Trinity - Article 4

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TRINITY There is one eternal God, the Lord, who is holy love. Through his self-revelation he has disclosed to his people that he is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Yet he is not three deities but one Godhead, since all three Persons share the one Deity/Godhead. The biblical teaching of the Trinity is, in a sense, a mystery; and the more we enter into union with God and deepen our understanding of him, the more we recognise how much there is yet to know. Based on the biblical teaching, the traditional Christian confession is that God is One in Three and Three in One.

I. The Unity of God. God is one. The OT condemns polytheism and declares that God is one and is to be worshipped and loved as such. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deut 6:4-5). He said through Isaiah, "There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me" (Isa 45:21). And this conviction of the unity of God is continued in the NT (see Mark 10:18; 12:29; Gal 3:20; 1 Cor 8:4; 1 Tim 2:5).

II. The Father Is God. God is the Father of Israel (Isa 64:8; Jer 31:9) and of the anointed king of his people (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7; 89:27). Jesus lived in communion with his heavenly Father, always doing his will and recognising him as truly and eternally God (Matt 11:25-27; Luke 10:21-22; John 10:25-28; Rom 15:6; 2 Cor 1:3; 11:31). Before his ascension, Jesus said he was going to his Father (with whom he had a unique relation) and to the Father of the disciples (John 20:17). He taught his disciples to pray "Our Father . . ." and to live in communion with him.

III. Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, Is the Incarnate Son of God. The disciples came to see that Jesus was the long-expected Messiah of Israel (Matt 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30). Later they came to see also that to be the Messiah, Jesus must also be God made man (see John 1:1-2, 18; 20:28; Rom 9:5; Titus 2:13; Heb 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1). Thus doxologies were offered to him as God (Heb 13:20-21; 2 Peter 3:18; Rev 1:5-6; 5:13; 7:10).

IV. The Spirit Is Also God. He comes in the name of Jesus Christ, Incarnate Son from the Father in heaven. The way in which the apostles, following Jesus, refer to the Holy Spirit shows that they looked on the Spirit as a Person. In the Acts, the Spirit inspires Scripture, is lied to, is tempted, bears witness, is resisted, directs, carries someone away, informs, commands, calls, sends, thinks a certain decision is good, forbids, prevents, warns, appoints, and reveals prophetic truth (see Acts 1:16; 5:3, 9, 32; 7:51; 8:29, 39; 10:19; 11:12; 13:2, 4; 15:28; 16:6, 7; 20:23, 28; 28:25). Paul describes the Spirit as bearing witness, speaking, teaching, and acting as guide (Rom 8:14, 16, 26; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:30). In John's Gospel Jesus calls himself the parakletos (Paraclete), and refers to the Holy Spirit as another parakletos (John 14:16; 15:26-27; 16:13-15).

V. God, the Lord, Is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This confession and understanding may be said to be basic to the faith of the writers of the NT, though they rarely express it in precise terms. But in certain passages the doctrine is articulated (Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 12:4-6; 2 Cor 13:14; 2 Thess 2:13-14; 1 Peter 1:2).

VI. Biblical Doctrine and Church Dogma. There is no systematic explanation of the doctrine of God as Trinity in the NT, though the Trinitarian pattern (see no. V and Acts 20:28; Titus 3:4-6; Heb 10:29; Rev 1:4-5) is present. The dogma of the Trinity found in the Nicene Creed may be said to be the systematic presentation of the implications of the Trinitarian suggestions, hints, and patterns of the NT, against the background of the OT. The classic formula is that there is one God and three Persons, and that each Person shares the one Being or Godhead with the two other Persons.

Bibliography: A. W. Wainwright, The Trinity in the New Testament, 1975; P. Toon and J. Spiceland (eds.), One God in Trinity, 1980. PT

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Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV