02.02.02 - The Trinity in the Bible

B. The Trinity in the Bible

1. Introduction: The definition of the Trinity which best does justice to the biblical statements on the subject is the one given above, namely, that God is one in essence and three in person. We get an even clearer picture of what the Bible has to say about the Trinity when we combine this traditional definition with the four corollaries discussed and documented immediately above: a) All three members of the Trinity are divine persons. b) All three members of the Trinity are unique persons. c) All three members of the Trinity have coequal and coeternal essence. d) All three members of the Trinity share the same divine essence. As can be seen from the numerous heresies (discussed above) that have sprung up to challenge orthodox statements about the Trinity, the doctrine can be a difficult one to state in a proper, biblical way. This is especially true the further any definition of the Trinity moves away from actual statements contained in the Bible (which, as we mentioned above, were felt to be sufficient by the Apostles and Apostolic Fathers). It should be noted here that even the terms "essence" and "person" were felt by some theologians of the early church to be controversial. We may talk of Man’s essence (we are all cut from the same spiritual cloth), and Man’s personality (we are all unique individuals), but the essence of God is different from the essence of Man (for one thing, all members of the Trinity share the same divine essence), and the idea of personality in the Trinity is different from that of human persons (to take but one example, the absolute unity of agreement and purpose of the Trinity throughout all eternity is not only quantitatively but also qualitatively beyond human experience). The lesson here is that rationalistic speculation, always dangerous when expounding the Bible, is even more to be avoided in the case of the Trinity, a doctrine that was only fully revealed with the arrival of the New Testament. What God has chosen to reveal about this doctrine, He has revealed carefully and gradually. The subject of the Trinity in the Old Testament is covered below (C.), but it may be said here that a large part of the reason for this guarded revelation of the doctrine (beyond our human limitations in comprehending it) may be the all too obvious fact (see the discussion above) that wrong ideas about the nature of the Trinity have historically posed such a dire threat to the entire basis of our Christian faith. Just a little leaven in the loaf and Satan can make the Trinity to be an association of "gods" (and so no different from paganism) or one "god" with three hats (thus completely eliminated the importance and efficacy of Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice). In His loving wisdom, God has told us what we most need to know without giving us either information that could be misinterpreted, or less than accurate illustrations that might do more harm than good.

2. Illustrating the Trinity: As we have just stated, attempting to illustrate such a carefully protected doctrine as the Trinity has the potential of doing more harm than good. The fundamental problem with illustrations of the type considered below is that they all necessarily contain potentially dangerous and untrue points of comparison, which, if too much stress be placed upon them, run the real risk of leading to heretical conclusions, a danger that far outweighs any good they may do in attempting to shed some light on the subject. The number one objection to such illustrations is that God is divine, and since nothing and no one else is, any illustration will needs be imperfect and inaccurate (a fact which may well explain why no such illustrations occur in the Bible: Isaiah 40:18). And there is more. Historically, Satan’s attacks on the doctrine of the Trinity – a teaching crucial to the integrity of our Christian faith – have focused on the three-fold sovereign personality of God and/or His deity in three persons. But this reality of divine, triune personality is precisely the point that all illustrations of the Trinity miss (of necessity, since there is nothing "like" the Trinity). a) An illustration from the early church: the Trinity "triangle": This oldest of the Trinity illustrations is also in many ways the best, because the non-doctrinal point of comparison (i. e., the triangle) merely serves to organize visually the meaning imparted by the words: all three members of the Trinity are God ("one in essence"), yet they are distinct from each other ("three in person"):

b) The illustration of the family of Man: Like the Trinity, mankind has multiple members, all possessed of similar, spiritual essences. But the Trinity share a unique, divine essence, and their triune unanimity of purpose is unlike anything in the realm of humanity. c) The illustration of the human mind: Like the Trinity, the mind can be said to be at once one thing, yet at the same time several things (intellect, emotion, conscience etc.) and can dialogue with itself, and even be at cross-purposes with itself. But the Trinity is composed of distinct, divine personalities to which the inner-workings of our psyches make a poor comparison. d) Illustrations from the world of nature: There are many things in the natural world that consist of distinct, multiple parts that at the same time constitute one complete whole. For example, distinguishable branches, roots and trunk are all part of one and the same tree, and eggs have three distinct parts (yolk, white and shell) without any of which three you would no longer have an egg. None of the illustrations of this sort really help to explain the unique personalities of the Trinity or their shared divine essence. e) Illustrations from the physical realm: This category of illustration contains some of the more interesting examples that have been used to explain the Trinity, though all suffer from the same objections that were lodged against the former category:

