It Takes All Three

It is important to separate the Bible’s teaching about the Trinity from later philosophical ideas about God that became connected with Roman Catholic theology. For example, Catholic theology describes the Father as eternally “begetting” the Son, and the Holy Spirit as eternally “proceeding” from the Father and the Son, ideas that go beyond what Scripture teaches: one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three united, distinct, and eternal persons. When people try to explain exactly how the three relate to each other, they can, however, quickly move beyond Scripture into human speculation.

The Bible warns us not to go beyond what is written.

The Bible warns us “not to go beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6, ESV). God’s nature and the precise interrelationships of the persons of the Trinity are a mystery, and among the “secret things” that have not been revealed (Deut. 29:29). But there is much that is revealed on this vital topic, and we are encouraged to seek it out. And it is important to examine all that the Bible says (see Luke 24:25, 27, 44), because one or two verses alone or taken out of context can mischaracterize biblical teachings.

While all three persons of the Trinity are active in the Old Testament, beginning with creation (Gen. 1:1, 2, 26), their nature remains somewhat opaque until we come to the New Testament. That is because, apparently, God has revealed Himself progressively as we have needed to know Him. We see Jesus as the Son, the second person of the Godhead, clearly only when He comes to be our Savior. Similarly, it is only when Jesus is about to leave that He explains the Holy Spirit in detail (John 14-16). Jesus also spoke of all three Persons together (John 14:26; 15:26). Interestingly, baptism is a very special event where all three Persons choose to be actively involved, both in Jesus’ own baptism (Matt. 3:16, 17) and in the baptism of His followers. Thus the Trinity is fundamental to Christian faith, and we need to understand why we are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). They share one name because God is one, not three (Deut. 6:4).

God has revealed Himself progressively as we needed to know Him.

The apostles, based on the teachings of Jesus, elaborate on the Trinity’s role in salvation. Peter says believers are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2). Paul prays: “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). Notice that Jesus is mentioned first. Since all three Persons are equal and work together for our salvation, the order doesn’t matter. Jude encourages us to build ourselves up in the “most holy faith” (verse 20), and explains how we need all three persons of the Trinity to do that.

More about this fascinating topic may be found in the book Exploring the Trinity: Questions and Answers, available from the Biblical Research Institute.