Understanding the Trinity (1+1+1=1)

A.   A Symbol of the Trinity

B.   Essential Elements of the Trinity

God is One.

Each of the persons within the Godhead is Deity.

The oneness of God and the threeness of God is not
contradictory.

The Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is eternal.

Each of the persons of God is of the same essence and is not
inferior or superior to others in essence.

The Trinity is a mystery which we will never be able to
understand fully.

C.  Biblical Perspective of the Trinity

Biblical teaching

Old Testament

New Testament

God is One

Deuteronomy  6:4

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

1 Timothy 1:17

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The Father

Psalms 2:7

I will proclaim the decree of
the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your
Father.

1 Peter 1:2

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling
by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in
abundance.

Three Distinct Persons as Deity

The Son

Psalms 2:7

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are
my Son; today I have become your
Father.

Matthew 3:16-17

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that
moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased."

The Holy Spirit

Genesis 1:2

Now the earth was formless
and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters.

Acts 5:3-4

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled
your heart that you have lied to the
Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for
the land?  Didn't it belong to you
before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal?
What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

D. Persons
of the same essence: Attributes applied to each person

How do you find out whether something which
you cannot see is the same thing. One way is to describe it and see whether the
description matches. This is what we will be doing here. We search the Bible to
see if the descriptions of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are identical or not.

Attribute

Father

Son

Holy Spirit

Eternality

Ps. 90:2

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth
the earth and the world, from everlasting
to everlasting you are God.

John 1:2

He
was with God in the beginning.

Heb 9:14

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to
death, so that we may serve the living God!

Power

1 Peter 1:5

who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the
salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time

2 Cor 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for
you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast
all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Rom 15:19

by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum,
I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

Omniscience

Jer. 17:10

"I the
LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to
his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

Rev.2:23

I will strike her children dead. Then all the
churches will know that I am he who
searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your
deeds.

1 Cor.2:11

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except
the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Omnipresence

Jer. 23:24

Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the
LORD." Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.

Matt. 18:20

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Ps. 139:7

Where can I
go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Holiness

Rev. 15:4

Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to
your name? For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have
been revealed."

Acts 3:14

You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to
you

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."

Truth

John 7:28

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts,
cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not
here on my own, but he who sent me is
true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he
sent me."

Rev. 3:7,8

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy
and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and
what he shuts no one can open.  I
know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can
shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and
have not denied my name.

1 John 5:6

This is the one who came by water and blood--Jesus
Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the
Spirit who testifies, because the
Spirit is the truth.

E. Living theologically depends on
Trinitarian thinking.

Examples of Trinitarian thinking are

(a)    in the church, we
Christians must be always reminded that we are children of the Father, body of
Christ and of the Holy Spirit. All our worship, communion, baptism and church
life is done in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;

(b)
Trinitarian thinking puts the
family as the foundational unit of existence;

(c)    in the world, the recognition of equality and value of all
human beings is based on the co-equality of the persons in the Trinity and
everybody works for the whole;

(d)  time: to be in Christ as the Son means to
be in the Father and in the Holy Spirit. To be truly in the present also means
to be in the past and future. In Trinitarian thinking, the past, present and future are united and become whole time, just as
the Father, the Son and the Spirit are one.

(e)
spiritual formation of our souls is based on the relational aspects of the Trinity.

Reference

House, H. Wayne (1992), Charts of Christian
Theology & Doctrine, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Pp.48-49