The Nature of God

This is a quick reference guide to what the Bible states about the nature of God. 

Many religious groups have a false understanding of the nature of God. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is not God. The Mormons and Hindus teach that there is more than one true God. The Muslims teach that Jesus is only a man. The Oneness Pentecostals teach that Jesus is His own Father. However, let us look at what the Bible proclaims about who God is. 

First, God is beyond our full comprehension. After all, He is infinite, and we are finite. Still, there are many things He has revealed about Himself. Unless otherwise indicated, the following verses are from the King James Version (KJV).

 

Overview

1. God is incomparable. 

2. There is, has always been and forever will be only one true God.

3. 

A) The Father is God. 

B) The Son, Jesus, is God. 

1a) While maintaining His divine nature, the Son set aside his divine prerogatives and became a man, having two natures: God and man

C) The Holy Spirit is God. 

1a) The Holy Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is a personal being; rather than an impersonal thing.

4.

A) The Father is not the Son. 

B) The Son is the Holy Spirit. 

C) The Holy Spirit is not the Father.

 

 

Overview with Bible references

1. God is incomparable. 

• To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?  (Isaiah 40:18)
• To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? (Isaiah 46:5)
• See also Isaiah 46:9; Exodus 15:11, Psalm 89:6, Jeremiah 10:6; 2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Chronicles 17:20; Jeremiah 10:6

2. There is, has always been and forever will be only one true God.  

The Bible uses the terms “god” and “gods” to refer to false gods, who “…by nature are not gods” (Galatians 4:8).   Jesus, in John 10:34-35, quoting from Psalm 82, refers to powerful people as gods. Satan is called the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4. Pointing out that idols are referred to as gods, Paul states, “…there be gods many, and lords many…” (1 Corinthians 8:5). Still, the Bible is unquestionably clear, there is only one true God. 

 

• See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)
• Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (Isaiah 43:10)
• Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)
• Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. (Isaiah 44:8)
• Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (Isaiah 46:9)
• As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. (1 Corinthians 8:4)
• See also Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; Psalm 86:10; Isaiah 45:5, 14, 21; 2 Kings 19:19; John 17:3; 1 Timothy 1:17

 

3. 

A) The Father is God. 

• …God the Father... (John 6:27)
• See also John 8:54; Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 1:1, 3; Philippians 2:11

 

B) The Son, Jesus, is God. 

Old Testament 

• Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23; a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14)
• For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty [gibbor] God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) 

Note: The Lord (YHWH), is said to be the mighty [gibbor] God (e.g. Isaiah 10:21; Jeremiah 32:18). 

• The burden of the word of the Lord [YHWH] for Israel, saith the Lord [YHWH], which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:1, 10) 

John’s Gospel 

• 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. 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 1:1-3, 14) 

Note: Because some false religious groups falsely state that John 1:1 says that the word was “a” god, below are several translations/ versions of John 1:1b: 

1. “…και θεος ην ο λογος” (1881 Westcott-Hort New Testament)
2.  “…and God was the word.” (1395 Wycliffe Bible)
3. “…and the worde was God.” (1525 The Tyndale Bible)
4. “…and that worde was God.” (1568 The Bishops Bible)
5. “…and that Word was God.” (1599 Geneva Bible)
6. ” ...and the Word was God.” (English Standard Version)
7. “...and the Word was God.” (New American Standard Bible)
8. “...and the Word was God.” (New King James Version)
9. “...and the Word was God Himself.” (Amplified Bible)
10. ” ...and the Word was God.” (American Standard Version)
11. “...and the Word was God;” (Young's Literal Translation)
12. ” ...and the Word was God.” (Darby Translation)
13. ” ...and the Word was God.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
14. ” ... and the Word was God.” (New International Version)
15. “...and the Word was God.” (New International Version – UK)

Note the following commentary on John1:1 from Greek scholar, John Macarthur:

According to the rules of Greek grammar, when the predicate nominative (God in this clause) precedes the verb, it cannot be considered indefinite (and thus translated “a god” instead of God) merely because it does not have the article. That the term God is definite and refers to the true God is obvious for several reasons. First, theos appears without the definite article four other times in the immediate context (vv. 6, 12, 13, 18; cf. 3:2, 21; 9:16; Matt. 5:9). Not even the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ distorted translation of the Bible renders the anarthrous theos “a god” in those verses. Second, if John’s meaning was that the Word was divine, or a god, there were ways he could have phrased it to make that unmistakably clear. For example, if he meant to say that the Word was merely in some sense divine, he could have used the adjective theios (cf. 2 Peter 1:4). It must be remembered that, as Robert L. Reymond notes, “No standard Greek lexicon offers ‘divine’ as one of the meanings of theos, nor does the noun become an adjective when it ‘sheds’ its article” (Jesus, Divine Messiah [Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presb. & Ref., 1990], 303). Or if he had wanted to say that the Word was a god, he could have written ho logos en theos. If John had written ho theos en ho logos, the two nouns (theos and logos) would be interchangeable, and God and the Word would be identical. That would have meant that the Father was the Word, which, as noted above, would deny the Trinity. But as Leon Morris asks rhetorically, “How else [other than theos en ho logos] in Greek would one say, ‘the Word was God’?” (The Gospel According to John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 77 n. 15).

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John chose the precise wording that accurately conveys the true nature of the Word, Jesus Christ. “By theos without the article, John neither indicates, on the one hand, identity of Person with the Father; nor yet, on the other, any lower nature than that of God Himself” (H. A. W. Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Gospel of John [Reprint; Winona Lake, Ind.: Alpha, 1979], 48).

(MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on John 1-11. Moody Publishers, 2006)

• No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (John 1:18 ESV)
• Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18)
• Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:58-59) 

Note: Because some false religious groups falsely state that Jesus simply said, “…I have been” rather than, “…I am” in John 8:58, below are several translations/ versions of John 8:58: 

1. “…εγω ειμι” (1881 Westcott-Hort New Testament)
2.  “…I am.” (1395 Wycliffe Bible)
3. “…I am.” (1525 The Tyndale Bible)
4. “…I am.” (1568 The Bishops Bible)
5. “…I am.” (1599 Geneva Bible)
6. ” …I am.” (English Standard Version)
7. “...I am.” (New American Standard Bible)
8. “...I AM.” (New King James Version)
9. “...I Am.” (Amplified Bible)
10. ” ...I am.” (American Standard Version)
11. “...I am;” (Young's Literal Translation)
12. ” ...I am.” (Darby Translation)
13. ” ...I am.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
14. ” …I am!” (New International Version)
15. “...I am!” (New International Version – UK)

Note: Exodus 3:14 states, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament that dates prior to the birth of Christ, renders the Hebrew phrase for “I AM” in Exodus 3:14 as “ego eimi.” In John 8:58, this is the same phrase, the same Greek words Jesus uses, translated as “I am”. The Jewish people’s reaction to Jesus’s statement, ‘took they up stones to cast at him’, shows they understood He was claiming to be God. Jesus never denied this understanding, but continually affirmed it. 

• I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (John 10:30-33)
• And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:28-29)

Other the New Testament passages

• Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)
• Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 9:5)
• ...lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them... the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6) 

Note: Isaiah 42:8 states, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” See also Isaiah 48:11

• Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8) 
• In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him 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. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (Colossians 1:14-19)

Note: The term “firstborn” refers to the preeminence of Jesus. Manasseh was born to Joseph first, but Ephraim, his younger brother, was “firstborn” due to his position as given by Jacob/Israel (Genesis 48:13–20, Jeremiah 31:9). Also, consider Psalm 89:27 where it is recorded, “Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.”

• For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9)
• 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 Timothy 3:16)
• Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Titus 2:13)
• God, who at sundry times and in divers 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: (Hebrews 1:1-3)
• But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (Hebrews 1:8-12)

Note: Verses 8-9 quote from Psalm 45:6-7. Verses 10-12 quote from Psalm 102:25-27, which is a prayer to the Lord (YHWH). This prayer is applied to Jesus. 

• …our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1, NKJV)

Note the following commentary on 2 Peter 1:1 from Greek scholar, Dr. John Macarthur: "The Greek construction has only one article before this phrase, making the entire phrase refer to the same person. Thus, Peter is identifying Jesus Christ as both Savior and God." (MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1997) 

• And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

 

Other demonstrations of the Deity of Jesus

The following are titles, terms and proclamations made about the one true God that are applied to Jesus.

