Understanding the Biblical Godhead: One God in Three Persons

True biblical faith teaches us that there is one God revealed in three co-operating persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who gave themselves for the plan of redemptionPH148 5.3. While our pioneers faced challenges in understanding this mystery and some questioned traditional Trinitarian creeds to protect the dignity of Christ's sacrifice, further light revealed that the Godhead consists of three living persons of the heavenly trio7ABC 441.9+2.

The Explanation of John 17:3

Eternal life is found in knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent John 17:3. In this context, the term "only true God" refers to the Father as the one whom Christ came to reveal, but it does not exclude Jesus Christ from the essence of divinity9MR 126.1+1.

• Christ Himself possesses life that is original, unborrowed, and underived, which is a specific property of God5BC 1130.3+2.
• Knowing both the Father and the Son is the open fountain of life for the entire worldST February 13, 1912, par. 3.
• Jesus Christ was the only one capable of representing the Deity because He had been with the Father from the beginning and is the express image of His person9MR 126.1+1.

The Explanation of 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

These verses call us to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. This emphasizes the unity and distinction of persons within the heavenly Godhead7ABC 442.5+1.

• Jesus Christ is the Son of God by nature, not by creation or adoption, and He is equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfectionST May 30, 1895, par. 3.
• His divinity is the believer's assurance of eternal lifeEv 616.2.
• The Father and the Son are one in character and purpose, and to claim they have separate interests is to deny that perfect unitySITI November 20, 1884, page 697.15.

The Explanation of 1 John 5:20

John confirms that the Son of God has come and given us understanding to know Him who is true; we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ, who is the true God and eternal life 1 John 5:20. This is a clear declaration of the divinity of ChristDA 770.1.

• In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we are made complete in Him7T 204.3+1.
• This verse identifies Jesus as the "true God," which harmonizes with the testimony that the Word was God from the beginning John 1:1-3.
• Denying the divinity of Christ or His pre-existence is a dangerous error that undermines faith in the Bible as a revelation from GodDD 10.1+1.

The Holy Spirit and the Unity of the Godhead

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead, a distinct person with divine power4MR 329.5+1.

• He is the agency through which the believer is delivered from pollution and fitted for the courts of heaven1SM 394.3+1.
• The three highest powers in heaven—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—work together through those who are baptized in their name7ABC 442.5+1.
• The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery beyond human understanding, and regarding such mysteries, silence is goldenULe 20.5.

Therefore, while the Father is called the true God, this does not strip Jesus Christ of His status as the true God and eternal life, for they are one in nature, glory, and eternityAA 38.3+1. 😇