he Deity of Jesus Christ

A Biblical Study of the Divinity of Jesus Christ

by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). It is by the name of Jesus Christ.... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:10, 12). Our very salvation is inseparably linked to faith in Jesus Christ. So it becomes an issue of great importance to determine biblically precisely who Jesus Christ is. Is Jesus Deity? God in the flesh? Or was He just a man? My intent in this study is not specifically to address the historic doctrine of the Holy Trinity (to which I do fully subscribe). Rather, my purpose is to focus on Jesus Christ and to demonstrate from the Bible His full divinity that is, to prove the deity of Christ, that He is fully God, coequal and coeternal with the God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. As the ancient creeds correctly state, Jesus is true God and true Man. -------------------------------------------------------------------John 5:17-18 Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working. For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 10:30-33 I and the Father are one. Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me? We are not stoning you for any of these, replied the Jews, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God. Philippians 2:5-6 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Jesus did not hesitate to claim equality with God the Father. The Greek word for equal in John 5:18 is isos, as in an isosceles, or equal-sided, triangle. Jesus was and is in very nature God, and therefore was not blaspheming by claiming to be God. The disbelieving Jews had correctly heard Jesus to be making this claim to full deity, even though they rejected His claim. Is Jesus God? The apostle Paul clearly identified Jesus as "being in very nature God". -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another... Isaiah 48:11c I will not yield my glory to another. John 17:5 [Jesus prayed] And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. In Isaiah, God says that He will not give away His glory to another. Yet Jesus, in John 17, is expecting to receive again the divine glory He shared with the Father before the world began. If Jesus were not deity, this would be a contradiction. -------------------------------------------------------------------Micah 5:2, King James Version But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Vs. 2b, New American Standard Bible His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Jesus, whose earthly birth is prophesied here, is said to be from of old, from everlasting, or from the days of eternity. He is not a created being. Rather, He has existed from all eternity. -------------------------------------------------------------------Revelation 1:8, 17-18 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. ... [17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 22:12-13, 16 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.... [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." Note the glorious titles of the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Almighty, the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come. Read all these titles of Deity, and note that every one in the context can be applied specifically to Jesus. This book is the revelation of Jesus the Divine Son! -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 7:14 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. Matthew 1:23 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, God with us. Isaiah gave us this glorious prophecy of Jesus virgin birth. Matthew amplifies the prophecy by identifying this promised Son as Immanuel which means God with us. Jesus is GOD with us! A son, yes. But also God! This is a clear, straightforward affirmation of the divinity of Jesus Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 9:6 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. Jesus, the prophesied son, will be called...Mighty God. -------------------------------------------------------------------John 20:27-28 Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God! The apostle Thomas correctly addressed Jesus as My Lord and my God. Is Jesus God? That is precisely how the apostle Thomas described Him, with no contradiction offered by Jesus. -------------------------------------------------------------------Psalms 45:6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. Hebrews 1:8 But about the Son he says, Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

Your throne, O God The Old Testament Hebrew word used here is Elohim, used for God well over a thousand times in the Bible. This exact scripture from the Psalm is quoted in Hebrews and is applied to Jesus the Son. Jesus is God! Not just a god, as some would have us believe. The New Testament Greek word for God that is specifically applied to Jesus in Hebrews 1:8 is Theos, used for God over 1,300 times in the New Testament. So is Jesus "God"? That's precisely what God the Father called Him! -------------------------------------------------------------------John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... [14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is called the Word, the Logos, of God. As the Logos, He is the manifestation or expression of God to us, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The Son is the radiance of Gods glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3). He came from the Father. As the Logos, Jesus the Word was with God, and the Word [Jesus] was God. -------------------------------------------------------------------Exodus 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Hebrews 1:6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, Let all Gods angels worship him. In Exodus God commands that He alone be worshiped. Jesus reiterated the commandment to worship God only. Yet God the Fathers command in Hebrews 1:6 that His angels worship the Son indicates that the Son too is God. If Jesus were not Deity, God in the flesh, this would be idolatry. -------------------------------------------------------------------1 Timothy 3:16, King James Version 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. GOD was manifest in the flesh, clearly in context referring to Jesus. -------------------------------------------------------------------Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Hebrews 3:4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Colossians 1:15-16 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. John 1:1-3, 10 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.... [10] He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. The Bible speaks of both God the Father and Jesus being Creator of all. Jesus is divine, the Co-Creator!

