Thinking about the Trinity

Thinking about the Trinity 
Kevin James Bywater

Shortly after coming to faith in Jesus Christ (I am a former fifth-generation Mormon), I found myself engaged in numerous conversations with other students at my university. We talked of life and love, of sin and salvation. Sometimes our conversations delved deeply into theological detail and debate. It was during those first few years of my faith that I was introduced not only to the breadth and depth of the Holy Bible, but also to the history of the church and many of the great theological controversies. Some of these debates orbited the doctrine of the Trinity.

Without doubt, the doctrine of the Trinity is among the most distinctive Christian convictions. Some find it baffling while others have discovered a comforting grace, knowing that God is inherently relational. Certainly, God is great and beyond our full comprehension. Even so, through the gift of divine revelation, we are introduced to our Creator in ways and to depths otherwise unexpected and unknowable.

What exactly is the doctrine of the Trinity? In the briefest of terms, we affirm that there is only one God, and that this God is three persons. It is to this that Christians allude when speaking of God being ‘one in three’. Perhaps the most elegant summary of this conviction is found in the Athanasian Creed, where we read, ‘We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither dividing the substance, nor confounding [confusing] the persons’. But this deserves some explanation.

An essential affirmation of the Christian faith ismonotheism, the belief that there exists only one true God. This contrasts with polytheism, the belief that there are more gods than one. The Bible is unreservedly monotheistic, affirming in both the Old and New Testaments that there is only one true God(Deuteronomy 4:39; Isaiah 44:6-8; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

Another affirmation of our faith is that God is three persons. When combined with the oneness of God, we here can speak of tri-unity. It has been said that God is one what (God) and three whos (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Just as with monotheism, the conviction that God is three persons also arises from the Bible. While the deity of the Father may not be in question, some have wondered whether Jesus and the Holy Spirit are divine as well.

In the Bible we find that Jesus is called God (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1; 20:28; Titus 2:13), while at the same time being distinct and distinguished from the Father. At his incarnation (when he became a human being), Jesus took the form of a servant, though he later was exalted to his former glory (Philippians 2:9-11). Additionally, Jesus is said to be the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2, 10). Even his opponents understood his words to mean that he was identifying himself as God (John 10:33).

What of the Holy Spirit? Some suspect that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force rather than a personal being. However, the Spirit is a helper (John 14:16), a teacher (John 14:26), and a witness (John 15:26-27). He intercedes for God’s people (Romans 8:26), convicts the world of sin (John 16:7-14), and grants spiritual gifts as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). He speaks, commands, and uses personal pronouns of himself (Acts 13:2), and can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). Not only do we find these personal actions and attributes ascribed to the Spirit, but in lying to the Spirit, one lies to God (Acts 5:3-4). Along with the Son (John 1:1-3) and the Father (Genesis 1:1), the Spirit also is the Creator (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30).

Thus we see that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. They are three persons, not merely one person presenting himself in three different ways (which is an old error called modalism). Indeed, when Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke from heaven and the Spirit descended in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16), illustrating that they co-exist. Where there is communication there is community. We witness this triune relationship elsewhere as well (see, Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:34).

These biblical revelations are helpfully illustrated in this ancient triangular diagram where we find the affirmations and denials expressed in the Athanasian Creed we quoted above: the one God is three persons; while these three persons are distinct, they are not three gods.

In closing, there are several questions that often arise with the subject of the Trinity. I’ll address them every so briefly.

Isn’t the Trinity contradictory?

It would be if we were to say that God is three persons and is not three persons, or that God is one God and is not one God. Such statements cannot be pronounced without contradiction. But, again, a trinitarian conviction holds that there is one God who is three persons. No contradiction is found there.

Is the Trinity fully understandable?

Perhaps not, at least not yet. But this shouldn’t surprise us, for God is the greatest of all beings. Indeed, there are many mundane things in life that we don’t fully understand, so why should we be bother with not fully understanding God? What we can understand, however, are the revealed truths that there is one God, and that this God is three persons. How this is so may not be understood; that this is so can be affirmed.

Is the word “Trinity” in the Bible?

No, it isn’t. The term is an invention intended to summarize a rather large quantity of material that we find in the Bible. Divine revelation is very robust. At times it is helpful to find terms that summarize or summarily reference that larger quantity of material.

Is the Trinity in the Old Testament?

While not as pronounced as in the New Testament, we read in Genesis 1:26, ‘And God said, “Let us make man in our own image,”’ with no suggestion that God is speaking to angels (see, Isaiah 44:24). While there are some other intimations as well, it should not surprise us when God’s progressive revelation presents us with fuller understanding in the course of time.

Much more could be written (and has been written) on this grand subject. Even so, we may be thankful that our triune God is has revealed himself to us, that he is inherently relational, communicative, and loving. May we enjoy his gracious embrace.

For Further Reading

“The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity: An Outline Study,” by Robert M. Bowman, Jr.