Question 3 (January 15, 2023)
Q: How many persons are there in God?
A: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
MEMORY PASSAGE: 2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Family Teaching Guide
DAY 1:
Recite question and answer then read the memory passage.
The third questions asks us to consider who God is. We believe as Christians that there is one God who eternally has existed in three distinct persons. We call this the trinity.
DISCUSS: The word “trinity” is not found in Scripture but as God reveals himself we find some truths that determine how we understand who God is. The first thing we see in Scripture is that there is only one God. Throughout history, many people have believed that there are many different gods. For example, the Greeks and Romans believed in gods that had domain over certain parts of creation. So there was a god of war, a god of love, a god of music etc. Even today, people believe that there are many gods. The Bible however tells us another story. The Bible tells us that there is only one God. We see this in Isaiah 44:6 where God says that there is no God but him. In 1 Chronicles 17:20 we read that there is no God but the God of the Bible. In other words, there are not many gods but one true God.
Additional reading: Deuteronomy 6:4
DAY 2:
Recite question and answer then read memory passage.
There is one true God yet at the same time, as we read the Scripture, we discover that this one God is three distinct persons.
ASK: What does distinct mean?
DISCUSS: While there is only one God, as we read the Bible we discover that this one God is three distinct persons meaning that they are distinguishable from one another. They are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit. Each are said to be God in the Bible. For example, we see in Ephesians 4:6 we see that the Father is God. In 1 Cor 8:6 we see the same truth that the Father is God. Jesus cried out on the cross to his Father saying “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”. At the same time, Scripture teaches that Jesus is God. Jesus is explicitly called God in John 1:1. We see Jesus claim to be God in John 8:48-59 and he was acknowledged as God by Thomas in John 20:28. We also see that Paul said that in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Colossians 2:9). Scripture also teaches that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is omnipresent (everywhere) in Psalm 139:7-10, omniscient (all knowing) in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, and omnipotent (all powerful) in Luke 1:35. All three of these attributes exclusive to God. In Acts 5:3-4 he is explicitly called God. So we see from the Bible that while there is only one God, he exists in three distinct persons. The father is God, Jesus Christ is God, the Holy Spirit is God.
ADDITIONAL READING: Genesis 1:26
DAY 3:
Recite question and answer then read memory passage.
We have seen that there is only one true God and he exists in three distinct persons. This is a really hard thing for our minds to grasp and there is no good analogy to it yet the Bible teaches this. The Bible also teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in essence.
ASK: What does essence mean?
DISCUSS: One in essence means they share the same essential qualities. As the answer says they are the same in substance and equal in power and glory. Essence is what you are. This means that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all share the same attributes of God and no one person of the Trinity has any attributes that are not possessed by the others. At the same time they are real and are not just different ways of looking at the one being of God. So let’s summarize:
There is only one God (Deut 6:4)
God is three persons (2 Cor 13:14)
Each person is fully God (not 1/3 God). The Bible speaks of the Father as God (Phil 1:2), Jesys as God (Titus 2:13) and the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3-4).
Each person of the Trinity is different from the others. Because the Father sent the Son into the world ( Jn 3:16), the Father isn’t the same person as the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father ( Jn 16:10), the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (Jn 14:26; Acts 2:33). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son.
The three persons of the Trinity relate eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Again, this is a difficult thing to grasp for us, but perhaps this video will help