TRINITY
The unity of the Godhead has been discussed under
Biblical Theism. The Bible teaches, however,
that the unity of the Godhead is not an absolute oneness. The
Bible clearly makes distinctions in the Godhead, namely, The Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. The arguments against the doctrine of the Trinity
are invariably the result of unbelief in the Biblical revelation and for
the most part are philosophical in origin.
1. Some definitions. In considering this truth, there must be
a distinction between certain terms. This writer uses the word
personality or person in connection with this doctrine. He
does not use terms in a strict philosophical sense. Personality is
expressed in the various personal pronouns. This writer is straining
at words to describe the infinite God.
2. Antitriunitarianism dishonors. The opposition to the Trinity
results in three dishonors.
3. The correct emphasis. Too often in discussing the Godhead,
the emphasis in on the Second Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
most natural since He is the physical manifestation of God. This is evident
in the "Jesus Only" cults. Unfortunately, it is too often evident in Bible
believing churches. Here again it is natural since it was Christ Who
died for our sins. Jesus Christ is central in our redemption, but the
Trinity is intimately involved as a whole.
The proof of the Trinity can be approached
from the viewpoint of reason and from the viewpoint of revelation. Most
theologies (including Chafer's) present the proofs from reason first. However,
the doctrine is strictly a Bible doctrine, a product of revelation. Thus,
it would seem most logical to present the proof from revelation first.
1. The revelatory proof. The primary and foremost proof of the
Trinity is the Biblical revelation. Historically, the word Trinity
came into use in the second century; and not, as some are want to say, at
some later date under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church. The
basic Biblical revelation is in the terms for God: Elohim in
the Old Testament which is a plural word, and Theos in the New Testament
which is repeatedly used in connection with God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit.
a. The Old Testament. The primary proof
in the Old Testament centers around the word Elohim. The word
is repeatedly used, when referring to the true and living God, with the singular
verb. This is the main evidence of the Trinity. Someone may say that
two constitutes a plural; however, in the Hebrew there is a dual as
well as a plural, and Elohim is a plural; three constitutes the minimum plural.
Of course, this alone does not prove the Trinity. The proof is
accumulative.
In like manner the Holy Spirit is referred to in the
Old Testament. In Isaiah 11:2, He is referred to as the Spirit of Jehovah
(cf. also Judges 15:14); In Exodus 31:3, He is the Spirit of Elohim.
There are, of course, many other passages to which we could refer in this
connection.
There is, interestingly enough, a three set of three
regarding the names of God. There are the primary names: God
(El, Elah, and Elohim), LORD (Jehovah), and Lord (Adon or adonai).
Then, there are the compounds with the name "God", namely, Almighty
God (El Shaddai); Most High God--or Most High (El Elyon); and the Everlasting
God (El Olan). Finally, there is the compounds with the name "LORD"
(Jehovah): LORD God (Jehovah Elohim), Lord GOD (Adonai Jehovah), LORD
of hosts (Jehovah Sabbaoth). This, of course, does not prove the
Trinity, but it is interesting to say the least.
It may be noted that the most revered term for
God,
b. The New Testament. The New Testament
gives the main evidence for the Trinity. The triune nature of God assumed
in the New Testament and is presented everywhere. There are four areas
of argument which we will discuss in turn.
Thus, is the the Trinity set forth in Scripture as "One
inexplicably three, One in simplest unity." (Chafer, Op.cit., I:309)
2. The rational proof. As stated earlier the main proof of the
Trinity is revelation. The doctrine of the Trinity, however, is completely
rational. The rational proof deals primarily with the attributes of
God. Also, although we have presented the revelatory proof, the Bible
does sustain reason.
a. The attributes of God. The rational proof
from the attributes of God starts with the fact that those attributes are
eternal.
b. The Biblicalness of the reasons. The
Bible confirms these rational reasons for the Trinity. Truth is truth whether
revelatory or non-revelatory. "Truth existed before any revelation
in written form was made. It therefore does not depend on revelation
for its truthfulness." (Chafer, Ibid., I:295) On the other hand,
revelation--though not opposed to reason--are not proven by reason. We are
interested here with those Biblical sustaining of reasons within the bounds
of time. Some things are affirmed in Scriptures to have been
before the creation, and therefore, before time. (Cf. 1 Peter 1:20;
Revelation 13:8).
