God is Three?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• In what ways are the Godhead members three (or separate)?

• Are the Godhead members separate/three beings?

• Do the Godhead members have separate spirits?

• Do the Godhead members have separate souls?

• Are the Godhead members spoke of as separate Gods?

• Is one Godhead members the God of the others?

• Can there exist multiple Gods within one God?

Note: This pages is focused on how the Godhead members are separate. See the “Godhead: How One/Equal?” page for how the Godhead members are one and equal.

VIEWS TO CONSIDER:

• EVANGELICAL VIEW: The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three eternally separate persons that exist in the same one spirit, being and God.

• LATTER DAY SAINT VIEW: The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings, separate Gods, separate souls, separate spirits etc.

CONTENTS:

• Separate spirits

• Separate souls

• Separate selves

• Separate persons

• Separate beings (?)

• Separate Gods (?)

• Separate in form / sight / view

• Separate names

• Separate relationships

• Separate minds

• Separate in number

• Separate wills/desires

• Separate feelings

• Separate locations

• Separate voices

• Separate roles

• Separate levels of authority

SEPARATE SPIRITS:

• Matt. 12:18 Behold my servant… I will put my spirit upon him (Note: Jesus already had a spirit in him from birth, so this other "spirit" being put upon him, likely the Holy Spirit, indicates that Jesus and the Holy Spirit have/are separate spirits)

• Luke 23:26 Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost (Note: This passage clearly shows that Jesus has his own spirit, one that leaves his body and goes to the Father, a spirit that is separate from the Holy Spirit that the Father will put upon him as described in Matt. 12:18 above. This strongly implies that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each have their own separate spirit, that they are separate spirits).

• Gen 1:2 And the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) moved upon the face of the waters (It is quite universally understood that this passage refers to the moving of the third person, the Holy Spirit, not to the Father or the Son. This suggests that this moving spirit separate from the Father or Son, that the Holy Spirit has his own location and spirit).

SEPARATE SOULS:

• Matt. 12:18 Behold my servant… in whom my soul is well pleased

• Matt. 26:38 My soul is exceeding sorrowful

• John 12:27 My soul is troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me(?)

SEPARATE SELVES:

• John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self

SEPARATE PERSONS:

• Heb. 1:3 [Jesus is] the express image of [God the Father’s] person

• 2 Cor. 2:10 For your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ

SEPARATE BEINGS: The New Testament teaches that the Father, Jesus and the Spirit “are one” (“I and my Father are one“, “These three are one“). Many have assumed that this language must be interpreted literally to mean that the Father, Son and Spirit are literally one being, one God (three persons in one God). However, as seen below, this “are one” language is used repeatedly throughout scripture (OT and NT), and it is, in every other case, always used to express metaphorical (non-literal) unity between separate beings. Applying this Biblical meaning to the Godhead unity passages directs us to conclude that the Father, Son and Spirit are separate beings that are have great (perfect) unity amongst themselves (unity in purpose, love etc.)

• 1 Cor. 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are ONE: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.

• 1 Cor. 6:16 Know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is ONE body?

• 1 Cor. 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is ONE spirit

• 1 Cor. 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread

• 1 Cor. 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

• 1 Cor. 12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body

• 1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are ONE

• 2 Chron. 30:22 the hand of God was to give them ONE heart to do the commandment of the king

• Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of ONE heart and of ONE soul

• Eccl. 3:19 As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, THEY have all ONE breath

• Ezek. 11:9 I will give them ONE heart

• Ezek. 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and THEY shall become ONE in thine hand

• Ezek. 37:22 And I will make them ONE nation… they shall be no more two nations

• Gal. 3:28 Ye are all ONE in Christ

• Gen. 11:6 Behold, the people is ONE

• Gen. 2:24 [Husband]… cleave unto wife… they shall be ONE flesh

• Jer. 32:39 I will give them ONE heart, and ONE way

• John 10:30 I and my Father are one

• Philip. 1:27 Stand fast with ONE spirit, with ONE mind striving together

• Rom. 12:5 We, being many, are ONE body in Christ

SEPARATE GODS (?):

• Mark 5:7 What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not (Note: This giving of the title “the Most High God” to the Father in the context of Jesus, his son, implies that while they are both Gods, the Father is the Most High God. The title implies that there are multiple Gods with differing levels of Godhood).

• Luke 18:9 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God (Note: Here, Jesus refers to “one” called “God” and places himself outside that “one”. If the Father is “one” God, then it is logical to conclude that Jesus is a separate God, not the same “one” God).

