The Triune God:

Reflected in the natural world around us

By

Dennis Murphy

5th June 2003

Copyright © 2003 Dennis Murphy

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Table Of Contents

HISTORY OF THE TRINITY ..................................................................................... 3 

THE NATURAL TRI-UNE WORLD .......................................................................... 7 
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES TO THE TRINITY ............................................... 11 
STRONG’S NUMBERS .............................................................................................. 21 

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History of The Trinity

Or
How did the idea of the Trinity begin

A statement such as the following expresses the idea of the Trinity.

TRINITY. The term by which is expressed the unity of three Persons in the one
God. The Christian doctrine is: (1) That there is only one God, one divine
nature and being. (2) This one divine Being is tripersonal, involving the
distinctions of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (3) These three are
joint partakers of the same nature and majesty of God. This doctrine is
preeminently one of revelation. And although it brings before us one of the
great mysteries of revelation and transcends finite comprehension, it is
essential to the understanding of the Scriptures, and, as we shall see, has its
great value and uses.
(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press
of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

The main emphasis in the above statement is the word “unity”. The dictionary gives
the following meanings for this word: agreement, harmony, union (i.e. things that
are joined together as one). When it is used as a number, it means “one”.

The word “Trinity” is too general, as it simply means three. The concept is better
expressed as a “Tri-Unity”, meaning you have a “union of those who agree”. Most
academic writers in fact, use the term “Triune“, however many people do not make
the distinction between the two words.

Many people find it difficult to believe in the concept of the Trinity (Tri-Unity) so they
choose instead to believe one of the many religious groups who deny that the Trinity
exists.

It is true that the Bible does not explicitly mention the word Trinity. It does however
talk about three separate personalities who at various times claim to be God. The
question then becomes whether the Bible actually presents these three personalities as
three separate beings, or as One God who is somehow three persons.

It is doubtful whether anyone who depended solely on the revelation contained in the
Old Testament alone would have ever come to understand the doctrine of the Trinity as
it stresses the unity of God. (Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD
is one (Strong’s No. O.T. 259)

Below is the Strong’s Concordance entry for the word “one” above.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OT:259 (one)
'echad (ekh-awd'); a numeral from OT:258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an
ordinal) first:

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This word is also translated in other places as shown below

KJV-a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any (-thing), apiece, a certain, [daily-], each
(one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some,
together,
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:258
'achad (aw-khad'); perhaps a primitive root; to unify, i.e. (figuratively) collect (one's
thoughts):

KJV-go one way or other.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Until the idea of the unity (oneness) of God had been firmly established in Israel’s
mind, it would have been dangerous to introduce the idea that God is a Tri-Unity,
because the surrounding nations worshiped many gods (polytheism).

Many polytheistic religions show evidence of triads of divinities. The Egyptian triad of
Osiris, Isis and Horus are an example. These three correspond to the human family, and
has its father (Osiris) and his son (Horus) along with the mother (Isis). There are many
others, but they all have one thing in common; they are all collections of gods, or states
through which the world, or people pass.

The principal idea in all of these triads is that of three separate gods, or things, which
have been lumped together.

They do not have the slightest resemblance to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity
which stresses the Tri-Unity of God. This is an altogether different concept which will
be examined in the next chapter.

Because God has revealed Himself to mankind in the Bible, and because He is truth, He
must reveal Himself as He is. On this basis, we should expect that although the O.T.
does not explicitly reveal God as a Tri-Unity, the references to His nature will contain
hints of this further revelation of Himself.

The Bible gradually unfolds the full truth concerning God and His plan of redemption
for man. The O.T. sacrificial system found its fulfilment in the sacrifice of the Lamb of
God, Jesus, in the N.T. and this shed light on the O.T. practices. In the same way, the
explicit statements in the N.T regarding the Trinity, throw light on the more obscure
references to this in the O.T. The revelation of God in the O.T. is not contradicted by
the more complete revelation in the N.T., but rather it is illuminated and extended.

