Perpetual Incarnation Celebration

Posted on January 29, 2026January 29, 2026 by Edward Dalcour

The Perpetual Incarnation Celebration: The Hallmark of Christian Doctrine

Every annual December 25th, many Christians celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately, the import of what Christmas represents has evaporated; and instead it has become a secular event. In far too many churches, the birth of Christ sermon is shared with Santa Clause pictures, statues of reindeers and snowmen scattered around the church—at these venues Christmas has become a distortion of the incarnation. Even so, pastors seem obligated to give a limited Christmas message mainly consisting of the manger, animals, wise men, and the shepherds in the field.

Although these things are indeed included in the Gospel narrative, the most glorious event was not merely the birth, rather it was the conception – the hallmark and necessity of our redemption.

The perpetual Incarnation should be taught throughout the year in tandem with other essential Christian doctrines.

Ps. 49:7-8: “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, ⁸ for the ransom of their life is costly, and can never suffice” (ESV).

No mere man can—but the Son as God-man, whose sacrifice had infinite value. In His human nature Christ lived the perfect life – fulfilling the “covenant of works” (vicariously) which Adam did not fulfill. (cf. Gen. 2:17; Hosea 6:7; Rom. 5:5-13). As the “last Adam” – Christ met all the requirements of the justice of God; not only His substitutionary cross work (passive obedience), but also, in His perfect and substitutionary life (active obedience).

Rom. 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved [‘from the wrath of God,’ v. 9] by His life” (NASB). Christ as God-Man accomplished an actual redemption, a real propitiation.

The atoning work of the Son in His physical body accomplished all that was necessary to secure our justification (Rom. 5:6-10; Heb. 10:11-14). His work was definite, eternal, and infallible.

Col. 1:21-22: “making peace through the blood of his cross…. ²² but now He has reconciled you His physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before Him.”

The Incarnation

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” – 2 Tim. 2:8 (ESV)

Biblical Affirmation

John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God [the Father], and the Word [as to His nature] was God.”

The verb translated “was” is from the imperfect verb ēn (from eimi, “to be, am”), which is exclusively applied to the Word in verses 1, 2, 4, 9, and 10. The imperfect tense expresses a past ongoing or repeated action; here denoting the eternal existence of the Word—He was always existing—no starting point. This verb is in contrast to the aorist verb egeneto (from ginomai, “became, came to be”) – referring to all things that came into existence, that is, had a starting point (as in creation, vv. 3, 10; and John the Baptist in v. 6: “there came a man”). It is not until verse 14 that egeneto is applied to the Word “becoming flesh” (incarnation).

John 1:14: “Now the Word became flesh and took up residence [or ‘tabernacled’] among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father” (NET).

The verb eskēnōsen (‘took up residence,’ tabernacled, dwelt among us’) derives its meaning from the Hebrew term sākan referring to Yahweh coming down to earth to dwell (cf. Exod. 25:8). As seen, in John 1:1, the Apostle John positively affirmed that the Word was eternal/preexistent; distinct from God the Father; and ontologically God. John shows that the incarnation of the person of God the Word was not merely a temporary theophany or huiophany.[1] Rather, “the Word became flesh”— adding (not subtracting) a new nature (humanity) permanently.

John 1:18, which is the last verse of John’s high christological prologue: “No one has ever seen God [‘at any time’]. The uniquely existing God [monogenēs Theos] who is [ho ōn, lit., ‘the One who is, timelessly existing’] close to the Father’s side, has revealed Him” (exēgēsato, lit., “has exegeted Him”; ISV).

The Carmen Christi (Hymn to Christ, as God)

Paul’s christological hymn was utilized by the early Christian church to teach and magnify the preexistence, incarnation, and the true deity of Jesus Christ. Paul exemplifies the ultimate act of humility: God the Son becoming obedient to death on a cross. Paul provides a well-defined summary of the gospel of the Son.

Phil. 2:6 starts with the affirmation of the true deity of the Son:

“Who, though He was always being[2] in the nature of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but He emptied Himself[3] by taking the nature of a servant, having been made in the likeness of men. ⁸ And having been found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name [viz., authority/power] that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall will bow … ¹¹ and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”[4]

In verses 10-11, Paul loosely quotes the last phrase of the LXX (i.e., Septuagint[5]) of Isa. 45:23: “That to Me every knee will bend and every tongue will confess to God.” These actions are to Yahweh alone and are prophetic – future tenses are used: “will bend, will confess.”

Note Paul modifications to the original reading of Isa. 45:23:

Hina. He introduces verse 10 with a purpose and result clause indicated by the conjunction hina (“in order that, so that”): i.e., the purpose of Christ being highly exalted (v. 9) was for the result (“in order that”) of every knee bending and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord (vv. 10-11), to the glory of God the Father.

