In this blog article, we will explore key Bible passages that emphasize the Trinity of God, the Deity of the Lord Jesus, and affirm that the Lord Jesus is indeed God within the Trinity. Every true follower of the Lord Jesus must hold this belief about Him. We will begin by discussing the Bible passage found in John 1:1-4, which describes the Lord Jesus as the Word, stating that the Word was with God from the beginning and that the Word was God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Comments John 1:1. This verse tells all readers that in the beginning, the Three in One already existed before all things were created. The “Word” here in this verse refers to both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and God refers to God the Father because here it tells us about the Trinity of God. We can imagine in this way as well: God the Father is so big that God the Son and the Holy Spirit are in Him, and all Three are tangled together, cannot be separated, but each of the Three has His own duty as well.
“In the beginning was the Word.” As the verse here tells all readers, in the beginning, before all things were created, the Word, the Trinity of God was there already, and all things from the Trinity of God will happen.
“And the Word was with God.” Now the verse tells all that in God the Father Himself, the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit are already in Him.
“And the Word was God.” The most important thing to notice here is that the Word is also God the Father Himself because God the Father has had the Holy Spirit and the beloved Son of God in Him from eternity past.
2 This was in the beginning with God.
Comments John 1:2. “This” in this place refers to the Trinity in the first verse. That is why it says “this” in this verse; when saying “this,” all Three are together as One, as we commented in verse above. Because the Lord wants to make sure that humans understand the Trinity of God, and it cannot be separated, that is why the verse uses the term "this": “This was in the beginning with God.”
3 All became on account of Him, and apart from Him, nothing became that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Comments John 1:4. This verse tells us that through the beloved Son of God, life has been given to all humans, and that life becomes the light of men for surviving; as long as they keep the faith and abide by the love of the beloved Son of God, their own life will be based on the light of the beloved Son of God.
“In Him was life.” Because the beloved Son of God lives forever, His life will be light for all humans. Because when the beloved Son of God gave His life on the cross, that life that He gave becomes light for humans. The light here refers to the true knowledge about God.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not seized it.
Comments John 1:5. When the beloved Son has given up His life for the humans, the light from His life becomes the ray of light shining through the darkness, and the dark itself cannot stand against it and cannot accept that light because the dark cannot accept the light in their area, the dark wants to remain dark. The dark here is the power of the evil one that controls it, which can blind the mind and the eyes of those that seek and walk with the dark. The dark cannot fight against the light; that is why the verse has told the darkness has not seized it. The light is the true knowledge about God, and that knowledge will shine out, and the dark cannot seize it.
Now, we can connect the Word Himself with Genesis chapter 1 when the Trinity of God spoke the creation into existence. God spoke the creation into existence through His Word.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. …
Moreover, combining the verses above we can understand from Proverbs 30:3-5 and John 3:13 that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, has ascended into heaven and descended on earth to give us true knowledge about God. In Proverbs 30:3-5 we read:
Proverbs 30:3 And I have not learned wisdom, neither have I the knowledge of the Holy One. 4 Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you know? 5 Every word of God is tried: He is a shield to those that take refuge in him.
And in John 3:13 we read:
13 And no one has ascended into heaven, except He having descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who exists in heaven.
Comments John 3:13. “And no one has ascended into heaven.” This saying tells us that no human has gone up to heaven except the Lord Jesus; in this place itself, the beloved Son of God has said to all humans, He as a human has been to heaven.
“Except He having descended out of heaven.” Only the beloved Son of God has come down from heaven; He had lowered Himself to come down and walk around the earth as humans do.
“The Son of Man, who exists in heaven.” As the verse in this portion has told all humans, the beloved Son of God exists from the beginning, before the earth has been created, and He will continue to be for eternity until the entire will of the Father has been accomplished.
Then, we can also find out about the deity of the Lord Jesus in Hebrews 1:1-4, where we read about the “supremacy of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God.”
Hebrews 1:1 God, having spoken to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 has in these last days spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the ages; 3 who being the radiance of His glory, and the exact representation of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 having become by so much superior to the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name, beyond theirs.
