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Trinity: The Threefold Spirit of God |
The
Trinity - Three distinct (single) individuals make up one distinct (and single)
Being or the Godhead. It is like 3 persons equal one being (life form or
organism) and 1 life form or organism equal three persons. They are all equally
God, possessing individual personage, and yet the same in their nature,
substance, and essential quality. They are different individuals yet the same in
being. One person equals three individual personages, and 3 individual and
distinct beings equal One Person, One Entity and One Being - God.
Each
member of the Trinity has His own distinct function, role, purpose, meaning and
task as God. The Father is the will, the plan, and the purpose of the Godhead,
the Son as the Revealed Word of God is the expression of the plan, the purpose,
and the will of the Father, and the Holy Spirit causes to come to pass or
enforces, puts into effect, and carries out the expressed will of the Father
made manifest by the Son (or the Word). Each member of the Trinity operates in
their own specific realm or sphere of authority in perfect order and in perfect
agreement. Jesus clearly expresses His sphere of authority while He submitted
Himself to the will of the Father, thus stating that, “My Father is greater
than I.” Not stating that He was less God than the Father, but simply stating
the chain of command in which the Godhead operates, obviously making it clear
the individual rank each member of the Trinity holds.
John
14:28
28 "You
have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved
Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My
Father is greater than I.
1
Cor 15:24-28
24 After
that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father,
having put down all enemies of every kind.
25 For
Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.
26 And
the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For
the Scriptures say, "God (the Father) has given him
authority over all things." (Of course, when it says "authority
over all things," it does not include God (the Father)
himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
28 Then,
when he has conquered all things, the Son will present himself to God (the
Father), so that God (the Father), who gave his Son
authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.
Concerning
the rank of the Holy Spirit in the order of authority present within the
Godhead, we must remember that the one sending is greater in authority than the
one being sent. In John 14:26 Jesus states that the Father will send the Holy
Spirit in His name; in John 15:26 Jesus states that HE will send the Holy Spirit
from the Father, and in John 16:7 Jesus states that, “I will send Him to
you.” Here we clearly see the Holy Spirit’s relationship with the Father and
the Son, in complete submission to both members of the Godhead, and yet the Holy
Sprit still maintains full authority as God. Divine Authority and rank within
the Godhead is not to be confused with Divine Ability. All members of the
Trinity individually possess equal power and abilities, but Divine Authority
states the order in which Divine Ability flows. Divine Authority is the order of
agreement in which the Godhead functions. It is impossible to have harmony
without authority even within the Perfection of the Godhead. It is obedience to
Divine Authority that keeps all of existence in unity, harmony, peace, and one
accord, all the way up to the Godhead and even within Heaven’s own rank and
members.
As
I stated earlier, each member of the Trinity has His own distinct function,
role, purpose, meaning and task as God. It is equally important to note that
each of these 3 members of the One God must be accepted individually and not
only corporately in their distinct functions and roles as One God. As an
example, someone can accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and yet reject the
role of the Father by refusing to have their character corrected. In the same
way, someone can accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and reject the works of
the Holy Spirit through the various manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit.
The are also some born again Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord, function in the Gifts of the Spirit, but can be shallow in character
if they refused the chastisement or character training of the Father. To live a
balanced Christian life, we must accept Jesus Christ and all His redemptive work
as our High Priest, but we must not reject the work of the Holy Spirit in the
manifestation of the Gifts of the Spirit, nor can we reject the development of
the fruit of the Spirit by having our character dealt with and corrected by God
the Father. This must be done in order for us to be filled with the entire
Spirit of the Godhead individually and corporately. In order for the portrait of
the example of the Lord Jesus Christ to be complete in our lives, we must be
living examples, pictures, and expressions of not just one member of the
Godhead, but all of the members of the Godhead united so the world can see a
full demonstration of not only who Jesus is, but also by our living examples we
should demonstrate the role and functions of God the Father and God the Holy
Spirit as well.
The
Word of God states that in Christ “dwells the fullness of the Godhead
bodily.” If we are to be like Christ, then we too must be an expression of the
Godhead bodily and allow the fullness of the Godhead to dwell in us. In our
salvation, we must accept the redemptive work of the role of each member of the
Trinity individually in order to be filled with the fullness of the power of
God, knowing that each role of each distinct member of the Trinity completes the
role, function, and redemptive work of the other. What would salvation be if we
accept Jesus Christ but never know God as our intimate, loving and caring
Father? What would knowing the Father and Son be like if we experience not the
indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit? To complete our Christian experience and
to experience the fullness of the Love of God we must know God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit intimately, respecting each of their individual
redemptive roles and specific functions in our lives. Why would God reveal the
distinction of the Three-fold Spirit of God if only knowing One aspect of
God’s Spirit were necessary to be complete as Christians?
Col
2:8-10
8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit,
according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the
world, and not according to Christ.
9
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily;
10 and
you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
