Making Sense of the Trinity
Here's a summary of how the Bible presents God:
- There is only one God
- Love is part of God's nature, he has always loved
- This is possible because there has always been a second expression of him, who is distinct
and yet inseparable from him
Here's a way of imagining it:
A mirror creates what looks like a second expression of you. This "mirror-image" of you is
both distinct from you and yet inseparable from you. But it's not a 'perfect' reflection of you
(it's only a reflection of what you look like, not what you're thinking and how you feel and
who you are).
But God's nature has always been perfectly reflected in a second expression of himself.
There have always been two distinct yet inseparable expressions of the same God.
- These two expressions of the same God (the Father and the Son) have always existed in
loving relationship with each other and the Spirit they share
So there are, in fact, three distinct expressions of the same God: the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit.
- God sent this second personal expression of himself (his ‘Son') into our world. He was born
a human-being in order to save human-beings
The Bible teaches that when we place our trust in Jesus, he becomes our
representative. This changes everything. For example, though I deserve to be forever
cut off from God, 'in Jesus' (who represents me) I've already suffered the
punishment I deserve. Jesus took the punishment my sins deserve on the cross.
So if I remain 'in Jesus' (i.e., if I continue to genuinely trust him) I can have
confidence that, when Jesus returns and establishes God's eternal kingdom, I will be
warmly welcomed by God into that eternal future of love and joy.
P.S. Why do Christians believe it?
The Christian understanding of God may seem rather complex, but it arises from what Jesus
and the Bible actually says. And it's also very good news.
If God is not like this, it follows that in eternity (before God created angels/people/etc), God
was entirely alone. This suggests that love isn't a fundamental part of God's nature - which is
quite unsettling!
By contrast, the Bible teaches that love is fundamental to God's nature - something he has
always done. And that this is why Jesus came:
'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16).