This study begins with our old friend Abraham who one day lifted up his eyes and noticed three men standing by him and he ran to meet them (plural). The Biblical terms applied to the details of this event insinuate that through this meeting with Yahweh, Abraham somehow became familiar with the plurality of God’s persona. Abraham spoke to these three “men” as if they were only one individual. He said, “My Lord (Adoni – in the singular form), if now I have found favour in thy (singular) sight, pass not away, I pray thee (singular), from thy (singular) servant” (Gen 18:3). This Biblical event from Abraham’s life is the first occasion in which a human being speaks to God Almighty as if He were a trinity of personalities!

Through this study we will examine the three-ness of the One God whom we serve.

Biblical words that occur only 3 times always refer in some way to a Divinely perfect matter:

1. Eph 3:19 “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

2. Eph 4:13 “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”

3. Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”

1. Mark 14:36 “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee”

2. Rom 8:15 “whereby we cry, Abba, Father”

3. Gal 4:6 “the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”

1. Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

2. Acts 2:14 “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them” (notice vs 13 the word “said” is a different word)

3. Acts 26:25 “I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness”

1. Luke 1:79 to guide our feet into the way of peace.

2. 1 Thess 3:11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you

3. 2 Thess 3:5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God

1. Col 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”

2. Rom 1:20 “even his eternal power and Godhead” (Key Scripture of study “understood by the things that are made” – Use the natural to understand the “Godhead”

3. Acts 17:29 “We ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device”

God is one; yet, He chooses to reveal Himself in three aspects, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7). The Bible clearly emphasizes that, “these three are one!”

Three is the representation of the cube! X³ or we would say, “X cubed.”

The cube clearly has three separate and distinct aspects,

which we label as three dimensions!

Keep picture of Cube in Mind!

The three-fold expression of a concept is generally considered as divinely complete. The number three points us to what is real, essential, perfect substantial, complete, and divine. Three times the Seraphim cry “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Is 4:3); this is true also of the living creatures as recorded in the 4th chapter of the Book of Revelation.

On the third day of creation, the land rose up out of the water as Christ also rose up from the grave; therefore, three is also a number for resurrection. We see the same thing in the life of Jonah who was in the belly for three days.

Three is replete in the Bible:

• Jesus was crucified at the third hour;

• There were three crosses on Calvary

• For three hours after the crucifixion, darkness covered the land;

• At the 9^th hour, 3³ the Son cried out twice, “My God, My God;”

• There are three witnesses on the earth, “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (1 John 5:8);

• Three times during the temptation Jesus said, “it is written;”

• Jesus raised three persons from the dead;

• He holds three offices; Prophet, Priest, and King;

• Three saw him transfigured

• Three times did a voice speak from heaven:

  • Matt 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;”

  • Matt 17:5, “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him;”

  • John 12:28, “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again;”

• Hebrews records three appearings of Jesus:

  • Heb 9:24, “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God”

  • Heb 9:26, “but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”

  • Heb 9:28, “unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time;”

• God sealed his covenant with Abraham through three animals each three years old; these together with the two birds, the dove and the pigeon formed five as a symbol of free grace on the part of God;

• It took three days for Israel to be completely separated from Egypt, “let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert;” (Ex 5:3);

• Three things testified to the divine goodness of the land (see Numb 13:23)

  • grapes

  • figs

  • pomegranates

• The River Jordan river was parted on three separate occasions:

  • Joshua 4

  • 1 Kings 2:8

  • 1 Kings 2:14

• Both the tabernacle and the temple had three parts

  • The Court

  • The Holy Place

  • The Sanctuary (Most Holy Place)

• The Old Testament is divided into three divine sections

  • The Law

  • The Prophets

  • The Writings (Psalms)

• Three marks completeness of people groupings:

  • Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

  • Shem, Ham, and Japheth

  • Gershom, Kohath, and Merari

  • Saul, David, and Solomon

  • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

  • Peter, James, and John

• The three gifts of Grace are mentioned five (grace) times:

  • Faith

  • Hope

  • Love

• There is a three-fold nature of temptation (1 John 2:16):

  • “the lust of the flesh”

  • “the lust of the eyes”

  • “and the pride of life”

