Three Persons — One God

There are places in the Old Testament where God speaks of Himself in the plural. Two such places are found in Genesis.

And God said, Let Us make man according to Our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the Earth. (Gen. 1:26, LXX)

And God said, Behold, Adam is become as one of Us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the Tree of Life and eat, and so he shall live forever. (Gen. 3:23, LXX)

God calls Himself the Father in the Old Testament.

Do ye thus recompense the Lord? Is the people thus foolish and unwise? Did not He Himself thy Father purchase thee, and make thee, and form thee? (Deut. 32:6, LXX)

And now, O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are clay, all of us the work of Thine hands. (Isaiah 64:8, LXX)

O Lord, Father and Governor of all my whole life, leave me not to their counsels, and let me not fall by them. (Ecclesiasticus 23:1)

They invoked the Almighty Lord, and ceaselessly besought with tears their merciful God and Father, Ruler of all, Lord of every power, to overthrow the evil purpose which was gone out against them, and to deliver them by extraordinary manifestation from that death which was in store for them. (III Macc. 5:7,8)

The Father has no origin and no beginning. He begot the Son and exhaled the Holy Spirit. (St. John 1:14; 15:26; Psalm 32:6, LXX) He is the Fountainhead of the Holy Trinity.

In the New Testament, Jesus spoke of Himself as being God.

I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from My Father; for which of those works do ye stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a Man, makest Thyself God. (St. John 10:30-33)

He told one of His disciples that those who see Him see the Father.

Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (St. John 14:8,9)

He spoke of Himself and the Father as coming to make their abodes with people (that is, in their hearts).

Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. (St. John 14:22,23)

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was begotten of the Father.

And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. (St. John 1:14)

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (St. John 3:16)

He is called the only begotten Son of the Father because He is the only one the Father has begotten. In Proverbs, Wisdom says:

He established Me before time was in the beginning, before He made the Earth: even before He made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, He begets Me. (Prov. 8:23-25, LXX)

Here, Wisdom claims to be begotten of God. St. Paul called Jesus Christ the Wisdom of God. (I Cor. 1:24) This passage in Proverbs is talking about the only begotten Son of God. In the Second Psalm, it says:

The Lord said to Me, Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee. (Psalm 2:7, LXX)

Here, God claims to have a Son that He has begotten. This passage is actually a prophecy of the incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary, but, nevertheless, it does indicate that God has a Son.

In the Old Testament, the Son of God is often called the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord.

And the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord came to Jezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me. (Ezek. 1:3, LXX)

And after the seven days the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man. (Ezek. 3:16, LXX)

In St. John's Gospel, it says:

In the beginning was the Word (Greek, Logos), and the Word (Greek, Logos) was with God, and the Word (Greek, Logos) was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (St. John 1:1,2)

Later in this same chapter of this Gospel, it says:

And the Word (Greek, Logos) was made 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. (St. John 1:14)

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is the Word of God that was made flesh and dwelt among us. He is the Word of the Lord that came to the prophets and spoke to them. He is the Wisdom of God. He is the incarnate Word of God. He is God.

In the 44th Psalm it says:

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness beyond Thy fellows. (Psalm 44:6,7, LXX)

St. Paul quoted this in Hebrews:

But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. (Heb. 1:8)

Here, the Son is called God and in the 44th Psalm it says God has a God. This means that the Son who is God came in eternity past from the Father who also is God. However, the Son was not created. He was begotten. Although the Son has an origin, He does not have a beginning. In the Nicene Creed that was adopted at the First Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D., it says:

And whosoever shall say that there was a time when the Son of God was not, or that before He was begotten He was not, or that He was made of things that were not, or that He is of a different substance or essence [from the Father] or that He is a creature, or subject to change or conversion — all that so say, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them. (vol. 14, p. 3, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

The Son of God and the Father are one (St. John 10:30) because they are of the same essence and are the same God.

In his Epistle to Titus, St. Paul called Jesus Christ "the great God and our Saviour."

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

In Genesis, it says:

And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven. (Gen. 19:24, LXX)

There are two Lords mentioned in this Genesis passage. One rained fire and brimstone from the other Lord. However, in Deuteronomy it says:

Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. (Deut. 6:4, LXX)

There are two Persons but one Lord.

These two Persons are not the only ones who are God. There is also a third Person — the Holy Spirit. St. Peter called the Holy Spirit God. He told Ananias that he had lied to the Holy Spirit.

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 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?" (Acts 5:1-3, NKJV)

Then, he told him that when he lied to the Holy Spirit he lied to God.

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.” (Acts 5:4, NKJV)

So then, St. Peter, who was one of Jesus Christ's closest disciples believed that the Holy Spirit is God. St. Paul also believed that the Holy Spirit is God.

Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest.) (Heb. 3:7-11)

The Psalm that St. Paul quoted from is the 94th Psalm. It says:

Come, let us worship and fall down before Him; and weep before the Lord that made us. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, according to the day of irritation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works. Forty years was I grieved with this generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest. (Psalm 94:6-11, LXX)

From the context of this Psalm we can see that the words that St. Paul quoted are the words of God (who is also called Lord). From the context of the passage in Hebrews, we see that St. Paul attributed these words to the Holy Ghost (another term for the Holy Spirit). So, St. Paul believed that the Holy Spirit is God.

In another place in his Epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul called the Holy Spirit "the eternal Spirit." (Heb. 9:14) In Genesis it says:

In the beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. (Gen. 1:1,2, LXX)

Here, the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit is mentioned, but is never said to be created. There is only One who is uncreated and that is God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. In the 32nd Psalm it says:

By the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord the Heavens were established; and all the host of them by the Breath (Greek, Pneuma, Spirit) of His mouth. (Psalm 32:6, LXX)

The Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of the hosts of Heaven, the angels. The angels are ministering spirits. (Heb. 1:13,14) In Job it says:

The Divine Spirit is that which formed me, and the Breath of the Almighty that which teaches me. (Job 33:4, LXX)

The Holy Spirit created us. In Zechariah, it says:

The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel; saith the Lord, that stretches out the sky, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. (Zech. 12:1, LXX)

So, it is the Lord who forms the spirit of man within him and the Holy Spirit who has created our spirits is this Lord. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is God.

Although the Holy Spirit is a spirit, we should not think that He is created, nor should we think that the substance of which He consists is the same substance that our spirits are made of. The substance of which He consists is not the same substance that angels are made of either.

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. (St. John 15:26) He has the same essence as the Father. The Holy Spirit, like the Son, has an origin, but He has no beginning. In the Gospel according to St. John, it is recorded that Jesus Christ said:

All things that the Father hath are Mine. (St. John 16:15)

For this reason, the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of the Father" (St. Matt. 10:20; Rom. 8:11) and the "the Spirit of the Son" (Gal. 4:6) or "the Spirit of Christ." (Rom. 8:9) The Holy Spirit belongs to the Father and to the Son.

However, the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son. It does say that He proceeds from the Father. (St. John 15:26)

In the sixth verse of the 32nd Psalm all three Persons of the Holy Trinity are mentioned.

By the Word (Greek, Logos) of the Lord the Heavens were established; and all the host of them by the Breath (Greek, Pneuma, Spirit) of His mouth. (Psalm 32:6, LXX)

The Son who is called "the Word of the Lord" in this verse is mentioned. The Holy Spirit who is called "the Breath (or Spirit) of His mouth" is mentioned. The Father who is called "the Lord" is mentioned. The words, "His mouth," in this verse refer to the Father's mouth. Notice that there is no mention made of the Son's mouth. Notice also that the Holy Spirit is called "the Breath (or Spirit) of His mouth" and not "the Breath or Spirit of Their mouths." The Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father, but belongs to both the Father and the Son.

In the First Epistle of John, it says:

For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (I John 5:7)

All three Persons of the Godhead are one, because they have the same essence. Some people in modern times think that this verse in the First Epistle of John is a fourth century gloss — a passage that was mistakenly added into the text of this epistle by a scribe in the fourth century while he was copying it by hand. However, it was in St. Cyprian of Carthage's Bible. He was born in 200 A.D. and martyred in 258 A.D.

The Lord says, “I and the Father are one” (St. John 10:30); and again it is written of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, “And these three are one.” (I John 5:7) (Treatises of Cyprian, Treatise I: On the Unity of the Church, written by St. Cyprian of Carthage, 200-258 A.D., vol. 5, p. 423, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

There is also some speculation that this verse was in Tertullian's copy of the First Epistle of John. Tertullian lived in the second century and he wrote:

Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and of the Son in the Paraclete, produces three coherent Persons, who are yet distinct One from Another. These Three are, one essence, not one Person, as it is said, “I and My Father are One” (St. John 10:30), in respect of unity of substance not singularity of number. (Against Praxeas, chapter 25, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 621, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

This is the Orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Three distinct Persons who have the same essence and are one and the same God, but not one and the same Person.

The distinction of these Persons is clearly seen at the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (St. Matt. 3:13-17)

There are three Persons mentioned in this passage from St. Matthew's Gospel: the Father who spoke from Heaven, the Son who was baptized by St. John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit who descended in the form of a dove. The Father is not the Son, nor is He the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father, nor is He the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Son, nor is He the Father.

Although the doctrine of the Trinity can be found in the Old Testament, it was not until Jesus Christ was baptized that it became evident that God is three distinct Persons. In the Troparion for Holy Theophany, it says:

When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan
The worship of the Trinity was made manifest
For the voice of the Father bore witness to You
And called You His beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
Confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ, our God, You have revealed Yourself
And have enlightened the world, glory to You!