-------------------------------------------------------------------John 5:22-23 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. Jesus is to be given equal honor with the Father. -------------------------------------------------------------------Matthew 28:19 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. In His Great Commission baptismal command, Jesus said to baptize in the name (not names) of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is a strong implication of coequality among Father, Son and Holy Spirit in this verse. -------------------------------------------------------------------Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Ezekiel 34:31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD. John 10:14 I [Jesus] am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Hebrews 13:20 ...our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep... Often in the Old Testament God is referred to as the Shepherd of His flock, His people. Jesus said of Himself, I am the good shepherd. -------------------------------------------------------------------Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ...God...His own blood! The blood of Jesus Christ, shed for our redemption, is called Gods own blood. The blood of Deity, nothing less! -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 8:13-14a The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he [the Lord Almighty] will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. 1 Peter 2:4, 7-8a As you come to him [Jesus], the living Stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him ...[7] Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and, A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. It is evident that the stone that causes men to stumble and [the] rock that makes them fall of Isaiah and Peter are one and the same. The wording in the Old and New Testaments is identical. Peter knows Him as Jesus Christ; Isaiah calls Him The Lord Almighty! The name the Lord Almighty is used in the Bible, then, to identify both Jesus the Son and God the Father. --------------------------------------------------------------------

Exodus 3:13-14 Moses said to God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? Then what shall I tell them? God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. John 8:58-59 I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I am! At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. God identified Himself to Moses by the name I AM. Jesus identified Himself to the Jews as that very same I AM. The Jews knew exactly what He was claiming and sought to stone Him for such apparent blasphemy that is, His (true!) claim to be the I AM who spoke to Moses. -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 11:1-2 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Jeremiah 23:5-6 The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. Jesus Christ is the Lords Branch from the line of David. Jeremiah prophesied that the name of this Branch would be The Lord our Righteousness in Hebrew, JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU. The divine name JEHOVAH (some translate it Yahweh) is applied to Jesus Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Mark 1:1-3 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way a voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Isaiah speaks of a messenger preparing the way for our God. Mark shows that Isaiahs prophecy spoke of John the Baptists preparing for the coming of JESUS! Truly He is our God. It is small wonder that Thomas, beholding the resurrected Son, could cry, My Lord and my God! (John 20:28). It is quite evident from his words that the apostle Thomas had correctly perceived the deity of Jesus Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------Hebrews 3:3-4 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. In verse 3 Jesus is the builder. In verse 4 God is the builder of all. -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 48:12-13, 17 Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.... [17] This is what the LORD says your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God.... Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Jesus, the resurrected, ever-living Son of God, calls Himself the First and the Last, a divine title ascribed to the Lord your God in Isaiah. -------------------------------------------------------------------Titus 1:3-4 And at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Note: God our Savior (vs. 3) and Christ Jesus our Savior (vs. 4). Jesus Christ is God; Jesus Christ is the Savior. -------------------------------------------------------------------A disclaimer seems to be in order here. I am not saying that Jesus Christ IS the Father (He is not). I am asserting that Jesus is God AND that the Father is God. To pursue that line of thought any farther necessitates a study of the doctrine of the Trinity a classic and valid truth of orthodox Christianity, but not the subject of this study. In this undertaking my mission is to affirm biblically the full deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Again, I am not saying that Jesus is the Father (He is not), but that Jesus is fully God (true man and true God, as the early Christians declared) and thereby coequal and coeternal with God the Father. -------------------------------------------------------------------Mark 2:5, 7 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. ... [7] Why does this fellow talk like that? Hes blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? Jesus possessed personally the authority to forgive sins, an authority that belongs uniquely to God. -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 43:12b, 14-15 You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, that I am God.... [14] This is what the LORD says your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israels Creator, your King. Hosea 11:9b For I am God, and not man the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. Mark 1:24 What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God! Acts 3:14-15 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. The Holy One, a title applied often to Jehovah (or Yahweh) God, is specifically applied in the New Testament to Jesus Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome... 1 Timothy 6:15 ...which God will bring about in his own time God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 17:14 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.

Jesus is called Lord of lords and King of kings titles ascribed elsewhere in Scripture to God. -------------------------------------------------------------------Isaiah 45:22-23 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. Philippians 2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In the act of bowing the knee to and confessing Jesus, we are worshiping God, for He has said, Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. -------------------------------------------------------------------Deuteronomy 32:3-4 I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. 1 Corinthians 10:1, 4 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea ... [4] and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Our God...the Rock, of whom Moses wrote, is said by the apostle Paul to be Jesus. A related truth clearly reinforced by Pauls statement is the preexistence of Christ prior to His earthly incarnation. -------------------------------------------------------------------John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Jesus the Son possesses the same life-giving power that God the Father has. The power to bring life from death is uniquely a prerogative of divinity. -------------------------------------------------------------------Joel 2:32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls Acts 4:10-12 Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.... [12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Joel exhorts us to call upon the divine name the Lord (Hebrew = Jehovah, or Yahweh) for salvation. Peter quotes this exact verse (Acts 2:21) and tells us (Acts 4:12) that salvation is found in the name of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul similarly urges that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:11). -------------------------------------------------------------------Luke 8:38-39 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return home and tell how much God has done for you. So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. Jesus identified His ministry to the formerly demon-possessed man as what God [had] done for [him].

