God is one Person, (DT 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.) who reveals himself in three manifestations as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is a personal spirit (JN 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.") and has no material body, except in his incarnation in Jesus Christ, nor is he limited by, or to, matter.
The word trinity is not found in the Bible. It was first used in the second century A.D. by Tertullian and is used to express the truth taught in the Scriptures. It denotes the triune (three in one) revelation of God as Father (Gen 1:1, Matt. 6:9), Son (John 8:36), and Holy Spirit (Gen 1:2, John 14:26). Tertullian apparently claimed that the Son and Spirit were not eternal, that the Father was superior to the Son, that the Father, Son and Spirit have bodies, etc. These concepts were not completely supported by scriptures, however the word trinity continues to be used to define our belief in a triune Godhead. As you'll see in this article we believe that the Father, Son, and Sprit are eternal and coequal, and that only the Son was ever given an earthly body.
This does not mean we worship three Gods. God revealed himself as one God existing in three manifestations. He always has been Father, Son, and Spirit. Thus the "Son" existed before Jesus was born. Jesus is the Son of God and through faith we may become sons of God. Jesus is God's begotten Son; we can become his adopted sons. As Holy Spirit, God indwells his children.
Some of the scriptures that I believe point to the triune revelation of God are:
From Creation:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Psalm 104:28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. [29] When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. [30] When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Collosion 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In Revelation
Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
2 Peter 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
For Redemption
Hebrews 10:8 First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). [9] Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. [10] And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. [13] Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, [14] because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Hebrews 10:15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this.
As a Providence
John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. [2] In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. [20] On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
John 16:12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [14] He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. [15] All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
The most compelling case for the trinity is the witness of Jesus Christ. Throughout the scriptures we see him referring to the Father and to the Spirit. We also see each of them referred to as God. If we look at redemption as an example, the Father proposed it; the Son provided it; the Holy Spirit propagated it.
An interesting observation is that God the Father was at center stage in the O.T with the Son and the Spirit in the wings, In the gospel Jesus is at center stage, post crucifixion the Holy Spirit is. All three persons are present at all times, with each being a more prominent revelation at given stages of history. We see this at the baptism of Jesus, all three persons were present:
Matthew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
The only ways to reconcile this is: To say Jesus is not God, which would make him a liar; conclude that the New Testament teaches us to worship more than one God, which makes the Bible fallible; or that God simultaneously exists in three primary manifestations that aide our comprehension of his vastness.
Mark 14:61b, 2 Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Matthew 16:15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" [16] Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [17] Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Luke 9:20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." [21] Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. [22] And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."
John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. [31] But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Jesus is not a liar, the Bible is infallible, so the only explanation that makes sense is that there is one God manifest to us in the forms of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The triune is given for man's finite understanding, but with our finite minds released from the limitations of the flesh, we shall know as we are known. God will be all in all. For we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
From the very first verse in the Bible we find that before the time of creation only God existed. Look at Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In Isaiah 43:10 the Bible says that there is only one God.
...Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
In Ezekiel 28:15, we find that Satan as one of God's creations:
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
This would indicate that Satan and all the "heavenly beings" (angels) were created by God, and that at some point only God existed. During that time when God alone existed we do find reference to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus existed before the creation event, took part in the process and is described as God. Not a God, but The God.
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The Holy Spirit was also pre-existent.
The Trinity Explained
As a Father we have a distinct set of roles and responsibilities that are totally different than as a son. In the same way God's character is described to us through the varying roles of the Godhead. God the Father exemplifies the holiness; while Jesus (The Son of God) demonstrates the personality of God; and the Holy Spirit manifests the awesome power of the almighty God.
Robert W. Faid offers an excellent example for this concept of the trinity, in his book "A Scientific Approach to Biblical Mysteries." In it he describes the sea:
"As you stand by the shore of the sea, as far as your eyes can see -- and beyond -- is the mighty ocean. It is an entity of enormous power, sometimes as still and calm as a tropical pool, sometimes rising in fury to smash those who dare to intrude upon it.
As you observe, a swell of water rises offshore. The wave gathers momentum as it approaches the beach. Although it remains a part of the sea it has a life of it's own. Then, after crashing high upon the shore, it returns to the sea from which it came. As a wave it had it's own identity, but never was it separate from the sea."
Just as the wave came from and returned to, while always being a part of the sea, Jesus came from and returned to, while always being a part of the Father. You can't see a wave without the sea and you can't see Jesus without also seeing God.
"And as you stand beside the shore, you become aware of another part of the sea. The salt air which invigorates you is also an integral part of the sea. It, too, has a separate existence from the sea, but is very much one with it. It penetrates everywhere and everything within miles of the coastline. As you approach the beach it is the signal that the sea is not far away. In fact it is the sea -- reaching out to you through the air.
This is exactly what the Holy Spirit does. Just as the salt air draws men to the sea, the Holy Spirit draws men to the Father through Jesus Christ. The Spirit, although having a separate existence, is not separate from the Godhead."
Simply put the concept of the Trinity is that God exists simultaneously as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, just as the sea simultaneously exists as the sea, the wave, and the spray.
When one refers to a wave we immediately have a vision. The same is true with Jesus.
But what about the name God?
As mentioned earlier, "God" is the Hebrew Elohim, this is the name of God which stresses His majesty and omnipotence. The im ending is a Hebrew suffix that indicates the plural form. It could actually be translated "gods", in fact in several other passages it is used to refer to "the gods of the heathen" (Psalm 96:5). However in this instance (along with over 2,500 other times throughout the Bible) it is used in the singular, as the mighty name of God the Creator. This use of Elohim makes it a plural name with a singular, what is referred to as a "uni-plural" noun. This name suggests the uni-plurality of our God and he is described in this fashion from the very first verse of the Bible, God is one, yet more than one.
Interestingly, if we look at God's creation we will find that it is a tri-universe.
Genesis 1:1 -- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In this verse it's apparent that God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). What may be less apparent is that in this singular act of creation, he also created time (in the beginning.) To read more about this subject visit our creation page.
To find learn more about God's plan view our salvation page, ask God to help you understand, send me an email, but don't delay. Your soul is worth more than all the world. "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)
Once you are saved, there are three things you should begin to practice daily for spiritual growth: Pray, Read your Bible, and find a good Bible-believing church home. If you are saved through reading this web page, send me an email, that we may rejoice with you.
Growing Deep in the Christian Life
Growing Deep in the Christian Life : Essential Truths for Becoming Strong in the Faith, by Charles R. Swindoll
Whether you drive a truck, wait tables, work in an office, or ferry the kids to and from soccer practice, Chuck Swindoll understands that your world is practical, earthy, tough, and relentless. Growing Deep in the Christian Life takes theology out of the ivory tower and enables you to apply it to where you live everyday.