Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday. Coming from a Baptist background, a day for the Trinity was a new concept to me. Although the Bible never uses the term "Trinity", the concept is clearly taught throughout the Bible. While it insists that there is only one God, it refers to Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit as God. Each is seen to be a distinct personality, co-existent with each other.
There is no single verse which explains the Trinity. However the Bible is fascinating. For example, in Isaiah we are repeatedly told there is only one saviour - God. Then in the book of Titus we are given "God our Saviour" and "Christ our Saviour" interchangeably. And then the statement, "We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed" (Titus 2:12-13).
Jonathan Sarfati explains:
- There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 44:8). Note that the Hebrew word for ‘one’ is echad which means composite unity — it is used in Genesis 2:24 where the husband and wife become ‘one flesh’. The word for absolute unity is yachid which is never used of God in the Scripture.
- The Father is called God (John 6:27, Ephesians 4:6).
- The Son is called God (Hebrews 1:8. He is also called ‘I am’ in John 8:58 cf. Ex. 3:14 — see below for more biblical proof). He has always existed (John 1:1–3, 8:56–58), but took on full human nature in addition to His divine nature at the Incarnation (John 1:14, Philippians 2:5–11).
- The Holy Spirit is called God (Acts 5:3–4), and is personal (Acts 13:2), not some impersonal force as the Jehovah’s Witness cult believes.
- They are distinct, e.g. at the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16–17 all three were present and distinct. The Son is baptized, the Father speaks from Heaven, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, flies down and lands on the Son. See the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 ‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.’ Note that the word ‘name’ is singular, showing that all three Persons are one Being.
The Bible says much more, and there are many great books, and articles online which explain how Christians arrived at this understanding of God, such as the one on CARM which also answers a couple of objections against the Trinity. It's at http://carm.org/cut-trinity
While we can never fully understand God, we are invited into a relationship with him, and to be forever changed by knowing him.
Image: Google Images
Reference: http://creation.com/jesus-christ-our-creator-a-biblical-defence-of-the-trinity
