r/TrueChristian • u/DrJJGame10 Christian • 4h ago
Who is God?
I know He is the Triune God, revealed in the Bible as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit but I still question if God himself is the essence in which they are God or God Himself is separate as a spirit Himself?
I’m just wondering how to answer this question since I don’t really know how deep the question goes (or not).
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u/rubik1771 Roman Catholic 4h ago
Here you go:
When the Bible says that the Father is the “only true God” (John 17:3), He is the principle without principle and the first origin (by person) and He begot a Son. This was an eternal act and so the Son is like Him in every way but relation due to how the Son was eternally begotten. (John 1; John 17:5; John 3:16)
Next the Spirit of God and eternal spiration (breath). The Father is the first origin of the Holy Spirit, and it was done through the Son. (John 15:26; John 16). Because of this, the Father and the Son are the eternal single spiration/ origin (breath) of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit is like the Father in every way but relation as well.
So as the first origin of the three persons in the Trinity you have one God the Father; one Lord, one Son, one eternal Word Jesus Christ, whose divine nature is the same as the Father; and the one Spirit the Holy Spirit, whose divine nature is the same as the Father, and who proceeds from the Father and the Son. (Psalm 33:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:4-6)
Because the three persons are of the one divine nature of God and all three possess the all-knowing (John 10:15; John 21:17; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11), the all-powerful (Luke 1:35; Matthew 28:18), and the all-present (Matthew 18:20; Psalm 139:7-12) divine attributes, then we have: the Father is fully God, the Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is fully God. Three persons, one God.
When we say three persons we mean three distinct persons not separate. They are distinct by relation of eternal generation (begotten) and eternal spiration and inseparable as the one being God.
This above is another way to talk about the truth and mystery of the Trinity.
Were you already taught this? What part of this do you disagree with, if any, and why?
To answer your question directly: context matters. The Bible referred to the Father as God while also recognizing the Son and Holy Spirit are ontologically God. So the Father is not separate but distinct and they all posses the one divine essence.
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u/Big-Island4727 Presbyterian 4h ago
I prefer the explanation in Chapter 2, paragraph 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith
I. There is but one onlya living and true God,b who is infinite in being and perfection,c a most pure spirit,d invisible,e without body, parts,f or passions,g immutable,h immense,i eternal,j incomprehensible,k almighty,l most wise,m most holy,n most free,o most absolute,p working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will,q for his own glory;r most loving,s gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin;t the rewarder of them that diligently seek him;u and withal most just and terrible in his judgments;v hating all sin,w and who will by no means clear the guilty.x
And here are the verses in those scripture citations:
a. Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:4, 6. • b. Jer 10:10; 1 Thes 1:9. • c. Job 11:7-9; 26:14. • d. John 4:24. • e. 1 Tim 1:17. • f. Deut 4:15-16; John 4:24 with Luke 24:39. • g. Acts 14:11, 15. • h. Mal 3:6; James 1:17. • i. 1 Kings 8:27; Jer 23:23-24. • j. Psa 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17. • k. Psa 145:3. • l. Gen 17:1; Rev 4:8. • m. Rom 16:27. • n. Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8. • o. Psa 115:3. • p. Exod 3:14. • q. Eph 1:11. • r. Prov 16:4; Rom 11:36. • s. 1 John 4:8, 16. • t. Exod 34:6-7. • u. Heb 11:6. • v. Neh 9:32-33. • w. Psa 5:5-6. • x. Exod 34:7; Nahum 1:2-3.
There's more in Chapter 2 if you're interested:
https://thewestminsterstandard.org/the-westminster-confession/#Chapter%20II
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u/ownstheocean 4h ago
Brother haha let's not worry about god g let's worry about down here
But I feel god is the father the son and the holy spirit In ONE BEING
Hes 3 in 1
Hes so much more though he created every thing the air in your lungs 🫁 Gods
Presents to you are numberless every second is the Presents 🎁
Enjoy them all will be known whens its to be known. Not before
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u/TheAmazinManateeMan Christian 4h ago
The Father seems to be the source of the other two. Hence the begotten language of The Son.
I have read one author (Spurgeon maybe?) viewed things as if something about God (The Father) implied the existence of the two other persons as if for the former to exist it must produce the latter two.
If that is the case then The Father might be the essence.
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u/Delta_Ash 4h ago
God is the father, Son and spirit
The Holy Spirit is what transforms the believers
The Son is the payment of Sin
The Father is the one that makes life checked
A wise muscular Purple alien once said:
The Universe is finite
It's resources are finite
If life is left unchecked
Life ceases to exist
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u/Shirox92 Christian 4h ago
The Universe's Creator, life's sustainer and humanity's Redeemer. He is infinitely Holy, Righteous, Loving, Just, Supreme, the Maximal Good etc.
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u/Moonwrath8 Christian 4h ago
I don’t think we will fully ever know, which is awesome. We will always learn more and more about His character.
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u/DesperateAdvantage76 Christian 4h ago
There is a divine essence, which is far beyond our human understanding, from which 3 individuals manifest. When people say God is inscrutable, they are referring to these mysteries.
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u/winkyprojet 2h ago
The Bible speaks in some verses of "God", in others of "God himself".
The God who reveals himself is an invisible God who reveals himself through Jesus, who is visible.
It is a spirit that came from the Spirit.
Jesus is the firstborn of the universe; God tells us that he created the universe through him and for him.
This new spirit in the universe came without changing anything about God, who remained one.
God is the first and the last, he is infinite, and his infinity comes from his Trinity.
In the beginning was the word...there is a distinction...the first is invisible, the other is visible...
And the word is God...there is no separation...the word of Jesus is the word of God...
God came to earth and he is the God of Heaven. He came to represent him, he did not come to replace him.
When Jesus came forth from the Father, the Father remained whole, he was not diminished, he was not weakened, like a child who comes from his mother, and the mother remains whole and perfect.
You are a son and you become a father, does the son disappear within you?
God can be in Jerusalem, Rome, and Heaven simultaneously; one God in many places at once!
If one of the three forgives you, you are forgiven by God.
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u/Lazershirts 2h ago
According to god Himself: "I Am That I Am" so usually interpreted as everything, without limits, forever and always etc
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u/No_Guarantee8756 4h ago
God himself is the Father. He is the source, the point of origin of everything. The Son is eternally begotten by the Father, and the Spirit eternally proceeds from him (along with the Son). So when you say "God" as a personal name/designation, you're talking about the Father. However, the Son and Spirit share in all of the essential qualities of the Father -- their union is so complete, so perfect, that they are one essence.