Paul changes the future indicative verbs of the LXX of Isa. 45:23 (“will bend, will confess”) – to aorist subjunctives (“shall bend, shall confess”).

These modifications clearly identify Jesus as the Yahweh and the fulfillment of the Isaiah future prophecy – before whom every knee shall bend and every tongue shall confess that Kurios Iēsous Christos (lit., “Lord Jesus Christ”).[6]

Lastly, note the grammatical parallel between 2 Cor. 8:9 with Phil. 2:6-11:

Nature as God (preincarnate):

2 Cor. 8:9 (NASB): “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich” (plousios ōn, present participial phrase, lit., He was “rich being”- i.e., rich in glory).

Phil. 2:6: “although He was always existing in the nature of God” (huparchōn, present participle, “always existing” as God): “rich being” – “God being.”

Incarnation:

2 Cor. 8:9: “Yet for your sakes He became poor” (eptōcheusen, aorist indicative).

Phil. 2:7: “He emptied [ekenōsen, aorist indicative] Himself”: “became poor” – “emptied Himself.” Both verbs are aorist indicatives—i.e., punctiliar (once) past action.

Means and purpose of the incarnation of God the Son:

2 Cor. 8:9: “in order that [hina] through His poverty [incarnation], you could become rich” (rich in glory, i.e., salvation).

Phil. 2:7-11: Christ self-emptied and self-humbled Himself, became obedient to death, “in order that … every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The Carmen Christi (Phil. 2:6-11) so distinctly affirms the gospel of the Son: from His eternal preexistence subsisting as truly God to His self-emptying (incarnation), atoning cross work, and glorification – to the glory of God the Father.

The incarnation was perpetual

Jesus is the two natured person (Acts 1:11; 17:31; 1 Tim. 2:5), contra the temporary corporal appearances of the angel of the Lord in the OT.

Col. 2:9: “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells [katoikei, present tense, ‘always dwells’] in bodily form” (NASB). The Son in His incarnate state is presently the intermediary (or “Mediator”), Priest, and the propitiation for our sins.

So essential was the perpetual incarnation that the Apostle John sees it as a defining mark of true Christianity; and anyone denying it is “the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 1:7).

1 John 4:2-3: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come [elēluthota, perfect tense, lit, ‘has come and remains’] in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [as coming and remaining in the flesh] is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist….” (NASB).

Fundamental Truths of the Incarnation

God the Son became flesh—truly God, truly man.

The atoning sacrifice and mediatorial role of Christ was accomplished in the context of His incarnational work.

The incarnation is a gospel essential.

The incarnation is an evangelistic teaching that should be always recognized and celebrated!

NOTES

[1] Theophany (Theos, “God” + phainō, appearance). Huiophany (Huios, “Son”)—namely, preincarnate Son appearances (esp. the angel of the Lord; cf. Gen. chaps. 18-19; Exod. 3:2, 6-14 et al.).

[2] The phrase “always being” is from the Greek present participle, huparchōn denoting an ongoing existence – thus, the Son was always subsisting in the nature of God.

[3] “He emptied Himself,” from the phrase heauton ekenōsen (lit., “He Himself emptied”). The reflexive pronoun, heauton (“He Himself”) indicates that the action of the incarnation, that is, the emptying was accomplished by the Son. “He Himself.

[4] In this translation, I had rendered several verbs tenses literally for emphasis.

[5] The Septuagint is Greek trans. of the OT, which was used frequently by the NT authors for their quotations of the OT. The Septuagint is abbreviated as LXX “seventy,” which was the traditional number of translators (c. mid-third cent. B.C.).

[6] Note that in Greek, Paul places Kurios (“Lord”) in the emphatic position (first word in the clause)— to draw attention to his christological emphasis of Isa. 45:23: Jesus is the Lord (YHWH) of Isaiah 45:23.

John 14:9 and the Oneness Pretext

Posted on January 22, 2021March 15, 2021 by Edward Dalcour

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’”

Before we look at John 14:9, note the obvious fact: Nowhere in the NT, did Jesus Christ ever state that He was the same person as the Father, nor did anyone in the NT ever call him Father, rather He is “the Son of the Father”– a distinct person (Dan. 7:9-14; Matt. 28:19; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:1b, 18; 5:17-18; 6:38; 10:17, 30; 17:5; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 1:3; Phil. 2:6-11; Heb. 1:3, 6, 8-12; 1 John 1:3; 2 John 1:3; Rev. 5:13 et al.).

