Question:
What is the Trinity?
Answer
Genesis 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.
When we look at the first two verses of the Bible, in the passage above, we find more than one Person in the first two verses. We find God, the Creator, and we find the Spirit of God. We see at least two Beings here, the one called God and the second called the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit. And when we really study the Bible well, we find that God, or the Godhead or Trinity, consists of three separate Beings, who together are God, and individually are God as well. They have existed forever, and will exist forever. They are One in character and in purpose. So, before anything was created, only the Trinity existed. The Bible says, God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Love can only exist if there is more than one person, it cannot function in a vacuum, and so the Bible’s picture of three Beings, makes absolute sense.
When we now consider the next passage, we also find two Beings, God and the Word. The Word is also called the Creator, so it is the God mentioned in Genesis 1:1 above. In verse 14 below, it is made clear that the Word is actually another name for Jesus, which means that Jesus is the Creator God, the second Person of the Godhead, Who spoke the universe into existence. Jesus is therefore fully God, as no-one else but God can create anything just by speaking.
John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3All 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.
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.
People use one Bible text to say that God is only one Person, while there are many passages in the Bible which tell us that God, the only God of the universe, consists of three Persons, who together are not three gods but one God, and individually are also God. Here is the passage that they quote:
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Compare the text above to the following passage.
Genesis 11 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
It is fairly obvious that the people in the passage above are not one person, but many people who are united in one goal. In the same way, God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) are united in character and goals. And please remember, there are not three gods, but one God in three Persons. When we look at what the Bible says, we see that each Person of the Godhead has different functions, suited to each personality. There are only two passages that use the word “Godhead”.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Colossians 2:9 & 10 9 For in Him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
There are, however, many passages which talk about the Godhead or Trinity, all three Persons mentioned together. Here are some.
Matthew 3 16 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.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 28:19 “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 …”
Acts 2 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
1 Peter 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Jude 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
All three Persons of the Godhead are on the same level, each God individually, so we can therefore see that the Second Person (the Word, the Creator, Jesus) is as much God as the Others. The fact that Jesus is called the Son of God, does not mean that He is a created being, as He Himself is the Creator. The sonship of Jesus will be discussed fully below.
God the Father looks after heaven and is the Coordinator of the angels who come to earth to help and protect us. Jesus is the Creator, the Word, the Saviour of humanity, the Leader of the angel armies, the One who is 100% God yet became 100% human, the One who took all our sins upon Him, died the Second Death, and was resurrected. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, who points out our sins, and leads us into all truth. He is the One who speaks to our hearts, drawing us with His love. He is the Comforter and Helper who is present with everyone on earth at the same time. He is the One who convicts us and seals us into a relationship with God. When Jesus was getting ready to leave the earth, He promised that He would send “another Helper/
Comforter/Advocate” to be in His place. Let’s look at what He said.
John 14 16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 15 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
John 16 7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
There is no doubt that there are three Beings, working together in harmony and love as God, each doing a specific task in the great work of saving humanity for eternal life.
1 Kings 8:60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.
Isaiah 44:6 “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.”
We see that there is only one God, but that He is manifested in three separate Persons.
