Bible, God’s image is seen as 1 and yet plural.

In Genesis 1, of course, we see a picture of God as Creator. And, as we’ve seen above, the marks of Creator-God are shared by Jesus as well (e.g. John 1:1; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:10-12).

But let’s zoom in a little more on this Creator-God, and consider the only aspect of His creation that was made in His image: male and female. Let’s read the account directly here:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:26-27)

You’ll notice 2 things right away:

  1. God is referred to in both plural (“us,” “our,” Gen. 1:26) and singular (“his,” “he,” Gen. 1:27) terms.
  2. God’s image (i.e. man and woman) is seen as both plural (“them”, Gen. 1:27b) and singular (“man,” “him,” Gen. 1:27a).

This same phenomenon is seen in perhaps starker terms in Genesis 5:1-2:

“When God created man [singular], he made him [singular] in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them [plural], and he blessed them [plural] and named them [plural] Man [singular] when they [plural] were created.”

Here we see again a virtually effortless gliding between singular and plural terms to describe the very beings created in God’s image.

This is all the more stark when we look at the actual creation account of man and woman in Genesis 2. There we are told plainly that 2 persons (Adam and Eve) share 1 substance:

“The rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman…Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:22-25)

Please hear me out here. I’m not saying that this expresses God the Father and God the Son perfectly. But instead, at the least, we should pay attention to the creation of man and woman as distinctly made in God’s image (unlike the rest of creation). And in considering the image of God, it is noteworthy that God Himself is described in singular AND plural terms, and that image He creates is described and seen in singular AND plural terms.

And further, consistent with what we’ve seen concerning Jesus thus far, we can clearly see 2 facts emerge at the creation of man and woman:

  1. They share the same substance.
  2. They are distinct persons.

This at the least is something to consider when thinking of this God we serve, and His unique image set on humanity, from the very first chapter of the Bible.

Even more, in the first words of the Bible, as quoted above, we read: “In the beginning God…” But that Hebrew word for, “God,” is Elohim. It’s actually a plural word that yet describes a singular God. Perhaps it could be compared to us saying multiple-in-one God. Which is a bit clunky, I admit, but it’s another one of those subtle yet peculiar truths that can help us get to the heart of this God revealed in the Bible. It can, perhaps, help us better appreciate the possibility that 1 God can exist in multiple Persons: both God the Father AND God the Son.

The Coming Messiah = God

While the references at the beginning of the Bible may seem a bit veiled and hidden to 1 God existing as God the Father and God the Son, there are clearer references we can glean as we read on. Particularly, consider 2 messianic prophecies (that is, 2 places in the Old Testament where a Messiah [which literally means, “Anointed One”, and refers to God’s special anointed king] is predicted to come.

Ezekiel 34: Messiah is Son of David, Shepherd, God

One of these places was already mentioned earlier as an aside, that is Ezekiel 34. In this passage, we clearly have a future Messiah predicted. The prophecy can be paraphrased like this:

  • Ezekiel 34:1-10: There are currently (i.e. in the time of Ezekiel) wicked “shepherds” (i.e. leaders) in Israel.
  • Ezekiel 34:11-16: To counteract this, God says He will come to them in the future directly as a Good Shepherd: “I, I myself will search for my sheep…As a shepherd seeks out his flock…I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.”
  • Ezekiel 34:17-24: Then, God says that the way He will come will be through the Son of David, who will be the Good Shepherd: “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them…and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.”
  • Ezekiel 34:25-31: God ends by reiterating that He is their true shepherd to come: “You are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD.”

Hopefully that doesn’t make you dizzy trying to decide whether God Himself is coming as their Shepherd or whether God is anointing someone distinct from Himself (a son of David) to be their Shepherd. The point by now is that both can be true simultaneously. Yes, someone distinct from God the Father is coming as Messiah (i.e. Jesus). And yes it is God incarnate. That is, Jesus = God the Son.

