Point-of-View

For the past five weeks, we have examined the Doctrine of God–the central idea in religion–defining Him in terms of human life and experience. We have seen Him as Creator; His almighty power and ever present nature; His holy and righteous nature; and His love and His wrath. This week we will explore the definition and doctrine of the Trinity.

The Trinity is the theological term used to define God as an undivided unity expressed in the threefold nature of God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is an important doctrine in understanding God. This biblical concept expresses the dynamic character of God. It is one of the great mysteries of human faith.

Doctrine of Trinity defined

The Trinity is represented by God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God is one being in three persons. Each of these persons expresses the entire fullness of the Godhead.

Each person possesses all the deity of the divine essence, but each person also has an individual characteristic which is peculiar to that one person and is not exchanged. (For example: The Father is the Father and is not the Son, etc.) There is no priority of time or origin and no superiority of rank. The three persons exist eternally and are co-eternal and co-equal.

When understanding the Trinity, there are some errors to be avoided. There is no real good human analogy for the doctrine of the Trinity. They will emphasize either the oneness or the "threeness" of the doctrine. There is no likeness to Trinity in human experience. Most errors will be either an emphasis on the unity as opposed to the "threeness" of God’s triune nature.

One of the common doctrinal errors committed in understanding the Trinity is subordinationism, which maintains the unity of God at all expense. This theology seeks to maintain the unity of God at the expense of the deity of Jesus.

Another common error is modalism, which stresses one God, only different manifestations of this one God. It is an error to stress the threeness at the expense of the unity of God. There are very definite trends of tri-theism in our Christian culture. For example, Unitarians worship only Father and view the Holy Spirit as influence. They view Christ as a teacher. The Father alone is God. Many, in reality, worship only Christ. Some groups give emphasis primarily to the Holy Spirit.

As Christians we believe in the unity of God. We are as monotheistic as any prophet or rabbi ever dares to be. (Read 2 Corinthians 5:10-19; Mark 12:29). The oneness of God is not a simple mathematical kind of unity. The kind of oneness that God has is a kind of oneness that can include a three-foldness. The unity of God is a personal unity.

Doctrine of Trinity

We should do our best and not consider the doctrine of the trinity a problem or impossibility. We should consider this doctrine because of its essential nature in our witness.

This doctrine has been sadly neglected by modern theology. Many Baptists have been very shaky on the doctrine of the trinity. We should recognize the mystery of the doctrine. God is greater in reality than in thought. Remember the words of the great First Century scholar St. Augustine: "God is great and truer in thoughts than our words. He is greater and truer in reality than in thought."

To be theologically true to the Day of Pentecost we must be Trinitarian in our doctrine of God.

To discover more about the Doctrine of Trinity, review these scriptures which quickly brings us to the realization of the three-foldness of God’s nature. Read: Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6; Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 4:3-7; and Acts 2.

This is the seventh in a series called the Doctrine of God.