In the Bible, 3 + 1 = 1

 

As the passage above says, the Bible teaches that we must be joined unto the Lord. That is why, when Scripture speaks of the relationship in which a husband and wife become one, it says that this refers to the relationship between Jesus and the church.

 

Ephesians 5:31-32 “31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

 

Therefore, we must now be joined unto the Lord. However, here, strictly speaking, the “Lord” does not refer to only one Person, but to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

 

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

 

If we look only at these passages, it may seem as though we have two Lords. But because Jehovah and Jesus are one (John 10:30), we have only one Lord.

 

Romans 10:12-13 “12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Ephesians 4:5 “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

 

Therefore, we must now call not upon the name of Jehovah, but upon the name of Jesus, who has become Lord over all. In fact, because Jesus and Jehovah are one, there is nothing strange at all about calling only upon the name of Jesus and not upon the name of Jehovah. Yet the Jews in Jesus’ day considered this blasphemy (John 10:33). However, the apostle Paul taught that this is rather what gives “glory” to God the Father.

 

Philippians 2:9-11 “9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

In the case of the Holy Ghost, in the Old Testament He was called the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of Jehovah; and in the New Testament He is called the Spirit of Jesus, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, and so on.

 

Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

Judges 6:34 “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.”

Acts 16:6-7 “6Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not.”

 

The Spirit of Jehovah and the Spirit of Jesus are also the same one Holy Ghost, and He is the same Lord God.

 

Ephesians 4:4 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.”

 

In this way, the Bible testifies to us in many ways concerning the Trinity. Already from the beginning, when God made man, He used the plural word “us,” thereby showing us that the Trinity existed together from the beginning (Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1).

 

Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

Genesis 3:22 “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”

 

Jesus also said:

 

John 14:23 “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.”

 

In this way, Jesus spoke in the plural, saying that “We” would make Our abode with him, that is, with the one who keeps His commandments. And after He ascended, according to the word He had spoken, He sent the Spirit of truth to His disciples on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).

 

Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 6:17, where it says, “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit,” strictly speaking, this is not “1 + 1,” but “3 + 1.” In other words, just as the Trinity was fulfilled in Jesus,

 

Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”

 

Now the work of the Trinity must also be fulfilled in us.

 

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

 

And we, having become the dwelling place of God, must also become one with one another “for Jesus.”

 

Ephesians 2:21-22 “21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 “12For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14For the body is not one member, but many... 20But now are they many members, yet but one body... 27Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

 

In this way, we must become one with one another through the Holy Ghost, without divisions (Ephesians 4:3). But the problem is that, because we are completely different in nature from one another, we can never become “one” by ourselves. Therefore, we absolutely need the name of Jesus, which is the Father’s name. Jesus prayed the following prayer in order to teach this to His disciples and to us (John 17:20):

 

John 17:11-12, 26 “11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are. 12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 26And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

In this passage, “the Father’s name” is not Jehovah, but “the name of Jesus” (John 5:43). In other words, Jesus Himself could become one with God on this earth because of the name of Jesus, and the disciples of Jesus could also become one with Jesus because of the name of Jesus. Likewise, we today can become one in the name of Jesus. In other words, the only way for us to become one in this world is the name of Jesus alone. Therefore, when we read the book of Acts, we can see that not only the eleven disciples of Jesus, but also the apostle Paul, who was chosen later, testified only of one name, the name of Jesus. This is possible because the Spirit who teaches the truth is one (John 16:13-15).

 

Acts 2:14, 20-21 “14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Acts 4:8-10, 12 “8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Romans 10:1, 11-13 “1Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 11For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. 12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

Therefore, when Revelation speaks of the hundred forty and four thousand standing with the Lamb on Mount Sion, those who receive the final salvation, it says that the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father were written in their foreheads. Here, the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father may seem like two names, but in reality they are one name, only “the name of Jesus” (Matthew 28:19=Acts 2:38). In other words, they were saved in the name of Jesus.

 

Revelation 14:1 “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.”

Revelation 22:1-4 “1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: 4And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.”

 

Therefore, we must now understand that the name of Jesus is the name that binds God and us, and also the saints with one another, into “one.” Therefore, whatever we do, we must do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. When we seek to do all things in the name of Jesus in this way, the Trinity will make Their abode with us, just as They did with the disciples of Jesus (Matthew 18:20). And we also will never be broken apart (Ecclesiastes 4:12, Romans 8:35-39), but will receive the final salvation like the hundred forty and four thousand (1 Peter 1:5-9).

 

Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

 

Amen.