Q: Where in the Bible does it mention the combination of "Father, Son and the Holy Spirit...

...as being Three Persons in One God? Where does the concept of the Triune God appear biblically? There are other names in the Bible used to refer to God, such as "Lamb of God," "Love," "Sanctifier," etc. How can we be sure that God has expressed himself specifically in these three terms?

Great question. I'll try to break it down for our readers.

1. Where does the concept of the Triune God appear biblically? There are several passages of Scripture that specifically mention the three Persons of the Trinity, namely: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.

- Matthew 28: 18-19 (click on this link and find the other verses; or you can look them up in your Bible)

- 1 Cor. 12:4-6

- 2 Cor. 13:14

- Eph. 4:4-7

- 1 Peter 1:2

- Jude 20-21

What you'll discover is that, in each of these verses, all three Persons of the Trinity are explicitly mentioned.

2. There are other names in the Bible used to refer to God, such as "Lamb of God," "Love," "Sanctifier," etc. How can we be sure that God has expressed himself specifically in these three terms?

These are attributes and descriptions for God; they are not other people in the Trinity. Let me illustrate with an example. While all Persons in the Trinity can be described as "love" (John 3:16; Eph. 5:25; Rom. 15:30), "Love" is not another Person in the Trinity. It is a description of what each Person of the Trinity is like.

For additional information, listen/read this sermon.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: Did anyone see God (literally) and live to tell about it?

What a thought-provoking question that combines aspects of theology, human capability, revelation, and Scriptural accounts! Or it might be that you’re curious and wondering what God meant when He told Moses in Exodus 33:20 that, “No man can see Me and live!” Maybe you just watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Either way, the answer to your question is a resounding ‘Yes!’, but also a regretful ‘No!’.

The Old Testament offers several accounts of people encountering God. Some of these were in the form of visions, dreams, or angels of the Lord. However, other accounts specifically mention an encounter with God on a very close and personal level, appearing as the Lord Almighty. But how can this be if God himself said that He can not be seen? Is this a contradiction?

To approach this question, we first have to come to an understanding of the nature of God, existing in the Trinity (the Lord existing as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) and the magnitude of His glory.

On the one side, those who have seen Jesus, have seen God, because He is the Son and the Incarnate One, the person of the Trinity that has the full nature of both a human and God. The apostle Paul talks Jesus as being the image of the invisible God in Colossians 1:15. This refers to the encompassing spiritual nature of God. Some interpretations refer to some of the encounters of God in the OT as meeting with the Son. The first chapter of John talks about Jesus as God being made flesh. And yes, people saw Him and lived to tell about it: that’s why we have the gospels.

But it is also true that God has not been seen. This specifically deals with His complete glory and holiness, attributed to the Father in heaven. He has not been seen, nor can be seen due to humanity’s fallen and sinful nature. If the fullness of God was revealed to us, we would be consumed. Even though we long to know God even more, we will only be able to see God when we are completely made holy and new (sanctified), with the resurrection of the body.

Here is a good SITE to check out that takes a look at the verses which recount times in which people have seen God and compares them to verses which claim that no one has seen God or cannot see Him for that matter.

Also, check out this ONE, which talks about if anyone has seen God.

[Answered by Jon, who believes in what is seen and unseen]

Q: Are God and Jesus the same beings? When I pray I imagine God and Jesus to be different people.

This is a good question, friend. The doctrine of Trinity means there is one, true and living God that exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These three persons share the same divine nature yet are different in role and relationship (see figure above). 

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Seattle writes the following concerning the persons of the Trinity:

“Person” does not mean that God the Father or God the Spirit became human beings. Rather, it means that each memberof the Trinity thinks, acts, feels, speaks, and relates because they are persons and not impersonal forces. Further, each member of the Trinity is equally God, which means that they share the divine attributes, such as eternality, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.

[HERE is the rest of the article]

Though this definition of the Trinity appears simplistic, it is not and therefore, it is a highly confusing topic for many people. While many Christians have heard that God exists in three persons, many seem to think that God merely manifests himself as either Father, Son or Holy Spirit on different occasions. This is the theological error known as modalism. Another theological error often made is that of tritheism, which overemphasizes the distinction between the three persons of the Trinity. 

In terms of prayer, I would say, feel free to pray to any persons of the Trinity, because you are praying to GOD, who exists in three persons. Here is an article (entitled "Who can we pray to?") which addresses this issue specifically.

[Answered by Pastor HM]