What is the Trinity?
The Trinity is perhaps one of the most profound mysteries of our faith, but it is foundational and non-negotiable. The doctrine of the Trinity is that God is one deity and yet exists at all times as three separate persons with unique roles and characteristics. The Bible never uses the word Trinity, but is clear that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4, James 2:19) that exists as God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit (John 10:30, John 1:1-5, John 14:16-26, Romans 8:9-11, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Genesis 1:1-2)
One of my favorite passages featuring all three persons of God is Exodus chapter 3.
Exodus 3:1-6 (NIV, emphasis added)
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Here we see “the angel of the Lord”, which means an Old Testament appearance of Jesus before He became human. The angel of the Lord appeared “in flames of fire”, and the Holy Spirit is represented as fire throughout scripture. Finally, from within the bush that is both the angel of the Lord and the Holy Spirit, God calls to Moses. From a burning bush in the wilderness the triune God made Himself known as “I AM WHO I AM”, the eternal and all-powerful creator of the universe. Moses, the one to whom this was all revealed, would later write in Deuteronomy 6:4 “Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
What are the roles of the Trinity?
Here are a few examples of how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit perform separate roles to accomplish a common goal.
Father - Planned salvation
Son - Carried out the plan for salvation
Holy Spirit - Dwells within every believer at the moment of salvation
Father - Reveals Himself through His creation
Son - Revealed Himself to us as a human
Holy Spirit - Reveals Himself in us through our sanctification
Holy Spirit - Helps us to pray
Son - Intercedes for us
Father - Hears and answers our prayers
Why does the doctrine of the Trinity matter?
I was going to type them all out, but that would turn this brief newsletter into a whole dissertation! Here are some articles that explain the importance of the Trinity in depth:
Blue Letter Bible
The Gospel Coalition
Answers in Genesis