1. Light is one yet distinct: (1 John 1:5)

Radio is heard Visible light is seen Infra-red is felt 2. The universe is one yet distinct:

Time

Space

Matter 3. Time is one yet distinct: past present future 4. Space is one yet distinct: length breadth height 5. Matter is one yet distinct:

Energy

Matter

Phenomena The most that can be said for the best of these illustrations is that to the extent that they remind us of the awesome wisdom and power of God in creating these complex, wonderful things (often taken for granted), they may also help us to realize that the Maker is likely to be even more complex and wonderful, and so accept what we know to be true about the Trinity ("one in essence, three in person"), even if it seems too complex and wonderful to fully grasp. As we have said, however, care must be taken to see that none of these illustrations is taken too far, lest by attempting to understand "beyond what is written" we be led instead to dangerous and extra-biblical rationalizations based on these loose analogies. For the Trinity is often a good "litmus test" for our Christian faith. To accept it, one must accept not only the existence of God, but the distinctiveness and divinity of Jesus Christ, the true touch-stone principle that divides believers from unbelievers (1 John 2:22-23). By distorting our understanding of the Trinity, the devil ultimately seeks to destroy our faith in Jesus Christ, the real focal point and rationale for satanic attacks that seek to confuse the issue of "one in essence, three in person".

3. Roles of the Trinity in the Plan of God: A more valuable approach than the use of non-biblical illustrations to understand the nature of the Trinity is the examination of the function of the Trinity as described in the Bible. The scriptures have much to say about how God works in human history, and, specific to our topic, what roles the individual members of the Trinity play in that work, otherwise known as the "plan of God". a) Introduction: God has not been operating in human history on an ad hoc or reactive basis, but has been "working everything together for good" (Romans 8:28) since the moment of creation. The Plan of God will be discussed as a topic in its own right in the part 2B of this series (Eschatology), but it will be helpful at this point to consider the unique roles played by the individual members of the Trinity in executing that plan in time, for by so doing, we shall gain biblical insight into the true nature of the Trinity. b) The Names of the Trinity: Much can be understood about the Trinity through a consideration of the names by which they are revealed. Collectively, the Trinity refer to themselves as God. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for God, ’Elohim (translated in the New Testament by the common Greek word for God, theos), is technically a plural of a word originally meaning "mighty one"; collectively then, the Trinity share this appellation, pluralized to express additional majesty. Individually considered, however, members of the Trinity in the Old Testament are referred to most commonly by the Hebrew word Yahweh (translated in the New Testament by the common Greek word for Lord, kyrios), a word that, as we have seen, calls special attention the Lord’s timeless and dynamic being (see section I, note 1 above). These two names, God and Lord, emphasize respectively the unity of the Trinity in its three-fold persons (’Elohim is plural but refers to the Trinity collectively), and the joint divine-essence of all three individual members (Yahweh is singular but can be used to refer to any of the Trinity’s members individually). With the fuller revelation of the Trinity in the New Testament following the revelation and advent of Jesus Christ (see Part II C. below for the Trinity in the Old Testament), the names Father, Son and Holy Spirit give us an even clearer understanding of the roles of the Trinity (and therefore of the Trinity itself).

1) the Father (the 1 Person of the Trinity):

Origin: The term for and idea of the Fatherhood of God, a designation well known from the New Testament, is also found in the Old Testament from the Pentateuch onward. The word Father is first used for God in Deuteronomy 32:6 : "Is He not your Father? The One who bought you? He is the One who made you and established you." Later in verse 18 of the same chapter, God is referred to as "the Rock who fathered you". The concept of the fatherhood of God can also be seen at Exodus 4:22 , where Israel is referred to as God’s "firstborn son".

Significance: The use of the name "Father" is clearly intended to be taken as an analogy from human experience. Like the father who sired us, He is our creator. Like a father, He our authority figure, our trainer, disciplinarian, and teacher (Hebrews 12:5-11). And, not to be underestimated, He is the One who cares for us and loves us deeply, who protects us, keeps us safe, and wants only what is truly best for us (regardless of what we see as best). Being human, our earthly fathers had strengths and weaknesses, and despite their best intentions had to act on the basis of imperfect information about what was best for us. But our heavenly Father represents the perfect ideal of fatherhood. He acts toward us always in perfect love, and all He does for us is without question for our ultimate good, for whether He disciplines us or blesses us, He does so in perfect knowledge of who we are, and of all that is in our hearts.

