Imagine a line. Imagine a line that extends to infinity. Then imagine that it is marked off in segments with the segments numbered in multiples of one:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 . . .
This line represents the single triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit altogether, also known as the Godhead. What I believe I can demonstrate with this line is how three different people can be the one and same God simultaneously. (Note that is no number zero on this line. Zero would represent infinite nothingness. God is an infinite somethingness.)
Take the line and separate out every multiple of two (2, 4, 6, etc.) and put the multiples of two in another line:
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 . . .
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 . . .
Now take the two lines and separate out every multiple of three (3, 6, 9, etc.) and put them in another line. The three lines would look like:
1 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 41 43 47 49 53 . . .
2 4 8 10 14 16 20 22 26 28 32 34 38 40 44 46 50 52 . . .
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 . . .
Now, notice: the original line had no end, so each of those three lines has no end, either. They’re infinite. But here’s the kicker. Infinity cannot be divided.
If each of those lines had exactly the same numbers in them, they wouldn’t be three lines, they would just be one line. Just as the original number line represented the Godhead, so these three lines represent the divisions, for lack of a better word, within it. The first line, consisting only of prime numbers, that is numbers that are divisible only by one and themselves, would be the best analogy for God the Father. That’s because the numbers in that line cannot be evenly divided by the numbers in the other lines, which could be analogous to the supremacy of God the Father in relation to the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The second number line represents God the Son. It has only numbers that are divisible by one, two, and themselves. But it has no numbers that are divisible by three, possibly suggesting that the Spirit is dependent on the Son, though it is less dependent than on the Father.
That dependence would answer the question of why the Holy Spirit is the third person in the ranking of the Trinity.
Why are there only three persons in the Trinity? Why not a million? Or more? Here’s a thought. I may be mistaken, but I think that all numbers, even unto infinity are ultimately evenly divisible by only 1, 2, or 3. For example:
1,223=1,000+200+20+3=100+100+100+100+100+100+100+100+100+100+100+100+
10+10+3 . . . and so forth.
If you break down the number further you’ll see that the 100’s become 10’s, then the 10’s become 5’s and 2’s. So, you end up with prime numbers, 2’s, and 3’s. I think this will happen with any other whole number.
11/28/2005—
(The trinitarian structure of the Godhead may make possible the co-existence of our free will and God’s foreknowledge of the future. More specifically, it may make possible his ability to choose who is saved and who is damned without compromising our freedom to choose him as our Lord, or not. [Can a God who is a single person see the past, present, and future all at once?])
