Bible Quick Notes
“The Trinity”
An Easy Practical Guide to Biblical Doctrine
The Trinity
The Mystery
There’s a lot being said about God’s nature and character through social media.
Here are some attempts using popular merchandise.
These are just some of the clever ways people try to describe God. And while they are nice and cute, they do little to help our understanding of God, especially concerning the doctrine of the Trinity.
Out of all the doctrines, the Trinity has caused the most confusion. The doctrine says that God is one and yet eternally exists in three persons.
This has had people as far back as the first century scratching their heads, being unable to, or not wanting to, fathom its reality, thus dismissing Christianity as a whole.
Others view teaching the Trinity as irrational, going so far as questioning Jesus’s sanity, saying He had schizophrenia when He prayed to Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Unfortunately, they don’t get it.
The Trinity is neither irrational nor impossible. It may be beyond the reach and scope of our complete understanding, but then how can finite human beings with limited brain capacity understand an infinite God with unlimited capability?
Even the Lord tells us about our shortcomings in this area.
“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Understanding God’s nature goes beyond our ability to understand, and that’s because we know of no other being like God. Therefore, it is called a mystery because a mystery is something that is bigger than our minds can take in.
However, just because it is a mystery shouldn’t stop us from thinking and exploring its possibility. The mystery of the Trinity invites us to come and study and partake of the biblical revelation found within God’s word, the Bible.
This is what a group of Christians in the first century did. They were called Bereans because they lived in the city of Berea, an area of northern Greece.
When Paul brought the gospel message to them, it says they searched to see if Paul taught according to what the Bible said.
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:10-11 New International Version, or NIV)
The Bereans believed that if God’s word didn’t say it, then neither they nor anyone else should teach it.
However, before we dig into this doctrine of the Trinity to see if it is biblical or a religious fantasy, we should first look at its importance.
The Importance
The concept of the Triune God, or Trinity, is one of the foundational teachings of Christianity and considered the bedrock of the Christian faith because it shows the person and deity of Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human.
Why is it important?
First, if the doctrine of the Trinity isn’t true, then a person’s salvation is at stake. If Jesus were just a human being, then, like the rest of us, He would have inherited the sinful nature of Adam.
The Bible says that there is no human being who has ever been without sin.
“For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
Further, if Jesus isn’t fully God, if Jesus is a created being, then He could never have offered Himself as that perfect sinless sacrifice John the Baptist declares.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)
If Jesus isn’t fully God and didn’t die as that perfect sinless sacrifice for all humanity, then all of us would still be in our sins, and thus forever separated from God.
Second, if the doctrine of the Trinity isn’t true, then salvation wouldn’t be by faith; rather, it would be by works, which would make Jesus a liar when He used God’s holy name, saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
Jesus also said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
If Jesus isn’t God as He said, then how can we trust Him when He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
It is with this truth that Jesus is God, that the Apostle Paul said that salvation is a matter of faith, not works.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Third, if the doctrine of the Trinity isn’t true, then Christianity is a farce, and our praying to and worshipping Him does no good.
This was Paul’s conclusion.
“And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. … And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)
Hopefully, we see why it’s important to get this doctrine straight.
The Meaning
Nowhere in the Bible is the word “Trinity” found, but that shouldn’t rule out its teaching or reality
As an example, the word “theocracy” isn’t in the Bible either. Theocracy means “rule of God.” It is used to describe Israel’s form of government. Israel was a nation ruled by God.
Yet even though the word “theocracy” isn’t in the Bible, the Bible teaches it.
When the people asked Gideon to rule over them after His resounding victory over the Midianites, Gideon said, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you.” (Judges 8:23)
It’s the same for the word, “Trinity.” But there is even more evidence for the Trinity than there is for theocracy.
In the New Testament, there is a comparable term used, “Theotetos,” which is the word for “Godhead.”
“For in Him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)
The word, “Trinity,” comes from the Latin word, “Trinitas,” which means the number three. It stands for “three in the unity of one,” or “Tri-Unity.” The word is used to express the unity of God existing in three distinct persons, also known as the Godhead; three co-eternal, co-equal persons, each having the same substance, but with a distinct existence: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In his book, “Systematic Theology,” Wayne Grudem defined the Trinity.
“God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.” [1]
The doctrine of the Trinity is the worship of One God manifested in three distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are each equally God in their being, power, holiness, and eternality. God is one in essence, and three in persons.
