Actually, this series is from Understanding Bible Truth booklets by Robert Hicks and Richard Bewes (1981), but I have expanded some texts for modern readers (to make it easier to read) and added Scripture quotes (I’m using ESV Bible) into these writings to clarify its points more clearly. My purpose of making this series available in the internet is single: So that you can be clear the essential facts about the Bible’s teaching in a readily understandable form.
What is “the Trinity”?
In the simplest terms, Christians believe: there is only one God. But this one God exists as one essence in three Persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. When Christians says they believe in one God in three Persons (the Trinity), they do NOT mean: 1 God in 3 Gods; or 3 Persons in 1 Person; or 3 Persons in 3 Gods; or 1 Person in 3 Gods; rather, they mean – 1 God in 3 Persons. It is NOT 1+1+1=3, but 1x1x1=1.
Remember, the word “Trinity” is a ‘concept’ use to explain the eternal relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – it is not a ‘name’. It is a concept to try to explain the unexplainable “threeness” of God. But I think it is only tells half of the doctrine, since we also must emphasis on the unity of God. Therefore, I agree with Charles C. Ryrie in his book A Survey of Bible Doctrine when he writes, “Perhaps the word tri-unity is better since it contains both ideas – the ‘tri’ (the threeness) and the ‘unity’ (the oneness)”.
If you want to study and understand more about “the Trinity”, you can see my books recommendation at the end of this discussion. Meanwhile, let’s briefly discuss this complex-but-essential subject in the light of what the Scripture taught.
Assumed in the Old Testament
The Old Testament stresses that God is One. The prophet Isaiah, in particular, says that there is only one God, and that all other ‘gods’ are false. “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isaiah 44:6. See also verse 7-8). And yet, at the same time, the opening sentence of the Bible uses a plural form for God’s name (Elohim): “In the beginning, God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), and does so hundreds of times subsequently.
There are enough indications in the Old Testament for us to recognize the idea of three Persons within the Godhead. For example, God sometimes refers to Himself as “us”, and there are appearances and visions of Him which suggest different members of the Trinity.
Asserted in the New Testament
In the New Testament Jesus gives us some very clear teaching about the Father and the Spirit (see John 14:15-26; 16:5-15). We are left with these facts: there is one God – but the Father, the Son and the Spirit are all individually God. The New Testament does not give us a formula about the Trinity, but the evidence is unavoidable. In the unity of the one God, there is a Trinity of Persons achieving man’s salvation, and in whose name we baptize. Jesus said, “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).
Accepted by Faith
Proof texts are not enough for a clear understanding of the Trinity. We must study all the teaching of Jesus and of His apostles, and observe the threads of truth that run through the Bible which relate to the will of the Father, the work of the Son and the inner working and witness of the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Apostle Peter also testified, “…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood” (1 Peter 1:2).
God the Father
The first Person of the Trinity in called Father, not primarily because of His relationship to His creatures, but because of His relationship to the eternal Son. It is the Father who predominates in the Old Testament. But even though this is true, God is seen as One, as Savior, and as Spirit – in preparation for the fuller revelation of the three Persons in one Godhead.
[See Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:21; Acts 2:32-36]
God the Son
The second Person of the Trinity is called the Son. He became a man, Jesus Christ, in order to rescue men from the domination of sin. As Son of God, He was involved with the Father in the creation of all things, and shared in His eternal glory. Within the Trinity, the Son is subordinate to the Father, but only because of the work He does. Therefore the Son was sent by the Father, and only acted under His Father’s authority.
[See John 1:1-18; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:8]
God the Holy Spirit
The third Person of the Trinity was sent from the Father in Christ’s name, to make personal in the lives of Christians all that Christ had made available through the Cross. Just as Jesus once lived among us, so the Spirit now lives in us. Although He was active in the Old Testament, the Spirit’s main task began after the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:6-11). He is the one who points attention to Christ, who speaks to the church in every age, and who equips Christians with abilities to serve God.
[See Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11]
My Conclusion about “the Trinity”
I once read (and record) that: if you try to understand fully about the Trinity, you will lose your mind. But if you deny the Trinity, you will lose your soul. So true! God of the Bible, the Trinitarian God, is not of our making. We should not and must not try to mold God according to our own thinking or wishes or pleasure but to direct our heart and mind to the Scripture as He has revealed Himself to us. We don’t have to understand fully (not that we can) about the mystery and the complexity of the Trinity, but I assure you that you will eventually understand the truth of it as you experience the work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit in your own life.
Finally, I want to share with you my encounter with Jonathan Edwards’s vision of the Trinity. His writing is quite hard to read but if you try to read it slowly and digest every words of it carefully, your heart will be comfortably warm and your mind will be under convinced as I do now. He writes,
“This I suppose to be that blessed Trinity that we read of in the Holy Scriptures. The Father is the deity subsisting in the prime, unoriginated and most absolute manner, or the deity in its direct existence. The Son is the deity generated by God’s understanding, or having an idea of Himself and subsisting in that idea. The Holy Ghost (he means ‘the Holy Spirit’) is the deity subsisting in act, or the divine essence flowing out and breathed forth in God’s infinite love to and delight in Himself. And I believe the whole Divine essence does truly and distinctly subsist both in the Divine idea and Divine love, and that each of them are properly distinct persons”
[Source: Jonathan Edwards, “An Essay on the Trinity”, in Treatise on Grace and Other Posthumously Published Writings, ed. By Paul Helm (Cambridge: James Clarke and Co. Ltd., 1971), p.108]
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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Reading recommendations:
1. Millard J. Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992, 2001) on “God’s Three-in-Oneness: The Trinity” p.106-114.
2. Charles Caldwell Ryrie, A Survey Bible Doctrine (Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1972) on “What is The Trinity?” p.29-34.
3. Wayne Grudem, Christian Beliefs: 20 Basics every Christian Should Know (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press) on “What is the Trinity?” p. 37-42.
4. Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps & Time Lines (California: Rose Publishing, Inc., 2005) on “The Trinity” p.180-184.
If you want to borrow books above from me. Please comment below ya.
