Trinity

The Trinity can be defined as follows: There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and co-equal persons that are the same substance but distinct in existence. This is a deep but beautiful topic knit throughout each fiber of the Word of God.

One aspect of Scripture that can raise some eyebrows is the concept of the Trinity. Do Christians worship one God or three? The Bible consistently points to the concept of the Trinity (without using the word Trinity). It can be defined in the following way: There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and co-equal persons that are the same substance. They are each distinct in their existence. Is it blowing your mind already?! 

We see the Trinity in Scripture as early as Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;”. The use of plural pronouns such as us and our show that it was not just God the Father at Creation. John confirmed this when he wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word is Jesus Christ. And in Genesis 1:2, we see the Spirit moving over the waters. This shows the oneness of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit from Genesis 1 into the New Testament. And we see the unity of the three at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16-17: “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Jesus was clearly full of the Spirit, yet He was also God in the flesh. No one other than God in the flesh could save us from our sins because He is the only One without sin. We see the equality of all persons of the Trinity throughout the Scriptures. Equality, meaning the same status, the same abundance of grace and mercy to give, the same justice, essentially, the same character. All are in agreement, and they work together flawlessly.

Let’s look at some examples showing the consistency and equality of the Trinity. 

In 1 John 5:7, we see that each person of the Trinity testifies about the others. It says, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” And during His ministry here on earth, Jesus, or the Word, spoke of the idea of having witnesses. In the setting of the courtroom, there must be two testimonies to prove a story true. He speaks to the religious leaders saying “I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me” (John 8:18). Then later in John 15:26, Jesus says that the “Spirit of truth” will also “testify of me.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit testify to the truth and word of the others. Going back to John 8, Jesus goes on to say that the Father has not left Him (John 8:29), and He rightly accuses the leaders of not knowing God because they do not know Him who is from God. Jesus uses the Name that God gave to Moses in Exodus 3 saying, “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM’” (John 8:58). Because of this claim of oneness with God, the religious leaders sought to kill Him. At His death, they said they needed no other witnesses besides Jesus’ word, because He proclaimed that He would sit at God’s right hand and come on “the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). He declared over and over that He was who He claimed to be, and He testified to this claim through His words, which no one could combat, and through His miracles, and, ultimately, in His death and resurrection. Even the Roman centurion cried out at Jesus’ death saying, “‘Truly this Man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39). 

So, as we wrap our minds around the oneness of Jesus and the Father, where does the Spirit fit into all of this?

Let’s quickly look at John 14-17. This is a beautiful passage describing and speaking of the roles and ways of the Trinity. Jesus is on earth speaking to His disciples, prior to His death, burial, and resurrection. He tells His disciples that He speaks everything that the Father gives Him to say and claims all that the Father has, as His own. Yet, He speaks of leaving, which the disciples do not understand. The promise of the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of truth, would not make sense until later. Soon, the disciples would know what Jesus meant when He said, “I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28). He would not leave us on our own.

Being saved is all about a relationship with God. Back in the Garden of Eden, the relationship between God and man was broken as sin and death became part of our world, a born-in part of every human being. God still allowed His people, the Israelites, to have a relationship with Him through priests and sacrifices. God dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple. In Exodus 40:34, “the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle,” and in 2 Chronicles 5:14, “the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.” They still KNEW God’s Presence, but they had no physical presence and no personal indwelling of Him. Moses was not even allowed to see the face of God (Exodus 33), yet his face shone of God’s glory when he descended from Mount Sinai with the words of the Lord (Exodus 34). Then… who all the prophets had been waiting for and expecting for… arrived. Jesus, the physical embodiment of God, God in the flesh, came to earth. The disciples touched the physical Presence of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord was on Jesus (Isaiah 11:2, Matthew 3:16), and when He ascended back to be with the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in US. The Spirit is now the Presence of God given to all believers at salvation to dwell and abide IN them. The Presence of God given to individuals! This is so beautiful! The Trinity is weaved throughout Scripture, working intentionally and purposefully.

The scriptures point out that each person of the Trinity is: omnipresent (present everywhere, all the time), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omniscient (all-knowing). Let’s look at each person of the Trinity, the attributes that characterize them, and some names used throughout Scripture.

