2.26 Trinity: Jehovah Elohim is the One and Only Jehovah

Today we will consider the Trinity, the fundamental doctrine of Christianity begun in Deuteronomy 6:4, with the statement:



"Hear O Israel, Jehovah Elohim is the one and only Jehovah."



There is only one God.  He is the creator of all created things.  We encounter Him first in Genesis 1:1-2 , where Elohim "created the heaven and the earth" and where "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."  In these two beginning verses, God has described Himself as Plural (Elohim) and Spirit.  And yet we know from Deuteronomy 6:4, that God has described Himself as the only Jehovah, the only Lord.  Jehovah means self-existent or eternal.

It is widely understood across modern monotheistic world religions that God may be described as both God and Spirit and still remain one God and not two gods.  Monotheistic religions are "one god" religions such as Unitarians, Mormons, Muslims.  Christianity and Judaism are monotheistic too, in that we know and believe that there is one and only one God, that His name is Jehovah Elohim, but what distinguishes  Christianity and Judaism from the false monotheistic religions is that we believe God will Himself save the people from their sins, and what distinguishes Christianity from Judaism is that Christians believe that God has already fulfilled His promise in Jesus Christ. Jews are still waiting for the promise to be fulfilled.  Fortunately, God is coming a second time and when He appears the second time, the Jews will not miss it this time.



THE PROMISE

And the glory (majesty and splendor) of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.  Isaiah 40:5

THE FULFILLMENT

And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as of an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. John 1:14

Jesus Christ made it known that He is the Father in heaven.  Just before He went to the cross Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father , cause us to see the Father --- that's all we ask; then we will be satisfied."

Jesus answered, "Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not recognize and know Me yet, Philip?  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say then, show us the Father?"

Although we do not have a perfect analogy to explain the doctrine of the Trinity, this doctrine is not in conflict with the unity of God.  God has described Himself from the start as God and Spirit.  Jesus said the same thing to the woman at the well:

A time will come, and indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality), for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers.  God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).  John 4:23-24

And in this same passage, Jesus explained to the woman at the well that true worshipers would recognise Jesus as being the long awaited Messiah.  The problem for Unitarians is that Jesus claims to be God in the flesh, something they are unwilling to accept.  Unitarians have no problem believing that Jesus is human, but they balk at the doctrine of His dual nature, that of being fully human and fully God at the same time. 

It is a doctrine that cannot be understood unless the Holy Spirit does a miracle inside of us, a miracle of Truth shining into the darkness of our spirits.  Life comes to those who believe the Holy Spirit's report about Jesus Christ.


THE PROMISE

A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed my ordinances and do them.  Ezekiel 36:26-27 (KJV)

THE FULFILLMENT

It is the Spirit Who gives life [He is the life-giver]. John 6:63

Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of Good. What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical and is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6

We see the Holy Spirit doing inside people the same thing He did at creation.  He took the Word of God (let there be light) and moved over the face of the waters to create that life.  In the same way, the Holy Spirit takes the Word (Jesus, the Word who was with God and Who is God, John 1:1) and creates new spiritual life in people who are first born physically from the waters of the womb.  The same principle in creation is happening in the new creation.  God speaks.  The Holy Spirit moves. Life Begins. 

The sticking point for the Jews (and modern Unitarians) is that Jesus Christ proclaims Himself to be part of the equation.  He is God in the flesh.

The Jew knew God as the I AM.  The I AM. 

And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE: and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you! Exodus 3:14

Jesus used this same language in answer to a question put to Him by the Jews:

Then the Jews said to Jesus, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus replied, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I AM. John 8:57-58

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have always existed.  They are the I AM. 

• They are the same Being,
• They are all One at the same time;
• At the same time all the time,
• Jehovah Elohim,
• The One and only Jehovah is God Himself,
• All One,
• Elohim.

 
This is the doctrine of the Trinity.  Three Persons who are a Single Unit. The Spirit is Jesus.  Jesus is the Spirit.  The Spirit is Father.  The Father is Spirit.  Jesus is the Father.  The Father is Jesus.  They are All in All at all the same time. 

The doctrine has great practical value. (the next four points are quoted from "Lectures in Systemic Theology" by Thiessen) 

First, it allows for eternal love. Love was before creation, yet love needs an object.  Love is always flowing amount the Persons of the Trinity.

Second, only God can reveal God.  By God the Father sending God the Son, God could be made manifest.

Third, Only God can atone for sin.  This is accomplished through the incarnation of God the Son.

Fourth, If is hard to conceive of personality existing without society. The Persons of the Godhead relate to one another in perfect harmony, a perfect society.  "If there were no Trinity, there could be no incarnation, no objective redemption, and therefore no salvation; for there would be no one capable of acting as Mediator between God and man." (see Boettner, Studies in Theology, pg 135.)

Well, this was not a complete treatise on the doctrine of the Trinity, but it, hopefully, is enough to cement in your hearts what you already know about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and will help you to respond in Truth to recent comments by Unitarians who have been reading this blog.  I do not erase their comments, as this blog is for the purpose of promoting the truth of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, our soon returning King.  I appreciate anybody who takes the time to comment on this blog.

Note: Most Scripture references in today's article were quoted from the Amplified Bible.