God of the Bible: Study of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; free ebook

159 Pages·2014·1.04 MB·English

The God of the Bible
A Study of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit

by David E. Pratte

Available in print at
www.gospelway.com/sales
The God of the Bible:
A Study of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

© Copyright David E. Pratte, 2006, 2013
All rights reserved

ISBN-13: 978-1494498900
ISBN-10: 1494498901

Note carefully: No teaching in any of our materials is
intended or should ever be construed to justify or to in any
way incite or encourage personal vengeance or physical
violence against any person.

“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord”
– 1 Corinthians 1:31

Other Acknowledgements
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are generally from the
New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are from Holy Bible, New
American Standard La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (MLV) are from Modern Literal Version
of The New Testament, Copyright 1999 by G. Allen Walker.
Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are from the Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 by the Division of Christian Education,
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the New International
Version of the Holy Bible, copyright 1978 by Zondervan Bible publishers,
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
God of the Bible Page #2
Other Books by the Author
Topical Bible Studies
Growing a Godly Marriage & Raising Godly Children
Why Believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible? (evidences)
The God of the Bible (study of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
Grace, Faith, and Obedience: The Gospel or Calvinism?
Kingdom of Christ: Future Millennium or Present Spiritual Reign?
Do Not Sin Against the Child: Abortion, Unborn Life, & the Bible
True Words of God: Bible Inspiration and Preservation
Commentaries on Bible Books
Genesis Gospel of Mark
Joshua and Ruth Gospel of John
Judges Acts
1 Samuel Romans
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther Ephesians
Job Philippians and Colossians
Proverbs Hebrews
1 & 2 Peter
Bible Question Class Books
Genesis Gospel of John
Joshua and Ruth Acts
Judges Romans
1 Samuel 1 Corinthians
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther 2 Corinthians and Galatians
Job Ephesians and Philippians
Proverbs Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians
Ecclesiastes 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Isaiah Hebrews
Gospel of Matthew General Epistles (James – Jude)
Gospel of Mark Revelation
Gospel of Luke
Workbooks with Study Notes
Jesus Is Lord: Workbook on the Fundamentals of the Gospel of Christ
Following Jesus: Workbook on Discipleship
God’s Eternal Purpose in Christ: Workbook on the Theme of the Bible

Visit our website at www.gospelway.com/sales to see a
current list of books in print.

Page #3 God of the Bible
Other Resources from the Author
Printed books, booklets, and tracts available at
www.gospelway.com/sales
Free Bible study articles online at
www.gospelway.com
Free Bible courses online at
www.biblestudylessons.com
Free class books at
www.biblestudylessons.com/classbooks
Free commentaries on Bible books at
www.gospelway.com/commentary
Contact the author at
www.gospelway.com/comments

God of the Bible Page #4
Table of Contents
The Number of Individuals in the Godhead .................... 6
The Deity of Jesus .......................................................... 27
The Nature Of The Holy Spirit ....................................... 61
The Nature of Spiritual Gifts .......................................... 75
The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts ...................................... 104
The Imparting of Spiritual Gifts ................................... 120
The Duration of Spiritual Gifts .................................... 129
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit ................................. 144

(Due to printer reformatting, the above numbers may be off a page or two.)

Notes to the Reader
You may find that major topics of this material will repeat topics or
concepts covered elsewhere. This serves to emphasize these points and
allows each major topic of study to be complete of itself (so major
sections can be studied independently).
Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are from the New King
James Version. Often - especially when I do not use quotations marks –
I am not quoting any translation but simply paraphrasing the passage in
my own words.

