The Tri-unity of God

Can we collect lightning in a bucket? Can we gather the ocean in a thimble? Either would be easier than trying to fathom the mystery that is God. We’ve covered a lot of ground in our attempts in these blogs to understand what God has revealed about himself through his attributes. As this series nears it end, we approach one of the greatest mysteries, the Trinity. This truth is not one we can deduce through reason, but as with most of what we know about God can be known only through revelation.

As we would expect, the most complicated truths about God are revealed later in his revelation, the Bible. Biblical revelation is progressive. The Old Testament has some passages that imply multiple persons but don’t fully describe the three persons. For example, ”And God said, ‘Let US make man in OUR image’” (Gen 1:26). At the tower of Babel, we read, “The LORD [said]…Come, let US go down and confuse their language” (Gen. 11:7). “The sovereign LORD has send ME, with his SPIRIT” (Isaiah 48:16).

The New Testament clearly affirms each of the three persons as divine. No reader of the Bible doubts that the Father is God. In many places Jesus Christ is declared to be deity. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3) [Further see John 1, Col. 1, Hebrews 1, and Revelation 1.]

That the Holy Spirit is God is clear because the divine names, perfections, works and glory are attributed to him. “The Spirit of God…the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). It is important to note that the Holy Spirit is not a force but has personality. He is the Comforter who dwells within believers. He counsels, he comforts, and he “will teach you all things” (John 14:26).  “The Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26).

Thus, we have three, distinct, Divine Persons and yet they are one in essence. The Trinity is not a descriptor for one God with three names, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nor is it three Gods united in one purpose but with different responsibilities; the Father as the planner, the Son as the builder, the Spirit as the power. Neither does the Trinity refer to how God has revealed himself in three dispensations; the Father in the OT era, the Son during the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the Spirit during the Church Age.

There is one God, undivided in essence. And each of the persons is fully, completely, wholly God and yet they are distinct as expressed often in the NT. For example, see the baptismal formula in Matthew 28; the involvement of each person in our redemption in Ephesians 1, and the blessing in 1 Cor. 13:14. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”. [Please refer to a good theology book such as Systematic Theology by L. Berkhof for a more thorough discussion.]

This is a mystery beyond our experience and comprehension. But make no mistake, to be Christian is to be thoroughly trinitarian. We would be wise to heed the Athanasian dictum, lest we venture into heresy. “We must neither divide the essence nor confuse the persons.” Despite its mystery, the Trinity is a wonderful reality. It demonstrates that at the root of all existence is personality and relationship. Existence cannot be understand as merely material or mechanistic. From eternity, the Father has been delighting in fellowship with the Son and with the Spirit and so have each of the three with the other member of the Tri-unity.

As a relational God, God loves to have fellowship with you and me. He expects us to be in loving fellowship with each other. The Christian faith never encourages us to be loners.

But perhaps, you feel alone. You need not for there are three who love you more than a mother or spouse could. The Father. The Son. The Holy Spirit. Jesus taught us to pray, “our Father who art in heaven.” Jesus rose from the dead but said, “Lo, I am with you always.” Before he went to the cross, Jesus explained to his disciples, “I will leave you another Comforter, the Holy Spirit who will be with you for ever.

On the darkest night in the loneliest desert, we are never alone if we have received Jesus Christ as our Saviour. Repenting of our sins and receiving his forgiveness ushers us into an eternal relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ––)

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