There are some churches that teach the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are NOT three separate and distinct living beings, but are all one and the same person. What does the Bible say?

   The Bible reports that when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven, and the Father in heaven said concerning Jesus, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21,22). That passage clearly speaks of three separate and distinct beings: Jesus on earth, the Spirit descending, and the Father speaking from heaven. How can this passage be explained if the Father, Son and Spirit are all the same person?

   Some have tried to answer with: "A person can be both a father and a son at the same time." Yes, I myself am a father in relation to one person (my son) and a son in relation to another person (my father); but how can I be BOTH a father and son in relation to the same person- especially if that person is me?! Impossible. Yet, when people argue that Jesus and the Father (and don't forget, the Spirit too) are one and the same person, they make Jesus BOTH His own Father and His own Son!

   But some will ask, "Didn't Jesus say: 'I and My Father are one?'" Yes, and Jesus also explained how He meant that. The Bible says that when Jesus prayed to His Father (note: NOT to Himself) on behalf of His disciples, He said, "...that they all may be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us;...that they may be one, just as We are one, I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in UNITY..." (John 17:21-23). Jesus' prayer was that Christians be one (united) just as He AND His Father are. In no way was Jesus saying that He and the Father were one and the same person.

   If it is taught where you worship that the Father, Son and Spirit are all one and the same person, then ask your teachers to explain why Jesus said: He was NOT alone (John 8:16, 29; 16:32); He did NOT send Himself (John 8:42); the doctrine He spoke was NOT His, but His who sent Him (John 7:16); and the Spirit was another Comforter (John 14:16, 17; 16:7).