Thursday: Our Triune God
Daily Lesson for Thursday 24th of September 2026
When reading 2 Corinthians 13:14, one may think that Christ is the only source of grace, God is the only source of love, and the Holy Spirit is the only source of fellowship, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:3-4,9; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 2 Corinthians 1:2,12; Romans 8:35; Romans 15:30; Galatians 2:20; and Ephesians 3:19. What do these passages say about grace, love, and fellowship in connection with the members of the Trinity?
Image © Sally Weimer at Goodsalt.com
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together for our salvation. Grace, love, and fellowship come not from only one but the Three Members of the Godhead. Yet, each One has specific functions in the history of salvation. Paul is aware of that and emphasizes this teaching in his letters. For instance, the plan of salvation is told with an incredible economy of words in Galatians 4:4-6, with the respective participation of the Three Members of the Godhead. God the Father sent Jesus, which suggests that the Father is the Source of that plan (Galatians 4:4). The Son was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4), which is a reference to the Incarnation and points to the fulfillment of an ancient promise (Genesis 3:15). The Son redeemed us and brought us back to the correct relationship with the Father, whom Satan had lied about (Genesis 3:5). And the Holy Spirit legitimizes our identity as children of God (Galatians 4:6).
There are several other references to the Trinity in the Pauline letters. The three act together, enabling the church for mission (1 Corinthians 12:4-6), giving us spiritual strength (Ephesians 3:14-19), and promoting a profound unity among church members, one that replicates the unity that marks the very relationship of the members of the Godhead (Ephesians 4:4-6). In Paul’s understanding, not only is God triune, but also the three Persons of the Godhead work together for our salvation (Ephesians 1:3,13-14). In Ephesians, Paul goes so far as to mention that we must be filled with the fullness of the Father (Ephesians 3:19), the Son (Ephesians 4:13), and the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
In bringing the correspondence with the Corinthians to a close (2 Corinthians 13:14), Paul could not finish with a better ending—a promise that the three Dignitaries of the universe, the heavenly Trio, would be with us now and in the age to come.
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How should fellowship among church members reflect the lovely relationship of the Godhead? |
My apologies for being long winded this morning but I want to give a little bit of history that I pray is helpful to us.
I will be up-front and say I don’t like to use the word “Trinty” to describe the Godhead; not because it is wrong, but because a lot of people have unfortunate associations with the word.
The word “trinity” is not used in Scripture and the closest we get to connecting the three/one idea is in:
The first use of a “three” word to describe the Godhead in writing was by Theophilus, around 170 AD, where he used “trias” to connect God, His Word, and Wisdom. Later Tertullian used the Latin word “trinitas”. He used the expression, “One substance, three persons” as a description of the Godhead. In 325 AD The council of Nicaea adopted the term to counteract Arianism (Jesus was created by God the Father and not co-eternal with the Father). In 381 AD, The First Council of the Constantinople expanded the definition to include to include the Holy Spirit. That is essentially has been the doctrine of the Godhead for Catholicism and many Protestants to the present day
There are two alternative positions; Arianism, as already described briefly, and Modalism (God is one person expressed in different modes as is appropriate.) These interpretations have received some traction in Protestant Churches because they want to be seen as different to the Catholics.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneers came mainly from Protestant Churches and brought both Arianism, and to a lesser extent Modalism with them. Uriah Smith, James White and Joseph Bates were all Anti-trinitarian and held Arian beliefs at least to some extent.
Interestingly, and somewhat wisely, Ellen White does not use the term “Trinity” to describe the Godhead. Historical commentors have explained that this avoidance was largely due tp the association that many church members had with the word. Her best descriptions of the nature of the Godhead are found in:
From the 1890s on the Seventh-day Adventist church papers largely followed the lead of Ellen White in describing the nature of the Godhead as Trinitarian without using the word. It was not used officially in any statement of belief until 1980 at a General Conference Session, Dallas, Texas.
