We all like mysteries, and the universe is full of them. But the greatest mystery of all is God Himself—His person, His power, His nature. Scientific research has solved many mysteries for us, but God is beyond our understanding. "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; . . . deeper than hell; . . . longer than the earth, and broader than the sea" (Job 11:7-9). But the Word of God gives us a revelation of the person and power of the Almighty.
For more than three thousand years the charter of the Hebrew faith has been: "Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29). To the Jew the name or names of God meant everything. The word "Lord" in this verse is spelled in the King James Version in capital and small capital letters, and in the Hebrew it is Jehovah, while the word "God" is 'Elohim. So it really reads: "Jehovah our 'Elohim is One," the word "One" indicating unity. But 'Elohim is actually plural in number, although singular in essence. Fen-ton's translation reads: "Our ever living God is a Single Life." Note the expression, "a Single Life," not "a Single Person."
The Israelites were surrounded by idolatrous nations whose religions were polytheistic—that is, they worshiped many gods. So at the very outset of their national existence this emphatic word came to them, a truth that was echoed by every one of their prophets. And this truth lies at the base of every other great revelation concerning God, for God is indeed a Unity, or more correctly, a tri-Unity or Trinity. The word "Trinity" is not found anywhere in Scripture, but the doctrine is clearly indicated in the Old Testament and most definitely taught in the New.
Take, for example, the opening words in the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). The word "God" in the Hebrew here is 'Elohim. Now note verse 26: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Each pronoun is plural. Centuries later when the prophet Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord of hosts (Isa. 6: 1-9), he heard the voice of God saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"—plural again. In Genesis 3:5 we read: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat . . . ye shall be as gods." Both words "God" and "gods" are from the same Hebrew word 'Elohim.
Now let us consider this word 'Elohim. Although its root meaning is obscure, many see in it the idea of strength and power, and in Creation we indeed see God's strength and power. But the cosmic universe reveals more than God's power; it also reveals His Person or the Personalities of the Godhead. The apostle Paul declares: "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. 1:20). Yes, the Godhead as well as His power can be discerned in God's two great books—the Bible and nature. This we shall note more particularly later.
First, let the word "Godhead" challenge our thought. God is not a single Being but a Trinity. Ellen G. White expresses it clearly in these words: "There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; . . . the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit"— Evangelism, p. 615. And again: "The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. . . . The Comforter . . . is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe."Ibid., pp. 614, 615.
The doctrine of the Trinity is not a surface truth; it is the deepest of all divine revelations. In spite of the fact that it holds a vital place in Scripture, it nevertheless has been the source of countless discussions and controversies through the centuries. But let us stand with Isaiah who "saw the Lord, high and lifted up." He was beholding God surrounded by the heavenly host and he tells us that "his train filled the temple." The ancient temple of Israel had an inner part called the holy of holies or, as interpreted by some, the holy place of the Holy Ones. Despite the limitations of any earthly structure, this earthly temple was nevertheless a figure or an illustration of God's heavenly abode. As the prophet listened he heard the angel choir singing: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." This triple expression is significant. That this was referring to God the Father none will dispute. Yet when the apostle John refers to this experience he definitely relates it to Christ saying: "These things said Esaias, when he saw his [Christ's} glory, and spake of him" (John 12:41). But when the apostle Paul comments on this same experience he says: "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying," et cetera (Acts 28:25, 26).
Thus Scripture reveals that all three Persons of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—were involved in this experience of Isaiah. That should not surprise us, however, for anything that God does is done by the Godhead. Even when Christ gave His life on the cross for our redemption, we read that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (2 Cor. 5:19). The Father and the Son were both involved in the sacrifice. But we also read that it was "through the eternal Spirit" that Christ "offered himself without spot to God" (Heb. 9:14). So redemption was the work, not of one, but of all three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It can therefore be truly said that "the Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption."—Counsels on Health, p. 222.
We have seen something of the significance of the word 'Elohin2; now let us notice that wonderful name Jehovah. It is associated with God's work in delivering or saving men. When God created the heaven and the earth man did not need salvation, for he was perfect. But later when sin entered, men needed a knowledge of God and His grace. God Himself was the first Evangelist, for He it was who gave to Adam the news of a coming Saviour (Gen. 3:15). This knowledge was passed from father to child. Those who accepted salvation revealed it by offering sacrifice. Later the Lord called a nation, separated the people unto Himself, and made them the evangelists to carry His glorious gospel to the ends of the earth. Heathen nations could understand something of the God of power and strength, but they needed to know that He was also a God of love and grace. So in calling Moses to be the deliverer of the Hebrew nation He announced Himself by the title Jehovah. It was as Jehovah that He brought forth His people from slavery. It was Jehovah who spake the law from Sinai. And Jehovah, "the self-existent One, the source and sustenance of all life" was the One who provided for His people during the wilderness wanderings.Isaiah sings: "Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation" (Isa. 12:2). And the angel said to Mary: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). In a few places in Scripture the name Jehovah definitely refers to God the Father. And at least once it is applied to the Holy Spirit, but in a special sense it belongs to the Son. Ellen G. White declares that "Jehovah is the name given to Christ."—Questions on Doctrine, p. 643. And again: "Jehovah Immanuel 'shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one.' "—Ibid. He it is "in whom dwells 'all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.' "Ibid. "From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father," (ibid., p. 645), "one in nature, in character, in purpose," and "substance, possessing the same attributes" (ibid., p. 641). Although referred to as the Son of God, He was "equal with the Father in dignity and glory" (ibid., p. 647). In fact, we are assured that "there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God."—Evangelism, p. 615.
