1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John 14:15-21
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Job 11:7
God is Limitless
7 Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
John 14:6-7
Jesus and God are Connected
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 16:12-15
The Holy Spirit Will Glorify Jesus
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
1 Timothy 2:5
There is Only One God
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
When St. Paul wrote about the members of our body having many parts yet they are work together, it somehow reminds me of the Trinity...He says the body is not made up of one part but of many...And there is much mystery in the human body and how we have many bones, multiple organs and how they all wind up working together making and helping us live each day...Everything in the body was created by God to work together in unity and in harmony...So man is made up many different parts, yet there is only one distinct man...
When Jesus gave us the Great Commission He talks about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...And although He did not go into detail about the definition of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, there is mystery to them...And for me there is mystery in all of these, yet the one who resides actually in us is the Holy Spirit...God sent the Holy Spirit to us to lead us to Him and the Truth...For the Holy Spirit that is indwelt in us is the Spirit of Truth...The Holy Spirit helps us lead our lives more fully and abundantly...And the Holy Spirit came to glorify Jesus...Jesus said this about the Holy Spirit: "He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you."...
It also helps for me to think of the Trinity this way...Man can be a father, a son, and a husband...But first he was a son, then he was a husband, and later man can become a father...He is three different and distinct things, yet he is one distinct man...This man also has a body, a mind, and a Spirit...These are also three distinct things, yet it is still the same man...And man is finite...So when we say that God is of three parts of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then we must realize that He is much more and infinitely more complex than man...Yet, He is One God...And there is Only One God...Yet, God has these three complex features that surround Him (as man has different attributes, parts, and characteristics...We learn about the One being God and the only True God as we read and study the Old Testament...Then we read about His Son, and His divinity in the New Testament...And His Son makes it clear to us that there is a Holy Spirit, a divine part in each of us that He helps connect us to Him and to God...
All this about the Trinity quickly becomes complicated, confusing, and mysterious...But even man's body with all its parts, and tissues, bones, the brain, and other organs must work together and be united to remain healthy...The body, mind, and Spirit are truly complicated also...
Related to all of this is there is this unity of the body and there is unity in what Jesus teaches us...Jesus was Perfectly Selfless...He cared about God and others completely...As our body works together, Jesus wants us to work together and love each other and be united together...C. S. Lewis said that "God can show Himself as He really is only to real men...And that means not simply to men who are individually good, but to men who are united together in a body, loving one another, helping one another, showing Him to one another...For that is what God meant humanity to be like: like players in one band, or organs in one body."...God wants all men to be neighbors and love one another...We also are to be united and in harmony together...The Holy Spirit that is indwelt in us, is always trying to get us more in touch with His Son, the Truth, and to LOVE...The Holy Spirit yearns for this unity in the world for LOVE and Truth...Yet, it cannot quite get there because we are given a choice...Free will is given to us by God...And, it seems, to me, while we are on earth, our choices are more selfish for ourselves, our family, and our friends...And while we want peace on earth, we can only get there by praying to our Father, in the name of His Son, while the Holy Spirit works in us to get us closer to these Two...
There is only One God, but He has three parts...Each part is fully God and Perfectly Holy...The parts are the Father, God -the Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit...There is much mystery to this, like there is much mystery to God...The Bible does not come out and talk about the Trinity, but in many verses we read about God, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit of God...He is so complex, He has to be mysterious to us, because we cannot fully understand Him...