Therefore, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Lord Jesus is the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us, and this is key to understanding His Deity, His humanity, and the Trinity of God. The Word Himself is the Word of the Father, and the Word has power. If we think of Genesis 1:3, where it says: “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light,” we see that the Word was spoken by God the Father and the light was created. So, the eternal, self-existing God the creator of all things, spoke the Word and the light was created. Modern physical theory introduced the Big Bang Theory, which is the leading man-made theory that describes the creation of the universe. However, these people who believe this theory eliminate God from their equations and do not consider that behind this creation there is an eternal, all-powerful, self-existing God, the creator of all things, who has the power to move things by His Word.
In Hebrews 11:3 we read: “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which appear.” Therefore, no human can explain the creation without faith in the self-existing Trinity of God. The preexisting Lord Jesus existed in the Word of the Father, which was with God the Father from the eternal past and was part of the Creation. Then, John 1:14 tells us, “And 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.” Now the Word became flesh, so the Word of God came amongst us in the human form to teach us about the Father and the way of salvation.
From the Word of God, we can firmly conclude that the Trinity of God has three persons in One: God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father is Spirit (John 4:24); God the Son Jesus is now existing, after the resurrection, as a heavenly body which took the earthy body with Him; God the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, which is a different Spirit than God the Father Spirit Himself. In the beginning in the Word, we have the preexisting Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the spoken Word of the Father is Jesus Himself, and whatever the Father has been spoken is like Jesus Himself, and that is why the Lord Jesus was part of the creation. When the Lord Jesus says that He came to do the Father’s will and obey the Father, it is then obvious because He is the incarnated Word of the Father, so the Word cannot go against Himself, so He obeys the Word of the Father because of being the Word of the Father. So, the obedient Son is obedient because the Word Himself which is spoken by the Father cannot go against the Father. So, the Lord Jesus doesn’t know anything beyond the Word of the Father, He abides in the Father, and that is why the Lord Jesus said that He came to fulfill all the prophesies of the prophets, since He is the Word, so the Word must follow the Word (See Luke 24:44, Matthew 5:13).
Now, there are many difficult issues related to the Trinity of God and the deity of the Lord Jesus. We will discuss two controversial issues people have regarding the deity of the Lord Jesus. First, we understand that the Lord Jesus is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Still, then, how does the Lord Jesus says that no one knows the end time hour, only the Father knows (Matthew 24:36)? So, the understanding of this is that the Word is with God the Father, He belongs to God the Father, as it is the Word of the Father, so if the Father has not spoken the Word of the end time yet regarding that hour, that is why the Word Himself doesn’t know the end time hour. The end time hour, you could say that it is only in the heart of the Father and that the Word has not been spoken about this. So, the Word exists in the Father, but the Father has not spoken the Word about that day and hour. So, this is why nobody knows the end time hour: the Father did not speak the Word about this, so if the Word was not spoken, the Word doesn’t know it yet; only the heart of the Father knows these things.
Secondly, the Lord Jesus, in His human body, has lowered Himself to be a servant (Philippians 2:7-8). So, many would ask how a human can create a universe that is so big and infinite because how is it possible for a man to create an infinite universe? The humanity aspect of the Lord Jesus is another difficulty people have in understanding the deity of the Lord Jesus, the Trinity, who Jesus is, and why He came on earth. Now, of course, we know that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, He ascended in the body and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come back to take His bride (the true church), and He will be King of all, and He will reign the new world in majesty with His mighty power: He will rule the new world which the Father has created. Therefore, His resurrection testifies to His deity as a human in the flesh. He never ceased to be a God; He only lowered Himself for a while to dwell amongst us as a man and be the Son of God and the Son of Man (one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human).
The Gospel of John, the first chapter, is key to a deeper understanding of the virgin birth, the Trinity of God, the deity of the Lord Jesus, and a clear understanding of who the Lord Jesus is.
Meditation tasks:
1. Read our article: The Bodily Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
2. Ask yourself what the most challenging issue is for you when meditating on the Trinity of God.
3. Find some important Scripture verses that testify to the deity of the Lord Jesus and the Trinity of God.
If you have any questions about the topics presented in this blog, please contact us, and we will try to provide our answers in a timely manner.