1. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
There is one God. This is the God who gave us His word, the Bible.
If you are a child of God, you have a personal relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1). “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'” (Genesis 1:26). The Father spoke and it was done. But everything was created through the Son and for the Son of God:
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 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. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed since eternity past, because God is eternal and had no beginning.
2. Son of God
The Son of God, Jesus, is the one who came to earth two thousand years ago. God the Father prepared a body for Jesus so that He came to earth in the flesh. “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form…” (Colossians 2:9).
Jesus is God. When Jesus came to earth, He was born of a woman named Mary in Israel by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-25). One of Jesus’ names is Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus was made like us in every way when He came to earth.
Even though Jesus is fully God, He was fully human at the same time. Jesus was born of a woman. He grew tired and hungry just like we would. And He was “tempted in all things yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus spent over 30 years on earth, and taught many people the ways of God and healed many people. “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Jesus spoke many parables about the Kingdom of God and showed us how we should live, but the hearts of many people were dull, and they did not understand.
Out of jealousy, religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus. Judas (one of the twelve disciples closest to Him) betrayed Him. Jesus was handed over to Roman soldiers, and they mocked, whipped, and crucified Him.
But Jesus, before He died, knew what would happen to Him and He voluntarily gave up His life in order to save us.
Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John 10:17-18).
Jesus’ enemies thought they had killed Jesus whom they hated. But Jesus, while He was on the cross, took our sins upon Himself.
Jesus is the one who died for all mankind so that we can be reconciled to God and have salvation. It is we who have sinned. But it was Christ who took our sins upon Himself.
Without what Jesus did on the cross, we would need to bear the punishment for our own sins when we die. But Jesus died for us so that those who believe in Him and repent (turn away from their sins) can have eternal life.
Christ resurrected bodily from the dead (Luke 24), and is currently seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for God’s children.
Christ’s teachings and way of life became an example for us on how we should live our lives on earth.
Even though the Father and Son are in heaven, God did not leave us as orphans. He has sent us the Holy Spirit, our Helper.
3. Holy Spirit
We should not think of the Holy Spirit as a force or as a power; He is God. He is often called the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jesus in the Bible. He is the third Person in the Trinity.
We can think of the Trinity as God in three Persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally God and have the same nature, powers and abilities. But not everyone in the Trinity considers Himself as equal with God the Father.
Jesus and the Holy Spirit submit to the Father (Philippians 2:5-8, John 16:13-14). Jesus said, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all” (John 10:29). So Jesus and the Holy Spirit give glory to God the Father.
God the Father has sent us (His children) the Holy Spirit to be with us forever. The Holy Spirit comes to live in each believer when we believe in Jesus.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Holy Spirit lives in each believer to teach us God’s ways, to convict us of sin, and to help us live for God. He encourages us and talks to us, and we can fellowship with Him as well.
4. God is Spirit
“God is spirit” (John 4:24). God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are distinct spiritual Beings, and have been for all eternity. When Jesus came to earth, He took on a human body. But He was still God at the same time.
Jesus claimed to be God when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). So Jesus claimed to be God, because this was the name God introduced Himself when He spoke to His servant Moses: “I AM WHO I AM… Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus resurrected bodily from death on a cross. He has a glorified spiritual body and He will give to all His children glorified spiritual bodies as well in the future (1 Corinthians 15:44). “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.” (2 Corinthians 5:16)
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
5. Trinity
As mentioned before, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have the same nature and abilities. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One in the sense that they are one spiritually (i.e. united, having the same will and purpose). Humans sometimes refer to being one as being on the same team. Similarly, God is One, meaning God is united as in the Trinity = Tri (3) + unity.
Jesus talked about oneness in the sense of unity when He prayed: “Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are” (John 17:11).
6. How to know God personally
The God of the Bible is unlike any other. He is very personal. He wants to have a personal relationship with you, and to teach you to be faithful to Him and do good works. God’s desire for us is not only to believe in Him and have faith in Him, but to learn to be faithful to Him as well.
The Apostle Paul said, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).
The deeds befitting a child of God are to stay away from sin and to obey God’s commandments. If we have believed in Jesus that He died for our sins, we should not continue to sin casually after we have believed. If we do so, we would be mocking the blood of Christ. Instead, let us rely on God to help us overcome our sins and obey Him.
Do you want to know and experience God? As you obey God, you will experience Him more and more in your daily life. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21).
You may have many prayer requests and needs personally. “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:32-33). So first seek God and as you learn to be faithful to Him, all that you need will be given to you as well.
See the next lesson: How to pray and read the Bible.