 

The first and the last is the Almighty

• I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Revelation 1:8; 22:13)
• See also Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12

Jesus is the first and the last

• And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; (Revelation 2:8)
• And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:17-18)

 

God alone is the Creator

• Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; (Isaiah 44:24)
• Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. (Isaiah 48:13)
• Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
• See also Genesis 1:1; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 95:5-6; 102:25 Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 40:12-14, 28; 66:2; Malachi 2:10; Hebrews 3:4
  1. Note also: Though He alone is the Creator, God uses plural pronouns when discussing creating. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). Man is made in the image of God, not in the image of angles or other heavenly beings (cf. Genesis 1:27; 5:1; 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9).

Jesus is the Creator 

• All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3)
• He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (John 1:10)
• For by him 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. (Colossians 1:16-17)
• See also Hebrews 1:2, 10

 

God alone is to be worshiped [Greek: proskuneo]

• Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship [proskuneo] the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10) 
• And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship [proskuneo] before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship [proskuneo] God. (Revelation 22:8-9)
• See also Deuteronomy 5:7-9; Acts 10:25-26; Romans 1:25

Jesus received worship [Greek: proskuneo]

• And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped [proskuneo] him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. (Matthew 8:2)
• And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship [proskuneo] him. (Hebrews 1:6)
• See also Matthew 2:1-2, 10-11; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 28:9, 17; Mark 5:6; Luke 24:52; John 9:35-38; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 5:8-14

 

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Shepherd-

• God: “The Lord [YHWH] is my shepherd…” (Psalm 23:1; See also Psalm 80:1; Genesis 49:24)

• Jesus: The ‘one Shepherd’ (John 10:11-16) and the ‘Chief Shepherd’ (1 Peter 5:4; see also Hebrews 13:20). 

 

­­­­­

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Savior- 

• God (besides Him there is none): Hosea 13:4; Isaiah 43:11; 45:21-22; Luke 1:47; 1 Timothy 2:3; 4:10; Titus 2:10

• Jesus: Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 4:12; Titus 1:4; 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; 3:18; 1 John 4:14

 

Judge of all-

• God: Genesis 18:25; Psalm 96:13; 98:9; Isaiah 66:16; Hebrews 12:23; 13:4
• Jesus: “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:” (John 5:22; see also Acts 10:42; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1)

 

 

The Rock-

• God: 
• “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 62:1-2, 6
• For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?” (Psalm 18:31; see also 2 Samuel 22:2, 47; Psalm 18:2, 46; 28:1; 31:3; 42:9; 71:3; 92:15)

 

• Jesus: 
• “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:4; see also Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8)

 

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Prepare the way of the Lord (YHWH), prepare the way before Me-

• The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord [YHWH], make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3) 
• Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord [Adonai], whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord [YHWH] of hosts. (Malachi 3:1) 

Jesus-

• And thou, child [John the Baptist], shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; (Luke 1:76) 
• As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Mark 1:2-3)
• See also Matthew 3:3; 11:10; John 1:23

 

• Omnipotence (all-powerful): John 14:13-14; Philippians 3:21
• Omniscience (all-knowing): John 16:30; 21:17
• Omnipresence (present everywhere at once): Matthew 18:20; 28:20
• Immutable (unchanging): Hebrews 13:8
• Eternal: Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2 
• Power to raise Himself from the dead: John 2:19 
• Prayed to: John 14:13-14; Acts 7:59; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 12:8; 1 John 5:13-15
• Honored as the Father is: Jesus stated in John 5:23, “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
• All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:15)
• Forgave sins: Matthew 9:6; Luke 5:24

 

1a) While maintaining His divine nature, the Son set aside his divine prerogatives and became a man, having two natures: God and man 

• Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8) 
• Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17)
• See also 1 Corinthians 15:21. 

