Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
(Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV)

The God of the Bible

God is relational, not a force, not a power. God unfolds the truth throughout the Bible and redemptive history that he is three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is the most significant way the God of the Bible differs from all other supposed gods. God’s nature is a unified relationship between three Persons. They are distinct but inseparable Persons united in one being, having different roles, but one will. We call him a “Trinity,” a three-person unity. One pastor put it this way: God is three “Who’s” and one “What.”

Though the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible, it’s the term we use to summarize the truth about God’s nature based on what he says about himself.

This truth about God explains our favorite concept: love. God is by nature a community—relational (1 John 4:8). He created us and the world not out of need, nor to exercise pure power, but in demonstration of his love. And, the greatest overflow of his love was his plan to save us from our own rebellion against him, which he could not have accomplished for us apart from being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God’s triune nature also provides the explanation for his greatest command. For, God himself is love. And his greatest desire for us is that we would love him and love one another.