Father

Abba, Father. God is a good and faithful Father to His children. He is the Father of all light (1 John 1:5; James 1:13-18), yet He also carries out His just wrath. He sent His Son Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25; Isaiah 53:10) so that we can have a relationship with Him through Christ. We have been adopted into His family (Romans 8:15), and the Spirit bears witness that we ARE his sons and daughters (Romans 8:16).

The Father is omnipresent. “‘Am I a God near at hand,’ says the LORD, ‘And not a God afar off? [...] ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:23-24). The Father is omnipotent. Jeremiah proclaims, “‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You” (Jeremiah 32:17). The Father is omniscient. Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.”

Here are a few other names for God that you will find throughout Scripture: Mighty One, Almighty God, LORD, Strength, Yahweh, I Am, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Rock of our Salvation, Refuge, Portion, Most High, Banner, Lord of Hosts, Shepherd, God our strength, Righteous Judge, Abba Father…

Son

Jesus. Everything points to Jesus. In the Old Testament, the Law pointed to the One who would come to fulfill the Law the way that we cannot (Matthew 5:17). The prophets foretold of the coming Messiah. There are hundreds of prophecies concerning His coming and life on Earth. Isaiah 53 is a chapter pointing to the Suffering Servant, which is Christ. On earth, Jesus always submitted to the will of the Father, even to the point of death (Matthew 26:36-39), and He only said what the Father told Him to say (John 12:49). When His time had come, He died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose again on the third day. This is fulfilled prophecy, which can be read in the 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. After Jesus died and resurrected, He appeared to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Now, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19). The exciting part is that He will come again! 

The Son is omnipresent. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” The Son is omnipotent. Colossians 1:17 says that, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” The Son is omniscient. In response to what Jesus says, one of his disciples exclaims, “Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God” (John 16:30).

Here are a few other names for Jesus that you will find throughout Scripture: Son of God, Son of Man, Messiah, Teacher, Rabbi, Cornerstone, Living Stone, the Way, the Truth, the Life, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Lamb of God, Holy One, High Priest, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Seed, Branch, Anointed One, Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Beginning and End, the Resurrection and the Life, Shepherd of Israel, Redeemer…

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit. He inspired the writers to pen the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17 and many passages saying that the Spirit spoke). In the second verse of the Bible, the Holy Spirit is mentioned: “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water” (Genesis 1:2), and throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would indwell people for specific purposes. In 2 Samuel 23:2, the Spirit speaks through David. In Ezekiel 2:2, the Spirit encourages Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 3:24, the Spirit enters into Ezekiel to tell him what to do and say.  In Judges 6:34, the Spirit comes upon Gideon, and in Judges 13:25, the Spirit moves on Samson. Before His death, Jesus prophesied of the coming of the Holy Spirit saying, “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 things that I said to you.” (John 14:26). Now, the Spirit permanently indwells believers (2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:14). He gives spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Ephesians 4:7-16, Romans 12:3-8). He gives wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:17). He provides comfort. He guides to truth (John 16:13). He intercedes on the behalf of those who know Him (Romans 8:26-27). Believers are called to live according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh (Romans 8:4).

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent. His omnipresence is shown in Psalm 139:7-10. The writer asks “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” The Holy Spirit is omnipotent. When the angel appeared to Mary, He said that “‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you;” (Luke 1:35). Lastly, the Holy Spirit is omniscient. Jesus said that He will “teach you all things” and that “He will guide you into all truth” (John 14:26, John 16:12-13). 

Here are a few other names for the Holy Spirit that you will find throughout Scripture: Advocate, Comforter or Helper, Counselor, Spirit of the Lord, who is the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2).

Believing in one God in three persons is biblical and critical to salvation. Jesus said that “‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me’” (John 12:44). The Trinity is an incredibly difficult concept to grasp, yet Scripture testifies that it is the truth. Remember, if you are a born-again believer, and even if you are not, we are not meant to understand everything. Our finite minds are built to learn, discover, explore, build, create; however, we were not made to know or understand it all. The fact that we CANNOT understand, means that we need someone higher, someone greater, someone all-knowing and powerful. God knows. Sometimes that has to be enough.