In His incarnation, Jesus…

• said the Father was greater [Greek: meizon] than Him (John 14:28) Note: The Father being greater than the Son doesn’t negate the fact that they are of the same nature. In 1 Corinthians 14:5 it is recorded, “…he who prophesies is greater [meizon] than he who speaks with tongues…” yet he who prophesies is of the same nature as he who speaks with tongues. In Luke 22:27 Jesus says, “For whether is greater [meizon], he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.” (See also John 13:16)
• was born (Galatians 4:4)
• was dependent on the Father (John 5:19, 30)
• was made lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9)
• didn’t exercise omniscience (Mark 13:32)
• grew (Luke 2:40)
• increased in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52)
• was under the law (Galatians 4:4)
• was tempted (Matthew 4:1; Hebrews 4:15) 
• prayed to the Father (John 17)
• offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears (Hebrews 5:7)
• wept (John 11:35)
• got thirsty (John 19:28)
• got hungry (Matthew 4:2)
• got tired (John 4:6) 
• slept (Mark 4:38)
• had and still has a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39) 
• submitted to the will of the Father (John 5:30; 6:38; 1 Corinthians 15:28) 
• marveled (Matthew 8:10)
• said His soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death (Matthew 26:38)
• said His soul troubled (John 12:27)
• was troubled in spirit (John 13:21)
• groaned in the spirit, and was troubled (John 11:33)
• had reverence/ godly fear (Hebrews 5:7)
• died (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5)

 

C) The Holy Spirit is God. 

• Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17)
• But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (Acts 5:3-4)

1a) The Holy Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is a personal being, rather than an impersonal thing.

The Holy Spirit…

• has a mind (Romans 8:27)
• can be grieved (Isaiah 63:10; Ephesians 4:30)
• loves (Romans 15:30)
• bears witness (Romans 8:16; 1 John 5:6; John 15:26-27) 
• is a witness (Acts 5:32)
• testifies (John 15:26)
• can be lied to (Acts 5:3-7)
• has an awareness of goodness (Acts 15:28)
• appoints overseers (Acts 20:28)
• can forbid (Acts 16:6)
• searches all things (1 Corinthians 2:10)
• is referred to using masculine pronouns (John 16:13–14)
• has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11) 
• can have fellowship/ communion (2 Corinthians 13:14)
• has knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:11)
• intercedes (Romans 8:26)
• teaches (John 14:26)
• speaks and hears (John 16:13; see below for more)

 

The following are examples of the Holy Spirit speaking throughout the Scriptures. It’s important to note, these examples are from historical narratives (i.e. they’re not parables or proverbs). 

• Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. (Acts 8:29)
• While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. (Acts 10:19-20)
• As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. (Acts 13:2) 
• Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; (Hebrews 10:15-16)
• See also 2 Samuel 23:2; Acts 11:12; 21:11; 28:25–26; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:7-8; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17

 

4. 

A) The Father is not the Son. 

• Jesus and the Father count as two witnesses (John 8:17-18)
• Jesus came to do the will of the Father, not His own (Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42; John 5:30; 6:38)
• The Father and Son conversed (Matthew 11:25-26; 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 3:22; 23:46; John 11:41-42; 12:28; 14:16; 17; Hebrews 5:7)
• Jesus makes intersession to the Father (Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:2)
• Plural pronouns (e.g. we, us, our) are used in reference to the Father and Son (John 14:23; John 17:11, 21-22; note also, plural pronouns are used in references to God: Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8)
• Jesus’s doctrine was not His own, but the Father’s (John 7:16-17)
• The Father was greater than Jesus (John 14:28)
• Jesus wasn’t alone because the Father was with Him (John 8:16, 29; 16:32)
• Jesus spoke not of Himself but of the Father (John 12:49-50: 14:10)
• Jesus came from/ was sent by the Father and was returning/ going to Him (John 5:36; 8:16, 42; 12:49; 13:3; 14:28; 16:10, 16, 27-31; 17:11, 24; 18:11; 20:17; 1 John 4:9)
• The Father gave to the Son (Matthew 11:27; 28:18; John 3:35; 5:22, 36; 6:37; 10:29; 12:49; 13:3; 18:11; Revelation 1:1; 2:27)
• Jesus is at the right hand of the Father (Acts 7:55-56; Matthew 22:43-48; 26:64; Mark 13:35-37; 14:62; Luke 20:41-44; Acts 2:32-35; 5:31; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12: 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22)
• See also Isaiah 53:6; 10; Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; 13:32; Luke 9:35; John 8:54; 15:24, 26; 16:26 18:11 Acts 2:22; 10:38; 1 Corinthians 15:28; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 1:5, 8-9; 5:4-5; 2 Peter 1:17-18

 

B) The Son is not the Holy Spirit. 

• John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26

C) The Holy Spirit is not the Father. 

• John 15:26

Christians cannot lose their salvation.

When a person truly repents and places his trust in the Savior for forgiveness and everlasting life he is changed by God; born again. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

Keeping salvation is not dependent on the Christian. As it is written: “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) and "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” (Philippians 1:6; cf. Ephesians 1:13-14). If He began the work, He will complete it. That’s “if” He began the work. It’s quite prideful and arrogant to think you can be good enough or do something to keep that which you couldn’t earn in the first place. You didn’t deserve/merit it when you got it and you never will be able to.

Nonetheless, those who are born again will endure to the end. If they don’t, then that’s proof that they weren’t truly born again (1 John 2:19). By the way, if you teach that a person can lose his/her salvation, you’re essentially teaching that a person can/ is able to go on sinning. Granted, they might eventually lose their salvation, but nonetheless they can go on sinning according to that false theology. However, the Bible clearly teaches that a true saint will not and can not go on living in habitual unrepentant sin (1 John 3:9; 5:18; Romans 6:1-2).

Those whom God “foreknew, He also predestined” (Romans 8:29) and those “He predestined, these He also called” (Romans 8:30) and the ones “He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). This is an indivisible chain of events. If God foreknew a person, that person will ultimately be glorified.

Some Questions to Consider

How many sins do you have to commit before God takes your salvation away (how many are covered by the blood of Christ)? We are told, “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20; read in context of Romans 6:1-2).

How many sins before God remembers your sin and lawless deeds again (Hebrews 10:17; Jeremiah 31:34)?

What trespass separates us from God? We are told He has forgiven “all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13) when He made us alive with Christ.

Didn’t Christ die for all our sins (past, present and future)?

At what point does Jesus stop acting as our Advocate (1 John 2:1)?

If God gives a person everlasting life, then it ends, was it everlasting (John 3:36)?

If a person is born again of “imperishable” seed (1 Peter 1:23), then that person perishes, was the seed really imperishable?

Does God unforgive a person’s sin (Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12)?

Does God remove His wrath from a person then reapply it when that person loses their salvation; or does a saved person have the wrath of the wrath of God abiding on him?

Doesn‘t God know who‘s going to stay justified?

Isn’t God able to put His “fear in their hearts so that they will not depart” as Jeremiah 32:40 speaks of?

In John 10:27-29 Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” Who shall never perish? Jesus didn’t say “follow Me to become one of My Sheep.” He said His Sheep listen to and follow Him. He didn’t say they might follow Him, He said they do follow Him. Also, consider Isaiah 43:13 with John 10:27-29.

One more question to consider, are you trying to live your life in a way so that you will go to heaven or are you simply depending/relying on God for eternal life?

“Are you saying a person can get saved, then go rob banks, fornicate, murder and sin all they want and still be saved?”

Paul put it like this, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). The true Christian won’t go on sinning because he has been born again. As it is written, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9) and “We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him” (1 John 5:18). We know from the Greek that these refer to continuing in sin; making a practice of sin. Thus, if you continue in unrepentant sin, all evidence indicates that you didn’t get saved in the first place.

“Don’t Christians have free will; can’t they turn away from God (choose not to be saved)?”

Christian have a degree of free will, but they also have the fear of God so that they will not turn away. As it is written in Jeremiah 32:40, “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.” Thus, if you turn away from God and the faith, then you weren’t saved to begin with. As it is written, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us” (1 John 2:19).

Quiz: Islam or Mormonism?

• Their first prophet practiced and approved of polygamy
  
• Their first prophet was married to at least one girl under the age of 18
  
• Their first prophet was supposed to have been uneducated and not knowledgeable enough to have written their “holy” book
  
• Their first prophet supposedly had an angel appear to him who told him of their “holy” book
  
• Their first prophet is highly praised and exalted
  
• After the death of their first prophet the religion had a division on who to follow
  
• Their “holy” book praises Jesus as well as others in the Bible
  
• Their religion claims their prophet was prophesied about in the Bible
  
• Their religion claims that the Bible is the Word of God but that it has been corrupted
  
• Their religion claims to have brought a restoration of the truth
  
• Their religion claims works of righteousness are required to be right with their god
  
• Their religion denies the eternality of the divinity of Jesus

Answer: Both

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 1:9