Reason does sustain the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity.
In Colossians 2:8, we are warned, "Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments
of the world, and not after Christ." This writer of this website affirms
that verse to be absolutely true, for he majored in philosophy. But
notice carefully what this verse says and what it does not say. It
does not say, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy." The
word philosophy is qualified by "after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." This qualification
suggests (though does not mandate) a philosophy which is "after Christ",
i. e., a Christ-centered philosophy. This writer proposes such
A Biblical philosophy which you may peruse. This
philosophy is suggestive only, keeping in mind that the Biblical revelation
is sufficient in itself. It still holds true, "God said it; I believe
it; that settles it."
The persons of the Trinity--God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit--are here considered in their separate aspects.
1. God the Father. The Person of God the Father is examined
here in four aspects.
2. God the Son. We just saw that Jesus Christ as the Son of
God sustains an unique relationship to God the Father. Many aspects
of the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ will be covered on the web
page Jesus Christ. But now we will touch
on several aspects concerning the God the
Son on its separate page including His preexistence, names, Deity,
incarnation (briefly covered in greater detail on the web page Jesus
Christ), humanity, and His kenosis and hypostatic union.
3. God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is regularly presented
in Scripture as God. We will consider several aspects regarding
God the Holy Spirit on a separate page which includes
His personality, His Deity, witness of Old and New Testaments, His titles,
His relationships.
Click on God to return to God page.
If you came from the second web page on
salvation and want to return, click on it; if you
were on the first web page on the Holy Spirit,
click on it; otherwise, click below.
The doctrine of the Trinity is not the result
of any councils of third or later centuries, but it is explicit in the Old
Testament as well as the New. As Dr. Chafer well stated, "The doctrine
of the Trinity is drawn wholly from revelation" (Lewis Sperry Chafer,
Systematic Theology, I:273). Admittedly, the word Trinity
is not found in the Bible. It is a theological word and fairly describes
the doctrine.
We will be considering this doctrine under three headings,
the preliminaries, the proof, and the
persons. You may go directly to any section
by clicking on the appropriate words. We must remember that we are
treading on holy ground and dealing with an infinite truth.
God is a unity as was seen in the division on Biblical
Theism. Thus, two errors (or extremes) must be avoided. The Persons
of the Godhead are three distinct beings such you, me, and another human.
This is what is called Tritheism. Opponents of the doctrine
of the Trinity have often accused Christians of that idea.
The other error is that God is an absolute unity whose triune aspects are
nothing more than manifestations, or activities. The Bible teaches
monotheism--one God--but subsisting in three definite and identifiable Persons.
There are those who say the doctrine of the Trinity is on the
basis of the "facts of nature" or the "purpose of morals." But
a careful analysis of these things would show that there is a
trinitarian basis to them.
Any correct definition of the Trinity
must include the oneness of God, the onliness of
God, the distinction of the three Persons, and the proper Deity
of each one. Anything less dishonors God.
It first of all, dishonors the Lord Jesus Christ.
Deniers of the the triune nature of God reject the Deity of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Anyone who denies the Trinity is not worshipping the
God of the Bible no matter what they claim. The doctrine of salvation
hinges on the Deity of the Son. Sufficient verses can be cited, such
as John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 9:15, 1 John 3:16 show that Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, was God the Fathers's love-gift to the world.
Furthermore, it is that love of Christ that constrains the believer
to service for God (Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14). Also, the Bible clearly
shows that Jesus Himself hears our prayers; this would only be possible if
He were God.
Secondly, opposition to the Trinity dishonors the Holy
Spirit. He has all the attributes of God. To deny His Deity is
to reduce the Holy Spirit to a mere influence (which the unitarian, if he
acknowledges the Spirit at all, must do) or to the figment of the imagination.
