Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity is essential to the Christian faith. It establishes a foundation of which man is able to properly view and understand God, His relation to us, and the relationship that is important for creation to have with its Creator. “The very essence of the term Godhead indicates a plurality of some sort. In short, it is a reference to that mystery of all mysteries—the Trinity!”[1] The God of the Bible has revealed Himself as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Trinity. Each member of the Trinity is co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, and co-equal in power and glory. The denial of this truth results in heresy, although the word “Trinity” is not mentioned in the Bible.[2] A foundational understanding of the gospel is only found in the unity of this doctrine, as it shows Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God.[3]

Shadowed within the Old Testament, the Son (Jesus) was sent by God to redeem the lost. Jesus understood His role in fulfilling God’s redeeming plan for mankind (Lk. 24:27). Peter also understood this fact as well (1 Pet. 1:10-11). The word “God” used in Genesis 1:1 and 1:27 is a plural noun, meaning “three or more.”[4] However, the word “Elohim” occasionally uses a singular verb (not in reference to the Trinity) to “point indirectly to some mysterious plurality in the intra-subjectivity of God.”[5] The interpersonal relationships found within the Trinity before time began point to the relationships within the creation itself.[6] As the Bible speaks of creation, it is referencing the importance of understanding that the Father enacted creation through the Son.[7]

The names “Father” and “Son” indicate a sense of equality and difference in relation to creation. Therefore, it is to be understood that there is an external relationship of authority and submission to be considered. As Jesus is the “only begotten” (monogenēs) Son of God, He is of the same substance as the Father in whom all things were created.[8] In noting this relationship, Augustine wrote:

If, however the reason why the Son is said to have been sent by the Father is simply that the one is the Father and the other the Son, then there is nothing at all to stop us believing that the Son is equal to the Father and consubstantial and co-eternal, and yet that the Son is sent by the Father. Not because one is greater and the other less, but because one is the Father and the other the Son . . . For he was not sent in virtue of some disparity of power or substance or anything in him that was not equal to the Father, but in virtue of the Son being from the Father, not the Father being from the Son.[9]

This doctrine, while foundational in the Old Testament, comes into full flourish in the New Testament. The establishment of this doctrine comes in view of the baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:13-17). With the “voice from heaven” being that of God the Father, He identifies the one being baptized by John as His Son “in whom He is well pleased.”

The doctrine of the Trinity is also confirmed in Matthew 28:19-20, as Jesus instructs that His followers should baptize in the one name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As Jesus stated this, Matthew emphasized Jesus’s ministry climatic summary with this statement.[10] An explanation for the Trinity is not clearly outlined within the New Testament, as it is used for the basis of the Christian life.

The unity found within the Trinity is to come to the conclusion of one saving purpose. One saving enterprise, and one saving plan. It is through God’s foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2) that the Son, Jesus Christ, redeems, and the Spirit occupies. The three persons of the Triune Godhead act as one Savior and Redeemer.

Before the world began, God knew who would come to faith in Christ (Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). The unity with the Father is now able to be seen through the royal inheritance, an expression of God’s love for His Son (Jn. 6:37; 17:24). It is under the direction of the Father that the plan of salvation was executed.

Jesus came to earth, through a virgin birth, to pay the price for His true church (Jn. 10:15; Eph. 5:25). The design of the cross was for salvation alone. It was through the shedding of blood that Jesus was able to redeem the souls of whom He had purchased with His blood.

It was at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came upon those in the upper room (Acts 2:1-4). As the gospel is preached and God reveals Himself to the hearts of man, they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:5-6). It is through the person of the Holy Spirit that the spiritually blind eyes are made to see the truth that is found in Jesus Christ.[11] The Spirit convicts the hearts so that the Lord may be glorified, in time, for the work at the cross.

God’s purpose within the design of the universe has been to exalt His name through the nations (Ps. 34:3; 68:4). The unity found within diversity is to display His ultimate glory to those that are to learn His name.[12] The realization of the Trinity is that all people will bow before the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to exalt His name forever (Phil 2:10-11).

[1] Harold L. Willmington, "God Is a Triune Being," Digital Commons @ Liberty University, accessed November 11, 2018, https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=three_one.

[2] "History of Trinitarian Doctrines," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed November 11, 2018, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/trinity-history.html.

[3] Wayne A. Grudem and K. Erik. Thoennes, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 246-247.

[4] Mark G. Cambron, Bible Doctrines: Beliefs That Matter (Shelbyville, TN: Bible & Literature Missionary Foundation, 1989), 8-9.

[5] Thomas Oden, The Living God (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987), 193.

[6] Grudem and Thoennes, Systematic Theology, 247.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] St. Augustine, The Trinity, trans. Edmond Hill, vol. 5, The Works of St. Augustine (Brooklyn: New City Press, 1991), 127.

[10] Allen, “BIBL 425 Class Room Lecture” (2018).

[11] Mark G. Cambron, Bible Doctrines: Beliefs That Matter (Shelbyville, TN: Bible & Literature Missionary Foundation, 1989), 17.

[12] Grudem and Thoennes, Systematic Theology, 256-257.