A Trinity or a Unity?

While I started thinking about the doctrine of trinity and the essence of God at the beginning of my journey close to 10 years ago, I do not believe I have still attained full knowledge of how to describe the nature of God. I do not think we can fit God into a box or a formula, especially looking at the limited range of the human mind. It is best to have enough humility to say that we may not fully know the depths of the riches of God, till we are united with Him in Eternity someday.

That said, I would like to give my current view and understanding on the doctrine of the trinity and a helpful way to look at God the Father, Yeshua our Messiah and the Spirit of Grace. I know that this study might be seen as controversial or divisive and ask everyone who reads through, to have an open mind and seek unity rather than division even in our differences in understanding.

Is The God of the Bible a Trinity?
While we do not see the word “trinity” in the Bible, we do see God(Father), Lord(Yeshua) and Holy Spirit mentioned in the New Testament in a variety of places.

Rom 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ‘s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
1Cor 12:4-6 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
Eph 4:4-6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
1Pet 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Is God One?
In the First and greatest command mentioned in Deut 6:4,5 and Mar 12:29,30, God proclaims to be “One”! Which in Hebrew (“Echad”) can mean “unity”.

Deu 6:4,5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one (Echad) LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

We see “Echad-One” used in the sense of “Unity”, in the very beginning when God speaks about Adam and Eve becoming “One” Flesh – or united in flesh.

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one (Echad) flesh.

Looking at Adam to Understand God’s Likeness
We know when God created Man (“Adawm” in Hebrew) in Gen 1:26,27, He created him in the image and likeness of God. So, isn’t it safe to say that God’s likeness could be understood by looking at Adam?

Gen 1:26,27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man(Adam) in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

When Adam was formed(Yatsar-fashioned/moulded) from the Dust of the Ground, Adam had Eve inside of Him. We see God taking one of Adam’s sides to make (banaw-build) Eve.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

“A United One” becomes “Two with one essence” becomes “United again”
Adam has Eve also in him when he is formed out of the ground, but is later made into two with the same essence. And later they are said to become “One” (United) again. “A United One” becomes Two with one essence becomes United again
Adam has Eve also in him when he is formed out of the ground, but is later made into two with the same essence. And later they are said to become “One” (United) again.

Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone(Etsem-Same in substance) of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one(Echad) flesh.

The Father and Son in Adam and Eve
If we apply the above dynamic between Adam and Eve, to God the Father and His Son, Yeshua Messiah, we get a similar idea as we see in the New Testament writings. The Father and Son are together at the beginning, but the Son is separated and comes to the earth, only to be received back to Unity with the The Father in Glory again.

Php 2:6-9 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. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Heb 1:1-3 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;

What about the Holy Spirit?
If we equate The Father and The Son to Adam and Eve to understand the substance of God, what happens to the Holy Spirit? Let’s look at Adam and Eve again. Did Adam and Eve have one spirit or two? God breathed into Adam the Breath of Life, but it does not say the same for Eve. Is it safe for us to say that Adam and Eve as Husband and Wife, had One United Spirit? We see Malachi raising a similar question from the priests of his day regarding divorce asking why God made One, when He could have created two?

Mal 2:15,16 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

The Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Son
The New Testament writings do mention The Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit, but if we do look closely, we see the relationship between them is much more complex than three persons in One God-Head. The Holy Spirit is mentioned as The Spirit of The Father/God and The Spirit of The Son/Christ/Lord. Never, the other way around.

Mat 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Php 1:19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
2Co 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Father and Son United in one Spirit
We can see many examples where God the Father and Son are mentioned without The Holy Spirit. May I suggest that the reason for Paul, John and Jude to not mention The Holy Spirit along with the Father and The Son is not because the Holy Spirit is of less importance, but because the Spirit is what binds the Father and The Son together.

1Co 1:3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
2Co 1:2,3 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
2Co 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
Gal 1:3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Php 1:2 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Col 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Th 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th 1:1,2 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Ti 1:1,2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
2Ti 1:1,2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Tit 1:4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Phm 1:3 Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Jn 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1Jn 2:22-24 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
2Jn 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
Jud 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Adam & Eve and Christ & His Bride
The same dynamic which is between Adam & Eve also consists between Yeshua and His people. We see this Highlighted most in Ephesians Chapter 5 when Paul uses the same language used by Adam and applies it to Messiah and His Congregation.

Eph 5:23-32 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Gen 2:22-24 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Access Through the Son to the Father by One United Spirit
Looking at the dynamic between Adam and Eve shows us what sort of relationship is there between The Father and The Son. As Adam and Eve were united by One Spirit, so is The Father united with The Son in One Spirit.

Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

A Trinity or a Unity?
The Father, The Son and the New Testament writers have never spoken of God being 3-in-1 or 2-in-1. The whole Bible proclaims God to be a Unity (Echad). We See the relationship and likeness of Adam and Eve to be a blueprint for the likeness of God, as He created Adam and Eve in His own Image and Likeness. We see that God is all encompassing, while The Son is subordinate to The Father but same in essence, just like Adam and Eve. And just as Adam and Eve had one Spirit, The Father also is united with the Son in One Spirit. To which Unity we were also called into by much Grace:

Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:21-23 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. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Conclusion
We see Yeshua being one in Essence with the Father from the beginning and just as Eve was separated from Adam, The Son was also separated from God when He appeared on Earth in Human Form to Redeem us to Himself. The Same Spirit that united The Son and The Father, then united us with The Son, through which connection, as The Son is united to The Father – we are also united back to Him in One Spirit. I believe none of the inspired writers of the Bible explain God to be 3-in-1 or 2-in-1. Rather what we see is the Oneness/Unity of God, to which we have also been brought into.

I know that the Trinity can be a touchy subject for many. As I stated at the beginning of this study, my goal is not to put God in any box, but to look at the evidence and the best explanation as I see it. I do believe in The Father and The Son as well as the Holy Spirit through whom we are adopted to God having communion in Unity. You are welcomed to disagree with me, respectfully. This is only my current understanding on the subject of the substance of God, but am open to seeing evidence that would change my my mind on the subject, towards wherever the evidence leads.

The subject of Oneness and Unity of God, Unity of His Followers and Unity of Himself with His followers should be the last thing that divides us. May The grace of the Lord Yeshua Messiah, and the love of God Our Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.