The topic of the God-head and the Trinity is one that interests and perplexes many people.  Do Christians serve one God or three?  How can three be one?  Is it important?  In this brief article, Andrew Richardson tackles a few questions concerning the tri-unity of God.  

Question: How can God be one and three? Is this not a contradiction?

Answer: There is no contradiction, because Divine Revelation (Scripture) does not present God as one in the same sense He is three. God is one being (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; 45:5 – 6; Mark 12:29; 1 Cor. 8:6; 1 Tim. 2:5), but three in personhood – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each are distinguished from one another (Matt. 28:19; John 17:5; Acts 2:33; 7:55; John 14:26; 15:26; 16:14), and each possess the full nature of deity, including eternality (Deut. 33:27; Micah 5:2; John 1:1; Heb. 9:14), omniscience (Matt. 12:25; John 2:23 – 25; 21:17; 1 Cor. 2:10 – 11), immutability (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8), etc.

The key is acknowledging the difference between being and person. Being means that which something is, or its essence. It is the “what” of God—what makes Him what He is. Person means that which is personal, possessing thought, self-consciousness, and will. For instance, a hammer has being, yet it has no personhood. A stuffed teddy bear has being, but it is impersonal. My phone has being, but it is not a person (even though I talk to it). I, on the other hand, am a person, and my being is human. Unlike God, who is unique, I am finite in time and space. The whole of me is limited to one being, and one person, and one space. God’s being is infinite and is tri-personal.

Yes, God’s nature is difficult to grasp, such as His eternality, self-existence, omnipresence, etc., but though we cannot fully apprehend His tri-unity, we can still know it, because He has revealed it. There is a big difference between knowing something and comprehending it. We know God never had a beginning, and we can communicate this to others, though we can never fully wrap the arms of comprehension around it.

Of course, it doesn’t help any that there’s nothing in creation to which we can compare God’s nature and being. When attempting to understand things, it is natural for us to look for other things of similar kind. However, we have nothing. He alone is infinite.

Question: Does 1 + 1 + 1 = 1?

Answer: Never (despite Lawrence Krauss’ math). In His being, God is one. Three equally divine persons fully share the being of God. I have read written material on the internet in defense of the triune nature of God saying “1 + 1 + 1 = 1.” Though well-intended, this does not help the cause of truth.

Question: Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three “manifestations” of one God?

Answer: This is the signature language of Modalism (taught by Oneness Pentecostals and others), which is the erroneous doctrine that God is one person who presents Himself in three modes or manifestations, namely the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to this concept, all three are actually one and the same person just as one man may be a father, a son, and a brother. Nevertheless, revelation presents three persons distinct from each other; not mere manifestations or titles of one. The Father is not the Son. The Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son.

Question: If the Bible doesn’t use the word Trinity, should we?

Answer: That which is taught in the Bible is the same as that which the word Trinity means, so the word is fine to use, but it’s optional—you don’t have to use it. Remember the Bible doesn’t use the word “monotheism,” but the concept is clearly taught. The Bible isn’t called the “Bible” in the Bible, but we have no problem using the word.

Having said this, though, keep in mind that the word often means different things to different people, mainly due to misunderstanding and confusion. Some opponents of the Trinity purposefully explain it in confusing or illogical ways to make it appear foolish. The most common cause of confusion is the failure (or refusal) to differentiate person and being.

Question: Is this all a matter of semantics?

Answer: It’s a matter communicating the truth presented by Divine Revelation. Words mean things. If the way in which we explain the nature of God, as revealed by scripture, is self-contradictory and inaccurate, then we are not explaining it at all. Occasionally our faulty wording either undermines the tri-personhood of God or implies polytheism. For example, there are not three deities. That is tri-theism. God is not one being and three beings, one person and three persons, nor one entity and three entities, but these things are often said by defenders of the Trinity and also by its opponents who use the language against us. Of course, we’re human, and language has its limits, but we must attempt to speak as accurately as we can.

Question: The Bible teaches a chain of authority among the three persons, so how can they be equal?

Answer: Authority over another does not imply superiority in nature. Children are just as human as the parents that rule over them—they are equal in nature. The guy in the handcuffs is no less human than the cop who made his day. Contrary to modern thought, subjection does not imply inferiority.

The Bible is clear that the different roles of authority are voluntary. In Philippians two, Paul refers to Christ’s incarnation and says that He “emptied himself” (v.7), and that He “humbled himself” (v. 8). Because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are different persons, they do their work in different roles. The submission of the Son to the Father is by choice; not because of a lesser nature. It is not as though the Son is more divine than the Spirit nor that the Father is the biggest and strongest.

Article by: A.K. Richardson