Length: 15 Minutes

If you’ve been a Christian for a number of years, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there’s a lot of “mystery” and ambiguity when people explain the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Certain questions can be answered, but when you probe a little too much, many will just chalk it up to, “That’s the mystery of God and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.”

We believe that the mystery has been revealed in the New Testament, so nothing needs to be mysterious to a believer (Colossians 1:26, Ephesians 3:5). 

We believe that we can know even the deep things of God because we have His Spirit to reveal it (1 Corinthians 2:10). 

And when the Bible speaks about “my thoughts are higher than your thoughts” He’s actually speaking to an unrighteous man, not to a believer (Isaiah 55:7-9).

We never need to be kept in the dark. After all, we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). So let’s see what the Bible says about the Father, Son, and Spirit.

This is a “Basic Training Article” which means that it takes many hours of teaching from Reform Church and summarizes it in just minutes.

Too Often To ignore

We believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible speaks about all three. No problem there (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14). But there was something that popped up in scripture way too often to ignore, and it was this: Most of the time, the Holy Spirit is not even mentioned when the Father and Son are listed together. Most of the time, only the Father and Son are mentioned, while the Holy Spirit is omitted. 

Of course, the Holy Spirit exists and lives inside of us. So, we wondered, “If there is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then why is the Spirit not mentioned alongside them the vast majority of the time? If there are three people, wouldn’t it be vitally important to name all three of them, instead of just two? 

We’ve heard many people say, “Well, the Holy Spirit doesn’t want to draw attention to Himself.” But if that’s the case, it doesn’t say much for the Spirit leading us into all truth, if He’s leaving important details out due to modesty.

Read these verses carefully and notice how only the Father and Son are mentioned together:

Ephesians 6:23. Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 2:22 (NKJV) Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 2:24 (NKJV)  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

Revelation 7:10 (NKJV)  “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

John 1:1 (NKJV)  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Revelation 21:22 (NKJV)  But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

2 John 1:9 (NKJV)  He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

And there are many, many more verses just like this.

Let’s do a quick thought exercise, but let’s be honest. If I wrote frequent letters to you and said, “Grace and peace to you from the Father and the Son!” and stopped there, don’t you think almost the whole church would think it strange? I don’t believe any honest person could say otherwise. Almost any Christian would be critical. After all, “Why didn’t you mention the third person?” Funny enough, that’s exactly what the apostles did in almost every single book in the New Testament.

In almost every single greeting in the Apostles’ letters, it has some form of “Grace and peace from the Father and the Son” written. 

Those references are 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:2, Philemon 1:3, 2 Peter 1:2, 2 John 1:3, and Jude 1:1.

It’s not as if this is once or twice. It’s most of the time! I’m talking about critical verses, like when praise is being given for instance, only the Father and Son are mentioned. When speaking about the source of eternal life, only the Father and Son are mentioned. And in basically every single greeting from the Apostles, only the Father and the Son are mentioned as the source of grace and peace.

None of this proves anything by itself, but it was too frequent to ignore. We were clearly missing something, and something important, if it was this pervasive in scripture.

The Simple Answer

So why is the Holy Spirit almost never mentioned when the Father and the Son are listed together? It’s so simple.

John 14:16, 18 (KJV)  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever… I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Did you see how Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as Himself? He referred to sending “another Comforter” (the Holy Spirit) and then said, “I will come to you.” Jesus called Himself the Holy Spirit, as if He is that Spirit.

As you read scripture, notice this: The Father will never be referred to as “the Son.“ And the Son will never be referred to as “the Father.“ They are not interchangeable. You could never say “the Son so loved the world that He sent the Father.“ This shows us that they are two distinct individuals (albeit exactly the same in nature). It was the Father that sent the Son. You could never say, “the Son sent the Father,” and be accurate.  In the Bible, those names are never used interchangeably. On the other hand, the Bible calls the Holy Spirit “the Father” and “the Son” (or “Christ”) all the time. 

See here:

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) …Christ lives in me…

Ephesians 4:6 (NKJV) one God and Father of all, who is… in you all.

These verses are talking about the Holy Spirit inside of us. Yet He is referred to as “Christ” and as “the Father” in us.  

Some people may not be surprised at this because they would say “Well, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one.” But even traditional doctrine does not teach that all three of them are the same person. Traditional doctrine teaches three distinct individuals. So that would not be a reason for why the Bible uniquely calls the Holy Spirit “the Father” and “the Son.” 

