(Read Genesis 1)
Someone I love dearly has been through many more health issues than I. I cannot fathom her discomfort, pain, and at times the uncertainty that accompany her condition. Her emotions are stretched thin. But she wears it well. Sometimes, I think she bears this burden too much, trying to manage its physical and emotional sides on her own.
Last weekend, she was sharing some updates. I sincerely told her that I have been praying for her. FYI, I do not say it if I do not mean it, even if I have to stop what I am doing to pray before getting back to whatever else I was doing. She said, “Who do you pray to?” Then, she added, “Well, whoever you are praying to is not listening.” I tried to mention that I did not know the answer to why she is still suffering or why she is feeling that her prayers are not being answered. The last thing I wanted to do in our discussion was to come across as all-knowing when I am not. Being a loving, listening soul will portray Christ’s presence more than grandstanding the Bible to someone who is not ready. Jesus always met His followers where they were, and we should do the same.
Then she asked me about a Christmas devotional I wrote. “What did you mean by ‘God came down to earth?’” she questioned. “Did you mean in the form of Jesus?” I am quite confident that, growing up in the same house, she knew what I meant, but we respectfully continued. “How can God be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?” I did not mention it at the time, but I wish I had pointed her to what Scripture actually shows: one God, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Again, I knew she already knew this, but knowledge and comfort do not always arrive at the same time.
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.”
Genesis 1:26
There are some things, many in fact, that we cannot and will not understand. When I am eating a snack three hours before it is my dog’s dinner time, I tell him, “I am sorry, buddy, it is not dinner time yet,” and he tilts his head sideways, and flashes big, sad eyes at me. Dogs clearly do not understand things the way that we do. A good friend of mine, who happens to be a client, majored in astrophysics in college. He told me that the Moon’s specific orbit and rotation help stabilize Earth’s axial tilt, supporting predictable seasons and patterns that make life possible. We can ask why, or more importantly, how, but our questions do not change the fact that there are realities far bigger than our ability to reduce them.
God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are not bound by the constraints of time. God has an ever-present status. No beginning or end. In Exodus 3:14, when Moses asked for His name, God identified Himself with the Hebrew phrase Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, commonly translated as “I AM WHO I AM” or “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE.” God specifically instructed Moses to tell the Israelites, “I AM” (Ehyeh) has sent me to you. Ehyeh is derived from the Hebrew verb hayah, meaning “to be” or “to exist,” implying self-existence, eternal nature, and covenant faithfulness. So, God is timeless. He has to be. How could the ultimate Creator be created?
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:14
Early in Genesis, we learn that our original, perfect place in God’s garden was soon obscured by our sin. We just had to do it. Until eating of the fruit of the tree, we would have lived in His presence with no barriers. God created the best scenario for us to thrive, prosper, and worship Him. Imagine living your life with nothing to hide, no past to feel bad about, and nothing to worry about in the future. That is what we had. Until. Satan pulled us off the rails.
God created us to have a relationship with Him. Not as mindless bots to obey Him, but to give Him glory, worship, and love Him. By directly going against His simple, direct command, we fell to a spot we could never climb out of on our own. Only a just God, full of grace and mercy, could pull us out of our pit of sin.
And here is where the phrasing matters. Scripture does not present the Father as becoming the Son. It shows the Father sending the Son, and the Son taking on flesh. The Father and the Son are distinct, yet fully one in deity. The Son came to earth in human form to live, die, and bear what we could never pay.
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.
John 1:14
People often wonder why God could not simply forgive without cost, since He is God. But Scripture insists that God is not only merciful, but He is also righteous. He does not dismiss evil as if it does not matter. He deals with it. He judges it. And He also makes a way to rescue sinners without bending His justice into something unrecognizable. The cross is not God looking the other way; it is God doing what only He can do: remaining just while justifying the one who trusts in Jesus.
In Greek, Roman, and other mythologies, gods can do things that humans do, can be overthrown, be reincarnated, be vulnerable, and fade into obscurity. Our one true God cannot. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8
Jesus was also sent to fulfill what God had promised long before. The story is not random. It is authored.
I once heard someone explain Father, Son, and Holy Ghost with the picture of H2O as ice, water, and steam. At best, it is a simple pointer to the idea of “one essence,” but it breaks down quickly because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not the same person appearing in different forms at different times. Scripture presents them as distinct and personal yet as one God. Every analogy breaks somewhere, which is exactly the point: we are not meant to tame God into a diagram.
We might not like the explanations from the Bible or comprehend why they are the way they are. The only way I can explain that is when I was 10 years old, all I wanted was to be 6 feet tall. Not until I had graduated from college did I realize that the loving answer to that prayer was no.
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.
John 14:16–17
Where does the Holy Ghost fit in? Ironically, people who do not believe in God still believe there is good in all of us. “God lives in all of us,” they will say, and they mean it as a hopeful metaphor. But if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it is not merely a metaphor. God truly dwells in His people by His Spirit. Not because we are impressive, not because we have earned a divine roommate, but because God loves to make His home where we least expect it.
In my view, this also helps me hold the Trinity with humility instead of anxiety. God is our loving Father, maker of all things. The Son is our Savior, the Word made flesh. The Holy Spirit is the Helper, present, personal, and active, bringing the life of God into the inner life of believers. Skeptics will scoff, saying that as a label, “Trinity” is never mentioned in the Bible, but the word “Bible” is not in the Bible either. What matters is whether the reality is there.
As my very wise son said, “Do not think about it too hard. We get into trouble trying to draw a box around a being we do not understand. Jesus said ‘I and the Father are one,’ so take him at his word.” I love the questions and conversation I had with my loved one. Hopefully, these were the first steps towards a greater understanding for both of us. Since God came near in Jesus, He is never distant from our suffering.
“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30)
- Life Application: When someone questions God or pushes back, resist the urge to argue. Instead, say something like, “I’m here. I don’t have all the answers, but I won’t stop loving you or praying.”
- This puts your faith into action. Honor God’s mystery, trust His nearness, and let your love carry the weight your words cannot.