Here again our salvation is affected, for the Holy Spirit is
explicitly tied in with our salvation. His intercession for us would be naught
as an influence. Lastly, the miraculous gifts given to the early church,
and His work in us today would be for naught as well as there would be no
fruit of the Spirit.
Thirdly, the Scriptures themselves are dishonored. The
doctrine is solely derived from the Bible. To deny that doctrine in
effect denies the Scripture. Philosophy does not come up with the Trinity
(although, there is a philosophical basis for it;
we set forth A
Biblical Philosophy on another page. ); it is solely the
Bible, the Word of God, which gives us knowledge of the Trinity. Therefore,
it is not strange that denial of the Scriptures as the Word of God has led
to the denial of the Trinity; the reverse also is true.
Jews, Unitarians, and Muslins have a hard time
understanding that Trinitarians are as committed to the oneness of God as
they are. Mohammed misunderstood the Trinity in mixing in Mary with
the Son and the Father. Thus, he (and Muslins generally) oppose the
idea of the Trinity due to their false concept of what the Trinity is. The
Jews resist the doctrine because any acknowledgement forces them to admit
the claims of Jesus of Nazareth. The Unitarian opposes the doctrine
because otherwise he must acknowledge the blood-bought way of salvation taught
in the Scripture.
We need to remind you that we are dealing with a mystery
which is unexplainable to finite minds. It has been said that to try
to understand the Trinity is like trying to empty the ocean with a teacup.
To the believing heart, there is no problem; as with other truth the
believer says, "God said it; I believe it; that settles it."
Genesis 1:26, 27 is another strong proof. The word
Elohim is used for God. Then we read, "Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness; . . . ." (Bold type for emphasis).
In verse 27, we read, "So God [Elohim] created [singular] in
His own image, in the image of God [Elohim] created
He him; male and female created He them." (Bold type for
emphasis).
Psalm 2 expresses the Father and the Son. The Lord
[Jehovah] says He sets His king upon Zion, and then in the very next verse
states, "The Lord [Jehovah] hath said unto Me, 'Thou art My Son; this day
have I begotten Thee."
Likewise, there are many passages which speaks of the
Angel of Jehovah and then distinguishes Him from Jehovah. Yet the Angel of
Jehovah speaks as He were Jehovah Himself. The word Immanuel
(cf. Isaiah 7:14) which means "God with us" is applied in the New Testament
to Jesus Christ.
That the First Person is addressed as Jehovah, Elohim,
and Adonai--and combinations thereof-- is evident. The Second Person,
however, is likewise addressed. See such passages as Isaiah 9:6, Psalm
68:18, Isaiah 45:21, and numerous others.
(JWH),
Jehovah, rendered in the KJV as LORD. There is the trend to
transliterate this word as Yaweh, but it seems to this writer that
this is an attempt to deemphasis the tri-unity of the word. One must
grant that the vowels are absent in the Hebrew, but the tradition was to
use the vowel pointing of Adonai which results in Jehovah.
Again, it must be reiterated that this does not prove the Trinity,
but it is certainly suggestive.
In a similar vein, there are numerous references to the
three Persons together. An interesting case is in Number 6:24-27
where the high priestly benediction is given. "The Lord bless thee,
and keep thee; the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto
thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace . .
. . " The first phrase sets forth the love of God; the second sets
forth the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; the third shows forth the peace
we have in the Holy Spirit. Again, this does not prove the Trinity,
but it is another factor that adds to the accumulated effect.
Isaiah 6:3 is another passage that indicates the Trinity.
To relegate the threefold "holy, holy, holy" to mere emphasis
is to ignore the context of the passage. This is especially interesting
on the basis of the fact that the "Holy of Holies" constituted the abode
of God in the temple (cf. v. 1), and the fact that the "Holies"
can be rendered "the Holy Ones." Furthermore, verse 8 declares, "Also
I heard the voice of the Lord [Jehovah], saying, 'Whom shall I [singular]
send, and who will go for us [plural]?"
