1 God, 3 Persons

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Modalism is a common false concept of the nature of God.  Essentially, in an attempt to maintain the oneness of God, the Trinity is denied.  Modalism asserts that there is one divine Person who makes himself known in three different ways, i.e., three forms or modes.   Thus, each form or manifestation of God is one way in which he reveals himself.  It is said that the one God revealed himself as the Father in the Old Testament, as Jesus in the Incarnation, and now as the Holy Spirit in the present. Thus, Modalism says that there is only one Being, one Person, made known in three different ways. But this is not a biblical understanding of the Godhead. In Scripture, we are presented with one God who eternally exists as three divine Persons, each fully God, each one distinct from the others, yet one God. This is the Trinity.

The history of modalism stretches back to ancient times.  In an effort to preserve Christian monotheism, some early church leaders stressed the monarchy, or essential unity of the Divine Being.  One of the first to do so was a church elder named Noetus of Syria in the late 2nd century.  Later, a prominent church leader named Sabellius taught this in the 3rd century.  His false system of belief was called Sabellianism after his name.  This heretical doctrine has cropped up from time to time throughout church history.  Emanuel Swedenborg, in the 18th century, taught a modalistic view of God in his mystical theology.  The contemporary Oneness Pentecostal churches are modalists, teaching that the one divine Person, named Jesus, was revealed in three different ways: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Although the concept of the Trinity is challenging to comprehend, the idea that there is only one God who exists eternally in a community of three divine Persons is clearly taught in the Scriptures.  Let’s take a few moments to consider the biblical case for there being three distinct Persons in the Unity of the Godhead.

Three Persons

  • Some verses specifically mention three divine Persons: Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14.
  • There are numerous passages in the New Testament where the three divine Persons are referred to together, e.g., in John 14:15-17, John 15:26, Galatians 4:6, 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, 1 Peter 1:2, etc.
  • In Isaiah 61:1, the Anointed One (Messiah Jesus) is anointed by Yahweh with the Spirit of Yahweh.  Jesus clearly indicates that “me” of this verse refers to himself (Luke 4:16-21).
  • One of the most fascinating places where the three Persons are mentioned together is Isaiah 48.  Here, the Eternal God, who is the Creator (48:12-13), declares that he has been sent by the Lord God (48:16), as well as the Holy Spirit.

One Yet Plural

That there is only God is fundamental to all Christian teaching.  Yet, equally as fundamental is the Scriptural presentation of the One God existing as three Divine Persons.  God is One.  God is Three.  There is a plurality within the unity of the Godhead.

  • The most common term for God in Hebrew is Elohim.  And Elohim is a plural noun.  There is a singular form of this noun, Eloah, but it is rarely used.  Elohim (plural for God) is even used when there is an affirmation that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 4:35, Psalm 86:10, Isaiah 37:16, Isaiah 45:21, etc.).
  • Probably the most significant declaration of the oneness of God is found in the Shema, the Hebrew prayer found in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”  Yet, it is noteworthy that the term for “one” in this verse is echad, a word that indicates a compound unity (see examples of a unity [echad] comprised of more than one thing in Genesis 1:5, Genesis 2:24, Ezra 2:64, and Ezekiel 37:17).

Interpersonal Relationships

The three members of the Triune Godhead are presented in Scripture as having interpersonal relationships with each other.  We cannot understand the inner workings of these divine relationships.  Yet, Scripture is clear that there are dynamics involved between the three Persons.

  • The Father begets the Son.  The Son is begotten of the Father.  (See John 3:16, John 1:18, Hebrews 1:5).
  • The Spirit proceeds from the Father (John 15:26) and is sent by the Father and the Son (John 14:16 & 26, Acts 2:33).
  • In John 1:1, it is said that the Word was not only God himself, but he is “with” God.  You cannot be with yourself; you are only with another person.  Delving a bit into the Greek makes this even clearer.  The phrase “with God” in Greek is pros ton theon, literally “towards God.”  In other words, from all eternity the Word is facing towards his Father.
  • The Father and the Son love each other (John 15:9, 10:17, 17:23 & 26).  The very nature of love indicates that there is more than one person involved—one person to love, and the other to be loved.
  • The Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16-17, 1 John 4:9, 10 & 14).
  • While living on earth, Jesus accomplished his ministry through the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit, not his own power (see John 1:32, Acts 10:38, Luke 4:14-15 and 18-21, Matthew 12:48).
  • Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:12, and Luke 4:1).
  • The Son is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Matthew 26:64, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 8:1).  How could one person sit at his own right hand?

Plural Pronouns

There are several places where the Deity uses plural pronouns in speaking.

  • In the Old Testament, the one God speaks as a multi-personal Being: Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 11:4, and Isaiah 6:8. 
  • Jesus also used plural pronouns, referring to himself and his Father as “we” (John 14:23, John 17:11, 22). 
  • In John 10:30, Jesus spoke of himself and his Father as being one.  In the original Greek, the verb “are” in this verse is plural.  Thus, a literal translation of John 10:30 would be, “I and the Father, we are one.”

Plural Descriptions

There are several places where God is described in plural terms.  In other words, there is a term used for God, but in the original Hebrew, the descriptive noun is plural.  Here are some examples:

  • “Remember now your Creator [literally, creators]” – Ecclesiastes 12:1.
  • “Let Israel rejoice in their Maker [lit. makers]” — Psalm 149:2.
  • “For your Maker [lit. makers] is your husband” – Isaiah 54:5.

Divine Interactions

There are quite a few examples of interactions between the distinct Persons of the Godhead.

  • All three Persons of the Trinity were involved in creation (Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1-3, Psalm 33:6).
  • God (Father) anointed God (Son) in Psalm 45:6-7, cf. Hebrews 1:8-9).
  • “Yahweh called down fire from heaven from Yahweh” (Genesis 19:24).  In other words, one Person named Yahweh called to another Person also named Yahweh, who then sent fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah—two divine Persons acting together.
  • God says that he will save Israel by Yahweh God (Hosea 1:7); God and Yahweh, two Persons acting together.
  • Yahweh of Hosts is sent out to the nations by Yahweh of hosts (Zechariah 2:8-9).  Here again, we see one divine Person called Yahweh of hosts who is sent to the nations by a second Person, also named Yahweh of hosts.
  • The Father, Son, and Spirit were all present and actively involved in the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 4:2).
  • At the present, the Son of God is praying to the Father for his people (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25) and acting as their Mediator with God the Father (1 Timothy 2:5, 1 John 2:1).
  • In the heavenly throne room scene of Revelation 5, we see the Lord on his throne.  The Lamb approaches the throne and takes from his hand the scroll.  This is done in the presence of the Spirit of God (5:6-7).

Divine Conversations

There are times when the three Persons converse with one another.

  • In Psalm 110:1, the Lord (Yahweh) speaks to the Lord (Adonai).  Both Yahweh and Adonai are names for the one true God.
  • In Hebrews 10:5-7, we see Christ represented as speaking to his Father regarding his Incarnation and doing the Father’s will.
  • Jesus prays to the Father, and hears his Father’s voice in response (John 12:28).
  • Consider Christ’s prayer to his Father in John 17.

Distinct Persons

The three members of the Trinity are plainly presented as existing as distinct Persons.  While one in the unity of the Godhead, they are not the same Person.  Each Person is clearly indicated to be “other than” his fellow divine members. 

  • Jesus said he would send “another” Comforter, like himself, but not the same Person (John 14:16).
  • Jesus indicated a distinction between himself and his Father (John 12:44-45).
  • As noted above, the three Persons were each present at the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 4:2).
  • They are also present in the throne room of heaven (Revelation 4:2 & 5, 5:6; also Revelation 1:4-5).
  • In the Mosaic Law, at least two witnesses were required to verify that an event had occurred (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15).  Jesus uses this legal principle to affirm the legitimacy of his ministry.  He says that he is one witness, and his Father is a second witness (John 8:17-18).  One person cannot be two witnesses.

These are only some of the many verses that show us that there is more than one person in the Godhead.  Perhaps the best summation for God being both one and three is found in the ancient Athanasian Creed:

“We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is all one. … So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods but one.”

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