The Oneness people routinely quote this passage, usually in the same breath with John 10:30, as though it was part of the passage. Only by removing this passage from the document and immediate context can Oneness advocates posit a modalistic understanding. At the outset, as with John 10:30, Jesus never states in this passage, “I am the Father,” only that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Oneness advocates confuse Jesus’ representation of the Father (John 1:18; 14:6; Heb. 1:3) with their unitarian assumption that that Jesus is the Father.

There are five exegetical features, which provide a cogent refutation to the Oneness handling of this passage.

Context: In verse 6 Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” In verse 7, He explains to His disciples that if they “had known” Him they would “have known” the Father also. Jesus then says to His disciples, “From now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Thus, by knowing Him they “have known” and “have seen” the Father (note the parallel: “have known” – “have seen”).
Still not understanding (i.e., by knowing Jesus they know and see the Father), Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father” (v. 8). Jesus then reiterates (as a corrective) that by seeing Him they can see, that is, they can “know” or recognize the invisible Father (v. 9). The context is obvious: by knowing and seeing Jesus (as the only way to the Father; cf. v. 6), they could really see (i.e., know/recognize, cf. John 9:39) the invisible Father (cf. John 1:18; Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 6:16). The OT and NT present that the Son is and has been eternally subsisting as the perfect and “exact representation” (charaktēr) of the very nature (hupostaseōs) of Him (autou, “of Him,” not “as Him”; Heb. 1:3).

Therefore, when they see Jesus, they “see” the only way to, and an exact representation of, the invisible unseen Father, for Jesus makes Him known, He explains or exegetes Him (John 1:18). Thus, “He [Jesus] has made known or brought news of [the invisible God]” (BDAG, 349). One cannot have the Father except through the Son, Jesus Christ: “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23; see also John 17:3). Note also that in 14:10, Jesus clearly differentiates Himself from the Father when He declares: “The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” To repeat, not one time in the NT does Jesus (or any other person) state that He Himself is the Father.

The Father is spirit: When Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father,” the only thing His disciples literally saw was Jesus’ physical body. Both Oneness believers and Trinitarians agree that the Father is invisible and does not have a physical body. Hence, Jesus could not have meant that by “seeing” Him they were literally seeing the Father.

First and third person personal pronouns and verb references: Throughout John 14 and 16, Jesus clearly differentiates Himself from the Father. He does so by using first person personal pronouns (“I,” “Me,” “Mine”) and verb references to refer to Himself and third person personal pronouns (“He,” “Him,” “His”) and verb references to refer to His Father.
Notice John 14:16: “I will ask [kagō erōtēsō, first person] the Father, and He will give [dōsei, third person] you another Helper, that He may be with you forever” (also cf. 14:7, 10, 16; etc.). In the same way, Jesus also differentiates Himself from God the Holy Spirit.

Different prepositions: Throughout John chapters 14-16, Jesus distinguishes Himself from His Father by using different prepositions. Beisner[1] points out that the use of different prepositions “shows a relationship between them [i.e., the Father and Son]” and clearly denotes essential distinction. Jesus says in John 14:6 and verse 12: “No one comes to [pros] the Father but through [dia] Me . . . he who believes in [eis] Me . . . I am going to [pros] the Father” (cf. also John 15:26; 16:28).
Further, Paul frequently uses different prepositions to differentiate the Father from Jesus. In Ephesians 2:18, Paul teaches that by the agency of the Son, Christians have access to the Father by means of the Spirit: “For through Him [di’ autou, i.e., the Son] we both have our access in [en] one Spirit to the Father [pros ton patera].” Only by circumventing these significant details can one establish Modalism from John 14:9.

The first person plurals in John 14:23: “We will come,” “We will make.” In verse 23 of the same chapter, Jesus declares, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and [lit.] ‘to him We will come’ [pros auton eleusometha] and ‘at home/abode with him, We will make’ [monēn par’ autō poiēsometha].” Against the Oneness notion, Jesus specifically used two first person plural indicative verbs (eleusometha, “We will come” and poiēsometha, “We will make”). Oneness advocates typically cherry-pick passages (esp. with v. 9) and then pretext into them a modalistic unitarian understanding.

Conclusion

Again, in the NT, Jesus is identified as the Son, never as the Father; no one ever addressed Him as the Father or the Holy Spirit. Nor did Jesus ever refer to Himself as the Father or the Holy Spirit. If fact, Jesus primarily referred to Himself as the “Son of Man” (80 times). Son of Man was His most used title of Himself. (cf. Dan. 7:13).

