The Concept of Trinity

Most Christians think little about the Trinity, but a biblical church will hold firmly to the orthodox belief that the one true and indivisible God exists in three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity: A Neglected but essential doctrine. But how can God be one and three? Can Jesus be God if He prays to the Father? How does the Spirit relate to the other two persons? The doctrine of the Trinity raises all sorts of questions, and a library of books has been written to answer them. While our language and mind are inadequate for really comprehending God’s nature—which is why the church’s great teachers call the Trinity a “mystery”—we ought to understand some key concepts about the Triune God we worship. Three truths are foundational to the doctrine of the Trinity: We believe in one God. We can talk ourselves into a corner in a hurry trying to explain God’s oneness. In short, we believe He is not one in the same way that He is three. He is one in essence, one being—or as Norman Geisler says, God is “one what” . . . Our God exists in three persons. God is one what, but three whos. They are distinct but not separate in the way we think of discrete individuals. They share a community beyond our understanding (John 10:30; 14:16-17). They act in complete harmony with one perfect divine will—without division, discord, or disagreement. All three persons are God. We understand two of the persons in relationship terms—Father and Son—and these are eternal relationships. In other words, the Father has always been the Father, and the Son has always been the Son. But this doesn’t mean that the Father is more God. Likewise, in becoming human, the Son did not become less God. He was God come near, stepping into our world to redeem us. And the Spirit is not some impersonal force; He’s the person of the Trinity who comes near to us now, convicting us of sin, teaching us the truth, and transforming us into the image of Christ.

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