The Holy Trinity: One God, Three Persons

The Holy Trinity

What do we mean by the word “Trinity?” Sometimes this term is objected to on the basis of the specific term not being found in Scripture. It’s true that the specific term “trinity” is not found on the pages of Scripture, but this is no problem as long as what it’s describing is found in the Scriptures. We use terms all the time that are not found in Scripture but that summarize a biblical teaching. And so it is with “trinity.” The word was coined by one of the early Church fathers named Tertullian. It summarizes the biblical teaching that God is at the same time One and Three.

The Scriptures teach us that God is one in essence, that is, in His “God-ness”–that which makes Him God. There is only one God, not three. On the other hand, the Scriptures teach us that there is a “three-ness” in God. That is, though He is one God, that one God consists of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What this paper will seek to do is show the biblical basis for the one-ness and the three-ness in God.