Watch the video above and talk about it with a friend or mentor.

The third and final part of the doctrine of the Trinity is this: each person of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is fully God. This is fundamental to a biblical understanding of God.

We’ve already seen that God is one in being and three in persons. The third and final part of the doctrine of the Trinity is this: each person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is fully God.
This is fundamental to a biblical understanding of God. The idea of the divinity of the Father is not controversial, but some have debated the nature of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is God

That Jesus is God is made clear in the Bible, and it’s of utmost importance that we get Jesus right.

John 1:1-3  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In these verses, Jesus is referred to as the Word. These verses teach that before anything was created Jesus was there with God the Father. And everything that was created was created through Jesus.

John 8:58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

I am is the personal name of God that we learn in the Old Testament. Jesus claims to be the eternal God of the universe. We know that this is what he meant because the Jewish crowds tried to stone him for blasphemy.

The Holy Spirit is God

The Bible also makes it clear the the Holy Spirit is fully and personally God, not just an impersonal aspect of God’s nature.

Acts 5:3-4 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit… What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

When you lie to the Holy Spirit, you are lying to God. This is because the Holy Spirit is God too.

This is only a small sample of the verses in the Bible that prove the deity of the Son and the Spirit. You can also think back to all those verses that talk about the Father, Son, and Spirit as equals. Those passages are telling us that each person of the Trinity is fully God.

Fully God

  • Each person of the Trinity is eternal. They have always existed. None of them were created.
  • Each person in the Trinity is equal. God the Father isn’t the one really in charge. They are co-equally God.
  • Each person in the Trinity is worthy of worship. You should worship God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

For review, here is the three part, biblical definition of the Trinity:

  1. There is one God.
  2. God is three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
  3. Each person is fully God.
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Key Points:

  • Jesus Is God
  • The Holy Spirit Is God
  • Fully God
  • Conclusion

See Also: Tags

Talk About It
  1. Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
  2. What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
  3. Why is it important to get Jesus right? Make a list of some of the erroneous or incomplete beliefs about Jesus.
  4. Is the Trinity a contradiction? Why or why not? How would you explain the Trinity to someone?
  5. How does understanding the Trinity change the way we think about God?
  6. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

This is part of the Understanding God After Mormonism series.