No more profound statement can be found anywhere in Scripture than in the opening words of John's Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Here is the Eternal Word, and He was God. Now, what is the purpose of a word, any word? Is it not to express an idea, to make known a thought? Even so, Christ came to express God, to make Him known to men. We read: "All things were made by him"—that is, by the Eternal Word. It was this Word who brought all things into existence. And then later that same "Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." But why flesh? Because flesh is the ideal medium of self-expression. When God wanted to give a true revelation of Himself He did not send a set of lectures, something inscribed with pen and ink: He came in person, in flesh and blood. We humans can understand flesh, for that is what we are. And because Deity revealed Himself in human flesh, we have been able to learn more of Him than we could have learned from a million universes in a billion years. Earth, sky, and ocean reveal His handiwork, but neither suns nor systems, rolling oceans nor leaping cataracts, can reveal the character of God. However, when He wrapped Himself in human flesh and came to dwell among us, then men were able better to understand Him. The original words of Wesley's great Christmas hymn expressed the truth of it all:
Word in flesh the Godhead see!
Hail, the Incarnate Deity!
The word "dwelt" (Greek, skenoo) is interesting. Sometimes translated "tabernacled," it can also read "tented." It is an Arab figure, beautiful in its simplicity. It suggests that someone is a pilgrim taking the same journey we take, so he comes and pitches his tent beside us. And this is exactly what God did. He tabernacled Himself in human flesh and moved in and out among men, communing with them as a man, suffering the privations of man and at last dying in man's place.
But the expression "tabernacled" can teach us even more. It takes us back to Israel in the wilderness, to the days when religion was in the kindergarten stage. That fragile abode which Moses erected at Sinai was known as "the tabernacle of witness" or "the tabernacle of the congregation." Dr. G. Campbell Morgan points out that these are faulty translations. More correctly it could read "the tent of testimony" and "the tent of meeting." The tabernacle was not a place where large crowds congregated for worship as in a large church or cathedral. It was rather a place where God spoke to the inner consciences of men while they listened. Yes, it was indeed "a tent of testimony" or "a tent of witness."
Now take the other expression "the tabernacle of the congregation" or more correctly, "the tent of meeting." This too is significant, for here was the place where God and man met and fellowshiped together. John the apostle takes the rich symbolism of that ancient worship and uses it to convey the thought that God, having become one of us, pitches His tent beside us and walks with us in fellowship. The tabernacle in the wilderness or the Temple in Jerusalem was actually a symbol of the Incarnation. Well might Jesus speak of "the temple of His body." Both "the tent of testimony" and "the tent of meeting" are symbols of Jesus Christ in whom God meets and speaks to man. Nature reveals God's greatness; we can hear the thunder of His power, we trace His delicate touch in the petals of the flowers. But in Christ we see His love, sympathy, and grace; as Whittier says:
But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is He;
And faith has yet its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.
God indeed pitched His tent beside us, and rough fishermen of the long ago "beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). They witnessed His gracious dealing with the sinners of that day. They were moved by His tender compassion for wounded hearts and anxious mothers. No cripple ever crossed the path of Jesus, but the soul of the Saviour felt the pain and the anguish.
The slogan of the great Greek teacher Socrates was "Man, know thyself." But men could not know themselves. They could not fully follow Socrates. He confessed that he was unable to settle all their problems. "Someone else must come," he said, "to answer your questions." That Someone did come—Christ, the greatest Teacher of all. But He was more than a teacher or even a "teacher sent from God," for He was God Himself manifest in the flesh. Orthodox Christianity has always believed that "Christ was God essentially. . . . God over all, blessed forevermore."—Questions on Doctrine, p. 645. He veiled His glory, became flesh, pitched His tent beside us, and talked our language. What a symbol of fellowship!
To Samuel of old, God said: "I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle" (2 Sam. 7:6). Yes, He walked the ways of men, felt their sorrows, and finally died upon a shameful cross. But He rose from the grave and went back to His Father. And in His place He sent the Holy Spirit, the Comforter—the Third Person of the Godhead. The words "comforter" and "advocate" are from the same Greek word--parakletos, which signifies one who stands beside another in need. Christ is our Advocate in heaven, representing us at the throne of grace, and the Holy Spirit is our Advocate on earth, representing God at the throne of our hearts. Thus the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—are one in life and purpose, each concerned with our salvation, having planned our redemption before the creation of the world. The salvation of man is God's "eternal purpose" (Eph. 3:11). "Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race."—The Desire of Ages, p. 834. On the cross that pledge was fulfilled.
He who pitched His tent beside us now ministers for us in heaven, for "there is . . . one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). He gave His flesh for the life of the world, but He rose in flesh to be our representative. He is still Man but a glorified Man, occupying His Father's throne as coregent in the government of the universe. From that throne He sends forth His Spirit into our hearts and He moves upon the human will as imperceptibly as the wind moves the grass of the field. We cannot see the wind, nor can we know from whence it comes. Neither can we understand the movings of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts. But He comes to woo us back to God, to make us members of the heavenly family. He it is who assures us of our title to heaven and of our fitness for heaven, for the righteousness of Christ alone can make us acceptable as children of God.
Another symbol of the Holy Spirit is that of fire—a cleansing, regenerating power that burns out of our poor hearts all that is unholy and alien to the nature of God. If we would become partakers of the divine nature, then we must know the operation of His Spirit within us. Surrendering our wills to His we show our oneness with Him, and He so fully identifies Himself with us that He actually gives us His holy name. We are baptized into "the name [not names] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:19). Thus all the power of the Godhead is ours because we are Christ's. All heaven is pledged to aid us in living a life of victory.
"All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own life."—The Desire of Ages, p. 827. God revealed Himself in flesh in the person of His Son, and now through His people He wants constantly to reveal Himself that the world may know of His love and grace. When poor finite beings reflect the nature and attributes of Deity, then even the unbelieving world can behold the beauty and character of God to the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
