If you ask most Christians to explain the Trinity, they will probably use some kind of analogy. They might say that God is like:

 

 

An egg - The one egg is made up of three parts (shell, white and yolk)

 

 

 

A clover - The one clover is made up of three parts.

 

 

 

Cerberus – The monster with three heads.

 

 

 

 

We will see in the upcoming study that these analogies are very inadequate. The problem with analogies is that the Trinity is unique. There is no analogy, and so all attempts to use them fall short of truly describing the Trinity. Analogies do more harm than good. It is best to think of the Trinity in terms of the three following statements:

 

1. There is one God

2. The one God exists as three distinct, simultaneous persons (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit)

3. Each person is fully God

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One God

 

The Bible as a whole, both Old and New Testaments, teaches that there is only one true and living God. This belief is called monotheism (mono = one theos = god).

 

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

 

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. (Jeremiah 10:10)

 

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:5-7)

 

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (1Timothy 2:5)

 

At this point an objector may ask about the many references to other deities in the Bible. The Bible acknowledges that throughout time and place, people have believed in the existence of a countless number of gods. But consider what it has to say about them.

 

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. (Psalm 96:5)

 

They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. (Deuteronomy 32:17)

 

They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. (Psalm 106:37-38)

 

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. (Psalm 115:4-7)

 

If we deny the truth that there is only one true and living God, then we are left with the idea of tritheism. The three persons of the Trinity become three distinct gods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Distinct Persons

 

 

The one God of the Bible exists as three distinct persons (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Here we have the mysterious distinction between the oneness and the threeness of God. It is at this point that people can say some silly things.

 

The doctrine of the Trinity is not saying that 1 + 1 + 1 = 1

 

The church has used the terms ‘person’ and ‘being/nature/essence’ to rightly distinguish the threeness of God from the oneness of God.

 

The one being of God exists as three distinct persons. We could say that God is one ‘what’, but three ‘whos’. Therefore, God is not one in the same way He is three.

 

The personhood of each member of the Trinity means that each Person has a distinct center of consciousness. Thus they relate to other personally – the Father regards Himself as “I,” each while He regards the Son and Holy Spirit as “You.” Likewise the Son regards Himself as “I,” but the Father and the Holy Spirit as “You.” (Can you explain the doctrine of the Trinity and its biblical suport? available from http://www.desiringgod.org)

 

The distinction between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are seen in the following passages of Scripture.

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

 

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matthew 28:19)

 

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17)

 

Some groups have taught that the Holy Spirit is a force, rather than a person. Consider the following passages of Scripture. What indications of personhood do you see regarding the Holy Spirit?

 

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

 

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,… (Hebrews 3:7)

 

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)

 

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Corinthians 12:11)

 

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

 

If we deny that there are three distinct persons in the Godhead, we get the heresy known as modalism. This is the belief that God is one person who takes on different roles at different times. Sometimes He is the Father, and at other times He is the Son or the Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Equal Persons

 

The final statement that makes up our understanding of the Trinity is that each person is fully God. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God.

 

God is not to be thought of as divided into three parts. Rather, each person of the Trinity possesses all of the one divine essence. For instance, the Bible says of the Son, “In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

 

This means that the three Persons taken together are not to be regarded as a greater divine being than any one of the Persons viewed singly and also that any one of the Persons viewed singly is not to be regarded as a lesser divine being than when the three are viewed together. (R.L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998)

 

The deity of each person of the Trinity is seen in the following passages of Scripture.

 

The Father

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3)

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

 

The Son

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, see verse 14)

 

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:13)

 

The Holy Spirit

 

But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." (Acts 5:3-4)

 

Denying the equality of the three persons in the Godhead results in the heresy of Subordinationism.

 

There is a sense in which the Son and Holy Spirit are subordinate to the Father. The Bible presents the Father as the sender, and the Son and Spirit as the ones sent. But this subordination does not entail any superiority or inferiority. It is a subordination in function (or role) not in essence.