Q5: Are there more Gods than one?
A: There is but one only (1 Cor. 8:4), the living and true God.
Q6: How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A: There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19); and these three are one
God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory (2 Cor. 13:14).
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I. Q5: There is one living and true God (Jer. 10:10; Mk. 12:32).
A. God is said to be “one” to oppose polytheism (1 Cor. 8:4-6).
B. God is said to be “living” to oppose dead idols (Ps. 115:4-6).
1. All life is from God: natural (Acts 17:23; 1 Tim. 6:13); spiritual (Eph. 2:1); eternal (Col. 3:4).
C. God is said to be “true” to oppose false gods (Isa. 44:9-20; 1 Thess. 1:9).
I. Q6: The three persons in the Godhead are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
A. A “person” is defined as one who has intelligence, a will, and personal subsistence.
B. The term “Godhead” means divine nature (Rom. 1:20).
C. There are two truths to safeguard when stating the doctrine of the Trinity.
1. The unity of God.
2. The plurality within the Godhead.
D. There are three essential elements in asserting the doctrine of the Trinity.
1. There is only one God (monotheism).
2. There are three persons that are each God (Trinitarianism).
3. The three persons are each distinct.
a. It has been said that all error somehow traces back to a defective view of God.
b. This doctrine is practical, under-girding the plan of salvation, and is not just some abstract
truth.
II. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are the greatest proof of the Trinity.
A. The deity of the Father is not usually questioned (Ga. 1:1).
B. The deity of Jesus is proven through four lines of evidence: Name, Attributes, Work, and Worship.
C. The deity of Christ: Name.
1. The name of God is applied to Christ by the OT passages that pertain to Jehovah, and that the NT applies to Jesus.
a. The “Lord of lords” (Deut. 10:17; cf. Rev. 19:11-16).
b. The One to sanctify/hallow in the heart (Isa. 8:12-13; cf. 1 Pet. 3:14-15).
c. The stone that causes to stumble (Isa. 8:12-14; cf. Rom. 9:32-33).
d. The “first and last” (Isa. 44:6; cf. Rev. 1:4-8; 22:12-13).
e. Son of God (Matt. 4:3, 6; Matt. 8:29) book
2. The name of God is attributed to Christ by the prophecies of Yahweh that He fulfills.
a. “God with us,” the “Everlasting Father” (Isa. 7:14; 9:6-7; cf. Matt. 1:23).
b. “One whom they pierced” (Zech. 12:9; cf. Jn. 19:34-37).
c. The “messenger” (John the Baptist) prepares the way before Yahweh (Mal. 3:1; cf. Mk. 1:1-7)
d. Yahweh baptizes with His Spirit (Joel 2:28; cf. Acts 2:16, 33).
e. The name of God is explicitly used in reference to Jesus (Jn. 1:1, 14; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-17; 1 Tim. 3:16; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 1:8-9; cf. Ps. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:10-12; cf. Ps. 102:25-27; 1 Jn. 5:20; Rev. 4:8;).
f. John said that Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus (Jn. 12:41; cf. Isa. 6:1-8).
3. The name of God Jesus claims for Himself in His many “I AM” statements (Ex. 3:14; Jn. 8:58; cf. 5:18).
a. “I am the Bread of Life” (Jn. 6:35, 48, 51).
b. “I am the Light of the World” (8:12; 9:5).
c. “I am the Door of the Sheep” (10:7, 9).
d. “I am the Good Shepherd” (10:11, 14).
e. “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25).
f. “I am the way, the truth and the Life” (14:6).
g. “I am the Vine” (15:1, 5).
D. The deity of Christ: Attributes.
1. Christ: has authority and power (Matt. 28:18; Mk. 4:35-41; cf. Ps. 107:23-32); is omniscient (Jn. 1:43-51; 2:23-25; Col. 2:3); is omnipresent (Matt. 18:20; 28:20); is eternal (Jn. 1:1-2, 15); possesses glory (Jn. 17:5); is the object of faith (Jn. 14:1); is immutable (Heb. 13:8).
E. The deity of Christ: Work.
1. Christ: is the giver of grace and the receiver of prayer (2 Cor. 12:7-9); forgives sin (Mk. 2:1-12); gives life (Jn. 5:21); is the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:3); performed many miracles.
F. The deity of Christ: Worship.
1. Christ is worshiped by: men (Jn. 9:35; 20:28); angels (Heb. 1:6); the disciples (Matt. 14:33; Lk. 24:52); the saints in glory (Rev. 7:9-10); the demons (Mk. 5:6).
a. Christ receives praise and defends it with the OT (Matt. 21:16; cf. Ps. 8:2).
III. The deity of the Holy Spirit: Name, Attributes, Work, Worship.
A. The Holy Spirit is explicitly called God (Acts 5:3-4).
1. Paul said that He who was speaking to Isaiah was the Holy Spirit (Acts 28:25-27; cf. Isa. 6:9-10).
a. The Holy Spirit is further equated with Yahweh (Jer. 31:31, 33-34; cf. Heb. 10:15).
B. The Holy Spirit possesses the attributes of God.
1. The Holy Spirit is: omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10-11); eternal (Heb. 9:14); omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-10); omnipotent (Rom. 15:19); sovereign (Jn. 3:8); the object of faith (Matt. 28:19).
C. The Holy Spirit performs the works of God.
1. The Holy Spirit: makes alive (Jn. 3:5; 6:63); creates (Gen. 1:2); resurrects (Rom. 8:11); convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:8-11); dispenses gifts of grace as He wills (1Cor. 12:11); calls (Acts 13:2; cf. 20:28).
D. The Holy Spirit is worshiped (Matt. 12:31; 28:19).
E. The Holy Spirit is a distinct person.
1. Personality includes intelligence, will, individual subsistence. A “person” is that which, when speaking, says “I”; when addressed, is called “thou”; and when spoken of, is called, “him” or “he.”
2. Personal pronouns are used in reference to the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13-14; Acts 10:19-20; cf. 11:12; 13:2).
3. Personal properties are ascribed to the Holy Spirit: understanding and wisdom (1 Cor. 2:10-11); will (1 Cor. 2:11); power (Rom. 15:13).
4. Personal activities are ascribed to Him: He speaks (Acts 13:2; 1 Tim. 4:1); He teaches (Jn. 14:26); He guides into all truth (Jn. 16:13); He comforts, counsels, and helps (Jn. 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7); He may be grieved (Eph. 4:30); He may be lied to (Acts 5:3-4).
IV. Christ taught that God was triune and the disciples were firmly convinced Trinitarians.
A. The baptismal formula of Christ proves the Triune nature of God (Matt. 28:19).
1. Jesus said baptize them into the “name.”
a. The name is singular.
(1). To the Jewish mind the “name” would have been taken to be God (Lev. 24:11; Deut. 28:58; Isa. 59:19).
(2). The name of someone pertains to his nature (1 Sam. 25:25).
b. The name is not “of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost” as if synonymous, but distinguishes each
as having their own identity and personality.
(1). The Son and the Holy Spirit each take a definite article (“the”).
(2). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each in the genitive case, showing possession of the one “name.”
B. The Trinitarian benediction (2 Cor. 13:14) shows that each person is distinct and equal in power and glory.
C. Each person being God and manifesting Himself as such caused the disciples to believe in the Trinity (Matt. 3:16-17; Eph. 2:18; 4:4-6; 2 Th. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 1:4-6).
D. Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-389 AD ) said: “I cannot think of the One, but I am immediately surrounded with the splendor of the Three.”