The benediction of Jacob in Genesis 48:15, 16 suggests the
Trinity. A good case can be made out of it as referring to the
Trinity.
Another classic passage is 2 Samuel 23:2, 3: "The
Spirit of the Lord spake by me, . . . . The God of Israel said, the
Rock of Israel spake to me . . . ."
Again, Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, "Remember, now thy Creator
[Hebrew--"Creators" (plural, not dual form)] in the days of thy youth . .
. ."
Isaiah 54:5 is a like situation. Even the very
temple is in three parts. Why? There are other
such evidences in the Old Testament both is actual words and
in type that suggests the Triune God.
There remains one passage which we need to consider.
It does not directly teach the Trinity. However, it clearly shows that
the God of the Old Testament was not an absolute unity. We refer
to the great Jewish declaration in Deuteronomy 6:4--"Hear, O Israel;
the Lord [Jehovah] our God [Elohim] is one Lord [Jehovah]." (Bold
type for emphasis). The word one is not an absolute oneness.
It is the same word found in Genesis 2:24 (remember Moses wrote both
passages), "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh." (Bold type for
emphasis). Here it is obvious that the word one is not an absolute
oneness.
1) The names of God. The
names of God are applied to each of the Persons of the Godhead. Jesus
as the Son is called "God" in John 1:1 (together with 1:14). He is
referred to "the true God" in 1 John 5:20; "God blessed for ever" in Romans
9:5--to separate this phrase from "Christ" is a travesty of grammar; and
"the great God" in Titus 2:13. The Holy Spirit is identified as God
in Acts 5:3-9 and "Lord" in 2 Corinthians 3:17.
The great commission (Matthew 28:19) sets
forth the triune nature of God. Baptism is a public witness to one's
faith in the triune God and thus appropriate for the baptismal formula.
Note that baptism is done in the name (singular), not the names
(plural). This formula not only declares the threefoldness of the
Godhead, but the unity of the Godhead.
There are other passages we could turn
to as well, but a noteworthy one is the baptism of Jesus where all three
Persons were present. You have Jesus the Son of God; you have God the
Father declaring from heaven, "This is My beloved Son"; and you have the
Holy Spirit lightening on Jesus in the form of a dove.
2) The attributes of God. A
careful examination of the Bible will show that the attributes of God are
ascribed to each Person of the Godhead.
Concerning God the
Father, Psalm 90:2 states, "From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God."
Concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God, several passages such as
Revelation 1:8, John 1:2, and Micah 5:2 set forth His eternality. As
to the Holy Spirit, Hebrews 9:14 clearly states, "Christ through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself without spot to God."
The power of God is
likewise ascribed to each as clearly seen in 1 Peter 1:5, 2 Corinthians 12:9,
and Romans 15:19.
The omniscience of
the Persons is set forth in Jeremiah 17:10, Revelation 2:23, and 1 Corinthians
2:11.
Likewise, the omnipresence
of each is declared in Jeremiah 23:24, Matthew 18:20, Psalm 139:7
respectively.
Holiness is stated of each
Person of the Trinity in Revelation 15:4, Acts 3:14, and the Spirit
is named "Holy Spirit" time and time again.
Truth is attributed to each
Person. The Father is spoken of by Christ as being true in John 7:28.
Jesus is spoken of the true in Revelation 3:7, and He said, "I am the
way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father,
but by Me." (John 14:6--bold type for emphasis). In 1 John 5:6, the
Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of truth."
There are other attributes
too numerous to cover, but these show that each Person of the Trinity is
God.
3) The Works of God. Each
work of God is also attributed to each Person of the Godhead.
a) Creation. The
entire Trinity was involved in creation. This is first clearly seen
in the use of the word Elohim--a plural word--used with the singular
verb. Psalm 102:25 shows that God the Father was active in creation.
Colossians 1:16 clearly states in regard to Jesus Christ, "For by
Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or
powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." (Bold
type for emphasis) Such verses as Genesis 1:2 and Job 26:13 clearly
show that the Holy Spirit was involved in creation, also. That the
Trinity is involved in the creation of man follows, but Genesis 2:7,
Colossians 1:16, Job 33:4, Ecclesiastes 12:1, and Isaiah 54:5 clearly state
it.
b) Jesus Christ.
