Can you explain the Trinity - I can't either?

 

Math has never been a strong subject for me.  I remember dreading algebra, geometry and algebra II.  I took a practical math class my senior year in high school where I learn to balance a check book. I had heard the course was a breeze and I did not want to jeopardize by G.P.A. by taking Trigonometry. Memorizing math formulas and the rules of math was difficult.  Every time I got a concept in math class we would move on to another concept.  I could not keep up!

My mind was more suited to the humanities like religion, philosophy, government and history.  In those classes, the answer was usually subjective. In the humanity classes, thinking and discussing were at the center of learning.

Theologically, there is a mathematical concept that has confused scholars, thinkers, and Christians for centuries. The Triune God: 3 = 1 and 1 = 3.  Many non-Christians are confused by our math.  Many non-Christians see three separate Gods: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. To be honest I have never heard anyone explain it so that I fully understood. I accept the concept on faith. How can Christians say they believe in one God when they name off three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

In the 3rd and 4th centuries, Christians were struggling with their one God three person concept - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Without getting into the history of the Trinitarian debate there was a few guys who seemed to solve the problem.  The Cappadocian Fathers gave us the understanding of three substances, but one essence of God. The Cappadocian Fathers stated that the Godhead - Father, Son and Holy Spirit) exists simultaneously in three modes of being, but are one in essence and unity. They have one nature and one is not subordinate to another.

Confused?  Think about the properties of water that can be found in three states (essences) - liquid, gas, or solid.  Water flows as a liquid, can be a vapor as gas, or can be frozen as a solid.  Regardless of its physical state or form it is still water.  The properties change, but water remains as water even though it can take three different shapes or forms.  Consider the sun it gives light, heat and radiation - three distinct aspects, but only one sun. The same can be said of the Trinity. God is still one God (one Godhead), but in three forms that share similar properties made up of one substance.  No illustration we use to explain the Trinity concept is going to be perfect.

Similes and metaphors may come close to explaining an idea, but never fully explain it. Trying to explain God is like trying to explain an emotion.  There are no words that can fully describe God or an emotion.  How do you describe the Divine?  How do you describe something greater than ourselves? There is a certain mystery about God that we are meant to be in awe of.

In John 3, Jesus is trying to explain to Nicodemus the relationship of the Triune God and how he must be “born of water and Spirit”. (John 3:5).  As a Jew, Nicodemus was under the covenant of Abraham and was “saved”. Jesus seeks to introduce the new covenant of Christ’s sacrifice as the Son, the need to be born of the Holy Spirit through baptism, and understanding how the Father sent the Son out of love.  These were all new concepts to Nicodemus and that is why he asks, “How can anyone be born after having grown old?” (John 3:4).  We, like Nicodemus, sometimes are confused by all the theology. We need help to understand it. Though we may struggle, Jesus made one thing clear: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

As a Christian we should seek to understand how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God.  They are all unified, but each has distinct roles. How have you connected with the Triune God?  Do you tend to focus on one over the other?  How do you incorporate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in your worship, devotions, and your life? The Holy Spirit is often ignored. How does the Holy Spirit work in your my life?

The term: "Tri" meaning three, and "Unity" meaning one, Tri+Unity = Trinity. It is a way of acknowledging what the Bible reveals to us about God, that God is three "Persons" who have the same essence of deity.

From the very beginning we see God as a Trinity. Notice the plural pronouns "us" and "our" in Genesis 1:26 -- Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Though not a complete list, here is some other Scripture that shows God is one, in Trinity: “And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17). “Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30). "He who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9).

“Trinity” is not found in Scripture. This is a term that is used to attempt to describe the triune God—three coexistent, co-eternal Persons who make up God. The Trinity is a controversial doctrine; many Christians admit they don't understand it, while many more Christians don't understand it, but think they do.

Trinity Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, is one of the few feasts in the Christian calendar that celebrate a doctrine rather than an event. The complexity of the doctrine of the Trinity should not prevent us from teaching it. Teaching about the Trinity not only enhances our faithfulness to the God depicted in the story of Jesus, it can enrich the church’s view of the Christian life.

“PRAISE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT”.