Christians are monotheistic, meaning they believe in one God. However, the nature of God is complex. God exists as three divine persons – God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit – but these three are one God, not three separate gods. This is called the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity can be hard to fully understand, but it is based on clear teachings in the Bible.
The Bible makes clear there is only one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 states, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” 1 Corinthians 8:4 also says “there is no God but one.” Yet the Father, Son, and Spirit are all called God in Scripture. The Father is called God (Philippians 1:2). Jesus, the Son, is called God (John 1:1, 14). The Holy Spirit is also called God (Acts 5:3-4). How can all three be God if there is only one God?
The answer is that the three persons of the Trinity share the same divine nature. Each person is fully and equally God. But they relate to each other in different roles. The Father sends and commands, the Son obeys and is sent by the Father, the Spirit proceeds from the Father to carry out the will of the Father and Son. Each person has distinct roles, but all are God.
There are many verses that link all three persons of the Trinity together as God, implying unity of essence. Matthew 28:19 commands baptism in the singular name, not names, of the Father, Son, and Spirit. 2 Corinthians 13:14 speaks of the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” 1 Peter 1:2 refers to “the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ.”
Jesus Himself implies His unity with the Father. In John 10:30 Jesus declared “I and the Father are one.” In John 14:9 he tells Philip “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Hebrews 1:3 calls Jesus “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Jesus shares the divine nature fully with His Father.
The Holy Spirit also shares the divine nature and is not merely a force. The Holy Spirit has attributes of personhood, such as having a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), and capacity for relationships (Romans 15:30). The Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7), and omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). The Holy Spirit does divine works like giving new life (John 3:5-8), sanctifying (1 Peter 1:2), and inspiring Scripture (2 Peter 1:21). The Spirit is God.
The Trinity is mysterious but has biblical basis. God is three co-equal and co-eternal persons who share the same divine nature. Each person has different roles and relates to one another, but all are fully deity. There are not three separate gods, only one God who is triune. This preserves both monotheism and the divinity of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Understanding the Trinity takes humility. Our finite minds cannot fully comprehend an infinite God. But the Bible affirms that God is three-in-one. Christians submit to biblical teaching on this even when it surpasses understanding. The doctrine of the Trinity distinguishes Christianity from faiths with fundamentally different views of God’s nature.
Some key verses on the Trinity include Matthew 3:16-17 where at Jesus’ baptism the Son is baptized, the Spirit descends, and the Father speaks. In John 14:16-17 Jesus promises his disciples “another Helper” the Spirit of truth who is distinct from Jesus and the Father. Ephesians 2:18 mentions all three persons and says through Christ “we have access in one Spirit to the Father.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 lists the Father, Son, and Spirit as distinct sources of spiritual gifts given to the church.
The New Testament letters typically begin with a salutation mentioning all three persons of the Trinity. For example, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 refers to God (the Father) as the one who establishes believers in Christ (the Son) through the Spirit. 1 Peter 1:1-2 refers to the foreknowledge of God the Father, sanctification by the Spirit, and obedience to Jesus Christ the Son. Jude 20-21 also references praying in the Holy Spirit, waiting for Christ’s mercy, and keeping in God’s love.
There are glimpses of the Trinity in the Old Testament as well. At creation, the Spirit hovered over the waters (Genesis 1:2) as God (the Father) created through His Word (Christ, the Logos; John 1:1-3). Genesis 1:26 says “Let us make man in our image” indicating God spoke to other divine persons. Genesis 18-19 describes the Lord appearing to Abraham along with two angels who Genesis 19:24 reveals as the Lord.
Psalm 110 depicts David’s “Lord” at God’s right hand. This conversation between two divine persons, the Father and the Son, shows distinction of persons in the Godhead. Isaiah 48:12-16 has the Father sending the Son and Spirit in creation and revelation. Isaiah 63:10 refers to the Spirit grieving and being vexed when Israel rebels against the Lord, showing emotion and will.
