Christians believe in one God, but we also believe the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. So… are Christians secretly polytheists? This is where we need to understand the Trinity. Christians don’t believe that there are three Gods, or even that there is one God who appears in three different forms, so what do we believe? Although the Trinity can be hard to understand, it’s important to understand it rather than avoid it. Instead of looking for a definition or explanation, we should go to Scripture, our ultimate authority.
Even though we don’t see the word “Trinity” in Scripture, there are biblical truths we can pull together to understand and explain what Christians mean when we talk about the Trinity.
Truth number one is that there is one God. We see this emphasized throughout the Bible. Deuteronomy 6:4 might say it the most clearly: “The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” We can also look to verses like Isaiah 45:5, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God,” and 1 Corinthians 8:4, where Paul writes that “an idol has no real existence” and that “there is no God but one.” These verses affirm the truth that Christianity is firmly monotheistic, meaning we believe in one God.
Truth number two is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each equally God. Their divinity is represented throughout Scripture. We see that the Father is God in 1 Corinthians 8:6: “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live…” We know that Scripture says Jesus is God. John 1:1 states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We know from John 14 that “the Word” refers to Jesus, meaning that Scripture clearly states Jesus is eternally God. Lastly, the Holy Spirit is God. In Acts 5:3-4, Paul accuses Ananias of lying against the Holy Spirit, saying he has not just lied to humans about what he did, but to God. So, Scripture is clear that there is one God, but it is also clear that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally God. Scripture doesn’t merely call Jesus or the Spirit “godlike.” They are presented as truly divine, which brings us to the third and final truth.
The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct; they are one God in three persons. We know that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not simply different modes or manifestations of the same person because Scripture shows them interacting with one another in relationship. They are distinct from one another, while still being fully God. We see this clearly at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16–17. Jesus, the Son, is baptized; the Spirit descends upon Him like a dove; and the Father speaks from Heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” All three are present and active at the same time. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. They are distinct persons who know, love, and relate to one another.
Just because we can’t fully comprehend something doesn’t make it untrue. Mystery doesn’t automatically equal contradiction. We are trying to understand something supernatural within our natural, finite minds. It begs the question: If we could fully understand God, would He be worth worshipping? We should do our best to understand what we believe, but there will always be aspects of God that go beyond our finite understanding, which is where faith comes in. But knowing what the Trinity is and knowing how to explain it are two different things. In Part 2, we’re going to talk about how to actually talk about the Trinity without accidentally explaining it incorrectly.
Written By Kayleigh Rosado