A. K. Chidgzey

One of the key distinctive beliefs of Christianity – God exists as three distinct and equal persons: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This is, first and foremost, an attempt to make sense of what is only implicitly stated in the Bible, a doctrine formulated over several centuries by scholars who wanted to faithfully make sense of what the Bible says about God.

No explicit mention formulation of the Trinity in the Bible. But 2 Corinthians 13.14 and Matthew 28.19 come the closest.

In my opinion, the Bible authors themselves weren’t entirely sure themselves, but they simply recorded their experiences of God, of Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit, something that was radical and unique and difficult to make sense of.

Diversity within God in the the Old Testament: Elohim, the Hebrew word for God, is technically plural; “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness”; “Who will go for us?”

Jesus’ unique relationship with the Father: equality with God, sharing in God’s authority, of the same, divine nature. Philippians 2; 1 Corinthians 8; John 1; John 8.

The Spirit: equality with the Father and the Son, personal pronouns, the Paraclete.

The three are homoousios, that is, ‘one substance.’ Three persons; one substance.

Important to remember here that God transcends our categories and language. We can only ever describe him in metaphor.

The Trinity represents a unified diversity. God is diverse and yet ordered. It is also a mystery.