• Humanity battles three great enemies:

  • The world

  • The flesh

  • The devil

• There is a three-fold nature of man, (1 Thess 5:23)

  • Spirit

  • Soul

  • Body

• The Apostle John compared God to three elements:

  • God is Love (1 John 4:8)

  • God is Light (1 John 1:5)

  • God is Spirit (John 4:24)

The first three books of the Bible reveal God’s various aspects to us: in Genesis we observe the sovereignty of God giving life to all things – The Father; in Exodus we observe the oppressor and the deliverer – The Son; and, in Leviticus we observe The Holy Spirit prescribing, and ordering, and empowering the people for Divine worship.

Examples from the natural digits 1,2, & 3

Let’s take the first three digits 1, 2, and 3 and discover some very interesting qualities from each of them. We can begin with the first digit “1.” When we square the digit or multiply it by 1 it remains 1! 1 X 1 = 1. Likewise when we cube 1 it still remains 1.

(1 X 1 X 1) = 1 Just like the One God, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deut 6:4). So too, the digit one always remains one! Digit “1” can be compared with God who expresses himself in three dimensions yet always one.

N * 1 = 1

What about the 2^nd digit?

While “one” affirms that there is no other like this one, “two” expresses there is a difference or a division from the first one. The difference can be either for good or for bad; therefore, the context of two is always important and required for clarity!

The second act of creation was the introduction of another element – Light; immediately produced a difference and a division, “and God divided the light from the darkness” (Gen 1:4). The scripture shows that the discernible quality of the second (2^nd) day was division, “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so” (Gen 1:7).

In God’s economy two definitely does show a difference or division from just one. However, two can beautifully show a complete union or unity! We see this in the marriage, “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh” (Matt 19:6); also, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh” (Eph 5:31). Obviously, this all comes from the Book of Genesis where we find that God joined the man and the woman, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen 2:24).

The beauty of the two cleaving together is expressed as the individual is told to cleave to his God, “That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life” (Deut 30:20).

So we discover that Biblically, two either expresses unity or division!

Jesus Chirst is universally recognized as the second person of the Godhead; His words through the prayer the night of the betrayal express that special relationship, “that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:22). In fact, Jesus articulated his unity with the Father very plainly, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). So clearly, the digit “2” is the digit for Jesus Christ.

2 =

Unlike one, the digit two can be squared to become 2² = 4

Similarly, 2 can be cubed and become 8.

2³ = 8

Notice how “8”, as expressed in the single cube (left) is a “new beginning” in shape and form from the original cube (right).

The two shapes are different; yet they are the same! In the same fashion, the Book of Hebrews teaches that the Son holds a likeness with His the Father,

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Heb 1:3).

What about the 3^rd digit:

Three is a number required for shape. Two points cannot possibly form a plane. Two straight lines cannot possibly enclose any space. Three lines are necessary to form a plane figure; and three dimensions are necessary to form a solid.

As we have already observed three is the symbol of the cube. Three stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete and entire.

Consider the following:

• Omniscience, Omnipresence, & Omnipotence

• Past, Present, & Future

• Thought, Word, & Deed

• Animal, Vegetable, & Mineral

The Bible teaches that the Tabernacle of Moses built had a Most Holy Place. In Ex 26:15-16, we learn the height of the Most Holy Place, “And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.

• This reveals that the height of the tabernacle was 10 Cubits. That makes the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place a perfect cube! Notice the dimensions below:

• The Temple later built by Solomon around 960 B.C. also had a Most Holy Place and this place was a perfect cube also! 1 Kings 6:19-21 says, “And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

• Why would God want the Most Holy Place of both the Tabernacle and the Temple to be the shape of a perfect cube?

Let’s notice another apparent cube from the Scripture; this is the New Jerusalem which comes down from God out of Heaven, Rev 21:16, “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.”

Three can be squared and cubed:

(3²) = 9 and (3³) = 27

Both nine and twenty-seven are Biblically significant numbers.

The Bible is built on patterns of 27:

• 27 Books in the New Testament

• 27 Letters in the Greek Alphabet

• 22 Letters in the Hebrew Alphabet plus 5 (final form letters) for a total of 27 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet!