It is all the more striking to consider that Jesus pays direct allusion to Ezekiel 34 in his teaching in John 10. There He says, among other things, “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:14).

Isaiah 9: Jesus is “Mighty God”

Another passage to consider is Isaiah 6-9, especially the climactic statements of Isaiah 9:6-7.

This passage, which is quoted in many Christmas events, tells us of a future king that will be born of a virgin, and yet will be God. First, it shows this Messiah as being born of a virgin: “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). Before going on, we already have something striking here. The name, “Immanuel,” literally means, “God with us.”

See Matthew talking about this very passage after Jesus was born of a virgin: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:22-23).

So already in Isaiah 7, we have reference to a “God with us” (Hebrew, Immanuel) being born of a virgin. But wait, there’s more.

A couple chapters later, Isaiah gives more details about this Messianic King:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” (Isaiah 9:6-7, emphasis added)

The picture here elaborates on the birth foretold in Isaiah 7:14. There we are only told 1 word about how He shares God’s nature, i.e. “Immanuel.” By God’s help, Matthew 1:22-23 does come along and helps us understand that this means “God is with us”. He is, as John says elsewhere, “God,” who, “became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:1, 14). Matthew (1:23) and John (1:1, 14) and Isaiah (7:14) are all saying the same thing: Jesus is God Incarnate (i.e. God in the flesh).

But then Isaiah 9 comes along to give us crystal clear focus on what this means. Where Isaiah 7:14 calls this name of this coming King, “Immanuel,” Isaiah 9:6 says, “His name shall be called…Mighty God, Everlasting Father.” There is no hesitation or ambiguity here. Messiah to come is Mighty God in the flesh. He is even here called, “Everlasting Father.” Not that He is God the Father, but that He shares the nature of God the Father. Again, it’s a bit like our language breaks down in describing how God the Son and God the Father both fit into this 1 God of Deuteronomy 6:4. Yes, He’s distinct from the Everlasting Father, yet He shares his nature in such a way that He can fairly be called, “Everlasting Father.” What a beautiful mystery! Don’t try to figure it all out. Fall down and worship this God and ask for increasing understanding of Him.

Malachi Predicts Jesus Coming as God

In yet another place in the Old Testament (again, this is all before Jesus even enters the scene of the virgin birth in Matthew 1 and Luke 1), we see fairly clearly that the Messiah will be God in the flesh. This time, let’s flip to Malachi 3-4.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament in most Christian Bibles. And the end of Malachi speaks of future events when God will come. Specifically, God tells us through Malachi (3:1): “I [God] send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.”

The messenger to come before God is John the Baptist. This is made abundantly clear at the beginning of Mark’s gospel: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written…’Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way.’…John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness…” (Mark 1:1-4). So here, John the Baptist is the messenger who comes on the scene before Jesus. And Mark tells us that this is what Malachi 3:1 is predicting.

Yet in Malachi 3:1, it doesn’t say the messenger [i.e. John the Baptist] comes before the Messiah [i.e. Jesus]. Instead, God says, “I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” Is it Jesus or God? I think you can anticipate the answer by now: Yes—Jesus is God!

Even later in Malachi, we read another (similar) prophecy: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers,” (Mal. 4:5-6). This is, in fact, the very end of the Old Testament in most Christian Bibles.

This is a similar word to Malachi 3:1. But instead of calling him a “messenger to come,” we are told that he would be someone like Eljiah (a prophet who lived hundreds of years before Malachi prophesied). These very words again are spoken of John the Baptist when he enters the scene, preparing the way for Jesus (see Luke 1:16-17). Yet here again in Malachi 4:5-6, we see that the messenger prepares the way for the day that “the LORD comes.” Thus we see another instance where Jesus (i.e. the one who John the Baptist prepared the way for) is, “the LORD,” (Mal. 4:5).

