Dear Ginger-

I’ve been reading my Bible a lot lately and I can’t seem to find the word Trinity anywhere in it.  Can you help me understand the term and what it means that God is three in one? – Thanks! -F

Big question!  Let me see what I can do to help explain the Trinity.  Please note, I am sharing my interpretation based on Scripture and commentaries, but we serve a God who is beyond our comprehension!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16

“Trinity” is a term that is not found in the Bible but a word used to describe what the Bible tells us about God.  The Bible describes God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.  What can sometimes be confusing is that the Bible also clearly tells us that there is only one God. Thus the term: “Tri” meaning three, and “Unity” meaning one. Tri+Unity = Trinity. It is a way of showing what the Bible reveals to us about God, that God is three “persons” in one.  Still with me?  Ok… let’s keep going.

Check out Luke chapter 3 where it describes when Jesus was baptized.  It’s a really cool story because it talks about all three “persons” who make up God.  …”Jesus was also baptized.  While Jesus was praying, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit came down on him.  The Spirit was in the form of a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son and I love you.”  (The Magnify Bible)

That voice from heaven was God the Father!  This passage shows us that each of the persons of the Trinity may look or seem different, but that they are each fully and completely God.  In our world, with our small minds, it’s tough to understand the Trinity.  But from the beginning we see God this way in Scripture. Check out Genesis 1:26 — Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Here’s how all three parts are described in scripture:

GOD THE FATHER:
Father of Jesus
Pillar of cloud, pillar of fire, burning bush, loud voice, bright light

GOD THE SON:
Jesus
Fully God and fully man
Came to earth
Sacrificed for our sins
MEDIATOR!! (Curtain ripped!)

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:
Jesus said he was leaving us the Holy Spirit as our help, guide, comforter…giving gifts, bearing fruit, helping us make wise decisions – appeared in tongues of fire and as a dove, and as a rushing wind.

We pray to the Father in the Name of the Son with the help of the Holy Spirit.

“Hear O Israel!  The LORD is our God, the LORD is ONE!” Deuteronomy 6:4

Hope that helps a little.  Sometimes I describe it to kids like an apple – the core, the white “meat” and the peel.  All three are part of the apple but they all have separate looks and functions.  OR sometimes we describe it like the components of H2o- liquid, ice, vapor.  All are made up of the same material but serve a different presence.

Keep reading!  Keep asking!

Following,
Ginger