The Theological understanding of Trinity and Its Implications to Contemporary Church

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

……..

Definition of Trinity

The Christians doctrine of trinity ( Latin word : Trinitas or trinus means ‘threefold’ ) is the
central doctrine concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one
God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons. Trinity in Christian
doctrine is the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead.

Each Person is Fully God (2Cor 3:17).

God the Father is clearly God. The Son is Fully God ( John 1:1-4, 20:28, 30-31, Titus 2:13, Rome
9:5, Isaiah 9:6, Col 2:9).

The Holy Spirit is also fully of God (Matt 28:19, 1Cor 12:4-6, 2Cor 13:14, Acts 5: 3-4, 1Cor 3:16).

God is three persons. In other words, the Father is not the Son, and the Holy Spirit is not the
Father – each member is a separate person. John 1:1distinguishes between the Father and the
Son (“the Word was with God”). John 14:26describes how the Father will send the Holy Spirit
thus distinguishing between their persons. Even Jesus sends the Holy Spirit (John 16:7) which
means they are not same.

Though the Spirit is sometimes not considered God by certain religious groups, there are many
reasons to affirm the deity of the Holy Spirit. He is referred to in the masculine pronoun (John
14: 15: he is ascribed personal activities like teaching (John 14:26), he searches the depths of
God. God is three persons and the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Godhead. 1

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 The Trinity in the Old Testament

This begins at the beginning. In Genesis, we have God making the world, the Spirit hovering
over the water, and God speaking to create. In this, we can observe God the Father and the
Spirit, as well as even the Son as the Word which God speaks (Gen1:1-2, Psalm 33:6, John 1:12).

1
https://truthstory.org/blog/god-in-three-persons-the-trinity-chapter-14/
 English word ‘God’ original Hebrew ‘Elohim’. Elohim (Hebrew: ‫ֱא ֹלִהים‬, Romanized: ʾĔlōhīm:
[(ʔ)eloˈ(h)im]), the plural of ‫( ֱא לֹוַּה‬ʾĔlōah), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods" or "godhood”. The
word elohim or 'elohiym (ʼĕlôhîym) is a grammatically plural noun for "gods" or "deities" or
various other words in Biblical Hebrew.2

We again see the plurality of the Godhead at creation when God says, “Let us make man in our
image” (Genesis 1:26). Note not only the plurality, but also the parallelism. God made man
“male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). The plurality of the godhead becomes the
basis for plurality within humankind, male and female. In fact, this is confirmed in Genesis 11.
The next time God says “let us” do something, it’s at the Tower of Babel where language is
confused. The triuneness of God is associated with and the basis for relationships,
communication, and all that happens therein.

Several passages are known for their use of plural verbs and pronouns with reference to
Elohim/Yahweh. These include (1) Genesis 1:26, 27; (2) Genesis 3:22; (3) Genesis 11:7; and (4)
Isaiah 6:8.30.In Genesis 1:26, God’s intention to create human beings is expressed, unlike the
other acts of creation in the chapter, by the first common plural verb “let us make.” 3This plural
verb is followed by two nouns with plural pronominal suffixes: “in our image” and “according to
our likeness.” Some see these plural forms in Genesis 1:26 as evidence of a plurality within
God.4The best way to understand the plural forms in Genesis 1:26 is that Elohim speaks to other
divine beings.

To assert this as conclusive of God’s plurality is precarious at best. As in the case with Elohim,
most modern scholars no longer take the phrase “Let us” to mean a plurality of persons in the
trinity. The same can be said of Genesis 3:22,“Behold, the man has become as one of us…,”
Genesis 11:7 “…let us go down, and there confound their language.” Another instance in the Old
Testament where a plural pronoun is used by God is Isaiah 6:8-"Also I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me." In this chapter,
Isaiah sees the Lord (Adonay) seated in the temple. The prophet does not see other divine persons apart
from the Lord, who is being attended by the seraphim. Yet when the Lord speaks, He does so both in the
first person singular-"whom shall I send" (first person singular)-and in the first person plural-"who shall
go for us. Note carefully the combination of singular and plural in the same sentence in the
Isaiah passage. This same combination also appears in the Genesis creation account. Genesis

2
Strong's Hebrew: 430. D¹n (elohim) -- God (Strong's Concordance; Englishman's Concordance; NAS Exhaustive
Concordance; Brown-Driver-Briggs definition; Strong's Exhaustive Concordance definition; Forms and
Transliterations)". Biblehub.com. 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
3
Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2001), 64
4
P. J. Wiseman, Clues to Creation in Genesis (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1977),
197; David J. A. Clines, “The Image of God in Man,” Tyndale Bulletin 19 (1968): 68–69.
1:26 says, “Let us make man in our image…,” However, in Genesis 1:27 we find that “…God
created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him…”

The use of this so-called “Divine Plural” has puzzled scholars and students of scripture
for thousands of years. It has been understood historically in several ways:

1) God conversing with the angels (The historic Jewish View point)

2) God counseling with His own will (As also in Eph.1:11)

3) A plural pronoun agreeing with and necessitated by the plural noun Elohim

4) A majestic or literary plural

5) A prophetic reference to the future manifestation of the Son of God

It is fanciful to imagine that this verse supports the idea that God was speaking to the Son and
the Holy Spirit. Where in scripture does the Lord ever speak to His own Spirit? The text says
nothing about an eternal son, the second member of a co-equal, co-eternal trinity. The “Us” in
the text gives no indication of two other equal partners in the Godhead.

Regarding Genesis 1:26, Trinitarian commentator G. J.Wenham writes in The Word Biblical
Commentary, “Christians have traditionally seen this verse as adumbrating the trinity. It is now
universally admitted that this was not what the plural meant to the original author. 5

2.2 Old Testaments Shema

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut 6:4, NIV, NASB, NKJV), or “one Lord”
(NEB, KJV, RSV), or “The Lord alone” (Godspeed), or “the Lord our God is one Lord, the only
Lord” (Amplified). Commentators recognize that the Hebrew can be translated in different
ways. (Deut 4:39), which echoes “who among the gods is like you, O Lord”(Exod 15:11a), which
anticipates the first commandment and its prologue“ I am the Lord your God, who brought you
out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, You shall have no other gods before me.” These texts
focus on the uniqueness of God.6

The Shema: expresses not only the uniqueness but also the unity of God. As one God (or the
“Unique”), when he spoke there was no other to contradict; when he promised, there was no
other to revoke that promise; when he warned, there was no other to provide refuge from the
warning. He was not merely first among the gods, as Baal in the Canaanite pantheon, Amon-
Rein Egypt, or Marduk in Babylon; he was the one and only God.7

5
G.J. Wenham; The Word Biblical Commentary 1987.
6
Trinity in the Old Testaments ( Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, Norman R. Gulley).pg-83
 What is this oneness that is attributed to God? Is it more than a name, uniqueness, and
the one and only? There are two words for “one” in Hebrew (1) yahid means unique, such as an
only son (Gen 22:2) and an only child ( Prov 4:3; Zech 12:10), whereas (2) echad means united,
such as “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become
one flesh” (Gen 2:24). The word echad (united) is used in the Shema. Millard Erickson observes
that the unity of husband and wife is “not uniqueness, but the unity of diversity. It speaks of
union; rather than aloneness”8 That’s why Duane L. Christensen says, “The word ‫ ְׁש ַ֖מ ע‬in the text
of the Shema speaks not only of the uniqueness, but also of the unity of God. The doctrine of
monotheism is implicit in this brief creedal statement.”9 The Hebrew word for “one” (yahid),
meaning solitary, or without others, is not used in the Shema. So it seems that the Shema not
only speaks of the uniqueness of God as the only God, but “refers to the oneness that results
from a unity of numerous persons.” 10

Elohim is a plural term for God (for El is God, and most names for God add to the word
El). This didn’t bother monotheists, which indicates that the plurality of the name wasn’t
confused with polytheism. Rather, as Herman Bavinck concludes, the plural form of this name
for God “refers to the deity in the fullness and richness of its life. The God of revelation is not an
abstract ‘monad’ but the true and living God, who in the infinite fullness of his life contains the
highest diversity.”11

In making the claim for God of “compound unity” rather than an absolute numerical oneness,
Trinitarians are wittingly or unwittingly engaging in a deception regarding the use of the
Hebrew word for one found in Deuteronomy 6:4, Echad. Robert Morey and others argue that
when “one” modifies a collective noun such as “bunch” or “herd,” a plurality is implied by the
use of echad.12 This argument is fallacious at best. One simply cannot successfully argue for the
existence of a trinity from the fact the echad can modify a collective noun, therefore, leading us
to believe that God is compound. The sense of plurality is derived from the collective noun
itself, not from the word “one.”

