What we like to do is pigeon hole God. What do I mean by that? Well we read in Colossians Chapter 1 Verse 16, “Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory.”
We have this vision of Jesus rolling up His sleeves and getting to work while God the Father sits back like an approving parent watching what His child is accomplishing. Or we have the vision of a loving Father (Abba) ruling and reigning while the Son, who will be king when the Father passes away or relinquishes His leadership. That distinction was and never will be the case.
John 5:19-23 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. (NIV)
The scripture says that Jesus humbled Himself Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. When I read this I want to separate the Father and Son. What God did was become as sinful man, He was still fully God but yet fully human. Huh?
The Father, the Spirit and the Son are always working as one because they are one. How can we understand how this functions? There is always the essence of all three in all three. Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father”. Did He mean that He and the Father have the same color hair or eyes; that they are both 5’-11”? No, the nature, who they are in essence, is what Jesus the Son, God the Father and the Holy Spirit are.
There is only one occasion where there seems to have been a separation within the God head. That was at the cross. Matt. 27:46 At about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Many other translations use a variety of words in place of forsake: abandoned, left me alone, deserted me but no matter what words are used, there seems to have been a moment when there was some sort of separation.
The why of this separation is based on God’s holiness and the inability of holiness to dwell in association sin. How this separation took place, what that looked like, I have no clue. Please understand that this is my understanding of Jesus’ shout and that there are differing opinions on what exactly took place at that moment. But whether, as some suggest, Jesus was quoting Psalm 22 and the separation was only within Jesus’ humanity or there was an actual schism within the God head, there can be no doubt that Jesus perceived himself desolate, 100% alone.
Throughout history many sincere men have tried to rationally understand exactly what the God head looks like and how it functions. This quest is beyond our ability to comprehend. There are those who consider the Triune Godhead explanation a heresy. Yet in every case where the trinity is challenged the proponent is left with relegating Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit to an inferior position, a created position, a position that is inferior to God the Father. The text does not allow for this.
If Jesus is not coequal, coeternal, fully God how can you explain Jesus’ claims that He and the Father are one (of one essence), if you have seen me you have seen the Father or any of the other verses quoted above establishing the oneness of the Father and Son?
Colossians 1:15-17 Living Bible (TLB)
15 Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact, 16 Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. 17 He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together.