Who is God?

Theology is the study of God
This is what the True North series is about. When we get to the center of it all, our understanding of God impacts our relationship with God. If we perceive God to be a distant unknowable force then we will never be able to sense His presence in our life.

If we perceive that God is powerless then we wonder if our prayers fall on incompetent ears. Theology matters.

Peter told the early disciples to be prepared to give an answer for what you believe.

“…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,…”
1 Peter 3:15

If asked, would you be able to articulate what the Trinity is?

Do you understand the difference between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?

Do you pray to: God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, varies, idk

A tree is my mental picture of the Trinity. It has different parts and they are all necessary, but they are all one tree.

The roots serve one function
The trunk and branches another
The leaves yet another function

They are all part of the tree yet they all have their own function. I don’t understand everything there is to know about the tree, but I am pretty sure it’s a tree.

More Trinity Examples

Space consists of length, width, and height—three in one. If you were to take away any of these dimensions, you would no longer have space.

Time consists of past, present, and future—three in one. If you were to take away any of these aspects, you would no longer have time.

Matter consists of energy in motion producing phenomena—three in one. If there were no energy there could be no motion or phenomena. If there were no motion, there would be no energy or phenomena. If there were no phenomena, it would be because there was no energy or motion.

The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible yet the concept of one God who exists in three distinct persons or parts is clearly provided in scripture: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Holy Trinity Mathematical Equation
3 = 1
1 = 3

**The word “Trinity” comes from combining two words together: “tri” meaning three and “unity” meaning one, thus the word trinity or three in one.

Three crucial truths:

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons
Each Person is fully God
There is only one God.

The Holy Trinity

The Father As God
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:2

Jesus As God
“while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,…”
Titus 2:13

The Holy Spirit As God
“Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
Acts 5:3-4

According to John 3:16 the Father sent the Son into the world. He cannot be the same person as the Son since the Father sent the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father,

the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world.

Jesus says:
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
John 14:26

While the three members of the Trinity are distinct, this does not mean that any is inferior to the other.
Instead, they are all identical in attributes. They are equal in power, love, mercy, justice, holiness, knowledge, and all other qualities.

“There is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”
Isaiah 45:21-22.

What is meant by Person is something that regards himself as “I” and others as “You.”
So, the Father, for example, is a different Person from the Son because He regards the Son as a “You,” even though He regards Himself as “I.” Thus, in regards to the Trinity, we can say that “Person” means a distinct subject which regards Himself as an “I” and the other two as a “You.” These distinct subjects are not a division within the being of God, but “a form of personal existence other than a difference in being.”

All three Persons are one God because they are all the same essence. Essence means the same thing as “being.” Thus, since God is only one essence, He is only one being, not three. Think of example of the tree I gave you. This should make it clear why it is so important to understand that all three Persons are the same essence.

How do they relate?

Within God’s one, undivided, being is an “unfolding” into three personal distinctions.
These personal distinctions are modes of existence within the divine being, but are not divisions of the divine being. They are personal forms of existence other than a difference in being.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 28:19

Three Observations from this verse

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguished as distinct Persons.
Each Person must be deity because they are all placed on the same level.
Although the three divine Persons are distinct, we are baptized into their name (singular), not names (plural).

Who Do You Pray To?

The Father? The Son? The Holy Spirit?
All prayer should be directed to our triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible allows for prayer to one or all three, because all three are one.

Understanding Each Trinity Role In Prayer

We pray to the Father,
We pray through (or in the name of) the Son
We pray by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All three are active participants in the believer’s prayer.

How To Apply This Lesson

First, worship and honor our Heavenly Father as the source of all.
He is the One to whom we respond with love, prayers worship and adoration. We also worship the Son and the Holy Spirit, but because even the Son and the Spirit give glory to the Father and share in his glory we worship the Three-in-One with an understanding that the Father is the ultimate object of all.

Second, worship Jesus for his substitutionary atonement.
Jesus’ work on the cross enables us to have a relationship with our heavenly father. He is God in the flesh. We pray in Jesus name because our Heavenly Father gives us what we need in Jesus name.

“In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
John 16:23

Third, eagerly seek the Holy Spirit to work in your life.
Seek the Holy Spirit to guide you and lead you as you seek the will of God in your life. We respond to the continual presence of the Spirit by welcoming his conviction.

When we lack faith, the Spirit stirs our hearts to believe at the hearing of Scripture.
When we sin, the Spirit brings conviction and draws our hearts to remember and obey the words of Scripture.