Echad is simply the numeral “one” in Hebrew. “Jehovah is one LORD,” so states
Deuteronomy 6:4. The same word, echad, also appears as a modifier for Abraham in Ezekiel

7
Peter C. Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1976), 168.
8
Millard J. Erickson, God in Three Persons: A Contemporary Interpretation of the Trinity (Grand Rapids: Baker,
1995), 174.
9
Duane L. Christensen, Word Biblical Commentary, ed. David A. Hubbard, Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Books,
1991), 6A,142
10
Woodrow Whidden, Jerry Moon, John W. Reeve, The Trinity: Understanding God’s Love, His Plan of Salvation,
and Christian Relationships (Hagerstown: Review and Herald, 2002), 33, 34.

11
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation.
12
Robert Morey,The Trinity:Evidence and Issues(Iowa Falls: World Bible Publishers,Inc.,1996).pg. 89.
33:24, (“only one man”-NIV). Isaiah 51:2 also describes Abraham as “one/echad.” Echad
appears in translation variously as the numeral “one,” “only,” “alone,” “undivided,” “one
single.” It’s most natural meaning is “one and not two” (Ecc 4:8). There is nothing at all in the
word Jehovah which even remotely suggests a plurality. The word occurs with singular verbs
and pronouns in all of its approximately 5550 occurrences. It is important to note that the One
God is identified as the Father in Malachi 1:6 and 2:10.

The claim that “one” really means “compound unity” is a perfect example of argument
by assertion without logical proof. The argument involves an easily detectable linguistic fallacy.
Echad appears some 650 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and in not one single case does the
word itself carry even a hint of plurality. It means strictly “one” not two or more. Echad is of
course a numerical adjective and naturally enough will sometimes be found modifying a
collective noun- one family, one bunch, and one herd. But as noted, we must be careful to
understand that the sense of plurality resides in the compound noun and never in the word
one/echad.

2.3 God and the Spirit of God

A common interpretation of the phrase “Spirit of God” (ruach Elohim) in Genesis 1:2 are that it
refers to the Holy Spirit, which must be seen as taking an active role in creation. 13Another
option is to take ruach Elohim to mean “wind of God”—meaning either a wind in which is the
divine presence or a “mighty” wind.

The phrase ruach Elohim elsewhere has the meaning of divine spirit (e.g., Gen 41:38, NAS),
Spirit of God (Exo 31:3; 35:31; Numb 24:2; 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 19:20, 23; 2 Chr 15:1; 24:20), or
evil spirit from God (e.g., 1 Sam 16:15, 16, 23; 18:10). This would suggest that ruach Elohim, in
the context of Genesis 1:2, refers to the Holy Spirit. If Moses in Genesis 1:2 intended only to
refer to a “wind” blowing over the earth, why would he add Elohim?

And would he describe the blowing of a wind by the word “hovering” (Heb. rāchaph)? It is
somewhat difficult to answer these questions while maintaining the position that ruach Elohim
refers to “wind.” But the view that ruach refers to the Holy Spirit does not go without
difficulties either. For example, if ruach Elohim refers to a divine personality (i.e., the Holy
Spirit), what is His function in verse 2, and why is He not referred to again in the narrative
proper? Moreover, if ruach Elohim is a divine person, why would He be said to be “hovering”

13
TaekeJansma, “‘And the Spirit of God Moved upon the Face of the Waters’,”
VetusTestamentum 20 (1970): 16–24; Paul Elbert, “Genesis 1 and the Spirit: A NarrativeRhetorical Ancient Near
Eastern Reading in Light of Modern Science,” Journal of Pentecostal
Theology 15 (2006): 25–26; Hasel, 65
(rāchaph) over the waters which seemingly cover the entire earth? The word rāchaph occurs
again in Deuteronomy 32:11, 12. There, God is said to protect His people just as an eagle
“hovers” (rāchaph) over its young. It appears from Deuteronomy 32 that the activity conveyed
through the word rāchaph is that of an individual, not an impersonal element. 14 The usage of
the phrase ruach Elohim elsewhere and in the context of creation seems to give the phrase the
meaning “Spirit of God.” The view that ruach refers to the Holy Spirit is the interpretation
favored by most Evangelical and Adventist scholars. If the Holy Spirit is in view in verse 2, then
the mention of Elohim and ruach Elohim in Genesis 1 provides evidence for the idea of a
plurality within God.

2.4 The Angel of the Lord

The phrase “angel of the LORD” appears fifty-eight times in the Old Testament, “the angel of
God” eleven times. The Hebrew word mal’ak “angel” means simply “messenger.” Therefore, if
the “Angel of the LORD” is a messenger of the LORD, he must be distinct from the LORD
himself. Yet, in a number of texts the “Angel of the LORD” is also called “God” or “LORD” (Gen
16:7-13; Num 22:31-38; Judg 2:1-4; 6:22). The Church Fathers identified him with the pre-
incarnate Logos. Modern scholars have seen him as a being that represents God, as God
himself, or as some external power of God. Conservative scholars generally agree that “this
‘messenger’ must be seen as a special manifestation of the being of God himself.”15 If this is
correct, we have here another indicator of the plurality of persons in the Godhead.

2.5 Three Persons of the Godhead

In light of the discussion above, one cannot deny that the Old Testament conceives of a
plurality in God. We have observed that even within monotheistic contexts, there is more than
one person who is called God. What this means is that the one-God concept is not understood
to mean that God is a solitary divine person. In other words, Old Testament monotheism does
not preclude a plurality of persons within the one God. The general concept of a plurality in
God, some passages in the Old Testament, specifically in the book of Isaiah, seems to suggest
that the plurality in God is a three-in-oneness plurality. These passages include Isaiah 42:1;
48:16; 61:1–3; and 63:8–12, 16.

The Servant of Yahweh concept in Isaiah 42–53, as briefly noted in the previous section, is
particularly important for understanding Isaiah 42:1, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My
Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to
the Gentiles.” The speaker in this verse is Yahweh (41:21; 42:5, 6). Yahweh refers to His servant
and to His Spirit, which in Isaiah is often the endowment of the Servant. The servant in Isaiah
14
E. J. Young, Studies in Genesis One (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1976), 36–37; Roberto Ouro, “The
Earth of Genesis 1:2: Abiotic or Chaotic? Part 3,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 38 (2000): 63.
15
G.Ch. Aalder, Genesis ( Zondervan,1981).
42:1 does not seem to be the nation Israel. The fact that this servant is specially introduced
here may imply that he is different from the servant already mentioned in 41:8 (i.e., Israel).
Furthermore, since Isaiah 42 is addressed to Israel, it is not likely that the nation itself is the
servant. It is probable that here the servant is the divine Servant, the Messiah (Isa 9:6).In Isaiah
42 the Spirit is not specifically presented as a person, but rather as a “divine force and
supernatural power who equips the recipient to perform his task.”16While the personhood of
the Spirit is not clear, Isaiah 42 doubtless presents three distinct entities inseparably united in
the divine mission and purpose: Yahweh, the Servant, and the Spirit. So this scripture verse
shows that the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit work together. That is why I fully believe that
there is a Trinity in the Old Testament.

Let’s see how it is described in the Old Testament because of the Son and Holy Spirit: The Old
Testament also speaks of a God-Son yet to be born (Isa7:14; 9:6) who shall reign on the Davidic
throne as the divine Branch (Jer 23:5, 6; 33:14–18; Zech 3:8; 6:12) in everlasting peace and
righteousness (Isa 11:1–16). This God-Son is also pictured as the Servant of Yahweh, whose
suffering and death would bring healing to humanity (e.g., Isa 52, 53). The God-son is
mysteriously begotten by God (Ps 2:7) and is Himself God (e.g., Ps 45:6, 7; Isa 9:6). And the
references to the birth and the divinity of the Son suggest that He is the God-man (Isa 7:14; 9:6;
Dan 7:13).

The Old Testament also makes references to the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. The Spirit is
presented as taking an active role in creation (e.g., Gen 1:2; Job 33:4; 34:14, 15). The Spirit of
God dwells in human beings (e.g., Gen 41:38; Num 27:18; 1 Sam 16:13) and enables individuals
to perform certain tasks (Exo 31:3; 35:31; Num 11:25; 24:2; Dan 4:8, 9; 5:11). For example, the
judges and the prophets executed their duties through the Spirit (Judg 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25;
1 Sam 10:6–10; 2 Chron 15:1; Mic 3:8). The Spirit speaks through people (2 Sam 23:2; 1 Kgs
22:24). In 2 Samuel 23:2, 3 the “Spirit of the Lord” parallels the “God of Israel” (also Isa 30:1).
Psalm 139:7, 8 attributes the divine characteristic of omnipresence to the Spirit and equates
Yahweh’s presence with the Spirit. The Spirit brings about revival and change of heart (Ezek
11:19; 18:31; 36:26, 27; 37:1–14). People can take counsel with the Lord as well as with the
Spirit (Isa 30:1). Finally, Isaiah 63 presents the Lord, the Angel of His Presence, and the Holy
Spirit as distinct personalities (vs. 9, 10). In addition to other passages (e.g., Gen 6:3; 2 Sam
23:2, 3; Isa 48:16; Ezek 11:5, 24; Mic 2:7), Isaiah 63:10 reveals that the Spirit of God has
personal characteristics. As such, the Spirit is said to have been “grieved” by Israel in the
wilderness (v. 10; cf. Ps 106:33).If you really study the Bible, you will see strong evidence for the
Trinity.

