RoparnaThe Godhead – The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
PURPOSE: There is one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – a unity of three coeternal Persons.
FOCUS: It was God who shed His own blood on Calvary for you.
Introduction
The nature of God is in its fullest sense a mystery beyond human comprehension. But we can explore it as much as the Word of God reveals.
We will begin in Isaiah…
Isa 46:9
How many true gods are there? (Deut 6:4, Jas 2:16)
In the Old Testament, God has many names. Let’s look at the most prominent one…
Exod 3:13-15
God’s name is spelled YHVH and is pronounced Jehovah or Yahweh. But the Bible authors often times didn’t utter the name, but said the Lord.
God is also the Creator of the Universe…
Isa 44:24
Who created the world? Did He have any helpers?
But when we read the creation story we find some confusing verses…
Gen 1:26-27
Which pronoun does God use about Himself? (Gen 11:7, 19:23-24)
How can multiple persons be one?
Gen 2:24
How many “fleshes” would the man and woman become? As the family (and the church) is one unity of multiple individuals, so the Godhead is one unity of several individuals (John 10:30, 17:21-22). IE: God = Surname.
How many Persons does the Godhead consist of?
Isa 48:16
Who speaks here? (v.13, 17) Who has sent Him? Who else did the Lord send? Here we see three Beings with divine attributes and authority.
Who is the One sent by the Lord? We understand that this is speaking of the Messiah…
Isa 9:6
What names are given to the Messiah? Did the OT consider the Messiah to be God? Is the Messiah eternal? (Mich 5:2, Heb 7:3, Ps 90:2, Prov 8:22-23)
Let us look at what the New Testament says about Jesus’ equality with God…
John 1:1-3
Who is the Word? (v.14) Is the Word God? How much did He create? Did the apostles believe that Jesus was Divine? (Col 2:9, John 20:26-29, Phil 2:6, Rom 9:5, 1 John 5:20)
Who did the angel Gabriel consider Jesus to be?
Matt 1:22-23
What was one of the names of Jesus? What does it mean?
Who did Jesus consider Himself to be?
John 8:58-59
Who does Jesus say He is? (cf. Exod 3:13-15) Did the Jews understand that? (Joh 5:18, 21-23, 26, 10:30-33)
Who did God the Father consider Jesus to be?
Heb 1:4-10
What does the Father call Jesus? (cf v.9-12 with Ps 102:22-28). Who are the angels commanded to worship? Is Jesus worthy of our worship? (Acts 7:59, Matt 2:11, 14:33, 28:9, 17, Luke 24:52, John 9:38, cf Rev 19:10, 22:8-9) Jesus is not a created being, He is “God… manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim 3:16)
What about the Holy Spirit? Some say the Spirit is electricity or a force. What did Jesus think?
Joh 16:13
What pronoun does Jesus use for the Holy Spirit? Name four things that the Holy Spirit can do. Can a force do that? Does He have feelings? (Eph 4:30)
The Holy Spirit is said to have a will of His own…
1 Kor 12:11
His mind is something separate from both the Father (Rom 8:26-27, 1 Cor 2:10-11) and Jesus (Matt12:31-32, John 14:16).
The Holy Spirit is also considered an equal of Jesus and the Father…
Matt 28:19
In what three names are believers to be baptized? (Acts 5:3-4, 2 Cor 3:17)
APPEAL
It was the Creator who died for us on the cross. The Holy Spirit is the personal representative of Jesus and the Father, who wants to dwell in us. Do you wish to learn more about this God of Love and what He has done for us?