The Trinity was also involved in the life and ministry of our Lord
Jesus Christ. In the incarnation Jesus Christ was generated by the
Holy Spirit, was acknowledged by the Father at His baptism, and called God,
His Father, in a unique way. His entire life was always govern by His
doing the will of the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit without measure.
Several verses clearly establish these facts.
c) Christ's death.
The death of Christ was under the auspices of all three Persons of
the Trinity. God The Father is set forth as giving His Son (Cf. Psalm
22:15, John 3:16, Romans 8:32, and others). Jesus said of Himself that
"No man taketh it [His life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I
have power [authority] to lay it down . . . ." (John 10:18) It
is said of the Holy Spirit, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Undoubtedly,
other verses could be found to set forth these truths.
d) Christ's resurrection.
The Trinity is also seen to be active in the resurrection of Christ.
This is seen in such passages as Acts 2:24, John 2:19, John 10:18,
and 1 Peter 3:18. Also, the resurrection of mankind involves the Trinity.
This is clear from John 5:21 which speaks both of the Father and Son, and
Romans 8:11 clearly shows the Holy Spirit's involvement.
e) Other. The
same activity of the Trinity can be clearly seen in the inspiration of the
Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:10, 11, and 2 Peter 1:21); the authority
of the minister (2 Corinthians 3:5, 6; 1 Timothy 1:12; and Acts 20:28); the
indwelling presence of God in the believer (Ephesians 4:6, Colossians 1:27,
1 Corinthians 6:19); the work of sanctification (Jude 1:1, Hebrews 2:11,
1 Corinthians 6:11); and the believer's security (John 10:29, John 10:28,
Romans 8:34, and Ephesians 4:30).
4) The worship of God. Angels
worship the Triune God as seen in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8. To
attribute these passages to mere emphasis (like bold type) is a travesty
and an ignoring of the many verses that set forth the Trinity. Saints
worship the Trinity in that worship is directed to the Father in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ and by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit (Cf. John
16:23,24, Ephesians 6:18)
There are two major
benedictions that set forth this Trinity. The first is the high priestly
blessing in Numbers 6:24-26. Again, to relegate this to an emphasis
or Hebrew repetition is a travesty. In most cases Hebrew repetition
is in couplets; this would have to be the rare exception. Also, it
must be seen in the light of many very clear passages. The other passage
in 2 Corinthians 13:14 where the Triune blessing of God is given: "The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen."
First, the attributes such as omnipresence,
omniscience, omnipotence, goodness, love, etc. are eternal because God Himself
is eternal.
Secondly, these attributes are eternally
active. To deny this is to deny the eternality of those attributes;
for if at any time any of the attributes was not active, then there was a
time when such attributes were not.
Thirdly, those attributes needed both
an object and an agent. For example, to exercise the attribute of love,
God as agent must have had an object to love. Although there is such
a thing as self-love, love to express itself must have an object which is
not individually the same. Reciprocal love would be impossible
without such an object.
Fourthly, God is sufficient in Himself,
and therefore, reason asserts that both agent and object must be present
in the Godhead. Thus, at least a duality must be in the Godhead.
Fifthly, the agent and object must be
persons. "Such a plurality cannot be predicated of the divine Essence,
for the Scriptures distinctly testify to the truth that there is but one
God." (Chafer, Systematic Theology, I:293--Italics are his.)
Furthermore, modes of manifestations and/or mere offices could not sustain
this relationship of agent and object. Also, if the agent is a person,
then the object must be a person.
Finally, the two Persons can act together
as agent toward an object. In the case of love, the Father and the
Son can act in concert to love the Holy Spirit. Thus, a trinity is
necessary to fulfill all the requirements of the divine attributes.
Three is the minimum plurality that fulfill these requirements.
Adding a fourth or a fifth, etc, adds nothing to the fulfillment of
these requirements.
