Disclaimer: this is long read, but your life will be better for it.
For the longest time, this has been one of the most widely debated concepts in Christianity. Unbelievers use it as a point to dismiss the validity of the Christian faith and believers segregate themselves into sects based on this same concept. Today, we will be looking at the concept of the Trinity. As a disclaimer, I do not claim to know all there is to know about the matter. Neither is this article all there is to know about it. So let’s learn together and make time out to learn some more.
I’ll start by saying this: if you think you can understand everything about God and His ways, then you have to change your mindset because you’ve belittled Him (Isa. 55:9). Not everything will make “sense”. God will not fit His ways into what makes sense to us. Rather, we must rise up to meet His standard. It is arrogant to try to rationalize everything about God and discard whatever you believe is non-rational. Nevertheless, God reveals these mysteries to us to an extent, to help our faith.
Although the word “trinity” is not mentioned in the Bible, the concept is explained and taught by the Bible. As much as the Bible is a spiritual book, it is also a historical book. It is possible that the word “trinity” did not exist when the Bible was written or that it doesn’t even exist in the language of the original text. Just like how we cannot find the word “rapture” in the Bible but are convinced of the concept because Scripture explains it in detail, so it is with “trinity”.
Now let’s get to business…
The Trinity is the term used to refer to the Christian doctrine that defines one God existing in three co-existent, co-substantial divine Persons. It explains that there is a Godhead consisting of God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. These are not separate but one God. Many explanations have been given to make this concept easier to understand, some of which, although in good faith, are wrong.
Some people use the egg theory, saying it’s like an eggshell, an egg white, and the yolk. This is almost correct but it fails in the sense that the eggshell is not the egg. The yolk and egg white are only parts of the egg not the egg as a whole. With the trinity, each Person is God. Not a part of God.
Does this mean Christianity is polytheistic?
N.O. Absolutely not! The scripture is clear on that.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV
For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 ESV
“The Lord, thy God is one.” Some use this to discount trinitarianism and others use it to “prove” contradictions in the Bible. Both parties are wrong. Polytheism is the worship of more than one god. Christianity remains firm in preaching monotheism.
Again, with polytheism, you may have to bend to different set of rules and practices for the different gods being worshipped. In Christianity, it’s one and the same rule. Worshipping one is worshipping all. I don’t have to pray to Jesus separately, offer sacrifices to the Holy Spirit separately, and then perform rituals to God separately. The Scripture tells us that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name, the Father will do (Jn. 15:16). The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus and teaches us the ways of God (Jn. 14:26; 16:14). He convicts us of our righteousness in Christ Jesus. As we glorify the Son, we glorify the Father. Dependence on the Holy Spirit is dependence on God. The three Persons work as one and are one.
Why are we even certain of this anyway? It could be a corruption of the New Testament…
Nope, it’s not. We are certain because Scripture, both OT and NT point us to it. In the early verses of Genesis, we see all the three Persons present at the beginning. The Spirit of God was brooding over the waters, God said “Let us make man in our own image”. The Holy Spirit was present, God, the Father was present and the Word was present.
John 1:1 tells us that this Word was God, vs 3 tells us that all things…that is, the whole of creation came into existence through Him (the Word) and in vs 14, we are told that this Word was made flesh. Jesus is the Word.
Many people don’t find it hard to believe in the Holy Spirit being God. But in case you do, check 1 Corinthians 2:10-11. It tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God.
It’s when the matter comes to Jesus being God that many people have a problem. I will not be going into details of Jesus’ deity. I already covered this in a previous post. But this is one thing I’ll say. Jesus is known as the Son. In John 5:21-23 we see that God, the Father and God, the Son are one. Not one in mind or goal alone but one in essence.
I digress. Now back to the point…
Aside from Genesis 1:26, Scriptures like Genesis 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8 also show the use of “us” when God speaks, telling us He is referring to more than one Person. Furthermore, “Elohim” is one of God’s names, commonly used in the Old Testament. Did you know that this word signifies plurality? When written as “elohim”, it translates to “gods”.
Here’s my open reply to an innocent question asked asked by a young girl.
She asked, and I quote “If Jesus is God, then who was He praying to at the garden?” Jesus was praying to the Father. We must remember that on earth, He was both humanity and Deity. Going further into this will be a whole new article so I’ll just leave it as that.
For emphasis…
Christiniaty is a monotheistic religion. We believe in one God, one baptism, one faith (Eph. 4:4-6). We believe in the concept of the Trinity; three co-eternal, co-substantial Persons in the Godhead. We believe in salvation through Jesus, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit and the adoption into God’s family, by which we can call God “Abba, Father”.
Why is this knowledge important for you?
A lot of new and even heretic teachings are sneaking into the church. If we must stop that and remain firm on what is true, then we must go back to the basics. We must remind ourselves of the truth often. We must build our faith on what the early Christians built their faith on. And lastly, we must be ready to give an answer for why believe what we believe, any time and any day.
There are still many things still left unsaid. I pray the Holy Spirit will multiply understanding in your heart and open your eyes to more knowledge in Jesus name. Amen.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV
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