So I've always been confused on the matter but never really reached out to ask and if I did, I would've still not understood it but the question is, you know how Jesus Christ talks to God, His father numerous times throughout the Holy Bible, well, is Jesus Christ talking to Himself? If Jesus Christ is God in human form and if He is talking to God, His Father, then isn't He conversing with Himself in two separate areas, one on Earth and one in Heaven? Please help me understand this.
Hi Joshua5,
Yes, it can be very confusing, but to simplify it: God is = one God in three Persons (i.e., the Trinity or Godhead). God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. So when God the Son (Jesus) was praying on earth, He was talking to His Father in heaven.
Here is an article on the Trinity that might help clarify things a bit more:
The Scriptures declare that there is only one God, who exists eternally in three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each Person within the Trinity is co-equal, co-powerful, co-eternal and 100% God, yet separate and distinct from one another. The Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit, the Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son; yet they are one God.
James R. White said, “It is vitally important that we recognize the difference between the words “Being” and “Person”...Being is what makes something what it is. Person is what makes someone who he or she is.” (Loving the Trinity, [Christian Research Journal, Volume 21/ Issue 4]).
There have been many attempts made over the years to describe the mysterious dynamic of the Trinity in a way that finite human minds can understand and comprehend. A helpful analogy on the topic can be found in the nature of our earthly sun. There is only one sun in the earth’s atmosphere, with only one visible manifestation of that single sun; yet it consists of three distinct elements: energy, heat and light.
- You cannot see the intense energy of the sun, but without the sun’s energy there would not be life on earth. In the same way, you cannot see God the Father and live, for He lives in unapproachable light; but without Him, life would not exist (1 Timothy 6:16; Genesis 1 and 2)
- You cannot see the heat which powerfully radiates from the sun, but you can personally feel it and see its effects upon the earth. In the same way, you cannot see the Holy Spirit, but you can see and feel the evidence and effects of His presence (John 3:5-8).
- You can see a physical, visible manifestation of the sun’s invisible energy and heat when you look up into the sky; it's an enormous bright light, held together by its own gravity. In the same way, Jesus Christ is the light of the world (John 8:12), the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and the radiance of His glory and exact representation of His nature, who upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).
Therefore, God is one God, yet He is manifested in three distinct Persons, each with their own specific role within the Trinity; the culmination of which we will not fully and completely understand until we see Him face to face in eternity. Therefore, because the Bible clearly teaches that God is a triune God, and because the truths of God’s Word are never dependent upon whether or not we understand them in order to be true, we accept them by faith regardless of our understanding, because, “God is not a man that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19).
