Drink from The Well

All through grade school, math was my third favorite subject after science and English. This completely changed after my freshman year of college when I struggled through pre-calculus. After taking this class, I knew that was as high as math would ever go on my list. To me math, like all of creation, is a pointer to an intelligent designer with a rational mind. Math and other humanities studies answer the question of ‘how’ the world works, but not the ‘why.’ I think everywhere in the world, 1 + 1 will always equal 2, 2 + 2 will always equal 4, and so forth. However, the Bible takes a slightly different spin on math when it comes to answering the question of who the God of the Bible is. It tells us that 1 = 3 and 3 = 1. We know this does not make sense to our human intellect. Consequently, this is one of the ways to know that the Trinity is not merely a human construct, but a work of God himself.

The oneness of God

Along with Islam and Judaism, Christianity is part of the three main monotheistic religions in the world. Monotheism holds to the belief that there is only one supreme being who is almighty, all knowing, and all powerful, and there are no other gods or deities that compare to him. All the monotheistic religions affirm the oneness of God, the uniqueness of his essence and character, and the personal relationship he has with his creation as Creator. However, the doctrine of the Trinity is unique to Christianity. But if the Lord is one, how do we make sense of the Trinity? Although the word Trinity is not found in the Bible, the concept certainly is. The Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit are each referred to as God and are attributed qualities that only God has. For example, Jesus was in the beginning with God (John 1:1), and all creation was made through Him (Col. 1:16-17). The Holy Spirit is mentioned with Father and Son as “the name” believers are to be baptized into (Matt. 28:19-20) and was referred to as God by Peter in Acts 5:3-4. The teaching of a triune God is unique to Christianity and affirms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God in three Persons. Christians believe that God is one, yet is also triune. We know God through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6), and the Holy Spirit works within us to help us live for God each day.

True representation

Like the other monotheistic religions, Christianity teaches that God is one (Deut. 6:4) but also that the Father is God (John 20:17), the Son is God (John 1:1, Rom. 9:5, Col. 2:9, Heb. 1:10), and the Spirit is God (Gen. 1:2, Acts 2, Rom. 8, 1 Thess. 1:5). Somehow they are three, and somehow they are one. Imagine if someone introduces themselves to you by their name, and you decide to call them by a completely different one. Would that be an accurate representation of them? You would probably agree that this is rude, and can even understand why they might be offended, right?. Similarly, it is quite offensive when we do not represent God the way he has revealed himself to us. When we do this, we move away from who he truly is as revealed in scripture, to who we want him to be. I believe that to the degree in which we pay attention to who God truly is will determine how we interact and experience him. There have been erroneous views of who God is since the beginning of time. This is true of Christians from the beginning of the faith in the first century. Some view the Father as only God, others emphasize either only the Son or Spirit, and others neglect the Spirit altogether. This sometimes happens deliberately, while other times due to poor discipleship. In modern day, I think of cults like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses as two “sects” of Christianity who are in error when it comes to accurately representing the God of the Bible – specifically Jesus. Centuries ago, the universal Church adopted what are known as ‘creeds’ which summarize the most important tenets of our faith, including the Trinity being one of those tenets. The Athanasian Creed, named after Athanasius, one of the early church fathers, was a defense of the orthodox view of the Trinity against other heretical views of it. The first portion of this creed sums up the Trinity well. A few excerpts read:

“That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence. For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another. But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal… 

And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being. So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being. Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God. Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord. Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord… 

The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone. The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten from the Father alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other. So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship the trinity in unity and the unity in trinity.”

Walk by faith

If the God of the universe has chosen to reveal himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even though it is hard for us to fully comprehend, we can still accept it for what it is – by faith. As wonderful as it is that we can reason with the minds God has given us, we come to learn that the Christian life is one that requires faith (2 Cor. 5:7). Tim Keller, in his book Encounters with Jesus, puts it this way: “So faith is not only rational. You cannot get all the way to real faith through reasoning alone, yet faith is not less than rational either. You can’t get to real faith without reason.” By faith, if we come to believe that God’s word is inerrant and infallible (2 Tim. 3:16-17), then we can trust it along with all the mysteries that come with it. When it comes to a person’s salvation, we see the Trinity in full motion. The Father chooses who will be saved (Eph. 1:4), the Son redeems them (Eph. 1:7), and the Holy Spirit seals them (2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:13-14). Since God cannot lie (Numb. 23:19, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18) and we know that everything he says comes to pass (Isa. 55:11), then it will only be wise for us to take him at his word. Even though we may not fully understand the Trinity, we can reconcile the reality of it to our minds, acknowledge what has been revealed to us and embrace the mystery. As Paul said elsewhere, our knowledge is partial and incomplete now, but when the perfect comes we will fully know. By his grace and mercy, we can walk by faith and not by sight. And we can trust that the same triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is with us and will never forsake us.

I pray with Paul for you my friends, asking that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with you all. Amen (2 Cor. 13:14).

“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us…” – Genesis 1:26

“After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:16-17

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20

Holy, Holy, Holy by Shane & Shane