Hello.  I am young and new to my Christian faith, and I was wondering if you could explain to me exactly how the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Spirit work.  I can grasp Jesus as the Son and Him becoming the Holy Spirit, and I know that Jesus is God, but why does God refer to Jesus as "my Son"?

P.S. This is probably the 5th question I have asked and have always gotten an awesome answer, so thank you!

Sincerely,
New To This

Dear New To This,

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three separate and distinct Beings.  The easiest way to see this is to look at the baptism of Jesus.  At Jesus’ baptism, Jesus came out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the Father spoke from heaven (Lk 3:21-22).  All three of Them are God.  Jesus is described as deity in Jhn 1:1.  The Holy Spirit is described as deity in 1 Cor 2:11 and Gen 1:2.  And last, but not least, the Father is described as deity in Gen 1:1 and numerous other locations.  They are each distinct entities, but They are one in purpose.  We will try and summarize Their responsibilities:

The Father – The Father has total authority to plan and oversee the salvation of mankind.  The Father was the one that sent Jesus at the proper time to die on the cross (Gal 4:4).  The Father answers our prayers (Lk 11:2).  The Father provides for the needs of mankind (Lk 12:30).  He is the great master builder and planner of our salvation.

The Son – Jesus made the Father’s plan happen.  Jesus emptied Himself and became a human (Php 2:4-8).  Jesus is God’s son because He was miraculously born (Matt 1:18).  His blood cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn 1:7).  He is the head of the church and its Savior (Eph 1:22, Col 1:18).  If the Father was the architect of our salvation, Jesus is the carpenter… which is ironic, since He actually was one! (Matt 13:55)

The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood of all the Godhead.  We have answered many questions on His role.  If you want an in-depth look at the Holy Spirit, read “What The Holy Spirit Does”.  For the sake of brevity, we will simply say that the Holy Spirit’s primary job was to create the Bible and keep it preserved throughout all time.  It is the Holy Spirit that guided the minds of the apostles as they wrote down the words of the Bible (Jhn 14:26, 1 Cor 2:13).  If the Father was the architect, and Jesus was the carpenter, then the Holy Spirit is the realtor.  He made sure that everyone would know what Jesus did and how to be saved through Christ’s blood.

Hopefully, that helps give you a basic idea of how the Godhead works.  We are glad that you’ve been so pleased with the answers we give.  We strive very hard to always give Bible answers to Bible questions… that way you can check the verses for yourself to make sure we are only teaching what God wrote.

(This question is a follow-up to “A Theist And An Atheist”.)

I understand that marrying a non-believer may not be the smartest thing to do because it is likely to cause more problems than if you married a Christian; however, would it prevent me from going to heaven?

Sincerely,
Not An Atheist

Dear Not An Atheist,

No single sin will prevent you from going to heaven, but the mentality of “Well, it’s only one sin; maybe it isn’t that big of a deal”… can.  A murderer who repents of murder can go to heaven (Paul did – 1 Tim 1:15-16).  A thief who repents can go to heaven (the thief on the cross did – Lk 23:39-43).  All sins can be forgiven in Christ (1 Jn 1:7), but what you are asking is different.  You are asking whether or not you can do something wrong and it be okay… that is a dangerous path to travel.  The moment we begin “cutting corners” with our salvation, we run into problems.  We can’t tell you that marrying a non-believer will send you to hell, but we have told you that it is a sin.  A sin is a sin – avoid them all.

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Is there a Bible verse that says, "Count your many blessings”?

Sincerely,
Grateful Mathematician

Dear Grateful Mathematician,

“Count Your Many Blessings” is the name of a popular hymn, but it isn’t a Bible verse.  Having said that, the idea of counting your blessings is a very Biblical idea.  Php 4:8 tells us to dwell upon good and pleasant things.  2 Cor 1:11 gives us the example of being grateful when we receive blessings.  Eph 1:16 points out that the apostle Paul never ceased giving thanks for people who blessed his life.  Php 4:6 tells us that thanksgiving should be a regular element in our prayers.  There is no doubt that the thoughts expressed in the hymn “Count Your Many Blessings” is right on target with Scriptural ideals.

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