"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:8, 9
As human beings we know that we were created and because of
our sin we are finite (Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:16, 17; 3:6). Understanding the
nature of God is not so simple. No created being will ever comprehend the full
nature of God; however, what He has chosen to reveal to us, of Himself, in His
scripture, as in all things, He has made plain and straightforward.
Let’s start at the beginning. In reading the account of
man’s creation God refers to Himself in the plural form “Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26, 27). In the account of creation, we
can identify at least two beings working together: The Spirit and the Commander
(Genesis 1:2, 3). Following the Biblical principle of “precept upon precept”,
“line upon line”, we move forward to another account of creation, in John 1
(Isaiah 28:10). John 1:1 states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God and the Word was God”. From this verse we learn that back in the
beginning there were again multiple beings that identify as God, The Word and
God. With further study we learn that The Word in John 1 and the The Commander
in Genesis 1 are the same being, Jesus Christ who came to earth as a Man (John
1:1-5, 9-14).
Now that we have established plurality how many Beings are
there in the Godhead? As followers of Christ we obey His instructions. In the
great commission He instructs the disciples to teach and baptize in the “name
of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:18-20). Continuing in Biblical
principle, “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every world may be
established”, we see that “there are Three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost and these three are one” (1 John 5:7).
In Deuteronomy 6:4 we also see the statement that “the Lord
our God is one Lord”. How can God be three and one at the same time? Let us go
back to the beginning. We learnt that God created man in His own image, we
learnt that He created them male and female (Genesis 1:27). So, at the very
basic level, we can deduce that man, made in the image of God, was made
multiple distinct beings, then God must be multiple distinct beings. As we
learn more about the creation of man, God established that “it is not good that
the man should be alone”; therefore, He made a help meet for him (Genesis
2:18). In Genesis 2:21-25 we see the account of the first marriage. In marriage
two distinct individuals become one (Genesis 2:24).
We can see the principle of multiple being one in our human
existence as each person in a marriage having different roles work together as
a unit for one purpose. It is the same with the Godhead, three distinct Beings
with different roles working as a unit toward one purpose. Example: The Father
– our Lord, The Son – our Mediator, The Holy Ghost – our Teacher and Comforter,
all Three working in concert to bring about our salvation (Matthew 12:31, 32; John
14:26; John 20:17; Romans 5:8-11; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
God be praised!
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