As we noted in our last article, we are going to attempt to show in this article what is meant by such passages as 1 John 5:7-8.

First of all, T would like to suggest that nowhere does the Bible say that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ONE PERSON. It just does not say that! We might illustrate their oneness in this manner. There are many members of the board of directors in the General Motors Corporation. But, these men make up the corporation. Just as these men are distinct personalities but make up the one corporation, so it is with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even though they are distinct personalities, they make up the Godhead. They possess all of the characteristics and attributes of Divinity. But again, if we used an egg for example, surely all could see it. We have three parts of an egg, for all practical purposes: The shell, the yolk, and the white. Yet, if you saw all of these distinct parts separately, you could properly refer to them as egg the shell, egg the yolk, and egg the white. They all possess the characteristics of egg.

However, I doubt seriously that we could improve on God's illustrations. In Matt. 19:5, Jesus said when he was talking about marriage, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh." Do they literally become one flesh? Are they not still two, distinct personalities? Of course, even the Pentecostal people can understand this.

Again, in John 17:20-21, Jesus gives a definition that is so plain that no one could misunderstand it without some expert help. All you have to do is read the passage and it will explain itself with regard to the Father and Son oneness. Jesus prayed, "that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Now, do we understand that when we become ONE in Christ that every person in the world melts and runs into ONE PERSON, one Big Blob? I do not believe that anyone believes that. Yet, Jesus said that just as we are ONE in him, in that very same way he and the Father are one. So, just as we remain distinct personalities. God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit remain distinct personalities. And, just as we are all engaging in one common cause to fight against the devil and his angels and are thus uniting forces to try to attain this ONE CAUSE, so it is with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:

How may we distinguish between these personalities? We might sum it up in this way. God is the Father in that he is the originator, creator, and Supreme Ruler of the material and spiritual universe (Heb. 1:1-2). God the Son is the agent through whom all things were made (John 1:1-2: Heb. 1:2). God the Holy Spirit is the organizer, life imparter, law giver and guide of the material and spiritual realm (Gen. 1:2: Isa. 32:15; John 14:26).

TRUTH MAGAZINE XIII: 4, p. 1
January 1969