16
Young, 3:108–109; Oswalt, Chapters 40–66, 107–110; Grogan, 255. The New Testament echoes Isaiah 42:1 in the
context of the baptism of Jesus Christ (Matt 3:17), thereby adding
weight to the conclusion that the servant in Isaiah 42:1 is the divine Servant.
Now that you have obtained the knowledge of the Trinity through the Old Testament, how can
this knowledge benefit you in your Christian walk and witness. Firstly, you are now equipped to
counter false cults that deny the Trinity. You are able to clarify confusion in others regarding
this doctrine. You better understand how the Trinity functions.

But most importantly you should have learnt that God desires to reveal Himself to you. It was
through the word that we discovered the Trinity in the Old Testament and it is through the
word that the treasures of God are revealed. The word is a treasure chest of priceless bounty
that will equip and sustain you until we all bow down before the Lord one day in eternity.

I pray that you will approach His word with a new fervency always depending on the precious
Holy Spirit to be your teacher.

CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Trinity in New Testament

The doctrine of Trinity is more clearly set forth in the New Testament than in the Old
Testament. In the New Testament there is no systematic, point-by-point exposition of the
doctrine of the Trinity. Something remarkable happened between the completion of the Old
Testament and the first writings of the New. What was vaguely intimated in the Old Testament
became a clear, settled doctrine in the New, needing no elaborate definition or defense. The
New Testament clearly says the Trinity that Jesus is God (John 1:1, 14), it says the Father is God
(Phil 12); and it says the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 53-4). Since the Son speaks to the Father, they
are separate persons (John 17). Since the Holy Spirit speaks also (Acts 13:2), He too is a
separate person. There can be no question that the New Testament proclaims there is only One
God and that He exists in three distinct persons."The New Testament is evidence for the Trinity.
For the New Testament is saturated with evidence of the Deity of Christ and the Divine
personality of the Holy Spirit. It shows that the New Testament everywhere insists on the unity
of the Godhead, that it constantly recognizes the Father as God, the Son as God and the Spirit
as God; and that it cursorily presents these three to us as distinct Persons. It is not necessary,
however, to enlarge here on facts so obvious.

3.2 The Trinity in the Gospel

The evidence of the Trinity from the Gospels was scattered from the beginning of the Gospel
until the end. In the birth narratives, Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke
1:35) and thus "the Son of God" (Luke 1:35)17 comes to be "Immanuel - God with us" (Matt.
17
Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology,(Chicago: Moody Press,1989)
1:30). It is undeniable that in Mary's conception the Trinity is involved: the Holy Spirit came
upon Mary, the power of God overshadowed her, and the resultant offspring was called the Son
of God (Luke 1:35)

The supernatural appearance at the baptism of Christ is often cited as an explicit revelation of
Trinitarian doctrine, given at the very commencement of the Ministry. At that moment, the
three persons are present. Jesus, the Spirit descending as a dove (Matt. 3:16; Luke 3:22), and
the Father speaking from heaven, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased"
(Matt. 3:17; cf. 17:5; Luke 3:22). In the baptismal scene which finds record by all the evangelists
at the opening of Jesus' ministry (Mt. iii. 16, 17; Mk. 1. 10, 11; Lk. iii. 21, 22; Jn. I. 32-34), the
three Persons are thrown up to sight in a dramatic picture in which the Deity of each is strongly
emphasized.

The Three Persons in particular and clearly express the separate personality and Divinity of
each. In the temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4; Luke 4), the name of three persons of the Trinity
appear. The temptation is essentially an invitation to Jesus to serve Satan rather that the Father
(compare with Adam temptation in the Garden in Genesis 3).

The testimony of John the apostle in the gospel of John is yet more explicit than that of the
Synoptists. He expressly asserts that the very purpose of his Gospel is to establish the Divinity
of Jesus Christ (John 20:31). In the prologue he identifies Him with the Word, the only- begotten
of the Father, Who from all eternity exists with God, Who is God (John 1:1-18).

Trinitarian teaching in the Gospel is in the Johannine discourses preceding Jesus' atoning death.
Here Jesus expresses eternal intimacy with the Father (compare with John 17:5, 10-11, 22, 26),
and promises to send upon the church the Holy Spirit from the Father, and to come to the
"Father's house" in the Spirit (Compare with John 14:2-6; 16-18, 26; 15:26; 16:13-15; 20:21-22).
Millard J. Erickson mentioned as he quoted George Henry observation as follows: It is in the
fourth Gospel that the strongest evidence of a coequal.

Trinity is to be found. The threefold formula appears again and again: 1:33-34; 14:16, 26; 16:13-
15; 20:21-22 (cf. 1 John 4:2, 13-14). The inter dynamics among the three persons come through
repeatedly. The Son is sent by the Father (14:24) and comes forth from him (16:28). The Spirit is
given by the Father (14:16), sent from the Father (14:26); and proceeds from the Father
(15:26). Yet the Son is closely involved in the coming of the Spirit: he prays for his coming
(14:16); the Father sends the Spirit in the Son's name (14:26); the Son will send the Spirit from
the Father (15:26); the Son must go away so that he can send the Spirit (16:7). The Spirit's
ministry is understood as a continuation and elaboration of that of the Son. He will bring to
remembrance what the Son has said (14:26); he will bear witness to the Son (15:26); he will
declare what he hears from the Son, thus glorying the Son (16:13-14). 18

The evidence from the Gospels culminates in the baptismal commission of Matthew 28:20.
After His resurrection, He revealed the doctrine in explicit terms, bidding them go and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
(Matthew 28:18).

Kevin Knight, one of Catholic scholar summarized as follows:

The force of this passage is decisive. That "the Father" and "the Son' are distinct Persons follows
from the terms themselves, which are mutually exclusive. The mention of the Holy Spirit in the
same series, the names being connected one with the other by the conjunctions and... and is
evidence that we have here a Third Person co-ordinate with the Father and the Son, and
excludes altogether the supposition that the Apostles understood the Holy Spirit not as a
distinct Person, but as God viewed in His action on creatures.

By quoting George Joyce, "The Blessed Trinity" in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Kevin Knight
continued his explanation. The phrase 'in the name (eis to onom) affirm alike the Godhead of
the Persons and their unity of nature. Among the Jews and in the Apostolic Church the Divine
name was representative of God. He who had a right to use it was invested with vast authority:
for he wielded the supernatural powers of Him whose name he employed. It is incredible that
the phrase 'in the name should be here employed, were not all the Persons mentioned equally
Divine. Moreover, the use of the singular, “name, and not the plural, shows that these Three
Persons are that One Omnipotent God in whom the Apostles believed.19One name is here
applied to three divine beings, coordinate with each other. It seems clear that the equality as
well as the unity of three persons is intended.

3.4 In the Gospel of Matthew

At the baptism of Jesus, we encounter the three members of the Godhead in action at
the same time:

When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. (Matt 3:16-17)
18
Millard J. Erickson, Christians Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House,1996),331-332.

19
Kevin Knight ed.., The Blessed Trinity, available from, http://www.newadvent.org/15074a.htm,accessed on
September 5th 2009.
 The account of Jesus baptism is a striking manifestation of the doctrine of the Trinity
there stood Christ in human form, visible to all; the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in bodily
form as a dove; and the voice of the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.” In John 10:30 Christ claims equality with the Father, and in Acts 5:3, 4
the Holy Spirit is identified as God. It is difficult if not impossible, therefore, to explain the scene
at Christ’s baptism in any other way than by assuming that there are three persons in the divine
nature or essence.

At the baptism of Jesus the Father called him “my beloved Son.” The son-ship of Jesus,
however, is not ontological but functional. In the plan of salvation each member of the Trinity
has accepted a particular role. It is a role for the purpose of accomplishing a particular goal, not
a change in essence or status. Millard J. Erickson explains it this way:

The Son did not become less than the Father during his earthly incarnation, but he did
subordinate himself functionally to the Father’s will. Similarly, the Holy Spirit is now
subordinated to the ministry of the Son (see John 14-16) as well as to the will of the Father, but
this does not imply that he is less than they are.8

The terms of “Father” and “Son” in Western thinking carry with them the ideas of origin,
dependence, and subordination. In the Semitic or Oriental mind, however, they emphasize
sameness of nature. Thus when the Scriptures speak of the “Son” of God they assert his
divinity.

At the end of his ministry, Jesus tells his disciples that they should go “and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt
28:19). In this, the initiatory rite of each believer into the Christian religion, the doctrine of the
Trinity is clearly taught. First, we note that “in the name” (eis to onoma) is singular, not plural
(“in the names”). To be baptized in the name of the three persons of the Trinity means to
identify oneself with everything the Trinity stands for; to commit oneself to the Father the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Second, the union of these three names indicates that the Son and the Holy
Spirit are equal with the Father. It would be rather strange, not to say blasphemous, to unite
the name of the eternal God with a created being (whether eternally created or at some point
of time), and a force or power in this baptismal formula. “When the Holy Spirit is put in the
same expression and on the same level as the two other persons, it is hard to avoid the
conclusion that the Holy Spirit is also viewed as a person and of equal standing with the Father
and the Son.”