The driving force that led to the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity was the
church's profound conviction that Christ was in fact God. This conviction was largely
based on the Baptismal Formula announced by Jesus in the book of Matthew.

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Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

This is the nearest approach to a formal announcement of the doctrine of the Trinity in
the Bible. The principal object of Jesus’ words here however was not to directly
announce the doctrine of the Trinity. Rather it was part of the great commission where
He sent the disciples out into the world to preach the “good news”. However, in the
process of giving the great commission, Jesus casually announces that He is equal with
God.

The disciples were told to baptize people “in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit”. It does not say, "In the name of the Father and the name of the
Son and the name of the Holy Spirit" as if these were three separate persons. Rather it
asserts the unity of the three by combining them all within the bounds of the single
Name.

To fully to understand the implication of stating this command to the disciples in this
way, we must bear in mind the significance of the term, "the name" as far as the Jews
were concerned. They did not think of a name simply as a means of identifying a
person as we do, when they were speaking of the name of God. To them this was a
most sacred thing.

Deuteronomy 28:58-59 (NIV)

58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in
this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name--the LORD your
God-- 59 the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants,
harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

It was unthinkable to them that the “the name of God” could be applied to any one
other than to God Himself. Yet in the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 we find Him
including Himself and the Holy Spirit in the one combined name. This would be
unthinkable unless He believed Himself to be equal with God.

This fundamental belief in the Deity of Christ, as expressed by Him in the Baptismal
Formula, was used by the Church as the measuring stick to test all attempts at arriving
at the Christian doctrine of God. The use of this test led to much argument in the early
Church, and which extends up to the present time.

The principal battles over the doctrine of the Godhead, as a result of the application of
this test, began before the end of the first century A.D. as a result of the many pagan
ideas that were prevalent in the area at that time. These arguments, led Tertullian (160-
220 AD) to be the first to use the word Trinity (Trinitas) in defending the N.T. concept
of the three equal persons who made up the Godhead; although his word was only the
Latin translation of an earlier Greek word “trias”, employed by Theophilus of Antioch.

The major conflict began with a man called Sabellius about 217-220 A.D. He
apparently taught that the Godhead is a single entity that expressed itself in three
operations at various times, as the Father in creation, as the Son in redemption, and as

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the Holy Spirit, in sanctification. Pope Calixtus was at first inclined to be sympathetic
to Sabellius' teaching but later condemned it and excommunicated him.

Early in the 4th century, Arius, an Alexandrian presbyter, said that Christ is not truly
divine, but is a created being. He began with the Sabellian idea that the Godhead is only
a Trinity inasmuch as it had manifested itself in three different ways, at various times in
the history of the world. He later changed his mind and declared that God did in fact
consist of three Persons, but that these three were unequal in authority. He taught that
the Son and the Holy Spirit owed their existence to the Father and as a result were
creatures created by God.

The principal objection to Arius’ teaching was that it reduced the position of the Son
to that of a demigod (part man, part god) and reintroduced the pagan idea of
polytheism (many gods) since the worship of the Son was continued in parallel to the
worship of the Father. It also undermined the Christian concept of redemption since
only He who was truly God could be deemed to have reconciled man to the Godhead.

The council of Nicea (325 A.D.) condemned the ideas of Sabellius and Arius along
with a number of other theories, and adopted the formal statement of the Unity of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while maintaining the distinction of the three
separate personalities. This became known as the Nicene Creed, and was reaffirmed at
various succeeding councils, and is now the generally recognized doctrine of the
Christian church.

Although this ended the heresy in the Roman Empire, Arianism continued among some
of the Germanic tribes up to the end of the 7th century.

Arianism has been revived in modern times by those groups known as Unitarians.
These groups base their religious beliefs on reason and experience. The movement
emerged during the Reformation period in Poland, Transylvania, and England. The
principal characteristics of Unitarians are that they emphasize the Old Testament over
the New Testament, instead of treating the Bible as one complete record of God’s
dealings with mankind. As a result of the emphasis on the O.T. they do not accept the
doctrine of the Trinity, as declared by the Christian Churches.