The Angel of the LORD

By now I hope you can see that there is not total silence on God’s part concerning Jesus coming as Messiah and being God Himself (yet also distinct from God the Father). One more example I don’t want to spend a lot of time on is a mysterious figure in the Old Testament called “The Angel of the LORD” (see for instance Genesis 16:7; 22:11; Exodus 3:2; etc.).

We are not told much about Him, and so I don’t want to surmise too much, but at the least we can see 2 things about Him:

  1. He is God (Judges 6:22, where He is called “Sovereign LORD”)
  2. Yet He is a tangible, almost human embodiment of God, distinct from God the Father (Zech. 1:12, where He talks to, “LORD Almighty,”)

Again, there is enough mystery here that I don’t think we can say with any certainty that this is God incarnate, or this is Christ before He comes to earth.

Instead, what I think we all can agree on, is that He seems to be equated with God in some measure, and yet distinct from God in some measure. And at the least this would show it’s not as much a stretch to see Jesus as the Ultimate One who:

  1. Is God
  2. Is distinct from God.

Thus, I hope you can see that the Old Testament does show indications that Jesus (the Messiah) will be God, and that God can be 1 and yet exist in both God the Father and God the Son.

And all of this serves a complement to what we showed earlier in the clearer New Testament teachings on this topic.

The Virgin Birth

Immediately upon entering the New Testament, then, we see John the Baptist as a messenger before Jesus, and Jesus as born of a virgin (Matthew 1; Mark 1; Luke 1). As we saw earlier, this fits precisely the prophecies of:

  1. A messenger preceding the coming of God (Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6)
  2. God in the flesh being born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7)

But not only does this miraculous event match the prophecies, and thus show us Jesus = God. The event itself, aside from the record of prophetic Scriptures, screams in certain ways that this Pre-Existent God entered the scene, does it not?

Yes, Jesus had to come through Mary, because He took on human flesh. We will touch on this soon enough. But He had no human father. God Himself entered Mary. Not in a sexual way, but just as a matter of course. God who is eternal, entered a human, and Jesus as God-Man, was born in the flesh. Why all this? Simply because Jesus is not mere human. He is, in fact, pre-existent. And He is, in fact, divine. The virgin birth is yet another evidence that Jesus is God.

Why is it Critical to know Jesus is God?

At this point, you may feel I’m bludgeoning the issue a bit. Hopefully it is so startingly clear that God is 1, God the Father is God, and God the Son is God, that you might think I’ve gotten a bit long-winded on the topic. But the reason I’ve taken such time to lay all this out is because:

  1. It is attacked and challenged a fair amount.
  2. Jesus said it is a matter of life and death to know this.

Regarding point 2, turn with me now to John 8.

In some ways, I’ve saved one of the clearest references to Jesus as God for last, here. If you read John 8 all the way through, you’ll see soon enough that Jesus saw Himself as God.

Jesus and the Jews are arguing here over (among other things) Jesus’ identity. And Jesus says the stakes could not be higher: “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).

Jesus here tells them that if they get His identity wrong, they will die in their sins. His identity is bound up with eternal life. So, how must they identify Him?

He says, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). That’s not bad English. That’s Jesus claiming for Himself a title of God: The “I AM” (see Exodus 3:14). He’s claiming He is God and thus existed 2,000 years earlier (before Abraham was born). “So they picked up stones to throw at him” (John 8:59). In Jewish law, blasphemy (such as calling yourself God if you aren’t God) was punishable by stoning (Leviticus 24:16). Thus, they rightly understood Jesus’ claim that He is equal to God, but they wrongly thought it was false. And unless they repented, they would tragically die in their sins because of this error.

See, recognizing Jesus as God is not an interesting mental exercise. It is life and death. It is quite sadly why our Mormon and Jehovah Witness friends, for instance, if they accept the main teachings of their founders, are bound for hell unless they repent about Jesus.

Say it again: Jesus is God

Believe it or not, more Scriptures could be added in support of Jesus being God, and certainly others have presented far better defenses for this than I have here. At this time, I only present to you this final sample of other Scriptures:

  • John 10:30: “’I [Jesus] and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.” Jesus asserts that He and the Father are indeed one, and the Jews again charge him with blasphemy because He equates Himself with God.
  • John 20:28 – where after Jesus resurrects, Thomas calls him, “My Lord and my God”
  • Romans 9:5 – Jesus is referred to as, “God over all”
  • Philippians 2:6-11 – where Jesus is seen as having “equality with God,” and where every knee bows to Him, something reserved for God alone (see Isaiah 45:22-23).
  • Jude 1:5 – where Jesus is called the God of Exodus who, “saved a people out of the land of Egypt”
  • Revelation 1:8; 22:13 – Jesus calls Himself “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,” (Rev. 22:13), which is true of God Alone (see Rev. 1:8)
  • Jesus does things reserved for God alone: forgives sins (Mark 2:5), accepts worship (Luke 24:52)

Recap

We’ve been through a lot here, but hopefully you’re tracking. Essentially, we’ve shown how:

  • God is 1
  • God the Father is God
  • God the Son (Jesus) is God
  • It is essential and eternally-significant to know these things.

Jesus is Also Fully Human

Before leaving this subject altogether, it is also of eternal significance to recognize Jesus is fully human.

As the writer of Hebrews makes clear Jesus is God (see note on Hebrews 1, above), so he also makes clear that Jesus must be human in order to empathize and save you from your sins (see Hebrews 2:5-18).

In fact, according to 1 John 4:1-3, claiming Jesus is not-fully-human comes from “the spirit of the antichrist”. Specifically, it seems like some people had this view of Jesus that He only appeared to be human, but was not in fact human. This was called “Gnostic” teaching, and it was and is adamantly condemned.

Instead, we can see in the gospels the story of Jesus on the earth as fully human. There he was:

  • Conceived – Luke 1:30–35 (angel Gabriel tells Mary the Holy Spirit will come upon her).
  • Born as an infant – Luke 2:6–7 (Mary gives birth in Bethlehem).
  • Circumcised – Luke 2:21 (Jesus circumcised on the eighth day).
  • Dedicated when He was 40 days old – Luke 2:22–24 (presentation in the temple).
  • Carried by His parents to Egypt – Matthew 2:13–15 (Joseph warned in a dream, they flee to Egypt).
  • Questioned the teachers when He was 12 – Luke 2:41–47 (Jesus in the temple).
  • Began His public ministry when He was about 30 – Luke 3:21–23 (baptism, beginning of ministry).
  • Got very tired – John 4:6 (Jesus weary from the journey sat by the well).
  • Ate, drank, slept – Matthew 11:19 (Son of Man came eating and drinking); Luke 24:41–43 (ate fish after resurrection); Matthew 8:24 (asleep in the boat).
  • Had a will that had to be submitted to God the Father – John 6:38 (“I have come not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me”); Luke 22:41–42 (Gethsemane prayer: “Not my will, but Yours be done”).
  • Died a painful and awful death – Matthew 27:26–50; Mark 15:15–37; Luke 23:33–46; John 19:16–30 (the crucifixion).
  • Resurrected – Matthew 28:5–6; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:5–7; John 20:1–18.

In all this, Jesus is clearly seen as given over to the limitations of humanity, while yet being fully God.

I think it’s impossible to see exactly how His 2 natures co-existed with just human logic. One scripture that tells me a bit of the story is Philippians 2:6-11, which says:

“Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

As mentioned above, this passage is another evidence that Jesus is God, where we see that Jesus, “was in the form of God,” (Phil. 2:6) and later, “is Lord,” so that, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,” (Phil. 2:10-11). This very concept of all knees bowing to Jesus is something Isaiah 45:22-23 says is only true of God, “and there is no other.”

But consider this passage in light of what it says of Jesus’ humanity. Here we see that there was some sort of humbling Jesus did in which the God of the universe fit into a human body and lived the life of a humbled, suffering, crucified man. It is clear there was a humbling at some level. Anyone considering this situation must acknowledge that Jesus laid aside some of His “power” for a short time, if I may call it that. This didn’t mean He was any less than God. It just meant that He didn’t function in all the ways God might function, but a human humbling was part of his lot on earth.

Again, it’s not that we must know how all this works. I don’t think we can know how all this works. And I apologize where I already over-stepped and said things beyond what we know.

At this point, I only want us to acknowledge that very firm truths that Jesus:

  • is fully God
  • is fully Man

I add the word, “fully,” because it’s not as if He was 50% God and 50% Man. Somehow, in some way, he always maintained his humanity and always maintained his divinity.

But I would also add that affirming Jesus as God is of eternal consequence (John 8:24) and affirming Jesus as human is of eternal consequence (1 John 4:1-3). While understanding how they go together is certainly beyond us.

In this way, it is similar to understanding how God is 1, and yet God the Father is God and God the Son is God. There is a mystery at some level. I’d say it’s a paradox, but not a contradiction. A paradox means it looks on the surface contradictory, but in reality is consistent. Contradiction means there’s no consistency.

Light being both a wave and particle is a paradox. It’s truth as both, but knowing how it’s true is beyond us at this time.

Similarly, Jesus being fully God and fully Man is a paradox. God being 1 and yet existing as God the Father and God the Son is another paradox. Let’s be content to strongly affirm these things as true while being humble to know we can’t fully explain them.

Along these lines, I think often of Deuteronomy 29:29:

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

There are 2 types of things here:

  1. Secret things that are only for God to know
  2. Reveled things that come from God’s word (i.e. “this law”) and should be taught to others

God being 1 and yet being Father and Son is a revealed thing. How exactly it goes together is a secret thing.

Jesus being fully God and fully man is a revealed thing. How exactly it goes together is a secret thing.

May we, with God’s help, go forward preaching the revealed things, while being content to leave the secret things to God.

God the Spirit is God

So, we see so far that:

  1. God the Father is God and
  2. Jesus (who is fully God and fully human) is God.

But there is one final Person who is God.

Going back to Genesis 1, we see that after stating that “God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1), Genesis 1:2 tells us “the Spirit of God was hovering over” the creation.

Like “God” in Genesis 1:1, “the Spirit of God” in Genesis 1:2 is given no introduction. He has always been there and is seen throughout the Bible as always being there.

Jesus Teaches the Holy Spirit is equal to God

Further, in John 14:16-17, Jesus says:

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

You’ll notice right away that (1) Jesus asks, (2) the Father gives, and (3) the Holy Spirit comes – all three Members of the triune God are interacting here.

Also notice that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “him” and “he”, personal pronouns. He’s not an it.

Continuing, we read “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you,” (John 14:18-20).

In context, He has said He is leaving, and they’re all sad. But Jesus goes from saying, “He [The Holy Spirit] will be in you” (v.17) to saying that “I will come to you…and I [will be] in you,” (vv. 18-20). Jesus clearly sees the Spirit and Himself as being one.

He goes even further by saying “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 17:23).

Where Jesus said before, “I will come to you…[and be] in you,” (John 14:18-20), now He says: “we [The Father and Son] will come…and make our home with him” (John 17:23).

This is all a reference to God the Holy Spirit living within Christ followers. And it shows that that the Holy Spirit is equal to God the Father and to God the Son. Like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is God, yet is distinct from Jesus and the Father.

The Book of Acts Teaches that the Holy Spirit is God

Also, we find the fact that the Holy Spirit is God in the Book of Acts as well.

In Acts 5, we see Peter, an early church leader, say two things to a man caught lying:

  1. “Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3)
  2. “You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:4).

