Counsel #1 — Personhood

Picture: Counsel #1 — PersonhoodCCW 11.1

What is a person and what makes you different from another person? Is it physicality and having separate bodies, or is it something more? Conjoined twins share a body, yet are regarded as two because they have two self-conscious, rational wills. So, when we speak of persons in relation to God, what do we mean? While we don’t know what a “divine person” is like exactly, we do know that there is a unity and oneness between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that defies our understanding. We also know they have three distinct self-conscious, rational wills. So, whether or not each one has a physical form, we can still regard them as persons.^{[9]https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-trinity-in-scripture/}CCW 11.2

“Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” Acts 16:6 NKJVCCW 11.3

“The work is laid out before every soul that has acknowledged his faith in Jesus Christ by baptism, and has become a receiver of the pledge from the three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Ellen White in Letters and Manuscripts, vol. 15, Manuscript 57, 1900, par. 11CCW 11.4

Reflect: How does considering the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as distinct persons impact your relationship and interaction with God?CCW 11.5