Mono Times Three

No, we're not talking about mononucleosis here. Let me end this charade as quickly as I started it. This blog is concerned with helpful spiritual ideas, not helpful medical ones. So what are we talking about? Consider this question, "Is Christianity a monotheistic religion?"

While monotheism is much closer to our concern in this article than mononucleosis, it is not my intention in this article to discuss monotheism either. Our question concerns the concept of the Godhead being a trinity. While some debate over whether Christianity has a trinity of Gods (three Gods,) or is monotheistic (one God,) I am not discussing this issue on those terms. The reason is that the term "monotheistic" was never used in the Bible for any reason. It was not Biblically applied to God, nor was it ever used for any other reason. The Bible does not speak highly of monotheism, nor does it speak evil of the lack of monotheism in a religion. So we're not going there.

The BIble does not concern itself with the number of gods some religion may possess. The emphasis of the Bible in regard to various religions and their gods is simply this; Jehovah God of the Bible is the true God and all others are false, period, end of story. The reason this is important is that a person cannot pretend to argue against God and the Bible while arguing against a concept God never mentioned in the Bible. Nor can someone accuse God of being inconsistent for not meeting a standard that God never proposed as a standard.

With that in mind, let's discuss the Godhead, the various "presentations" of God, and the Trinity; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. "Godhead" and "Trinity" are different words used to refer to the same thing. Superficially, there do seem to be inconsistencies in Biblical language referencing God.

The apostle, Paul, gives us a list of "ones" in Ephesians 4:4-6. There is one body, one Spirit [Holy Spirit,] one hope, one Lord [Jesus,] one faith, one baptism, one God [the Father.] Jesus, in John 17:20-21, prays to God, the Father, with these words, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." Moses speaking for God in Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord."

At the same time, there seems to be evidence in the Bible that there is a Godhead consisting of three separate entities, these entities being the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In fact, notice above that all three are mentioned in Ephesians 4. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." In Matthew 3:16-17, this same trinity is presented separately at the baptism of Jesus. Jesus, the Son, is baptized, the Spirit descending like a dove lighted upon him, and God, the Father's voice came from heaven. There is a distinct separation in this narrative.

It's interesting to note that in the Old Testament we are introduced to God, the Father. We get to know Him in a personal way as He speaks to Adam and Eve in the garden. He spoke often to Moses, Abraham, and several others. Much of the records of the prophets are God's words to the Israelites. But we don't hear from Jesus in this way until the New Testament. Especially in the gospels we are intimate with Him from birth through childhood, His adult ministry and death. We see him in many different circumstances talking to many different people.

In comparison the instances revealing interaction between the Holy Spirit and any individual are few in number and limited in scope. In Acts 8:29 the Holy Spirit told Philip, the evangelist, "go near and join thyself to this chariot" as the Ethiopian rode by. In Acts 10:19 the Holy Spirit told Peter, "three men are looking for you," when Cornelius' servants arrived. In Acts 13:2 the church in Antioch is told, "set Saul [Paul] and Barnabas apart for the work where unto I have called them," by the Holy Spirit. In Acts 21:11 Agabus related to those present what the Holy Spirit had to say about the fate of Paul in Jerusalem. Thus, our opinions and attitudes regarding the Holy Spirit are not as well informed as are those regarding God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus.

The question is: how is it that the Bible tells us there is one God, and that God is one, and yet there appear to be three separate presentations of God, with the spotlight being on a different one at different times? Consider that in Genesis 2:24, after creating Eve for Adam, God said of a man and a woman, "They shall become one flesh." This was restated by Jesus in Matthew 19 and in Mark 10:8, where Jesus said, "and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh." Going all the way back to the time in the garden when God first made the statement, a man and a woman who marry each other have not literally become one flesh. Jesus said it rather strongly - "the two shall become one flesh" and "they are no longer two, but one flesh." Yet no married couple has ever been one flesh. (Some say that a married couple become one flesh when the marriage is physically consumated, but I maintain that is still figurative and not literal since they are still, at the time and afterward, two different physical beings.) Jesus knew that for a fact when He made his statement. That is a clear indication that this was not a literal situation, but a figurative statement about the unity and strength of the union of a married couple.

When Jesus prayed that His followers might be one as Jesus was in God, and God was in Jesus, He knew that physical beings would not literally be united as one individual and he was not praying for that. Yet He prayed that they might be one in the same way that He and God were one. Might it be that He was speaking figuratively of the bond that should exist between Christians and not giving a lesson on the nature of the Godhead? Why would this manner of speaking have a figurative meaning when applied to Christians and married couples, but the same manner of speaking have a literal meaning when applied in the same sentence to the Godhead?

I will tell you how I perceive the Godhead. I have arrived at this position after study and deliberation of God's word. I will not tell you that I am right and any other view is wrong. I will tell you that I am a simple man, and simple explanations that are in harmony with God's word are what I strive for. I also think we do well to admit that we are nowhere near on the level of God and that so long as we're bound to this physical world (and quite likely after that, as well) we will not understand everything about the awesome God who created this universe. I am highly skeptical of any person who feels otherwise. So, how do I perceive the Godhead?

When the Bible speaks about the "oneness" of God, it is speaking about a unity that goes far beyond anything we can imagine. God is presented to us as three different entities with different functions. (I'm speaking in human terms about Godly things and I'm not sure it is adequate, but it is all I can do.) A couple of analogies, though imperfect and incomplete, may be helpful.

God is one in the way that a cable is one. One cable is many wires wrapped (twisted, really) together. Whatever one wire does, the other wires do. Whatever the cable does is what every individual wire does because the cable is the sum of the wires. Even though Jesus left Heaven to live on the earth, His function, His goal, did not separate from the 'cable', the Godhead. His purpose in the redemption of man was the same purpose that God and the Holy Spirit had. Hence their presence and participation in Christ's baptism by John (and actually every part of His earthly ministry.)

God is one in the way that Paul describes the human body as analogous to the church in 1 Corinthians 12. The eye and the hand have different functions but they work in unity to accomplish desired tasks. The hand does not engage in petty drama because it can't see. The eye does not act out of selfish ambition, or get it's feelings hurt because it can't throw a ball. They work together in unison to locate the target and throw the ball to the target. They are completely joined in unison and working together.

God is also one in the way that married couples are one and not two separate people. That, of course, is figuratively, not literally. The "Godhead" consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The fact that we have used the word "Trinity" to refer to these three implies the incomprehensible unity they share. They are wrapped together (figuratively) to the extent that whatever one is about is the precise thing the other two are about because they function with one mind.

Perhaps I've missed it. I'll keep working to get better. The real issue when it comes to "one mind" was spoken by Paul in Phillipians 2:5, 8, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . . He humbled Himself and became obedient , even unto death on the cross." Faith means trusting. We all need to work on getting there. Let's humble ourselves and admit there are things about God that we don't, and may never, understand. Then let's take upon ourselves the form of a servant and become obedient. May we, as followers of Jesus, be one as God is in Jesus and Jesus is in God.