Was There Always a Trinity?
Ever since becoming a born-again Christian I have always known that Jesus Christ the Son of God is ‘God Himself’ manifested in the flesh. That was one of the first things the Holy Spirit taught me. He also taught me about the Godhead – The Holy Trinity who are Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they are ‘one God’ in three forms and how each part of the Godhead have a role to play in a believers life.
One day I was pondering all this when a question popped into my mind – ‘Was the Godhead always three and was Jesus always the Son’? I decided to do a Bible study and also do a search on what other people said. The results were very mixed – some believed that the Son was always the Son since the beginning of creation whilst others believed He became the Son when He became human. If He became the Son when He became human then who was there in the beginning? Was there one, two or three forms of God?
I decided to pray to God and ask Him to show me His truth. The first thing He told me to do was read the Scriptures in John about the Word. I have underlined the parts He illuminated to me. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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: 1-14 NKJV).
He then told me to write down who was there in the beginning, so I wrote the ‘Word’ and ‘God’. I then thought does that mean He was originally a two-part being? When God made man in His image He said ‘Let us make man in our image’ (Genesis 1:26) so we know that there was more than one form of God in the beginning. He then asked me who else was there in the beginning and He lead me to Genesis. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2, KJV). The ‘Spirit of God’ (the Holy Spirit) was there in the beginning with God and the Word of God. I then wrote ‘Word’, ‘God’ and ‘Holy Spirit’. These three were together in the beginning. God then gave me this Scripture - 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, KJV). I had the answer to my first part of my question – yes, the Godhead was always three – a trinity at the beginning – the ‘Father’, the ‘Word’ and the ‘Holy Spirit’.
What about the Son? The three Who bear record in Heaven was not Father, Son and Holy Spirit but Father, the Word and Holy Spirit. We know that Jesus is the Word but does this mean Jesus as the Word was not always the Son? Clearly God was always the ‘Father’. Jeremiah 31:9 shows us that God called Himself the Father of Israel. John 1 :14 shows us that the ‘Word became flesh. When the Word became flesh, the Word also became the Son of God and He was called Jesus. The Word was not the Son until that moment. When the word became the Son, God became the Father to the Son. For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son”? (Hebrews 1:5, NKJV). The word begotten means to be born. The Word of God became the Son and He was born.
The Scriptures show us that Jesus is God and has always existed as the Word. God (the Word) was never born, He always existed and has been there since the beginning. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8, KJV).
I then got this Scripture which to me clinched the truth that Jesus is God and existed as the Word in the beginning and then became the Son. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven (Colossians 1:15-20, KJV).
Colossians 1:15 refers to Jesus as the "firstborn of every creature”, which some have wrongly interpreted to mean Jesus was birthed by God in the beginning. When delving into other Scriptures we see clearly that Jesus is God and has existed since the beginning of time and was born when He became the human Son. This passage is speaking of his preeminence which means to be first in rank or influence. It emphasizes his supremacy and authority, rather than suggesting that he was created. The following verses, Colossians 1:16-17, clarify that all things were created through Jesus and for Him, indicating his role as the Creator rather than a created being. The English Contemporary Version explains it well - Christ is exactly like God, who cannot be seen. He is the first-born Son, superior to all creation.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This passage in John 1:12-13 also shows us how Jesus was the firstborn over all creation because He was born of God. When we are born-again we are born of God also.
Further down we read that He is the firstborn from the dead. When Jesus the Word became flesh (in the form of the ‘Son of God’) and died for our sins He was then resurrected and became the firstborn of all creation into His ‘resurrection glorified body’. This glorified body is promised to all believers Who accept Him as their Lord and Savior and we will receive this glorified body when He returns. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29, NKJV).
A Glorious Body
But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (1 Corinthians 15:35-49, NKJV).
When I have mentioned to people that Jesus Christ is God they say Jesus cannot be God because He is the Son of God. There is a lot of confusion around this. Why was He called the Son of God when He is God. The angel Gabriel gives us the answer to that question. And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35, NKJV). The Angel Gabriel shows us that the Holy one (Word of God) when He was born was to be called the Son of God. Mary gives birth to a son who was conceived in an immaculate conception by God through the Holy Spirit. The Word of God (who is God) in that moment became a human (the flesh of God) and a Son to Mary and God through the immaculate conception which is why He was referred to as God’s Son.
What is the significance of God Himself becoming the Son? As Jesus the Son, He manifested weakness in His flesh and willingly become lower than the Father. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I (John 14:28, KJV). As a human He had to become like one of us and remain sinless so that the Father could put our sins on Him at the cross. The Father then exalted Him above all. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11, NKJV).
In the beginning when Jesus was the Word He was not in a subordinate position to the Father. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was (John 17:5, NKJV). When Jesus was the Word He was equal with the Father. He willingly became lower when He became the Son in human form. After His death and resurrection His body was made a Heavenly body. Although He is still the Son He is no longer of lower rank because He is no longer an earthly body. When He was made a man Scripture tells us that He was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death (Hebrews 2:7). Now that He is resurrected and in His Heavenly body He is brought into a position of higher rank and authority. He is seated in Heaven at the right hand of the Father and they are coequal. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him (1 Peter 3:21-22, NKJV).
By Tania Francis