Does the Bible use the word “THREE” in reference to God?
Yes, Once in 1 John 5:7, and then it is only by inference (God is being indirectly referred to as the one in heaven).
This particular passage speaks of the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and it concludes by saying, “These three are one.” It should be noted that neither the word “Son,” or the name “Jesus,” are mentioned in this listing, neither are they implied.
Note:
Many, however, will aggressively argue and attempt to force Jesus into this passage, primarily because of the phrase “the word” being used in this passage. Before addressing “the word” aspect, there are two parts of this passage no one can dispute.
Nowhere in the Bible, not once, does Jesus ever say he is “the Father” or “God” or “our Father” (heavenly or otherwise) or “the creator” of anything (let alone the creator of heaven and earth or man). To the contrary of what anyone else may tell you, Jesus said God was “HIS FATHER” and “OUR FATHER” (John 20:17).
In addition, Jesus never said or claimed to be the Holy Ghost (Spirit of God or the Comforter), but that he would send it (the comforter which is the Holy Ghost) along with other passages that say God gave Jesus the Holy Ghost and power (Acts 10:38). Without addressing the several other mistranslated passages at this time, I want to make clear that we are speaking solely of statements Jesus himself never made, which no one disputes by any translated version of the Bible.
As with this passage, their argument is usually based on these types of passages that they can say, argumentatively, “infers” that Jesus, a man, was also God or Jesus was God “incarnate,” which incarnation is another man-made and non-biblical concept. *(That is how the claim that God was also totally human was created, which clearly contradicts scripture Num 23:19 NASB)
Jesus and the angels are also said to be in Heaven with God. This passage in 1 John is speaking of the three characteristics of the one and only God ( Deut 4:35, Isa 43:10, 44:6, 45:5-6, 18, 22 ), who is in Heaven.
Note:
We have two well-established facts, which no honest Bible student can dispute.
1. This passage doesn’t say there are three gods who bear record in heaven.
2. This passage speaks of three titles, not three names.
In addition, each title is an expression of God’s character (Ref: The Expressions Of God ).
♦ the Word is God, (Ref: The Word was God)
♦ the Father is God, (Mat 6:8-9, Luke 11:2, John 20:17)
♦ the Holy Ghost is God, ( We know that God is a Spirit (John 4:24) and the Holy Ghost is a Spirit (John 7:39). Paul, in reference to God, told us that there was only One Spirit (Ephesians 4:4), not three. This understanding can be seen in various translations.(1 Corinthians 12:3-6; Acts 5:3-4)
