The Trinity
God's Revelation of the Trinity
Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you
great and mighty things, which you do not know.
NKJV
God has chosen to reveal Himself through the Bible and through the Person of Jesus Christ. His revelation is designed to demonstrate just a couple of simple things to us.
- First, God demonstrates that we are sinful and lost.
- Second, accepting this sinful condition, the Bible teaches us how to find God and enter into a true, lasting relationship with Him. This is called salvation.
- Third, the Bible teaches us how to live in this new relationship.
Recognizing these three points as the basis for the Bible’s existence also helps us to understand that God has only revealed enough knowledge to us so that we may accomplish these three tasks. While other information satisfy our own curiosity, God has given us what He knows we need.
No more, no less.
Given this as the basis of our knowledge about God, it is easier to understand the Trinity. God exists in three Persons for His dealing with us. Since the idea of dealing with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit might confuse us as to which one is God, the Godhead has revealed to us the existence of the Trinity – three Persons with one single essence – a single God Who shows Himself to us in different manifestations for different purposes. This is the “mystery” of God. Yet, if we trust the Bible, we have faith that this is all we need to know to understand and act upon the three points stated above behind God’s revelation.
God is infinite and eternal, along with possessing many other attributes. Is it any wonder we cannot understand the Trinity?
This is especially true since many speak of the Godhead’s unity in diversity. This is but a way of stating that the one God shows Himself to mankind by means of three distinct personal self-manifestations or self-distinct “persons,” each of which exists within the divine essence.
God exists in these three states
with unity of dignity . . .
John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more
to kill Him[Jesus], because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said
that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
NKJV
. . . and diversity of operation
John 16:14 He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify Me
[Jesus], for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
NKJV
