Celestial Diary

As the title clearly states, I’m starting a new series with my church youth group.

As the youth leader, I’ve been given the assignment to win more souls. The Bible says to be fruitful and multiply; and what better way to do that than by spreading the gospel? But spreading the gospel also means knowing the gospel.

If I want the youth group to grow, that means the youth need to evangelize. If they’re going to evangelize, they need knowledge. And if they need knowledge, then I have to teach them properly.

Long story short, I worked out a curriculum, and once in a while I’ll be posting our study sessions online.
You’re also welcome to join the actual session! Let me know if you’re interested.

To kick off the year, we started from the very beginning; why we exist and who we serve. We studied God, and more specifically, the Trinity.

Now, I always give this disclaimer: I’m not a pastor or a theologian, so I won’t be dissecting Greek or Hebrew. My goal is simply to make the gospel understandable and explain it in layman’s terms.

The comment section is open for your thoughts, corrections, and additions. I don’t want to put the wrong information out there, so I’ll explain things the best way I can.

Who is God?

God is one

There is only one God.

• Deuteronomy 6:4 – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

God exists in three persons. All three are fully God and one God

God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three “persons,” but all fully (separate and together) God.

• Genesis 1:1-3 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
  
  God the creator = Father
  The Spirit of God = Holy Spirit
  God said = Word of God (John 1) = Jesus

• Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
  
  He said ‘Let US’: If He was the only one, He won’t use plural

• Matthew 28:19 – “Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
  
  Being baptized in the name of God = being baptized in the name of the Father & the Son & The Holy Spirit. Not just in the name of the Father.

• 2 Corinthians 13:14 – May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
  
  An example of praying to God; praying to all three.

• John 14:15-21 – “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
  
  Jesus is speaking here and it is clear; there is Jesus, there is God the Father and there is the Spirit.
  

The Trinity

• The Father
  
  • The Father is the one who plans, rules, and creates.
    
  • Malachi 2:10 – Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?

• The Son (Jesus)
  
  • The Son is God who became human to save and teach us.
    
  • John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
    
  • John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• The Holy Spirit
  
  • The Spirit is God working in our hearts, guiding, comforting, and giving power.
    
  • Acts 5:3-4 – Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
    
  • John 14:25-26 – “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
    

Analogy

Imagine a triangle:

• It has three points but together they make the triangle
• One point isn’t better than the other point
• Each point represents a different function, used for different reasons but still remain a triangle
• They all exist at the same time; it’s not one person switching into other forms

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are different ways God relates to us.
Different persons but it’s still one God.

To make it clear, the Trinity is not one God changing into three different forms like a shapeshifter.
It’s not one Person switching roles.
Rather, it is three distinct Persons who are one God.

To help explain this, I’ll give two biblical examples where all three are present at the same time.

And just to be clear, it’s not like the forms of water; where water can be liquid, frozen, or evaporated and simply changes form. That would suggest one thing appearing in different modes.

It’s also not like the example of a woman being a daughter, a mother, and a sister. That’s one person operating in different roles.

The Trinity is different. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, yet they are fully and equally God; not three gods, but one God.

Genesis 1: 1-3 = God the Father Created, His Spirit hovered and His Word said.

Matthew 3: 13-17 = John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ (God the Son) and The Spirit of God descended from the heavens as a dove and a voice from the heavens spoke (God the Father).

I genuinely hope my explanation somewhat made sense and that those who were still confused have gained a little more clarity.

Stay Blessed x