The Trinity: Impossible to Understand?

Many claim it is impossible to understand the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. A typical challenge found in one anti-Trinitarian book (1) goes as follows:

“God is one and God is three, and there is nothing like it in all creation. We cannot understand it but only accept it.”

Some have heard such an assertion go unchallenged often enough they assume the point must be conceded. “After all, how can three be one?” Thus we are presented a “logic challenge” for which they demand a response.

Well first we acknowledge that no one can claim they comprehend the full nature of God, but because of God’s self‐revelation we may apprehend his essential nature. In fact, only when we discern that nature may we grow to be like him. In scripture we are commanded to, “Grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, ESV). So just as a newborn baby does not fully comprehend the love of his parents, he may genuinely apprehend that love and rest in peace. Since God is a good parent, he knows how to communicate his love.

Second, we should expect to grasp the essential nature of the Trinity because from the beginning God has revealed that the universe was created as a trinity of trinities! Consider the very first verse of the Bible:

“In the beginning [time] God created the heavens [space] and the earth [matter]” (Genesis 1:1, ESV).

These three essential attributes of the one universe are likewise triune (2).

1. Time: past, present, and future—one time.
2. Space: height, width, and depth—one space.
3. Matter: gas, liquid, and solid—one matter.

So for those who claim they can’t imagine how there can be three in one, we should point out that it is actually impossible to imagine anything that is not three in one—from the beginning. And the assertion that we “cannot understand it but only accept it” does not recognize the role of revelation in Biblical faith. We may genuinely posses truth because:

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV)

Now as an engineer, if I were to ask someone to calculate the volume of a cube that was for example, 1-foot, by 1-foot, by 1-foot, and they answered “3-feet,” I would realize we had a conceptual problem. Likewise, when people ask, “How can three be one?” I know it’s time for clarification.

We start by explaining that in the Trinity there are not three individuals but only three personal self-distinctions within the one divine essence. And according to the Bible a “person” is a self aware subject who relates to the other two as “another” (John 5:32,37; 14:16-17,26). Therefore the Trinity does not teach that one god is three gods, nor does it teach that one person is three persons. Instead the doctrine of the Trinity can be simply stated as follows:

There is but one God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is each God; and the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit is each a distinct person.

Now the analogy between the Triune nature of God and the triune nature of the created universe is very instructive and really quite strong. However the nature of God and that of his creation can never be identical. In fact it would be idolatrous to say anything in the creation is essentially the same as God (Isaiah 40:18). By definition, the creation reflects the nature of its Creator with quantitative and qualitative limitations (3).

As a matter of practical application, the Trinity is essential to our understanding of the love of God. You see, how would it be possible to say, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), if before the creation of the universe no expression of love was even possible. Jesus clearly connected the eternal love between the persons of the Trinity to the love God has for us in heaven.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:24, ESV. (4)

In conclusion, God relates to believers in Trinity:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14, ESV

Tim Nordgren

Footnotes:

1. For a more detailed examination of the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity and its implications see the following book review, Searching for Answers: When God Reveals his Image, by Cornell Thomas: http://www.thingsrevealed.net/Searching_For_Answers_Cornell-Thomas.pdf
2. Albert Einstein showed that the universe is inseparably comprised of time, space, and matter. Three-in-one.
3. Some are understandingly concerned that all such analogies for the Trinity break down at some point. For example, matter normally exists in one of three states; solid, liquid, or gas, but not simultaneously. This, they claim, gives credence to the false doctrine of “modalism.” However water, one of the most common molecules on earth, when cooled to 0°C (the so-called triple-point) actually does exist in all three states simultaneously–three-in-one. Again, by definition, all analogies between the creation and the Creator are limited.
4. See also Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2.
5. In the Bible the doctrine of the Trinity is not a mere “formula.” It is a description of the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the nature of God. You will not always see a fixed formulaic pattern of words: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are some times given in different order (Matthew 28:19 versus 2 Corinthians 13:14), and other names God (father implied), Christ (Son, Word, Jesus), and Holy Spirit (Spirit). The key to understanding the Trinity is the consistent unity, relationship, and love.
6. See Excel spreadsheet list of scriptures that form the basis for the doctrine of “The Trinity: One God, Three Distinct Persons.”
7. Scripture quotations from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), 2001, by Crossway Bibles, Good News Publishers.

