What Is the Trinity?

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago when I gave the first lesson in this series, I said I didn’t want this series to become philosophical. Sunday nights are difficult for many of us. Our bodies are tired; our minds fatigued. Trying to think is almost as difficult as trying to go to your job right now. Nighttime means that we are winding down. I don’t want this lesson to be so heavy that it adds to the heaviness of your eyelids. As quickly as possible we will go through this lesson trying to demonstrate the different views of the Holy Spirit and what is called the Trinity or the nature of the Godhead.

Different Views of the Trinity

The word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, but then neither is the word “Bible.” The word trinity captures best the essence of what the scriptures say about the unity and diversity of God. A couple of weeks ago we noticed that God is one but there are three distinct persons. Each of those persons are God and each is personal. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This idea of the trinity is seen in the Bible in various texts such as Matthew 3:16, at Jesus’s baptism, Matthew 28:18-19 in which all three are part of the relationship established at baptism, and in 2 Corinthians 12:14 in which Paul prays that all three will have an effect on the believers in Corinth.

There have been four different views given to explain the trinity. Three are either inadequate or unbiblical. Only one captures the essence of scripture. The first is what is called “Tritheism.” This view says that there are three gods. There is not one God, but three Gods. This view is held by the Mormon church. Mormon doctrine says that there is a multiplicity of gods. Mormonism truly endorses polytheism. In fact, part of their belief is that in time one can become a god as well. This view is completely unacceptable in light of Deuteronomy 6:4. There is one God. Tritheism reflects on the diversity but not the unity of God.

The second view is Arianism which gets its name from a fourth century advocate named Arius. Arius was an elder of the church in Alexandria, Egypt. Arius taught that John 3:16 translated in the KJV with the word “begotten” meant that Jesus had a beginning. God the Father existed from eternity; God the Son was created by the Father. The very fact that Jesus is called “son” and calls himself “son” demonstrates that he is not eternal and is less than the Father. The Holy Spirit is a creation of the Son. The Holy Spirit is a creature of a creature. This view is held by the Jehovah’s Witness group. The Jehovah’s Witness group goes a bit further by saying that the Holy Spirit is not personal. They refer to the Spirit as an “it.” The Spirit is sent from God to accomplish his purpose.

The third view is far more subtle and is not as easily seen in our culture. It goes by two names: Sabellianism or Modalism. This view began in the third century. This view says that there is one person in the Godhead not three. In essence it is said that God is one person and that God manifests himself to the world in three different ways or in three different roles. He cannot play these roles simultaneously but must play them successively. God presents himself as Creator at one moment. Then he presents himself as Redeemer and now he presents himself as the Spirit. God is not Father, Son, and Spirit at the same time. But he is only one person not three. This view is found in the United Pentecostal Church which is an offshoot of the mainline Pentecostal church.

The Doctrine of the Trinity Affirmed

There are basically three statements which we have to verify in order to understand and appreciate the biblical doctrine of the trinity. First, God is one. This we tried to do two weeks ago and is seen in Deuteronomy 6:4. Second, God the Son is fully God and yet is distinct from God the Father and God the Spirit. The Son possess every quality and attribute of deity but he is a distinct person from the other two. Third, God the Spirit is fully God and yet is distinct from God the Father and God the Son. The Spirit possesses the same qualities and attributes of deity, but he is a distinct person from the other two.

Since the first statement was dealt with two weeks ago, let’s move to the second statement. There are numerous passages which speak of Jesus being separate and distinct from God. There are also passages which speak of Jesus as being God. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the word was God.” The word existed before the beginning. Arianism insists that the word was created. John disagrees. When the world was being created, the word already existed.

The word was with God. Modalism is impossible by this statement. The word “with” implies direct communication. Literally it means “face to face toward God.” There was intimate communication with God. Both persons are present at the same time.

The word was God. This is contrary to Arianism. He was not a lesser god; He was God. He possessed all the qualities and attributes as God. God yet distinct from the Father. In John 17:5 as Jesus was getting ready to be crucified in his prayer he asked for God to glorify him in the way he was before the world began. In the beginning God the Son was with God the Father enjoying intimate communion and now he is about to return.

In John 17:24, Jesus confirms that God has loved him before the beginning of the world. God was not isolated and lonely before creation. He had company. He had someone to talk with. He had someone to commune with. He didn’t need us to take away his loneliness. If that were true then our God would not be God at all. Jesus is God and yet as God he is distinct from the Father and from the Spirit, the other persons in the Godhead. He possessed the attributes and qualities of God, but he is distinct in mission and function.

We turn now to the Spirit. There is no passage which is as clear as John 1:1 in reference to the deity and distinctiveness of the Spirit. His very name, Holy Spirit, demonstrates that he is unblemished nature. He is the Spirit of holiness. Jesus calls the Spirit, the Spirit of truth in John 14:17 which means that he has complete understanding and is not capable of mistakes or errors in judgment. He is also the Spirit of God; thus, he cannot be a creature. In Romans 8:26-27, he is said to be in a personal relationship with God. In Acts 5:3-4, Ananias lies to the Holy Spirit and this is equated with lying to God. In Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 the Spirit is associated with the Father and the Son as a Trinity. Romans 8:26-27 establishes that the Spirit and God are distinct. While John 14:16 establishes that the Spirit and Jesus are distinct. The same in nature, but different in their person.

What does all this mean? First, it means that as Christians we have an extremely high view of God. We may have lost track of the fullness of God in the three persons. Too often we are confident of the personal relationship we can have with God the Father and God the Son but fail to realize the significance and fullness of relationship we can have with God the Spirit. Such a diminished view will create a void in our lives.

Second, we can appreciate the distinctiveness of mission which the Godhead has. The three persons of the Godhead are united in purpose, but each person of the Godhead has a different mission in carrying out that purpose. For instance, all three persons want salvation to be a part of the lives of creation. But each person has a different operation. God the Father initiates creation and redemption. God the Son redeems the creation. God the Spirit regenerates and sanctifies; thus, applying redemption to our lives.

Third, human analogies fall apart when discussing the Trinity. An analogy such as one man who is father, son, and husband fail to capture the nature of God. An analogy like an egg with shell, yoke, and white fails to capture the idea of personality.

Some things are not so much for our complete understanding as they are for us to demonstrate faith and confidence. We may never fully understand the nature of God, but he has not left us without some knowledge. He wants us to know that he has been and continues to be extremely active in this world. God the Spirit verifies this truth. Now we must live in faith of that truth.

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