That God is both one and three appears to be contradictory at first sight. However, it must be understood at the outset that God is not three in the same sense that He is one. He is not three persons and one person, nor is He three Gods and one God. He is three persons in one God.
If anything in the universe is to be considered incomprehensible, surely it must be that infinite Being whom we call God. We should expect greater difficulty in understanding the nature of the infinite than in comprehending the nature of the finite. In spite of the rapid advances in science and in spite of the fact that man can examine the world minutely with all of the precision instruments which his intelligence and skill have made possible, he still must confess that he understands precious little of the vast universe about him. Since God is the only one of His kind, since there is no other being with whom He may be compared, since He exists outside of the material universe, and since He is invisible and pure spirit beyond the reach of scientific instruments, He must needs remain unknown and unknowable to man apart from, any revelation which He might make of Himself. As has been proved before, the Bible claims to be this revelation. Whatever may be known of the nature and being of God is to be found in this revelation.
One hundred and seventy-five times in the four Gospels, God is referred to as the Father. The same is true forty-five times in Paul's epistles. It is needless to present proof-texts for this point in the face of such abundant evidence and by reason of the fact that practically without exception all accept this truth.
This word was the name of Deity as understood by people of the first century, and is used by the Septuagint to translate the name Jehovah. Paul refers to Jesus as Lord nineteen times in Romans and twenty-one times in First Corinthians, to mention only two of his epistles. Peter ascribes this title to Him eight times in his second epistle. Whereas He was called Lord by all of the New Testament writers, Paul states that in a coming day "EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER" (Philippians 2:11). Paul also states that there is only one Lord (First Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:5), and since the Lord is called God (Matthew 4:7,10;11:25; 22:37; Acts 2:39; Second Corinthians 6:18; etc.), the Lord Jesus Christ must be God.
Jesus Himself defended His Lordship in a most interesting situation in Matthew 22:41-46. He asked the Pharisees whose son the Messiah was to be, and they answered correctly, "THE SON OF DAVID." Jesus then asked, "HOW THEN DOTH DAVID IN SPIRIT CALL HIM LORD, SAYING: THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD, SIT THOU ON MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE THINE ENEMIES THY FOOTSTOOL? IF DAVID THEN CALL HIM LORD, HOW IS HE HIS SON?" The Jews were unable to answer Him. The only answer possible is that Messiah was to be David's son according to the flesh, but at the same time the Lord in His essential nature.
1) Jesus Christ is the Word, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Although the order of the Greek is, "God was the Word," the absence of the article from God shows that God is the predicate.
2) He is called "THE ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD" (John 1:18). Several manuscripts read, "God only begotten." Whether we read "the only begotten Son," or "God only begotten," the sense of the passage is not affected. The latter reading merely combines in one phrase the two attributes of the word already indicated - God (verse 1), only begotten (verse 14); the sense being ONE WHO WAS BORN GOD AND ONLY BEGOTTEN.
3) Thomas confesses Jesus as "MY LORD AND MY GOD [Theos]," (John 20:28). Jesus did not rebuke him, which He should have done, were He any less than God.
4) He is called "THE BLESSED GOD" (Romans 9:5).
5) He is called our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13). Some translators render this verse to read "the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." This makes the great God refer to the Father and our Savior refer to Christ". Even if we accept the latter rendering, the argument for the Deity of Christ is not negated for the verse still bears testimony to the equality in glory of Christ with the Father. The Greek conjunction KAI (translated "AND") can be, and often is, translated "EVEN," so that the verse may read: "THE GREAT GOD, EVEN OUR SAVIOR CHRIST JESUS." For a similar usage of KAI being rendered "EVEN", look at Second Thessalonians 2:16, "NOW OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, AND [kai] GOD, EVEN [kai] OUR FATHER." To translate both kai's as AND would make three persons: Christ, God, and the Father.
6) Again, He is called God in Hebrews 1:8, "BUT UNTO THE SON HE SAITH, THY THRONE, 0 GOD, IS FOR EVER AND EVER."
7) He is called "THE TRUE GOD" in First John 5:20. There has been some controversy over whether the "THIS" in the statement, "THIS IS THE TRUE GOD", refers to the immediate antecedent, "HIS SON JESUS CHRIST," or to "GOD" in the previous verse. The most natural sense is: "THIS (Christ) IS THE TRUE GOD, AND ETERNAL LIFE."
