The Trinity

1. WHAT DOES “TRI” MEAN?

TRI = Three

Ask:

“What does TRI mean?”

Then show the illustrations.

Tricycle

Triple-Scoop Ice Cream

What is the similarity?

Let the kids answer.

“What do all three of these have in common?”

“Whenever you hear the word TRI, think THREE.”

Then introduce the word:

TRINITY

“The word Trinity is not a word you will find written in the Bible. It is a non-biblical word, but it describes a biblical truth.”

A simple way to understand the word is:

TRI-UNITY

Three in perfect unity.

The word Trinity is a theological word Christians use to summarize what Scripture teaches about God:

There is one true God, and the one true God has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Bible study summarizes this doctrine as “One God exists in Three Persons; commonly referred to as the Trinity.”

How I Understand the Trinity

Many people argue over the word Trinity, and some assume that Christians who believe in the Trinity worship three gods. But that is not what the doctrine of the Trinity teaches. Trinitarians are not tritheists. We are monotheists.

Theist means:

= believes in God

= believes in Monotheist (one God)

= believes in Tritheist (three gods)

Christians who believe in the Trinity are monotheists, not tritheists.

This is where I begin:

Truth #1 -There is only one God.

He is the God of Israel, the Creator of heaven and earth. Scripture never gives us permission to abandon that truth. Christianity is thoroughly monotheistic.

Deuteronomy 4:39; 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:8; Mark 12:32; James 2:19

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” — Deuteronomy 6:4

Genesis 1:1–2 NASB95

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

There is only one true God in Scripture.

Yet that same Scripture reveals something more about the identity of the one true God:

Truth #2 -God has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The personal distinction of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can be seen throughout Scripture:

The incarnation — Luke 1:35

Luke 1:35 NASB95

35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

The baptism of Christ — Matthew 3:16

Matthew 3:16–17 NASB95

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

The Great Commission — Matthew 28:19

Matthew 28:19 NASB95

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

Paul’s benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

2 Corinthians 13:14 NASB95

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

At Jesus’ baptism, for example, the Son is being baptized, the Holy Spirit descends, and the Father speaks from heaven. They are not merely three names for the same Person. They are personally distinct.

1. The Father is God.

Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3

1 Corinthians 1:3 NASB95

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:7 NASB95

7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul speaks of: “God our Father…”

The Father is truly God.

2. The Son is God.

Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:23; 22:41–45; Mark 2:7–10; 12:35–37; Luke 5:20–21; 20:41–44; John 1:1, 14, 18; 5:18; 8:58; 10:30–33; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Philippians 2:6–8; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:10–13; Hebrews 1:6–8; 1 John 5:20; 2 Peter 1:1; Revelation 1:8

John writes:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1-3

John 1:1–3 NASB95

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. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Concerning Christ:

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” — Colossians 2:9

The Son is not merely a prophet, angel, or lesser divine being. The Son is truly God.

3. The Holy Spirit is God.

Acts 5:1–4; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NASB95

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Acts 5:1–4 NASB95

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

One of the clearest examples is Acts 5:3–4. Peter tells Ananias that he has lied to the Holy Spirit, and then says that he has lied to God.

The Holy Spirit is not merely a force, power, or influence. The Holy Spirit is truly God.

Truth #3 -All three are called God in the truest sense.

Scripture does not merely give Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the title “God.” All three possess attributes that belong uniquely to God.

Omnipotent — All-Powerful

Father — Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 1:24

Son — Mark 10:27; Revelation 1:8

Holy Spirit — Luke 1:35–37

Omnipresent — Present Everywhere

Father — Jeremiah 23:24; 1 Kings 8:27

Son — Matthew 18:20; 28:20

Holy Spirit — Psalm 139:7–10

Omniscient — All-Knowing

Father — Psalm 139:1–6; Isaiah 44:7–8; 46:10

Son — John 2:24; 16:30; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:3

Holy Spirit — Isaiah 40:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10

Eternal

Father — Deuteronomy 33:27; Isaiah 40:28

Son — Micah 5:2; John 1:1; Colossians 1:17–19; Hebrews 13:8; 1 John 1:1

Holy Spirit — Hebrews 9:14

Creator

Father — Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 42:5; Zechariah 12:1

Son — John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2

Holy Spirit — Genesis 1:2; Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30

Glory belongs to all three

Father — Isaiah 42:8

Son — John 17:5; Hebrews 1:2

Holy Spirit — 1 Peter 4:14

Therefore, these are not three lesser beings who merely share a religious title. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share attributes that belong uniquely to the one true God.

So how do we reconcile all of these truths while remaining faithful to Scripture’s monotheism?

We allow all of the biblical truths to stand at the same time.

Scripture teaches:

There is only one God.

Deuteronomy 4:39; 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:8; Mark 12:32; James 2:19

The Father is God.

Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3

The Son is God.

John 1:1; John 20:28; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:6–8

The Holy Spirit is God.

Acts 5:1–4; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct from one another.

Luke 1:35; Matthew 3:16–17; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14

Therefore:

There is one God in being or divine nature, yet within the one divine Being there are three distinct Persons.

A helpful way of expressing this is:

ONE WHAT — and Three WHO’S

There is one WHAT:

God — the one divine nature or Being.

There are three WHOS:

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father.

Yet:

The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God.

And there are not three Gods, but:

ONE GOD

That is why the Trinity is not the equation:

Three Gods = One God

That would be a contradiction, and it is not what Christians believe.

Rather, the biblical doctrine is:

One God, eternally existing as three distinct Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each fully sharing the one divine nature.

We do not arrive at the Trinity by first deciding that God must be three and then searching for Bible verses to prove it.

We arrive there by allowing Scripture to tell us everything that is true about God.

We do not solve the apparent difficulty by denying one of the truths Scripture reveals.

We do not deny the oneness of God in order to affirm the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit.

We do not deny the deity of the Son or Holy Spirit in order to preserve monotheism.

And we do not deny the personal distinction between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in order to maintain that God is one.

Instead, we allow every biblical truth to stand.

Scripture even brings the three Persons together while maintaining the unity of God:

Matthew 28:19 — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are named together in baptism.

2 Corinthians 13:14 — the Lord Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit are distinguished together.

The word Trinity is simply a theological word used to summarize all of these biblical truths:

ONE GOD — THREE PERSONS

Not three Gods.

Not one Person appearing in three different forms.

Not three parts that together make up God.

But:

One eternal God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.