As I said in the introduction. I prefer not to use the word “Trinity” myself, not because it is wrong but because many folk still associate the word with Catholicism. Having said that, I do not take issue with those who use the term. I do not like to get drawn into arguments about it because:
Arguments about the description of God has split churches and even caused wars. Perhaps the big take away from this little journey into history is that we can worship and have a deep relationship with a God we cannot easily describe. That should make us a bit tolerant to others who have come up with a different description.
I am there with you Maurice. Some want to make it a hill to die on. Only one hill is worth dying on and that is Calvary. It will all make more sense when we get to heaven. Indeed, it is about a relationship not being dogmatic about a doctrine. I refuse to be dogmatic about what the Bible isn’t dogmatic about. Jesus is my Savior and my example.
Gentlemen, Thank you for your comments
I hope and pray that this lesson and your comments will help other who are having issue with this. I choose to follow
God The father,God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All the same ONE God.
Great summary Maurice…
Arguments about the colour of the carpets have split churches! There will always be different opinions and perspectives – even in heaven. It is not the disagreements, different opinions, or perspectives that are the problem as much as how those elements are expressed and defended.
Doctrines are simply windows into God’s character and governing principles, whereas theology is how you get there. Even those with different doctrines will be saved because salvation is through a relationship with Jesus not through theology. However, wrong theology leading to wrong doctrines – even apparently benign doctrines – is a dangerous place to be and somewhere we can all end up.
The Bible is a book about principles in action that are described in many and various situations all of which occur in a cultural and time-based context. Not only that, but we live in a physical world, and Truth has to do with spiritual concepts. Finally, we all process concepts differently, some understand concrete ideas better than abstract ideas or Vis versa. So, it’s hardly surprising we sometimes end up with different doctrines.
The key to the strength and integrity of Truth is through the gift of disagreement and argument via robust theology. Indeed, it is almost like God WANTS us to have disagreements and sometimes robust arguments. I’d go far as to say it is the WAY we disagree that reveals more about our spiritual condition than WHAT we disagree on.
Of course, each time we are confronted with a different theological perspective is different – sometimes we need to respectfully defend, other times we need to let it slip by. May God give us the wisdom and patience to know which approach is best.
Adventism uses the words trinity and godhead interchangeably, but they don’t mean the same things theologically. Triune/trinity concepts are pagan in origing and how those words ended up in Adventism is a sad tale and a great disservice to the third angel’s message. It is good to hear some of us are ashamed to use that word. It means a lot! The lesson quarterly should not teach that concept at all. The challenge is that it is a core doctrine in the fundamental beliefs, and that’s where the rain starts beating us.
The use of the word “Trinity” by Christians predates the Papacy by about 150 years (or more depending on how you mark the beginning of the Papacy), so it is hardly a Catholic word. However I understand that many folk associate the word with Catholicism, and that is one reason I do not use the expression personally. It is noted, however, that the Gospel commission used the expression:
That seems to me to be a description of the Godhead, albeit without the use of “Trinity” I also note that Roman Catholics use the same expression several times in their liturgy.
I am curious though. Do you hold an alternative view of the Godhead? (Just as an aside, Arians, Unitarians, and Modalists all use the word Godhead) Or are you just objecting to the use of the word “Trinity”?
Even if it is the case that prior to the Christian religion there were trinitarian doctrines in Paganism, (Egypt, Persia, Scandinavia, Mexico) it does not stand to reason that the term/idea of trinity is not applicable to our understanding of the Christian Godhead. Using the Bible as a witness of Truth, this is the rational conclusion from the evidence provided by scripture.
Indeed. Pagan practices were generally a distortion of true worship. Satan well knew about true worship and true sacrifices. So, instead of lambs offered as sacrifices, he focused on pigs in many pagan cultures. I can see that Satan meant this to degrade the concept of Christ, his perceived arch-rival.
Satan knows about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So it makes sense that he introduced a trinity of gods in other religions.
I agree. I don’t know why we tend to believe that if something is seen in false worship it has to be that it is therefore false overall. It is just as likely to be the other way around.
