In the Beginning, GOD … (Genesis 1:1)

The Bible says that He started it all.

In these very first opening verses of the Bible, we see unveiled the complex unity of the Creator:

• God the Father, the Creator, who is the source of all creation
• God the Spirit, the active creative agent of God, hovering over the waters ready to perform all the creative work necessary to being life into existence
• God the Son, the very Word of God, who spoke the creation into existence, starting with light.

“For by Him, and for Him, were all things made.”

Some people attempt to make their god in an image that is convenient and comfortable to them (idol worship). Others worship nature as their “god” (the Bible says they prefer to worship the creation rather than the Creator).

People today seem to be searching for God more than ever.  Its no wonder. The Bible says that “He has hidden eternity in our hearts.”  Its like God has wired us to worship.  And if we don’t worship the one true God, we will end up worshiping something else fore sure – another god we fashion, perhaps money, our car, other possessions, power, sex, or even another person.

Absolute Unity?  Or is God Really a Complex Unity?  

Some religions insist that God is an absolute unity (Islam).  They refuse to allow the possibility that God may have a form of existence that is different from their presuppositions.

Other religions insist that God is made up of several separate persons (Mormonism).  A Father God, a Son God, and a spiritual essence.  But is this consistence with what the Bible teaches?  I think not.  God clearly proclaims in many places “I am God, and there is none other.”

Some religions and belief systems hold that the universe is God – Karl Sagan appeared to take this position, when he insisted that the “cosmos” was all that exists.  Several eastern religions promote the idea that the universe is “god”, and that one’s goal ought to be “one with the universe”.

But what if God is more complex, more Wonderful than we can possibly imagine?

What Does the Bible Say About His Complex Unity?

The Bible says that in the beginning, GOD created everything (Gen 1:1).  It also says that he is a Father.  And that God is “Spirit“.   And that He is a Son – “for in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form.”

What asked His name by Moses, He replied:  “Tell them that I am that I am.”  He is the independent First Cause of all things, and upon Him all things depend.

The Triune God Creates Mankind

Gen 1:26:  “Then God said, “Let Us [plural] make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...”.

Gen 1:27: “So God [singular] created man in His [singular] own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Pre-incarnation Appearance of the Son with Two Angels

Gen 18:1-2: “The LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him.”
Gen 19:24: “Then the LORD rained brimestone and fire on Sodom and Gormorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.”

Here the LORD (YHVH) has appeared on earth to Abraham, along with two angels.  Verse 24 described how the Son (LORD) while on the earth, rained brimstone and fire from  the Father (LORD) out of the heavens.

God Seeks an Intercessor

Isaiah 6:8-10: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:  Whom shall I  send, and who will go for Us?”   Here God refers first to Himself in the singular, then in the plural pronoun, confirming that there are multiple persons in the Godhead.

Isaiah 42:1-2: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect Onein whom my soul delights!  I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”

The Pre-incarnate Son Speaks of the Father and Spirit

Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to Me, hear this:  I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there.And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.”  In this instance the pre-incarnate Son of God is speaking, indicating that He will go on behalf of the Father and the Spirit and redeem God’s creation.

The Complex Unity of God in the New Testament

We are to be Baptized in the Name (Singular) of the Triune God

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  We are to baptize in the name of the three-person Lord – Father, Son and Spirit.

Father and Spirit at the Baptism of the Son

Mark 1:9-11 “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.“  Here we have the Father, looking down approvingly at His beloved Son, while the Spirit descends and rests upon Him.

Paul Writes in Romans of the Three Person Lord

Romans 11:36:  “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.  Amen.”  Here Paul writes about the Spirit (of Him all things were created at the beginning), and through Him (Jesus, through whom the world was made), and to Him (the eternal Father).

The Holy Spirit Proclaimed as One with His Son

Galatians 4:6:  “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out “Abba, Father!”.  Here the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all referenced.

The Author of Hebrews Invokes the Triune God

Hebrews 9:14:  “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Blessing Given in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”  Here we have the three persons of the Godhead described, each with their own distinctive qualities:

• The grace of the Lord Jesus (“the law came by Moses, grace and truth by Jesus Christ”
• The love of God the Father (“God is love”)
• The fellowship of the Holy Spirit (“I will give you another Comforter”)

The Triune God Watches Over His Church

Acts 20:28 “Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock,among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of Godwhich He purchased with His own blood.”

Here we have the Holy Spirit acting as a person, appointing overseers to guide the church which He (God in Christ) purchased with His own blood.

Peter Acknowledges the Triune God

1 Peter 1-2: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”

Paul Writing to Timothy Invokes the Son, the Father and the Spirit

1 Timothy 3:16:  “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Prayer for Realization of Christ, by His Spirit, from the Father

Ephesians 3:14-17:  “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Here Paul is being led by the Spirit to pray for the Ephesian church.  In his prayer he makes his request to the Father, that the Ephesians might be strengthened by His Spirit, that Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith.

Paul Writes about One Spirit, One Lord, One God and Father of All

Ephesians 4:4-6:  “[There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are 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.”

There is But One Way to the Father

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No man comes to the Father except through Me”, said Jesus.

Although God is at the same time Father, Son and Spirit, there is only one “way” to the Father – and that is through the eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  God’s eternal plan was to provide salvation through Jesus, and none other.  As the Bible says, “there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.“  Why?  Because only Jesus is the eternal God manifested in the flesh – only Jesus paid he ultimate price for the sin of mankind, past – present – and future.  To any who believe and trust in Him, he brings into God’s eternal family, the heavenly city He is building.

The works of the flesh, no matter how good, are simply not good enough to enable us to enter into eternal fellowship with our holy Creator.  They are like filthy rags, and we must be clothed in white.  But who will cover us?  Who will take our dirty rags and give us white robes in return?  There is only one who is up to the task —JESUS.

He is not an impersonal God, who you cannot know, but a personal God who created you and wants to know you personally: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  And He made us in His “image” – with the same characteristics.  He gave us the ability to create, to love, and to choose.  Will you choose Him?

So … Why Not Give Jesus a Chance?

Why not give Him a chance and let Him prove Himself to you!  What do you have to lose?  Say a simple prayer and sincerely ask Him to come into your life and make you the person you were meant to be.  He created you, after all, so why not give Him a chance to give youthe best He has to offer?  He has a plan for your life, so please – take Him up on it and live!

Here is a link to Billy Graham’s web site that can show you how you can pray this prayer and begin a personal relationship with the Lord who loves you so much…

>> Go to Steps to Peace with God ==> http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp

Sources

The Bible

Further Reading:

The Holy Trinity in Scripture
Jesus Appears in the Old Testament