To be clear, the Trinity is not three gods in one, but one God manifested in three persons
While this may sound confusing and more like a contradiction, what’s important to understand is that we’re not saying God is three persons and only one person at the same time; rather, the Trinity says that there are three persons in one nature, which is God, and while this may go beyond our reason, it doesn’t go against reason.
The Oneness of Unity
The Bible makes it clear there is only one God. We see the oneness of God in His own statements.
“That you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me.” (Isaiah 43:10)
“Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me.” (Isaiah 45:21)
This oneness is also the very heart of the Jewish faith.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Yet, within this declaration of God’s oneness, we see the plurality of the one God.
First, it is in the Hebrew word used for “one.” It is the Hebrew word, “echad.”
There are two words in the Hebrew language for the word “one.” They are “echad,” and “yahid.”
“Yahid” means absolute oneness or singleness, leaving no room for any meaning other than one and one alone. But “echad” brings with it the idea of many that make up one, or a composite unity.
We see several instances of this within the Bible.
First is God’s plan for marriages where the husband and wife will be one, “echad,” flesh (Genesis 2:24). Here are two distinct individuals comprising a unity of one in marriage.
There is also the time when the spies came out of the land of Canaan with one “echad” cluster of grapes, or many grapes that make up the one cluster (Numbers 13:23).
The creation account is another place where we find a composite unity when it says that one day comprises two distinct parts, evening and morning.
“God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first (echad) day.” (Genesis 1:5)
Next, this plurality in oneness is in the plural language used describing God. We see it when the Lord recounts His creation of humanity.
“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26a)
Plural language is being used, but who is God speaking to? God is not speaking to or getting advice from the angels or any other created being, because there is no other created being made in the image and likeness of God.
In another example, we see the Lord addressing Himself in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Lord, who was upon the earth, rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord, who was up in heaven. Here are two individuals described as “Lord.”
“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.” (Genesis 19:24)
Here, and in our passage of God’s creation of humanity, God is speaking amongst Himself in unity, which is the whole idea behind the description of Godhead. But how can we be sure that the one true God exists in the three personages: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
The Godhead being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is in the Apostle John’s first letter.
“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7)
The designation, “the Word,” is a name given to Jesus by the Apostle John. In John’s gospel, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
We know this references Jesus because of what John says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14a)
The Godhead being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is also in the Great Commission given by Jesus.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
Now, what many people miss when giving this as a proof text of the Trinity, or one God in three persons, is that Jesus didn’t say to baptize in the “names of,” or the plural, which would mean that they are each separate and distinct and not one. Instead, Jesus said, “In the name of,” or the singular. Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one.
The Apostle Peter also gives this formula to the Godhead. In his greeting to the church, Peter presents the most condensed outline of the salvation process by identifying the Trinity in the work of our salvation.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)
But this idea of Trinity, God existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is not a New Testament concept only; it is also in what the prophet Isaiah said in the Old Testament where the Father sends the Messiah and the Holy Spirit.
“Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together.” (Isaiah 48:12-13)
We see this is the Lord God speaking by His reference of the creation account, saying, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1).
Further, the Lord wants to make sure we know this isn’t the prophet Isaiah or anyone else speaking as He said, “I, even I, have spoken.” (Isaiah 48:15a)
And then comes this statement made by the Messiah revealing the Trinity: one God manifested in three Persons. “Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me.” (Isaiah 48:16)
In the Hebrew language, this last sentence reads, “The Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit.”
What is even more mind-boggling about this passage, which has confounded the skeptics, is that the Lord who is speaking, who identifies as the First and the Last, the Creator of heaven and earth, is the Messiah, Jesus, whom the Lord God sends along with the Holy Spirit.
The Godhead
Now that we’ve established the concept or idea of the Trinity, that is one God in three persons, can we say without hesitation that each one is God?
There are complete chapters, not to mention books, written on this topic, so this will only be an overview along with proof texts from the Bible.
In the prayer Jesus taught the disciple, known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus begins by saying, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” (Matthew 6:9)
The word “hallowed” in the Greek language means to make holy, and only God is holy. Not only is “holy” God’s name, but it is also His dwelling place.
“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place.’” (Isaiah 57:15a)
Isaiah talks about God as our Father, who is both Lord and Redeemer.
“You, O Lord, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.” (Isaiah 63:16)
In His second greeting to the Corinthian church, Paul identifies not only the Father as God but also Jesus as Lord.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3)
There is little controversy surrounding the Father as God.
Concerning the coming Messiah, the Bible says that He will be none other than the Lord God Himself.
In describing the coming Messiah, the prophet Isaiah uses names to describe Him that are given only to God.