8) All the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells in Him (Colossians 2:9). While Paul prays for believers, in Ephesians 3:19, that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, Christ by nature has this fullness dwelling in Him bodily. The present "DWELLETH" denotes an eternal and essential characteristic of Christ's being. The divine fullness has always dwelt in Him. Since the incarnation this fullness has dwelt in Him in a bodily manner.
9) Christ was in the form of God before the incarnation, and thought it not robbery or a thing to be grasped after to be equal with God (Philippians 2:6). This passage not only states the pre-existence of Christ, but the fact that He pre-existed as equal with God.
10) Some of the attributes of God are ascribed to Christ. He is omnipotent [all powerful] (Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 1:8; Matthew 28:18).He is omniscient [all knowing] (Colossians 2:3; John 16:30; 21:17). He is immutable [unchanging] (Hebrews 13:8; 1:12). He is eternal (John 1:1; 8:58). He possesses all of the moral attributes to perfection (Hebrews 7:26; 4:15; Ephesians 3:19; First Timothy 6:15,16).
11) Only God is to be worshipped; yet Jesus received worship, and men and angels are commanded to worship Him (Matthew 2:11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 18:26; 28:9; John 9:38; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:11-17).
12) Jesus Christ exercises the offices of Deity. He is the Creator of all things in heaven and in earth (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:20). He is the Sustainer of all things (Colossians 1:17).
13) Jesus Christ exercises powers which belong to God exclusively. He forgives sin (Matthew 9:2-6; Luke 7:47, 48; Acts 13:38). He has life in Himself and has power to impart life (John 1:4; 5:26; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6; & Hebrews 7:16). He raises the dead (John 11:25). He will execute final judgment upon all (John 5:22; Second Corinthians 5:10; Acts 17:31; Matthew 25:31, 32; Second Timothy 4:1).
The above thirteen lines of evidence should be sufficient to show that the writers of the New Testament believed and taught that Jesus Christ, as well as the Father, is God; and yet they taught just as clearly that there is but one God.
The point to be proved about the Holy Spirit is not His Deity, for that is self-evident, but that He is a separate Person, the same as the Father and the Son are separate Persons. The personality of the Holy Spirit is indicated by the following facts:
1) Personal pronouns are used in referring to Him, in spite of the fact that spirit (PNEUMA) is a neuter noun (John 14:17 & 16:13).
2) He possesses the characteristics of personality. He has capacity to be grieved, vexed, blasphemed, resisted (Ephesians 4:30; Matthew 12:31; and Acts 7:51).
3} He performs acts which can be predicated only of a person. He reveals, testifies, convicts, helps, guides, knows, makes intercession, speaks, gives life, etc. (First Corinthians 2:10; John 16:8; Romans 8:16,26; and Galatians 5:18).
4) His name is associated with other names in such ways as to imply clearly His personality. The Father and the Son are persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned together, as in Matthew 28:19 and Second Corinthians 13:14. The Holy Spirit must, therefore, be a person.
5) He is clearly distinguished from the Father and the Son. Christ stated that He would pray the Father "AND HE SHALL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COMFORTER" (John 14:16).
The Bible has shown from the New Testament that three distinct and separate Persons are recognized as God, and yet these same Scriptures give consistent testimony that there is but one God. The word TRINITY does not occur in Scripture, but the fact of the trinity is clearly evident.
1) God is called the Father. (Isaiah 63:16 and Jeremiah 3:4).
2) God has a Son with divine prerogatives. (Psalms 2:7,12 and Proverbs 30:4).
3) The Holy Spirit is recognized as a person and as God. (Genesis 1:2; Psalms 51:11; Second Samuel 23:2; and Isaiah 48:16).
4) The plural name ELOHIM and the plural pronouns used for God clearly suggest a plurality in the Godhead. (Genesis 1:1,26).
5) The benedictions suggest a three-fold relation in the Godhead. (Isaiah 6:3 and Numbers 6:24-26).
When God called Israel out as His chosen nation, idolatry had become universal. It was necessary to first establish the worship of the one true God. This is the fact that is emphasized in the Old Testament. However, seeds of the Trinity are there which become more clear in the New Testament.
With all the scriptural evidence concerning the persons of the Godhead, with their personalities and activities, there still exists in our society a number of erroneous views of the Trinity.