Lesson Three: The Trinity
Pastor Gary Wright
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” Colossians 2:9
Several years ago, my family and I went on a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. While we were there, we decided to go to an escape room. We had a choice of which room to choose: beginner, novice, or expert. I have no idea why, but for some reason, we chose the expert room. This was silly on our part because none of us had ever been to an escape room before. The room we chose was a ship that was sinking, and we had to escape. Needless to say, we all went down with the ship. The truth is we did not understand what we were doing.
The concept of the Trinity is difficult to understand as well. There is really no way to perfectly understand the Trinity with our human minds. The word Trinity is not found in the Bible, but its truth is. The Bible teaches that there is one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Yet, the Bible also teaches that God exists in three coequal and co-eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The members of the Trinity are three individual persons and are all God. The Father is God (John 6:27), the Son is God (Colossians 2:9), and the Holy Spirit is God (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Some teach a polytheistic view of the Trinity. They say the three persons of the Trinity are three separate gods. This view is not compatible with the Bible. A name frequently used for God in the Hebrew language is Elohim, which is a plural word. In Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7, and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun “us” is used when God is speaking of Himself.
Some teach a modalistic view of the Trinity, which teaches that there is one God who changes to one of the three modes of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. This is not compatible with the Bible either. In Matthew 3:16-17, all three persons of the Trinity are present. When Jesus the Son came up from the water, after being baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove, and God the Father spoke audibly.
The Trinity is one of the most challenging doctrines of the Bible to understand. Why is it important? Through the Trinity, we gain an understanding of who God is and how He works. The Trinity helps us understand God’s loving nature. Love did not begin at creation. God existed eternally in a relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit, bound in perfect love. God the Father demonstrates this love by sending God the Son (John 3:16). God the Son demonstrates love by stepping down from Heaven to pay the price for our sins with His life (Philippians 2:6-8). God the Holy Spirit demonstrates love by indwelling, empowering, convicting, guiding, comforting, and interceding for every believer who has faith in Jesus (John 14:26).
The Trinity gives believers the example and the ability to love like God. John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”