The trinity (3) cubed has 27 items

When we search out the meaning of numbers relating to God we first realize that the first three digits 1,2, and 3 represent the Godhead! In mathematical circles especially those who are Christian; there is a function known as the trinity function. The trinity function is used to unveil the number in a scriptural sense!

The trinity function is defined as follows:

abc –––––––becomes––––– a³ + b³ + c³

pre-image Godly image

Our best example of the trinity function is found in a number used in, John 21:11 “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken”

When we apply the trinity function to 153 we get 1³ + 5³ + 3³

which becomes 1 + 125 + 27

which becomes 153

which means the number resurrects itself!

This is the only known number that resurrects itself!

We can apply the trinity function to each of the first three digits to discover their Godly image.

Eight is the biblical number which signifies “new beginnings.” God created the natural world so that it is replete with a pattern of seven elements which biblically indicate completeness. Have you ever seen a double rainbow? There are seven colors in a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The repeat of the first color red indicates a new beginning. Likewise in music, there are seven notes in an octave (the term for eight notes). We commonly relate to the notes as “do,” “re,” “mi,” “fa,” “so,” “la,” and “ti.” The repeat of the first note “do,” indicates a new beginning. There are seven days in a week. We know their pagan names as Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The repeat of the first day, Sunday, indicates a new beginning.

The concept of the eighth representing a new beginning to God and where God’s glory is manifest is very important. Eight souls were saved out of the flood of Noah to make a new beginning for humanity on the earth. The waters of God’s flood judgment came on the eighth day, “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth” (Gen 7:10). The flood Judgment of God on the earth in the days of Noah is definitely associated with eight. The most important event of mankind, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, occurred at the beginning of the eighth day. We will recall that early that Sunday morning as the High Priest lifted-up the wave sheaf, Jesus simultaneously ascended to the Father. This was certainly a new beginning for mankind. Even through His name, Jesus represents the epitome of a new beginning. Greek numerals were identified as characters of the Greek alphabet during the writing of the New Testament. That is the Greek letter “alpha” (a) was always equivalent to 1, and the Greek letter “beta” (b) was equivalent to 2 up through “omega” (w) which was equivalent to 800, etc. The name Jesus appears in the Greek as follows: Ihsouj. The numerical value of the (I) = 10, the numerical value of the (h) = 8, the numerical value of the (s) = 200, the numerical value of the (o) = 70, the numerical value of the (u) = 400, and the numerical value of the (j) = 200. Therefore 10+8+200+70+400+200 = 888; the epitome of a new beginning!

Let’s notice what happens with Jesus’ number or 888 when we apply the trinity function to it:

888  1536  369  972  1080  513  153 this means that 153 is the image of 888

The words “the Holy Spirit of God” only occur one time; we find them in, Eph 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God.” The Greek word “the” is the definite article, “ho” meaning that this is not just any or “a” spirit but this is the one and only or the one specific spirit of God!

The point is that the Greek words create a specific number that is meaningful to us. 1080 happens to be the product of 27 times 40!

This means that 27 or 3³ shows up once again! Let’s consider something else that scientists and mathematicians have discovered. Instead of writing 1 X 2 X 3, scientists use the expression “3!,” which is expressed as “factorial 3.”

Let’s take a look at the first five (grace) factorial numbers:

1! = 1 = 1

2! = 1 X 2 = 2 3 The sum of 1! and 2! is 3, the number of the 3^rd person of the God head or Holy Spirit.

3! = 1 X 2 X 3 = 6 (# man); secondly, notice that the sum of 1! + !2 + 3! = 9 The number of the gifts of the Holy Spirit or 3²

4! = 1 X 2 X 3 X 4 = 24 (# of elders seated around the throne of God in Heaven)

5! = 1 X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5 = 120 (# of original disciples who received the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost for the Church.)

153 (Celestial # of Jesus working through the Holy Spirit. It relates to converts or the fish in the net.)

Let’s notice that when adding up numbers, 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17 = 153 we get the interesting number!

= prime numbers or numbers divisible only by themselves and one. Note that 17 is the 8^th (New Beginning) prime number.

Mathematics has discovered some amazingly interesting properties regarding triangles: