Relationship with the Godhead
There is much controversy concerning the nature of the Godhead. Is God a singular person—simply described in three forms, as in One God who simply does three roles? Or do three distinct persons exist within the one person, each of whom possesses the nature of deity? Though the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, the teaching that there are three persons of divine nature (known as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Who are one God is backed up by Scriptures in the Holy Bible. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (1 John 5:7, NKJV). The Word of course is Jesus. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness (Genesis 1:26, NKJV). Note how God is referring to Himself in this Scripture as ‘us’ and ‘our’. This indicates there is more than one personal form of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1, NKJV). And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14, NKJV).
These Scriptures clearly show us that there are three distinct persons in one - each with different roles. Someone once gave me a beautiful analogy of how God can be three forms of Himself yet still be the same. Picture a jug of water – pour some of this water into ice cubes and freeze them. We have the same water still remaining in the jug and in the ice cubes which have now become ice. Boil the remaining jug of water and watch the steam come out the top. The steam is another form of the original water which is still in the jug and remains the same! Scripture also shows us that God is on the Throne, Jesus at His right hand whilst the Holy Spirit is in us (the believers). This of course is happening all at the same time.
If God is three persons in one then does that mean God wants us to have a personal relationship with all 3 forms of Himself? My answer to this is ‘I believe so’. The Holy Spirit showed me that His children are not entering into true worship because they are forgetting the God Head and not worshipping the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in their entirety. There are those who are concentrating their worship and devotion on God the Father only, others who are focusing their attention on Jesus the Son only and then yet another group who are focusing and worshipping the Holy Spirit only and forsaking Jesus and Father God. Others may be concentrating only on two members of the God Head whilst forsaking the third. The God Head is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Godhead must never be separated for to separate means to pull apart and also to be not joined. To claim they are independent from one another is also incorrect as independent means free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others. They are also not individual as individual means single, particular, separate. The three forms of God are three distinct persons in one but they are not separate. The word distinctive according to Meriam-Webster Dictionary means having a quality or characteristic that makes a person or thing different from others: different in a way that is easy to notice. The three forms of God are noticeably different but they possess the same nature and personality. If you picture my husband who is a father, and a husband and the owner of a company you will see that he has three roles but still the same person. How he would interact with any staff is different to how he would interact with me his wife and his children as their father. Some people may say I am going to put on my husband hat today, then later on take-off this hat and put on their father hat. God is so absolutely awesome that He doesn’t need to take off or put on different hats - He just manifested Himself as those 3 forms of Himself all at once instead! Each form has a different role for us in our lives so each form I believe needs to have a personal relationship with us.
The Father Who is the creator of Heaven and Earth, Man and all living creatures. Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:6, NKJV). The Father is Love and loves us unconditionally and wants to bestow blessings and gifts upon us. The Father wants us to honour and respect Him and will chastise us when we do wrong.
***In Ministry I note that many people find it hard to identify with and get close to the Father because of their own relationship with their earthly father which may have been strained. Hence it shows me the significance and importance of having a personal relationship with the Father member of the Godhead. Many wounds need to be healed before this can happen.
The Son (Jesus) Who is our Saviour and Who is God in the flesh Who was sent to save mankind by taking on the sin of man and defeating satan at the Cross of Calvary. It is only through using this name that we can cast out demons and have authority over them. We cannot get to the Father without first having a relationship and belief in Jesus. It is through Jesus that we are reconciled back to the Father. Interestingly there is also a Scripture that shows that Jesus Who is the one true God is also the creator. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3, KJV).
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and is mentioned in Genesis when God created the Heavens and the Earth. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63, NKJV). The Holy Spirit was sent by God after the death and resurrection of Jesus as another helper for mankind. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26, NKJV). The following Scripture spoken by Paul also shows clearly three distinct facets of the God Head. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14, NKJV). The Holy Spirit is here to convict, guide, teach, comfort, encourage and exhort. The Holy Spirit will always glorify and lead you toward Jesus. Another one of His functions is to reveal truth. (John 13:16) and produce fruit in us (Galatians 5:22-23), as well as give us gifts (1 Corinthians 12) to function as the Body of Christ on earth. He even intercedes for us by giving us the gift of tongues when we don’t know what to pray. Many people ignore the Holy Spirit and deny His role as God within our lives. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:32, NKJV).
Satan is the great counterfeiter and will try and counterfeit everything God does. There is a false God, a false Jesus and a false Holy Spirit whose role is to deceive. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1, NKJV). Too much emphasis on one or even two members of the God Head whilst denying the others can open you up to these demonic spirits. Not knowing all members of the God Head personally and not understanding their roles in our lives can allow us to be deceived and accept these false spirits in. Not worshipping and thanking God in His entirety can open us up to being lead and guided by these false deities. As you can imagine this could turn out to be disastrous. I once ministered to a lady who referred to her God as Lord, turns out it was the Lord of the flies (Beelzebub) that she was allowing to guide her because she didn’t know or believe in Jesus. Imagine the consequences also if we are denying or under emphasising the Holy Spirit in our lives. I shudder to think who may be the one we hear prompting, teaching or guiding us! If we fail to love, honour and worship God as our Father it could provide a love deficit within our lives because God is Love. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8, NKJV).
There are many today who are denying the Holy Spirit as another distinct person of the Godhead. The belief is that He is the Spirit of God within the Father and the Spirit of God within Jesus the Son and not His own person. One argument they have is that there is nowhere in Scripture where one prayed, worshipped or praised the Holy Spirit. I believe this is incorrect as God is spirit. Anywhere in Scripture where one prayed, praised or worshipped God this was also in reference to the Holy Spirit Who ‘is’ the spirit of God. Scripture has already identified that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three in one. Any reference to God, or Lord can mean any one of the three. Sometimes however Scripture identifies the identity of the Godhead in order to show the different role from each member. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20, KJV). Note this Scripture spoken by Paul is identifying God and the Father. Does he simply mean God ‘the’ Father? If so why does he say ‘God and the Father’? God in this respect I believe is the Holy Spirit of God Who has a different role from the Father and of course Jesus the Son.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24, NKJV). Could worshipping in Spirit and truth mean knowing Him in His fullness and having a relationship with all 3 persons of the Godhead? Scripture also clearly shows us that there are times when all three are mentioned together. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17, NKJV). The Holy Spirit is also referred to as the breath of God. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22, NKJV). For the Holy Spirit to be the breath of God then surely God Himself had to be in an actual form to breathe out the Holy Spirit. What form then is God the Father? Scripture seems to suggest that He is fire. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24, NKJV). Did Moses not see God as a fire in the bush! Is this why Jesus comes to baptise in Spirit and Fire? John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16, NKJV). The fire I believe refers to the Glory of God. My belief is that when we first believe in the Son we are baptised with the Holy Spirit who leads us and guides us into all truth through repentance, forgiveness and prayer. The fire then tests us and refines us before we receive the second baptism which is the anointing and power that Jesus walked in. We then receive the fullness and the Glory of the Father when we allow the Holy Spirit of God to remove the old man and put on the new. In other words when we have died to self and are resurrected into the likeness of Christ.This is a process and all three members of the Godhead each play a part.
Worshipping God is worshipping Him in His entirety. This includes all aspects of God. His entirety is His fullness which encompasses one God in the form of three roles. We should be acknowledging and worshipping and thanking all three for their different roles in regard to mankind. There is more than one aspect and role of God to us. Why would God be a three part being if He didn’t want us to know each part of Himself in each form – enabling us to understand what the role of each one is in our lives? All too often we see songs in Churches devoted to Jesus only. Where are the songs of worship, praise and thanksgiving toward the Father and the Holy Spirit and their roles in our lives too? What I find interesting is that all three members of the Godhead tell us to worship the other. God the Father wants every tongue to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). The Holy Spirit leads us to the Son and teaches us about the son (John 15:26). Jesus tells us (and even satan) to worship the Lord thy God (Luke 4:8) and direct our prayers to the Father (Matthew 6:9-13). In other places Jesus says to us to pray to Him directly. Paul states that the headship over Jesus is His Father God. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3). Jesus only ever did what the Father told Him to do which shows us that although Jesus was God in the flesh He communicated with Father God and let Himself be lead and guided by God through the Holy Spirit within Him. The role of Jesus was great and almost too amazing to comprehend and the Bible is full of Scriptures that tell us to worship and praise Him which is what we are meant to do but the Bible also says to worship God the Creator and worship Him purely for His greatness and His Holiness. We need to take a leaf out of the angel’s book and worship God in the same way they did. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8, NKJV). In this they are clearly stating that God is Holy. God is Spirit and is Holy hence they are worshipping the Holy Spirit of God. Their reference of God being ‘Who was and is and is to come’ is clearly referring to Jesus ‘Who was’ meaning He has always existed and was on earth, and to Him ‘Who is’ meaning He is still in existance and currently at the right hand of the Father and in believers as the Holy Spirit,, and ‘is to come’ meaning the second coming of Christ. This one statement of praise is worshipping and acknowledging all members of the Godhead.
Another concern amongst the Christian Church is ‘Who do we pray to’? Scriptures show us that we can pray to any of the three for they are all ‘God’. If however you want to be politically correct then a prayer in this form would be good: - “Father God through Jesus Christ and by Your Holy Spirit I pray …….” My honest belief though is that God will hear you no matter what you refer to Him as whether it be ‘Lord’, ‘God’, ‘Father’, ‘Daddy’, ‘Jesus’ because He knows your heart and He loves you. The main thing is that you believe in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and that you believe that Jesus is the one true God and He is living in your heart. Another reason why I believe God wants us to have a personal relationship with all 3 forms of Himself is that people in the Old and New Testament had encounters with different forms of Him – never just one form for all. Abraham knew the Spirit and Creator God, God speaks through Moses and refers to Himself as the 'Father' of Israel when He is asking Pharoh to release the Israelites (Exodus 4:22-23), the Disciples knew Jesus as the Son of God, Paul met Jesus the Son and received the Holy Spirit and was taught to teach about Jesus and impart the Holy Spirit. Today we have the full news of the Gospel, we see the big picture which enables us to see and have a relationship with all three.
How then do we accomplish this? We begin by asking the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to reveal themselves to us in a personal way. We can simply sit and invite a manifestation of their Holy presence. We can offer thanksgiving and praise (Psalm 100). We can sing songs of worship. We can offer up to God ourselves - we put ourselves on the altar of God. The Scriptures show us that God requires an offering of sacrifice. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1, NKJV).
You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV).
We need to get back to the simplicity of the Scriptures and do what they show us to do. The Word of God is Jesus and Jesus is clearly showing us that God is three in one. Worshipping God in this manner enables us to be protected and loved by all members of the Godhead so their roles in our lives can be fulfilled and we can be all that God has called us to be. There is no jealousy, contention or inequality amongst them. They are all clearly in complete unity and complement one another. Identifying and getting to know each one in their three part form and knowing the role each part of the Godhead has with us can help us to grow in our relationship with the one true God, Who of course is our creator, our Saviour, our protector and our Spiritual guide and is Jesus Christ.
(PRAYER) – “Father God in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son and by the power of the Holy Spirit I pray that You would manifest personally each form of Yourself to me in Your way and in Your timing. Protect me from counterfeit spirits who claim to be You – whether that be in the form of the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit. I am sorry if I have misunderstood the Godhead and worshipped only one of You whilst denying the others. I am sorry if I have ever separated You from the others into separate people when You are one. I command every demonic spirit who poses as the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit to leave immediately in the name and power of Jesus Christ. I praise and worship You God as the Father, as the Son and as the Holy Spirit, and as the creator of us and this universe. I thank You for your different roles to enable me to become more Christ-like. I thank You God as my Father that You love me and want to bless me. I thank You God as Jesus that You took my sins and died for me and are the Saviour of mankind. Thank You that You came to save me and those of my household. Thank You God as the Holy Spirit that You are in me, that You came to guide me and lead me into all truth. I come boldly to Your throne of Grace to seek Your grace and mercy. I offer to You myself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. I am thankful to You and bless Your name for the Lord is good. I join the angels of Heaven Lord God and declare ‘Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God almighty Who was, and is, and is to come’.
*** Repeat this last declaration as many times as you feel to then sit and wait in His presence for Him to manifest Himself to you!
By Tania Francis