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Page #5 God of the Bible
The Number of
Individuals in the
Godhead
Introduction:
The Bible repeatedly teaches that there is only ONE true God.
This God is “one” in contrast to the many warring, conflicting,
different gods of heathen idolatry (Deut. 4:35,39; 6:4; 32:39; Psa. 86:10;
Isa. 43:10-13; 44:6-8; 45:5,6,21-23; Matt. 4:10; Mark 12:29).
However, the Bible also mentions three beings each of whom
is called “God,” or other such terms used for God.
The Heavenly Father — Matt. 16:16,17; John 6:27,44,45; 20:17;
Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:3; etc.
Jesus, the Son — John 1:1,14; 20:28,29; Phil. 2:6-8; Heb. 1:8,9;
Col. 2:9; Isa. 9:6.
The Holy Spirit — Acts 5:3,4; Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 4:8.
Some people conclude that “one God” means God is just one
individual or personal being. So they conclude that the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are all the same individual or personal being. They claim that
these are just different titles used to refer to the one individual, or that
the different terms refer to different parts of the one individual (“Son” =
the fleshly body, “Father” = the Divine Spirit that inhabited the body,
etc.). This one individual is named Jesus, so the position is often called
“Jesus only.”
The purpose of this study is to show by Scripture that the
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct
living personal beings or individuals.
To illustrate what we mean by separate and distinct beings or
individuals, consider various existing kinds of living intelligent beings:
Angels are intelligent spirit beings or individuals — Heb. 1:13,14.
Satan and his servants (demons) are intelligent spirit beings or
individuals — Matt. 4:1-11; 12:43-45; Mark 1:21-27.
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Humans are intelligent beings or individuals (before death a
human consists of body and spirit, but at death the spirit departs from
the body) — Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7; James 2:26; etc.
The Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are
individual beings separate & distinct from one another, like these
various other intelligent beings are separate and distinct from one
another. We do not claim the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are physical
beings, like humans, though Jesus did have a body on earth. Nor do we
claim they are like these other beings in character, authority, etc. We
simply say that these other living beings illustrate the concept of
separate and distinct individuals or personal beings. The Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are each an individual, distinct from one another
like angels are distinct from one another, etc.
The Father is not the same individual being as the Son, the Son is
not the same being as the Spirit, etc. However, each possesses all the
characteristics and privileges of Deity, so each is part of the Godhead.
Therefore, the one true God consists of three separate and distinct
individual divine beings.
We do not claim to understand all about God, nor can we answer all
possible questions about the number of individuals in the Godhead.
Some things are simply not revealed; limited, finite humans simply
cannot understand all about the infinite, unlimited God (Deut. 29:29;
Job 26:14; 36:26; 37:5,23; Isa. 55:8,9). Nevertheless, regardless of
whether or not we understand all about it, we must believe and teach
that there are three separate and distinct individuals in the Godhead,
because the Bible says it.
Evidence for Three Separate &
Distinct Individual Beings in the
Godhead
Evidence that the Father and the Son Are Distinct
Individuals
A father and his son must be separate individuals
Consider the following references:
Matthew 3:17 — This is My beloved Son.
Matthew 16:16,17 — You are … the Son of the living God … My
Father in heaven revealed this.
Matthew 17:5 — This is My beloved Son (spoken by God the
Father — 2 Pet. 1:16-18).
John 3:16 — God gave His only-begotten Son.
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John 5:17 — My Father has been working, and I work.
Hebrews 1:5 — I will be to Him a Father and He shall be to Me a
Son.
1 John 1:3 — Have fellowship with the Father and with His Son
Jesus Christ.
2 John 3 — Grace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ
the Son of the Father.
2 John 9 — Abide in the teaching and have both the Father and
the Son.
A father and his son are necessarily two separate and distinct
individuals. A single individual can be both a father and a son at the same
time — a father to one person and a son to another person. But no one
can be the same person as his own son, and no person can be the same
individual as his own father!
If Jesus and His Father are the same individual, as some claim, then
Jesus is both his own father and his own son!
Further, the passages describe both an “I” and a “He” (or “me” and
“him”). Use of both these terms also necessarily implies plurality of
individuals.
And further note that 2 John 9 expressly mentions “both” the
Father and the Son. The Father and the Son are a “both” — two
individuals.
Further, 1 John 1:3 and 2 John 3 refer to “Jesus” by name as the
Son and distinguish Him from the Father. The Father is never called
“Jesus” in the Bible.
[Note also Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; 1 Thess. 3:11; 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; 1
Pet. 1:3; and many other passages below that mention both the Father
and the Son.]
The Father prepared a body for the Son — Hebrews 10:5
When Jesus came into the world, He said, “a body You have
prepared for Me.” “You” is God the Father (v7). “Me” is Jesus the Son
(v10). The “body” is the body in which Jesus came into the world (vv
5,10).