As the context clearly shows, Jesus in John 14:9 Jesus expresses to His disciples that as the only way to (v. 6) and thus, representation of the Father, they could “see,” that is, know the Father. Jesus is presented as God-man, the very image and perfect representation of His Father (cf. John 1:18; Heb. 1:3). In His preexistence (cf. John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17), He had loving intercourse and glory with the Father (cf. John 1:1; 17:5). The Son is clearly presented as the divine Priest (cf. Heb. 7:1ff.) who revealed His Father to mankind (cf. John 1:18). The Son is the one and only Mediator between the Father and humans (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5).

The Oneness pretexting of John 14:9 is based on a unipersonal assumption of God, which nullifies Jesus’ own authentication: “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another [allos: other than the one speaking] who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true” (John 5:31-32; cf. 8:17-18).

Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:22-23).

Notes

[1] Calvin Beisner, Jesus Only Churches, 34.

The Doctrine of the Trinity: A Brief Look at the Nature of God

Posted on June 15, 2020November 13, 2024 by Edward Dalcour

Definition: Three persons who share the nature of the one God, or one God revealed in three coequal coeternal coexistent distinct persons (not people).

One God – Monotheism (monos, “one, only” + theos, “God”)

It is a basic straw-man to imply monotheism opposes the Trinity—the foundation of the Trinity is ontological monotheism, it seems you may not be familiar as to the basics of the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. Unitarian or unipersonal groups (such as Muslims, Oneness Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses et al.) assume that every place “one,” “alone” etc. (in word or concept) are applied to God (e.g., Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:24; Mark 12:29; 1 Tim. 2:5), the unitarians read into these passages a meaning of “one person” reinterpreting monotheism to mean unipersonalism, although, there is no passage in the OT or NT, which clearly identifies God as “one person.”

Unitarians are deeply confused between “being” and “person.” Simply, “being” (an ontological reference) is What something is, while “person” is Who something is. Scripture presents one eternal God (one Being) revealed in three distinct persons, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, naturally and historically, the Christian church has steadfastly held to and affirmed the glorious Trinity and preexistence of the person of God the Son, Jesus Christ.

The Trinity is Essential Doctrinal

Essential doctrine is any doctrine that involves the person, nature, and finished work of Christ (gospel). Hence, since Jesus is God in the flesh, second person of the Trinity, the nature of God is the utmost highest essential doctrine (Hosea 6:6; John 4:24; 17:3; 1 John 2:22-23).

The Trinity is The Foundation of The Gospel, it is the Mutual Operation of the three Persons that infallibly accomplishes the work of salvation—it is therefore the Triune God that Saves

Biblical Data

The OT presents a multi-personal God, not a unitarian one.

For example:

The angel of the Lord (who was identified as YHWH (or YHWH- e.g., Gen. 22:9-14; Exod. 3:6-14; 23:20-21; Num. 22:21-35; Judg. 2:1-5; 6:11-22; 13:9-25; Zech. 1:12; etc.).
YHWH and interacted with YHWH (cf. Gen. 19:24).
The places where YHWH/God speaks in first person of YHWH/God in the third person (such as in Gen. 22:11-12; Isaiah 13:17-19; Jer. 50:40; Hosea 1:7; Amos 4:10-11).
The numerous places where plural terms are used of the one true God: Plural verbs and adjectives, and first person common plural pronominal (pronouns) suffixes. Cf. plural verbs – Gen. 1:26 (“Let Us make” (2:18 LXX); 11:7; 54:5 (Heb., “Makers,” “Husbands”); Job 35:10; Ps. 149:2 (Heb., “Makers”); Eccl. 12:1 (Heb., “Creators”); plural adjectives – Josh. 24:19 (“Holy Ones”); Prov. 30:3 (Heb. and LXX, “Holy Ones”); Dan. 7:18, 22, 25, 27 (Heb., “Most Highs” or “Highest Ones”); and first person plural pronominal (pronouns) suffixes – Gen. 1:26 “in Our image and “in Our likeness”; 3:22 (“one of Us”); Isa. 6:8 (“for Us”) and many more could be mentioned. These examples can only be consistent with OT monotheism in the context of Trinitarianism—namely, three persons who share the nature of the One God.

The NT presents a triune God.

Biblical Data Three Biblical Truths

I. There is only one God.

II. There are three Persons or Selves that are presented as and called God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

III. The three divine persons are distinct from each other.

CONCLUSION: The three distinct persons share the nature or Being of the one true God – only Regenerate will accept (John 8:43, 47; 1 Cor. 1:18).

Scriptural References

I. There is one eternal God (cf. Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10; 44:6, 8; Jer. 10:10-11)—Not unitarianism, unipersonalism (monotheism means one God, not one person).

