Prominent Religious Doctrines:
The question of the Godhead is one that comes up from time to time. I have talked with some in person and through e-mail who take the position that there is only one in the Godhead, Christ. Muslims also believe that there is but one personality who is Divine: God or “Allah.” What does the Bible teach about the Godhead? Is there but one divine being, or are there three which compose the Godhead?
Some have heard the word “trinity” used, and contest that since the word “trinity” cannot be found in the Bible, that it must be a man-made doctrine. Not so! The absence of the word “trinity” from our Bible does nothing to prove or disprove the number of divine beings which compose the Godhead. The Bible states as fact that there are three in the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That there is a plurality in the Godhead is seen in the very beginning of the Bible. In Genesis 1, God said, “Let US make man in OUR image after OUR likeness...” (Gen. 1:26). This makes it clear that there is more than one in the Godhead. For further evidence, please read about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being cast into the fiery furnace. Once inside, the people saw not three, but four figures in there; the fourth being “like the Son of God” (Dan. 3:25). In Daniel 7:13, Daniel, in the “night visions” saw the “Son of Man” come to “the Ancient of Days.” The “Ancient of Days” is God the Father. Further evidence of a plurality in the Godhead is seen in the New Testament. Read John 3:16 and you’ll read about the Father sending His Son to this earth. The sender cannot be that which is sent, can he? As I write this article and send it for publication, am I the article? No, of course, not! I and this article are separate things just as God the Father and God the Son are separate personalities.
To see that there are three in the Godhead, consider the fact that Jesus said that baptism is to be done by the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Matt. 28:19). In Matthew 3:16-17, after Jesus’ baptism, we have Jesus in the water, the Holy Spirit like a dove descending upon Him, and a voice from Heaven saying, “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” There are three in the Godhead!! A parallel account is found in Luke 3:21-22. II Corinthians 13:14 discusses the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ ... the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost.” Once again, three are mentioned.
Some have the mistaken notion that the Holy Spirit is not a divine being, but a force, or some type of feeling. In truth, the Holy Spirit, is a separate personality in the Godhead. Please read Acts 5 where Ananias and Sapphira lied about how much money they had “laid at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 5:2). “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the HOLY GHOST, ... thou hast NOT lied unto men, BUT UNTO GOD” (Acts 5:3-4). Here in this passage, we see that when Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, he lied to God; and when he lied to God he lied to the Holy Ghost. Please understand, the Holy Spirit is a personality. Christ described Him as “he,” NOT “it” (Jn. 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-14). Please read those passages and underline each time the masculine personal pronoun “he” is used, NOT “it” as would be used if you were talking about a force or a feeling.
As further evidence of the fact that the Holy Spirit is a divine being, consider:
Now, are these the attributes of a feeling, or of a person? Answer this question, and your problem is solved!
There are clearly three personalities in the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Read Ephesians 4:4-6, and you’ll read about “One Spirit” (v. 4), “One Lord” (v. 5), and “One God and Father of All” (v. 6). I’m no mathematician, but I do know that 1+1+1=3! Remember, “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Cor. 12:3). - Jarrod Jacobs
“How Many Compose The Godhead?”
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