I’m a sound bite guy. When confronted with a complex idea I prefer it explained in as simple terms as possible. So for all the rest of you sound bite people out there I’ve put together this simple explanation of the Holy Trinity. Hope it helps.
The word “Trinity” is never used in the Bible. The doctrine has arisen from clear, but not comprehensive, biblical teaching. As a result it can be difficult to have a proper view of the Trinity. First, I’ll start with a picture for all you visual learners like myself. I’m sure that my artistry will take your breath away:
Note that the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God and the Father is God. However, the Son is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Son nor the Father. The Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit. Weird, I know. It’s hard to understand too; especially given our limited grey matter.
Here’s another way to look at the Trinity; any time you try to describe or define the Trinity your definition or description must abide by three rules. Think of them as the three rules for a proper doctrine of the Trinity:
- God is One. (Deut. 6:4;
Deut. 20:2-3;Deut. 3:13-15; First Tim. 1:17; First Cor. 8:4-6; First Tim. 2:5-6; James 2:19.) - Each of the persons within the Trinity is fully God. (Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:1-13; Isa. 6:1-3; Isa. 9:6; Gen. 1:1-2; Exo. 31:3; First Pet. 1:2; John 1:17; Mat. 3:16-17; Acts 5:3-4; Second Cor. 3:17.)
- The Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is eternal. (Ps. 90:2; John 1:2; Rev. 1:8, 17; Heb. 9:14.)
Those are some pretty simple rules, aren’t they?
Over the years some people have come up with snappy analogies for the Trinity using everyday items. You’ll note, however, that each analogy falls short in fulfilling at least one of the three rules. Here are a few of the more popular analogies I’ve heard followed by the rule(s) they break:
- The Trinity is like an egg. There’s the yolk, the white and the shell. Each are separate but they all form the egg. (This analogy breaks rule #2. The yolk does not possess the fullness of the egg, neither do the white or the shell.)
- The Trinity is like water. It is one substance that can exist in three separate and distinct forms: liquid, solid and gas. (This analogy breaks rule #3. Being eternal implies that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist simultaneously. Water can cannot exist as liquid, solid and gas simultaneously.)
- The Trinity is like a man: a man can be a husband, a father and a son all at the same time. (This analogy breaks rule #2 and #3. It refers to a man simply wearing three “hats.” This is an incomplete view of God because the Father is completely separate from the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son is completely separate from the Father and the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is completely separate from the Father and the Son. In the analogy, however, the father is not a separate person than the husband, which would be absurd.)
So those are the basics of the Holy Trinity. I’ve given you a picture to help explain how the different parts of God relate to each other as well as three rules which every description of the Trinity must follow in order to be biblically accurate. This explanation of the Trinity is obviously not exhaustive but it wasn’t designed to be. It was designed to be simplistic and I think it accomplishes that.
