One of the central themes throughout the Bible is something that every Jewish child learned from a very early age and committed to memory:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD
Deuteronomy 6:4

This verse of scripture was considered so sacred that a devout Jew would make it part of his confession of faith before he died. Throughout life, God required that these verses be affixed to the hand and forehead and placed on the posts and gates of houses as a constant reminder of its significance. In almost every book of the Old Testament, God's absolute oneness was emphasized.

As we transition to the New Testament, Jesus taught many new principles but he never taught anything contrary to the well-established Jewish belief that God is One. In fact, Jesus stated that Deuteronomy 6:4 was the first of all the commandments (Mark 12:29-31).

The most fundamental of Christian teachings is that Jesus was fully God and still fully man just like he claimed to be (John 8:24). In light of Deuteronomy 6:4 and Jesus' claims, what are we left to conclude about the Father and the Holy Spirit? Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit separate persons that make up one God? The answer is very simple; there is nothing separate about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit but these three are one in every way (I John 5:7).

If you are hesitant to believe this, consider what Isaiah said concerning the Messiah (Jesus Christ) in Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Here we are told that Jesus' name would be called "everlasting Father"! This is true because Jesus is the Father manifested, or made known, in the flesh. When Jesus performed miracles, raised the dead, and claimed to be God, He did so in the Spirit; yet when he hungered, thirsted, and experienced pain and suffering He did so in his humanity. For further proof that Jesus is God the Father manifested in the flesh, see:

I Timothy 3:16
II Corinthians 5:19
II Corinthians 4:4
Colossians 1:15
Colossians 2:9
Hebrews 1:1-3
Hebrews 10:20

The above should suffice for now to prove that Jesus is the Father manifested in the flesh, but what about the Holy Spirit? How can Jesus be the Holy Spirit? The truth is that the spirit that was in Jesus is the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord. For further proof, see:

Ephesians 3:16-17
Romans 8:9
II Corinthians 3:17-18

Furthermore, if the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of Jesus, then Jesus lied to us when He said that He would not leave us comfortless, but that He would come to us (John 14:18). Jesus promised never to leave us and that He would be with His people until the time of the end (Matthew 28:20). However, Jesus did leave us in bodily form! He fulfilled these scriptures when He sent His Spirit, the Comforter, to dwell within us. This is the Holy Spirit. The disciples received His Spirit on the day of Pentecost shortly after He ascended into heaven and His disciples are still receiving His Spirit today! Jesus called this the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire (Luke 3:16).

A true test of whether a person believes in a separate Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is to ask yourself who you will see when you get to heaven? If you stand before Jesus and ask Him to show you the Father, He will not give you a different answer than He gave to Philip in John 14:8-10 when He said that the Father was standing right in front of him because if you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father! Jesus was amazed that Philip could even ask such a question! When we get to heaven, the only one we will see is Jesus Christ, the express image of the invisible God.

As much thought as what put into this, it cannot even come close to answering all of the questions you might be having at this point. I would encourage anyone with questions on this topic to reference "The Oneness of God" by Rev. David Bernard, a very scholarly and comprehensive work on this topic, or contact us for a Bible study.

What We Believe Concerning...

• Salvation


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*NOTE: While this is a good introductory lesson on salvation, it is not intended to be a complete Bible study. If you have questions concerning this material, or are interested in a more complete Bible study, click here.