The Trinity

The word Trinity is not in the Bible nor the Bible Concordance. The idea that God is ‘Three Persons in One’ is confusing. God exists as Three Persons, yet he is One being. Each person of the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has a separate identity while yet possessing the full nature of God.

Jesus is the divine Son of God. Jesus was created by God, and He always co-existed with God (see John 1:1-3). While on earth, Jesus himself declared likewise. Colossians 1:15-17 states: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He existed before everything else began, and He holds all creation together.” You will note that the Nicene Creed, frequently recited in church, uses the Greek term “Homoousias” to affirm that Jesus is of the same ‘nature and substance’ as God.

God the Holy Spirit is also deity. The Spirit has eternally co-existed with the Father and the Son. It was present at creation (see Genesis 1:2). Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate…He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything I have told you” (John 14: 16, 26). Jesus called the co-existing Spirit holy because He is the Spirit of the Holy God, the third person of the triune Godhead. Rest assured that as you seek to know God, you will feel the presence and promptings of the Holy Spirit. Read Acts 2, about the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to the early church.

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is the central dogma concerning the nature of God.  It defines  God as existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit–three distinct persons sharing the same essence. Each is God, complete and whole. The Old Testament  refers to the Trinity in many places. In Isaiah 9, the Messiah is called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ‘Counselor’ is a title for the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). ‘Father’ is a title for God the Father, and Prince of Peace is a title for Jesus. The New Testament contains Trinitarian formulas, including Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4–5, Ephesians 4:4–6, 1 Peter 1:2, and Revelation 1:4–5. The Great Commission states: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Apostle‘s blessing affirms: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

I joined the First Baptist Church in Perry on Main Street at the tender age of 11. My mother, Margaret Powell, joined at the same time. We both walked down the aisle at the invitation of “Just as I Am.” When mother and I were baptized, and just before submersion into the water, Rev. Ivey, stated, “I Baptist you in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.”