Where is the Third Person?

Portions excerpted from "Where is the Third Person?" by David Clayton.

Where is the Third Person in the following Bible verses?

John 14:23 Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Luke 10:22 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

John 17:23 I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.

If we are to fully accept all that we have examined thus far, we would have to conclude that the godhead consists of three POWERS, but only two BEINGS. How can we explain that? Ellen White’s Son, Willie, had an explanation for it which may shed some light on the matter.

“The statements and the arguments of some of our ministers in their effort to prove that the Holy Spirit was an individual as are God the Father and Christ, the eternal Son, have perplexed me and sometimes they have made me sad. One popular teacher said ‘We may regard Him, (the Holy Spirit) as the fellow who is down here running things.’

“My perplexities were lessened a little when I learned from the dictionary that one of the meanings of personality, was Characteristics. It is stated in such a way that I concluded that there might be personality without bodily form which is possessed by the Father and the Son.

“There are many Scriptures which speak of the Father and the Son and the absence of Scripture making similar reference to the united work of the Father and the Holy Spirit or of Christ and the Holy Spirit, has led me to believe that the spirit without individuality was the representative of the Father and the Son throughout the universe, and it was through the Holy Spirit that they dwell in our hearts and make us one with the Father and with the Son....” (Letter by Willie White, April 30, 1935)

While Ellen White has made statements which in the eyes of some, seem to support the idea of a Trinitarian God, a careful comparison of various statements made by her leads to the conclusion that her seemingly Trinitarian statements were not intended to say what many are concluding that they say, today. One of the problems is that most people either do not have access to many of her writings, or else do not study them carefully along with the Bible, seeking to harmonize both. Here are some statements concerning the holy spirit which are in perfect harmony with the Bible and which help to clarify other statements made by her.

1.The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Saviour:

"The sap of the vine, ascending from the root, is diffused to the branches, sustaining growth and producing blossoms and fruit. So the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Saviour, pervades the soul, renews the motives and affections, and brings even the thoughts into obedience to the will of God, enabling the receiver to bear the precious fruit of holy deeds." –-Acts of The Apostles, p. 284

2.The Holy Spirit is the life of Christ:

“The Indwelling of the Spirit. —The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. We do not see Christ and speak to Him, but His Holy Spirit is just as near us in one place as in another. It works in and through every one who receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of the Spirit reveal the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith” –-SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, p. 1112

3.The Holy Spirit is the presence of Christ Himself:

“Cumbered with humanity Christ could not be in every place personally, therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them to go to His Father and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself, divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit.” –-Manuscript Release #1084

The truth is, there are times when the holy spirit is referred to as “he” in the Scriptures. Why is this so? The reason is that the Holy Spirit is not just a force, but is actually the very real presence and personality of both the Father and the Son.

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

John 14:23 Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 14:18 "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you."

God the Father and Jesus Christ are with us, but not in a form where we can see, or touch them, but in an invisible, intangible, but very real spiritual form. Because this is the presence of God, it is holy. Because it is in a spiritual form, it is spirit. Hence, The Holy Spirit. This is the only explanation of the godhead which will fit all the facts. God has a Son, and He has a Spirit.

The Son proceeded from God:

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me."

But the Holy Spirit proceedeth from God:

John 15:26 But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me.

The Son is a separate Being from the Father, while the Holy Spirit is an extension of the Father, by means of which He is present everywhere.

Psalms 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

"All things Christ received from God, but He took to give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings; through the beloved Son, the Father’s life flows out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all. And thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is complete, representing the character of the great Giver, the law of life." –-Desire of Ages, p. 21

The Father dwells in His Son by His spirit. Thus, they are one. Then the Son dwells in us by that same spirit, so we also are one in God, as He and His Son are one:

John 17:21-23 That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.

"Jesus is seeking to impress upon them the thought that in giving his Holy Spirit he is giving to them the glory which the Father has given him, that he and his people may be one in God. Our way and will must be in submission to God’s will, knowing that it is holy, just, and good." –-Signs of The Times, 10-03-92

Ellen White says that there are three living persons in the godhead. At least, that is how the quote appears in present day editions of her writings. However, it is most interesting to note that in the original statement written in her own handwriting, Ellen White herself crossed out the word persons and replaced it with the word, personalities. Surely, it is evident that in her mind, there was a difference between a person and a personality. Her concept of the Holy Spirit was not properly described by the word person but rather by the word, personality. Let us note that a person may be said to have more than one personality. The term split personality is a popular one nowadays, referring to a person who has more than one way of expressing or revealing himself. This is exactly what Ellen White was saying when she stated that there were, not three persons, but three personalities in the godhead.

Ellen White also says that there is no Being in the universe apart from Jesus who can enter into the counsels of God. Assuming that Ellen White was not confused and contradicting herself, this must mean one of two things. Either,

a. The Holy Spirit is a Being, but is not able to enter into the counsels of God. This would mean that the Holy Spirit would be a lesser being than God, or,

b. The Holy Spirit is a person (personality), but not a Being. This is clearly the proper explanation.

As Willie White pointed out, the word person can be used to refer to a particular role of someone, or to the characteristics of an individual. In this sense, one individual may have more than one person-ality, The word person is not often used in this sense nowadays. Generally, today, it is used as a synonym for the word, being. However, 100 years ago when Ellen White wrote, “There are three living persons in the godhead…” the other usage of the word was evidently well understood, for it was she also who wrote,

“Christ the Word, the Only Begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,- one in nature, in character, and in purpose, - the only being in all the universe that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.” –-Great Controversy, p. 493