3.5 Baptism and the doctrine of Trinity

In the church there are basic doctrines that are at the heart of what it means to be a Christian –
creation ex nihilo, salvation by grace through faith – but especially the doctrine that there is
one God who exists in three persons, the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit.

In this blog series we’ve been exploring different aspects of the Trinity in order that this
doctrine would be more than an idea, but that we would understand better how it is that one
God in three persons impacts our daily existence.

This post is a basic look at how this basic doctrine impacts a basic Christian sacrament –
baptism.

I’ve heard baptism described as “an outward sign of an inward change” which makes it sound
fairly man-centered. There is much more going on than “a public decision for Jesus” on our
part. It’s not that we mean to take the mystery out of this biblical doctrine, but in trying to
describe it plainly we inadvertently downplay God’s work.

All three persons of the Godhead are active in the mystery of this sacrament that incorporates a
person into the visible church. Here are three ways we see the Trinity at work in baptism.

1. The basis of baptism is Trinitarian.

The Trinity is present in baptism in all four gospel accounts. (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11;
Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34) The Father spoke at Jesus’ baptism saying that He was well pleased
in Jesus. The Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove at His baptism.

The result is that in His baptism, Jesus identified with us as “glorious ruins” meaning that we are
created in God’s image, but we are marred by sins we have committed and sins committed
against us. Our salvation begins with this Trinitarian basis.

2. The invitation to baptism is Trinitarian.

Before His ascension to the Father, Jesus commissions the disciples to baptize in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are baptized into the name of the Trinity. (Matthew
28:19)

The result is that we’re united to the Father who purposed our salvation before the foundation
of the earth, the Son who accomplished our salvation in the fullness of time, and the Spirit who
daily applies the good news of our salvation to us. Our God invites to be united to Him.

3. The power of baptism is Trinitarian.

We were buried therefore with Christ by our baptism into death. The Bible says in Romans 6:4-
5 that Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so now likewise we too might
walk in newness of life. That walk is described as walking according to the Spirit in Romans 8:4.

The result is that our union with Christ gives us power to live today because the Father is
pleased with us and the Spirit dwells within us. Baptism, as the circumcision of Christ, removes
the body of flesh from us and we are raised by the same power that raised Christ from the
dead. Because the Spirit is at work in us, baptism powerfully affects our lives beyond the
moment that water is applied.

When we get back to the basics of the activity of the Trinity in baptism, my hope is that we see
clearly that we are loved more than we ever dared hope by God in three persons who are active
for our good before, during, and after our own baptism. The basis, the invitation, and the power
of baptism begin with Him and result in our complete salvation.20

3.6 Trinity in Gospel of John

In the midst of the Trinity debated in evangelicalism today, Father, Son and Spirit is a welcome
contribution that provides a solid biblical-theological study of one of the most important
biblical books on the triune nature of the Godhead.

John presents the relationships among Father, Son and Spirit in a clearly defined relational as
well as salvation-historical framework, within which they exist in perfect unity while
maintaining “distinctions of person and role”. John’s Christology finds proper explication only in
Trinitarian terms. The father-son relationship, where both equality and taxis (order) exist in
harmony, provides the only sure means of reconciling Jesus equality with and His dependence
upon the Father. While the “father enjoys personal priority in the taxis of the triune life”, all
three persons share equally the divine essence.

John 3: 11-18:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The doctrine of the Trinity simply says that God is love. Love is not an abstract impersonal
entity. It expresses itself in relationships. When the doctrine of the Trinity says that one God
exists in three persons, it means that God is a community of three persons in a relationship of
love.

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• The Father loves the Son in communion with the Holy Spirit.

• The Son loves the Father in communion with the Holy Spirit.

The Godhead is a community, a communion of three persons existing in a love relationship.

The essence of God is a relationship of love, a communion, a community which the church
fathers called Trinity.

Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are a community of love. Yet they are three distinct persons.
They are not the one and the same person. The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the
Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not the Son. They are distinct and separate. God is a
communion of three distinct persons different from one another.

The unity and oneness in the Godhead is not because the three persons are of the same or
uniform nature. They are different, yet there is community and communion. We often think
that for the sake of unity we need uniform structures, the same doctrine, the same language
and culture, and all should become of one race and color.

The persons in the Trinity have distinct personhood. The fathers of the church were very eager
to safeguard this distinction of persons in the Trinity and at the same time emphasize their
oneness and unity. It is the love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit which creates this
unity. It is not a unity of uniformity but a oneness of love, communion and fellowship of three
distinctive persons.

The Greek word for communion or fellowship is koinonia. It refers to a shared reality. It means
participation, partaking, sharing, fellowship and communion. Love communicates itself. The one
who loves always gives herself or himself in the one who is loved. Because God exists as
koinonia, a communion between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Father gives himself in the
Son and the Son gives himself in the Holy Spirit. This is what the Gospel for today tells us. ‘God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and whoever believes in him shall have
eternal life’. Because of God’s love for the world, God has given himself in Jesus Christ for its
salvation. What does it mean for us to believe in the triune God?

The triune God has communicated himself in Jesus Christ. By being united with Jesus Christ in
faith, we share in the very life of the Trinity itself. Human beings, because of sin, are separated
from God and from one another. Being united with Christ, in whom God has communicated
himself to the world, we share in the very life of the Trinity, the life of a love relationship. That
is what salvation means.

When the Bible says that we are created in the image of God, it means we are created to share
in the very life of the Godhead -a relationship of love and community and communion with God
and with one another. We become truly human only when we establish this relationship of love
with one another. We become the image of God only when we reflect in our lives the
communion and community that is in the life of the Trinity’.

3.7 The Divine Trinity in John

The central message of the Gospel of John is found in chapters fourteen through sixteen and in
the concluding prayer in chapter seventeen. What these four chapters speak about is the Divine
Trinity, and their framework is the Divine Trinity. We need to see that from the very beginning
of chapter fourteen the Triune God is pointed out. The Lord said that He was going to the
Father and that where He was going, the disciples knew the way. But the disciples said that
they did not know the way and therefore asked Him to tell them what the way was. Then the
Lord said, “I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through
Me” (vv. 1-6). To be “through” the Lord means to pass through the Lord. For the sake of
readability, the Chinese Bible translators rendered to the Father as to where the Father is,
which is not what the Greek text says. As a result, Bible readers pay attention to where,
thinking that it denotes a place, and neglect the Father Himself. This is a great deviation.

Then the Lord continued His speaking, and Philip came in to interrupt Him (vv. 7-8). Philip said
to Him, “Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.” This means that Philip thought that
he and the other disciples had been with the Lord three and a half years, yet every day they
saw Him only as a Nazarene; even though the Lord had been telling them about the Father, He
had never shown them the Father. Therefore, Philip asked the Lord to show them the Father,
and it would be sufficient for them. Then, greatly surprised, the Lord Jesus said, “Have I been so
long a time with you, and you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the
Father; how is it that you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father
and the Father is in Me?” (vv. 9-10).

Then in verses 16 and 17 the Lord went on to say, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give
you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality.” The Son
asked the Father to send the Spirit, and when the Spirit comes, He is not only the Comforter but
also the Spirit of reality.

The Greek word for reality is aletheia, a word that is also very difficult to explain. It denotes
something that is genuine, real, substantial, and concrete. This means that although the Lord
spoke so much about the Father, and although He Himself had been with the disciples for such
a long time, they still could not touch Him. They had to wait until the Spirit would come to
make the Father and the Son a reality in them. Therefore, the Spirit is the Spirit of reality. When
the Spirit enters into the believers, the Triune God is realized in them and mingled with them to
become their life and essence. This is the Triune God unveiled to us from the very beginning of
John 14.

John 14:26 says, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My [the Son’s] name”; 15:26
says, “But when the Comforter comes, whom I [the Son] will send to you from the Father, the
Spirit of reality, who proceeds from the Father.” Chapter fourteen says that the Father would
send the Spirit in the Son’s name; then chapter fifteen says that the Son would send the Spirit
from the Father. The sense in Greek for the word from in 15:26 is “from with.” This means that
the Father sends the Spirit in the Son, and the Son sends the Spirit from the Father and also
with the Father.

Hence, I hope that, first of all, you will have a basic knowledge concerning the Divine Trinity.

3.7.1 Distinctions between Father, Son, & Spirit

The distinctions between the members of the Trinity are in the ways they relate to each other
and to the creation. In those relationships they carry out roles that are appropriate to each
person”. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus clearly portrays the distinction between the persons of the
Trinity in the Great Commission. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus shows the deity and
distinction of each the Father, Son, and Spirit distinctions between the members of the Trinity
are in the ways they relate to each other and to the creation. In those relationships they carry
out roles that are appropriate to each person”. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus clearly portrays the
distinction between the persons of the Trinity in the Great Commission. “Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit.” Jesus shows the deity and distinction of each the Father, Son, and Spirit.

