KindiakMath

We have undertaken an exceedingly nontrivial effort to establish the following propositions to be true:

• There exists a maximally great being whom we describe using the English word ‘God’.
• Being maximally great, this God is one being.
• This God is absolutely truthful, morally perfect, and full of perfect love, and thus must exist in at least two co-eternal persons.
• There exists a Jesus of Nazareth who lived in Judea and died by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, and resurrected from the dead.
• This Jesus claims to be God, and this claim is vindicated by His resurrection.
• The words of Jesus, therefore, constitute the words of God—both the Old and the New Testaments.

This last point, therefore, allows us to take reference from the Bible to answer the three biggest questions of human existence:

• Who is God?
• Who are we?
• What are we here for?

Let’s begin with the first question, and take our cues from Jesus’ proclamation of who God is.

We begin with the more technical aspects of who God is.

Lemma 1. God is one being.

Proof. The Old Testament clearly describes God as one in being.

• “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” [Deuteronomy 6:4]
• “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” [Isaiah 45:5–6]

The New Testament clearly describes God as one in being.

• “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” [1 Timothy 2:5]
• “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” [James 2:19]
• “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.” [1 Timothy 1:17]

Therefore, God is one in being.

Lemma 2. God exists co-eternally with at least one Father and one Son.

Proof. The Old Testament describes God existing co-eternally with at least one Father and one Son:

• “I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One…What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!” [Proverbs 30:4]
• Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. [Psalm 2:11–12]

The New Testament describes God existing co-eternally with at least one Father and one Son:

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” [John 1:1–2]
• “Glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” [John 17:5]

Therefore, God exists co-eternally with at least one Father and one Son.

Lemma 3. The Father is fully God.

Proof. The New Testament describes the Father in the same way, affirming His eternal divinity and role as Creator:

• “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.” [1 Corinthians 8:6]
• “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Peter 1:3]

The Old Testament describes the Father as the one true God, the Creator, and Lord over all:

• “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [Genesis 1:1]
• “I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no God.” [Isaiah 45:5]

Therefore, the Father, who is revealed in both the Old and New Testaments as the one true Creator and Lord, is fully God.

Lemma 4. Jesus, the Son of the Father, is fully God.

Proof. The New Testament describes the Son as fully God and one with the Father.

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:1; 14]
• “He has delivered 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.” [Colossians 1:13–15]

The Old Testament describes the Son as divine and the eternal ruler.

• “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions…” [Psalm 45:6–7]
• “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” [Daniel 7:13–14]

Therefore, the Son, revealed as Jesus Christ, is fully God—eternal, divine, and equal with the Father.

Lemma 5. There exists a third person in the Trinity, called the Holy Spirit (abbreviated to the Spirit). This Holy Spirit is God.

Proof. The Old Testament describes the Spirit of God as a divine and personal being who acts, speaks, and empowers:

• “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” [Genesis 1:1–2]
• “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, and his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.” [Judges 3:10]
• “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” [Joel 2:28–29]

The New Testament describes the Holy Spirit as fully divine and personally distinct within the Godhead:

• “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” [Matthew 3:16–17]
• “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” [John 15:26]
• “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.’” [Acts 5:3–4]

Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not a mere force or attribute, but truly God—eternal, personal, and coequal with the Father and the Son.

Theorem 1. God is the maximally great being existing in three co-eternal persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In this case, we say that God is triune, and call this God the Trinity.

Proof. Combine Lemmas 1–5. As per Jesus’ revelation of God, we conclude that God is, and must be, Trinity.

What bearing does God being Triune have on us? Everything! We are made for love and to love, and this centrality of love is the centrality of God if and only if He is Triune.

Corollary 1. The core of God’s being is relationship.

Proof. From Theorem 1, God is triune—three co-eternal persons. By definition, persons are irreducibly relational, and to be a person is to be toward another. Since the Father, Son, and Spirit exist eternally in relations of mutual, self-giving love and communion, relation is not an accident of God’s will toward creation but constitutive of who God is. Hence the core of God’s being is relationship.

Corollary 2. God is love. Furthermore, actual perfect love exists if and only if God is Trinity. In particular, to know perfect love is to know God.

Proof. By Corollary 1, the essence of God’s being is relationship. Love is the highest and fullest form of relationship—a self-giving union of persons. The result follows by Theorem 1.

We prove by contrapositive. Suppose that God is not Triune. Then God exists as at most one person. If God is not a person, then God cannot love. If God is one person, then there is no eternal “other” to love, by the definition of love. Since God cannot change, even after God creates, His love is not essential to His nature. Therefore, God is not love.

Finally actual perfect love only exists in God.

The more we know God, the more we can delight in His love, which causes us to know Him more, leading into an upward cycle of His love. One helpful concise collection of statements or creeds comes from the Nicene Creed—arguably the core defining tenet of Christianity, even if discussions on how to express these tenets in practice vary greatly across Trinitarian Christian denominations.

In what follows, I will take reference from the Nicene Creed according to the First Council of Nicaea (325), and the First Council of Constantinople (381) regarding the Holy Spirit. I will also keep these theorems short and concise, and leave the wonder of knowing God as a lifelong exercise for the reader.

Theorem 2. The one God, the Father Almighty, is the Maker of all things visible and invisible. The Father is fully God.

Proof. The Bible describes the Father as the Almighty Creator and Sovereign Lord over all:

• “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [Genesis 1:1]
• “The LORD, He is God; it is He who made us, and not we ourselves.” [Psalm 100:3]
• “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.” [1 Corinthians 8:6]

Theorem 3. The one God, the Son of the Father Jesus Christ the God-Man, is the only begotten of the Father, and is fully God. He is the light of light, by whom all things are made. He is God’s perfect revelation of Himself to humanity.

Proof. The Bible describes the Son as the eternal Word who was with God and is God, through whom all things were made and by whom humanity is redeemed:

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [John 1:1–5]
• And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. [John 1:1–18]
• Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. [Hebrews 1:1–3]

Theorem 4. The one God, the Holy Spirit, is the Lord and Giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and is fully God.

Proof. The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as both divine and personal:

• “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” [Genesis 1:2]
• “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.” [Psalm 104:30]
• “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” [Acts 13:2]
• “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” [Ephesians 4:30]

Remark 1. In Theorem 4, there is sharp disagreement as to whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only, or the Father and the Son. This debate is called the Filioque, and is a core distinction between the western churches (e.g. Catholicism, Protestantism) and the eastern churches (e.g. Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, etc).

Each co-eternal person of the Trinity will take an eternity to know—and even eternity will not suffice for us finite beings to comprehend the infinitude of the Trinity. What we can know, however, is who God is in relation to us. We devote the next post to explore that connection.

—Joel Kindiak, 3 Nov 25, 1233H