• Ps. 45:7 Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever… therefore, God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (compare to Heb. 1:9) (Note: This teaching that God has a God clearly implies that they are (and there are) separate Gods).

• John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Note: This passage can be viewed in various ways, but what is clear is that one person with the title God, Jesus, was with another person who was also called God, God the Father)

• John 17:2-3 Father… this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (Note: Here, Jesus specifically separates himself from the title “only true God“, suggesting that he and the Father are not the same one God).

• Note: Since the Bible speaks of many Gods, therefore the teaching that a particular person is the “one God” or “only God” (within context) means that that person is God in a particular/unique way and within a specific context – it does not mean that every person that is called “God” in scripture (ex. Father, Son, Spirit, Moses, judges, the mighty, rulers, children of the Most High, Satan, angels etc.) must all be the same one God being. See the page, “God: How many Gods?”

• 2 Cor. 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

• Eph. 1:17 The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory

• Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

• Eph. 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

• Heb. 1:8 Unto the Son, [God] saith:… Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above they fellows

• John 20:17 I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God

• Matt. 27:46 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

• Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

• Ps. 45:6, 7 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

• Rev. 3:12 (Jesus speaking) Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down

SEPARATE IN FORM SIGHT / VIEW: Here below are some passages that show that the Father and Son have been seen together at the time. They describe Jesus being next to the Father (often on the Father’s right hand). Sometimes they sitting, sometimes standing etc. Visually (and in form), they are separate.

• Acts 7:55-56 But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God

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• All right hand of God passages

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• Add the Revelation vision showing both

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SEPARATE NAMES:

• John 17:11 Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me

• John 12:28 Father, glorify thy name

• John 5:43 I am come in my Father’s name

• 2 Thess. 1:22 The name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you

• 1 John 5:3 Believe on the name of the Son of God

• Matthew 4:3 2 John 1:3 Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father

• Luke 4:1 Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost… was led by the Spirit

• Matt. 28:19 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost

• Matt. 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name

SEPARATE RELATIONSHIPS:

• 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

• 2 John 1:3 Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father

• Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus

• Heb. 1:5 Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son

• Matthew 4:3 2 John 1:3 Peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father

SEPARATE MINDS:

• Rom. 1:27 He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit

• 1 Cor. 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord

SEPARATE IN NUMBER:

• 1 John 5:7 There are three… in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.

• Gen. 1:26 Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

• Gen. 3:22 Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil

• Gen. 11:7 Let us go down

• Isa. 6:8 I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

SEPARATE WILLS/DESIRES:

• 1 Cor. 12:11 That one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing (spiritual gifts) to every man severally as he will

• Col. 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in [Jesus] should all fullness dwell

• John 5:30 The will of the Father which hath sent me

• Luke 22:42 Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done

• Mark 40:41 If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus… saith unto him, I will; be thou clean

SEPARATE FEELINGS:

• John 3:16 God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (Father)

• John 10:7 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life

• John 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me

• 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in [Jesus] should all fullness dwell

• John 14:21 He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him (Jesus)

• Mark 40:41 If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean

• John 12:27 Now my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour

• John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you (Both love)

• John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love

• 15:30 For the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit… strive together with me in your prayers to God for me (Spirit)

• 4:30 Grieve not the holy Spirit of God

SEPARATE LOCATIONS:

• Acts 7:55 Being full of the Holy Ghost, [Stephen] looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God Gen 1:2 And the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) moved upon the face of the waters

• John 15:26 when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me

• John 20:17 “I have not yet ascended to my Father.. I go to my Father”

• Matt. 6:9 Father which art in heaven…

• 5:16 Glorify your Father which is in heaven

• 18:10 In heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven

SEPARATE VOICES:

• Heb. 3:7 As the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts

• Acts 21:11 Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the…

• John 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again

• Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit

SEPARATE ROLES:

• John 5:22 The Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son

• 3:9 God, who created all things by Jesus Christ

• John 14:26 The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things

• Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the Lord (Jehovah); and beside me there is no savior

• 2 Thess. 2:13 God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit

SEPARATE LEVELS OF AUTHORITY/GODHOOD:

• 1 Cor. 11:3 The head of Christ is God

• 1 Cor. 15:24-28 Then cometh the end, when [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power… and when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in allJohn 10:8 This commandment have I received of my Father

• John 8:42 Jesus said unto them.. I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me

• John 14:29 Father is greater than I

• John 12:49 I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

• John 17:3 This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent

• Luke 22:42 [Jesus] prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me…

• Matt. 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen