Trinity: Definition and Meaning
- Trinity is a theological term to define and describe three-fold doctrine of God; God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
- Bible does not contain a word for ‘Trinity’, but the concept of Triune God flows throughout the bible from the Old testament to the New Testament.
- Trinity is a mystery, beyond human comprehension or understanding. It is reflected through scriptural revelation only. It is not an idea from philosophical reasoning.
- Biblical definition of Trinity is that
- God is One in three distinct persons.
- Each of the person is God (not a part of God).
Non-biblical View of Trinity:
- Trinitarian view of Godhead in bible balances unity and distinctiveness of persons of God. If one of these characteristics is compromised, we find non-biblical view of Trinity.
- Christian Polytheism: If one only emphasize on the distinctiveness of God, it reflects three Gods, with different roles. (This may be similar to Hinduism concept of ‘creator’, ‘sustainer’ and ‘destroyer’.)
- Unitarianism: It only focuses on the unity. According to this view, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are placed in the lower categories (less divine) than God the father.
- Both of these views undermines the doctrine of Trinity according to the Bible.
Trinity in the Bible: Old Testament
Before we can understand the triune God, we need to understand progressive revelation of God. God did not reveal His plans, purpose or Himself in one time and place, but they were progressive in nature. Trinity was not fully known or understood in the Old Testament. However, there are many references, which alludes to the unity and distinctiveness of Godhead.
Distinctiveness of God:
- Gen 1:1-3 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
- Gen 1:26 – “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image…”
- Gen 11:7 – “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
Unity of God:
- Deut 6:4 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Creation:
- Ps 33:6 – “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.”
- Proverbs 3:19 – “By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place…”
Revelation and Salvation:
- Ps 107:20 – “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
Trinity in the Bible: New Testament
- In New Testament, the concept of Trinity is more clear and distinct without violating ‘oneness of God’.
- For the first disciples, Trinity was more than a philosophical concept.
- They were with Jesus, God in flesh.
- They saw Jesus, his extraordinary claims, his miracles, his prayers to God the father, and his ultimate victory over death.
- They witnessed Jesus ascending into heaven.
- They experienced the incoming of Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and there after.
- John describes Jesus as the ‘Word of God’ in the Old Testament. (John 1:1-4)
- Jesus himself affirmed the Trinity.
- John 14:16 – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.”
- John 15:26 – “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”
- Matthew 28:19 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,…”
- Baptism of Jesus: Mat 3:16-17 – “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
- Paul – 2 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.”
- Peter: 1 Pet 1:2 – “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
Practical but Imperfect Analogies for understanding Trinity:
Time:
- Past
- Present
- Future
Space:
- Length
- Width
- Height
Matter:
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gaseous
These are some of the practical, but imperfect analogies of the biblical doctrine of Trinity. Many of us may not agree with using such analogies or ideas. But, these practical examples can help us understand the mystery of Trinity. However, we must recognize that it is a mystery, which we cannot completely comprehend, with our finite minds. And we need to trust in the revelation of God through His words.
Please feel free to share your comments, ideas, or disagreements.
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23 replies on “The Doctrine of Trinity”
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The examples are not practical, they are actually promoting a very false idea of the Trinity. The best practical one is the sun. If it is imagined that the sun is eternal and immutable, then it can represent the Father, who is uncaused. Now the sun will eternally emit (beget) rays, which will represent the Son. In addition heat is given off by (proceeds from) the sun, and this can represent the Holy Spirit. This is the example widely used by the Church fathers, others are also used but are a lot more confusing to try and explain. Please avoid the examples given here, they are common ones but promote (though not intentionally) various heresies.
People please stop saying that there is a Trinity!!!!!!! lb me show you, there are only TWO in the Godhead family.
The Father, and Jesus, The Holy Ghost (Spirit) you have to be definitive when making this statement. The Holy Spirit (Ghost) you can use them both they are the same. Luke- 1:26 Daniel-9:22 This Holy Spirit is an angel sent by GOD He is holy and he is a spirit. God (The Father) is a spirit,Jesus is a spirit, The angels Holy and the fallen ones (satan) and the third that fell with him are spirit. The breath we breathe is spirit, I could go on but what I’m trying to drive home is this, THERE IS NO TRINITY, GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, REMEMBER SPIRITS COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT FORMS AND I AM NOT TALKING A GHOSTLY FORM. SO FIND OUT WHERE YOU GET YOUR DOCTRINE YOU WILL NOT(TRINITY) FROM, YOU WILL NOT FIND IT IN THE BIBLE….. THE HOLY SPIRIT (GHOST) ONLY BEARS RECORD OF WHAT THE FATHER AND JESUS SAYS, PROVE ME WRONG, I GO BY THE BOOK (BIBLE) NOTHING ELSE.
Okay, the Bible doesn’t specifically say “God is a Trinity”, but it is described and implied throughout the Bible. Specifically, Jesus describes the whole concept in John 14. But here are some verses for you:
Jesus & the Father are One:
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. John 14:11
After Jesus tell the disciples that the Holy Spirit will live in them he says:
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. John 14:20
The Doctrine of Trinity is no more a mystery, The TaNaKh or Holy Scripture existed for almost triple millenia and thus it indubetably declares that the Father is God, Jesus is God (Isa. 9:6; John 1:1; Romans 9:5; Heb. 1:8; Rev. 21:6-7) The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:1-4). We can not read the word trinity in the Bible but its teaching is ontological. It could be liken to a teacher saying “I draw a line which is equidistant to its center”, the teacher is teaching something that he did not mention but actually he is drawing a circle. The same thing with the issue of trinity; it is not mentioned but its teaching is very prevalent throughout the Old and New Testament. Even the word Bible is not written in the Bible perse but people believe there is a Bible.
In old testament period people believed GOD is one in the form of numerical one,but they dont have the knowledge about ONESS OF GOD even to the old testament prophet also.In new testament JESUS revealed the deity or divinity of the GOD HEAD in the form of Father son and holy spirit.This secret of truth made the Isrealites to go against the preaching of JESUS and one of the main reason to crucify him.in old testament the bible was written in the form of YACHEAD(NUMERICAL ONE) and rarely in the form of EACHID(UNI PLURAL)eg:a crowd. In new testament mostly it is written in the form of EACHID is mentioned as compund unity or a collective unity. Father,son and holy spirit are collectively united as numerical one (FATHER+SON+HOLY SPIRIT=ONE)
God is the head i.e the (Godhead) or simply the father BUT God is never flesh, Jesus is the physical form and that is why he was able to be crucified ,then comes the Holy spirit who is the immediate God with us under the heavens as Jesus left him for us when he ascended to heaven….the three have unified roles to play..The Godhead sent Jesus to die on Earth and Jesus sent the holy spirit to be with us. They are like sugar ,flour and milk to make a single cake though each of those ingredients can be eaten seperatly and so the 3 work as one with the same mission but can also work within independence if it requires
Once I heard it explained to me in a very practical way, that allowed me personally, to be able to grasp it a little better. The Trinity is like an egg. There is the shell, the white and the yolk. Each separately are “egg” and all together are “egg”. Hope that may help someone else as it helped me. Thank you for sharing your study with us and for giving to the Lord!
The simplest way to understand our One and only One God : Father, Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit is to look at ourself as G0d-like creation – created in His own image ( Gen 1 : 26,27 ). We, a living human being, is a component of indivisible body, mind , and heart. In biblical term, we are body, soul, and spirit. Inthe First chapter of John, it is revealed that Lord Jesus is Logos of God who becomes flesh. The word LOGOS means not just “word”, but it really means “logy” or knowledge, wisdom, logic – or in short MIND of God. So Jesus in His original form is the MIND of God or the Soul of God. Also read Colossian 1 :2,3. It is in LOGOS’ image, our logos or mind or soul s created.
Throughout the Bible, the Holy Spirit is related to the power of God, Zach 4 : 6, Act 1:8, Mat Also in the Acts 2:33, the Holy Spirit is related to God’s Hand, and even God’s Eyes in the book of Revelation 5:6. God is Spirit andHoly, therefore His Spiritual Body is called the Holy Spirit, and it is in His Holy Spirit our physical body is created!.
So who is our Heavenly Father?? Notice throughout the New Testament, there are 2 aspects that are related to our Father : Will and Love. (There are many verses of it , one example is Mat 6:10, Rev 4:11). So Our Heavenly Father is the Heart of our One God!!
In short, if one human being, who is created in the image of God, is comprised of elements of body, mind, and heart, so the One and Only God, in whose image a man is created, must also comprised of indivisible elements of the Spritual Body, Mind, and Heart, who reveals Himself as written in the New Testament as the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. Only one God, not three!!