Quote from the Encyclopaedia Britannica 2001

Unitarians are virtually Arians in that they are unwilling either to reduce Christ
to a mere human being or to attribute to him a divine nature identical with that
of the Father. The Christology of Jehovah's Witnesses, also, is a form of
Arianism; they regard Arius as a forerunner of Charles Taze Russell, the
founder of their movement.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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The Natural Tri-une World

Or
The triune nature if the world is a reflection of God

Romans 1:18-20 (NIV)

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness
and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it
plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-
his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

In the above quotation God says that people can plainly see some of His invisible
qualities in the things that He has created. In other words, the created world is to some
extent a reflection of the Creator.

If one of the attributes (qualities) of the Godhead is that of Tri-Unity, then we should
expect to see this reflected in both the creation of the world and also in His most
important creation; that is man himself.

The actual meaning of the word “unity” is simply, a union of people or objects,
agreement or harmony, that are at “one” with itself. If it is used as a number then it
means “one”. Taking the idea a little further, we could speak of a single (one)
community of people. If there were only one person it would be a unary community,
two would make it a bi-une community, if it had three people it would be a tri-une
community, four people would make a quad-une community etc. It simply means a
single harmonious unit that has one or more components or dimensions to it.

Taking the physical world first, we see that it has the tri-une properties of dimension.
We all perceive the world around us in a very down to earth and natural way, as a tri-
une reality. It is so natural, that we do this without even thinking about it. Any object
that exists has the three dimensions of height, width and depth, yet it is still just a
single object. More to the point, any object that does not exhibit the tri-une property
of three dimensions cannot exist in the world in which we live. It is a basic
characteristic of the created world.

Looking at the two pictures below, it is easy to see that there is a significant difference
between a “trinity” (3) of objects, such as the three chair legs shown below, and a
single chair by itself. However, each one of these objects has the tri-une properties of
length, width and depth.

The picture showing the three chair legs shows a simple “trinity” of objects.

However, in the case of the chair we have a “unity” (single object) that is comprised of
the union of several components, and all of these components each have the tri-une
property of three dimensions.

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This fundamental aspect of the created world clearly reflects the Tri-une nature of the
Creator Himself.

Pictures Of The Tri-une Nature Of the Created World

The most significant aspect of the creation was mankind. If one of God’s attributes is
that of Tri-unity, and we are made in His image, then surely we will see this aspect of
his nature somehow reflected in us, because God said:

Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)

26 Then God (Strong’s No. O.T. 430) said, "Let us make man in our image, in
our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along

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the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them.

Looking first at the original statement to see how God revealed Himself to man, we
find that the word used for God is “Elohiym”. Below is an extract from Strong’s
concordance showing that this word is the plural of “elowahh” (a deity or The Deity)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:430
Elohiym (el-o-heem'); plural of OT:433; gods in the ordinary sense; but
specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme
God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes
as a superlative:

KJV-angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X

mighty.
+++++++++++++++++
OT:433
'elowahh (el-o'-ah; rarely (shortened) 'eloahh (el-o'-ah); probably prolonged
(emphat.) from OT:410; a deity or the Deity:

KJV-God, god. See OT:430.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We then see God using the term “Let us” create man. The word “us” is plural and its
reason for use is based solely on the fact that the word Elohiym, for God, is plural.
Only a plurality of persons can justify the phrase, as you do not address objects as “us”.

How then does mankind reflect this Tri-une nature of God in his makeup?

Apart from the tri-unity of 3-dimensionality that man’s body possesses, we also have
the tri-une nature of man. God said in Heb 4:12 that man has both a soul and a spirit.

Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul (Strong’s No. 5590) and spirit
(Strong’s No. 4151), joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of
the heart.

He also has a body. This makes man a tri-partite being that consists of body, soul and
spirit. This distinguishes man from the animals which have a body and a soul, and from
plants which consist only of a body.

