One
God
Or
Three?
One God,
Three Persons
Christians are accused of worshipping three Gods.
This is not true. Christianity has always affirmed the
oneness of God, just as Muslims do (tawhid). But
according to the taurat and the injil, the one God is
made of three Persons. This concept can be
described as follows:[] God is three Persons
[] Each Person is fully God
[] There is one GodGOD IS THREE PERSONS
In the Bible, God's word sent before the Qur'an, we
find the three Persons in the following verses:[] Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
[] 1 Cor. 12:4-6 - there are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit. And there are differences of
administrations, but the same Lord. And there are
diversities of operations, but it is the same God
which worketh all in all.
[] 2 Cor. 1:21-22 - Now He who establishes us with
you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also
sealed us and gave us the Spirit
[] 2 Cor. 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
[] Eph. 4:4-6 - There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called in one hope of your
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one
God and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all.These verses and others show very clearly that God
is composed of three distinct Persons, each with His
own unique personality and function.EACH PERSON IS FULLY GOD
1. God is God. This requires no explanation.
2. Jesus is God.
Both the Bible and Qur'an affirm God created
everything. But Jesus also created all there is:
[] John 1:1,3 - In the beginning was the Word [Jesus],
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him
nothing was made that was made.
[] Colossians 1:16 - By Him [Jesus] all things were
created, visible and invisible. all things have been
created through Him and for Him.If God's word tells us that God created all things, but it
also tells us Jesus created all things, then Jesus must be
God; there is no other possible explanation. God does not
contradict Himself, nor is He a God of confusion.Jesus is also called God, and equates Himself with God:
[] John 20:28 - Thomas answered and said to him
[Jesus], "My Lord and My God!"
[] John 10:30 - "I and the Father are one."
[] John 14:9 - "He who has seen me has seen the
father."3. The Holy Spirit is God.
The apostle of Jesus by the name of Peter confirms the
Holy Spirit as God. In Acts 5, Peter confronts Ananias with
lying about a certain deed. In verse 3, Peter tells Ananias,
"Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit."
Then, in verse 4, Peter tells Ananias, "You have not lied to
men but to God!" If Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, and he
also lied to God, then the Holy Spirit must be God.David also writes in the Psalms (zabur):
[] Psalm 139:7-8 - Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or
where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to
heaven, you are there.THERE IS ONE GOD
The Bible affirms throughout that God is one, and only
one.[] Deuteronomy 6:4 - The LORD is our God, the LORD is
one!
[] 1 Kings 8:60 - that all the peoples of the earth may
know that the LORD is God; there is no other.
[] Isaiah 45:5 - I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God.
[] Malachi 2:10 - Do we not all have one father? Has
not one God created us?
[] Romans 3:30 - there is one God.
[] 1 Timothy 2:5 - for us there is one God
[] Ephesians 4:6 - one God and father of all
[] 1 Corinthians 8:6 - yet for us there is one God,
the Father, of whom are all things, and we for
Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
are all things, and through whom we live.Clearly, Scripture teaches that God is three
Persons, that each Person is fully God, but that
there is only one God. This one God, then, must be
composed of three Persons.SINGLE YET PLURAL
In the creation account, we find the single plurality
of God.[] Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth.In this verse, the word 'God' is Elohim, a plural
masculine noun--literally Gods. But the verb bara
is a masculine singular. Literally the verse can be
translated "In the beginning Gods, He created the
heaven and the earth." This does not imply
multiple gods created; rather, that one God (bara -
he created) worked together as a plural unity in the
creative process.We see this example again in verses 26 and 27 of
Genesis 1:[] Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, "Let Us make
man in Our image
[] Genesis 1:27 - God created man in His own
image.God said "Let us create," but then God created in
His image. The "us" is "one."DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND?
Our human intellect has trouble understanding how
God can be one yet more than one at the same
time - how God can be a plural unity. Yet we would
be foolish to believe we humans, with our limited
knowledge, would be able to conceive and
completely understand God in all His majesty and
glory.A CONTRADICTION?
The law of non-contradiction states that a thing and
its opposite cannot both exist at the same time and
in the same sense. It would be contradictory if
Christians said the trinity is one God made of three
Gods, or was one Person made of three persons.
However, to say that the trinity is one God made of
three Persons does not violate the law of non-
contradiction.
A Plural Unity:
The Source of Love
As human beings we are created in the image
of God. God created us with not only physical
attributes, but with a soul, a spiritual aspect of
each of us. One component of our soul is the
ability to love. Love cannot be measured,
weighed, tasted, touched, or seen. We can see
the effects of love or the lack of it, but we
cannot see love itself; it is not physical.Where does love come from? If humans are
created in the image of God, then love must
have come from God Himself - a part of His
image that He put within us. God cannot give us
something He does not have. It is reasonable to
assume, then, that since we have love, this love
must have come from God, and God Himself
has love and is capable of loving.Love requires an object on which to
demonstrate its existence. Love cannot exist
independently - I cannot demonstrate love
towards myself in the true sense of the word. I
need someone or something to show love
toward. So it stands to reason that God also
required someone to love, even before He
created man. After all, if love comes from God,
it must have existed as long as God has
existed, eternally.In the Godhead of Christianity, we see the
perfect opportunity for love to be at work in
eternity past. It is only in this plural unity that
love can operate: God the Father showing love
toward God the son, with God the Holy Spirit
lovingly cooperating to bring about the will of the
Father.It is only through the Christian concept of God
that we can understand the origin of true love.
The Good News:
God Loves You!God created each of us unique and special. God
loves each one of us. He calls us His children;
He is our Father.Because a father loves his children, He would
do anything to protect them - he would give
anything to save their lives if necessary,
including his own life.God loves us so much that He came down from
heaven as `Isa, the second Person of the trinity,
the plural unity of God. In `Isa were all the
attributes of both God and man. God became a
human to give His own life to save ours.The Bible tells us that God demonstrated His
love for us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. You see, every person has
violated God and His holiness. The relationship
God desires with us as His children is
incomplete because of sin.So God, because of His love for us, sent his
son, `Isa, to die for our sin. `Isa was holy, pure,
and sinless. The Bible says God made him who
knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we can
become the righteousness of God in him.Thank God for giving us `Isa to die for our sins.
Ask God to forgive you, and ask `Isa to be the
Lord of your life. God loves you!!But God demonstrates His own love toward
us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. - Romans 5:8, The Holy Bible