What is the Trinity?
There is one God, who eternally exists as three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the same in essence, distinct in Person. Scripture does not give this as a philosophy; it shows it in the life of God revealed in Christ and in the work of salvation.
This question arose from studying Is the Holy Spirit God? and Is Jesus really God?.
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Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
There is one God
Scripture is emphatic: 'Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.' God declares, 'I am Yahweh, and there is no one else.' The Bible is fiercely monotheistic: there is one God, and nothing else is to be worshipped.
Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.
I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me;
Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:
The Father, Son, and Spirit are each called God
The Father is God; the Son is called God: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,' and Thomas confesses Jesus as 'My Lord and my God'; and the Spirit is God, as Peter made plain to Ananias. Three Persons, each fully divine.
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”
But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
Yet they are distinct Persons who relate to one another
At Jesus' baptism, the Spirit descends upon the Son while the Father speaks from heaven: three Persons present at once. In the upper room, the Son asks the Father to send the Spirit. They love, send, glorify, and speak to one another.
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,— the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
Jesus said these things, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; even as you gave him authority over all flesh, he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
One name, three Persons
The Great Commission puts it beyond dispute: baptize 'in the name,' singular, 'of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' The earliest confession of the church was already trinitarian, because that is how God revealed Himself.
Go,and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
The Trinity is the grammar of salvation
The Father chose us and loved us before the foundation of the world; the Son redeemed us by His blood; the Spirit sealed us and dwells in us. Every blessing of salvation flows from the triune God, and we are invited into His fellowship.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love; having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved, in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him; in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
Continue this trail
How do I receive the Holy Spirit?→“Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.””How does the Spirit convict the world of sin?→“When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don’t believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more; about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged.”What are spiritual gifts, and how do they work?→“Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all.”Why does Jesus call the Spirit 'another Helper'?→“I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,— the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.”How is the Holy Spirit at work in the Old Testament?→“The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.”Can we really understand the Trinity?→“The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”How do I know the Spirit is leading me?→“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God.”Are the 'sign' gifts still active today?→“For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages.”How do I discover my gift?→“As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.”What is the fruit of the Spirit?→“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit?→“For John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.””How do the Persons of the Trinity relate to one another?→“Go,and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”What is the unpardonable sin?→“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.”What is speaking in tongues, and is it for today?→“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?”What is the difference between resisting the Spirit and grieving the Spirit?→“Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”Why did the Spirit wait until Pentecost?→“Being assembled together with them, he commanded them, “Don’t depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which you heard from me.”What is the difference between the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh?→“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”What is the difference between the Spirit's baptism and His filling?→“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.”What is the difference between the world and the kingdom of God?→“Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.””What is the difference between a talent and a spiritual gift?→“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all.”Explore further
Is Jesus really God?→Jesus Christ trail“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”Who is God the Father?→God the Father trail“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’”Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
Go,and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,— the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
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