II. The three persons (or self-aware subjects) are presented as fully God—namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Father – – (God and unipersonal; cf. Rom. 5:10; Gal. 1:3).

The Son, Jesus Christ, is called and presented as Theos, Kurios, and YHWH in a religious context in both the OT and NT (unipersonal).

The biblical evidence of the deity of the Son:

Old Testament—Jesus as God

Angel of the Lord.

Daniel 7:9-14—Son of Man.

Isaiah 9:6: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father [lit., ‘father eternal’], Prince of Peace.”

New Testament—Jesus as God-man

Jesus was referred to as God/Lord, or being equal with God: John 1:1, 18; 20:28 (Ps 35:23, LXX); Romans 9:5; 1 Corinthians 2;8; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; Hebrews 1:3, 8; 10-12 (Ps 102:25-27); Jude 1;4, 5

The Son is presented as Creator: John 1:3 (panta di’ autou egeneto, “all things through Him”); Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:10-12 (Kurie, “Lord”—Ps. 102:25-27 LXX; see also 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2; 2:10).

Jesus claimed to be God: Matthew 12:6; John 5:17-18 (eluen, “breaking, loosing,” elegen, “kept calling”); John 10:30; Egw Eimi—John 8:24, 28, 58, 13:19; 18:5, 6, 8 (cf. Deut. 32:39; Isa. 41:4; 43:10; 48:12); First and the Last—Revelation 1:17, 2:8; 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (cf. Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12).

Jesus was worshiped in a religious context: Matthew 14:33: “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son.’”; John 9:35-39. Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:13-14: “And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” ¹⁴ And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.”

The Holy Spirit is God (unipersonal):

The Holy Spirit also possesses the attributes of God:

Eternal, having neither beginning nor end (cf. Heb. 9:14),
Omnipresent, being everywhere at the same time (cf. Ps. 139:7).
Omniscient, understanding all things (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-11).
Omnipotent (cf. Luke 1:35).

The Holy Spirit is a Person: – The Holy Spirit communicates and personal pronouns (“I,” “He”) are applied to Him. Acts 10:19-20: “While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit eipen autō, [“said to him”] – “Behold, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for egō (“I”) have sent them Myself” (cf. Acts 13:2; Heb. 3:7-11; 10:15-17).

Personal Pronouns (e.g. John 16:13-14); – Possesses “personal” attributes (e.g., He has a will (cf. 1 Cor. 12:9-11); Emotions (cf. Eph. 4:30); Intelligence in that He Investigates (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10-11; Rom. 8:27); He intercedes/prays (cf. Rom. 8:26); He can be lied to (cf. Acts 5:3); He can be blasphemed (cf. Mark 3:29-30); Again as seen above- He issues commands (cf. Acts 10:19-20; 13:4; Acts 16:6]; He gives love (cf. Rom. 15:30: “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me”; He is also our paraklētos (“Advocate; cf. John chaps 14-16).

III. The Three Persons are Distinct from each other

To recall: The Three Biblical Truths: 1) There is only one God 2) There are three Persons or Selves that are presented as and called God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and 3) The three divine persons are distinct from each other.

The three Persons are Distinct from each other: Angel of the Lord; John 1:1b. 17:5; Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 1:3; 2 John 1:3; Revelation 5:13.

Passages such as Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 1:3; and Revelation 5:13 (and are many others) all distinguish the persons in the Trinity from each other. This is due to their grammatical construction—namely, the repetition of both the article (ho, “the”) and conjunction (kai, “and”).

Matthew 28:19: “Baptizing them in the name of the [tou] Father, and [kai] the [tou] Son, and [kai] the [tou] Holy Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the [tou] Lord Jesus Christ and [kai] the love of the [tou] God and [kai] the fellowship of the [tou] Holy Spirit with all of you.”

1 John 1:3: “Indeed our fellowship is with the [tou] Father and [kai] with the [tou] Son of Him Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 5:13: “The [tō] One sitting upon the throne and [kai] to the [tō] Lamb, the blessing and the honor and the glory and the dominion into the ages of the ages.”

Lastly, note, we find at several places, NT authors citing Old Testament passages referring to YHWH and yet applies them to the Son (e.g., compare Ps. 102:25-27 with Heb. 1:10-12; Isa. 6:1-10 with John 12:39-41; Isa. 8:12-13 with 1 Pet. 3:14-15; Isa. 45:23 with Phil. 2:10-11; Joel 2:32 with Rom. 10:13).

In conclusion

Scripture presents a tri-personal God. There is one God, and there are three distinct, coequal, coeternal, and coexistent, self-cognizant divine persons or Egos that share the nature of the one God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is God’s highest revelation to mankind.