If you were asked to explain the concept of the Godhead or the Trinity to someone, what would you say? Someone may say that the Trinity is 3-in-1. But 3-in-1 is a shampoo! How does that explain the Trinity?
Others have used analogies to explain the Trinity such as the three states of water (solid, liquid, gas) and the spokes (representing Father, Son, Holy Spirit) on a bicycle tire. These analogies are somewhat helpful – as far as they go.
Well, the word Trinity is a Latin expression for the revelation of the one God (Deut. 6:4) in three “persons”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The basis in Scripture on which the concept of Trinity was built can be summarized as follows: there is only one God; each of the three divine persons is recognized to be God.
Let me share another explanation that I think adds more clarity to the concept of Trinity. It comes from Nabeel Qureshi who said:
The Godhead is one in being and three in person. As people, we are one in being (human), and one in person. The term “being” refers to what you are, and “person” refers to who you are.
So God is one in being (what He is, one God), and three in person (who He is) – the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Let this revelation from the Holy Spirit sink in.
To summarize: One God in three distinct persons who are all equally God.
Said another way, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are “of the same substance”, but they are not the same person.
Three Persons
Let’s look a little more at the “three” persons of the Godhead.
How can a being have a personality if it does not have a body? Interesting question.
To understand the Trinity, you need to distinguish between personality (being a person) and corporeity (having a body). I realize that it may be hard to understand or believe that anything which is invisible and intangible, and does not have a body, can be a person.
But our God exists as an invisible Spirit without flesh and bones. The Creator and Ruler of all people must be Himself a person for you and I to be a person. The Holy Spirit is a spirit, like God the Father, and so the Holy Spirit is also a person. The attribute of the Holy Spirit as omnipresent is an impossible concept if we confine Him to a body.
Having the faculties and attributes of a person is what constitutes a person, whether or not that person resides in a body. Let the truth of this statement sink in.
God the Father, by definition, is eternal. Jesus is eternal:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2
And the Holy Spirit is eternal:
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God. . . Hebrews 9:14a
In summary, then, God is one in being (what He is, one God), and three in person (who He is) – the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. And, having the faculties and attributes of a person is what constitutes a person (in the Godhead), whether or not that person resides in a body.
Check out Nabeel Qureshi’s explanation of the Trinity: (https://youtu.be/u0JpwOSKRC0).
(For a scriptural basis for the Trinity, check out: Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; Matt. 3:16; John 14:16-17, 15:26; Acts 2:32-33, 10:38; I Peter 1:2).
Activation Prayer:
Lord, I believe and declare that You are one God in three “persons,” Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Based on the Word of God, I believe that each person of the Godhead is divine and eternal and have always existed. I believe and declare all three persons of the godhead are equal in glory and coequal in majesty. Each person of the Trinity is uncreated, unlimited, eternal, almighty, and God. I believe the Holy Spirit is from the Father and proceeds from the Son, and is in relationship with me. I embrace the fact that God is one in being, and three in person – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Jesus Name, Amen!