3.7.2 God the Father

God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is many times referred to as simply “God”
throughout Scripture. God the Father is not a father because He created us, but He has always
been God the Father because of his relationship with God the Son and God the Spirit. They have
always existed together in a perfect unity throughout eternity. “The fatherhood of God is
primary. The fatherhood of God is the first form of fatherhood, preexisting all other creaturely
forms of fatherhood. Before the existence of creation, and thus before the existence of
creaturely fathers and creaturely sons, the Father and his only begotten Son dwelled in eternal,
mutual delight in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (Swain, 70). One role of the Father is that in
creation we see that He spoke the world into existence. Another role of the Father is the plan of
redemption for His people, including the sending of God the Son to be the redeemer. In John
3:16-17 we see that there was a Father-Son relationship before the incarnation of Jesus. “For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God gave his Son and sent Him into
the world. A key point to keep in mind is that while the father-son relationship has always
existed it has never changed or shifted roles, the Father can never be the Son and the Son can
never be the Father. “The Son did not become the Son when the Father sent him into the
world. Rather, the great love of God is shown in the fact that the one who was always Father
gave the one who was always his only Son”.

3.7.3 God the Son

Jesus, the Son of God, is the eternal offspring of the Father and the second person of the
Trinity. He was not created or made but He was begotten in eternity past. “Beget” means to
produce and God the Father eternally begets the Son. “The mystery of the Son’s eternal
begetting is one that mortal minds cannot fathom. Because it is a divine begetting, it is an
unsearchable deep” (Swain, 87). The role of the Son in redemption was that He redeems the
elect of God the Father through His death on the cross, paying the penalty of our sin and
appeasing the wrath of God. Jesus is fully God in the flesh and in no way is inferior to God the
Father or God the Spirit. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his
nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for
sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to
angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs'” (Hebrews 1:3-4). The Father
loves the Son and finds eternal pleasure and has placed Him at His right hand forevermore.
Through the Son all things were created (John 1:2) and are being sustained.

3.7.4 God the Holy Spirit

The third person of the Trinity is God the Holy Spirit who proceeds from God the Father and
God the Son. The Holy Spirit is God, not just a force that God uses. In Acts 5, Scripture clearly
portrays the Holy Spirit as God, “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie
to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it
remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?
Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God’”
(Acts 5:3-4). In verse 3, Peter said that Ananias had lied to the Spirit and in verse 4 he said that
He had lied to God. Peter is equating the Holy Spirit with God, they are one. We also see the
Holy Spirit present in the creation account by “hovering” over the waters. The Spirit also has
the role of regenerating new life in the redemption of God’s people. “Jesus answered, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not
marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you
hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with
everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8). The Spirit sanctifies us and works through us to
bring about the plan of the Father. Other roles of the Spirit include interceding, teaching,
bearing witness, and giving gifts to the people of God.21

CHAPTER FOUR

4.1 Pauline Concept of Trinity in New Testament

The doctrine of the Trinity is not a second or third century invention of the early church. Even
though the term itself does not appear in the Scriptures, the Trinity is found to be at the heart
of many New Testament authors’ thought, namely in the writings of the apostle Paul. The texts
supporting this doctrine are numerous, much more than the oft-cited Trinitarian formula from
Matthew 28:19–20 and 2 Corinthians 13:13. A glance at the New Testament reveals that the
writings of John and those of Paul are the main ones presenting God in three persons who are
eternally distinct, co-eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent.

4.1.1 Approaching the Issue from Different Perspectives

One could deal with the doctrine of the Trinity in Paul from different angles, either by studying
the titles given to the Father and to the Son (e.g., the title “Lord” or “Saviour”), or by studying
passages describing the actions of the Father, those of the Son, and those of the Spirit. One
could also examine the divine attributes predicated of each of the three persons of the
Godhead.

We choose here a different path. We will deal (for the most part) with passages where the
three divine persons are mentioned together, and try to understand the respective roles of the
Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit with respect to different facets of the divine work.

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The apostle Paul especially deals with the work of the Trinitarian God in creation, redemption,
sanctification, confession of the Lord’s work to non-believers, adoration, and finally discussion
of the new creation.

Before we examine the first two of these topics (creation and redemption) in different letters
from the apostle to the Gentiles, let us take a few steps back and ponder who wrote these
texts. The remaining four topics (sanctification, confession to non-believers, adoration, and new
creation) will be covered, Lord willing, in a forthcoming article.

4.1.2 Paul, a Faithful Monotheist, Devoted to the Faith of his Fathers

While some contemporary theologians seek in vain to discover the source of Paul’s thought in
mystery religions or in Greco-Roman religiosity, we need to be reminded that Paul was a Jew,
raised in strict monotheistic Judaism, and that nothing predisposed him to understanding God
as existing in three distinct persons.

On many occasions, Paul reminds his readers and hearers about the Jewish background of his
life and thought: “I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Rom
11:1). He tells the Galatians that nothing in his past life predisposed him to believe in Jesus and
the Messiah: “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the
church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many
of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of
my father’s” (Gal 1:13–14). Answering those who boasted of their ties with Judaism, Paul
specifies: “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the
eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews;
concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” (Phil 3:4b–6).

Seeking to bring back the Corinthians to their senses, as they were under the influence of so-
called “super-apostles,” Paul declares: “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they servants of Christ? . . . I am more” (2 Cor 11:22–23a).
There is therefore no doubt that Paul’s background was Jewish. At the heart of this Jewish faith
stood a strict monotheism, which Paul never renounced. On the contrary, he can thus affirm
without any doubt that God is one, that there is only one God, a New Testament echo to the
Jewish Shema (cf. Deut 6:4). “God is one,” Paul writes in Gal 3:20; this statement he repeats in
identical terms (in Greek) in Rom 3:30: “there is only one God” (NIV). As he praises God, Paul
declares: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory
forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim 1:17).

The texts Paul left us are not those of a tri-theist, nor those of one believing in three different
modes of being in God (a doctrine known as modalism), but those of a monotheistic Jew.

Before meeting the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul was resolutely committed
to monotheism. And after God revealed His Son to him (Gal 1:16), Paul remained monotheistic,
even though this monotheism was now expressed in a new form. As he writes to the
Corinthians concerning idols, Paul notes: “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from
whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
who all things came, and through whom we live” (1 Cor 8:6). Paul’s faith in a unique God does
not exclude the fact that he assigns the title “Lord” to Jesus Christ, nor does it prevent him to
speak of Jesus as the creator of all things. However, one finds in Paul’s letters not a single trace
of tri-theism or of modalism. Rather, one rather reads in Paul’s letters to the churches and to
his coworkers about a Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. Nothing in Paul’s background
predisposed him to believe in or to even understand a God in three persons.

Paul’s understanding of a Triune God came through a revelation from God about His Son,
concerning the identity and mission of Jesus the Messiah, leading to a fuller understanding of
God Himself. Nothing predisposed Paul to speak of God in terms of the Father, the Son, or the
Spirit; God himself revealed His Son to him (Gal 1:16).

4.2 Paul, Minister of the Gospel Message Concerning a Trinitarian God

The apostle to the Gentiles mentions the Triune God in numerous places in his letters. Let us
browse the main passages mentioning together the three persons of the Trinity when it comes
to describe God’s handiwork.

4.2.1 The Trinity and Creation

 One does not find a specific text in Paul’s writings mentioning Father, Son and Spirit together,
in the context of the (first) creation. However, the epistle to the Colossians (one of the few
letters of Paul without any mention of the Holy Spirit) speaks unequivocally of the role of the
Son: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things
were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He
is before all things, and in Him all things consist (Col 1:15–17). “God the Father” to whom Paul
gives thanks in Col 1:3, and to whom the Colossians are called to give thanks (1:12) has created
everything by His Son. The Son is the Agent (“through him, by him”) of creation, and the goal
(“for him”) of creation. In fact, the Son is not only the creator, but also the sustainer of all
creation. Though Paul does not mention the Holy Spirit in this context, he nonetheless
unequivocally affirms the central role of the Son.

4.2.2 The Trinity and Redemption

We will deal here with passages referring to redemption, justification, and salvation by faith.
Let us begin by well-known texts.

As he lays out the divine plan along chronological lines, Paul writes to the Galatians: “But when
the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the
law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And
because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out,
‘Abba, Father!’” (Gal 4:4–6). We find here the three persons of the Trinity mentioned explicitly:
God (who has sent His Son, so this God cannot be anyone but the Father), His Son, and the
Spirit (called here the “Spirit of his Son”). Let us note that sending is attributed twice to the
Father: He first sent His Son when the time had fully come, a unique moment in salvation
history, and He sends the Spirit of His Son in the hearts of believers, as they individually
throughout history place their trust in the Son for their own justification.

Let us also note the simultaneous presence of the great realities of salvation: redemption (“to
redeem” – v. 5), adoption (making us to be sons and daughters of God), and all of this in the
larger context of a discussion about justification by faith, a discussion which started in Gal 3:1
and continues until 4:11. We therefore see the three persons of the Trinity involved in our
justification, our adoption, and our redemption.

