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Who is God?
The question "Who is God?" is a
good question. It is better than
asking "What is God?" This is because God exists, created us, loves us,
is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent the Son
to redeem us. If we were to ask "What is God?" we might be tempted to
say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or
something like that. In some respect, this would be true.
But
the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God
really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.
The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has
been and always will be only one God. God was never
created, is completely loving, completely just, completely holy,
completely merciful, and that He desires the best for us. God is
holy and He can have nothing to do with sin as the Bible says, "His
eyes are too pure to look upon evil," (Hab. 1:13). This does not mean
that God cannot see what someone does that is wrong. It is a way of
describing how holy God is. God cannot sin. He is perfect.
In Christianity, God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons,
not three gods. Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in
the one God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Each is not the same person as the other; yet there are not three gods
but one. This is similar in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past,
present, and future. The past is not the same as the present, which is
not the same as the future. But, there are not three times. There
is only one thing called time.
The reason the word "person" is used in describing the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes
of personhood -- not in a body of flesh and bones, but in personality.
In other words, each has a will, loves, speaks, is aware of others,
communicates with others, etc. These are attributes of personhood and we
see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrate these
qualities.
Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in
the form of the Son, and still exist in such a way so that He can run
the universe. Therefore, the Son can communicate to us on our
level.
Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.
- Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
- 2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit, be with you all."
The
Bible says there is only one God: "I am the Lord, and there is
no other;
Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah
45:5). Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit are each called God.
Below is a very brief chart that shows that
each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only
God shares. But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each
have wills, and speak, etc. Therefore, we say there are are three
persons.
If you want
more information on the trinity, then see the
doctrine section on carm.
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