God Bless all of us
Okay guys, let’s put this thing into a very understandable yet bible-based example. I’m going to put this into a formula, for example: GOD= The Father+The Son+The Holy Spirit=Three Person+Unity=Trinity. They have this unity but they have this common thing, they are GOD+Unity=Trinity. They might differ in terms of their power, but yet they have unity, one cannot do something extraordinary unless the two are not agreeing on it. So, the basic concept of trinity, it’s not a theology, it’s not a doctrine. It’s a truth which some of us believe. Yes, it’s a mystery that no man can imagine or think about it but when we learn the basic truth of the Bible it tells us that God is a triune God. Since in the creation, THE SPIRIT HOVERED, THE SON (the Word) SAID, then, THE FATHER DID the whole creation story. They all agree and unite in what they do. That’s trinity.
I also believe why others don’t believe in the concept of trinity because they thought that the concept of trinity is like this, that is there is GOD who changes “costume” from being a FATHER to becoming a SON then the Holy Spirit, BUT THE CONCEPT OF TRINITY IS NOT LIKE THAT. They are all divided. It’s like what Jacob Lloyd had just said, the Sun emits the ray then the heat is there, but they have in common, they all produces heat. So, it’s like the ray cannot be emitted without the power of the sun. It’s like that. So, if our Lord Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” It’s automatically, as I said, the concept of trinity. Because Jesus and the Father had in common, they are GOD. 🙂 Well explained.
Loved the study and all of the comments. There are many different analogies that can show us a picture of the Trinity of God. There are many pictures of the Triune Godhead in both the Old and the New Testament.
One thing I have to keep in mind as I study about the Trinity of God is that for me, the Created, to try and understand or explain God, the Creator, is like looking at a Painting and trying to understand all there is to know about the Artist.
God Bless
The easiest way to defend the trinity is to compare it with what the Bible says about God. If the two agree 100%, then that should confirm that the trinity is based squarely on Scripture. But is that the case? Well, judge for yourself:
1. THE BIBLE says the Father–a single person–is the “only true God.” (John 17:3).
1A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE says that “every Person [of the trinity] BY HIMSELF [is] God.” That’s THREE GODS!
2. THE BIBLE says that “for us there is one God, the Father.” (1 Cor. 8:6)
2A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE says “we worship one God IN TRINITY.”
3. THE BIBLE says the “Father is greater…” (John 14:28)
3A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE says: “In this trinity, NONE is greater…”
4. THE BIBLE says Jesus is the Son of God. (John 20:31)
4A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE says “Jesus IS God,” which makes him a different God from the “one God in trinity.”
5. THE BIBLE says the “Father is greater…” (John 14:28)
5A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE say that “the whole three persons [of the trinity] are “co-equal.”
6. THE BIBLE says the holy spirit is not God, but a possession of God and that he gives it to deserving ones. As 1 Thess. 4:8 says: “Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who (also) gives HIS holy Spirit to you.”
6A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE says that “the holy spirit IS God.” However, A Catholic Dictionary says: “On the whole, the New Testament, like the Old, speaks of the spirit as a divine energy or power.” It adds: “The majority of New Testament texts reveal God’s spirit as someTHING, not someONE.”
7. THE BIBLE says that the Father is the ONLY person that “the true worshipers” (Christians) should worship. (John 4:23)
7A. THE TRINITY DOCTRINE says: “The trinity in unity is to be worshiped.”
So, do the Bible and the trinity doctrine agree on who God is? Absolutely not! And in the words of the New Catholic Encyclopedia, it says that the trinity “is NOT directly and immediately the Word of God.”
its great
Iam blessed to hear from you people I pray may our heavenly father teach you with heavenly wisdom to help the lost Souls, we also pray for those people who are far away to the truth God to have Marcy upon them. And they get saved from their sin. Why is it important
becourse we want to see each of us in Gods kingdom. Word of wisdom; THE WILL OF GOD WILL NOT TAKE US WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD WILL NOT SUSTAINS US.
TRINITY is like this
1x1x1=l (TRINITY=1)
One God.
Father is GOD
Son is GOD
Holly Spirit is GOD
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I belong to a house group in my church which is Salisbury Methodist church, and at our next meeting we are going to look at what is the doctrine of the trinity in the bible, the name of our house group is REFLECTIONS, What I have found on your web page is going to be very helpful, peace and grace to you all Michael munday
Jehovah’s Witnesses say that the Holy Ghost/Spirit is an ‘it’ and not a person. ‘It’ is only God’s “active force” and no more, yet John 16 makes it clear that the Holy Ghost/Spirit is referred to as a ‘He’ and ‘His.’
How might you explain to a JW that the Holy Ghost/Spirit is a person and not an ‘it’?
God bless