Paul previously wrote in Galatians, “ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is
evident….Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. . . that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:11–14). Though covering four verses in our Bibles,
these are two sentences presenting consecutively the person of the Father as the One who
justifies, the person of the Son who redeemed us from the curse of the law by his death of the
cross, and the person of the Spirit whom we receive as promised. We read here about the
specific role of the Son in our justification, and the gift of the promised Spirit. One finds here no
confusion in the roles or in the identity of the divine persons. God the Father, declaring
Abraham to be righteous before Him through his faith in God’s promise (Gal 3:6), has through
the Scriptures spoken beforehand and foresaw the gospel of our redemption accomplished in
Christ, leading us to receive the Spirit. Our prayers of thankfulness would benefit from being a
bit more precise: we must praise our Triune God for such a great salvation.

The familiar text from Gal 4:4–6 should not makes us forget that Paul also mentions the three
persons of the Trinity some verses earlier in the same epistle, namely in Gal 3:1–5, where Paul
speaks about the Galatians’ initial taste of salvation. Paul first mentions Jesus Christ as crucified
(v. 1), continues in reminding his readers they have received the Spirit by believing what they
heard (vv. 2, 4), and concludes this brief paragraph speaking about the One who gives them the
Spirit and works miracles among them, this One referring to God the Father (v. 4). Though this
text covers five verses, reminding the Galatians of their initial salvation serves here as the
thread tying together a series of questions from Paul, whose purpose is to recall to his readers
that their salvation is the work of the Son, of the Spirit, and of the God who justifies, the topic
of justification being what Paul deals with immediately in v. 6.

Changing epistles, one finds in Ephe 1:3–14, in what is one of the longest sentences in the New
Testament, a depiction of the spiritual blessing which is ours in Jesus Christ. Paul presents this
spiritual blessing with eight or nine pictures, the work of the Father, that of the Son, and that of
the Spirit. Some of the spiritual gems can be attributed to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ” (v. 3), namely our election before the foundation of the world and the fact that we were
predestined to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and
will (vv. 4–5, 11). It is also the Father who had made known to us the mystery of His will, that is,
to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (vv. 9–10). On
the other hand, it is in the Son that we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins (vv. 7–8); it is the Son, Christ, to whom all things in heaven and on earth come together (v.
10). Finally, the Spirit is the one who marks us with a seal, as a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the final redemption (vv. 13–14). Our salvation in all its components, from
eternity past to eternity future, is the work of the three persons of the Trinity. What God the
Father had planned, the Son accomplished, and the Spirit sealed, authenticated, and confirmed.
Our salvation finds its source, fulfillment, and certainty in the work of the Triune God.

The same truths are declared also to the Thessalonians, as Paul writes: “God from the beginning
chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He
called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess 2:13–
14). The sequence Father–Son–Spirit, found in Eph 1:3–14, is here slightly altered to God (the
Father)–Spirit–Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is presented as the source of our election, the Holy
Spirit as the one who sets us apart for God, and the Lord Jesus as the One whose glory we will
share. Once again our entire salvation—its source, present work, and eternal finality—is the
work of the Triune God.

The final passage we will consider in this short article is Rom 5:1–11, a text rich in content when
it comes to describing our salvation. Paul presents different perspectives concerning our
present salvation: peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1), hope of the glory of God
(v. 2), death of Christ for the powerless, the sinners, God’s enemies (vv. 6–10), love of God
poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom God has given us (v. 5), justification by the
blood of Christ (v. 9), salvation through Christ from God’s wrath (v. 9), reconciliation with God
through the death of his Son (v. 10). Though we do not find Father-Son-Spirit mentioned
together in a single verse, these verses taken together present us a salvation through different
lenses (justification, reconciliation, salvation from God’s wrath), a salvation being the work of
God the Father, Christ (also called here the Son), and Holy Spirit. 22

4.2.3 Paul’s Trinitarian Soteriology

- Rome 1:1-8 God sent Christ who in the Holy Spirit is raised.

- Rome 8:3-4 God sent to Christ to condemn sin so that believer is able to walk in the Spirit.

- Rome 8:15-17 the God-given Spirit makes us sons and joint-heirs with Christ.

22
Dr. Pierre Constant is the H. C. Slade Chair of New Testament Studies at Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible
College.
- 1Cor.1:4-7, God's grace is given in Christ who has blessed us with every kind of Spirit gifting.

- 1Cor.3:9-16, God gives grace to build on the Christ foundation until we become the

temple of the Holy Spirit.

-1Cor.6:11, God washed, justified and sanctified us in the name of Christ and by the

Spirit.

- 1Cor.6:19-20, we are purchased by Christ in order to become a temple of God's

presence by the Holy Spirit.

- Eph.1:3-14, God chose us, Christ redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit sealed us to the day of
redemption.

- Eph.1:17, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the Spirit of Wisdom.

- Eph.2:18, through the death of Christ, we have access to God by one Spirit.

- Eph.2:19-22, Christ is the corner stone in the temple which is the dwelling place of

God by his Spirit.

- Phil.3:3, we boast in Christ who made us serve God in the Spirit.

- Co1.3:16, the message of Christ dwells in those who worship God by the Spirit's

Inspiration.

- 1Thess.1:2-8, God chose that the Gospel of Christ be proclaimed in the power of the

Holy Spirit.

- 2Thess.2:13, we are the beloved of the Lord, elected by God for salvation and

Sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

4.3 The Apostolic Fathers and the Trinity

The concept of the Tri-unity of God is implicitly taught throughout all of Scripture. The
veracity of the Trinitarian notion of God— one God who is Father, Son, and Spirit is beyond all
reasonable and biblical doubt. It is the most defensible of any Scriptural doctrine. The biblical
evidence for the deity of Christ, and subsequently, the Tri-unity of God is overwhelming. It is
very significant that those who were disciples of the New Testament authors also referred to
Christ as “God” and used the triune formula in reference to the one true God they worshipped.
The Apostolic Fathers left the Church a wealth of material that establishes the fact that the
earliest Christian confession was that Christ is God. The fact that Scripture teaches that Christ is
both Lord and God, is distinct from God the Father, and yet there is only one God stands as the
core and foundation of Trinitarianism.23

Ignatius, second bishop of Antioch, who was martyred in Rome around 110 AD, write a series of
letters to churches in Asia Minor on his way to be executed in Rome. The conjunction of Father,
Son and Holy Spirit appears in his letter to the Magnesian church:

Study, therefore, to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles, that so all
things, whatsoever ye do, may prosper both in the flesh and spirit; in faith and love; in the Son,
and in the Father, and in the Spirit; in the beginning and in the end; with your most admirable
bishop, and the well-compacted spiritual crown of your presbytery, and the deacons who are
according to God. Be ye subject to the bishop, and to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father,
according to the flesh, and the apostles to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit; that so
there may be a union both fleshly and spiritual. 24Unitarians would argue that Ignatius is not
indicating that the Father, the Son and the Spirit 'are one substance anymore than he is saying
flesh and spirit are one substance.

Polycarp was martyred in Smyrna (where he was also Bishop) in the year 155. It is said by
Irenaeus of Lyons that he was a pupil of the Apostle John. In his final prayer before his
martyrdom, he "praises, glorifies, and blesses" the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

For this cause, yea and for all things, I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, through the
eternal and heavenly High-priest, Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, through whom with Him and
the Holy Spirit be glory both now [and ever] and for the ages to come. Amen 25

Origen says about the Trinity:

For it is the Trinity alone which exceeds every sense in which not only temporal but even
eternal may be understood. It is all other things, indeed, which are outside the Trinity, which
are to be measured by time and ages... It seems right to inquire into the reason why he who is
'born again through God' to salvation has need of both Father and Son and Holy Spirit and will
23
Kenny Rhodes, The One Who is “The Doctrine and Existence of God”pg111

24
St. Ignatius of Antoich to the Magnesians (Shorter Recension), Roberts-Donaldson Translation.
25
Martyrdom of Polycarp, Lightfoot trans. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/martydompolycarp-
lightfoot.html
not obtain salvation apart from the entire Trinity, and why it is impossible to become partaker
of the Father or the Son without the Holy Spirit. In discussing these points it will undoubtedly
be necessary to describe the activity which is peculiar to the Holy Spirit and that which is
peculiar to the Father and Son.26It is true that 'being born again of God' requires both to be
saved. There is no salvation apart from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Trinity,
and why is it impossible to commune with the Father or the Son without the Holy Spirit?

He found that he fully believed that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit were working
together in the Trinity.

Tertullian (160-215). African apologist and theologian. He writes much in defense of

Christianity.

“We define that there are two, the Father and the Son, and three with the Holy Spirit, and this
number is made by the pattern of salvation . . . [which] brings about unity in trinity,
interrelating the three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are three, not in dignity,
but in degree, not in substance but in form, not in power but in kind. They are of one
substance and power, because there is one God from whom these degrees, forms and kinds
devolve in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” (Adv. Prax. 23; PL 2.156-7).

