Does the Trinity make sense?

Does the Trinity make sense?

The Question
The ‘Trinity’ seems like a really confusing thing to believe in. Christians say that they are monotheists (people who believe in one God), but they also claim that the Father is God AND that the Son (Jesus) is God AND that the Spirit is God. Does this make sense?

The Answer
People like to try and figure things out. We must recognize, however, that if God exists, it will be beyond our intellectual abilities to understand the nature of God. We may come to realize that God exists, but we will probably never fully comprehend how God exists. It is possible that the Trinity makes complete sense even if we (as limited human beings) can’t make much sense of it at all.

The word Trinity is not found in the Bible. It is a word made up by Christian theologians in an attempt to understand what history and the Bible tells us about God. The Bible is clear that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 44:8). But as history unfolded, it became clearer and clearer that this God was a complex being provoking a new term.

The definition of God was transformed by the arrival of Jesus Christ on the earth. Because of His life, words & actions, it became clear to those close to Him that He was the Son of God. Even though the earliest Christians were Jews who believed strongly that there was only 1 God, they began to worship Jesus too.
Before Jesus ascended to the heavens, He promised that He would send the Spirit of God to His followers. This happened on the Day of Pentecost. The Spirit of God entered into the lives of Jesus’ people. Some of these Spirit-filled Christians went on to write the New Testament. The New Testament speaks of the Spirit as a personal being and equates the Spirit with God.

In sum, the Bible teaches there is one God, but there is a relationship within this one God. There is a Father, Son & Spirit. Even though this is difficult for us to understand, it is clearly communicated in Scripture:

 At creation, God said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” (Genesis (1:26)

 An angel told Mary that the Spirit would come upon her and she would give birth to the Son of God despite being a virgin because nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:35-37)

 At Jesus’ baptism, the Father spoke of the Son as the Spirit descended as a dove (Matthew 3:16-17)

 When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He told the disciples to make disciples of all people baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son & Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

 Paul writes that God sends the Spirit of the Son to our hearts so that we can call out to the Father (Galatians 4:6)
But it’s one thing to recognize that the Bible teaches that God exists as Trinity (Tri-Unity). It’s another thing to begin to understand why that is important. What is the significance of knowing that God exists as Father, Son & Spirit? We think there are three main marks of significance:

First, we believe the truth is always worth finding out. God has been revealed as Trinity and, thus, the Trinity is something true. Truth always has value even if we’re not quite sure what that value is.

Second, we believe the concept of Trinity helps us to understand the process of salvation. The Father initiates our salvation by sending Jesus. Jesus opens up a way for us to relate to the Father by offering forgiveness through the cross. The Spirit helps us to navigate toward the Father during our lives here on earth.

Third, the fact that God exists as Trinity shows us the importance of relationship. Relationship is not just something God wants, relationship is Someone God is. Since we were made in God’s image, we were made for relationship. There is a loving relationship within God, and so we were created to love and be loved as well.

Many people have tried to figure out the Trinity by comparing it to earthly things that exist with 3 parts (like eggs, triangles, lemonade, etc), but ultimately there is nothing like God. God is unique. If we could completely figure God out, it would mean we were God’s superiors. God is above us and beyond our full comprehension.