We need to remember that after the flood, all the survivors knew the truth. Many of their descendents gradually moved away from God to worship idols, but that does not mean that some truth remained. Of course, Satan did his best to distort it, but the remaining fragments actually testify to truth, in my opinion.
The Trinity is an unfathomable yet unmistakable truth revealed in Scripture: there is one God who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1–2). Paul captures this beautiful reality in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” The Father expresses His love, the Son extends His grace, and the Spirit brings us into communion with God. Though we cannot fully comprehend how God is one in being and three in Persons, Scripture calls us to receive this mystery with humility and worship.
The Trinity also teaches us something about how we relate to one another. God is not solitary; communion and relationship are inherent in His very being. Jesus prayed that His followers would experience a unity that reflects the unity of the Father and the Son: “that they all may be one” (John 17:21). Likewise, Ephesians 4:3–6 calls believers to preserve the unity of the Spirit, grounded in “one body…one Spirit…one Lord…one faith…one baptism” and “one God and Father of all.” As we experience the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14), we are drawn into deeper fellowship with God and are challenged to extend that same love, unity, communication, and mutual care to one another.
What is the spiritual value of understanding the “Triune God”? How is our Christianity impacted by the theology of the Triune? Is the teaching about the “Triune God” simply a theological puzzle that need to be solved?
The Bible does not explicitly says, “God is one being in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The word “Trinity” does not occur in Scripture either. However, the Bible explicitly provide the “substance” of the Trinitarian doctrine. The debate between the Trinitarian Christians and the Unitarian Christians (for example the Jehovah’s Witness) is that one of the interpretations of Scripture. I want to say that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a contradiction but a mystery. I suppose it is true that we cannot completely comprehend how God’s infinite being exists. Even though Paul’s writings are deeply Trinitarian, he does not stop to give an explicit definition of “the Trinity”.
To me this is not just a doctrine but an understanding who God is and what He has done for our salvation. God the Father has chosen to adopt us into His family. Jesus has redeemed us into the family of God. The Holy Spirit has sealed us members of God’s family. Therefore, the teaching about the “Triune God” becomes personally relevant because it helps me somehow understand the structure of my salvation process.
The Father sends the Son → the Son accomplishes redemption → the Spirit applies that salvation in my heart.
Paul puts in a very lovely manner. We have been chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (Ephesians 1:3-6, NLT).
Once I am saved into God’s kingdom, praise be to His holy name, in eternity, I will have enough time to fully understand the mystery of the “Triune God”. But as for now, dear Jesus, please save me into your Father’s kingdom. Amen.
Once I am saved into God’s kingdom, praise be to His holy name, in eternity, I will have enough time to fully understand the mystery of the “Triune God”. But as for now, dear Jesus, please save me into your Father’s kingdom. Amen.
Amen is our prayers too.
Expressing that I am grateful is so insignificant: that God the Father sent His Son for our redemption, and the gift of the Holy Spirit as a Comforter, to help us in our weaknesses, is ‘mindblowing’. We might not understand the Godhead as we should but thank God one day we will.
1 John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
John 14:26 KJV
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
My one-time experience with opposite belief of ours was a visiting Seventh-day Adventist with his adamancy of persuading us that there is a duo in the God head, not a trio. Basically that the Holy Spirit is God the Father’s other self of which is not what the Bible says. Also, it is not what our faith as Seventh-day Adventist believe. We believe in one God composed of God the Father, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. We did not argue with this gentleman, we defended our faith; with Bible text. I did go back and refamiliarize myself with the 1st 5 beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church which are substantiated by many Bible text. https://adventist.org/beliefs. I do appreciate all of your sharing of history and Biblical information today. Very well said.
1 Peter 3:16.
I am so glad to be a part of the 7th day Adventist faith. It humbles me to have Christ abiding in me, and I abiding in Him. No, I don’t understand the ways of God, Isaiah 55:8-9, yet I do know Truth and Truth sets me free. John 15:4-10, I do believe covers me. This is the love of God, from our God of Love.
Good day
John
The Godhead is “team work”.
But one takes the lead.
The Father chose us to be in the family.
