LSW Divine Personalities Graphics
Who is God?
How would you describe God?
Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Deuteronomy 6:4
In every synagogue around the world, these words are spoken on every Sabbath.
Yet we as Christian believers see God not as one but as three.
How can we resolve these two concepts?
How can we proclaim that God is one, yet refer to God as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Fortunately the Bible gives us understanding.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; Genesis 1:26
Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Genesis 11:7-8
The Seek The Lamb Miskito language panel of Mark 1:9-11
Yardinet Israel
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
12 Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. Mark 1:9-12
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! Deuteronomy 6:4
Yahweh – God’s name – “I am”
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14
God – Elohem: God, gods.
One: Echad: one, i.e., that which is united as one in contrast to separate parts. Used to describe a cluster of grapes.
“Yahweh Gods Yahweh One”
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24
One mind, one will, one purpose.
A Functional View of God
In this sense, God is one. He has one purpose, one heart, one mind, one will, and one desire. There is no place in the Scripture you could argue that the Son would have a different desire than the Father or that the Spirit would have a different desire than the Father. There are, however, functions of each part of this “godhead,” as we call it, that are different. Dr. Randy Smith
Genesis 1 says that God created the Heavens and Earth, and the Spirit of God was present and moving over the Earth.
In Colossians we have more information about how this happened and who was involved:
He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:15-20
Image: eikōn: portrait, likeness, having the same form as something else
Firstborn: prōtotokos: birthright, pertaining to the inheritance rights of the firstborn
Hold Together: synistēmi, stand with; come into existence; hold together in proper place or arrangement
Fullness: plērōma: contents, what fills something up; completeness, fullness, a total quantity.
How can we understand the Trinity?
Think of a cube. It has six sides. If you look at it from one side, it looks like a square. If you look at it from the front, it looks like a rectangle. If you look at it from the top, it looks like another, slightly different rectangle. Yet it is still a box, or cube. Your point of view determines what you see.
God presents Himself in three different forms—the Trinity. They are all three parts of the same, and each has His own distinct “personality.”
Another way to understand the Trinity is to look at water.
It is a liquid that flows from the tap;
It is ice cubes in the freezer; and
It is steam rising from a teapot.
It is all H20, but one form is liquid, one is solid, and one the other is gas. These are “form” descriptions.
Peter gives us a functional view of the Trinity when he writes to those persecuted first-century believers:
God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood. 1 Peter 1:2
In Him (Jesus), you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:25-27
Sealed with the Holy Spirit
Christ lives in you.
John declares:
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:1-5
The Word: a title for Jesus in the Gospel of John as a reference to the content of God’s revelation and as a verbal echo of the use of the verbs meaning ‘to speak’ in Genesis 1 and in many utterances of the prophets—‘Word, Message.
’ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν
‘the Word became a human being and lived among us’ Jn 1:14.
Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains
Philo: The Wisdom and Creative force of God
1 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter *said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.
7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”
8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone. Mark 9:1-8
Transfigured: metamorphoomai, change, transform the essential nature of something.
Laura and Nike, Ephesus Turkiye
A word from Laura:
Perfect Relationships
And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
“This is the great and foremost commandment.
“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:35-40
As big and complicated as life can be, there is only one thing that will last for eternity: relationships.
· the relationship between God and man
· the relationships between God’s people.
It’s amazing for us to realize that all Ten Commandments God gave in the Old Testament direct relationships: the first four deal with our relationship to God and the last six with our relationship to those around us.
The value our God places on relationship was enough to die for. There is not enough emphasis we can place on the gift of relating. He gave us His most valued possession when He gave His only begotten Son for the redemption of our souls—the redemption of a relationship cut off from His heart. God went the whole length to gain that relationship back as He first intended it.
He longs to touch us. He longs for us to know Him in all of His vastness¾not merely to know about Him, but to know Him intimately and significantly, so much that His life would be totally integrated within ours.
He longs to be a living entity through us. That we would not only act like Him, but we would be and live out His divine personality.
This is His eternal call. A call that will live on into forever.
Our relationship with the divine personalities so frequently exhibits itself in our lives with others. Thus, the second greatest commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:12-13
In our abiding in and submitting to God, we find ourselves more and more involved in His eternal purposes. We find ourselves in fuller relationship with Him and others. One cannot exist without the other¾loving God and loving others.
In the three parts of the divine personality, we are given the models for all our relationships.
· A Father who loves you and wants to give every good thing to you and can;
· a Friend who will do anything, even to the point of dying for you;
· a Helper who will guide you through every step of life, giving you wisdom, love, joy, and peace along the way.
As we investigate the various aspects of the personalities of the Trinity, may you receive the guidance and the power to model all your relationships accordingly.
And may the Lord your God, by the relationship established through His Son and by the power of His Spirit, grant to you a renewed love for Him and for all those He brings into your path.
How Does the Bible describe God?
There are many verses that speak about the attributes of God. Perhaps the most poignant is what God says about Himself:
18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”
20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” 21 Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
1 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered.”
4 So he cut out two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand.
5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD.
6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed,
“The LORD, the LORD God,
compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin;
yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
8 Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. Exodus 33:18 - 34:8
What are some of the attrubutes of God that are important to you personally?
Let's take a look at some personally significant aspects of God as the Bible describes Him:
God is a Creator
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”
9 Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
Coffee Cherries Finca Vida Joven, Matagalpa Nicaragua
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” 21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:3-25
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.Genesis 1:1-27
Michelangelo 'Creation" Sistine Chapel photo by GMB 2008
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. Genesis 2:1-3
Unlike the god of ancient legends, God is a creator, a worker.
He actively worked to create this Universe.
When He appeared on Earth in the First Century, He worked as a ‘tekton’ – a constructor.
God created us in His image and passed on this creative ability to us all.
God is a Father
Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:9-13
We all had / have a father.
Think of the role he played in your family.
1) He gives us Protection
David declared:
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.”
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies. Psalms 18:1-3
2) He Provides for us
Yahweh Yireh – The Lord will provide
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.” Genesis 22:13-14
Will provide: Yireh: see, understand, show, reveal
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Genesis 17:1-2
El Shaddai: the Almighty, i.e., a title for the true God, often with a focus on the power to complete promises of blessing and prosperity ( Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament)
Some scholars suggest that “Shaddai” derives from a root meaning “mountain,” emphasizing the immovable strength of God. Others propose that it stems from a word related to “breast” or “nurture,” alluding to God’s sustaining power. Across time, the dominant view remains that “El Shaddai” underscores God’s all-sufficiency and omnipotence. Bible Hub
Ephesus: the many breasted goddess statue
3) He teaches us
1 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things; Proverbs 2:1-12
Yirah: reverence, a state of piety and respect toward a superior; fear, terror, i.e., a state of great anxiety and alarm; worship, i.e., the act or speech of showing profound reverence toward a superior, which may include ritual; awesomeness, i.e., that which causes wonder and astonishment
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. Psalms 119:105
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
4) He Loves us
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11
God is a Rescuer and Redeemer
Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians Exodus 6:6-7
God made four promises to the Hebrew slaves:
1. Rescue from Egypt
2. Freedom from slavery
3. Redemption by Gods divine power
4. Renewed relationship with God
God makes similar promises to us:
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10
God is an Adventurer
He took a chance with Moses:
The LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 8 So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 9 Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 Exodus 3:7-15
Now He is taking a chance with us!
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
Our part in this Divine Adventure is to follow Him, even if we cannot see what's ahead.
6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Adventure: A risky undertaking; A remarkable experience.
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