The author of Hebrews used two separate words for soul and spirit. These were
“psuche” (Strong’s No. N.T. 5590) for “soul” and “pneuma” (Strong’s No. NT: 4151)
for “spirit.” In the New Testament, the word “soma” (Strong’s No. NT:4983) is
generally used to describe a normal healthy body.

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As the entries for the Strong’s numbers (in the chapter at the end) make clear, the
“soul” describes that part of our personality, mind, will and emotions that spring from
the natural operation of the brain, and which we share with animals.

“The spirit” is that part of us that sets us apart from the animals as conscious rational
beings. It is that aspect of our being that enables only man in the entire creation to
acknowledge God, and is also that part of us that is responsible for the creative works
that have produced the civilization that characterises man.

The body is described as a “temple” in which God lives.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit
lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for
God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

Our spirit also lives in this body, as shown below.

2 Corinthians 5:2-5
2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3
because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in
this tent,(Strong’s No. NT:4636) we groan and are burdened, because we do
not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that
what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

To sum up, this world reflects the Tri-une nature of God as He declared in Romans
1:18-20, by the fact that only 3D objects exist in this universe. In addition the Bible,
backed up by the facts around us, testify that man, alone in the living world, is also
constructed as a tri-une being. We are all single individuals that are composed of the
body, soul and spirit. If we lacked any one of these attributes, we would not be
considered to be a “whole” (unified) person.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Scriptural References To The Trinity

Or
How the people in Christ’s day accepted this doctrine as normal

The Bible does not explicitly mention the word Trinity. It does however talk about
three separate personalities who at various times claim to be God.

Both Christ and the New Testament writers all describe the Godhead as a Tri-unity with
an assurance which testifies that this mode of speaking is no longer a novelty to them.
To them this is a firmly established concept of God. This is seen in the fact that no one
questioned Jesus when He gave the Baptismal Formula. (Ref. pages 4&5)

Matthew 28:19 (NIV)

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Christ and the apostles are also emphatic that each Person of the Tri-une Godhead
(Father, Son & Holy Spirit) is a distinct personality. The New Testament gives the
same worship to each of these three Persons, and the same work is ascribed to each one
of Them. This is done in such a way as to indicate that these three are united in the one
God, while maintaining the monotheism of the Old Testament.

Old Testament References To The Tri-unity Of God.

The most striking reference in the O.T. is the use of the name Elohiym (Strong’s No.
OT:430) (Ref. Strong’s numbers) which is the plural form of the word elowahh
(Strong’s No. 433) which describes “a deity or the Deity”. The word Elohiym is the
one that is almost always found in the original O.T. text, and which is translated as God
in English translations of the Bible.

God was emphatic that He was “echad” (Strong’s No. OT:259) when He said in:

Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (Strong’s No. O.T. 259)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:259 (one)
'echad (ekh-awd'); a numeral from OT:258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an
ordinal) first:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There is only one way in which He can be both “united” and “plural” and that is if He
is Tri-une. There are no other possibilities.

It is significant that the first use of the word Elohiym occurs in Genesis 1:2. God has
introduced Himself as plural right from the very first reference to Himself.

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The fact that the word Elohiym is plural is the reason that many passages are translated
as “let us” ("Let us make man in our image," Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8).

Other hints to the Tri-une nature of God are found in the fact that the expression “the
LORD God” is repeatedly used throughout the O.T. It is saying that Jehovah is the
plural God. Literally, “Jehovah Gods”

Genesis 2:15 (NIV)

The LORD (Strong’s No. OT: 3068) God (Strong’s No. 430) took the man and
put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:3068 (LORD)
ah (yeh-ho-vaw'); from OT:1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish
national name of God:

KJV-Jehovah, the Lord. Compare OT:3050, OT:3069.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Although it is less clear, the use of the threefold formulas shown below also hints at the
threefold (Tri-une) nature of God.

Numbers 6:22-27
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, `This is how you are
to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 "'"The LORD bless you and keep you; 25
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD
turn his face toward you and give you peace." 27 "So they will put my name on
the Israelites, and I will bless them."

Isaiah 6:2-3
3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD
Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

In the work of creation we find that the Bible says that God created the world. Yet we
find that it also says that the Spirit of God was involved.

Genesis 1:1-2
1:1 In the beginning God (Strong’s No. OT: 430) created the heavens and the
earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface
of the deep, and the Spirit (Strong’s No. OT: 7307) of God (No. 430) was
hovering over the waters.

In the New Testament we find John saying that Jesus made the world.

John 1:1-3
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

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The only way that the Bible can claim that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit can all be
responsible for the creation, is if they are in fact one (unified).

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

General Biblical References To The Tri-unity Of God

The approach taken so far in this study has been to present the history of the word
“Trinity” and to show that most academic writers have used the more descriptive term
of “Tri-unity”. It has been shown that the O.T. term that is translated as “one”, is in fact
the Hebrew word “echad” (Strong’s No. O.T. 259) which stresses the unity of God.

It has also been shown that the 3-dimensional world is a reflection of the Tri-une God
as He claimed in Romans 1:20; and that we find no difficulty in accepting that the
world is tri-une and it could in fact be nothing else.

There are literally dozens of references to the idea of the Trinity throughout both the
Old and New testaments; too many to deal with individually. In view of this, we will
finish off by only looking at a few representative scriptures that describe the Holy Spirit
and Jesus and their relationships to the Father.

The Holy Spirit

The scriptures present the Holy Spirit as God, a person and the one who lives in
Christians.

The Holy Spirit as God

There are two general forms of blasphemy:

• It is often used in the sense of any speech directly dishonouring God (1 Kings
21:10; 2 Samuel 12:14; Psalms 74:18; Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:24)

• For a man to claim the attributes of God. It was this form of blasphemy that the
Jews charged Jesus with (Matthew 26:65; Luke 5:21; John 10:36).

In the Old Testament to blaspheme the name of God incurred the death penalty, and in
the New Testament blasphemy against the Holy Spirit remains the one unpardonable
sin. The fact that the death penalty was applied in the O.T. and no forgiveness is
applied in the N.T. directly links God the Father and God the Holy Spirit as one and the
same Tri-une Godhead, as blasphemy can only be committed against God.

Matthew 12:31-32 (NIV)

31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against
the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

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Note the equivalence between blaspheming the name of God and the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 24:15-16 (NIV)

15 Say to the Israelites: `If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible;
16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The
entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he
blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

In 1 Corinthians.3:16 we find that the Holy Spirit lives in the temple of our bodies.
Here we see that it is actually God who is living in us.

2 Corinthians 6:15-16 (NIV)

16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are
the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk
among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

The Holy Spirit as a person

A person thinks, speaks, has emotions (grief) and lives in dwellings. The Holy Spirit is
said to do all these things. Forces, such as magnetism or electricity do not participate in
any of these things as the Unitarians who deny the Tri-unity of God would have people
believe.

John 16:12-14
12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when
he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet
to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making
it known to you.

Isaiah 63:10 (NIV)

10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their
enemy and he himself fought against them.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17(NIV)
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit
lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for
God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

John 14:16-18 (NIV)

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with
you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and
will be in you.

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Jesus
Jesus as God

The Bible presents Jesus as both fully man and fully God. This is consistent with the
overall view of the Bible which tells how God established the universe and created man
to rule over it, under the sovereignty of God. Of how mankind fell into sin and the
consequences of this, along with God’s plan to redeem man and the universe to himself.

The end of this redemptive plan is to see the Christians, who are to inherit the earth
(Matthew 5:5) reigning over a regenerated world under the sovereign rule of God
as He had originally intended. The Bible records that Jesus is to reign on earth for a
thousand years before handing the kingdom over to the Father.

