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The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy:6:4Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:, Isaiah:43:10-11[10]Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.[11]I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour., Matthew:28:19Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: and Luke:3:22and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

The Adorable Godhead

The terms "Trinity" and "persons" as related to the Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with Scripture, whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished from "gods many and lords many." We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God who is One Lord, as a trinity or as one Being of three persons, and still be absolutely scriptural.

Matthew:28:19Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:, 2 Corinthians:13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all., John:14:16-17[16]And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever,[17][even] the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.

Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead which He expressed in specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that this distinction and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained.

Luke:1:35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God., 1 Corinthians:1:24but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God., Matthew:11:25-27[25]At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:[26]yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.[27]All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal [him.], Matthew:28:19Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:,
2 Corinthians:13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all., 1 John:1:3-4[3]that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:[4]and these things we write, that our joy may be made full.

Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Father which constitutes him the Father and not the Son; there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him the Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His name one.

John:1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]., John:15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me:, John:17:11And I am no more in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we [are]., John:17:21that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me., Zechariah:14:9And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person; nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as to cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence, neither Person in the Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others.

John:5:17-30[17]But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work.[18]For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.[19]Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner.[20]For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel.[21]For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will.[22]For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;[23]that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him.[24]Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.[25]Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.[26]For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself:[27]and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.[28]Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice,[29]and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.[30]I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me., John:5:32It is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true., John:5:37And the Father that sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form., John:8:17-18[17]Yea and in your law it is written, that the witness of two men is true.[18]I am he that beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

The appellation, "Lord Jesus Christ," is a proper name. It is never applied in the New Testament, either to the Father or to the Holy Spirit. It therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of God.

Romans:1:1-3[1]Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,[2]which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy scriptures,[3]concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,, 2 John:1:3Grace, mercy, peace shall be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son of Man. He is therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is God and man is "Immanuel," God with us.

Matthew:1:23Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us., 1 John:4:2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:, 1 John:4:10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins., 1 John:4:14And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world.,0 [Rev:1:13and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.], [Rev:1:17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last,]

Since the name "Immanuel" embraces both God and man in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son of God, describes His proper deity, and the title, Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore, the title Son of God, belongs to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of Man, to the order of time.

Matthew:1:21-23[21]And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.[22]Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,[23]Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us., 2 John:1:3Grace, mercy, peace shall be with us, from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love., 1 John:3:8he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil., Hebrews:1:1-13[1]God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners,[2]hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in [his] Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds;[3]who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;[4]having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.[5]For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son?[6]And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.[7]And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame a fire:[8]but of the Son [he saith,] Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.[9]Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.[10]And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of thy hands:[11]They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;[12]And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail.[13]But of which of the angels hath he said at any time, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?

Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to say that Jesus Christ derived the title, Son of God, solely from the fact of the incarnation, or because of His relation to the economy of redemption. Therefore, to deny that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal Son, is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being of God; a denial of the Father, and the Son; and a displacement of the truth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.

2 John:1:9Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son., John:1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God., John:1:2The same was in the beginning with God., John:1:14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth., John:1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]., John:1:29On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!,
John:1:49Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel., 1 John:2:22-23[22]Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, [even] he that denieth the Father and the Son.[23]Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that confesseth the Son hath the Father also., 1 John:4:1-5[1]Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.[2]Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:[3]and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.[4]Ye are of God, [my] little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.[5]They are of the world: therefore speak they [as] of the world, and the world heareth them., Hebrews:12:2looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels and principalities and powers having been made subject unto Him. And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that God may be all in all.

Hebrews:1:3who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;, 1 Peter:3:22who is one the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him., Acts:2:32-36[32]This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.[33]Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.[34]For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,[35]Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.[36]Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified., Romans:14:11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.,
1 Corinthians:15:24-28[24]Then [cometh] the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power.[25]For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.[26]The last enemy that shall be abolished is death.[27]For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him.[28]And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.

Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Spirit to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of Deity, and to give Him all honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead except those which express relationship (see Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead, Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit , and Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead) and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father.

John:5:22-23[22]For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son;[23]that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him., 1 Peter:1:8whom not having seen ye love; on whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory:, [Rev:5:6-14[6]And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.[7]And he came, and he taketh [it] out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne.[8]And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.[9]And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood [men] of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,[10]and madest them [to be] unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.[11]And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;[12]saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might and honor, and glory, and blessing.[13]And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, [be] the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, for ever and ever.[14]And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshipped.], [PHL:2:8-9[8]and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] unto death, yea, the death of the cross.[9]Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name;], [Rev:7:9-10[9]After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of [all] tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;[10]and they cry with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.], [Rev:4:8-11[8]and the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.[9]And when the living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, to him that liveth for ever and ever,[10]the four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying,[11]Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created.]