The doctrine of the Trinity developed gradually through sustained reflection on Scripture. It was not invented wholesale later. There are seeds of trinitarian understanding in the New Testament and hints in the Old. But it took time for the church to articulate the full doctrine clearly and defend it against errors. Key thinkers like Tertullian, Athanasius, and Augustine articulated and defended the doctrine using philosophical terms.
Some critics claim the Trinity was invented at the Council of Nicaea in 325AD. But this is false – Nicaea defended the deity of Christ against the Arian heresy which denied it. References to God as triune appear long before Nicaea in the writings of Tertullian in 213AD, Hippolytus in 223AD, Origen in 228AD and others. The church recognized the Trinity early on based on Scripture but needed to carefully formulate the doctrine in response to heresies that denied it.
Some wrongly believe that God alternates or morphs between different modes, acting sometimes as the Father, other times as the Son, and other times as the Spirit. But Scripture shows the persons of the Trinity acting simultaneously, such as at Jesus’ baptism or in the salutations of the New Testament letters. God is concurrently three distinct persons while remaining one in essence.
Others think the Trinity teaches three separate gods. But the Bible is clear there is only one God. The three persons are distinct but share one nature and act together. Each person of the Trinity relates to the others in community, love, and unity. Heresies like modalism (one God operating in three modes) or tritheism (three separate gods) are unbiblical.
Critics argue the doctrine of the Trinity was imposed on the church by Roman emperors at Nicaea. But the bishops who attended Nicaea were independent church leaders from across the empire holding to the doctrine well before Nicaea. The council defined the Trinity using Greek philosophical terms to counter the Arian heresy precisely because it was the existing belief based on Scripture.
Groups like Oneness Pentecostals and Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the Trinity as unbiblical. They emphasize the Father alone or Christ alone as God. But Scripture teaches that the one God is Father, Son, and Spirit together. Denying Jesus as God incarnate and co-equal with the Father is dangerously heretical based on clear scriptural testimony about His divine nature.
The Trinity can create misunderstandings with those from other faith backgrounds unfamiliar with this doctrine. Some wrongly think Christians believe in three gods. Christians must clarify that there is only one God worthy of worship, but the one God exists eternally as three persons. This preserves monotheism while allowing for the Son and Spirit, who Scripture also calls God, to share the divine essence.
The doctrine of the Trinity exalts God as profoundly loving. With the Trinity, God’s very nature is relational. There is eternal love between the persons of the Trinity. God did not need to create humans for relationship or love since the persons of the Trinity already share infinite love. God graciously invites believers to participate in the joy, love, and community of the Trinity.
The Trinity enhances understanding of God’s work in redemption. All members of the Trinity participate in accomplishing salvation. God sent His Son (John 3:16), the Son died for sinners (1 Peter 3:18), and the Spirit sanctifies believers (1 Corinthians 6:11). Salvation originates in the Father’s love, is achieved by the Son, and is applied by the Spirit.
The doctrine of the Trinity shows that God is beyond human comprehension. We cannot fully understand or explain an infinite God. But Christians submit to what Scripture teaches about God’s triune nature. Belief in the Trinity stems from faith in God’s Word, not reason alone. The doctrine expresses intellectual humility before revelation.
Some practical applications flow from belief in the Trinity. In prayer, Christians can pray to the Father, in the Son’s name, by the Spirit’s power. In evangelism, the Trinity distinguishes Christianity from faiths with very different conceptions of God. In discipleship, Trinitarian faith guards against heresies like Arianism which deny Christ’s deity. Belief in the Trinity impacts Christian life and practice in many positive ways.
In closing, Christians believe in only one God who eternally exists as three co-equal divine persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person relates to the others in love and carries out distinctive roles. While the doctrine of the Trinity surpasses human ability to fully understand, it is the clear teaching of Scripture. Through humble faith Christians submit to the Trinity as God’s revelation of His profound triune nature.
