The word “Trinity” is found nowhere in the Bible.
Does that make it useless? Does that make it an optional doctrine?
There are many people who say they don’t believe in God these days. A very good follow up question would be to ask, “Which god is it that you don’t believe in?”
At that point they might say, a god who sits in the sky aloof from my problems while still expecting me to do good, a god who doesn’t understand me because he’s an ego maniac always concerned with his own glory, a god who hates all the people I love, etc., etc.
Before someone rejects the Christian God outright, they really should understand something of who that God is. The book that reveals that God is the Bible, and the term that is shorthand for how the Bible describes the nature of God is the Trinity.
On the one hand, there is a simple summary of the Trinity:
God is one God and exists in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God.
The Father is not the Son or the Spirit.
The Son is not the Father or the Spirit.
The Spirit is not the Father or the Son.
Each person of the Trinity has a different role as well.
The Father purposes salvation. The Son accomplishes salvation. The Spirit applies salvation to people.
The Father sends the Son. The Father and Son send the Spirit. The Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son.
On the other hand it is startlingly complex to think about the Trinity:
For starters, how does 1+1+1=1? (Maybe it’s better to think of it as 1x1x1=1)
How can they be co-equal in power and glory and yet clearly there is a procession of the persons.
In other words, if they are the same rank, how can one outrank the other?
Quickly we find that one blog post isn’t going to suffice to clear this up.
All we’ll do in this first post is let you know that if you take the Bible seriously then you need to take the Trinity seriously and spend some time considering God as tri-personal. To do that I’ll give you 10 (we’ll limit it to just 10!) verses that raises questions that can only hold together in the mystery of the Trinity.
1. Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
From the first words of the Bible we have this question: if God is the only one present, what does it mean that the Spirit is there hovering? This Spirit of God seems to be separate from God, yet uncreated as well. How can we make sense of this?
2. Genesis 1:26
Let us make man in our image...
Who is the “us” here? Is God using some kind of “royal we” language? To whom is He talking?
3. Deuteronomy 6:4
Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
After the questions raised by the above passages we get this clear statement that God is One. How can something seem more than one and yet be one thing? (We’re back to that idea of 1x1x1=1)
4. Matthew 28:19
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.
Why does Jesus command that disciples be made in the name of these three persons and not simply His own name? Or why not just disciples of the Father? This statement comes at the end of Matthew, so presumably there has been some evidence given throughout the book of Matthew that would help make sense of this statement at the end. (There is, but again, I’m writing a single blog post.)
5. John 1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God, he was in the beginning with God.
John’s gospel account opens with this cryptic phrasing that sounds reminiscent of Genesis 1:1-2, but with a twist. John is going to talk a lot about Jesus, but all of his commentary on Jesus will live under the umbrella of these first two verses. So again, we see at least two separate persons, but they both seem to be God.
6. 1 Corinthians 2:11
No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Are they separate persons? Are they the same God? Both are implied by this statement of knowing.
7. 2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Paul ends this letter describing the roles each of these persons has. Grace of Jesus, Love of the Father, Fellowship of the Spirit. Are these roles interchangeable? Is each one responsible for one, but not the other?
8. Colossians 1:15-16
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Again, here Paul is the author and is speaking of Jesus in concert with creation. Yet Jesus isn’t mentioned in the creation account of Genesis 1:1-2. Is he the same as the Spirit? Is he different? Is he the silent partner at creation? Is he part of that “royal we” from Genesis 1:26-27?
9. 1 Peter 1:2
…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.
Here is another place where an author, Peter, is talking about the roles of Father, Son, and Spirit. Notice how different authors in different letters talk about these three persons working together in different places. They put news about the Trinity in the beginning, middle, and end of their missives. The Trinity is meant to be the source of some of their thinking, the meat that explains it, and the final word that verifies it.
And the finale...
10. John chapters 14 though 17
These chapters are what I call the Test Lab for the Trinity. Jesus is doing most of the talking in these chapters. He speaks about himself in relationship to the Father and the Spirit.
If you have a thought about the Trinity and you want a biblical grid through which to run it, see if your thought does damage to anything said in John 14-17. See if it works out in the Test Lab.
If you’ve read this far, then you get a little reward. Follow this link to watch one of my favorite short informational and hilarious videos about how to describe the Trinity.
Through the rest of this series we will explore how the Trinity is active in our salvation, in prayer, and in baptism. Think on our great God using these posts. He is One in Three persons - blessed Trinity!
In Him,
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