Understanding that if you are a Christian, you already know God to be Triune.
We know a Triune God.
Of course, there's a lot of theorizing about the Trinity. Before we get lost in the details, the first thing to say is, if you are a Christian, you already know God to be Triune.
Matthew's gospel ends with these powerful words of Jesus, "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"
We are a people baptized into "the name" of the Triune God. Jesus clearly distinguishes between the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Yet he says we are baptized into "THE name." God is both one and three at the same time.
Knowing that God is Trinity is foundational to God's name. For instance, in Deuteronomy 6:4 we read what is known as the Shema, a definitive Jewish prayer: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."
The Apostle Paul takes this same idea - that the Lord is one - and makes it Trinitarian in Ephesians 4. He teaches:
"There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
To quote Fred Sanders again, he writes, "Trinitarianism is the encompassing framework within which all Christian thought takes place and within which Christian confession finds its grounding presuppositions. It is the deep grammar of all the central Christian affirmations."
To understand the Trinity, then, we need to understand two truths simultaneously.
First, we need to understand what it means to say that a Triune God is one.
Second, we need to understand what it means to say that the one God is Triune.
The Triune God is one. The one God is Triune. These are deep waters, but we have faithful guides to help us on our journey.
And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'
When did you first become aware of the Trinity as a core doctrine of the Christian faith? How has your understanding of this reality grown or changed over time?
Why do you think it's important to hold both the diversity and the unity of the Godhead together? What happens if we overemphasize one aspect to the neglect of the other?
How does Paul's 'Trinitarian' interpretation of the Shema in Ephesians 4 demonstrate the continuity between the Old and New Testament revelations of God's nature?
Meditate on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Notice how Jesus speaks of 'the name' (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Get 5 practical emails to help you follow Jesus with a friend.