In all of these reasons, it behooves the
honest inquirer to admit at least to the rational of these reasons; and in
the meantime, we continue to affirm and insist on the unity of the Godhead.
1) The exercise of love.
The eternal love of the Father for the Son is clearly set forth in
the High Priestly prayer of Jesus Christ as set forth in John 17:24. As
previously reasoned, God's love is eternal and was demonstrated eternally
to the Son.
2) The exercise of glory. The
mutual glory between the Father and the Son is also set forth in the same
prayer of Christ, "And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own
self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
(John 17:5--Italics are mine.) The italicized portions indicate that
a Person is involved and not due to external honors. Here again the time
of this glory was prior to creation. Revelation 21:33 may give us another
glimpse of the unchanging glory.
3) The exercise of knowing. The
constant communication of knowledge between the Persons of the Godhead may
be somewhat mysterious. Nevertheless, the Scripture makes it clear
that such took place as seen in such passages as John 10:15, Matthew 11:27,
Romans 8:27, and 1 Corinthians 2:10. Thus, reciprocity
of agent and object in the area of knowledge is clearly set forth.
4) The exercise of fellowship.
In view is the communion between the Persons of the Godhead.
Without this there could be, rationally speaking, a separation from
each other and a pursuing of self-interests. This is avoided by the
one Essence. The key word in the Scripture is with.
Both John 1:1, 2 and 1 John 1:2 set forth this aspect. These
and other Scripture sustain the rational aspect of this fellowship.
a. Over Creation. We often hear (particularly
from liberals) about the Fatherhood of God. By this term they mean that God
is the Father of all mankind regardless of what one believes. Biblical speaking
that idea is not found.
However, there is a limited kind of the
Fatherhood of God and that is over all creation. James 1:17 states
that He is "The Father of lights"; Hebrews 12:9 tells us that He is "The
Father of spirits"; and in Job 1:6 and 2:1, He is set forth as the
Father of angels, for they are called there "The sons of God."
His Fatherhood over all mankind
is seen in such passages as Malachi 2:10, Acts 17:29, 1 Corinthians 8:6,
and in Luke's genealogy of Jesus, Adam is referred to as "the son of God."
Chafer rightly states, "Thus, it is revealed that there is a form of universal
Fatherhood and universal brotherhood which, within its proper bounds, should
be recognized; but this, as important as it may be, is in no way to
be confused with that Fatherhood and brotherhood which is secured by the
regenerating work of the Spirit." (Systematic Theology, I:312).
b. Of Israel. In an unique sense, God is
the Father of the nation Israel. Such verses as Exodus 4:22 and 2 Samuel
7:14 bears this out. Of course, this Fatherhood was in preparation
for that greater one--to the Lord Jesus Christ, for, out of Israel was the
greater Son to come.
c. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. The First Person
of the Godhead is described in full in the New Testament as "The God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" in 2 Corinthians 11:31 (and other passages
with similar phrases).
Jesus sustained a special relationship
to God, as His God and as His Father. This relationship is further
seen in the title Son of God. It is in the Son of God that God
the Father fully reveals Himself. We need to remember that Jesus Christ
is eternally the Son of God.
The criticism of these terms as
being anthropomorphic is foolish. In order to reveal Himself
to mankind in generally, He saw fit to use ordinary, common, everyday words
to convey truth concerning Himself. Use of such terms as "ground of
being", etc. may be fine for philosophy and the so-called intelligentsia,
but God was revealing Himself to the common man and therefore used common
terms.
The subordination of the Son to the
Father is clearly taught in Scripture and will be discussed latter. The
matter of the generation of the Son will also be considered later.
d. Over all believers. The relationship
we have as believers in the divine Son, Jesus Christ, is the result of being
regenerated, or born-again. By this means we become sons of God; it
is wrought by God the Holy Spirit as one puts their personal faith in
the unique Son of God. It results in our being able to call on God
as "Abba, Father" (Cf. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)--the first term being
a term of endearment akin to our word papa.