There is much confusion and argument over the concept of the trinity. How can there be ONE God yet three? However, is there confusion and a battle over H2O? Is it not three: water, steam and ice? Yet one element? Most all known elements are like this one in that they can be a liquid, a solid, or a gas yet their essence does not change. Could this reflect the One who created all things?
In the OT, the word for one does not signify isolation or aloneness. Hebrew has another word for that idea. Instead it is an important word that describes marriage making two people “one flesh,” yet they do not lose their individuality.
It is the same idea expressed in descriptions of God. The Shema, Israel’s confession of faith says: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” stressing monotheism (that there is only one God) and the uniqueness of Israel’s God, but this does not suggest that the Lord God is a solitary, isolated, alone individual. Like marriage, God is described in relationship to Himself. In Genesis 1:26 He says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . .” which is consistent with NT teaching about Him.
The NT uses a Greek word that refers to “one God” and also to explain the unity in the body of Christ. We are members of “one body” and are “one in spirit” with “one hope” and “one Lord” and “one baptism” and “one faith” yet we are many. This one God is also spoken of many as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
In human terms, one crowd is made up of many people, and one team is two horses, yet one God is not three gods. Instead, this One God is three distinct Persons, each Person being fully God, yet there is only one God. Again, H2O illustrates as one element in three distinct forms yet there is only one H2O.
John Piper (LINK) points out that the Bible speaks of the Father as God, Jesus as God, and the Holy Spirit as God:
Philippians 1:2. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:13. “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Acts 5:3–4. Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
Some might argue that these are merely three different ways of looking at God, or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays, but the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. For instance, the Father sent the Son into the world, and when the Son returned to the Father, they sent the Holy Spirit into the world.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. When I pray, my concentration might be on my heavenly Father, or on my Savior Jesus Christ or I might be thinking of the Holy Spirit who helps me know how to pray, yet my words are heard by each Person in this triune God. He is united in how He cares about me and how He will respond to my prayers. I have confidence that there is no division in the Godhead. I can also see from thinking about Him how He wants His people, me included, to think about each other — in unity and in sharing the love, peace, and joy that He gives us without division. In Him, we are one.
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