Believing the Truth: The Trinity

Hi, I’m David Feddes, and this talk is about the Trinity. The Statement of Faith of Christian Leaders College and Institute says:

God is Trinity, an eternal, loving unity of three divine persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The doctrine of the Trinity is the statement of who God is, and it is at the very heart of the Christian faith.

God the Father

God the Father is revealed in the Bible many times. The Scriptures use the phrase “God the Father” at least 25 times, “God our Father” 11 times, and “Father in heaven” 14 times. Jesus calls God His Father over 100 times.

Near the end of His ministry, Jesus said: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

It’s a tremendous privilege that the Father of Jesus—the Father of the Son—is also our Father for Jesus’ sake.

The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the great creeds of the church all confess belief in God the Father. The Nicene Creed begins: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.”

When we hear “Father,” we must remember this is the identity of the First Person of the Trinity. It’s not just a role He happens to have. He has always been Father. It is His eternal nature to give life, to love, and to delight in His Son. There has never been a time when the First Person of the Trinity was not Father.

The doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son means that God has forever been giving life and loving His Son. There was never a point when the Son began to exist, and therefore there was never a point at which the Father was not the Father.

It is God’s nature as Father to give life and to love. He has always loved His beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Even before Jesus came into the world, He was the Second Person of the Trinity—the Son, beloved of His Father.

We must avoid the mistake of thinking God the Father has a different attitude toward us than God the Son. Some imagine the Father is harsh but the Son is friendly, making things right so the Father will accept us. But the Bible teaches that the Son came into the world because of the Father’s love. In sending Him, God the Father revealed His love.

God the Son

That God the Father is God has never been disputed in Christianity. But sometimes God the Son has been doubted. Some have claimed Jesus was a great prophet or high being, but not truly God.

What does the Bible say?

The Gospel of John is especially clear: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It even calls Him the only begotten God.

In John 3:16 we read: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus said: “I and the Father are one.” He also said: “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Thomas, once called “Doubting Thomas,” made the great confession at the climax of John’s Gospel: “My Lord and my God!”

Other Scriptures echo this truth:

• Philippians 2:6—“He was in the form of God.”

• Colossians 1—“He is the image of the invisible God … in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

• Hebrews 1—“The Son is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”

Even apart from direct statements, Jesus’ actions show His divinity. He commands a storm, and it obeys. The Old Testament says God alone commands storms. He says, “I am the Good Shepherd,” but the Old Testament says, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Jesus forgives sins—something only God can do. His opponents recognized this, saying: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” They understood that Jesus was claiming to be God.

For this reason, the church has always confessed His divinity. The Nicene Creed says: “I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.”

This creed was written against Arius, who taught that Jesus was a created being. The church said no—Jesus is eternally begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father.

God the Holy Spirit

The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is also divine. Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth … I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

In sending the Holy Spirit, Jesus Himself comes to us. The whole Trinity comes to us because the Spirit is also God.

Paul writes: “Now the Lord is the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is not just a power or influence. He is a divine person who knows, teaches, chooses, speaks, and lives within us. He can be lied to (“You have not lied to men, but to God”), resisted, grieved, and even blasphemed. Only a person can be grieved or blasphemed.

He is called God, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of God’s Son.

The Nicene Creed says: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.”

The Unity of the Trinity

When Jesus commands baptism, He says: “Baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All three persons are named together.

In blessing we hear: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” We are baptized and blessed in the name of the Trinity.

Some try to explain the Trinity with comparisons—like water in three forms (ice, liquid, vapor), or an egg with shell, yolk, and white, or a three-leaf clover. But these fall short. God is not just parts, or one being showing up in three forms. God is one being in three persons.

The Athanasian Creed states: “The Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty co-eternal. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God.”

Conclusion

That’s the doctrine of the Trinity we confess at Christian Leaders College and Institute:

God is Trinity, an eternal, loving unity of three divine persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.