What Is The Trinity?

Key Terms:

doctrine of the Trinity: the concept that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons—God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit—and that each person is fully God.

Trinity: means “Tri-unity or Three-in-oneness.”

Discussion Questions:

How do the different ways the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other provide us with a model for the ways we are to relate to each other?

Which member of the Trinity do you want to learn more about? What steps will you take to do so?

How has learning about the members of the Trinity helped you grow in your faith?

Discussion:

Old Testament Allusions:

Who is the us? We are made in the image of God, not the angels or another god.

Genesis 1:26–27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.”

Genesis 3:22 “The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.””

Genesis 11:7 “Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.””

Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”

Psalm 45:6–7 “Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions.”

Psalm 110:1 “This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.””

Holy Spirit as a person not just a force:

Isaiah 63:10 “But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them.”

Malachi 3:1–2 ““See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach.”

Hosea 1:7 “But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the Lord their God. I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses and cavalry.”

Isaiah 48:16 “Approach me and listen to this. From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time anything existed, I was there.” And now the Lord God has sent me and his Spirit.”

Proverbs 8:22–31 ““The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth— before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth. I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him. I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam.”

New Testament Allusions:

Matthew 3:16–17 “When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.””

Matthew 28:19 “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,”

1 Corinthians 12:4–6 “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person.”

2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Ephesians 4:4–6 “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”

1 Peter 1:2 “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

Jude 20–21 “But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.”

Three Tenants of the doctrine of the Trinity

God is Three Distinct Persons.

Father is not the Son, The Son is not the Father, The Spirit is not Either, Etc. Also the Spirit is not a force but a person.

John 1:1–2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

John 17:24 ““Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation.”

1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one.”

John 14:26 “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

John 16:7 “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.”

Each Person is Fully God.

John 1:1–4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was {Jehovah Witnesses say “a”} God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

John 20:28–31 “Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Titus 2:13 “while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Colossians 2:9 “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,”

Isaiah 40:3 “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.”

Matthew 3:3 “For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!”

Matthew 28:19 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son {showing equality of persons} and of the Holy Spirit,”

Acts 5:3–4 ““Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.””

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”

Psalm 139:7–8 “Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.”

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 “Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

There is One God.

God is Unique and he actively states his oneness. One in Purpose, One in Agreement, One in Essence, One in Nature.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ““Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

1 Kings 8:60 “May all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord is God. There is no other!”

Isaiah 45:5–6 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know me, so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,”

Romans 3:30 “since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

1 Corinthians 8:6 “yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.”

James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.”

Distinct Roles of the Trinity

Economy of the Trinity: “order of activities” different ways the three relate to the world and each other while maintaining eternal equality.

Work of Creation: Father Spoke, Son “The Word” carried out creation, Spirit “hovered” sustained and manifesting God’s presence in creation.

Work of Redemption: Father planned redemption & Sent the Son, Son obeyed and accomplished redemption, Spirit applies & completes redemption.

Simple Solutions & Heresy

Denying any of the three statements can lead to heresy. No analogy adequately teaches about the trinity, and all are misleading in significant ways.

Analogies that Fall Short

Arianism: heresy expressing that Spirt and Christ are just simply creations of the Father denying their fullness of God.

The Sun: Father is the sun, Christ is the light, and the spirit is the heat.

Partialism: Each person of the trinity is fully God, not just part of God. they all possess the fullness of God in their personhood.

Three Leaf Clover: each leaf is part of the whole, but each leaf could never be considered a full clover.

Three Parts of a Tree: Root, Branches, Trunk are all parts but not all are fully the tree.

Modalism: God is one person but appears in different forms not distinct persons. (God appears as father, in old T, Jesus, in the New, and Spirit now.)

Three Forms of Water: Steam, Water, Ice

Problem is no form can ever be all three at one time.

Three Roles of a Man: Father, Son, Husband

Problem is there is one man doing all three, not three distinct persons

Athanasius Creed:

That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,     neither blending their persons     nor dividing their essence.         For the person of the Father is a distinct person,         the person of the Son is another,         and that of the Holy Spirit still another.         But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,         their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

    What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.         The Father is uncreated,         the Son is uncreated,         the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

        The Father is immeasurable,         the Son is immeasurable,         the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

        The Father is eternal,         the Son is eternal,         the Holy Spirit is eternal.

            And yet there are not three eternal beings;             there is but one eternal being.             So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;             there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

    Similarly, the Father is almighty,         the Son is almighty,         the Holy Spirit is almighty.             Yet there are not three almighty beings;             there is but one almighty being.

        Thus the Father is God,         the Son is God,         the Holy Spirit is God.             Yet there are not three gods;             there is but one God.

        Thus the Father is Lord,         the Son is Lord,         the Holy Spirit is Lord.             Yet there are not three lords;             there is but one Lord.

    Just as Christian truth compels us     to confess each person individually     as both God and Lord,     so catholic religion forbids us     to say that there are three gods or lords.

    The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.     The Son was neither made nor created;     he was begotten from the Father alone.     The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;     he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

    Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;     there is one Son, not three sons;     there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

    Nothing in this trinity is before or after,     nothing is greater or smaller;     in their entirety the three persons     are coeternal and coequal with each other.

    So in everything, as was said earlier,     we must worship their trinity in their unity     and their unity in their trinity.

Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity.

But it is necessary for eternal salvation that one also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith:

    That we believe and confess     that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,     is both God and human, equally.

     He is God from the essence of the Father,     begotten before time;     and he is human from the essence of his mother,     born in time;     completely God, completely human,     with a rational soul and human flesh;     equal to the Father as regards divinity,     less than the Father as regards humanity.

    Although he is God and human,     yet Christ is not two, but one.     He is one, however,     not by his divinity being turned into flesh,     but by God's taking humanity to himself.     He is one,     certainly not by the blending of his essence,     but by the unity of his person.     For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,     so too the one Christ is both God and human.

    He suffered for our salvation;     he descended to hell;     he arose from the dead;     he ascended to heaven;     he is seated at the Father's right hand;     from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.     At his coming all people will arise bodily     and give an accounting of their own deeds.     Those who have done good will enter eternal life,     and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith: one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.