For those who want to have a relationship with God, it is important that they understand that God is three distinct Persons. To have a relationship with the one and only true God one must have a relationship with each of these three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

In the Orthodox Church there are prayers that we pray to each of the three Persons of the Trinity. A very common one that we pray to the Father is the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in the Heavens, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Thine is the the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

A very common prayer that we pray to the Son is called the Jesus Prayer.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Another very common prayer we pray to the Son is this one.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

To the Holy Spirit, we often pray this prayer.

O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who art in all places and fillest all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

We also have prayers that we pray to all three Persons of the Trinity. One such prayer is this one.

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name's sake.

Another important thing to know about the Holy Trinity is that we need all three Persons of the Trinity and it is impossible for anyone to know one Person of the Trinity without knowing the other two Persons of the Trinity. This is why worshipping a unipersonal god is not such a good idea.

Jesus said:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. (St. John 14:6)

He also said:

All things are delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (St. Matt. 11:27)

It is through the Son that we go to the Father. It is the Son who reveals the Father to us. Jesus Christ also said:

No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (St. John 6:44)

In order for us to go to the Son the Father must draw us to Him. In the next verse Jesus tells us how the Father draws us to Him.

It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me. (St. John 6:45)

Whenever we are being taught the Gospel and the things about the Kingdom of God, the Father is drawing us to the Son.

In the fifteenth chapter of this Gospel, Jesus tells us:

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: (St. John 15:26)

It is the Holy Spirit that testifies of (or bears witness to) the Son. St. Paul said:

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (I Cor. 12:3)

Without the Holy Spirit we cannot acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The Son, on the other hand, sends us the Holy Spirit from the Father. (St. John 15:26; St. Luke 24:49)

Whenever we think of these three Persons of the Holy Trinity, we must not think that each of them occupies only one place at a time. Each Person of the Godhead is God and God is in all places at all times. All of this language about the Son sending us the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Father drawing us to the Son is language that is being used in the Sacred Scriptures to help us understand God with our frail human minds. Likewise, when we say that the Father begot the Son and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, we are using language that God has chosen to help us understand Him with our limited intellects.

What then is Procession? Do you tell me what is the Unbegottenness of the Father, and I will explain to you the physiology of the Generation of the Son and the Procession of the Spirit, and we shall both of us be frenzy-stricken for prying into the mystery of God. And who are we to do these things, we who cannot even see what lies at our feet, or number the sand of the sea, or the drops of rain, or the days of Eternity (Ecclesiasticus 1:2), much less enter into the Depths of God, and supply an account of that Nature which is so unspeakable and transcending all words? (Oration XXXII: The Fifth Theological Oration: On the Holy Spirit, paragraph 8, by St. Gregory the Theologian, 325-391 A.D., vol. 7, p. 320, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

As for those who worship a unipersonal god, St. John the Theologian said these things about the Son in his First Epistle:

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. (I John 2:23)

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in Him, and he in God. (I John 4:15)

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (I John 5:10-12)

So, it is important that we acknowledge the Son. Otherwise, we will not have the Father. It is also important that we confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Otherwise, God will not dwell in us and we will not abide in God. We must believe on the Son of God. If we do not, we make God a liar. Anyone who does not have the Son does not have the Father.

St. Paul said:

Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. (Rom. 8:9)

We must have the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we do not belong to Christ. If we do not belong to Christ, then we do not even belong to the Father because Jesus said in His High Priestly Prayer to the Father:

And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them. (St. John 17:10)

In order to have a relationship with the one and only true God, we must have a relationship with all three Persons of the Godhead. We must acknowledge the Deity of each of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. To refuse to acknowledge the Deity of each Person of the Trinity is to refuse to acknowledge God as God.

I have quoted from two individuals who wrote some books that make up our New Testament. Both of them were raised by their parents to be devout Jews. In the Law of Moses, something the Jews held in high esteem, it expressly says:

And the Lord spoke all these words, saying: I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods beside Me. (Exodus 20:1-3, LXX)

These two Jews, St. John the Theologian and St. Paul the Apostle, became zealous and devout followers of Jesus Christ. They believed that Jesus is God and that the Holy Spirit is God, but they worshipped only one God. They did not believe that they were disobeying the divine command I cited in Exodus when they acknowledged the Deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

To those wishing to have a relationship with God, I would have to tell them that they should pray to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity and worship each Person of the Godhead as God. Also, they need to obey the commandments of God. Jesus said:

He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. (St. John 14:21)

and:

If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me. (St. John 14:23,24)

Those who are busy keeping God's commandments are the ones to whom God reveals Himself. For this reason, St. John says:

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4)

By living our lives in obedience to God as much as we can, we continue to participate in the divine energies, which are God. Those who pray to God, but are indifferent to obeying God, really have no relationship with Him at all.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts