God doesn't say "let me make man in my image" but instead says "let us make man in our image". Whoever the "us" is, we can safely deduce that it is at a least one other person or persons who are on the same level as God is.
The Bible doctrine of God appearing in 3 separate but equal persons, sometimes called the Trinity but biblically called the Godhead, is quite honestly past the ability of our minds to fully comprehend and understand it. That said, the born again believer in Jesus Christ who has the Holy Spirit living inside them, can actually get pretty close to grasping what it is all about. I am not a Bible scholar so I am not able to dazzle and distract you with 'extracting nuggets' from the Greek and Hebrew. But I am a pretty dedicated Bible student, and as such am able to point your attention to the cookies on the bottom shelf where they can be easily grasped.
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Romans 1:20 (KJV)
The doctrine of the Godhead - God in three separate but equal entities or persons - is a subject that causes much strife and debate within the Body of Christ. One reason for that is in the 21st century, most Christians sadly don't do any actual Bible study but instead read the commentaries of 'good and Godly men' whom they trust did some actual studying. This is not the path you want to take if you want to fulfill Paul's command to us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to study for yourself. So an excellent starting point will be to close your commentaries, open your KJV Bible, and ask God to open your understanding to grasp His written word. The Holy Spirit inside you will help you to pray what needs to be prayed.
So, what is the Godhead?
The doctrine of the Godhead in its most simple terms is the idea that God is not alone and has a 'peer group' for lack of a better phrase to use. We see this idea expressed all the way back in Genesis chapter 1 where we read the following:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Genesis 1:28 (KJV)
Read that verse over a few times and you will see that it is telling us that God is not alone in His creative work. God doesn't say "let me make man in my image" but instead says "let us make man in our image". Whoever the "us" is, we can safely deduce that it is at a least one other person or persons who are on the same level as God is. Angels cherubim and seraphim do not count because they are created beings. God was never created, He has just always existed. (mind blown). But zoom ahead to the writings of the apostle John, and we have that answer written in stone for us:
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." 1 John 5:7,8 (KJV)
Who are the "us" from Genesis 1? God the Father, Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit. Honestly, I could stop writing at this point because our original question raised by Scripture has been wonderfully answered by Scripture. But there is more to understand and learn, so let's jump into the deep end of the pool. But suffice to say you go there already knowing who the members of the Godhead are.
The Godhead Exists In One Person
I was having lunch the other day with my dear friend and fellow street preacher Bro. Jimmy Randolph, you might recall that Bro. Jimmy has
written many wonderful and thought-provoking articles here on NTEB. He is active US military and we don't get to see each other as much as we used to, so having lunch with him was a treat. During our conversation, we talked about this very topic of the triune nature of God, and on how it is such a 'hot topic' these days. The conclusion that we came to was, when you boil it all down, when you have Jesus Christ, you have the Godhead all in one place, and all in one Person. Please note the following on how the Bible shows us that the Godhead is complete in Jesus.
- IN JESUS THE GODHEAD DWELLS COMPLETELY: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:"Colossians 2:8-10 (KJV) How easy is this to understand? The Bible tells us that all of the mysterious, nebulous and hard-to-grasp nature of the Godhead are on full display in the Person of Jesus Christ. If you have Him, you have the Godhead.
- IN JESUS GOD THE FATHER CAN BE SEEN: "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." John 14:9-11 (KJV) The Bible tells us that God is a 'Spirit', right? But since you can't see a spirit, how then can we ever, even in Heaven, see God the Father? It will be when we look into the eyes of Jesus Christ our Saviour. I have never seen one single Bible verse that shows us interacting with God the Father in Heaven, have you? I don't think you have, please comment below if you know of one. All that we will ever see of God the Father is shown to us in Jesus Christ. It is at this point that intelligence taps out and blind faith in the word of God takes over. I do not understand how this can be, but I believe with all my heart that this is the way it is. Some things we will only know once we are up there.
- IN JESUS ALL 3 ARE FOUND: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV) Who is Jesus Christ? He is the invisible God, in all His massively-complex awesomeness, perfectly distilled in human form. If you have Jesus, you have the Father and you have the Holy Spirit all in one beautiful package.
(SIDE NOTE: The Bible never uses the term 'trinity', never calls Jesus "God the Son', and never says 'God the Holy Spirit'. It is the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in teaching people to make the 'sign of the cross' and pray in the name of 'God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit' where this idea comes from. Saying that They exist in 3 separate "persons" is acceptable to use in light of Hebrews 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 2:10. I have tried to only use terms for this topic that line up with the terms used in the King James Bible.)
In case you haven't figured it out by now, Jesus is beginning of wisdom and the end of knowledge, He is everything. As I said earlier, I have found no Bible verses showing us interacting directly with God the Father face to face, and no verse where we and the Holy Spirit sit down and chat in Heaven. But what I do find, from cover to cover of my King James Holy Bible is the Person of Jesus of Nazareth.
"Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." Hebrews 10:7 (KJV)
God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate entities, of that there can be no doubt or discussion. Case closed. But it is equally true that in Jesus Christ all three of them are content to dwell and have their Being. More than that I cannot say for I do not know, but I know this. Since
March 14th of 1990, when I became born again, I have been blessed to have a wonderful relationship with the part of the Godhead that the Bible says I can know, Jesus Christ, and that's all I need to know. I am content to let God surprise me with the rest of it.
This study was short and to the point, and we dearly hope it will be a blessing to you. But if you can grasp the simple, basic Bible truths presented here, you will know more than 90% of all the 'scholars' who endlessly debate this topic without ever arriving at a conclusion.
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