Week Six: The Trinity

WEEK SIX

WHAT IS MEANT BY “THE TRINITY?”

Remember week 4 when I considered a simple question that we may struggle to answer?  That question was simply, “What is God?”  I wrote that giving an answer to that question may be more difficult than thought – answering it biblically, that is - and I noted that the godly men who wrote the Westminster Confession of Faith also struggled over answering the question.

Now we come to a question that is perhaps more difficult to answer, certainly difficult to explain, and impossible to comprehend.

That question is, “What is the Trinity?”

If you have been in church or Sunday School, you are likely to have heard this term.  Even if you have not heard the term, you surely have heard of God spoken of as the Father, as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit.  Maybe you have heard the benediction often used following a worship service: “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Three Gods?  No!  Rather, the Bible teaches that the true God is One God who exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  And, as the Westminster Confession of Faith goes on to teach, all three persons of the Trinity are distinct from one another, yet all three persons are the same in substance and are equal in power and glory.

The Father is God.  The Son is God.  The Holy Spirit is God.  But the Son is not the Father.  The Holy Spirit is not the Son. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct from one another.  They are equal in power and in glory.

One God, existing in three persons, with each of those three persons existing at the same time.  Possible to understand?  Not by our human minds.  Possible to explain?  Not with our human words.

The truth taught in Scripture?  Yes!

One of the ways that this incomprehensible truth becomes real and precious to me is in my salvation.  The Father planned my salvation – and the salvation of all who will be redeemed – in eternity past.  The Son purchased my salvation.  The Holy Spirit applies the purpose of the Father and the work of the Son to my heart, uniting me to Christ as my Redeemer.

Only through the work of the God who is one God existing in three persons could my salvation be accomplished and applied. Salvation itself is the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I am grateful for the God whose very being I cannot comprehend but who in His wonderful grace chose to save me from my sin.

Holy, holy holy!  Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

(from the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy”)