Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version

Lesson 3
OUR THREE-IN-ONE GOD

INTRODUCTION
The God of the Bible is one God. He shows Himself as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We will never understand this completely. At the same time Christians must study it in order to know the Bible. We must know about it in order to defend the teachings of Christianity. We must learn about it in order to present the Gospel. Every believer must study this mystery.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON

• There are three religions in this world that believe in one God. These religions are Judaism, Islam and Christianity. To bring the Gospel to this world, we must know that Christianity is different from Judaism and Islam.
• Many people say that Christians believe in three Gods: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We must be able to give them the correct answer from the Bible.
• Some religions believe that there are many gods. The Bible presents one great God.
• We must be prepared to give an answer to those people who say that Jesus is not God. There are others who teach that the Holy Spirit is not a separate Person. We must have an answer from the Bible for them too.
• Three things must happen in order to know the God of the Bible. You must repent (Acts 20:21). You must receive Christ as your Savior (John 1:12). You must be born of the Spirit (John 3:5).
• This lesson is important for the following reasons:
  • You must know the Three-in-One God in order to teach about the God of the Bible.
  • You must know how the Bible shows Him as the God who is full of His shining greatness.
  • He is the God who has no beginning and no end.
  • He has power to do anything He wants to do.
  • He knows everything.
  • He is a God who loves you.

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THE LESSON

I. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT GOD IS ONE.

1. Isaiah 45:22 – “…for I am God and there is none else.”
2. Isaiah 45:5 – “…there is none else, there is no God beside me…”
3. Isaiah 44:6 – “…I am the first…beside me there is no God.”
4. 1 Timothy 2:5 – “For there is ONE God…”
5. 1 Corinthians 8:4 – “…a false god is nothing…and there is no other God but one.”
6. Deuteronomy 6:4 – “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is ONE Lord.”
7. Ephesians 4:5 – “ONE Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
   • God reveals Himself through this attribute of a Three-in-One God. (See lesson 2.) This means that God cannot be divided. He is a perfect God. He has no beginning and no end. He shows Himself to us in three Persons. These three are, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
   • The believer’s main responsibility is complete dedication to God. This dedication is founded on the fact that God is One. In Deuteronomy 6:4-5, we read: “The Lord our God is ONE Lord. Therefore you must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul and with all your might.”

II. IN OTHER PLACES THE BIBLE TALKS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE THAN ONE, BUT THEY ARE SHOWN AS ONE PERSON.

1. Genesis 2:24 – And TWO of them shall be ONE person.
2. Genesis 11:6 – Look, the PEOPLE are ONE.
3. 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 – The person who plants and the person who puts water on the plants are ONE.
4. 1 Corinthians 12:13 – One Spirit put ALL believers into ONE body.
5. John 17:22 – That THEY may be ONE in the same way as WE are ONE.
6. Galatians 3:28 – ALL of YOU are ONE in Christ.

III. GOD IS ONE GOD, BUT HE SHOWS HIMSELF AS THREE PERSONS.
• In the Scripture references in II, A through F, the word ONE is used to show us that two or more people are joined together as ONE. Example: 1 Peter 3:8 – You must All be of One mind – in the language of today we say, “They ALL stood up as ONE man.”
•The Old Testament of the Bible is written in Hebrew. In Hebrew the word One (yacheed) means “the only one.” It means that there is no other one like it. It is never used for the Three-in-One God. The word One (echad) is always used for the Three-in-One God. This word shows that there is ONE God who shows Himself in three Persons.

1. The Hebrew name for God is a word that means more than one person.
   Genesis 1:1 says that God created the world. The Hebrew word used there is “Elohim.” “El” means God. The “ohim” is put on words to show there is more than one. This does not tell us how many are God, but it gives us the idea of more than one. “Elohim” is the name that is used many times in the Old Testament.
2. God speaks about Himself as more than one.
   1. Genesis 1:26 – Let US make man in OUR image.
   2. Genesis 3:22 – Look, man has become one of US.
   3. Isaiah 6:8 – Whom shall I send and who will go for US?
      • The US in Genesis 1:26 does not mean that God was asking advice from the angels. Isaiah 40:14 says that God does not take advice from any person. Man is made in the likeness of God. Man is not made in the likeness of angels.

IV. BOTH THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT TEACH THAT GOD IS A THREE-IN-ONE GOD.

1. The Old Testament
   1. Many times God showed Himself as “The angel of the LORD”. He showed Himself to Hagar in Genesis 16:7-13; to Abraham in Genesis 18; to Moses in Exodus 3:2; to Gideon in Judges 6:11; to David in 2 Samuel 24:16 and many others.
      • Other verses in the Bible show us clearly that it was the Lord who showed Himself to men. See the following verses:
      Genesis 31:11-13 – I AM the God of Bethel.
      Exodus 3:2-6 – I AM the God of your father.
      Genesis 18:13 – The Lord said to Abraham…
   2. The ministry of the Holy Spirit.
      See: Genesis 1:2; 6:3; 41:38; Exodus 28:3; 31:3; Numbers 11:17,25.
   3. The name “Elohim” shows that God is more than one person.
   4. When God speaks about Himself He uses the word “US” (Genesis 1:26).
2. The New Testament
   The New Testament teaches the idea of a Three-in-One God very clearly.
   1. In the Baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:16-17).
      John baptized the SON. The FATHER spoke from heaven. The HOLY SPIRIT came down like a dove.
   2. In the commands of Matthew 28:19-20.
      We must baptize the followers of Christ in the name of the FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT.
   3. In the blessing Paul gave to the believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 13:14). Here Paul talked about the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the love of GOD THE FATHER. He also prayed for the FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT to be with them.
   4. In 1 Peter 1:2, we see that the FATHER chooses the believers. The HOLY SPIRIT sets them apart for God. CHRIST makes them clean from sin through His blood.
   5. In John 14:16 it says that I (GOD THE SON) will pray to the FATHER, so He will send the One who will help you (HOLY SPIRIT).
   6. Dr. Broadman, a great Bible teacher, says it this way: The FATHER is a complete person of the Three-in-One God. We cannot see Him (John 1:18). The SON is completely God also. He showed Himself in a body (John 1: 14-18;
      Colossians 2:9). The HOLY SPIRIT is also a complete person of the Three-in-One God. He is the One who works in us (1 Corinthians 2:9-10; Ephesians 5:18).

V. PICTURES OF THE TRINITY
• It is impossible to make a perfect picture of the mystery of the Three-in-One God. Here are a few simple ones to help you in your understanding of this great doctrine.

A Triangle – It has three sides but is one triangle.

A plant that has three leaves on one stem – It has three leaves but just one flower.

Three containers of water that are all the same size
– they are all made of the same thing,
but we see three separate containers.

Time – It is measured as past, present and future.
Space – It is measured by how long, how wide and how high it is.

CONCLUSION
The doctrine of the Three-in-One God is a mystery that nobody can understand completely. The Bible clearly teaches this doctrine even though we cannot understand it. We must accept this doctrine. We must teach it. We must love it because it comes from God. We must preach it. The Bible teaches about a Three-in-One God. Each person in the Three-in-One God has different work to do. We must believe this God and the different ways in which He shows Himself. We must rejoice that we have such a great God who has made the wonderful plan of salvation.

Examination

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