The Trinity is probably the coolest doctrine in Christianity because it is truly inexplicable, representing a God beyond human scope, and totally distinct from concocted Gods of counterfeit faiths, it is a constant reminder how beyond our understanding God is. As such, even the best descriptions of the Trinity are lacking. The Anasthasian creed puts it “We worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence…Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord…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.” (1) Even this description of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relies on the word “persons” which Augustine found insufficient for explaining the three hypostases, and throughout church history there has been hundreds of years worth of trying to precisely nail down a better definition (2). The most concise way to explain it to people is that there is 1 being existing as 3 persons, which is a mystery we cannot understand yet, because it is unlike all creation, and analogies fail to represent it accurately. (3)
The most clear verses on the existence of the Trinity are Matthew 28:19, 3:16-17, and John 14:26, while there are shadows of the Trinity in the Old Testament that confirm this is how God has always been, and in his divine accommodation is helping us understand better as time goes on (Gen 1:2, 1:26, 3:22, Deut 6:4, Isa 48:16, Matt 22:41-45). Though the Bible does not give us a clear outlining of the details of the Trinity, it’s presence is made clear and some of its operations described. Both Jesus and the New Testament writers regularly taught on the basis of the Trinity’s existence and workings (1 Peter 1:2, 2 Cor 13:14), and some texts dig into some of the relationships in the Trinity (John 14:16-17, 16:13-16) giving us a sense of the “threeness” while others re-iterate the “oneness” (John 10:30, Col 2:9, Eph 4:4-6, Acts 5:3-4) while John 1:1-5, 14 provides a sense of both at the same time. Therefore, while our Lord said we cannot bear to hear the full explanation of the Trinity now (John 16:12) there is redounding scriptural support for it to the extent we are able to fruitfully process now, a triune God that is fully monotheistic, while each member is fully God.
We know that there is one God, not three (Psalm 18:31). We know that the members of the trinity are equal in nature, and voluntarily love, serve, and glorify each other (John 14:9-11, 17:1, 4-5, 2 Cor 3:17). We know that they are distinct (John 15:26). However, until we are ready for further revelation, the presence of the Trinity raises more questions than it answers, and is something the human mind cannot grasp and must take in faith.
(1) https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/athanasian-creed
(2) Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, 385-87
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch/KQLfgaUoQCw
If you'd like to be a part of the Llama Llegion, subscribe below. Want more like this? Check out the affiliate links page, and see if there's a way for you to support the blog with purchases you're already making. Do you write relevant ramblings, or other creative content? Let's talk about it. New content every Saturday, sometimes more.