Understanding the Trinity (One God, Three Persons)

The Trinity — one God existing as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is one of the central teachings of Christianity, and also one of the most mysterious. Here's a simple, humble explanation of the Trinity.

One God

First, Christianity is firmly monotheistic — there is only one God, not three. The Bible is clear: 'the LORD our God is one LORD.' The Trinity doesn't mean three gods; it means the one true God exists in a way more wonderful and complex than we fully grasp.

Three persons

Yet the Bible also presents the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit as each fully God, distinct persons in relationship. We see all three together, for example, at Jesus' baptism, and Jesus commissioned his followers to baptise 'in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost' — one name, three persons.

A mystery to worship

The Trinity stretches our minds beyond their limits — and that's to be expected of the infinite God. We can't fully explain it, but we can worship it. At its heart, the Trinity reveals that God is, in his very being, a communion of love — Father, Son, and Spirit, eternally loving one another and inviting us in.

Understanding the Trinity means holding two truths together: there is one God, and he exists eternally as three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's a mystery beyond our full comprehension, which is fitting for an infinite God. Rather than explaining it away, we can worship it — marvelling that God is, in himself, a fellowship of love, and that he invites us to share in it.