The Father redeems us through the Son.
The Father seals, convicts, assures, encourages, and guides and unites us through the Spirit.
None is autonomous.
It’s all team work
-ONE TEAM
-ONE PURPOSE
All three Divine
All three Holy
All three Love
All three Faithful
All three Eternal
All three critical for my salvation.
God wants us, His church/body to imitate this oneness and purpose and teamwork according to our gifted ness.
“Therefore, the teaching about the “Triune God” becomes personally relevant because it helps me somehow understand the structure of my salvation process.”
(Quoted from comments)
What would happen if our fellowship as church members reflected the relationship we see within the Godhead?
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, yet there is no competition among Them—no jealousy, rivalry, or struggle for recognition. Each faithfully fulfills His role while fully cooperating with the Others. The Son glorifies the Father, the Father glorifies the Son, and the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. Their unity does not erase their individuality; rather, their differences of role become part of the beauty of their perfect love story.
This provides a beautiful model for Christian fellowship.
In the church, each of us has a role to play, and faithfulness does not require us to have the same role as someone else. We should be able to serve faithfully without becoming jealous when another person’s contribution receives attention. Likewise, no one should regard his or her particular role as evidence of superiority over another.
Instead, we cooperate because the mission belongs to all of us. When one member succeeds, the others should be able to rejoice rather than feel diminished or inferior. The accomplishment of the goal is our shared victory.
That kind of fellowship would reflect something of the beautiful, self-giving relationship of the Godhead—a unity in which love is more important than recognition, cooperation is more important than competition, and the success of the whole is celebrated by everyone.
Hi, sorry I have not been reading the study lately, and I feel like Satan is just coming after me. But I’m Joselyne, and I’m 15, and for me, it’s sad to see how kids just think God is unfair and unjust and that he does not love anyone. But the Godhead is something kids my age don’t understand, since we just give up on trying to be good.
Hello Joselyne! First of all, I want to thank you for commenting and for being real in your comment. That’s commendable especially for a person your age. Sadly Satan is coming after all of mankind because we are made in the image of God. The Bible provides many promises of victory over Satan. One of my favorites is James 4:7. It is like a formula. The first thing is to submit yourself to God. This is what Daniel and his friends did when taken captive to Babylon as teenagers. (Daniel 1:8) Then they resisted the temptations. We need to resist the devil. I know that’s easier said than done. When we know that God loves us that becomes a reason to love him back. The neat thing about being a Christian is that supernatural power is available from the Godhead. The devil will tempt and test you to see how determined you are. I always tell people the best way to resist the devil is when he comes knocking at your door, you send Jesus to answer it. Unfortunately many people have bought the lies of Satan in thinking that God is unfair, unjust, and unloving. Actually those are the attributes of Satan that he has projected onto God.
The Godhead is something that few understand correctly. For simplicity let’s just say that they are all on your side. The Father himself loves you. (John 16:27) In fact he loves you and the whole world so much that he sent Jesus to save us from the devil and sin. (John 3:16,17) Jesus loves you so much that he was willing to leave heaven and come to earth to save you. In fact he loves you so much that if you were the only one needing to be saved he would have done it just for you. Think of sin like an incurable cancer. How much cancer do we want in our lives? Jesus is the cure for spiritual cancer. Think of the Holy Spirit as being like a personal trainer that not only teaches and guides you but also gives you power to live the Christian life. Has anyone ever helped pull you up a hill that you were struggling to climb? That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. He helps us in our weakness. In our own strength we can’t be “good.” We need a power outside of ourselves. It doesn’t fall out of a coconut tree onto us. We need to pray for it. Talk to God just like you talk to a friend. What a friend we have in Jesus. He knows it’s hard to be human. He also knew the love of the Father, and that love helped him overcome temptation and the devil. It works the same for us. Don’t try to live the Christian life in your own strength or you will get discouraged and quit. When Jesus lives in our heart and the Holy Spirit is empowering our lives it is actually easier to do good than to do evil.