-------------------------------------------------------------------Hebrews 7:1, 3 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him.... [3] Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. Melchizedek, who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 14, is a Christophany, an appearance of a being representing Christ. The writer to the Hebrews in chapter seven makes this same association. And of this remarkable being who is like the Son of God, the author declares that He is without beginning of days or end of life. This is another powerful declaration of the eternal preexistence of Jesus Christ a trait only applicable to a fully Divine Being. None short of Deity can claim eternal existence both past and future. -------------------------------------------------------------------1 John 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. ...Jesus Christ. He is the true God. As unmistakable a declaration of the divinity of Jesus Christ as one could desire! -------------------------------------------------------------------Titus 2:13 ...while we wait for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul recognized Jesus as our great God and Savior! This is a forthright assertion of the deity of Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: The apostle Peter, too, an earthly companion and disciple of the Son of God, fully understood the identity of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. -------------------------------------------------------------------Romans 9:5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. Christ, who IS GOD over all! -------------------------------------------------------------------My sincere prayer is that the readers of this study will find great encouragement in your faith in the Son of God, as well as a fuller understanding of and appreciation for the identity of Jesus our Savior as Deity, coequal and coeternal with God the Father. May your faith in Him sustain and bless you ...while we wait for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Two enlightening messages on the related doctrine of the Trinity may be viewed at The Trinity Demystified and The Holy Trinity in Action.

he Holy Trinity Demystified

By Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.
Sermon Summary: Scholarly theological definitions of the Holy Trinity (or Blessed Trinity) sometimes, unfortunately, leave Christians bewildered. In this sermon, Pastor Jim Feeney's aim is to demystify the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in simple bible language. One good, time-tested definition of the Trinity reads like this: There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The mind alone cannot fathom the deep mystery of the Trinity. It must be spiritually discerned. 1 John 5:7, King James Version (KJV) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. Three are one. Three divine Persons the Father, the Word [Jesus], and the Holy Ghost. Yet they are said to be one. Note: Holy Ghost in the King James Version and Holy Spirit in most modern translations mean one and the same thing, being translated from the same Greek words. Admittedly, some manuscripts and translations do not agree that the full verse 7 as contained in the King James Version is in the original. We cannot definitively resolve that divided opinion, but we will see that many other verses in the bible clearly indicate that God is indeed a Trinity one God, eternally existent in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To those Scriptures we will now turn.

1. IS THERE ONE GOD? YES.

Romans 3:30 ...there is only one God... Mark 12:29, KJV ...Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord. Galatians 3:20 ...God is one.

2. CAN GOD BE PLURAL, EVEN THOUGH HE IS ONE? AGAIN, YES.

Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness... [27] So God created man in his own image... The very word for God is plural in the Hebrew of these and many other verses. Note the easy interaction of the plural (us...our, vs. 26) and the singular (his, vs. 27) in speaking of the same God. Genesis 3:22a And the LORD God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Plurality (us) again in God's self-revelation. Genesis 18:1-2 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. [2] Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

 In this great theophany, the Lord God appeared to Abraham in the visible form of three men. In the rest of this chapter and its dialogue, the three men were frequently identified by the divine names Jehovah and Adonay. Deity was revealed on earth in a theophany of three men.

3. IS THE FATHER GOD? YES.

2 Peter 1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Ephesians 5:20 ...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything...

4. IS JESUS GOD? YES.

John 20:28 Thomas said to him [the resurrected Jesus], My Lord and my God! Hebrews 1:8 But about the Son he says, Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever... God the Father calls the Son Jesus God. 1 Timothy 3:16, KJV 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. This refers unmistakably to Jesus, who is called God ... manifest in the flesh. Philippians 2:5-6 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in very nature God... Jesus was and is in very nature God! Matthew 1:23 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means, God with us. The virgin-born Son Jesus (vs. 21) would be known as God with us. An extensive biblical proof of the Deity of Jesus can be found elsewhere on this website at The Deity of Jesus Christ.

5. IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GOD? YES.

Acts 5:3-4 Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit ...[4]... You have not lied to men but to God. To lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God. Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. The Holy Spirit was exercising the divine prerogative to call and set apart ministries. Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit was the Divine Co-Creator.

6. THE ONENESS OF THE HOLY TRINITY.

John 10:30 I [Jesus] and the Father are one. Here two (that is, plural Persons) of the Holy Trinity Jesus and the Father are said to be one. 1 John 5:7, KJV For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. Three and yet one. Tri-unity! Some skeptics have said, How can 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 ? To them I reply, How about 1 X 1 X 1 ? There we have three ones equaling one! If God can make three ones equal one in His created realm, then certainly the Creator God can exist as one God in three Divine Persons!

7. MANY SCRIPTURES REVEAL THE FULL TRINITY.

(From the King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven [God the Father's], saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. John 14:16-17 And I [Jesus] will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth... 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God [the Father] which worketh all in all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God [the Father], and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. Ephesians 2:18 For through him [Jesus] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV) There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 1 John 5:7, KJV For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. Summary: The bible clearly teaches us that there is One God. The Bible also reveals that there are three divine Persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) and that these three are one. Not three Gods, but one God, eternally existent in three Persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This, in sum, is the Holy Trinity.

The Holy Trinity in Action

by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.

Summary: A classic definition of the holy trinity is: There is one God, eternally existing in three persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In reading the Bible, we come across many illuminating occasions where we see all three persons of the trinity in action. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the very first verse of the entire Bible we see a revelation of the plurality of persons in the one God. The Hebrew word for God in this verse is Elohim, a plural noun. As we read on in the Scriptures, again and again we will see a sense of plurality of persons in the identity of the one God of the Bible. For those desiring a more theological treatment of the trinity, I invite you to read my study on The Holy Trinity Demystified. Genesis 18:1-3 The Lord appeared to Abraham ... [2] Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. [3] He said, If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. This is a theophany, an appearance of God in a form discernible to humans. Notice who it was the Lord and how the Lord revealed Himself to Abraham in the form of three men. The Lord who appeared is the (anglicized) Hebrew word Jehovah (or Yahweh). Strongs Exhaustive Concordance defines this Hebrew word as: (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God. Vs. 3 my lord (KJV: My Lord) to whom the patriarch Abraham bowed down is the Hebrew word Adonay, the proper name of God only (Strongs). The important point to make here is that God ... Jehovah ... Adonay ... appeared in the form of three men. The trinity in action! One God appearing as three men. Isaiah 61:1, KJV The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound... We see the full holy trinity in action in just the first nine words of the verse The Spirit of the Lord God is on me ( the me is Jesus, revealed in Luke 4:16-18). God the Father anoints Jesus the Son with the Holy Spirit, as also in Acts 10:38 ...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power... Again, the triune (3-in-1) God in action. Matthew 28:18-19 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [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. In the Great Commission we have Jesus baptismal command to baptize in the name of the trinity. Mark 1:9-11 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [2] As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a

dove. [3] And a voice [God the Fathers] came from heaven: You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. This is a dramatic revelation of the trinity in action at the water baptism, the Holy Spirit anointing, and the public revelation of Jesus Christ. Picture the scenario Jesus the Son of God, standing by the river ... the Holy Spirit descending on him in the form of a dove ... and the voice of God the Father from heaven giving audible recognition and blessing to His Son Jesus on earth. Remember the classic definition of the holy trinity we gave at the beginning There is one God, eternally existing in three persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Here again, the full trinity God the Father (the Most High), the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are revealed in Jesus miraculous conception and incarnation. John 14:16-17a And I [Jesus] will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever [17] the Spirit of truth. In the wisdom of God, during this Church Age God the Son has returned to heaven, and His place with us on earth is taken by God the Holy Spirit. In response to the resurrected and ascended Sons request, the Father has sent the Holy Spirit to be with [us] forever. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] There are different kinds of service [KJV: administrations], but the same Lord. [6] There are different kinds of working [KJV: operations], but the same God works all of them in all men. Note: different kinds...but the same Spirit...Lord...God. It is the persons of the Triune God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working in unity and harmony, who give and coordinate the various spiritual gifts, ministries, and operations going on in the body of Christ. 2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The apostle Paul closed his epistle with this trinitarian blessing. The blessing reveals certain aspects of the three Persons the grace of Jesus, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:18 For through him [Jesus] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. It is the Trinity in fullness that enables men and women to come to God. Through [Jesus] ... to the Father by [the] Spirit. Triunity (three-in-oneness) in action, in prayer, in worship, in all areas of approaching God. When we pray, for example, our ultimate intention is to communicate with God the Father (Matthew 6:9). This is made possible by the access to Him purchased by Jesus redemptive death and resurrection. And the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer actively facilitates the communion between us and the Father.

Titus 3:4-6 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. Our very salvation is an operation of the entire trinity God our Savior ... Jesus Christ our Savior ... rebirth...by the Holy Spirit. Revelation 1:4-5, KJV John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him [God the Father] which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits [Amplified: the sevenfold Spirit] which are before his throne; [5] And from Jesus Christ... Once more we see the triune God together Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending His word here, the Revelation to the churches. imparting grace and peace to the believers. making personal contact with the seven churches named here. God in His fullness God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is fully, deeply, and lovingly involved with His people. Preached at Medford (Oregon) Christian Center, January 16, 2