THE TRINITY OF GOD AND MAN
The Three-Fold Nature of Adam, Spirit Soul, and Body
Pastor A. W. Weckeman Feb. 2023
Man was made in God’s image; “And God said, Let us make man in OUR IMAGE, after OUR LIKENESS: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his OWN IMAGE, in the IMAGE OF GOD created he him; male and female created he them.” (Gen.1:26-27) [emphasis added].
An image is a mini-replica of the original, so man, like his Creator, is a tripartite being. The perplexing concept that one is three and three is one becomes clear when we see it represented throughout all creation. That is reasoning from the seen to the unseen, from the finite to the infinite. It then becomes apparent that the Trinity of man is patterned after the Trinity of God. Consider:
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole SPIRIT and SOUL and BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:23) [emphasis added]. According to the infallible standard of scripture (“thy word is truth”), the above verse reveals the reality that man is a three. Every person is a body, soul, and spirit, yet one unit. “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).
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.” (Rom.1:19-20). Paul likened the believer to the Tabernacle, 1 Cor.3:16 & 6:19, which was divided into three parts, the Holy of Holies (spirit), the Holy place (soul), and the Outer court (body). All of which provide a striking depiction of man’s spirit, soul, & body.
God is not split into three separate Gods. When we say God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we are NOT referring to three separate Gods. We are referring to the fact that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD.” (Duet 6:4) does NOT in any way disprove the Trinity.
“God is not three parts or three different manifestations. He is one essence, composed of three interdependent persons, each essential to the whole and each containing and expressing the whole of the Godhead.” M. Pearl
The Triune Creation
Examples of creation that exist in threes: The atom: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Time Space, & Matter (energy is transformed from matter). Time: Past, Present & Future. Space: Length, Width & Depth. Matter: Solid, Liquid & Gas. Blood cell solids: Platelets, Red cells, and White cells. The family: consists of Men, Women & Children. Human capability: Thought, Word, and Deed. The sun: Alpha rays, Beta rays, and Gamma rays. Consider H2O, an ordinary phenomenon of nature: Water, steam, and ice are three manifestations of one.
“All creation bears the stamp of its Creator. The nature of God is the pattern for all that is created, material and non-material alike. The Bible represents the one God as a triune being” M. Pearl
“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer (allow) it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 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 (the FATHER) am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:13-17) [emphasis mine].
Who made the worlds?
“God, who at sundry [different] times and in divers [various] manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Heb.1:1-3) “upholding all things by the word of his power” (that which keeps the universe from spinning out of control.)
Consider: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him [Jesus] 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.” (Col. 1:15-18).
The deceivers seize on the term “firstborn” to claim that because Jesus was born, He had a beginning; therefore, He can’t be eternal. The term “firstborn” mentioned in Colossians one does not mean that He was born first or created first of all created beings; for then, according to verse 16, He would have created Himself! Jesus Christ was the first man ever born of the Holy Spirit. He, therefore, is the “firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29) who will be “born of the Spirit.”
“For now we see through a glass darkly…” we only “know in part” (1 Cor 13:12).
While it is undoubtedly true that the concept of the Trinity is obscure, it is not isolated in that respect. Numerous portions of scripture reveal the limitations of intellectual understanding when dealing with spiritual realities. Paul, in Galatians 2:20, declared that believers had been crucified with Christ; nevertheless, they live. How can we be dead and alive at the same time? In addition, Paul states in Ephesians 2:5-6 and Colossians 1:13 that believers are PRESENTLY seated in heaven with God, yet simultaneously dwelling here on earth. Do you recall being circumcised with the circumcision made without hands? Of course, these concealed (vague) doctrines: “co-crucifixion,” “standing and state,” and spiritual circumcision are unveiled as we gain spiritual understanding.
Just because a doctrine strains our limited understanding doesn’t mean it is false or should be altered, denied, or explained away. The Scriptures are clear:
“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).
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Tim. 3:16)
“And the Word was made 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).
“Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
“He [Christ] had to be a man to die, for God can’t die. But He had to be God to pay for the sins of the world, for man can’t be good enough [to attain perfect righteousness]. If Jesus Christ were not fully God and fully man, He could not be our Saviour.”
The Eye of Faith
Even though these enigmatic truths (and many others like them) are not readily understood early on (or ever), they are “Holy Writ” to be accepted by faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) Or understood.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6)
Comparing John 1:1-3 in KJV with Jehovah’s Witness bible reveals the implication of this insidious false doctrine which denies the Trinity; in essence, an attack on the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) KJV
“In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in [the] beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence” “the Word was A god…” ??? Compare Rev. 19:13.
New World Translation. (Jehovah’s Witness Bible) copyright 1961. JWs and other heretics believe that Jesus is merely God’s son and not God the Son.
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” (1 John 2:22-23) That is to say, he that denies Jesus to be the Son of God, which means equal with God (John 5:18, John 10:30 & 33), is antichrist!