Before we start...
Many people wrestle with the concept of the Trinity—how God can be one and yet three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Before we start trying to understand Trinity, there are a few important things we need to understand first:
- It is impossible for us, finite humans, to fully understand everything about an infinite God. God’s nature is far beyond our comprehension. If we could understand every detail of God, He would no longer be God! We need to accept that there are aspects of God we don't know due to our own limitations.
- We are fully dependent on God to reveal Himself and His own nature to us. We can only know what God has chosen to tell us about Himself. Otherwise, we're making up our own 'god'.
- If God is truly loving and merciful, we can fully trust that He would reveal to us what we need to know about Him. Since God deeply desires restoring our relationship with Him, He would clearly reveal everything we need to know in order to enjoy this relationship.
- The whole Bible is all about God's relationship with us. Focus on this relationship. It's tempting to treat the Trinity as a puzzle or a theory to work out. This is not the point of God's revelation.
1. What Is the Trinity?
In simple terms, the Trinity means that God is one being who exists eternally in three: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. These three are distinct yet inseparable. They are not three separate gods, nor are they three different forms of the same God. Instead, they are one God in three, sharing the same divine essence.
Christians affirm what the Bible teaches:
- There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4).
- The Father is God (John 6:27).
- The Son (Jesus) is God (John 1:1, John 20:28)*.
- The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4).
- The Father sent the Son Jesus (John 3:16) and sent the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name (John 14:26).
- All three were always present as one even before the creation of the world (Genesis 1, John 1).
*The title 'Son of God' does not mean God had a physical relationship to produce a child, as in what humans need to do.
2. The Trinity in the Bible
The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but the concept is woven throughout. John Chapter 1 is one of the most profound passages in the Bible for understanding the Trinity. It introduces us to the relationship between God the Father and Jesus (the Word), and hints at the role of the Holy Spirit in God’s eternal nature.
In John 1:1, we read:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This tells us three essential truths about Jesus, the Word (Greek: Logos):
- Eternal Existence: “In the beginning was the Word” means the Word existed before creation. Jesus is not a created being; He is eternal, just like God the Father.
- Distinct Person: “The Word was with God” reveals that Jesus is distinct from the Father. He was “with” God, indicating relationship and communion.
- Divine Nature: “The Word was God” asserts that Jesus is fully divine. He shares the same essence as God the Father.
In John 1:14, we learn:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
This teaches us that Jesus, while remaining fully divine, took on human form to dwell among people.
Furthermore, in John 1:32-34 (also in Matthew 3:16-17), we see the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus during His baptism, affirming His divine identity and role.
John 1 reveals the Trinity as a relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—distinct persons, yet one God—working together to bring God’s love and truth into the world.
At Jesus’ baptism, all three persons of the Trinity are present:
- Jesus is baptized.
- The Holy Spirit descends like a dove.
- The Father’s voice says, “This is my Son, whom I love.”
This event shows the distinct roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while affirming their unity. It also shows us that God’s nature is deeply relational, eternal, and full of grace.
3. Is the Trinity a Contradiction?
At first glance, the Trinity may seem to contradict the belief in one God. But the Trinity is not saying one God is three gods or that three persons are one person. Rather, it teaches:
- God is one in essence (being).
- God is three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Another example in the Bible where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mentioned together is in Matthew 28:19 where Jesus commands His disciples:
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.
Notice that Jesus says “name” (singular), not “names” (plural). This shows that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one divine identity.
Think of it this way: A human being can have different roles—such as a parent, a child, a friend, a teacher, a student—yet remain one person.
Imagine you are trapped at the bottom of a pit in your area. The Fire Department sends one fireman to come down to the pit to rescue you. Then when he accomplishes it, he sends a community fire brigade to carry out safety improvements in your area regularly. How many Fire Departments are there? One.
The Trinity takes this to a higher, divine level. God’s being is so perfect and infinite that it is expressed in three who coexist eternally.
4. Understanding the Trinity in the Light of the Gospel
The Gospel (the Good News) provides a profound and clear way to understand God as the Trinity. The Trinity is not a philosophical puzzle but a beautiful reality revealed in God’s plan to save us and bring the whole world to Himself.
The Father: The Source of Love and Salvation
In the Gospel, God the Father is revealed as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is holy, sovereign, and loving, desiring a relationship with humanity. However, because of sin, humanity is separated from God. In His great mercy, the Father initiates a rescue plan.
John 3:16 declares: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This act of sending the Son shows the Father’s love for us. His role in the Trinity is to send and direct, but always in perfect unity with the Son and the Spirit.
The Son: God's Living Word in Human Flesh
The Son, Jesus Christ, is God in human flesh. He came into the world to reveal God’s character and to accomplish our salvation. Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), affirming His divine nature and unity with the Father.
The Son fulfills the Father’s plan by stepping into human history. On the cross, Jesus offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice, bearing the penalty for our sins and triumphing over death. In doing so, He not only met the demands of God’s perfect justice but also displayed the depth of His perfect love for us. Through His resurrection, Jesus opened the way to eternal life, proving that He is both the Saviour and the victorious King.
The Holy Spirit: God’s Presence Within Us
After Jesus’ resurrection, He promised His disciples the Holy Spirit, saying, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will bear witness about Me” (John 15:26).
The Holy Spirit applies the work of salvation to our lives, making it real and personal. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Spirit comes to dwell within us, empowering and guiding us daily. He transforms our hearts, helping us to live in a way that pleases and glorifies God. The Spirit convicts us of sin, assures us of God’s love, and gives us the strength to follow Jesus even in difficult circumstances.
The Trinity in the Gospel
The Gospel reveals the Trinity as a perfect relationship of love. Each is fully God. The Father plans salvation for the world in order to bring the world to Himself; the Son accomplishes it by paying the ultimate sacrifice on the cross and overcoming death; and the Spirit applies it by guiding and helping us each day to live out the life that pleases and glorifies God.
5. The Trinity and Relationship
The Trinity reveals that God is not solitary but relational. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in a perfect relationship of love and unity. In John 17:24, Jesus says:
Father, you loved me before the creation of the world.
This means that love has existed eternally within God Himself. The Trinity shows us that God’s nature is not just about power or majesty but also about relationship and love.
It has real significance for our understanding of God and our relationship with Him:
God Is Personal: Because God exists in a relationship of love, He invites us into that relationship. Through Jesus, we can know God personally.
God Is Love: The Trinity shows that love is at the very core of who God is. God didn’t create us out of loneliness but out of the overflow of His eternal love.
Salvation: Each person of the Trinity plays a role in our salvation. The Father sends the Son to redeem us, and the Holy Spirit applies this salvation to our lives.
Unity and Diversity: The Trinity reflects a perfect unity that embraces diversity. This can inspire how we relate to others—with love, respect, and cooperation.
6. We can focus on what God wants us to know about Him
It's tempting to treat it as a complex puzzle to solve or an abstract theory to work out. the more we try to “solve” it and make it fit into our human logic, the more it seems to slip through our fingers.
Yet if God is truly infinite, wouldn’t we expect some aspects of His nature to go beyond our understanding?
Here’s the good news: we don’t have to fully comprehend everything about the Trinity to trust and know God and have a personal relationship with Him. Just like a newborn baby doesn't need to intellectually figure out everything about his parents' marriage and mortgages in order to enjoy the parents' love. And it would be impossible for the baby to do so anyway.
Focus on what God has revealed about Himself. He has already revealed a lot about who He is through His Word: that He is one God who exists eternally as the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. This understanding is not meant to confuse us but to help us know God personally and know His love, grace, and salvation in our everyday life.
