Let's talk about another Bible puzzle today, all right? That should be fun. Okay, then. Well, God is the greatest, isn't he? Yes, the Bible tells us that God knows everything. God can do anything. God doesn't need anything. God is perfectly good. And in the New Testament part of the Bible, in the book of 1st John, the Apostle John even tells us that God is love. And before God made the world, before he made people, God was still all of the things that I just said, wasn't he? Yes, before God made the whole world and people, God knew everything and could do anything and was good and was love. But just a minute. To be love, you'd have to have something to love, wouldn't you? So how could God be love before there were angels or people or even before there were animals? Why, the Bible tells us that God created everything, even the things in heaven, doesn't it? So who or what did God love before he created anything? After all, if a person just loves himself, he is selfish, and God certainly isn't selfish, is he? No. God is love, and love isn't selfish, is it? So, who did God love before he made people, or even animals? That sounds like a puzzle, doesn't it? Who did God love before he made people? Hmm. Let's think about it. Is there an answer to this Bible puzzle? Yes, there is. And I'm going to give the answer to this puzzle first. Then I'll explain how I got the answer. The answer is that though there is only one God, that one God is three persons. There's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They're all God, aren't they? But they are three different persons. And these three persons loved each other, even before they made people. So one being, God, and three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Or we could say, one what? God. And three, whose? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, that may sound a bit confusing, so let me give you a couple of little examples that should help you understand this better. Let's use for an example the sun that shines in the sky. The sun itself is a star, a big ball of fire, isn't it? So the sun is fire. And the sun shines brightly and gives us light, doesn't it? So the sun is light. And when this light touches us, it warms us, doesn't it? So the sun is heat. Yes, the sun is fire, light, and heat all at once, isn't it? One Son, but three things at the same time. This is like just a tiny picture to help us understand that the great God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God, but three persons. Let me give another little example that may help you understand this. If someone were to take a piece of ice and put it in a pan and set the pan on the stove, the ice would start to melt into water, wouldn't it? And as it's melting, you will also see some steam coming up as the water starts to evaporate. So you will see solid ice, liquid water, and steam, which is a gas. So water can be solid, liquid, or steam all at the same time, can't it? But it is all still water, isn't it? One thing, water, but in three forms, solid, liquid, and gas at the same time. Or you could think of a giant iceberg with water melting off of it and steam rising off of it. Again, ice, liquid water, and steam. All water, but in three forms, all at the same time. This is another tiny picture that can help us understand that the great God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God, but three persons, all at the same time. So, God has always been God, and God has always been three persons, the same three persons. There has never been a time when they weren't all three there, and all three God. The Bible calls them by their three different names, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But is this just something I'm saying, or does the Bible tell us this? After all, people can be wrong, can't they? But the Bible is never wrong, is it? Of course not. And this about one God, but three persons, is something that the Bible does tell us. First, let's look at there being one God. Does the Bible say that? Yes, in many places the Bible tells us that there is only one true, real God. For example, in the book of Isaiah, the Lord says, except for me, there is no God. So the Bible tells us there's only one God. But does it also tell us about the three persons of God? Yes, it does. Let me show you just a few places. Three books of the Bible, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all tell us about when Jesus was baptized. They tell us that John the Baptist baptized Jesus, and then these books say that as he was coming up out of the water, that John saw heaven open, and he saw the Spirit of God come down and be on Jesus like a dove. And then John heard a voice from heaven that said, This is my son whom I love and with whom I am well pleased. Wow! God showed himself there in all three persons all at one time, didn't he? And John the Baptist saw and heard them. God the Father spoke from heaven. God the Son, Jesus, was standing there, and God the Holy Spirit was seen in the form of a dove. One God, three persons. But does the Bible ever mention the three persons of God together at the same time again? Yes, it does. At the very end of the book of Matthew, just before Jesus goes back to heaven, Jesus tells his apostles, go out and teach all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Notice that Jesus said, name one, not names. So the one name, God, of the three persons of God, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God, three persons. Yes, one God, but three persons. Three in one. A Latin word for that is Trinity. Tri or tri means three. And the enity part means united or one. Trinity. Three united. Three in one. Now the word Trinity itself isn't in the Bible, but it's described, isn't it? I just gave you two examples, didn't I? And here is another place in the Bible where Jesus talks about all three persons of the Trinity. At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things. Jesus was talking about himself, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons of God, wasn't he? In fact, we ourselves sort of experience this Trinity when we pray. How? Well, when we pray, we often start our prayers to God the Father, with Our Father or Our Heavenly Father, and we pray in the name of God the Son, often ending our prayers with, In Jesus' name, Amen. And the Bible tells us that though we can't see him, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray. So the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. The Trinity. Also, there are other places in the Bible that are not at first so easy to see, but which show that God is more than one person. For instance, in the very first verses of the whole Bible, it says that God created the heavens and the earth, and then it goes on to say that the Spirit of God moved upon the water that covered the earth. Then later in the same chapter it says, and God said, let us make men in our own image. Us, our, That means more than one person, doesn't it? And then the verses go on to say, So God created man in his own image. So us means more than one, but his means one at the same time. And after God created animals and people, he showed his love for them in so many ways, didn't he? God gives animals and people food and water and sunshine and takes care of them. But the great love of the three persons of our one great God is shown in another way too. How? Well, God is very good and God is completely sinless, isn't he? Yes, and though God loves us very much, we are all sinners. So we shouldn't be able to be with him, should we? However, God the Father loves us so very much that he sent God the Son to earth to make a way for us to be able to be with God someday. And by a miracle of the Holy Spirit, God the Son became a human being. That's the Christmas story, isn't it? And God the Son, who is Jesus, loves us so very much that he willingly left his throne in heaven and came to earth and died on the cross for our sins. And when Jesus went back to heaven, God the Holy Spirit was sent and willingly came. And though we can't see him, God the Holy Spirit helps us. Again, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons. The Trinity. Yes, God is love. God the Father loves us so much that he sent God the Son, who loves us so much that he died for us to make a way so that we could someday be with him, right? Yes, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He was buried. Then three days later, he was alive again. That's the Easter story, isn't it? And if we believe in Jesus, trust in him, he will forgive our sins, and someday we can be with God forever. And this is the gospel, isn't it? And all this happened through God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So we solved the puzzle of who did God love before he created people, didn't we? Yes, the Trinity is the answer to this puzzle. Before people were created, God the Father loved God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God the Son loved God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. And God the Holy Spirit loved God the Father and God the Son. The three persons of the one God loved each other. When you are older, you may want to study the Bible and find other places in the Bible that show the Trinity. Yes, God is indeed love, and he loves us too. I'm so glad, aren't you?