Father, Son, Holy Spirit
and How are They Related? 

This page will help most people identify the Father, "Son," and  Holy Spirit. Next question--How they are related to each other?

First, Who is the Father?

He’s the One and Only God. He’s the Sovereign, the Almighty of the universe. The One above all others. He has no equal, no rival. He is often pictured as the “Old Man of the Universe,” with white hair and glasses. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit are all equal in the Godhead. The Father is the leader of the Triumbriate.

God Ruling His Universe. He Reigns Supreme and All-Capable with No Equal, No Rival

Father, Son, Holy Spirit--Who is the "Son"?

The “Son” is Jesus Christ. Let me be clear. Jesus is called “Son of God” not because he is a biological Son, but because He is a spiritual and figurative son. Theologians have spent thousands of words hashing this out.

Let’s skip the theology and get to the concept. In English, we say, “Like Father, like son.” The meaning is the Son is like his Father in every possible way. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God., as the New Living Translation tells us. (Colossians 1;15).

We are familiar with these types of expressions. We say, "he’s a son of the wilderness," to mean he’s an outdoorsman. In a cartoon, Ollie is dressed like an Arab and is called a "son of the East." When I was growing up, a wild neighbor boy was called "a son-of a-gun."

This is not a foreign or hard-to-understand concept. Let’s try another phrase. To say “he’s a chip off the old block.” This means he’s just like his dad.

And that’s the reason Christ is called “the Son of God” in the Bible.

Jesus called God His “Father.” This is not a biological term. In other words, the Father did not “sire” Jesus or have a woman to give birth to a son named Jesus. Mohamed, way back in the 600’s AD understood the term as biological, but that is an error. It is NOT the Christian concept.  Muslims even today, repeat the error of Mohammed.

Jesus is known as "the Son of God" because He is just like His Father God in every way. He is God--the Pre-emanate One, united with the Father. 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--Here's the "Son"---the visible image of the invisible Father

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Ok, 'most everyone has some idea about the Father and about the “Son.” But who is the Spirit? Ask around. You’ll get some wild answers about this Third Person of the Trinity.

Actually, the Holy Spirit is God and Jesus all rolled up into One.

How are each related to the others?

The Christian concept, made clear in each of the three famous creeds of the church, is that the Father, the Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit are all co-equal and co-eternal. Each is a Person with a will, an intellect, and emotions.

The following helps me to understand how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate--and I think it will help you too.

Which Person of the Godhead was most evident at the creation of the universe? Obviously, God the Father. But Jesus was there too according to the Bible. In John 1:2 we read He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come in being.

Also, don’t forget about the Holy Spirit. The book of Genesis includes this statement in the creation story, the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Also, in Genesis 1:26 we find Let Us make man in Our own image. 

So all three Persons of the Trinity were present and active at creation.

Who was salient at the cross? Obviously, Jesus was the principal character of the cross. He died for our sins. He was our substitute. But God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). And the Spirit of God was there too.

The Father was the principal character at creation. He gave way to the Son who became the center of the crucifixion story. Before departing to heaven, Jesus promised to send the Spirit. I will not leave you as orphans, He promised in John 14:18.

So which part of the Godhead is now salient in the management of the universe? Clearly, the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is the CEO, the Managing Director of God’s universe. He’s the Boss. He’s in charge. He’s the Chief Administrator of the universe!

Of course, this does not mean we lose sight of the Father or minimize the Son. We pray to them and talk with each of them. Each is Co-eternal and Co-equal and together they are all glorified.

Let’s dip into historical theology for a brief moment. Charles Ryrie of Dallas Theological Seminary writes in his notes about the Holy Spirit on page 1940 of his Study Bible: “Procession is an attempt [by earlier theologians] to describe the eternal relationship between the Spirit and the other two Persons of the Trinity. He proceeded from them eternally and without any dividing or change in God’s nature. John 15:26 expressly says the Spirit proceeds from the Father, while the idea of His proceeding from the Son also comes from such verses as Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:9, and John 16:7."

I once visited with a woman who told me that she could tell the voice of the Father when He spoke and the voice of Jesus when He spoke. If so, she was more capable than I! I make no claim to differentiate between the whispers of the Godhead.

Strangely enough, the Chief Admin of the Universe is delegating some of His authority to the church. That includes you and me.

For emphasis I repeat: 

The Father was the principal character at creation. He gave way to the Son who became the center of the crucifixion story. Before departing to heaven, Jesus promised to send the Spirit. I will not leave you as orphans, He promised in John 14:18.

So which part of the godhead is now salient in the management of the universe? Clearly, the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is the CEO, the Managing Director of God’s universe. He’s the Boss. He’s in charge. He’s the Chief Administrator of the universe! And He's a real Person Who talks, listens to you and feels with you.

At this juncture, this vaporous cloud below may be a better picture of the CEO of the universe than the likeable young man wearing overalls. It doesn't seem quite right to picture a 20-year-old as the Supreme CEO of the Universe, does it?

So I placed my usual icon of the Spirit (the likeable 20-year-old-wearing-overalls) beneath the nebulous cloud. Perhaps the young-Person-in-working-attire should be portrayed in the cloud. After all, who can converse with a cloud? 

The Third Person of the Triune Godhead, the Holy Spirit, Reigns Supreme Over the Entire Creation

Icon of the Holy Spirit: He talks, He listens, He advises. He is practical and a hard-working HELPER for us.

Behold--the current Managing CEO of the Universe! He's wearing overalls and He's working for you and me. And He's Good! Very Good! . . . All the Time!

He's always pointing UP. Pointing Up to Jesus, the Pre-eminent One Who died for our sins, Who baptizes with the Spirit, and Who's coming back as Judge of the living and dead.