The Bible also says that God is the only Ruler, but it also says that Jesus is the one
who is going to be the Ruler. Christ also has the title of “Lord of Lords and King of
Kings” but Timothy says this applies only to God “who alone is immortal”

1 Timothy 6:14-16 (NIV)

4 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed
and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal
and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To
him be honour and might forever. Amen.

Revelation 17:14
14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them
because he is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with him will be his called,
chosen and faithful followers."

Revelation 19:11-16
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose
rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His
eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name
written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe
dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven
were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and
clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the
nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the
fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this
name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

The statement that it is God himself that will rule on the earth for 1000 years is
confirmed in the quotation below. This is taken from the description of the events that
lead up to, and include, Christ’s return.

Zechariah 14:3-5
3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the
day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of
Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west,

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forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving
south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will
flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then
the LORD (Strong’s No. OT:3068) my God (Strong’s No. 430) will come, and
all the holy ones with him.

These two words, the “LORD God”, are used repeatedly throughout the O.T. They
literally say Jehovah is the plural God. (Ref. page 12). In the passage above, this title
is referred to Christ.

Both Isaiah and Matthew call Jesus God.

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on
his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Matthew 1:22-23(NIV)
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."

Jesus himself claims to be God.

Matthew 26:63-66 (NIV)

3 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under
oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."64 "Yes,
it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on
the clouds of heaven."65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has
spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have
heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they
answered.

Luke 5:20-21(NIV)
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves,
"Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God
alone?"

John 10:31-38 (NIV)

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I
have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do
you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the
Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." 34

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Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods'?
35 If he called them `gods,' to whom the word of God came-and the Scripture
cannot be broken- 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very
own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy
because I said, `I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my
Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the
miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in
the Father."

In the passage above the Jews are saying that claiming to be the Son of God is the same
as saying that that you are God. Jesus confirms this by saying that He and the Father are
one and the same.

In Revelation we find Jesus telling John, while he was in exile on the island of Patmos,
of the things that would occur before Jesus returned again. In it He claims to be God.

Revelation 1:1 (NIV)

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants
what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his
servant John,

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was,
and who is to come, the Almighty.

Below we have Jesus claiming to be the Alpha and Omega, which we find was the title
applied to God in the passage above.

Revelation 22:12-17 (NIV)

12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to
everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 "Blessed are those who
wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go
through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice
magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone
who loves and practices falsehood. 16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you
this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and
the bright Morning Star." 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him
who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes,
let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Is it possible that Jesus is simply a created being?

As created beings, angels came into existence at some definite point in time. By
definition, they have not existed from infinity past as God claims that He has.

In Psalm 90:1-2 we find Moses saying that God has existed forever:

1.Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

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2. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

In Revelation 22:13 (below) we find Jesus claiming to have existed from forever. On
this basis Jesus clearly cannot be an angel or any other created being.

Revelation 22:12-17 (NIV)

12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to
everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

The world was never put under the control of angels rather it was put under man, who
in turn answered directly to God Himself. Not only are we to run the world, we will
also have charge over the angels. If Christ is an angel we would be ruling over Him, not
the other way round.

Hebrews 2:5
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we
are speaking.

1 Corinthians 6:2-3 (NIV)

2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge
the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that
we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

God declared that Christ was far superior to any created being, either man or angels. He
says that angels are to worship Him (verse 5). Worship is reserved for God alone. He
actually declares that Christ is God (verse 8 below). In verse 10 He says that Christ laid
the foundation of the world, yet in Genesis 1:1 He declares that God made the world.
Christ cannot be a created being, He must be God Himself.

Hebrews 1:1-14 (NKJV)

1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,
whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the
worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His
person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by
Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4
having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they.

5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have
begotten You"?

And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"? 6 But
when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels
of God worship Him."

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7 And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a
flame of fire."

8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter
of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. 9 You have loved
righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed
You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

10 And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And
the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."

13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I
make Your enemies Your footstool"? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits
sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Angels are ultimately going to be lower than the position of man. This means that
Christ could not possibly be an angel, or other created being.

1 Peter 1:12 (NIV)

12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when
they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have
preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels
long to look into these things.

