The Trinity is God

One the biggest mysteries of Christianity is that God has revealed him-self in three persons, NOT three deities, but three persons. When Christians are confronted on this doctrine they often fall short on an explanation is to why they believe in what Christians call the "Trinity". In this blog, I want to show why we believe in a triune God. What I first want to do is show why classic analogies fall short in describing the Trinity. Then I want offer some Scripture to show that each of the three persons in the God head are distinct but also all God. Then to conclude, I want to offer a more accurate analogy of the Trinity.

The Classic analogy to demonstrate the Trinity is the analogy of water. That water can take three forms solid, liquid, and gas. This analogy is used very often but I feel it falls short for this reason, you can't have all three at the same time. You can't have water vapor, ice, and water at the same time. Now one could say that if I have a glass of ice water then I would have all three. But that won't last, the ice will melt and all that will be left is liquid and water vapor. So this analogy falls short.

Another Classic example is the father, son, and husband analogy. This analogy says that if one is married and has children, he has three identities a father, a son, and a husband. But this analogy falls short also based on the fact that it is just talking about ONE person. The person being described is not three persons, it is one person with three identities. Thus, this analogy does not fully explain the Trinity.

With these analogies in mind, let's look at the evidence found in Scripture. Now I feel there is some clear indications is to show that:
1. All three persons are distinct.
and
2. All three persons are God.

First, let's look at the Father.
1. The Father is a distinct person. Matt. 6:9
2. The Father is God. Ps. 89:26

Second, let's look at the Son.
1. The Son is a distinct person. Mark 1:11
2. The Son is God. Titus 2:13, John 20:28, Hebrews 1: 8-12

Thirdly, let's look at the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit is a distinct person. John 14:15-17
2. The Holy Spirit is God. Acts 5:3-4

These are just some of the many Scriptures that talk about the Trinity. But I feel these are the most relevant. Now that we have established that all three persons are distinct and God. Now comes the objection that Christians are polytheistic meaning we believe in more than one God, three to be exact! But is objection is completely unjustified. Now I want to offer Scripture that shows us that There is only one God.

Here is some Scripture so show that there is only one God.
Isaiah 37:16, Mark 12:32, Romans 3:30, 1 Corinthians 8:4, James 2:19

So now we have established that:
1. There is ONE God.
2. There are three persons mentioned in scripture.
3. Each of these persons are referred to as God in scripture.

So now we have a conclusion, being that "the Trinity is God".

So now comes the challenge of explaining this to others. What could one say to help them understand the Trinity? What analogy is accurate enough to show what the trinity is?

The answer to the first question is this. God has three centers of self-consciousness, meaning God has three "I"s. God has interacted with us in three separate ways in The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Each of these are distinct yet all God.

The answer the second question is

 

This is Cerberus, a three-headed dog. Now bare with me, let's look at the objections to the other analogies. First, with the water, all three could not be present. Here, we have all three heads present.
Second, the husband, father, and son analogy, three identities but only one person. Here, we have 3 heads, possibly with 3 brains, acting and thinking on their own. These three heads could communicate to one another. But we wouldn't describe this mythological creature as three dogs. We would describe this as a three headed dog, meaning, that it is one dog with three heads. To go further, This three headed dog is Cerberus. It has an identity.

In comparison with the Trinity, I feel this analogy does a good job of describing the Trinity. But I honestly don't think we are ever going to find an analogy that best describes God. So one could find many holes in this analogy.

If you are a Christian and don't understand the Trinity I hope this helps. If you are not a Trinitarian (Jehovah's Witness or Mormon), I feel the Scriptures put up a challenge to the idea of polytheism.

For more info check out:
Our Triune God by Peter Toon