For centuries, mainstream Christianity has taught that the Trinity is a divine mystery—something beyond human comprehension. Many theologians insist that we “cannot fully understand the nature of God.” But does this idea align with Scripture?
Jesus Himself said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). And “I have come to reveal the Father” (Matthew 11:27). If Christ’s purpose included making God known, should we accept the idea that His nature is unknowable?
- The Oneness of God: Unity in Purpose, Not Singularity
Many assume that “oneness” means strict singularity. However, the Bible presents a different kind of oneness—one of perfect unity in character and purpose. Jesus prayed that believers “may be one just as We are one” (John 17:22). Clearly, Christ was not praying for all Christians to merge into a single being. Instead, He expressed a unity of mind, will, and love—the same kind of unity Jesus shares with the Father.
Similarly, Paul writes of the Church as “one body”: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). The Body is made up of many members working together in harmony. If this is how Scripture describes oneness among believers, then why wouldn’t the oneness of God reflect a similar unity rather than absolute singularity?
- Jesus: Subject to the Father, Yet Fully Divine
The Bible repeatedly affirms that Jesus is divine: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God” (John1:1-2).
“But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8). And also:
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;” (Colossians 2:9).
Yet it also states that He is subject to the Father: “The head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3), and “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do” (John 5:19). This subjection does not imply inferiority but rather the structure of a divine family and government. Jesus and the Father are both God, yet the Son willingly submits to the Father’s will.
As the Word, Jesus Christ was given authority over everything except God the Father Himself (1 Corinthians 15:27). Jesus functioned as the divine Son in relation to the Father. This role became fully manifest at His first coming when He humbled Himself, taking on human form to fulfill the Father’s plan as the physical Son of God:
“Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).
- Genesis and the Plural Nature of God
From the very beginning, the Bible indicates plurality within God: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26 ). The Hebrew word for God, Elohim, is plural, suggesting more than one divine being. This is reinforced by John 1:1-3, which identifies Jesus (the Word) as the One through whom all things were made.
Many are surprised to learn that the God who interacted with Israel in the Old Testament was actually the pre-incarnate Christ. Paul states that the Israelites “drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus Himself said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58), directly claiming the divine title used by God in Exodus 3:14. This means that, throughout history, humanity’s direct interactions with God were actually with the Word—who was operating under the authority of the Father.
- Jesus Came to Reveal the Father
If Israel primarily knew the Word (Jesus) in the Old Testament, then one of Christ’s stated purposes in coming to earth makes perfect sense: to reveal the Father. John 1:18 states, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” The Israelites had always worshiped God, but they had not fully understood the Father.
Jesus came to clarify this relationship and bring us into unity with Him, directing us to pray to the Father through the Son (Matthew 6:9). The Apostle John offers further clarity about how to pray:
“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (John 16: 23-27).
- Deception in the Nature of God
Misunderstanding God’s nature has led to widespread confusion in Christianity. The idea that God is an incomprehensible mystery distances believers from truly knowing Him. But Scripture consistently reveals a God who wants to be understood—a Father and Son working in perfect unity, inviting us to share in that relationship:
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:1–3). Later, John continues to reveal God’s desire to have a relationship with humanity:
“. . .Concerning the Word of life – “2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1–3)
By returning to what the Bible actually says, we can clear away centuries of theological speculation and see God for who He truly is. Jesus came not to make God more mysterious, but to reveal Him.
The question is: Will we believe what He taught?
Ryan Welsh