The early Christians had a Trinitarian experience. For them the Spirit of God was personal. In
the fourth gospel, the divinity of Christ is explicitly stated (John 1:1, 1:18), and Jesus introduced
to them paracletos as Comforter, Councilor and Advocate. The New Testament developed the
monotheism of the Old Testament further. Arthur W. Wainwright says that in the New
Testament Christ is called ‘Lord’, in the Septuagint it is a title often used as an equivalent of
Yahweh.8 The epithets ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ are ascribed to Christ in the New Testament. The triadic
passages, Matt. 28:19,2 Corinthians 13:14, Acts 2:33 testify to the Triune God.

4.5 Development of the Trinitarian Formula

The apologists were the first to make an attempt to explain Trinity intellectually. Later the
antagonistic fathers developed the Trinitarian formula further as One Substance and Three
Persons. We cannot say that they are three substances, for that would be tritheism.13 By the
end of the third century Anus propounded his theory stating that neither the Son nor the Holy
Spirit were co-eternal and co-equal with the Father or with each other. 27 Two attempts before
26
Origen, De Principiis, Book 1,Chapter 3.
27
V.C. Samuel. "The Triune God of Christian Orthodoxy", Triune God: Love. Justice, Peace, edited by K.M.Tharakan
(Mavelikkara: Youth Movement of Indian Orthodox Church, 1989), 42.
Arianism were modalism and dynamism. The former denied continuity to the modes and the
latter did not affirm personal status to them. The Athanesian contribution of one ousia
(essence) and three hypostases (persons) was later developed by the Cappadocian Fathers and
the doctrine of Trinitarian monotheism was developed. The unity is reflected in their mutual co-
inherence or co-indwelling. The co-eternity, co-equality and co-essentiality of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit were officially proclaimed at the first great council of the church at
Nicea in 325. Later the synod of the Constantinople confirmed it.28

In the later theological development we can see two analogies; individual and social. Augustine
followed the individual analogy and he formulated the psychological doctrine of the Trinity in
the West. Similarly the social analogy formulated a social doctrine of the Trinity in the East.
Through mind, knowledge and love the human being resembles the divine being. In this way
according to Augustine, humans reflect the mystery of the Trinity.

"The social doctrine of the Trinity is in a position to overcome both monotheism in the concept
of God and individualism in the doctrine of man, and to develop a social personalism and
personalist socialism," says Moltmann and adds, "That is important for the divided world in
which we live and think."29When we say the Trinitarian formula, it means ‘Drei-einigkeit’30three
persons, one communion of fellowship in unique unity.

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Trinity and Contemporary Church

The first thing I would like to say is that believers need to know that the existence the church
does not exist because of the Trinity. The triune God existed before heaven and earth existed.
So when God created the heavens and the earth, he showed the existence of the Trinity.
Genesis 1:1-2 mention English words GOD and the Spirit, Hebrew word used Elohim plural, and
Spirit is Ruach this word and Greek word Pneuma is same Holy Spirit. These all are trinity
formula. What I want to say is that many people believe that the Trinity came from the Church.
When theologian study in the bible seriously, they see the reason for the Trinity, not the human
mind, but God reveals it.

5.2 Early Church believed in Trinity

28
K.E. Kirk, "The Evolution of the Doctrine of the Trinity", Essays on the Trinity and the Incarnation, edited by A.E.J.
Rawlinson (Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., 1928), 159.
29
BuJurgenMoltmann, "The Reconciling Power of the Trinity in the Life of the Church and the World", Triune God:
Love, Justice, Peace, edited by K.M. Tharakan (Mavelikkara: Youth Movement of Indian Orthodox Church, 1989),
32.
30
Ibid ..,22.
We can see the early Christian Church, around 110 AD a pastor from Antioch name Ignatius (c.
35–c. 110) wrote several letters to various churches on his way to his eventual martyrdom. His
Trinitarian consciousness was informed by a discernible mix of Old Testament and New
Testament writings, though exact quotations were minimal. His affirmation of the Son’s relation
to the Father even had a certain hymnic quality. The clearest Trinitarian imagery and most
profound statements can be found in his letter to the Ephesians. Comparing church unity to a
chorus, Ignatius instructs them to “[take] your pitch from God [so that] you may sing in unison
with one voice through Jesus Christ to the Father, in order that he may both hear you and, on
the basis of what you do well, acknowledge that you are members of his Son”31. Noting the
Trinitarian foundation of the church, Ignatius describes believers like “stones of a temple,
prepared beforehand for the building of God the Father, hoisted up to the heights by the crane
of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, using as a rope the Holy Spirit”. A few years after Ignatius,
Polycarp the bishop of Smyrna (69–156) also demonstrated his Trinitarian consciousness before
his martyrdom: “I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your
beloved Son, through whom to you, with him and the Holy Spirit, be glory both now and for the
ages to come”32Similar to Polycarp, early apologists for the Christian faith did not shy away from
a Trinitarian confession. The reason why they are not ashamed is because they believe in the
truth.

In defending the faith, apologists asserted that Christianity worshipped the one true God
revealed as Father, Son, and Spirit. This was nothing new, as many detractors assumed, but was
the revealed truth from the very beginning made crystal clear through the Word made flesh (cf.
John 1:14).John 1:14).

Trinitarian reflection continued right into the third century with figures such as Tertullian of
Carthage, Hippolytus of Rome, and Origen of Alexandria among others. In the early third
century, Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170–c. 235).

Hippolytus also wrote in defense of the economic Trinity: “The economy of harmony is led back
to one God; for God is one. It is the Father, who commands, and the Son who obeys, and the
Holy Spirit who gives understanding. The Father, who is above all, and the Son who is through
all, and the Holy Spirit who is in all”33

Tertullian’s formulation became the foundation for the church’s definition of the Trinity. He
maintained, “All are of one, by unity … of substance; while the mystery of the economy is still
guarded, which distributes the unity into a Trinity, placing in their order the three persons—the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.

31
Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians 4.2
32
Martyrdom of Polycarp, 14
33
William Rush, The Trinitarian Controversy (Source of Early Christian Thought). (Fortress Press,1980).
Thinkers in the fifth century provided the apex of Trinitarian reflection that would solidify
Trinitarian theology for the next 1000 years. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) in the west and Cyril
of Alexandria (c. 376–444) in the east provided a keen defense for Trinitarian orthodoxy. They
continued to promote belief in the unity of essence and threeness of person. In his work On the
Trinity, Augustine asserted, “Whatever … is spoken of God in respect to himself, is both spoken
singly of each person, that is, of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and together of
the Trinity itself, not plurally but in the singular”. Augustine also articulated the view of the
Spirit’s double procession from both the Father and Son because we see the Spirit proceeding
from the Son as well.34

When we re-examine the writings of this book, we can see that the theologians in the early
church strongly believed in the Trinity, and they preached and taught it in the church. We need
to know that the contemporary Church and the Trinity are growing because of these is the truth
doctrine. The reason why they are not ashamed is because they believe in the truth. In the early
church, we can see that they believed the truth with courage. Now in the 21st century,
believers need to preach in the church to believe like them.

5.3 The Trinity and Zomi Christian Context

The Zomi people are lives in Burma, Manipur State and Mizoram State in India. Zo people tend
to speculate as to where they came from. Some suggest that they are the descendants of the
Chinese of the Chin dynasty because they are called “Chin” by the Burman. Some devoted
Christians dreamed of being one of the lost tribes of Israel. The following pages are an attempt
to clarify the origins of Zo people and their migration roads to their present settlements. I also
sought to trace all Zo people and pinpoint where they are to be found and the political and
cultural condition they are facing today. The history of the Zo people is very complex because
they have many versions of legends and traditions. Their clothing, houses and diet differ from
one area to another because of climatic differences within a short distance. The language,
though basically similar, has developed into multi-dialects. Even their name as a people has
been pronounced in many different ways. I make attempts to compromise these differences so
that, at least outside their own land they are known by the same name. In doing so, I take the
name used by most Zo people such as Zoram or Zoland. Zo terms used in this book are mostly
of the northern Zo people. I view the contiguous Zo settlements as Zoram, statistic shows the
user of Zoram outnumber the user of Zoram, and I use Fast Zoram and West Zoramto cover Zo
settlements in Burma and India respectively. I also search for Zo names to replace foreign
abusive names such as Chin, Kuki, Tiddim Chin, Plains Chin etc. and use more acceptable and
34
Donald Fairbairn, Life in the Trinity: An Introduction to Theology with the Help of the Church Fathers (IVP
Academic,2009).
practical names such as Paite for Tiddim Chin, Pawi for Falam. Haka.andChhimtuipui people,
Lusei for Duhlian dialect speaking peoples.35

5.4 Zomi People Religion

Traditionally Zomi people belonged to a religion called Sakhua, which consisted of belief in
Supreme Being (or Spirit), the existence of many benevolent and malevolent spirits, and the
accompanying propitiatory sacrifices to them. For many years the Zomi people resisted
Christian conversion, but after many of their neighboring communities converted to Christianity
and young Zomi people came in closer contact with the western world during World War I, the
majority of the Zomi people became Christian. Currently 90% of Zomi people are Christian and
80% of the Christians belong to the Zomi Baptist Convention (ZBC). Zomi people have however,
preserved many of their traditional cultural beliefs within the church. Though ancestor worship
is being abandoned by modern Zomi people, their traditional marriage practices and customs
have been incorporated into church practices. Traditional folk songs played on a khuang (a
drum traditionally used for social and religious occasions) have also been incorporated into
modern church services.

