The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
More Than Comforter, Part 5
There are concepts in the Bible that range from difficult-to-grasp to incomprehensible for the limitations of the human mind. One of those is the triune nature of God. The Bible is clear that God is three-in-one. One of the references to the three persons is in 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.” Another is found in 1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” As humans we are unable to understand this because we are limited by time, space, and our human/physical nature. To say that it is simply not so because of our inability to comprehend it, denies the divine nature of Almighty God and the divine origins of His Word. We cannot explain away God’s nature in human terms. We don’t need to understand something in order to believe it by faith because of what the Bible and creation say about the nature of God.
Let’s take a look at some of the evidence toward this. Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created the Heavens and the earth. John 1:10-14 refers to Jesus (“the Light”) as the creator, making Him God as well: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory…as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” In John 10:30 Jesus even related that He and the Father (God) are one, recognizably calling himself God.
The Holy Spirit is also shown to be God and is included several times in Scripture in the listings of the members of the Trinity. Acts 5:3b-4 relays the story of the attempt of Ananias and Sapphira to appear to donate all of the proceeds from the sale of property, like their fellow Christians were doing. Peter rebukes him with, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied unto men, but unto God.”
In the Bible, each member of the Godhead is called “He” or “Him”. They are separate persons with different functions. A physical analogy that might help our understanding a little is water which is always water but can be in three different states – gas, liquid, and solid. Even so, the Trinity is still beyond human comprehension, an enigma.
The unity of the Body of Christ, His Church, is an even better representation of the triune nature of God. Ephesians 4:4-7 gives the picture of Christians together as the body of Christ, each part working together in unity to advance the Kingdom of God: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Verses 12 and 13 express how this unity and efficient working together using the gifts of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus, advances the Kingdom of God: “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” [Note: For the purpose of this devotional I have separated out these two passages. But for the bigger picture and for instruction in our individual participation towards the unity of the Body of Christ, you need to read the entire book of Ephesians. It is only six chapters long.]
Even in the Old Testament, before the advent of Jesus Christ or of the Holy Spirit, the value of unity between believers was recognized: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps.133:1). In fact, the triune nature of God is the model of unity for the Church. We are all one body with parts that function exclusively within the body, unable to function separately from the body.
The Trinity also has a division of functions. Jesus described Himself as the vine, God the Father as the vinedresser (John 1:1), and the Church as the branches of the vine (John 15:5). As mentioned in an earlier post, the Holy Spirit, who continually proceeds from the Father and from the Son, is no less divine than either of them and no less present with them while ministering to believers on earth (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit is described as Comforter, Helper, and Teacher. He also presents our prayers to God. While Jesus Christ is our Advocate, putting His own righteousness before God on our behalf (1 John 2:1-2), it is the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for us: “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. He that searches the hearts knows what is in the mind of the Spirit because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:26-28).
