One of the most difficult concepts for most people to understand is the triune nature of God. We have come up with the word, trinity to describe it. But you have to realize that “trinity” is not in the Bible.
As we go through Paul’s explanation of the resurrection, he touches on this subject in passing.
For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
1 Corinthians 15:27-28
The first and most important thing you need to understand is that we serve one God. Sometimes the way we use the word trinity, and the way we talk about “God in three persons”, makes it sound like we have three Gods. That is absolutely NOT the case.
The next piece of the puzzle is the realization that this one God, throughout history, has manifested Himself in four ways. There are times that we see God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. Then there are those times when we refer to all of these together simply as God.
Are you confused yet? I hope not. But hopefully, I’ll clear some things up for you as we go along.
The Bible is clear that we were created in God’s image.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”
Genesis 1:26a
It turns out that because of this, we are also triune beings. We each have a body, a soul, and a spirit even though we’re one person. Unfortunately for us, these three don’t always agree with each other.
You can think about God in the same way. Our spirit exists, functions, and interacts in the spiritual realm. That corresponds to God, the Holy Spirit.
Our body exists, functions, and interacts in the material realm. That part of us corresponds to God, the Son.
Our soul is the center of who we are. It houses our personality, memories, and the seat of our decision-making ability. That part corresponds with God, the Father.
I am one person. But I have three parts that make me whole. They are always working together whether I realize it or not.
In my person, my soul is the part with the highest authority right now. Some people teach that our spirit is highest, but Scripture says otherwise (1 Corinthians 14:32). After the resurrection, however, our spirits will be in charge (1 Corinthians 15:44).
Now that I’ve explained all of this, let’s look at the above verse from First Corinthians.
Let’s say that I want a new smartphone. But who really wants it? It’s the real me – the person inside my being – my soul is wanting it.
How does my soul get it? My body goes to work and makes a salary. The money goes into the bank account of my whole person. My body goes to the store and buys a new smartphone. Now, my body places the new phone under the authority of my soul.
My body carries out the will of my soul. It’s under the authority of my soul. But even though this is true, my body is no less “me” than my soul.
In the same way, God the Son carries out the will of God the Father. But, that doesn’t make the Son any less God than the Father. Father, Son, and Spirit are all God. One God. They work together in the same way that my body, soul, and spirit work together.
We serve a great God. He desires to reveal Himself to His people if we would spend time getting to know Him better.
Question: How do you describe the relationship of God – Father, Son, and Spirit?
© 2019 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 