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
As a sign to the people, Isaiah said that the Messiah would be called “Immanuel,” which means, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:23).
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord gives the description and name to the Messiah, a name only given to the Lord God Himself.
“In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23:6)
The name, “The Lord our Righteousness,” in Hebrew is, “Jehovah Tsidkenu.” Not only does the Lord call the coming Messiah by His holy name, “Jehovah,” which He said He would never give to anyone else (Isaiah 42:8), but He also gives Him the name and title of righteousness, and only the Lord is righteous.
Both Psalm 14:3 and Romans 3:10 confirm that no human being can be righteous, which would then show that the Messiah is God.
In his gospel, John brings out the deity of Jesus, whom he identifies as the “Word.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4)
The reason we know this speaks of Jesus is what John says in verse 14.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Further, Jesus, being the begotten Son of God, the Lord said, “You are my son; today I have become your father.” (Psalm 2:7 NIV)
So there could be no mistake. Jesus declares Himself to be God by calling Himself by God’s holy name.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
This was the very name God gave when Moses asked, “Who shall I say sent me?”
The Lord replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” … “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)
There are two verses that declare the Holy Spirit as being fully God.
The first is when Peter assesses the actions of two church members, Ananias and Sapphira, who lied about a piece of property they sold and declared they had given the entire amount to the church.
“Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4)
The second are the two verses about our bodies. The first being God’s holy temple, and second, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? … Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
We also see the three key attributes of God being attributed to the Holy Spirit.
Omnipresent: everywhere present
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7)
David then lists heaven, hell, the morning sky, and the depths of the sea, and that the Holy Spirit is present everywhere (Psalm 139:8-9).
Omnipotence: all powerful
“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
Omniscience: all knowing
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. … no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)
Therefore, the Holy Spirit is a person, not some impersonal force.
There are many aspects of a person’s personality the Bible attributes to the Holy Spirit, like His ability to teach (John 14:26), He convicts sin (John 16:7), He is grieved and has feelings (Ephesians 4:30), He also has an intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-12), and a will (1 Corinthians 12:11).
Analogies
There have been many ways people have tried to explain the Trinity through analogies so that others can grasp hold of this doctrine. While each falls short, they add to our understanding and are helpful.
An Egg
An egg has three parts: shell, whites, and yoke, yet it remains an egg. The problem is that when taken separately; the shell is not the egg, neither are the whites or yoke.
Water
Water, or H20, exists in three forms: liquid, solid, and gas, while retaining the same properties. The problem is that they do not exist simultaneously.
Mathematical Equation
1 x 1 x 1 = 1
A Human Being
God created human beings in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). Since God created us in His image and likeness, which as we have seen is being the Trinity, it only makes sense God created us in three parts as well: body, soul, and spirit.
The Economy of the Trinity
The Economy of the Trinity is the ordering of activities within the Godhead. While the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in nature and attributes, they differ in their function.
To illustrate, let’s look at two of God’s major functions as it regards humanity.
Father: The Father spoke the creative words to bring the universe into existence.
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3)
Jesus Christ: In John’s gospel, we see Jesus as the “Word,” and the one that took the Father’s words of creation and created.
“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:3)
Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit was also active in sustaining and manifesting God’s presence within creation.
“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2)
To summarize the economy of the Trinity as it involves creation, it was the Father who spoke the words of creation. Jesus created what the Father spoke. And the Holy Spirit maintains what the Father spoke, and Jesus created.
Father: The Father planned our redemption and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to accomplish it.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Jesus Christ: Jesus obeyed and accomplished the Father’s plan of redemption.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38)
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
Holy Spirit: Both the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to maintain, bring to completion, and forever seal what the Father planned and what Jesus accomplish upon the cross.
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
To summarize the economy of the Trinity as it involves redemption, it was God the Father who planned and sent His Son, Jesus, to accomplish our salvation. Jesus came and accomplished what the Father had planned through His death and resurrection. And it was the Holy Spirit who sealed the deal.
And so, while the Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit are equally God, and there is only one God, each has a specific function within the Godhead.
Conclusion
Belief in the Trinity all boils down to a matter of faith
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Although we cannot see God visibly, by faith and through God’s word, we can know who He is. Faith believes God is just as His word describes Him as being. It is a conviction of His existence that we perceive as real what we cannot perceive through our natural senses. We cannot hold or see God, but we know the reality of His presence.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
From our study, we can conclude, and by faith, believe, is that God is one, and that God is a Trinity. God exists as three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that each one is equally God.
One God in three persons!
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)
[1] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Inter-Varity Press, Leicester, England, 1994, page 226
