The study of the Godhead is an important doctrine for Christians to understand. It is one of the major doctrines that orthodox Christianity teaches. It is a doctrine that separates Christianity from cults and so-called Christian cults. It is considered a great mystery in Scripture, and in this lesson, our goal is to unravel this great mystery.
The question that arises concerning the Godhead is how can God, who is one God, be three persons? God in the Bible is shown to be three distinct personalities: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
The Word Godhead Is Used To Describe God’s Divine Nature.
In the scriptures, the word “Godhead” is used to describe the person of God.
Acts 17:29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature (Godhead) is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.
Colossians 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily…
Romans 1:19-20 …for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
The Godhead Is A Mystery.
There are many mysteries in God’s word, and the subject of the name of God and the Godhead is one of those great mysteries.
Colossians 2:2 …that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ.
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.
Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, introduced the word “Trinity” as the most suitable word to define the teaching concerning the Godhead. It’s important to understand that the Bible does not use the word “trinity,” but it is a good word to describe the nature of God. In this study, we will refer to the word the Bible uses, the word “Godhead.”
A Statement of Faith Concerning the Godhead.
The Eternal Godhead is revealed as one God existing in three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are co-eternal, co-equal, and co-existent in attributes, power, nature, and glory.
The Bible teaches very explicitly that God is one, but it also teaches us that God is three. The study of the oneness of God must always be in connection with the threeness of God, and the study of the threeness of God must always be in conjunction with the revelation of the oneness of God; otherwise, either extreme can become heresy.
God Is One.
The God of the Bible, the God whom we worship, is revealed as One God. This is confirmed in both the Old and New Testaments.
Old Testament Scriptures
Deuteronomy 4:35,39 …The Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Himself…there is no other.
Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is One!
Other scripture references are as follows: 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 7;22, Psalm 86:10; 83:18, Isaiah 44:6,8; 43:10; 45:18.
Each one of these verses shows clearly that there is one God and that He is the one and only true God to be worshipped.
New Testament Scriptures.
Mark 12:29 The first of all the commandments is, “Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Mark 12:32 …for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
1 Corinthians 8:4 …and that there is no other God but one.
Galatians 3:20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
Ephesians 4:5-6 One Lord, one faith, one God and Father of all…
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Word Study on the Hebrew Words “One.”
By doing a word study on the Hebrew and Greek words used for “one” in the Bible, we can see this truth concerning the oneness of God and the tri-unity of God more clearly.
The two Hebrew words for one are Yachead, and Echad.
Yachead (or Yachid) speaks of absolute unity – a mathematical or numerical number one. It is used about twelve times in the Old Testament, but not to describe the Unity of God. Some examples are as follows:
Genesis 22:2,12 Abraham offered up his only (Yachead) son, Isaac.
Zechariah 12:10 …they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only (yachead) son.
Jeremiah 6:26 …make mourning as for an only (yachead) son…
This word is significant of the fact that there is only one way to God, one Son of God, man’s only hope of salvation, and this is through the Lord Jesus Christ – John 14:1,6
Echad – speaks of a compound or collective unity, often a unity which comprises more than one person. i.e. one crowd, one people, one nation. Examples of this type of unity are as follows:
Genesis 2:24 …and they shall become one (echad) flesh.
Ezra 3:1 …the people gathered together as one (echad) man to Jerusalem.
I Chronicles 12:38 …and all the rest of Israel were of one (echad) mind to make David king.
The Hebrew word “Echad” is used hundreds of times in the Old Testament and is often significant of a compound unity, the unity of more than one. It is the word which is used concerning our one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (“Echad” )!
A Word Study on the Greek Words For “One.”
There are also two Greek words for “one,” which are Heis, and Monos.
“Monos” means alone, solitary, the numerical number one, as seen in the example below.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.
“Heis” means union and concord, a compound unity. Examples of this are as follows.
1 Corinthians 12:12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
John 17:21 …that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent me.
Whenever the Scripture speaks of the fact that God is One, it never means the mathematical or number One God but always a Compound Unity, the unity of more than One Person. It speaks of plurality of Divine Persons in the One God. This Unity is a compound Unity, which unity is revealed as Tri-Unity, the union of Three in One.
God’s revelation of Himself in the Scripture is One God in Three Persons, Eternal, Self-existent; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinguishable but indivisible. The Father is the first Person, The Son is the Second, and the Holy Spirit is the Third person.
God Is Three – The Tri-Unity of God.
As clearly as the Scriptures teach that God is one, they also teach that God is Three. There is one God manifested in three persons, distinguishable, but indivisible. These three are spoken to us as being “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existing in power, majesty, glory, and essence. One God in three persons.
The God of the Bible is always revealed as Triune in nature and being. From Genesis to Revelation, whether it be by type or symbol, pattern or created things, or whether it be by clear declaration, Scriptures consistently show that God is always revealed as One in Three and Three in One.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “let us make man in our image.”
Genesis 11:7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
When God appeared to Abraham at one point, He appeared in the form of three men.
Genesis 18:1-2 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. {2} So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Ken Birks
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