Thank you so much again for commenting. I will pray and hope that many members of this forum will also pray for you to be a bright light, to be empowered and to know that you are loved by the Godhead. Blessings to you!
Thank you for your prayers I appreciate it.
God has a plan for everyone. And in the church we are supposed to recognize this plan. Each member should develop the talents received and work to make whatever is possible to multiply them for the good of others! Love is action.
I am writing concerning a statement in Thursday’s lesson:
“In Paul’s understanding, not only is God triune, but also the three Persons of the Godhead work together for our salvation.”
I would appreciate the opportunity to understand more precisely what was intended by this statement.
My question is particularly about the words “In Paul’s understanding … God [is] triune.” I understand that Paul speaks extensively about the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit and about their work in the plan of salvation. However, I have not found a passage in Paul’s writings in which Paul himself describes God as “triune,” speaks of “three Persons,” or defines the Godhead as three Persons in one God.
This raises an important distinction for me between what Paul explicitly wrote and a theological conclusion drawn from Paul’s writings.
For example, Paul writes:
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things…”
— 1 Corinthians 8:6
He also writes extensively about Christ and the Holy Spirit elsewhere in his letters. I have no objection to carefully comparing these passages and asking what theological conclusions may reasonably be drawn from them. My concern is with attributing a later theological formulation directly to Paul by saying, “In Paul’s understanding, God is triune.”
Paul is no longer here to explain what he intended by his letters, so I believe we have a particular responsibility to allow his own words to establish the boundaries of our conclusions.
This is also why I have been studying Ellen G. White’s use of the term “Godhead.” I have found that she uses terms such as Godhead, divinity, and deity in ways that deserve careful examination rather than automatically importing a later technical definition into her writings.
I would therefore be very interested in knowing:
Which specific Pauline passages do you believe establish that Paul understood God as “triune”?
Where does Paul himself use a concept equivalent to “three Persons of the Godhead”?
Would you consider the statement “In Paul’s understanding, God is triune” to be a direct statement of Paul, or a theological synthesis made from several Pauline passages?
If it is a theological synthesis, would it be more accurate to identify it explicitly as such rather than attribute the terminology directly to Paul? My intention is not to argue for or against a theological label. I am trying to distinguish as carefully as possible between Scripture’s actual language and theological conclusions drawn from Scripture.
I believe this distinction is especially important in Seventh-day Adventism, where we have repeatedly been encouraged to examine matters by the Scriptures themselves.
Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 7:19 has also been meaningful to me in this regard:
“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.”
Whatever conclusions we reach concerning the Godhead, I believe our conclusions should remain subordinate to Scripture and to faithful obedience to God.
There are quite a few references in Paul’s epistles that refer to God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit in a way that implies divinity. Here is a sampling:
The overall impression you get is of three entities working together under the umbrella of divinity. Early theologians noted the frequent occurrence of three entities in these descriptions and used words such as “trias” and “trinitas” to express that Threeness. Later “Trinity” and “Triune” were used for the same purpose. I think the focus on the wording has become the tail that wags the dog.
For my own part, I prefer not use these terms because many people associate them badly and they generate a lot of noise that takes away the focus from who God is and what he has done for us and is willing to do with us now. At the same time, I do not see any need to criticise those who do use “threeness” expressions. When I read the verses quoted above and others like them, I gain a better appreciation of God. We need to remember that all our descriptions of God are as limited as a sea-slugs description of a motorcar. We simply don’t have the language to do God Justice.
Amen, to a wonderful study!
My focus turns to the words of one of my favorite renditions. It reiterate the fathomlessness of our triune God’s inseparable love and devotion towards His Creation (John 3: 16; Romans 8:35):
“The Love of God is greater far,
Than tongue or pen can ever tell. …
All measureless and strong.
It shall forevermore endure;
The saints and angel’s song.”
The vital role of the Holy Spirit is made more apparent, in making possible the sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ … and the ultimate triumph of love, purity and truth! (Matt. 28:19)
All praise and thanks be to our Triune God of unity, comfort, restoration, everlasting joy and eternal peace!
(2 Corinthians 13:14)