THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

Although the usual approach in Christian teaching to the doctrine of the Trinity is to plunge straight into what the Bible says, a somewhat different approach is to begin by reflecting on what we see around us - even things that at first sight seem so simple, such as the matter of which everything is made, and human personality, are in fact very complex. As soon as we start asking deeper questions, like “what actually is matter?” or “what is a person?” we land up with complex questions.

Many people want a simple God. It actually seems to be a deep desire of many religious people. Islam presents a view of God which in the end is profoundly simple - God is one and unchanging, end of story - a very different view of God in many ways to the Christian view. Jehovah’s Witnesses and others dismiss the doctrine of the Trinity and assert a simple oneness of God. Many Christians groan when the Trinity is mentioned, and the feeling can be that this is altogether too complicated and why not just keep it simple?

Of course, we can keep teaching about God simple - he is the one Lord God and he loves us. But it is when we want to understand more and understand at a deeper level - and surely we ought to have that desire in us - it is then that the complexities start arising.

Or to put it another way, the desire for a simple God does not tally with the complexity we see in the world around us, which surely as God’s creation reflects something of his nature. Yes, God is one, but that’s only the start of the story and we need to try to explore further. The main resource for that exploring is of course the Bible.

Fundamental is teaching about the oneness of God. Deuteronomy 6:4 expresses the oneness of God - although you will see from the footnotes in some Bibles that it can be translated in different ways. But other verses express the same - while other nations believed in a whole collection of gods (sometimes behaving towards one another like a load of bickering children!) it was revealed to Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, etc, that there is one God, the almighty creator of all, and ruler over all the world.

But what about the other side? What verses and passages speak about the complex nature of this oneness?

In the Old Testament, there are a number of little hints:-

First, the very name “God”. In Hebrew the word is ´elohim. This is a plural word; in Hebrew the ending -im is like the s we put on words to make them plural. The origins of this plural word for God are lost in time, but it suggests that within the one God there is something more than a simple oneness.

Similarly, in Genesis 1:26 God says, “Let us make man in our image”. It isn’t explained at the time, but again it is a hint that there is something here more complex than a simple oneness.

In various parts of the Old Testament, there are three personifications of God - wisdom and the word of God and the spirit of God. (See for example Proverbs 8:1-36 & 9:1-6 cf 1 Corinthians 1:24 where Jesus is described as the wisdom of God; Psalm 119:89 and Isaiah 55:10-11 cf John 1:1-14 where Jesus is described as the Word of God; and Ezekiel 36:26 cf numerous references in the New Testament to the Holy Spirit in us). In each case, there seems to be a hint of something personal, that is in a way separate from God, and yet is in a way “part” of him. Each of these again are hints that point towards a picture of God more complex than just a simple oneness.

In Isaiah 9:6 the Messiah is given titles that are divine. This is fulfilled in Jesus and points to his sharing the nature of God, which is of course part of the starting point for the doctrine of the Trinity.

In the New Testament, we see the disciples meeting Jesus and beginning to grasp who he was - the Messiah, but more than just a human figure, for in some way he shared the nature of God. Then the Holy Spirit is given, and they realize he is the very presence of God in them. Out of these experiences come a number of Bible passages which we shall look at below, passages which are in many ways the jigsaw pieces that the early church theologians used in putting together what we call the doctrine of the Trinity.