12/28/25 Weekly Bible Lesson: How Three Make One

Romans 8:12-27 

Background of Text — The Godhead is such a mind-boggling and magnificent concept! While we consider how three make one, we will not be trying to construct any new theology but simply taking what we know already from the Word and making application to our text. This passage helps us gain understanding of not only the work of the Godhead, but also how we, as adopted children, are acknowledged and confirmed by the Three. 

Romans 8:12-15 — These verses remind us that, as believers, we are not obligated to live by the flesh but have been given power through the Holy Spirit to reject sinful desires and put them to death. Receiving the Spirit of adoption empowers the Christian to cry out to God as “Father,” not out of fear, but with the assurance of being children and heirs of the Father. As adopted children, we are given a new identity that provides the freedom and assurance of the Christian’s place in God's family. 

8:16-17 — These verses teach that the Holy Spirit testifies with believers’ spirits that they are God’s children and, because of that, heirs of God. This leads to us being co-heirs with Christ, sharing in His glory after enduring present sufferings. This passage gives assurance to believers of our divine identity and eternal inheritance through our adoption by the Spirit. 

8:26-27 — The Holy Spirit helps us as believers in our spiritual weakness by interceding for us with unutterable groanings, even when we struggle within ourselves and are not sure how to pray. The Holy Spirit helps by interceding for us as Christians with “groanings too deep for words.” These are not necessarily physical groans and incoherent babbling but heartfelt, wordless expressions that cannot be put into a spoken language. 

To bring focus to the idea that three make one, we will be spending the rest of this lesson explaining how the Godhead works together for our good. This passage does not directly describe their nature, but it does express how the three play a specific role in the Christian’s life. 

The Spirit is involved in the Christians adoption.

He gives us freedom from fear and brings us into a deep, meaningful family relationship with our Abba, Father. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit and makes us certain we are God’s children. It is with the help of the Holy Spirit that we develop our new identity in Christ. We are assured of unconditional love and promised to be mutual sharers of the future inheritance. We will receive our reward of final redemption one day. The Spirit’s testimony is said to be our guarantee. Ephesians 1:14, “Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.” 

The Spirit gives testimony to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. The Spirit also speaks the truth of God’s Word. Along with that, He confirms our adoption into God’s family through faith in Christ. 

Children of God the Father is what we become and are called to be when we believe and are obedient to the Gospel message. John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” 

This is characterized by a loving, father-like relationship with God. It is also at this time that we become children of God and receive a new spiritual identity and attitude, as individuals adopted into God’s spiritual family through faith in Jesus Christ. As children, we are also heirs. This means that we have a right to the inheritance and blessings that the Father reserves for those who are His. 

Joint Heirs with Christ is the relationship we have as a Christian when we share in the future glory and all that belongs to Christ. Galatians 3:29, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.” 

This inheritance is not divided but is a single inheritance for the entire family of God, assuring believers of their secure future through Christ’s death and resurrection. The idea of being a co-heir suggests that we are on a shared journey with Christ. This might involve suffering with Christ, which leads to glorification with Him. To be an heir with Christ is to be a beloved child of God who has a rightful claim to all that God possesses and promises, all because of Jesus Christ’s work and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  

The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are three divinely different personalities with one common goal, mankind’s redemption. Romans 8:3-4, “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” 

In these two verses, we see the Father’s plan for the Son to bring us redemption and reconciliation, while the Spirit then assures our station as children and guides us in our daily walk for the Lord. This chapter gives us such a beautiful look at how three work together to become one. The three personalities of the Godhead are pleased to be joined in unity for one goal: the redemption of fallen children.