THE TRIUNE GOD

Lesson 1 for January 7, 2012

As Seventh-day Adventist Church,
we believe that:

“There is one God: Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit, a unity of three
co-eternal Persons. God is
immortal, all-powerful, all-
knowing, above all, and ever
present. He is infinite and
beyond human comprehension,
yet known through His self-
revelation. He is forever worthy
of worship, adoration, and
service by the whole creation”.
(Dt. 6: 4; Dt. 29: 29; Mt. 28: 19;
2Co. 13: 14; Eph. 4: 4-6; 1P. 1: 2;
1Tim. 1: 17; Rev. 14: 6 y 7)

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification

of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied” (1 Peter, 1: 2)
 GOD THE FATHER
“God the eternal Father is the
Creator, Source, Sustainer, and
Sovereign of all creation. He is just
and holy, merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness. The
qualities and powers exhibited in
the Son and the Holy Spirit are also
revelations of the Father”.
(Gn. 1: 1; Rev. 4: 11; 1Co. 15: 28; Jn.
3: 16; 1Jn. 4: 8; 1Tim. 1: 17: Ex. 34:
6 y 7; Jn. 14: 9)

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone

is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy, 1: 17)

No believer has ever doubted that the Father is divine. If we believe that God
exists, then at least one of the three mentioned persons (Father, Son, and Spirit)
must be the God we believe in.
 GOD THE SON
“God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Through Him
all things were created, the character of God is revealed, the
salvation of humanity is accomplished, and the world is judged.
Forever truly God, He became also truly man, Jesus the Christ. He
was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived
and experienced temptation as a human being, but perfectly
exemplified the righteousness and love of God. By His miracles He
manifested God's power and was attested as God's promised
Messiah. He suffered and died voluntarily on the cross for our sins
and in our place, was raised from the dead, and ascended to minister
in the heavenly sanctuary in our behalf. He will come again in glory
for the final deliverance of His people and the restoration of all
things”.

(Jn. 1: 1-3 y 14; Col. 1: 15-19; Jn. 10: 30; Jn. 14: 9; Ro. 5: 18; Ro. 6: 23;
2Co. 5: 17-19; Jn. 5: 22; Lk. 1: 35; Phlp. 2: 5-11; Heb. 2: 9-18; 1Co. 15: 3
y 4; Heb. 4: 15; Heb. 7: 25; Heb. 8: 1 y 2; Heb. 9: 28; Jn. 14: 1-3; 1P. 2:
21; Rev. 22: 20)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God” GOD THE SON
(John, 1: 1)

“But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God,

is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of Your kingdom.”” (Hebrews, 1: 8)

In the Bible we found

explicitly stated that
Jesus Christ (the Word
made flesh, the Son)
is God.

Furthermore, the Son is

attributed qualities that
only divinity has:
 GOD THE SON
“In the beginning God created” (Genesis, 1: 1)
CREATOR
“All things were made through Him”
(John, 1: 3; Colossians, 1: 16; Hebrews, 1: 1-2)

“But God is the Judge” (Psalm 75: 7)

JUDGE
“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son”
(John, 5: 22; Matthew, 25: 31-36)

“By You I have been upheld from birth” (Psalm 71: 6)

HE UPHOLDS
“[The Son] upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews, 1: 3)

“You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve”
WORTHY OF (Matthew, 4: 10)
WORSHIP “But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels
of God worship Him.”” (Hebrews, 1: 6; Matthew, 14: 33; 28: 9; Luke, 24: 52; John, 9: 38)

HE HAS POWER “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark, 2: 7)
TO FORGIVE
SINS “The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”
(Mark, 2: 10)

“And the angel answered and
said to her, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the
power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore,
also, that Holy One who is to
be born will be called the Son
of God” (Luke, 1: 35)
Luke said that Jesus would be called Son of God because He was born by the Holy
Spirit; Peter also told Ananias that he had lied to God because he lied to the Holy
Spirit (Acts, 5: 1-11)
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
“God the eternal Spirit was active with
the Father and the Son in Creation,
incarnation, and redemption. He inspired
the writers of Scripture. He filled Christ's
life with power. He draws and convicts
human beings; and those who respond
He renews and transforms into the
image of God. Sent by the Father and the
Son to be always with His children, He
extends spiritual gifts to the church,
empowers it to bear witness to Christ,
and in harmony with the Scriptures leads
it into all truth”.
(Gn. 1: 1 y 2; Lk. 1: 35; Lk. 4: 18; Act. 10:
38; 2P. 1: 21; 2Co. 3: 18; Eph. 4: 11 y 12;
Act. 1: 8; Jn. 14: 16-18 y 26; Jn. 15: 26-
27; Jn. 16: 7-13)
 GOD’S ONENESS, UNITY, EQUIALITY AND PLURALITY
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy, 6: 4)
“I and My Father are one” (John, 10: 30)
The Hebrew word “one” used
in those texts is the same that
is used to say that man and
woman are “one” flesh.
Therefore, that word involves
a complex unit. God is three
persons in one, just like
marriage is made of two
persons.
 GOD’S ONENESS, UNITY, EQUIALITY AND PLURALITY

“Let this mind be in you which was

also in Christ Jesus, who, being in
the form of God, did not consider it
robbery to be equal with God”
(Philippians, 2: 5-6)

“He who has seen Me has seen

the Father” (John, 14: 9)

In the Trinity there is neither superiority nor inferiority of one Person above others.
The Father and the Spirit, and the Spirit and the Son are equal just like the Son and
the Father are equal.
The one God (“He”) is also, and equally, “They,” and “They” are always together,
always closely cooperating. The Holy Spirit executes the will of both Father and Son,
which is also His will.
 GOD’S ONENESS, UNITY, EQUIALITY AND PLURALITY
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be
with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians, 13: 14)
The three Persons in Trinity appear or
are mentioned simultaneously several
times (Mark, 1: 9-11; Matthew, 28:
19; Jude, 20-21).
That proves that the idea that three
Persons are three different roles of
one divinity is false.
On the other hand, God uses the
plural form in several verbs, showing
that He is several persons, not just
one: “Let Us make” (Genesis, 1: 26-
27), “Let Us go down and there
confuse” (Genesis, 11: 7-8), “And who
will go for Us?”(Isaiah, 6: 8)

Therefore, we deduce that God is one in three equal persons

who are coeternal and united in purpose.
 TRINITY AND SALVATION
Were Jesus not divine, then God’s law would not be as sacred as God Himself,
because the violation of it would be something for which a created being could
atone. The law would be only as sacred as that created being, and not as sacred as
the Creator. Sin itself would not be so bad if all it took to atone for it was the death
of a creature and not the death of the Creator to atone for it. The fact that it took
God Himself, in the Person of Christ, to remedy sin presents powerful evidence of
the seriousness of sin. Who must we thank for our salvation?
† The Father, because He loves us and sent the Son.
† The Son, because He died in our place and He
perpetually intercedes on our behalf.
† The Holy Spirit, because He exalts and glorifies the Son
and He shows us the purity of His justice and the
salvation we have in He.
“But when the Helper comes,
whom I shall send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth
who proceeds from the Father,
He will testify of Me”
(John, 15: 26)
 E.G.W. (Pacific Union Recorder, January 5, 1905)

“The salvation of human beings is a vast enterprise, that calls into action
every attribute of the divine nature. The Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit have pledged themselves to make God’s children more than
conquerors through Him that loved them. The Lord is gracious and
longsuffering, not willing that any should perish. He has provided power to
enable us to be overcomers”