What is the Trinity?
How can monotheism be correct if there is a Trinity?
How can 3 be 1?
These are some of the most common questions that people of other faiths or the world have often asked Christians. I will attempt to explain these and use scriptures. Learning the bible is challenging but not impossible. God wants us to know His word and He helps reveal what are the secrets to His wisdom when we seek to know these answers.
There is only one God. You may ask but then how can 3 be considered as 1 in the God head. What is the Trinity? There is God the Father, creator of all things; there is Jesus, His Son that is also considered the face of God and last but not least there is the Holy Spirit or in old English Holy Ghost. He is considered the voice of God. We cannot see Him or touch Him but he is present in the body of the believer.
Genesis 1:1-2 – In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
When creation was beginning God spoke everything into existence. There is power in the words that come out of His mouth. The Holy Spirit is the one who carries out what God says. He makes it happen. If God says something the Holy Spirit moves and brings whatever He commands into existence.
John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
So who is the “Word” that is mentioned in this scripture? Notice that in the King James Version the “Word” is capitalized. It means it’s a name. So who does that name belong to?
John 1:14 – And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
In other words, the Word that God spoke became human. Jesus is the Word that God spoke into existence as a man full of grace and truth. We can substitute the name of Jesus in the places where it says “the Word” in those scriptures. God spoke how Jesus would come to exist on the earth throughout scriptures in the Old Testament. God spoke to Isaiah for example and then he wrote down what God said. That is what is called a “prophetic” word. It doesn’t exist in the natural yet but God spoke it so it will come to pass eventually. It does however exist in the spiritual realm. Just like in Genesis 1:3,5,6 God spoke: let there be light and then there was light; or when he called light and darkness, day and night; those 2 did not exist in the natural until He spoke them to exist. That is the power God has with his words and He also gave us that power in our words. When our words are mixed with faith it is powerful.
God says things as though they already existed. That is His way.
Romans 4:17 – (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things that be not as though they were.
That last part of the scripture is saying God calls things or speaks things as if they already existed. Jesus already existed in heaven but God spoke words so that Jesus would exist as a man on earth too. The bible says he was ruling in heaven and stepped down to come to earth as a man.
Philippians 2:5-7 – Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Genesis 1:26 – And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; …
When we read this scripture we can ask: “Who is God speaking to?” In a simple answer He was speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. How do we know this? More scriptures will reveal how we come to this conclusion.
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.
The Father = the creator
The Word = Jesus
The Holy Ghost = the Holy Spirit
These three are one. When we read this this is where people can get stumped. If God is a spirit we need to understand His spiritual way of speaking. How can 3 be 1?
John 10:31 – I and my Father are one.
It is more like united in the spirit or joined together because of a spiritual link. Let’s look at some other types of examples below:
One family can consist of a husband, a wife and a child. All three are one family. They are not attached to each other but they are part of the same family. If you add more children it is still one family.
One hand has 5 fingers. There is a thumb used to hold things; an index finger that you can use to point and so on. All the fingers have different functions but together they are considered one hand.
One egg consists of 3 parts but it makes 1 egg. There is a shell, a yolk and the whey. All 3 of those parts make 1 egg.
A human being is also composed of 3 parts. There is a body and inside the body there is a spirit and there is a soul. The soul is where you have your mind, your will and your emotions. All three of those components make 1 human being.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 – And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit (1) and soul (2) and body(3) be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 3 parts = 1 person
If God is the Father of all things because He created them then we can say Jesus is the face of God; the Holy Spirit is the voice of God then the people (His children) are considered the hands and feet of God. If you put them all together you have one body. We are all ONE! It’s a description.
Jesus is the head of the church and the believers are the body of the church. So as your head leads your body to do different functions Jesus being the head of the church, leads the body (the people of God) to do different things in the world. We are united and we are considered ONE. Not naturally but spiritually because we have the same spirit in us.
