Understanding the Trinity...
IS THE TRINITY TRUE?
IS THERE A MYSTERY?
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity has been consistently misunderstood, probably more than any other teaching of the Bible. The Trinity is a complex doctrine, and there is the aspect of mystery surrounding it. The early church confessed this fact in 1 Timothy 3:16. We might call this scripture an "early creed" of the church. It states,
"And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: God who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, Taken up in glory." Yes, "great is the mystery of godliness".
This scripture is telling us that we cannot completely understand the infinite God with our finite minds. We will get into trouble if we try to make God "reasonable", or "easily understood". God is complex. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts as the prophet pointed out in Isaiah 55: 9. Nevertheless, God has made a revelation of Himself in the Bible, which we can accept or reject as we please.
Notice that immediately following the confession by the early church that "great is the mystery of godliness", the very next scripture continues,
"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons".
ATTACKS ON THE TRINITY
The Trinity has become the main doctrine that all the cult groups attack. It is also the main doctrine that all the mainline, historic churches agree upon. We may all have our differences, Catholics and varying Protestant groups, but when it comes to the doctrine on God we all agree that the Bible teaches belief in One God revealed in three persons, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Nevertheless we would not want to believe in the Trinity if the Bible did not teach it, no matter what the beliefs of our various churches were.
It's interesting that the cult groups usually give their members a false definition of the Trinity. For example, the magazine salesmen knocking on your door with their propaganda from Brooklyn, New York, say that the church teaches that there are three gods in one. This is completely false.
Another group which sends around youngsters calling themselves "elders" profess belief in their particular definition of the Trinity which is that there are three gods in unity. This is not the Trinity teaching of mainstream Christianity. What then, is the true definition of the Trinity?
THE TRUE DEFINITION OF THE TRINITY
The late Dr. Walter Martin, probably the foremost expert on the cults in the world, and a renowned bible scholar, gives this true definition of the Trinity,
"Within the unity of the One God there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three share the same Nature and attributes. In effect then, the three Persons are the One God."
Go back and read that again, so it will stay in your mind.
MEANING OF "ONE"
Some may say, "That's ridiculous, how can the three be one?" To answer this common objection, it should be kept in mind that the word "one" can denote COMPOSITE as well as solitary unity. A Hebrew word for one is "echad" and is used for Adam and Eve becoming "one flesh". (Gen. 2; 23-24 Ezra 2:64 records that "the whole assembly numbered 42,360." The words "whole assembly" in English are the single Hebrew word "echad". (One assembly, but many members.)
There are many variations of the Hebrew words for "one" but without fail Yahweh God chose, when describing Himself, the Hebrew word meaning "composite unity". He never said He was "yachid" one - the absolute singular. Jesus used the equivalent Greek word for composite unity when He spoke of marriage in Mark 10: 8. THE ONE GOD HAS THREE MANIFESTATIONS.
IS "TRINITY" IN THE BIBLE
The word "Trinity" means "Tri-Unity". While not used in Scripture as a Bible term, it conveys what the Bible teaches concerning God. The ONE GOD of the Bible is revealed to us in THREE persons as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost).
WHAT ABOUT OTHER GODS?
It's true that there is more than one God mentioned in scripture. There are many false gods mentioned, some of them by name. They are not, however, the true God by nature. Galatians 4:8 makes sure we understand that important difference when it says:
"However at that time when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which BY NATURE are no gods."
By nature, there is only one true eternal God, all the other gods are not gods by nature. They are created and false as opposed to the one true God who is eternal, without beginning or end. 1 Corinthians 8: 5,6 says:
"for even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom are all things, and we exist through Him."
Notice the same statement for the Father and Son who are contrasted as the "ONE GOD", "ONE LORD" as opposed to all other so-called gods; our God, our Lord is one.
GOD IS ONE
In our limited understanding of the Nature of God, we will begin with this one truth, that is stated over and over in Scripture, and that is the fact that "God is one". Isaiah 43:10,11 says this:
"I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I am the LORD, and there is no Savior besides Me."
Verse 13 continues "Even from eternity, I am He". Isaiah 45: 22 strongly states,
"Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."
Did matters change when the New Testament was written, and the Lord Jesus Christ came into full prominence? Was provision made then for more than one true God? Not at all. Galatians 3:20 states, "God is only one" James 2:19 says,
"You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder."
The Scriptures could go on and on, but we believe the point is sufficiently made--there is only one God. Now, if the Father is called "God", He is that one God. If the Son, Jesus Christ is called "God", He is that one God. If the Holy Spirit is called "God", He is that one God.
Since there is only one God, we must start at that point, and with that central truth, then accept any further Biblical revelations of the Person of God. This we will now do.
GOD THE FATHER
There is seldom any argument that the Father is called God, so we will look at just one Scripture calling the Father "God". 2 Peter 1:17 contains the words "Father God".
"For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory."
So the Father is called God, and therefore must be the one God.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
Next, we will look at the Holy Spirit and ask, "is He called God?" Let's turn to the account in Acts 5:1-11,
"But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Annanias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God."
Pausing here in the account, notice that Annanias lied to the Holy Spirit, and then it is stated, "You have not lied to men, but to God". So the term, "Holy Spirit" and "God" interchange, and this is proper, since God is revealed as the Holy Spirit.
I would point out also, that it is impossible to lie to an inanimate force. Some cult groups teach that the Holy Spirit is not God, nor even a person, but only an "active force". However, only personalities can be lied to. How foolish one would feel talking to a chair, or the wind! The Holy Spirit is not an "it" as the cult groups teach, but the Holy Spirit is a "He", a person, a part of the Godhead.
Notice Acts 13:2 which says,
"And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
Notice that the Holy Spirit speaks, and when He does, He calls Himself, "Me" and "I", personal pronouns used by (logically) a Person! The Holy Spirit is God.
Some cult groups say that Satan is a real person, because in Scripture he speaks and has a personality. However, when the Holy Spirit speaks and reveals His personality, they promptly deny the Holy Spirit the same status they give to Satan, that of being a person with intelligence! Some cults would rather recognize Satan as an intelligent person, than the Holy Spirit whom they call "it".
The Holy Spirit is not only an "intelligent personality", He is God. In the Scriptures, only God is eternal. It should not surprise us therefore when we read Scriptures calling the Holy Spirit "eternal". Hebrews 9: 14 reads:
"how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the ETERNAL SPIRIT offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Notice that all three persons of the Godhead were involved in our salvation as shown by the Scripture just read, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. John 4:24 says, "God is Spirit".