If you read the full passage, you’ll see that the sentences mirror each other, yet verse 3 says he lied to “the Holy Spirit”, while verse 4 says he lied to “God”. Thus to Peter, the Holy Spirit is equal to God, meaning that He is God.

Similar things can be found throughout the Book of Acts. For instance, Acts 13:2 shows the Holy Spirit speaking to a group as if He is God (which we now know He is).

Three-In-One (Trinity)

So far, we see the Bible stating two things simultaneously:

  1. God is one.
  2. This one God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (three Persons).

So, three Persons co-exist as one God. Said in another way, God is “three-in-one.” We call this a “Tri-Unity,” or more simply, the “Trinity.”

How does this work?

On one level, it’s a mystery. Just like the mystery of Jesus being fully God and fully human. But mysteries shouldn’t alarm us.

In fact, I’d have some serious problems with a God who I fully understood and comprehended. My wife, for instance, is human, yet will I ever fully understand her? Or do I even fully understand myself? Of course not. We all concede that there is a mystery to mankind. How much more should we understand that there’s a huge mystery to the God who made mankind and everything else we see.

Saying that there is a mystery doesn’t mean we can’t identify truths about God and understand the concept that He is one God co-existing in three Persons.

A Human Analogy

At the start, I will say that any analogy that attempts to explain God fully accurately to the human mind is misleading at the start. The best it can do is give us approximations. But hopefully such approximations can help us at least see how it might be rationally possible, while we still can’t completely understand how it works.

With that caveat in mind, I’d like us to consider 1 analogy:

We can think of God being one like this: This is God; there’s only one God.

Similarly, I am Brian, and there’s only one of me.

Yet, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says I exist as three persons:

  1. Spirit
  2. Soul
  3. Body

My spirit is fully Brian; my soul is fully Brian; my body is fully Brian. Yet there remains only one Brian.

I exist as these three parts – or perhaps three “persons” of sorts – but still I’m only one Brian.

Or said another way, I have two hands that are separate parts of the one Brian. My hands can move apart from the rest of my body, yet having these multiple parts does not make me more than one Brian. I am one Brian with multiple parts.

Likewise, God has always existed as three Persons who function in different roles – sort of like different “persons” or parts within one human body. But He’s always been one God.

The Trinity in Jesus’ Ministry

Now this concept of the Trinity is seen throughout the Old Testament in various ways (even as we saw “God” mentioned in the first verse of the Bible, Gen. 1:1, and “the Spirit of God” mentioned in the second verse, Gen. 1:2). But it becomes the clearest when we turn to the New Testament.

For instance, look at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Matthew 3:16-17:

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.”

At Jesus’ baptism we see:

  1. God the Father speaks.
  2. God the Son is baptized.
  3. God the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus.

Thus, His ministry begins with all three Members of the Trinity working together.

And likewise at the end of His ministry, He tells his disciples to follow His example of baptism, based on the Trinity:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Three Persons are part of our one baptism: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Trinity Elsewhere

And many other Scriptures repeat this same three-in-one truth (e.g. 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14).

 And even looking over nature, we are struck by the fact that the equilateral triangle is the most structurally sound geometric shape, the shape all other shapes would be wise to build on. Surely, this too testifies to the three-in-one God who is the foundation of all.

Know God Truly

Finally, we should make clear that knowing these facts alone doesn’t mean you have a relationship with this God. But it does mean you properly understand at least enough to rightly identify Him as God. And this guards us against people preaching “another Jesus than the one we proclaimed” (2 Cor. 11:4).

Thus, to conclude, we have these foundational doctrines before us:

  • There is only one God.
  • He eternally exists as three Persons.
  • Jesus Christ is God in human flesh.

And truly knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3).

References

Ligonier Ministries, dir. 2025. Why Church History?: A Survey of Church History with W. Robert Godfrey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4hqdJVqRA.

[1] “Mono” means 1. “Theos” means God. “Monotheist” is a person who believes there is 1 God.