Three in One

January 13

(Luke 3:21-22 NIV)  “And as he was praying, heaven was opened {22} and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.””

(John 1:32-33 NIV) “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. {33} And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’””

(Genesis 1:26-27 NIV) ““Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." {27} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.””

(Isaiah 6:3 NIV) “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Early in his gospel, Luke lays the groundwork for a monotheistic trinity -- a doctrine unique to Christianity. Christians believe that God is one, but that He is also three in one. There is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- three in one. Luke paints a picture of that Trinity today. We see God the Son in the person of Jesus. We see God the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus in the form of a dove. And we have God the Father speaking His approval from heaven… one God, three persons. This God is the “us” and the “our” of Genesis 1. This is the “three times holy” God of Isaiah 6. It is a difficult concept for us to wrap our finite minds around, but it is the truth of Scripture. God has existed for eternity as a perfect community of three: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit -- three in one. This is our God. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day