Angels can sin. If Christ had been an angel, He could not possibly be the sinless
sacrificial Lamb of God, who was to atone for the sins of the entire world.

Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we
are-yet was without sin.

2 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,
putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

God has strictly forbidden the worship of angels. If Christ was an angel He cannot
possibly be our Lord.

Deuteronomy 5:7 (NIV)

"You shall have no other gods before me.

Colossians 2:18-19 (NIV)

18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels
disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he
has seen, and his un-spiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

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Revelation 19:9-10
9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the
wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of
God." 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not
do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the
testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When the Bible is taken as one complete book, and all the references to the Father, Son
and the Holy Spirit are taken in their proper context and without trying to force any
unnatural interpretation onto the text, there is only one conclusion that can be reached.
That is that these three Persons are all part of the one Tri-une Godhead.

This conclusion is reached because it is the one and only statement that is consistent
with both the overall theme of the Bible, and all of the individual statements concerning
each of the Persons who collectively make up the Godhead.

Furthermore, the concept of the Tri-unity of God is reflected in the 3D world in which
we live. This statement is also consistent with the claim that God makes in Romans
1:18-20 where He says that those things that can be known about Him, by means of
natural knowledge, as opposed to what He has revealed in the Bible, can be plainly
seen in the things that He has made.

Taking all of these things together, there is only one inescapable conclusion that any
person who honestly, and openly studies the Bible can come to. That is, that the
Biblical claim of the Tri-une God is true.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Strong’s Numbers
Below are a number of entries for the more important Hebrew words in the original
Biblical text and which are used in this document. They are taken from Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:430
Elohiym (el-o-heem'); plural of OT:433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically
used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally
applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:

This word is also translated in other places in the KJV as shown below
KJV-angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

+++++++++++++++++
OT:433
'elowahh (el-o'-ah; rarely (shortened) 'eloahh (el-o'-ah); probably prolonged (emphat.)
from OT:410; a deity or the Deity:

KJV-God, god. See OT:430.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:3068 (LORD)
ah (yeh-ho-vaw'); from OT:1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish
national name of God:

KJV-Jehovah, the Lord. Compare OT:3050, OT:3069.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NT:5590 ( soul)
psuche (psoo-khay'); from NT:5594; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or
concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from
NT:4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from NT:2222,
which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively
to the Hebrew OT:5315, OT:7307 and OT:2416):

KJV-heart (+-ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NT:4151 (spirit)
pneuma (pnyoo'-mah); from NT:4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze;
by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital
principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God,
Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit:

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KJV-ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare NT:5590.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:5315
nephesh (neh'-fesh); from OT:5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of
(abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense
(bodily or mental):

KJV-any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-]
contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in
jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-,
thyself-), them (your)- selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would
have it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:7307
ruwach (roo'-akh); from OT:7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or
even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a
region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its
expression and functions):

KJV-air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]),
tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y).

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:2416
chay (khah'-ee); from OT:2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year),
strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or
living thing), whether literally or figuratively:

KJV-+ age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life (-time), live (-ly),
living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw,
running, springing, troop.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NT:4983 (body)
soma (so'-mah); from NT:4982; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide
application, literally or figuratively:

KJV-bodily, body, slave.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NT:4636 (tent or tabernacle)
skenos (skay'-nos); from NT:4633; a hut or temporary residence, i.e. (figuratively) the
human body (as the abode of the spirit):

KJV-tabernacle.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NT:2222
zoe (dzo-ay'); from NT:2198; life (literally or figuratively):

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KJV-life (-time). Compare NT:5590.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:259 (one)
'echad (ekh-awd'); a numeral from OT:258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an
ordinal) first:

KJV-a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any (-thing), apiece, a certain, [daily-], each
(one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some,
together,
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OT:258
achad (aw-khad'); perhaps a primitive root; to unify, i.e. (figuratively) collect (one's
thoughts):

KJV-go one way or other.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
END
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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