Joshua Gibbs - Trinity

1. Christianity is Monotheistic, which means we believe in only one true God, not three Gods.
Isaiah 43:10-11 - “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.

Isaiah 44:6 - “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 - “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
Whenever you see the word “LORD” or “GOD” in all capital letters in your English Bible, it is to distinguish it from the generic Hebrew word for God or Lord (Master). LORD is recorded in place of the Hebrew consonants YHWH, which is often pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah. This is the divine name of God and appears over 6,500 times in the Old Testament. Yahweh alone is God.

2. The two foundations that make Yahweh unique is that he is eternal and he is the creator. HE IS THE UNCREATED CREATOR, which is why we worship Him.

3. Psalm 90:2 - Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psalm 95:6 - Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
God alone created the universe. No one else helped him create the world.

Isaiah 45:18 - For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
Isaiah 44:24 – Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

4. Yahweh alone created humanity, but there was more than one person involved.
Genesis 1:1-2 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:26-27 - Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; … 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 2:7 - “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

5. Prior to his incarnation, Jesus was Yahweh who created the universe.
John 1:1-3, 14 - 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made… 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Colossians 1:15-18 - “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the supremacy.” (Col. 1:15-18)

6. But how can Jesus be Yahweh in human flesh when Jesus said, “I can of myself do nothing” (John 5:30), and “My father is greater than I” (John 14:28)? Jesus relied on the Father in prayer for his whole life on earth, so how can he be God? Jesus willingly became a servant when he took on our humanity.
Philippians 2:5-8 - Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
John 6:38 - “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

7. Prior to the creation of the world, and prior to his existence on earth, Jesus existed in heaven with the Father and shared the glory of Yahweh.

John 17:5 - And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
Isaiah 42:8 - I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”

8. The prophet Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus prior to his incarnation.

John 12:41 - These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Isaiah 6:1-3 - In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

9. After his resurrection, Jesus ascended back into heaven, and he is again sharing the glory of Yahweh and being worshiped by angels.
Revelation 5:11-14 - 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

10. The whole Bible proclaims Jesus as Yahweh and Saviour. John 5:39 – Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”
- In Psalm 23, Yahweh is our shepherd. In John 10, Jesus is the good shepherd of the sheep of Israel who gives them eternal life. “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” (John 10:33). See also John 5:18 – “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”
- All four Gospel writers claim that John the Baptist was preparing the way for Yahweh (Jesus). Isaiah 40:3 – “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:1-3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23.
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- We are witnesses of Yahweh, and the name of Jesus brings salvation. Acts 1:8 – Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” However, Isaiah 43:10-11 10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.11 I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.” – See also Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; 4:12; Romans 10:13. Jesus is the name that brings salvation because Jesus is Yahweh.
- Jesus is “the first and the last”, which is an Old Testament title of Yahweh. See Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:17-18; 22:12-17
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Who is the Holy Spirit?
1. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Yahweh. Isaiah 61:1 - “The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” See also, Matthew 3:16-17.
2. The Holy Spirit is separate from the Father and the Son.
2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
John 16:13 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
3. In order to prove personhood, the Holy Spirit must be shown to have personal attributes such as a mind, will, emotions, actions and communication.
4. The Holy Spirit can be grieved – Ephesians 4:30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
5. The Holy Spirit can be insulted. Hebrews 10:29 – “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”
6. The Holy Spirit can be lied to. Acts 5:3-4 - But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
7. The Holy Spirit can speak and issue commands. Acts 8:29 – “Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” Acts 13:2 – “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
8. The Holy Spirit is the one who decides who receives various gifts of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:11 - “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
9. The Holy Spirit makes prayerful intercession for the saints according to the will of Yahweh. Romans 8:26-27 - 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
10. The Holy Spirit teaches. John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
11. The Holy Spirit is in relationship and communication with the Church. Acts 15:28 – “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:”

For further information on the Trinity, I recommend the book “The Forgotten Trinity”, by James R. White.