Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:8-9.
The mystery of the Three Persons in The Holy Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is still a source of controversy to many Christians especially when we try to understand it from our human experience; three Personalities yet one God! The disciples may have also had this challenge when Jesus in an answer to Thomas said “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him” (John 14:5-7). Philip had to further ask “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus reply to Philip may have still confused the disciples the more; that ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father’.
God has progressively revealed His nature through the Holy Scriptures, showing Himself as One God but having multiple personalities. Speaking through Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4 He says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. “ In Isaiah 45: 5 God says “I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.” Also Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:4 writes“Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one”
In the creation story, God showed the multiple personalities of the Godhead when He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” (Gen. 1: 26); Also in Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?’” and in Matthew 28:19 Jesus says “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
One fact that is incontrovertible from the Scriptures is that three distinct personalities make up the One God that we serve. How these distinct personalities become One and the nature of their oneness is beyond human comprehension and that understanding can only be obtained when we meet God in heaven. The facts however, which are clearly articulated in our Article of Religion are as follows:
Article I (excerpts)
“There is only one living and true God, who is eternal and without body, indivisible and invulnerable. He is of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness. He is the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible.
“Within the unity of the Godhead there are three persons who are of one substance, power, and eternity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…”
Andrew Murray in the book “The Spirit of Christ”, says, “In the Father we have the unseen God, the Author of all. In the Son, God revealed, made manifest, and brought nigh; He is the Form of God. In the Spirit of God we have the indwelling God: the Power of God dwelling in human body and working in it what the Father and the Son have for us…..”
On this Trinity Sunday we need to reflect on our understanding of Jesus Christ. He pleaded with the disciples in John 14:11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves”. When we believe that Jesus is God and obey His commands then we shall be beneficiaries of His promises. In John 14:12-14 He says “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Have a fruitful Trinity season as you faithfully tag yourself to Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life!.
Your brother, Vicar & Archdeacon
Igein Isemede.