The Zomi people have accepted Christianity for more than 100 years, but we are not progressed
much in terms of doctrine. Most of us Zomi people are Baptist and strongly believe in the
Trinity. Recently, because of the doctrine of UPC (Oneness), many people think that the Trinity
Doctrine is a big mistake. I am asked Rev. Dr. Simon Pau Khan En who is the Theologian for the
Zomi people, “Why is it that many people are do not believe in the Trinity that they are
believed in for 100 years and they are believed in Oness doctrine because we do not preach
doctrine in the Church, the members do not understand the true Trinity? He answered, We did
not preach like the SDA,UPC(Oneness), RC (Roman Catholic) preached. Even if they are wrong,
they find out what they believe to fit the Bible and the members understand and interpret it
correctly. We didn’t have this kind of problem during our time, that’s why the church members
didn’t tell us the details about Trinity. It is difficult to solve the current problem, but I believe
that if I tell the church what the Scripture has evidence to teach about Trinity, people will
understand the truth.

5.5 How to Teach Church

Now the preachers do not preach or teach because of the Trinity, they preaching that you will
be rich, they preach only about the blessing that they will be healthy and stay with the car, who
knows because of the trinity doctrine. 21century Sermon are only blessing these is false
teaching, The most importance thing to preach is the salivation of Jesus, and then we are

35
Vumson, Zo History with an introduction to Zo culture, economy, religion and their status as an ethnic minority in
India, Burma, and Bangladesh.
teaching in trinity doctrine but currently some people are these all not preaching. Those who
do not preach God’s will but preach for the sake of blessing will be like Balaam, Number 22.
Balaam is not doing what God wants, but doing what is blessed for him. Zomi people preacher
needs “Thematic expository (or Doctrinal) Preaching. Thematic preaching is an excellent form
for preaching Bible doctrine. The speaker can focus on everyday topics by expounding a specific
biblical text. The pastor can focus on Bible sayings on any relevant subject by a careful study
and exposition of relevant biblical passages.

Thematic expository preaching generally appears in a sermon series over several weeks and
introduces many Scriptures focused on the same theme. Thematic messages may include as
many as 10 or 12 Scripture passages in each sermon. Since the Bible tends to provide teachings
on themes dispersed through different books, this form of preaching is a good way to preach
the "whole counsel of God." This method also introduces new believers or unschooled
unbelievers to general themes and patterns that appear throughout the Bible. So if you don’t
preach in the church I would like to say that members of the congregation will never develop
into a part of the Trinity. When Western countries preach in the church, they give a deep
interpretation of the Trinity, and we want to preach the same way.

Youth teach about the Trinity in Sunday school. They are our stars in the future. So if they
understand the truth, they will progress even faster in religion. When I look back at Zomi’s
Christians background, the teachers who teach in Sunday school are often unqualified, In fact,
he who teaches youth needs to know how much he will improve if they are wise and graduate.
The reason Muslim stand strong in their faith is because they were taught their faith well when
they were young. They are teach the first most importance to profess that there is one God and
that Muhammad was his prophet. The second duty is prayers. Muslims pray five time’s day. The
third duty is charity. The fourth duty is to fast, or refuse to eat, from sunrise to sunset during
the holy month of Ramadan. The fifth duty is duty is to make a pilgrimage. They learned this
when they were young, and when they grow up, they are faster in religion than us Christian.
We are more than them, we must teach young people because of the Trinity. Bob Talbert says
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best” what can we learn from
Scripture about teaching our kids. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even
when he is old he will not depart from it. The lessons I learned in Sunday school have kept me
on track. In everything we teach, children need to know that they are alive. That’s why our
responsibility is to teach young people to understand the trinity, so there will be fewer
problems in the future.

5.6 How to Explain the Trinity to children

5.6.1 The Trinity is like an egg or apple

The Trinity is like an egg. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts – the shell, the white, the
yoke – ONE God has THREE different Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Similarly, we often
hear the Trinity compared to an Apple. ONE apple has three different parts – the skin, the flesh,
and the seed.

Explaining the Trinity with an egg is a great way of helping our children understands how ONE
thing can also be THREE distinct things! But how is God different than an egg or an apple? An
apple suggests that the members of the Trinity are just three different parts of God. They’re not
equal and don’t share the same nature. The skin is a different material than the seed and the
flesh. It’s not 100% of the apple and the parts are not equal. Look how much smaller the seed
is! (This is called the Partialism heresy).

5.6.2 The Trinity is like water

The Trinity is like water (H₂0) which can exist in three different states: a liquid, a gas, and a
solid. When we get a glass of water from the tap it’s a liquid. But when it’s frozen it turns into
ice (solid) or steam (gas) when it’s boiled.

Another excellent way of demonstrating THREE in ONE. This also shows how each state of
water can be different yet is actually made of the same thing (H₂0). Our glass of water is 100%
water – so is ice and steam. How is God not like water? Water can’t exist as a solid, a liquid, and
a gas at the same time. This suggests that God changes His ‘mode’ so that sometimes He’s the
Father, sometimes He’s the Son, and other times the Holy Spirit. But we know from the bible
that God exists as ONE God and THREE persons all at once! (This is called the Modalism heresy).

5.6.3 The Trinity is like a Man

The Trinity is like a man who is a father, a husband, and a son.

This analogy is something our children can relate to. Dad is their father, their mother’s
husband, and their grandma’s son. We call God the Father and the Son, so the terminology
makes sense. How is God not like their Dad? Their Father can’t be both a dad, husband, and son
to the same person. This is similar to the water analogy – God isn’t a part-time Father, Son, and
Spirit. He’s always all three.36

This inadequacy highlights the fact that, if we are going to teach our children about the Trinity,
we should first learn about the Trinity ourselves, and not make mistakes when we explain it. It

36
https://ahearttoknow.com/how-to-explain-the-trinity-to-children-free-printable
does not mean that we cannot use a triangle as an example. But if we use it, we should tell our
children that it does not actually represent God well. “The Trinity will always be mysterious. But
we can teach it to our children because God teaches it in the Bible”.Similarly, some people have
used the example of water. Water has three states, solid (ice), liquid, and gaseous (water
vapor). But this analogy is also inadequate. It is not the case that God merely appears in three
forms, one after another. Rather, God is Father, Son, and Spirit always, even before he appears
to us.

As we already noted, this is mysterious. We can never dissolve this mystery into a transparent
representation of God.

5.6 Why I believe God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit or Trinity

I believe everything in the Bible and that is why I firmly believe in the Trinity. No matter what
others say, I will believe in the trinity God until I die, I live in this world with the full of hope that
I will meet them in the Father’s house in heaven. I do not believe because the apostolic and
Church Father’s believed, but because it is in God’s Word. I will look at the scriptures that
believe in me.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit Scripture Verses:

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.. (Matt 28:19)

In the baptism of Jesus, we see the Father speaking from heaven and the Spirit descending from
heaven in the form of a dove as Jesus comes out of the water (Mark 1:10-11). In John 1:1 it is
affirmed that Jesus is God and, at the same time, that He was “with God”- thereby indicating
that Jesus is a distinct Person from God the Father (cf. also 1:18). And in John 16:13-15 we see
that although there is a close unity between them all, the Holy Spirit is also distinct from the
Father and the Son.

... I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, in order that He may be with
you forever - the Spirit of Truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it does not see
Him or know Him. You know Him, because He resides with you and will be in you. [...] “If
anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him
and will take up residence with him. [...] But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name that one will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything that I
said to you.(John 14:15-26)
And while He [The Son] was with them, He commanded them [...] wait for what was promised
by the Father, which you heard about from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”(Act 1:4-5)

Exalted to the right hand of God, He [Jesus] has received from the Father the promised Holy
Spirit ... The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you all.(2Cor 13:13).And because you are sons, God sent out the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, crying out, “Abba!(Father!),” so that you are no longer a slave but a son, and if
a son, also an heir through God.(Gala4:6-7).

For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.(Ephe 2:18)

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for
obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied
to you.(1Pet 1:2).

I believe because of these strong scripture. I see the trinity working together. If you don’t
believe in the Trinity, you won’t understand his love. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist as a
mutually loving relationship that is both uniting (because the three are one) and creative
(because the power of their love causes life to come into being). The Trinity loves to love and
create. In 1 John 4:16 we learn that “God is Love”. This is more than just saying God is loving
although He certainly is! John is talking about something special about God’s nature itself.
Inside the Trinity is an everlasting relationship of love that flows between the Father, Son, Holy
Spirit. God is actually made of love. God knows the Trinity with his love. Our goal today is to try
and describe how the three persons can indeed be one God. A major problem is that every time
you focus on one aspect it leaves the other out. There is a passage in 1 John 4:7-8. It reads:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love [emphasis
mine].