Person: The Father is often referred to as the 1 person of the Trinity (i. e., the authoritative "I" person), because He speaks to us as "I", directly manifesting His authoritative will as our God, creator and ruler of the universe (e. g., Exodus 3:14-15; Isaiah 46:9-10).

2) the Son (the 2 Person of the Trinity):

Origin: Along with the holy angels (Job 38:7 [not NIV]), we believers are all "sons" of God (Romans 8:14; Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:5; cf. John 1:12; 1 John 3:1-2). This widespread franchise of sonship is based upon the paternal position of the Father relative to all His obedient creatures, but there is only one "the Son of God (our Lord, Jesus Christ)". Though Christ’s incarnation was, in a veiled fashion, prophesied and foreshadowed by ritual and sacrifice, it remained in Old Testament times very much a mystery until the time of His actual first advent. Now it stands clearly revealed that the archetypical Son of God is our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Old Testament parallels are types that look forward to this revelation: e. g., Adam is the son of God (Luke 3:38) – Christ is the preeminent "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45; and cf. the "Son of Man [i. e., ’adam]" of Daniel 7:13-14 as well as New Testament usage); Israel is the servant of God (Isaiah 42:18 ff.) – Christ is the suffering Servant who takes away the sins of the world (Isaiah 42:1; 52:13-53:12); Israel is God’s son – Christ is the Son (Hosea 11:1 fulfilled at Matthew 2:15); finally, though Solomon was David’s direct descendant, Christ is his ultimate descendant, the Messiah, the Son of David who is also the Son of God (Psalms 2:7-12; Psalms 110:1).

Significance: Building on the idea of fatherhood as discussed above, sonship denotes the idea of a special and unbreakable relationship with the Father, one of dutiful subordination to the Father’s will, but also one of special privilege, inheritance and shared authority. A son (especially a king’s son) is often more accessible than a father. The role of mediator between the king and His offending subjects can only be played by someone who is on a par with both the Father-king and creature-subjects: only a Son (incarnate) can be sent on such a mission of reconciliation (cf. Matthew 21:33-40)

Person: The Son is often referred to as the 2 person (i. e., the accessible "you" person), because He is accessible to us, having appeared in the flesh to forge a relationship with us on the Father’s behalf (e. g., John 15:14-15), and having gained access to the Father for us (John 14:6; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12).

3) the Holy Spirit (the 3rd Person of the Trinity):

Origin: From the first chapter of the Old Testament (Genesis 1:2), to the closing chapter of the New Testament (Revelation 22:17), the word "spirit" is used to refer to the God the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew and Greek words for "spirit", ruach and pneuma respectively, have the core meaning of "wind" or "breeze", and, again, there are important points to be garnered from the name analogy.

Significance: The wind is a potent, invisible force. Though we perceive it and experience its effects, we can neither see where it has come from or where it is going to (John 3:8). It can have everything from a gentle, warming influence to a powerful, chilling effect. "Wind" is thus an aptly descriptive analogy for the Holy Spirit’s role in the plan of God: His invisible yet powerful support of good (Zechariah 4:6; 1 Corinthians 12:3) and restraint of evil (Genesis 6:3; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:5-8) in the furtherance of the plan of God must not be underestimated.

Person: The Holy Spirit is often referred to as the 3rd person of the Trinity (i. e., the unseen "he" person), because unlike the Father, He does not speak directly to us, and unlike the Son, He has not been made manifest to us; instead, like the wind, He is unseen by us, but, like the wind, that does not mean that we do not experience His power in a very personal and dynamic way (John 14:16-17; Galatians 5:22-26). n. b.: As should be clear from the discussion above, the names Father, Son, and Spirit are thus representative of the Trinity’s individual roles in the plan of God for mankind, and have been given to help us understand the relationships and functions of the three divine personalities in that plan. The names themselves must not be pushed beyond the clearly intended analogies to our human frame of reference as outlined above. This is no small caveat, for it is largely on the basis of the title "Son" that heresies of the past have sought to deny the full and equal divinity of Christ (e. g., casting Him as subordinate in essence to the Father as hyper-Arianism does). The case of the Spirit shows how wrong-headed such analyses based solely on these titles are, for the Spirit is not at all "inanimate" or "impersonal" even though "wind" is a fitting description of His invisible yet powerful role in our Christian lives. He acts in a very personal way towards us and towards the other members of the Trinity (John 3:5; John 14:15-17, John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:8-15; Acts 5:3, Acts 5:9; Acts 13:2; Acts 16:6-10; Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Revelation 2:7), and as our Comforter-Encourager (John 14:16; John 16:7). The relationship of leadership (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16 & Galatians 5:18), encouragement (cf. John 14:16; John 16:7; cf. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7) and empowerment (Luke 24:49; Romans 15:13) we receive from the Holy Spirit are some of the most "personal" and "animating" relationships we shall ever experience this side of heaven. c) Trinity Roles as Seen from Specific New Testament Scriptures:

