Who Is God?

There is one true and living God, eternal, self-existent, uncreated, infinite, holy, righteous, loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere. This one God eternally exists as three distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. These three are not three gods, but one God.

The biblical term for the divine nature is the Godhead:

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
—Colossians 2:9

1. There Is Only One God

The foundation of biblical doctrine is the absolute unity of God:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”
—Deuteronomy 6:4

God is not one among many gods. He alone is God.

“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.”
—Isaiah 45:5

Paul likewise wrote:

“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”
—1 Corinthians 8:6

This verse does not deny the deity of Christ. It distinguishes the Father and the Son while affirming that both are involved in creation and redemption. All things are “of” the Father and “by” Jesus Christ.

Biblical Christianity is therefore strictly monotheistic. We do not worship three gods. We worship one God.

2. The Father Is God

The Father is repeatedly and plainly identified as God:

“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
—1 Corinthians 1:3

He is the eternal Father, the source and planner of the divine work. He sent the Son into the world:

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”
—1 John 4:14

The title “Father” does not mean that the Father existed before the Son. The Father has eternally been the Father, and the Son has eternally been the Son. Their relationship did not begin at Bethlehem.

3. The Son Is God

Jesus Christ is not a created being, a lesser god, or merely a great teacher. He is eternally God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
—John 1:1

This verse teaches both distinction and unity. The Word was “with God,” showing that the Son is personally distinct from the Father; yet “the Word was God,” declaring His full deity.

The eternal Word became man:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”
—John 1:14

Jesus did not cease to be God when He became man. He took upon Himself a true human nature while remaining fully divine.

Thomas confessed to the risen Christ:

“My Lord and my God.”
—John 20:28

The Father also addressed the Son as God:

“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.”
—Hebrews 1:8

Jesus Christ is therefore God manifest in the flesh:

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.”
—1 Timothy 3:16

4. The Holy Ghost Is God

The Holy Ghost is not an impersonal force, influence, or religious emotion. He is a divine Person who speaks, teaches, leads, commands, comforts, and can be grieved.

Peter told Ananias:

“Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?”
—Acts 5:3

He then explained:

“Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”
—Acts 5:4

To lie to the Holy Ghost is to lie to God because the Holy Ghost is God.

The Holy Ghost possesses the attributes of God. He is eternal:

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God…”
—Hebrews 9:14

He is omniscient:

“For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
—1 Corinthians 2:10

He is also personally distinct from the Father and the Son. Jesus said:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”
—John 14:16

The Son prays to the Father, and the Father sends another Comforter. These are three distinct Persons, not one Person merely appearing under three different names.

5. Three Persons, Yet One God

The clearest baptismal statement of the Trinity is:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
—Matthew 28:19

Notice that Christ said “in the name,” singular, not “in the names.” There is one divine name and one divine Being, yet three personally distinct Persons are named:

• The Father
• The Son
• The Holy Ghost

The same truth appears in the apostolic blessing:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
—2 Corinthians 13:14

The KJV also gives this direct testimony:

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
—1 John 5:7

The Scripture does not say that the three merely agree as one. It says, “these three are one.”

6. The Persons Are Distinct

The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is not the Father. Yet each is fully God.

At Christ’s baptism, all three Persons are revealed simultaneously:

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water… and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
—Matthew 3:16–17

The Son stands in the water. The Holy Spirit descends upon Him. The Father speaks from heaven. This rules out the false doctrine that God is only one Person who changes from one mode or manifestation to another.

The Trinity is not:

• Tritheism—three separate gods.
• Modalism—one Person wearing three different masks.
• Partialism—each Person being only one-third of God.

Rather, the Bible teaches one God eternally existing in three distinct Persons. Each Person is fully and eternally God, possessing the same undivided divine nature.

7. The Three Persons Work in Perfect Unity

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are never divided in purpose, character, or will. Their works may reveal distinct personal roles, but these roles do not imply inequality.

In salvation:

• The Father planned and sent.
• The Son came, died, shed His blood, and rose again.
• The Holy Ghost convicts, regenerates, indwells, seals, and sanctifies the believer.

Peter described believers as:

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
—1 Peter 1:2

The entire Godhead is active in the believer’s salvation, yet salvation remains the work of the one true God.

8. God Is Eternal and Self-Existent

God has no beginning and will have no ending.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
—Psalm 90:2

God depends upon nothing outside Himself. He revealed Himself to Moses as:

“I AM THAT I AM.”
—Exodus 3:14

He is not becoming God. He does not grow, develop, improve, or change.

“For I am the LORD, I change not.”
—Malachi 3:6

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Ghost is eternal because the one God is eternal.

9. God Is the Creator and Sustainer of All Things

God created all things from nothing by His word and power:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
—Genesis 1:1

The Father created through the Son:

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
—John 1:3

The Spirit was also active in creation:

“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
—Genesis 1:2

Creation therefore reveals the united work of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

10. God Is Holy, Righteous, and Loving

God’s holiness means that He is absolutely pure and separated from all sin.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
—Isaiah 6:3

God is righteous and must judge sin:

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”
—Psalm 145:17

God is also love:

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
—1 John 4:8

His holiness and love are not opposed. At Calvary, God’s holiness judged sin while His love provided the sinner’s Substitute.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
—Romans 5:8

Conclusion

The one true and living God is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; yet there are not three gods, but one God.

This doctrine is beyond complete human comprehension, but it is not contrary to Scripture or reason. It is a revealed truth concerning the infinite nature of God. We must not reduce God to what the human mind can fully explain. We must receive what He has declared about Himself.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”
—Deuteronomy 6:4

“The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
—1 John 5:7

The conservative Baptist position is clear: one God, three eternal and coequal Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—distinct in Person, united in nature, glory, purpose, and divine perfection.