I was sitting on our blue couch during read alouds (go homeschoolers). Probably coloring. Sometime in my teens. To this day, I can remember my mom reading this line,
the word ‘Trinity’ is nowhere found in the Bible.
I was astonished. I think I stopped coloring. I had two thoughts—that can’t be right. And if it is, why are we basing major Christian beliefs off a man-made word?
My interest in apologetics had already been sparked and I knew the Trinity fell into the category of “extremely hard to believe.” So why all the fuss? Why did we invent a word to believe something that is so hard to believe? Did someone just like the idea of the Trinity and Christendom went with it?
The rest of the reading taught me otherwise and I’ve never forgotten it.
The word “Trinity” was invented as shorthand for three separate, main and plain teachings of Scripture.
- There is one God.
- God is three distinct persons.
- Each person is fully God.
There it is. The Bible teaches these three things and when you put them together they yield the infamous doctrine of the Trinity.
The mystery is not in understanding each of these three sentences. The mystery is when you put them side-by-side. It’s difficult to hold all of them at once. To believe each fully and equally. To give no more assent to one than another. No more focus to one over the other. That’s the challenge to understanding.
How God is three in one may be beyond us. Yet that He is three in one has been revealed. The first step to understanding the Trinity is to better understand these three teachings. Each one is a main and plain teaching of Scripture. So where is it taught?
I used to keep a piece of paper taped to the back of my Bible. I had each of these three teachings written down and as I read the Bible, I would write down verses that I came across that taught each of these three. You’d be amazed how many Scriptures teach the Trinity.
Scour the Scriptures for these three as you seek to better understand the revealed nature of God.
Happy searching.
What Scriptures teach that there is one God?
What Scriptures teach that God is three distinct persons?
What Scriptures teach that the Father is God?
What Scriptures teach that the Son is God?
What Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit is God?
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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