For the beauty of the earth
Sing praise to God who reigns above
From all that dwell below the skies
It is good to sing thy praises
Holy, holy, holy
Onward Christian soldiers
Lead on oh King eternal
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Matthew 3:13-1713 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Revelation 5:11-14
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
We all say that God is one God.
But Christians make a distinction. The triune God. Jesus said go into all the world making disciples in the NAME of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
People followed this for years until some started to rise up and fight against this teaching. So over time the doctrines of the church and the doctrines of the Trinity were hammered out.
It is important to understand this.
One God. Three persons.
It is easy to see that there is only one God. It is a foundational truth. Repeatedly stated throughout the Old Testament. It is because Israel kept looking elsewhere that they were punished and put onto exile.
There is one supreme eternal being. That is God.
But the bible doesn't stop there. It teaches us that Jesus is God as well. John 8. Jesus claimed to be God. He said "I AM"
The heavenly hosts worships the Lamb of God at the same level as God the Father.
Do you not know you are the temple of God that you are the temple of the Spirit.
The baptism of Jesus makes this clear.... God speaking from heaven, Jesus in the water, the Spirit descending like a dove.
Some people think God made humanity because he needed someone to relate with. The Trinity shows the wrongness of this thinking. God is complete in himself.
God overflows because of his perfection. He is a community. So we are also meant to be in community.
God is our Saviour, our Trinity, our perfection.
He is the one that we worship in all his perfection.
If you don't honour God the Son you don't honour God the Father. (John 5:23)
If you don't receive God the son then you do not have God's love within you. (John 5:42-43)
If you don't know the Son of God, you don't know the Father. (John 8:1, John 7:28; 14:7)
If you deny one part you deny the whole. (1 John 2:23)
If you reject one part you reject the whole. (Luke 10:16)
If you don't Come to God the son, you have not heard or learned from God the Father. (John 6:45)
This is not dry dusty thinking for theologians but a vital part of our faith in God.