How Can I Understand the Trinity?

The Doctrine of the Trinity is difficult to understand because our finite human brains cannot fully comprehend an infinite being.  However, God’s Word gives us everything we need to come to an understanding of the nature of God as a Triune Being.

​The Bible teaches that the Father is God, the Son Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God—yet it also teaches that there is only one God.  Each Person of the Trinity is Himself a distinct Person.  While this is difficult to comprehend, God clearly reveals, in His Word, that it is true.  Therefore, we believe it.  So we often simply say: The Trinity is one God, existing in three Persons.

“Trinity” is Not in the Bible

Yes, it’s true that the word “Trinity” is not found in Scripture. However, the concept or teaching of the Trinity certainly is.  The Bible gives a foundational understanding and definition of the Trinity in many verses and passages. It just doesn’t use that word. This is true for many other words, too.  For example, divinity, incarnation, monotheism, atheism, rapture, Bible, and more cannot be found in Scripture, but an adequate understanding of each is given: “divinity” Ps 139; “incarnation” John 1:1, 1:14; “monotheism” Isa 43:10, 44:8; atheism Ps 14:1; “rapture” 1 Thess. 4:16-18; “Bible” Ps 119 and many other verses using the word Scripture(s).

Now, let’s look at some scriptural references to understand the Trinity better.

There is One God 

Deuteronomy 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD…
1 Corinthians 8:4  …we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
Galatians 3:20  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
1 Timothy 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…

The Trinity Consists of Three Persons 

The word Trinity should be understood to be synonymous with our Triune God—three coexistent, co-eternal, and co-equal Persons who are one God. 

In the Old Testament:

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. (The Hebrew word for God used in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, a plural word)
1:26  And God said, Let us [plural] make man in our image, after our likeness…
3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us [plural], to know good and evil…
11:7  Go to, let us [plural] go down…

Isaiah 6:8  Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us [plural]?

In the Gospel of Matthew:

Matthew 3:16-17  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:  And lo a voice from heaven [God the Father], saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  [In this verse we see the presence of all three Persons of the Trinity: the Spirit descending upon the Son and the Father speaking]

Matthew 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  [Only one name, but three Persons]

In Paul’s Letters:

2 Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.  [Again, we read of all three Persons of the Trinity]

Ephesians 4:4-7  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord [Jesus], one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

In John’s and Jude’s Letters:

1 John 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Jude 1:20-21  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Three in One

Each Person of the Trinity is God:

• The Father is God (John 6:27, Romans 1:7, 1 Peter 1:2)
• The Son is God (John 1:1, John 1:14, Romans 9:5, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:8, 1 John 5:20)
• The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Corinthians 3:16).

There is a pattern of subordination within the Trinity regarding order, but not in substance or essence. The Son is subordinate to the Father (Luke 22:42, John 5:36, John 20:21, 1 John 4:14), and the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Son and the Father (John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7, 13-14).  We must be careful to understand this subordination in terms of their work, not their Persons, their power, or their position. In those, they are equal.  Jesus surrenders to the will of the Father, for He told us this:

Luke 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
John 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

The Spirit Does the Work of the Father and the Son

John 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

John 16:13-14  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

Yes, the Trinity is a difficult doctrine. But don’t be discouraged. While it can never be fully comprehended, it can be understood well by studying God’s Word. Just remember, the three Persons of the Trinity are equal in nature and One in being, distinct in their Persons and distinguishable in their Works. Get to know each Person better, and you will come to know our One God better!

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Understanding the Trinity -- Our Triune God

How Can I Understand the Trinity?
What are the Individual Works of the Father, Son, and Spirit in Creation and Redemption?
What is the Triunity of Creation?