1) Matthew 3:16-17 :

Now once Jesus had been baptized, He immediately came up out of the water, and, behold!, the heavens opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting upon Him. And, behold!, a voice from heaven was saying, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.

Comment: The baptism of Christ had a much different symbolism from any other baptism John ever undertook. John had (rightly) understood the normal meaning of his unique baptism to be a visible act of repentance and a symbolic washing away of sins. This explains why he was reluctant to baptize the sinless Messiah (Matthew 3:14). But in the case of Christ, the symbolism is different: His entrance into the water represents His willingness to submerge Himself into our sins (therefore to die for them); whereas His coming up out of the water represents His resurrection. In this, the role of the Trinity in Christ’s victory over death at the cross in death and resurrection is symbolized: the Son who undertook the mission to save us from our sins comes back to life (in His humanity); the Holy Spirit quickens Him (1 Peter 3:18); and the Father who sent the Son pronounces His work and sacrifice satisfactory, efficacious and well-pleasing.

2) John 14:16 : And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever.

Comment: This verse shows the Father in a position of authority, the Son interceding on behalf of believers, and the Holy Spirit being sent to help us.

3) 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 :

There are different gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are different ministries, but the same Lord; and there are different results, but the same God who brings about all results in all cases.

Comment: Here we see clearly the respective roles of the Trinity in supporting our Christian ministry in life. The Holy Spirit gives us our particular spiritual gift(s) (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:11); specific ministries are said to be assigned by our Lord Jesus Christ; and the Father is said to oversee and empower the results of those ministries: God gives us the gift (the Holy Spirit: He empowers us); God gives us the ministry (the Lord Jesus Christ: we share in His mission); God gives us the results (the Father: all effects are part of His plan).

4) 2 Corinthians 13:13 : May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Comment: The Trinity is seen here from the standpoint of salvation, before, during and after: The love of the Father sends the Son to die for sinful mankind (cf. John 3:16); The Son’s sacrifice reconciles us with the Father by satisfying the requirements of the Father’s righteousness, and thus providing grace, that is, salvation free to us since He paid; The Spirit unites in fellowship with God all who accept this offer of grace (based on Christ’s death) originating in God’s love.

5) Ephesians 3:14-17 : For this reason I bow my knees to the Father, from whom His entire family in heaven and on earth has received its name, that He may grant you according to the riches of His glory to be powerfully strengthened in your inner person through His Spirit, so that, rooted and grounded in love, Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Comment: In this apostolic prayer of Paul, we see the Father as the authority to whom Paul prays; he prays for us to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit; the object of his prayer is that we may grow to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ, and improve our relationship with Him in every way.

6) Ephesians 4:4-6 :

There is one body and One Spirit – just as when you were called it was in one hope that you were called. There is One Lord [Jesus Christ], one faith, one baptism. There is One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Comment: In this precís of the "unity of the faith" (Ephesians 4:3), Paul reminds us of some of the most important common factors of our Christian faith. In doing so, certain aspects of individual Trinity roles are emphasized: the Holy Spirit’s role in bringing us into the body of Christ and our concomitant hope of resurrection in Christ; the Lord Jesus Christ’s role as our object of faith and the Spirit baptism by which we enter into union with Him through that faith; the Father’s role as the unifying God of love, who knits His family of believers together in every way.

7) 1 Peter 1:1-2 :

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who, though outcasts dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, were yet selected in the foreknowledge of God the Father, by means of the Holy Spirit’s consecration, for the obedience in and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Comment: Peter tells us that we believers are elected to eternal life according to the Father plan of salvation, the Holy Spirit’s implementation of salvation for us when we believe, and the Son’s work of salvation, in which and in whom we put our faith.

