foundation c --- the co - existence and co - equalality of the 3 persons
--- the son ---
* In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
phrase a ... In the beginning was the Word
as far as one wishes to push back the beginning of all things .. to which they have their origin in the word, the word to his nature is eternal and is divine
a few fundamental point which need to be brought out .. and have been by others who have made great efforts in allowing the context to speak in its own manner ... for example James White states in the fogotten trinity .... a) was .... this as an english word is bland .. but greek word "en" .. this expresses a continous action in the past ..b) THE WORD ... this is not somenon tangablething but is self existent personal distinction in the being called God
although through the old testament the word was a presence that had a major role in Gods dealing with prophet, for example in ezekiel ... this person was not expressed in the fullest sense as he would be in johns gospel .. by equating divine rights to him that were not fully expressed .. for example in verse 3 -4 .. the word is said to be the source of life and its light
so to johns thought which all the apostles shared .. we can say ... a possible way of seeing this is ... the word was there before the beginning of time .. as time finds its origin in the word
phrase b .... and the Word was with God
if the words have meaning then the meaning is very clear in this statement as denote union within the being of God that we must acknowlege .. and also fully understand
"and the word" ... as we discussed in phrase one the word is personal and now it has been discribed as being with God .. but what does this mean -- does it simply refer to God spoken word .. not entirely although that has some truth, this is actually giving us a level of understanding into the being of God
"with" -- pros in greek this term signifies a releationship and points to intimacy of a deep level .. so this can be seen as and the word was "face to face" with God .... this implies a foundation to which a connection is establish .. a relationship
phrase c --- and the Word was God
now we come to a very important and crucial aspect of the verse ... as we have already seen the was already there from the moment time began, and that he had a face to face relationship with God .. now john open up to another truth that makes all the gospel speak for its self and that is "and the Word was God" .. and this indicates that the word was not some false god .. or a lesser diety .. but is infact the one true God ... but is not the father
"was God " ... this is important to grasp ... since the sentence if twist to suggest that the word was"a" god .. this does not mean he can be classed as a lesser god like the devil .. a judge .. but that he is all of God ... since the "a" would work as a an explanation of capacity rather than a explanation of something different to God .... in effect it would serve modalistic / oneness believers a great key in their bid
so the term "was God should be understood as to represent the nature of the word ... as to his nature .. the word was God or the word to his nature was divine but not the only person that is God
2 - He was in the beginning with God
john then take praise 1 and 2 and re - emphasis the whole point of the words eternal and personal existence with God .. this can be seen as point of creatorship .. the father and son are a team in creation (not to forget the spirit) ...
3 --- All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
as stated in v2 everything created has it origin in the word but here we see this element brought out in clear language with the first part "All things were made through him" meaning all life owes it existence to Gods word -- a personal distinction from the father
but here we are met with re inforcement of this truth in the following words .. "without him was not any thing made that was made." this balance in what God has declared through the apostle john is seen as a sharp cutting force which digs at the heart of a rebel sinner and forces him to see he is in aid of grace through the spirit
a summary of this portion of john 1 before we move to the next ...
we find the word is a distinct person from the father .. who is a joint role in creation with the father and spirit but he has a distinct role from the father and spirit in salvation .. we also learn man owes his very breath to the word / son of God whether they recognise it, but he owes them nothing as God gives out of his grace
next we have john 1 :14, 16 -18
* And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth --For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known
this is where we meet this personal disction called the word who existed along side the father from all eternity and as i have stated is a person just as the father is (not of flesh and blood) but they have are relational and are eternal persons who are both reveal as the one true God (also true of the holy spirit
the word didnt become personal in his incarnation but has been person from all eternity as the divine second person of the trinity
the glory spoken of is the very essense of his deity which was veiled by his additional nature .. human flesh
here is the real gem of these verses in vs 18 "the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known" before we get to this point we need to ask what does it mean by "No one has ever seen God" well you can't in the real sense of the ideal .. but then why do we claim Jesus is by nature God simple God to his being is multi - personal to see one of the persons means you have seen God .. but we can not say that of the father .. and this is the point .. "none has seen God the father, just the son
so we come to this gem ... the son being God, made know exegetes him perfectly .. reveal to those the father gives him .. the father .. based on his free choice .. so we in a sense know the father through the sons revealing of him to us
---- the holy spirit -----
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it (acts 5)
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews (acts 13)
these two passages we have a great deal to work with in regards to the holy spirit who is clearly identified as God in both context .. in 2 very different ways
* the spirit grieves .. you can lie to the holy spirit which leads to great consequences as seen in acts 5
* the spirit has control over life .. to give and take at his command also seen in acts 5
* the spirit speaks with great authority which shows he is God .. this is personal in nature it is his own authority to exercise
on top of this we can know the father and the holy spirit are distinct person from one another with reference to john chapters 14 -14, and 1 corinthians 2 :6 -16
these demonstate 2 things
1 -- the spirit is sent by the father .. and is not the father and is distinct from him
2 -- the spirit knows the deep things of God .. this points to the basic fact that God is in a tri - person union of intimate worth
--- father ----
there is not much to be said on this as it is a given that God is a father .. but for clarity i will give just two example of his fatherhood to christ Jesus our lord .. and this is a unique position
Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen (galations 1)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 peter 1)
here in these examples i have given, we see God is the father and this is an accepted truth as it is a biblical truth (we are not to mix up the father for the son as these both declare them to be two persons )
paul was called by christs for a special mean as to deliver a message .. which was given to him but here look at the distinction made "through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" -- this is a major point
even jesus refered to someone else as his father "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand .. obviously the father doesnt have physical hands . but the point is still very much needed to be seen .. that this indicate an eternal distinction in the bing, but the same power and this distiction is in accord to john 8 : 12 -20
conclusion ..
this examination has been based on a selection of passage, which are some of the more in depth ones, this is not excludes other likely candidates being used ... or accepted in such studies .. but in this i felt the passages needed to be chosen with the importance of one question in mind "what do the scripture reveal about the God we serve?"
another important focus was to give an exegesis of the context of vital passages included, along with supplimentry passages as back up for the primary one .. like john 1, acts 5 and 13, and galations 1 and 1 peter 1, the isaiah passages which distinguished between the being and the persons
so the final point is that the trinity is clearly though through out the pages of the bible and is fully understood on that basis ... although there are great work out there on the trinity .. of which "the forgotten trinity" by james white which was a useful aid in this 3 part article and marvelous early church writing on this ... the need for this is ever growing in the faith
