Question:
- How do you explain the trinity of God?
- How do you explain the divinity of Jesus Christ?
- In what way did Jesus exist before the virgin birth?
First of all we have to consider that the human mind is not capable to fully comprehend the being of God. And this is because He is God and we are not. If we should be able, we would be 'above' Him and be 'His creator' instead of being His creatures.
In the same way as we cannot comprehend the concept of eternity, the fact that there has not been a beginning and that there will also not be an end to it, so it is with God's being. He is the eternal One, without beginning and without ending. Therefore He is I AM.
And just in the same way His eternity is not understandable, it is also for His trinity, being plural and still one Person.
But to make things not to difficult ..... to the question "How can God be a father and a son at the same time" I can ask in turn: "How can I myself be a father and a son at the same time".
Well, this is not so difficult because it is very obvious that I can. The very reason that this is understandable is that my father and my son are not the same persons as me.
But the fact that I as one person can be identified with more than one personality, opens up some perspective. In the same way I will be able to say that I am a writer, a technician, a driver, a husband, a bible teacher, etc, and still be one person.
These are all 'workings' according to identity and also according to abilities.
Now considering God, we have to realise that all that can be seen or acknowledged from God through His workings (Romans 1:20), are showing parts of His being. God is not a creator because He creates things, but He creates things because He is creator. God is not a healer because He heals, but He heals because He is healer. He was already healer before sickness ever existed.
And so it is with all the attributes in His personality. God is creator, God is love, God is forgiver, God is restorer, God is judge.
Therefore we can thus say: God is Father, not because He has a Son, but because He is. And also: God is a Son, not because He has a Father, but because He is. And further: God is Spirit, not because He has one, but because He is Spirit.
Now from these facts we have a solid ground for our conclusion that God in His being is Father, Son, and Spirit.
At this point we may ask the question "In what form or what kind of appearance does God manifest Himself?"
In the Gospel of John, chapter 1 verse 1, we see the apostle uncovering a little bit of the great mystery as he declares: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
God is a thinker, but also a speaker. He manifests Himself through speaking. Words without a person speaking them, are just words. But they are part of a person when they are spoken. The person and the words are the same: "....... and the Word was God."
And it continues: "He was in the beginning with God."
So here we recognize that the manifestation of God in His Words, is called 'He', while this 'He' is declared as being Jesus Christ, the Son of God: "The Word became flesh ... and dwelt among us." (Verse 14).
Now notice that 'The Word that became flesh' in the form of a human body called 'Jesus Christ', did not 'speak' Himself until He was 'connected' to the power that could put those words to practise. As a human being of course, He did 'talk' with friends, parents, teachers, and so forth. We read about this in Luke 2:46-52, talking with teachers and asking them questions, giving answers, and they were astonished about His understanding. We also know that He was educated to read and to write and to know the Scriptures:
- Luke 4:17-18. Reading.
- John 8:6. Writing.
- Luke 24:27. Knowledge of Scriptures.
But the 'divine speaking' He did not on His own but He only spoke that what the Father told Him to speak. And all His 'speaking' was put into effect by the power of the Holy Spirit. And when did this start? At the moment He got His 'connection', when He raised from the baptism water, the heavens were opened, and God the Spirit got down to 'connect' with God the Word, in order to 'move' as God the Son in the earthly environment.
Herein we may recognize God the Spirit as the effective and realising power of God's personality as He also said in Acts 1:8: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
It is impossible for the Word of God to be effective without the power of the Holy Spirit. They always go hand in hand - because they are ONE !
Therefore we know about God that He is a Person, that He speaks words, and that He has the ability to fulfil those words without limitation.
Perhaps now we see clearly the mind of the One who takes the initiative, the Father, the words uttered from His mouth, the Son, and the ability to put it to practise, the Holy Spirit. "For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are ONE." (1 John 5:7).
So now we will also have a clear understanding how all things are created 'in Him' and 'through' Him. All that God created was uttered 'in' His words and was manifested 'through' His words by the power of His Spirit. This is what we read in Genesis 1, where we see all three aspects of God being at work. In the Word and through the Word all things are created.
It was 'in' and 'through' Jesus Christ.
Was He there already? Yes He was. In bodily form? No. That is to say ... not in an earthly body or so called: flesh.
But He surely was there. He Himself taught us: "Most assuredly, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM." (John 8:58). And also: "And now, o Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." (John 17:5).
Therefore there is no doubt that Him whom we know as Jesus Christ, existed before Creation as part of God's personality: His Word.
Did He have a body in that form? ... was part of the question.
Maybe we have to shift our mind from the perception of a person as someone in a body to the perception of someone as a personality. In that way it will obviously be a little easier to understand a person to be of 'multiple personality aspects' instead of one body.
In this context you may ask the question: "Did the Spirit of God have a body when He descended from heaven to connect with the Son?" We know of course, that there was a visible manifestation in the form of a dove, but that does not mean that He, the Spirit, always and only, shows up like a dove. In Acts chapter 2, where the Spirit is poured out on the believers, it was manifested as fire. What we see with our eyes is therefore not a definition of His bodily form but manifestations of parts of His personality.
And the same it is with the Son. His bodily form was not the main identification. The main identification was the identity of the Person IN the body. He said: "The works that I do in my Fathers name, they bear witness of Me." (John 10:25b). It is also said: "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, Has declared Him." (John 1:18). And although nobody has ever seen God, there have been several great men of God who were shown a glimpse of His being - not His bodily form - it is His being what it's all about. We must get to know Him in 'Spirit and in truth', and so worship Him.
There is no doubt that there are bodies in the heavenlies. 1 Corinthians 15 teaches us about these matters and in the 40th verse it shows us that the heavenly bodies are not like the earthly bodies.
Whether God has a body or not, the Bible does not emphasize.
It could be He has, ... after all, He created Man in His image. And when we will ever see Him in a body, there is a great possibility that He will look like Jesus. At least, that is the description the apostle John gives us in the Book of Revelation, chapter 1 verse 12-20, and he saw the Alpha and Omega, the One who also sits on the throne, according to chapter 21:5.
Is Jesus God ?
Sure He is.
Who else can forgive sin but God? (Mark 2:7)
JHS