INTRODUCTION:

1. There are many misunderstandings and confusion about the Godhead

   1. Jehovah Only

   2. Jesus Only

   3. Jesus was 1^st of creation

   4. Holy Spirit is just an impersonal life force

   5. Many gods – Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, Shinto

2. Bible View

   1. There is a godhead (deity, divine nature)

      1. Acts 17:29 – We ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's device.

      2. Romans 1:20 – For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

   2. Plural

      1. Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God (elohim - plural)

      2. Genesis 1:26 – Let us make man in our image

   3. Trinity

      1. 1 John 5:7 – For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

      2. Matthew 28:19b – baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

      3. 2 Corinthians 13:14 – The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Proving the Trinity

1. Father is God – John 20:17 – Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”

2. Son is God – Hebrews 1:8 – But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

3. Holy Spirit is God – Acts 5:3, 4b – You lied to Holy Spirit, not to men but to God.

4. Deity – Godhead, Godhood, Divine Nature – the qualities and essence of God

Proving 3 Separate Persons

1. Father is not the Son – John 8:18 – I am one who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.

2. Father is not the Holy Spirit – John 14:26 – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.

3. Son is not the Holy Spirit – Acts 10:38 – how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

One Simple Passage

1. John 8:13-18

2. ISBE on Trinity (see quote below)

Conclusion

1. 1 John 5:6-8

2. This is the God we worship.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia – “There is one only and true God, but in the unity of the godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance, but distinct in subsistence.”