Understanding The Trinity

IS THE TRINITY IN THE BIBLE? The word “trinity” is not in the Bible, but the idea of the Trinity is.

- Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:16, 26; John 16:13-15; John 20:21-22; 1 Peter 1:2.

BASICS OF THE TRINITY:

a. God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

b. All three are eternal and have always existed.

c. God is three and God is one.

ANALOGIES FOR THE TRINITY:

- Every analogy is limited.

a. An egg.

b. A pretzel.

c. A rope.

d. Water.

- Liquid, gas, ice.

- This analogy is especially prone to lead to modalism.

e. A three-person team starting a church.

- One preacher/leader; one worship leader; one small group leader.

- Each part is necessary for a healthy church.

- Each one defers to the other in his area of expertise.

- All are working toward the same goal, but serving in different roles.

- This analogy presumes perfect trust and confidence in each other.

f. Marriage.

g. A hand, holding up three fingers.

h. A triangle.

i. A human: body, soul, spirit.

j. As a person, I have different roles: husband, father, pastor.

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THIS IDEA:

a. Each member of the Trinity has different functions, but the same goal.

b. Each member of the Trinity has different roles, but the same heart.

c. If a large part of the joy of the Christian life is relationships (like between me and God or between me and my church family), it makes sense for that to come from somewhere.

d. “I am saved by Jesus.” How?

- Well, to be saved, I needed Jesus to become human and die on the cross for my sins. For Him to become human, He had to empty Himself and limit Himself. In doing that, He had to be empowered by an outside source (the Father). Then, once Jesus had completed His mission, He needed someone to come and continue to work by living within us (the Holy Spirit).

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

a. Some evangelical churches are totally Christ-centered and functionally deny the Trinity.

b. I need to rejoice in the practical beauty of the Trinity being able to bring about my salvation.

c. I need to remember the Trinity as I pray: “to the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit.”

d. There is always, ultimately, a mystery to it.