Day 1- GOD IS THREE IN ONE

This is a very hard thing to explain to those who have not experienced God. There are many religions that claim to believe in God but don’t believe in the trinity. This means that they don’t believe Jesus or the Holy Spirit is God. We are going to focus a little more on this in month 7 but for today you will learn a basic foundational explanation of what God means when He says that He is “three in One” (the doctrine of the Trinity). We’re going to switch it up today and start with the argument from those who believe in God but not the Trinity.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4. What does this verse say?
This is the verse that those who don’t believe in the Trinity use to defend their stance. Let’s go deeper by looking up the Hebrew word for “one” in this verse.
One: Echad (adj) This word, in the right context can mean “one in number.” If this were the only definition there would be a problem with the doctrine of the Trinity. BUT… it also means “wholeness” which means the condition of being a sound unit, essence or character.
The same word is used in Genesis 2:24 when it says “A man is united to his wife and becomes one (Echad)” So in Scripture we have proof the word “Echad” can have the meaning of two separate units being one.
Read Genesis 1:26
Fill in the blank “Let _________ create mankind in ____________ image.”
Is the plural or singular pronouns used here? See you ARE using what you learned in English!
Why in the world does the English version of the Bible use plural pronouns for the word God? The answer to that question is found in the original Hebrew text. (Are you seeing why the original text is important?) In Genesis 1 and 2, the word “Elohim” is used for God. This is the Hebrew definition for “Divine Ones.” The English translation of “us” and “our” is accurate because the Hebrew word used for God is plural!
Read Genesis 1:1-2. Who was present at creation in these verses?
Read John 1:1-5, 14. Who was also there at creation?
Does Scripture elsewhere confirm the “plural” word of God?

DID YOU KNOW

Opponents to the Trinity will be the first to tell you the word “trinity” is found nowhere in the Bible. They are right. The word “trinity” is not in the Bible. This does not mean God is not “three in one.” Man has used the term “trinity” to explain what God has revealed in His Word about being three in one. Don’t be thrown for a loop when someone says this, but agree with them and show them why man describes it this way in Scripture. Just FYI: Trinity is a combination of “Tri” – the prefix for three and “Divinity” the word for a divine being.

Day 2- GOD THREE IN ONE CONTINUED…

Read Deuteronomy 6:4 again.
Using the context to understand the word “one” (Echad) in the Hebrew text, you absolutely have to rule out definition #1 – “one in number” because the original Hebrew text uses the word “Elohim” for God in this very verse! Saying a plural God is one in number is contradiction. But it is not contradictory when you use the second definition. It is claiming the reality of a plural God who is one in essence, wholeness or unit. So what does this mean? A more detailed way of saying this is that God is claiming that each person of God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) have the same attributes. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one in essence. God is brilliant! He exists as a community that has the same character. This verse could cause potential problems if not true. If God is a community of three persons that are “one” in essence (character and attributes), then all of the three persons of God must prove they in fact have the attributes of God. If one of them does not have the characteristic of God, then God has lied terribly about Himself. Of course, if God is a liar then we should have a problem with God for many different reasons. You need to study this on your own, but God clearly shows throughout all of Scripture that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have the same attributes. Each person of God, while being one in essence, does have a different function. Peter explains this a little in a short summary. This is not the fullness of the different functions (this takes a lifetime of study) but is a good summary.
Read 1 Peter 1:2. What are the three functions of the three persons of God?
Read Ecclesiastes 4:12. What does God say about a cord of three strands?
This verse is often and rightly used to explain the value of Christian community. It’s very interesting how the number 3 is used. Do you think this verse gives credibility to the strength of God being three in one?
When this verse is applied to mankind it cannot speak of absolute strength due to the sin of each of the three chords. What is interesting is when this verse is applied to God… with His character… it could be a glimpse of Him explaining why He self-exists as three in one. The perfect, holy and righteous bond of a Chord of Three cannot be broken, which God has proven has never happened and never will.

DIG DEEPER

Why in the world is the Trinity called three “persons”? The doctrine of the Trinity uses “persons” because of the personal pronouns God uses for each other. Jesus uses “He” when he speaks of God the Father. God the Father uses the word “He” when He speaks of the Messiah. Jesus uses the personal pronoun “He” when He speaks of the Holy Spirit. If they were not three separate “persons” they would not use language of personal pronouns that we use to reference other “persons.”

Day 3- GOD IS REDEEMER

Read Psalm 111:9. What does God say He has done?
Read Psalm 106:10. How did God redeem us?
Read Hebrews 9:27, John 11:25. How does God redeem us from what we deserve… death?
Read Revelation 21:7. How does God redeem us according to this verse?
The reality in life is that we all face hard times and death. Everyone will face this very fact, even those who don’t believe. We as humans like to run as far as we can from death. We do everything we can to avoid it. As a believer, you love life and should be living it, but when it comes to the topic of death… we need to be engaging the people who are facing it. You also have the opportunity to show truth as you face the hard things about life and death in your own life. We have a hope the world does not have.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13
What is the difference between those who believe and those who do not?
Why are we different according to the verses you read above?
You might share the gospel with the most hardened of hearts. You might defend your faith and get nowhere, but make sure you do your best to be there when they need you as a friend. The good news that God redeems might be something they are not interested in until they really feel they have no hope… this is when you tell them about the hope Christ offers!

Day 4- GOD IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

Read Isaiah 11:2
What are the seven ways the Holy Spirit is described? Hint: The first one is “Spirit of the Lord”
Read 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Day 5- GOD IS SALVATION

Read Isaiah 12:2
Spend some time today thinking about this verse which is packed with some awesome promises for you.