Volatile or Eternal Word?

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All throughout our technology driven age there have been predictions of the death of the written word. Over twenty years ago Sven Birkerts composed his literary Gutenberg Elegies warning of the fate of reading in the electronic age (1). As a English professor he had become alarmed by his television-age students “loss of depth… vertical consciousness” and general inability to grasp “natural wisdom.”

Earlier yet, Neil Postman warned that the flickering screen of televised mass media had robbed us of the ability to learn and communicate serious ideas and therefore we were Amusing Ourselves to Death (2).

Even so, I was encouraged to hear Birkerts acknowledge the existence of at least one refuge for contemplative meditation on the written word–Bible reading Churches. Here, he observed, written words were revered and meditated on daily. It seemed to me that this normative Christian behaivor could lead us back to a greater depth of reasoning and thoughtful communication.

Today there is no longer any debate about the precipitous decline of all publishing–books, magazines, and newspapers. And there is no sign that electronic media can ever fill the void. All of the grave concerns raised about the loss of reading and reasoning came before the advent of the mobile computer, tablet, and smartphone. Now the latter is no longer unique, but ubiquitous. One can only imagine what those prophets of the literary end of days might say about the current state of affairs.

At this point I really must acknowledge I have plunged deeply into much of what passes for modern technology. Though I regularly read conventional books, I also listen to audio books on my phone since this allows me to fit supplemental “reading” into other activities. I rarely resist the temptation to Google almost anything my aging memory failed to “backup for future reference.” Further, I employ several eBibles, Bible study tools, and scripture memorization Apps to supplement conventional study aides. The case for the power and convenience of these tools is compelling. This very blog was written and published on my favorite iPhone Apps.

There is, however one manifestation of the written Word that I have not given up. My big, fat, King James, Defenders Study Bible (3). Like so many “old school” Bibles it is thoroughly marked up with marginal notes as a record of personal study of what God has revealed. You see, I find it difficult to search and meditate on the scriptures daily (Acts 17:11) without laying them open before me. Clearly, I do recognize and utilize numerous modern means for learning and understanding God’s Word. However, for thousands of years faithful believers have sacrificed so many things–including their very lives–just to read the written Word of God. I will never forget the Seattle exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls when I read from the sriptures opened to Psalm 119:91, “Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you” (4)(5).

Yet in church services we App-Switch to rarely used eBibles while cyclical and distracting social media, breaking news, and text pop-ups interupt and arrest our attention. And while most could bring an old-school Bible, we rarely do.  At best, a few scriptures hover in volatile memory just before the screen saver dims. So goes “modern meditation” on God’s Word. (6)

I do hereby challenge myself and others to meditate on the words, meaning, and application of these few representative scriptures related to meditation on God’s Word (7):

“I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.”Psalm 119:30, KJV

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…” Luke 4:16-18, ESV

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8, NIV 1984

Like every generation before us we simply must find the way to refocus our attention on God’s revelation before it dims and then blanks out the very words of God.

Footnotes:

1. Sven Birkerts, The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in the Electronic Age, Faber and Faber, 1994. pp.74-76.
2. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, 1985.
3. Henry M. Morris, The New Defender’s Study Bible, World Publishing, 2005.
4. Scripture quotations from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Zondervan, 1984.
5. Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit tells stories from then and now, Seattle Times, 9/20/2006. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/dead-sea-scrolls-exhibit-tells-stories-from-then-and-now/
6. It is debatable whether a fast-paced and dynamic church service (which I enjoy and appreciate) is quite the right place for serious meditation on God’s Word. Perhaps that is best experienced in private study. However, there does seem to be Biblical precedent for such meditation in the community of believers. See Nehemiah 8:1-8; Luke 4:16-18.
7. We may need to consider the following scriptures as well: Psalm 119:15, 18, 30, 48, 52, 97, 148, 160; Deuteronomy 17:18-20; Amos 8:11-12.
8. A bit of irony: I am attempting to come to an understanding of the eternal nature of Biblical revelation in a volatile blog post.