The Trinity: What Does It Mean to Say, "God is three in one".

The doctrine of the Trinity has always been one of the most debated and least understood teachings of the Bible. It is not formally stated in a particular verse, but rather inferred from the way the scriptures describe God. The concept emerged out of the attempts on the part of early Christians to express in words the revelation of God which they had encountered in Jesus Christ.

The starting point is the life, death, and resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early church. The first disciples were conscious of having experienced a unique revelation of God in three aspects: his lordship over their lives, his fellowship with them as a community, and his continuing presence indwelling their own spirits. In order to express this unique experience, they proclaimed that God is over us, alongside us, and in us.

But both the Old and the New Testaments picture God as three-in-one. In Genesis 1:12 we see that God spoke through his Spirit from the very first of creation. John 1:1 echoes this verse when it says Jesus Christ—the Word—was present with God in the creation. John goes on to say that the Word became flesh; in other words, Christ came as the self-expression of God. He told the disciples that after his physical presence had left this earth the Holy Spirit—the Comforter—would be sent to bear witness to God (John 15:26-27). Yet throughout the Old Testament we find references to God’s Spirit in such verses as Genesis 41:38, Numbers 24:2, 1 Samuel 19-20, 2 Chronicles 15:1.

Thus the one God reveals himself in three Persons. He is never only Father, only Son, or only Spirit, but these are three mutually reciprocal relations in one. As Father, God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; power, wisdom, justice, and mercy are his characteristics. In Jesus, God expresses himself as the eternal Christ, who brings reconciliation between God and persons because he himself embodies the nature of both God and humanity. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence active in the world throughout history, revealing, enabling, convicting of sin, comforting, teaching, and calling forth the spiritual gifts in the Christian. But whether God’s presence is spoken of as the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, we are speaking of only one God.

For many people, the stickiest point is the divinity of Christ. A careful study shows the New Testament clearly teaches Jesus was God. The doctrine is set forth many times, especially in the Gospel of John. Some scripture references are: John 1:8-18; 5:19-47; and 14:5-11. Because God loves us so much and desires for us to know and love him, he chose to reveal himself to us in the only way that we could really understand: through a person like ourselves. Jesus was a human being for us to see and experience, with whom we can identify. He suffered as we suffer, experienced the same temptations and frustration, and still emerged triumphant over sin, suffering, and death. The Gospel accounts which describe the life of Jesus are giving us a portrait of God himself, for Jesus reveals the true nature of God as love.

The question then arises as to how Jesus could be God on earth and yet continue to exist as God the Father. Consider this analogy: if a child takes a sand pail and dips it into the ocean, what is contained in the pail is truly the sea in all its essential elements. The water in the pail is completely the ocean, but certainly not totally the ocean. In no way has the child diminished the sea nor captured the totality of its vastness. In the same way, Jesus was all of God that could be contained in human form. He was of the same substance and nature as God, manifesting himself to us in the specific form of human life, but obviously not exhausting the totality of God’s being.

Many times in the New Testament Jesus referred to the unity of himself with the Father. In John 10:24-41, Jesus explained how the works he had done glorified the Father and stated that he and the Father were one (John 10:30)—a statement which for a Jew was shocking, impossible, insane, unless he truly were the Son of God and in unity with the Father. The passage shows that his statement was absolutely clear to those who were listening to him. They took up rocks to stone Jesus because his claim to be one with the Father was heresy in their eyes.

When Jesus spoke about himself, the Spirit, and God the Father, he was not dividing God into three parts, but was speaking of the ways we might experience who God is. In Mark 12:29-32 Jesus quotes the central affirmation of the Jewish faith, “The Lord our God is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). In Luke 11:13 Jesus says clearly the Father gives his Spirit to all those who would ask him. Therefore, we see that the Spirit is the presence of God.

The doctrine of the Trinity is meant to be an aid to conceptualizing the Ultimate Mystery, a way to express the inexpressible. Insight into such a complex issue will only be gained through serious study and through the process of maturing as a Christian. The sincere seeker would best profit by focusing on a personal relationship with God in Jesus Christ—learning about him, trusting him, exercising personal faith, looking to him for strength and guidance. As we live in relationship with him, questions are resolved in the light of the reality of his presence.