Is there such a thing as a Trinity? Is God three distinct separate Beings, and yet still one God? And is He only three? Why not 2, or 4?
First of all, we know that there is only one God. Duet. 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." Is. 43:10b "...before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me." Mark 12:29 "And Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord." 1st Corinthians 8:4b "...there is none other God, but one." Also see Duet. 4:35 & 39, Ps. 86:10, John 17:3, and 1st Timothy 2:5)
So, we know there is only ONE God. So why the focus on a Trinity? Well, first of all God is invisible. John 1:18a "No man hath seen God at any time..." and 1st John 4:12 reiterates the point. BUT, we also know that Jesus is God. In Matthew 1:23 He is revealed as Emmanuel, which means "God with us." 1st Timothy 3:16 says God was manifested in the flesh. And in John 10:30 Jesus said He and the Father were one. Colossians 1:15 says Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and 16 says that He is the Creator. Verse 19 says in Him (Jesus) dwells the fullness of God.
And we also know that the Holy Spirit is God. In Acts chapter 5, when Ananias lied about the amount of money he received for his possession, Peter says in verse 3 that he lied to the Holy Spirit, and in verse 4 says he lied to God, making them one and the same. And in 1st Corinthians 3:16-17 it shows how the Spirit is God dwelling in us.
So we have THREE distinct forms, all being God, yet God in one. God once spoke through a donkey. Was God the donkey? No, that is a completely different situation where God simply spoke through something. The same with the burning bush that spoke to Moses, and the Pillar of Fire that led the Jews through the desert. These were simply modes of revelation, not permanent forms of God.
In Genesis 1:2 the Spirit is shown to be present at the beginning, and in John 1:1, The Father and The Word (Jesus) were at the beginning. And as we saw already in Colossians 1, Jesus is the Creator, so He was present at the beginning. God has ALWAYS existed as 3 distinct Beings. Jesus was just in a different form. That of the Word, rather then the Son. Father, Word, Holy Spirit...all present from eternity past. Lets now lay a foundation for this.
Lets start at Jesus' baptism. Matthew 3:16-17 "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, 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."
Here we have all Three Beings of God present at the same time. The invisible Father speaks from Heaven, while the Son is baptized and the Spirit descends. All Three have clearly been identified as God, who is one, yet They all are as Three separate distinct Beings. How can this be, except as a Trinity?
Next, lets look at John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Here we have another clear distinction. In John 1:14, the Word is identified as Jesus. So, Jesus was in the beginning. The key word here in the verse is "WITH." See Jesus was (and is) God, but He was also WITH God. The word "WITH" makes a clear distinction between the two. I do not say I am WITH myself. I say I am WITH someone other then myself.
Now lets look at Genesis 1:26a "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." And in the next verse it says God created man in His Own image. So, it's clear we are made in Gods image. No one else's. Not the angels, or demons, or animals, but God. So if we are only made in the image of God, WHO is the "US" and "OUR" from verse 26? It can ONLY BE GOD! So unless there are distinct Beings that make up our one God, "US" and "OUR" make no sense. It is the Trinity communicating.
Now lets jump to the other end of the Bible. Revelation Chapter 5. John has been taken to the throne room of God. He sees Someone sitting on the throne with a scroll in His right hand. It is clearly God, because He is the only one worthy of the throne. In John 1, Acts 8, 1st Peter 1, and all through Revelation, Jesus is identified as the Lamb. In Rev. 5:7 the Lamb takes the scroll from the One on the throne. Again, Both identified as God, but separate, distinct Beings.
What about in Mark 13:32, when talking about the end times, Jesus says, "But of that day, and that hour knoweth no man, no not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." How is that possible unless the Son and Father are two distinct separate Beings?
Or what about Luke 22:42, John 5:30, and John 6:38 where Jesus says His will and the will of the Father are distinct? These verses clearly show Two separate Beings.
Have you ever wondered why Paul started his letters the way he did? Romans 1:7, 1st Corinthians 1:3, 2nd Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:1 and 3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1st Thessalonians 1:1, 2nd Thesalonians 1:1 and 2, 1st Timothy 1:2, 2nd Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4,and Philemon 1:3. They all say, God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ. If they are not distinct separate Beings, then why use the word "AND?" That word means in addition to, and just by using it implies a distinction. I do not say, "myself AND me are going somewhere." I say I. But if there is more then self, like my son AND I, then I use "AND." James 1:1, 2nd Peter 1:2 and 2nd John 3, all make this distinction as well.
So, in conclussion, The Father is God. The invisible, all knowing, ever present, all powerful Creator of the Universe. Jesus the Christ is God. He existed in eternity past as the Word (John 1:1), the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), and the Creator (Col. 1:16). He took on human form about 2000 years ago, suffered and died, and rose from the grave AS A HUMAN BEING (Luke 24:39-43). He ascended to Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, still in a visible human form (Acts 1:11). The Spirit is God. Sent from the Father and the Son, to guide, shepherd, teach and convict the world until Christs return. He indwells everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior. He is permanently in each believers body until the Glorious appearing. (see 1st Cor. 3:16, 12:11, John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:8 and 13, Acts 13:2, Rom. 8:26, 2nd Cor 1:22, and Eph. 1:13)
We know there is only one God. Yet all three of these Beings exist RIGHT NOW as separate distinct "persons." God The Father, sitting on the throne in Heaven, Jesus the Christ, The Word of God, sitting at the Fathers Right Hand, and The Spirit of God indwelling every believer on earth. They have always existed as separate Beings. One God as Three. 1st John 5:7 sums up the Trinity pretty sufficiently, "For there are three that bear witness in Heaven. The Father, The Word, and The Holy Spirit. And these three are one."