8) Revelation 1:4-6 :

Grace to you and peace from the One who is and was and is coming, and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Comment: In John’s salutation from the Trinity, the Father’s eternity and imminent taking of possession of the devil’s world, the Spirit’s supervision of the devil’s world (see Revelation 5:6; Isaiah 11:2), and the Son’s victory and conquest over the devil’s world are emphasized. d) Trinity Roles Explained: When we are face to face with God, we shall "know even as we are known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Until that time, our understanding of God in three persons is essentially dependent upon the way the Bible reveals the Trinity in the process of carrying out God’s plan for human history. Below, the different roles taken by the Trinity in several aspects of administering that plan are considered:

1) The Plan of God: authorized by the Will of the Father (Ephesians 1:11; Revelation 4:11), executed by the Word, the Son (Hebrews 1:2-3; John 1:1-3), administered through the Wisdom and power of the Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Zechariah 4:6).

2) Creation of the World: directed by the Father (Genesis 1:1 & Genesis 1:3; Revelation 4:11), carried out by the Son (1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), empowered by the Spirit (Psalms 33:6 b; Proverbs 8:27-31).

3) Revelation of the Word: the Father expresses the Word (Isaiah 55:11; also Isaiah 40:8; Isaiah 45:23), Christ is the Word (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:3), the Holy Spirit reveals the Word (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).

4) Christ’s 1 Advent: Christ is sent by Father (Hebrews 10:7), conceived (Matthew 1:20), led (Matthew 4:1), and empowered (John 3:34) by the Spirit as He carries out His ministry of self-sacrifice for our salvation.

5) The Victory of Salvation (Matthew 12:20; John 16:33; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Colossians 2:15; Revelation 5:5): the Father sends the Son on the mission (John 3:16), the Son accomplishes the mission (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:7), the Holy Spirit supports the mission (Matthew 3:16; John 3:34).

6) Reconciliation of the Believer: though estranged from the Father (Ephesians 4:18; Colossians 1:21; 1 John 1:3 & 1 John 1:6), we are restored to fellowship with Him through the mediation of the Son by means of His sacrifice on the cross (Ephesians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 2:14-15), with the Spirit acting as the agent of our renewed fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:14; Php 2:1).

7) Regeneration of the Believer: the Father holds the key to eternal life (John 5:19-26; Romans 5:10-11), the Son purchased access to eternal life by His death for all who believe in Him (Acts 3:15; Acts 20:28; 2 Peter 2:11), the Spirit quickens or regenerates believers (John 3:5-8).

8) Walk of the Believer: the Father sets the standard of holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:16), the Son is the model (Matthew 16:24; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6), the Spirit provides the power to live as God would have us live (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16).

9) Virtues of the Believer: the Father gives us the example of love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-12) by sending His Son, who is the object our faith (John 14:6; Acts 16:31), so that we look forward to our resurrection with a hope empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

10) Spiritual Gifts of the Believer: given by the Spirit, with specific ministries assigned by the Son and specific effects decreed by the Father (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

11) Prayers of the Believer: offered to the Father (Matthew 6:6), in the name of the Son (John 15:16; John 16:23), accomplished in the power of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

N. B.: These examples above are given to help explain and expound the Trinity as the Bible reveals the doctrine, but the "division of labor" suggested by them is not to be taken as strict in all cases. In most of these (and other) joint actions of the Trinity, there is overlap and further subdivision of responsibilities which is often only hinted at in scripture. To take the last case, for example, prayer in scripture is almost always addressed to the Father, but Jesus does say (in John 14:14), that if we ask Him anything in His name He will do it. A major controversy in the history of the church – one that split the east from the west – had to do with the "procession of the Spirit" and the question of whether the Father only (John 14:26) or the Father and the Son had sent Him (John 15:26). In some sense, both are right (the issue turns on the Father’s role as possessing original authority and the Son’s role receiving delegated authority – note the stress on role). Therefore, in our appreciation of the Trinity, we should be careful to restrict ourselves to learning what such scriptures actually teach us, and not build dispositive doctrinal principles solely on deductions stemming from them. For one things is crystal clear from everything we may glean from scripture: the members of the Trinity are undeniably "one" in their unity and purpose.