The Father is never called the Son. The Son is never called the Father. But the Holy Spirit is referred to as both the Father and the Son. Why is this? Because the Holy Spirit is the Father and the Son. Specifically, He is their Spirit. That’s almost too simple.

If I asked you if Jesus lived in you, you would say “yes.” If I asked you if your Father lived in you, you would say “yes.” And yet, isn’t Jesus in heaven at the right hand of the Father? How are they in you? You would say, “It’s their spirit.” And you’d be exactly right. Instinctively you know, just from reading scripture, that the Holy Spirit is the Father in you. He is the Son in you. 

This is so plain in scripture; it would take outside influence to convince us otherwise. The Father and the Son are two distinct individuals, but the Holy Spirit is not a third person. He is the Father. He is the Son. He is their Spirit. How do we know that? Well because the Bible calls Him the Father and the Son. You probably do too and just didn’t realize it!

Let’s be perfectly clear. If someone asked if we believed in the Holy Spirit, I would say, “Of course!” If they asked me if the Holy Spirit was a person, I would say, “More than that. He’s the Spirit of two people.” If someone asked if we believed that the Holy Spirit was God, I would say, “I’ll take it a step further. Not only is the Holy Spirit God, but He is the Father. He is the Son.” 

But there’s more, so let’s keep reading.

Two People With One Spirit

You have a spirit, right? Is that a separate person from you? Of course not. It’s a part of you. It’s not a separate person. If I saw your spirit outside of your body somehow, (which has happened in the Bible) I would say that’s you! But I could also refer to it as separate from you because it’s not the whole of you, it’s a part of you. It’s not your body, it’s your spirit. Does that make sense? 

I think that’s what most Christians already believe about their spirit. Why would that be strange in reference to God? The Father has a Spirit. The Son has a Spirit. The Holy Spirit is their Spirit. It’s so simple and right under our noses. Look at this verse: 

Romans 8:9 (KJV) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

If you don’t put any spin on this verse, what does it say? It says that God has a Spirit (hence, “Spirit of God”) and it says that Jesus has a Spirit (hence “Spirit of Christ”). And clearly, this verse says that it’s the same Spirit! 

We wondered for so long why the Bible would only mention the Father and the Son so frequently with no mention of the Holy Spirit. But the Bible isn’t omitting anyone! It makes so much sense. The Holy Spirit is not a third separate person, He is merely the Spirit OF God and OF Christ! Just like you have a spirit! 

But there’s more. Even when the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit making His home in us… 

John 14:23 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

When the Holy Spirit comes to make His home in us, this verse says that it’s Jesus and the Father (two people) coming to make their home in us! The two of them have a Spirit (Romans 8:9), and the two of them live in us by their Spirit!

All of this perfectly explains why only the Father and Son are mentioned in so many instances when praise is being given. It also explains why the apostles almost universally greeted with “Grace and peace from the Father and Jesus.” Because they’re not leaving anyone out. The Holy Spirit is merely the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Two people, One Spirit.

The Father, Son, And The Glory They Share

Lastly, let’s look at John 17. In this chapter, Jesus is praying to the Father and He says this:

John 17:1, 3 (NKJV) Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You… 

(Verse 3) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Firstly, I’d like to point out that again, only the Father and the Son are mentioned in this verse, particularly as the source of eternal life. But let’s keep reading further in this same chapter:

(Verse 22) And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one…

First, Jesus only mentions Himself and the Father as the source of eternal life. Just the two of them. But in verse 22, He says that He and the Father share the same glory! It says they are one in this glory! Then it says that we have been given this glory also! Now, what glory does the Father and Son share that has also been shared with us? This glory is a reference to the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is sometimes called “the glory of the Father” in the Bible.

Romans 6:4, 8:11 (NKJV) …just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father… 8:11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead…

You can see that Romans 6 says Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father and then chapter 8 says He was raised by the Spirit of the Father. He’s calling the Holy Spirit “the glory of the father.”

So John 17 only mentions the Father and the Son, but says that they share the same glory – which glory they have also shared with us now. And what glory is He referring to? He’s referring to their Spirit. Two people with the same glory. John 17 is just another example of two people being mentioned, sharing the same Spirit. 

In summary, this is how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are explained: The Father and Son are exactly the same in nature, but are two distinct people that are never interchangeable. These two people share the same Spirit, which has now been shared with us as well.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else!

The Trinity