Finding Answers In The Bible - “What Is The Trinity?”

First and foremost we must know that as much as we plumb the depth of learning and understanding this side of Heaven, we will Never come to a full or perfectly clear grasp of EXACTLY how to describe the Trinity.
Someone once said that if you try and explain the Trinity you will lose your mind, but if you deny the Trinity you will lose your soul!

If you do not believe in the Triune God you are simply not a Christian.  You will see why as you continue to read!

Second let’s talk about Why we believe in the Trinity.  I bring this up because the word Trinity is actually not used in the Bible, but it IS the word that early theologians used to describe the Godhead.

1.) We believe in the Trinity because the Bible clearly teaches it, and we will see that for ourselves in just a moment!

2.) We believe in the Trinity because from the earliest Christians onward all have known that it is Truth.

3.) We believe it because there is no other explanation for how God describes Himself and has revealed Himself to be!

Let’s break down what we mean when say the Triune God or the Holy Trinity.

First of all it is very important to understand that we are Not talking about 3 gods!  That is polytheism, and we believe in monotheism!  There is ONE God!   This comes from the Hebrew “Shema.”  The central prayer for the Jewish nation.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is ONE.” - Deut. 6:4.  Jesus, Himself, reiterates this is Mark 12:29:  "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is ONE!  Paul further states this in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 8:4:  “So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that "An idol is nothing at all in the world" and that "There is no God but one."  He also says it quite plainly in 1 Tim. 2:5:  “For there is one God!”

Second, there is Diversity in Unity!

Gen. 1 will start us off with an understanding that God is one God and yet exists as three persons.  Gen 1:1 begins this way, “In the Beginning God...”  This is the Hebrew word, Elohim and it is the PLURAL form of El which means God!  Let’s keep going and we will see Gen. 1:26-27. “Then God said, "Let US make mankind in OUR image, in OUR likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[1] and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

God exists in three distinct persons, all equal, all eternal, all worthy of equal praise and worship and obedience!

Matt. 3:16-17 -  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 alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

John 1:1, 14  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Acts 5:3-4. Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God."

They are distinct yet acting in perfect unity! 

Each Person of the Trinity is Addressed as GOD!

God the Father -  Gal. 1:1 “Paul, an apostle-sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead...”

God the Son -  John 20:28. “Thomas said to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"

God the Holy Spirit - Acts 5:3-4

All Three Persons of the Trinity are associated together as equal in so many passages in the Bible.  Please take time to read these yourself:  Matt. 3:13-17, 1 Pet. 1:2, 2 Cor. 13:14, Matt. 28:19, Eph. 3:14-21, and 2 Thess. 2:13. 

These three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit constitute the ONE God of the Bible!

Matt. 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The Early church concluded with these two statements to describe the Triune God: “One in Essence, Three in Person!”

“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 Cor. 13:14