ONE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE GODHEAD

Ephesians is centered on God with over a hundred references to the Godhead such as God (33), Christ (45), Spirit (15), Lord (25), Him (20) scriptures. Ephesians also has two Triunity Godhead scriptures:

Ephesians 2:18 "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." and

Ephesians 1:17 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:"

Godhead in: (Ephesians 1:17 - The Father of glory as God.); The Christian believes that Jesus is God (Colossians 2:9 - For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.); and the Holy Spirit is God (Ephesians 4:30 - grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.)

God is a spirit:

God is one divine Spirit who is indivisible which manifests Himself eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three distinct equal substances. God is not divided since there is a qualitative unique oneness acting in three separate personalities. Each manifestation of the Godhead has some differences in His personalities showing Himself in these three characteristic ways.

Only a single scripture refers to God as a person:

Hebrews 1:2-3 "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; {3} Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"

The word here person is defined with the same Strongs' Greek word defined as substance in:

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." God in Jesus on earth is a person. However, God is a Spirit.

John 4:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

Compound one Godhead scriptures:

Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God <is> one LORD:" A compound one Godhead.

The Hebrew is within ( ): "our God" (Elohim) is a plural word meaning our Gods; "one" (echad) is a compound one which is shown also in the marriage of two beings one flesh (echad) in Genesis 2:24.

Genesis 19:24 "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;" Jesus, as the angel of the LORD, is on earth calling for fire from the Father which is in heaven. Jesus, in the Old Testament was the angel of the LORD who ate and was touched.

Psalms 45:6-7 "Thy throne, O God, <is> for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom <is> a right sceptre. {7} Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." God the Father calls Jesus God then says He is God to Jesus (to the man Jesus). Hebrews 1:8 shows one God who is both the Father & Jesus.

Hebrews 1:8-9 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. {9} Thou hast loved righteousness, & hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

Triunity Godhead in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 48:16 "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there <am> I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me." Jesus is speaking. The Father & Holy Spirit sent Jesus. He is the Triunity; one Godhead in three manifestations.

Isaiah 63:8-10 "For he said, Surely they <are> my people, children <that> will not lie: so he was their Saviour. {9} In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. {10} But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, <and> he fought against them." The Father is calling them His children, who becomes their enemy, and fights against them. Jesus is the angel of the LORD who saved and redeemed them. The Holy Spirit is vexed by them.

Jewish people think Christians have three Gods:

Many Jewish people think that Christians have three Gods. I have tried to explain the Triunity Godhead by comparing the Godhead to elements of nature. I know the elements do not show the full Godhead and that God is not really comparable to earthly elements. We need to go into the word of God to more fully understand who God is and what are His characteristics.

Romans 1:19-20 "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. {20} For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Nature shows only a limited view on who God is. (Not shown is Jesus and Holy Spirit.)

I will use water in nature, which can be seen, as a comparison to the Triunity Godhead Water is a unique compound abundant in the creation as adult men are 60% water & the earth is 71% water.

I am going to try comparing the Triunity (Single one compound God) to water in its three states of gas (boiling), liquid, and solid (ice) at the same time and same place. The water could be equated with the Triunity Godhead. The three states of water could represent the Father (Liquid), Son (Ice), and Holy Spirit (gas) who are manifested together eternally. The water could be a liquid form in which heat is applied and its starts to boil emitting steam. These two states of water exist together. A cube of ice could be dropped into liquid which has the three states of water: liquid, gas, and solid in the same place at the same time. The Godhead always (eternally) exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit everywhere (Omnipresent) also in the same time and same place.

The Godhead is One:

The words Triune, Trinity, and Triunity are not found in the Bible. However, the Triunity theological doctrine or teaching is found in the Bible to support one God, one essence, one being, one nature, and one divine Spirit who is indivisible which manifests Himself eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three distinct equal substances. The three manifestations always act in unity and agreement, and they have an order of Father to Son to Holy Spirit. They are not divided since there is a qualitative unique oneness acting in three separate personalities. What is most important is God can not be divided into three (or more) which is not found in the Bible.

John 14:28 "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." The Godhead has an order, but Jesus, the Father, and Holy Spirit are co-equals manifestations of the one God.

To see Jesus is to see the entire Godhead:

If you see Jesus, you see the entire Godhead bodily (see Colossians 2:9). He is the one God eternally always Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who shows Himself in these three characteristic ways. God is seen in His creation (as in Romans 1:19-20), but His unique oneness can not be compared to or conceived by observing the created or nature order. His oneness is seen by His word the Bible.

John 12:44-45 "Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. {45} and he that seeth me seeth him that sent me." To see Jesus is to see the Triunity Godhead.

John 14:8-10 "Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. {9} Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? {10} Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Jesus told His disciple to see Him is to see the Father.

John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Full Godhead

Colossians 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."Jesus as God is the fullness

Eternal Jesus:

John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} The same was in the beginning with God. {3} All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." Jesus is the eternal Godhead revealed by His Word the Bible

John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Jesus, the person, shows the Godhead glory

1 John 1:1-2 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; {2} (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, & was manifested unto us;)" Jesus is the eternal life of God manifested to the world.

Conclusion: In this short paper I have tried to present one way to understand the Godhead. I have a ministry to the Jewish people. They believe in one God. The Jewish God is a compound Godhead, but the Jewish people do not understand this. My prayer to God, is for them to understand the one eternal Godhead manifested by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I have additional Bible papers on this subject and many other bible subjects on my Inductive Bible Study web site at http://www.midibit.com/dennis

Praise the Lord Jesus, Dennis Schmidt. Isaiah 55:9-11