Again, “you” and “me” necessarily refer to a plurality of individuals.
Jesus was the “me,” not the “you” (the Father).
And Jesus is not just the “body.” The body was prepared for the
“Me” (Jesus). Here are two separate and distinct spirit beings discussing
the body. Did the Spirit that inhabited the body prepare the body for
Himself? Is Jesus talking to Himself, saying You (Jesus) prepared this
body for Me (Jesus)?
Judgment given by the Father to the Son — John 5:22
The Father does not judge any man, but has given all judgment to
the Son. If the Father and Son are the same individual, then when Jesus
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judges someone, the Father is judging him. But the Son judges and the
Father does not judge. Therefore, they must be separate individuals.
Jesus prayed to the Father — John 17:1-5 (Matthew 26:39;
John 11:41)
Jesus lifted His eyes to Heaven and prayed to the Father (v1). He
said, “I have glorified You … I have finished the work You have given
Me to do” (v4). I and you make plural individuals. But if the Father and
Son are the same individual, then Jesus prayed to Himself!
Jesus was WITH the Father before the world began — John
1:1-3,14; 17:5,24
The “Word” (1:1) is the only begotten Son of the Father (1:14,18). He
was in the beginning with God and was God (v1).
He (Jesus) said “Father, glorify Me together with Yourself with
the glory which I had with You before the world was” (17:5).
Further, the Father loved the Son before the foundation of the
world (17:24).
Even before Jesus had a fleshly body on earth, there was a Father
(You) who was His own self (“yourself”) — one individual. Sharing
glory with Him was Me or I (Jesus) — a second individual who was
with the Father and was loved by the Father before the world began.
You and Me implies separate individuals. The Father was one
“self,” but Jesus was with Him. All this was before there ever was any
fleshly body. Was Jesus with Himself before the world began? Did He
love Himself and share glory with Himself?
The Son is on the Father’s right hand — Ephesians 1:17,20
The Father raised Jesus from the dead and made Him sit at His
right hand. Clearly this describes a relationship between two separate
individuals. If Jesus and the Father are the same individual, then Jesus
is sitting at His own right hand! (See also Acts 2:33; 7:55,56; Rom. 8:34;
Col. 3:1; 1 Pet. 3:22.)
Jesus and the Father had independent wills — Matthew 26:39
Jesus prayed, “Not as I will but as you will.” My will and
your will make two distinct minds each capable of making its own
decisions. The Father’s will and the Son’s will agree and are united, but
each has individual power to choose and to will. Each has His own mind
and intelligence separate from the other.
Two distinct wills necessarily imply two distinct intelligent beings.
(See also John 6:38-40; 8:28,42; 5:30; 7:16; 12:49; 14:10,24. Note
that the Father knew something the Son did not know — Mark 13:32).
The Father and the Son make TWO witnesses — John 8:13,16-
18,29
Jews accused Jesus of testifying of Him self (v13). Jesus said the
law required two witnesses (v17; cf. Deut. 19:15). He claimed He was
Page #9 God of the Bible
not alone because “I am with the Father who sent me” (v16).
Further, I am One that bears witness of Myself, and the Father bears
witness of Me (v18). That fulfills the requirements for two witnesses
(v17). So, He who sent me is with Me; He has not left Me alone (v29).
Again, I and My Father make a plurality of individuals. If Jesus
and the Father were the same individual, then Jesus would be alone
and would have only one witness. But Jesus said He was not alone and
He and His Father fulfilled the requirement of two witnesses. This can
only be true if they constitute two separate and distinct individuals.
Jesus and His Father are “WE” — John 14:23; 17:20-23
Jesus (“me”) and “my Father” love those who obey. “We” will come
and dwell with them (14:23). The Father and Son are an “Us” and a
“We” (17:21,22). How can “we” and “us” be one individual?
I am not alone, but the Father is with me – John 16:32
But if Jesus and His Father are the same individual, He would have
been alone. He was not alone because the Father (a separate individual)
was with Him.
Jesus had a spirit separate & distinct from that of His Father
— Matthew 27:46,50; Luke 23:46
When Jesus was on the cross, the Father forsook Him (Matt.
27:46). Clearly the Father’s spirit was no longer with Jesus. Yet Jesus
continued to live awhile, having His own spirit, which then departed
when He died (v50). When He died, He commended His spirit into
His Father’s hands (Luke 23:46). Did Jesus commend His own Spirit
into the hands of His own Spirit, and then give up His spirit? No, Jesus
had His own Spirit separate from His Father’s spirit.
In death the spirit of a person leaves his body and returns to God
(Jas. 2:26; Ecc. 12:7; Acts 7:59). Just like any man, Jesus had His own
spirit separate from the spirit of His Father. Jesus’ spirit remained in His
body even after the Father forsook Him, then it left when Jesus died.
The fact a man has his own spirit, separate from the spirit of other
beings, is what makes him a separate individual. But Jesus had his own
spirit separate from the Father’s spirit, therefore He must have been a
separate and distinct individual from His Father.
Note again that there is a You and a Me, each of whom had his own
spirit. Clearly this makes two separate individuals.
Jesus & His Father are one as His disciples are one — John
17:20-23
Again, the Father and Son are described as You and Me, I and
You, clearly identifying separate individuals. They are also called we
(v22) — plural individuals.
Further, Jesus and His Father are one even as His disciples should
be one. How should disciples be “one”? Do we all become one and the
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