Board index ‹ The Trinity

[William Hendershot]

When Jesus was spiritually separated from God the Father, was Jesus still God? If so, would that not make two individual Gods?

[jimwalton]

As I mentioned before, the theology of the Trinity is that God is one essence manifested in three separate persons, or identities. The Son and the Father can be separated from each other as separate identities, just as the Son was on earth talking to his Father "up there". But they were one essence, as John 1.1, John 10.30, Col. 1.15, Heb. 1.3, and Phil. 2.6 (as well as others) make clear. The Greek words used in these text are very specific: One God, manifested in more than one person.

[William Hendershot]

If Jesus, being God, was separated from God the Father during His spiritual death, how can their be only ONE God?

[jimwalton]

Let's dip just a small amount into some of those texts I told you about.

In John 1.1, it says the Word (Jesus) was with God, and that he was God. How could he be with God and be God simultaneously? The verse says that while the Word was with God (imperfect tense, denoting continuing action in past time), that same Word also was God (same verb and form). It is a grammatical equating of the Word and God while maintaining their separation.

John 10.29-30: In v. 29 Jesus talks about he and the Father as separate persons. In v. 30, he says they are one. Jesus and the Father are not the same person, but they are one in essence and nature. The word he uses is ἕν, meaning "one". Not one person, which would be the Greek word *heis*, but one is essence or nature. If he had meant separate persons, he would have used the plural. He was making himself equal to God while maintaining his distinction from God.

Col. 1.15: "Image" is εἰκὼν. It means a form that makes something more real. The visible Son makes the invisible Father visible. The Greek word *omoioma* would mean "resemblance," but Paul uses *eikon* to mean the same essential character.

Heb. 1.2-3. In v. 2 the Son is clearly written about as being of different person than the Father god (v. 1). But v. 3 tells us the Son is the exact representation of the being of God and the radiance of his glory. "Representation" is the word χαρακτὴρ, showing us that there is exact correspondence between the two persons. Verse 2 uses ἀπαύγασμα (radiance) that the Son is the glory shining forth from the Father's glory (the light coming from the light).

Philippians 2.6: "Being in very nature God..." The word that is used is μορφῇ. It means the visible way the invisible nature is made known.

Now, given these words (and I apologize for dealing with them so briefly), what would your conclusions be about how can God be one and more than one at the same time?