Exploring the Trinity: Part 1

Today is our first day to dive into the Trinity.  This post will help explain what we are up to this week.

What is the Trinity?

There isn’t one specific passage in Scripture that spells out what the Trinity is. It can be seen from Genesis to Revelation, and all of Scripture testifies to its truth. We will look at many of these passages this week. I won’t be able to talk about each one, but I do encourage you to take the time to look them up. They build upon what is mentioned here.

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the deep mysteries of God. Whether you are hearing the word for the first time or haven’t heard it since children’s church, it is hard for us to wrap our finite human minds around this deep truth. 

What is the definition of the Trinity? 

 It means that God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God. (1)

What does it really mean to say that God is a Trinity? 

What it means to say that God is a Trinity can be explained by looking at the words essence and person. Essence answers the question “What are you?” Person answers the question “Who are you?” So when can say that God is a Trinity, we are saying that God exists as “one essence” (God) and “three persons” (Father, Son, Spirit). The Trinity is made up of 3 “who’s” and 1 “what.”

How can one person be three distinct persons?

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Some may falsely say that God isn’t three distinct persons, but that He plays three different roles and is really the same person. That He just takes on different roles as needed. The Bible clearly indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons.

When we read Mark 1:10-11, we can see the three distinct persons of the Trinity.

“As Jesus (Son) was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit (Holy Spirit) descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. (God the Father)” Mark 1:10-11 NIV

So what does it mean then that the three persons of the Trinity are distinct? It means that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. They are all three distinct from another, yet they are all fully God.

You may be thinking ... how can each part of the Trinity be fully God, yet there is only one God? So maybe each part of the Trinity is one-third of who God is, but God is not a circle you can divide into three parts. All three parts, Father, Son, and Spirit, are 100% God!

I know—it seems that I have lost my mind because it sounds impossible to say that each member of the Trinity can be 100% God. It goes against everything that we have ever learned about math! We can also see this when we look at the character of who God is. We can’t divide God into pieces or percentages.

Incorrect View Correct View

God God

Mercy—10% Mercy—100%

Judge—20% Judge—100%

Love—30% Love—100%

Wrath—40% Wrath—100%

Colossians 1:19 tells us “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him (Jesus).” 

The three persons of the Trinity are fully God. There isn’t a difference in their attributes or essential nature, they are each fully God and have all the attributes of God. Each member of the Trinity is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. The only distinction between the members of the Trinity is in the ways they relate to one another and to creation. They are “equal in being but subordinate in role.” (1) 

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Questions to Ponder:

How does the truth that God’s character isn’t something we can divide into equal parts (10% justice, 10% love, etc.) change the way I view Him?

How do I view each member of the Trinity?