If there is one God how can He be three persons? People often think there is a logical contradiction of the Trinity. As Norman Geisler states, “The Trinity goes beyond reason
but not against reason… it is complex but not contradictory.”1
Given the complexity of this topic, I will only discuss two aspects:
three persons/one essence and begotten not made.
Three persons, one essence
The Trinity is the Christian doctrine of the tri-unity of God. This means there are three distinct persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) of the same one essence (God). The Council of Florence explains this doctrine in great detail. Christians “worship one God in the trinity, and Trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.” This explains the distinctness of the persons and that “the glory equal, and the majesty co-eternal.” Understanding this, we see that we aren't to confuse the persons as separate "roles" of God. We can know this because Jesus is the begotten Son making him distinct from the Father. We know the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son as seen in John 20:22 and John 14:26. All three are distinct.
Let’s look at a few verses in Scripture about God as the Father:
“… Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9)
“… Your heavenly Father” (Matthew 6:32)
“…yet for us there is one God, the Father” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
Jesus the Son as God:
“Truly, you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33)
“My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
“Before Abraham came to be, I AM” (John 8:58)
Holy Spirit as God:
“… the Spirit of God descending like a dove” (Matthew 3:16)
“… the Spirit of God moved over the waters” (Genesis 1:2)
“this God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:10)
We also see this in the uniqueness of the baptism of Jesus with all three persons present. Jesus in the water, the Holy Spirit descending upon Him, and the Father speaking from the sky. Ed Hindson states, “This cannot be one person manifest in all three roles at the same time.”2
Begotten not made
Some people may object and claim that God created Jesus so He is not co-equal (modalism). To answer this, the council goes on to explain that the Son is “from the father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.” Jesus is begotten by the Father as stated in John 3:16-18, John 1:18, and Acts 13:33 referring to Psalms 2:7. What does this mean? Beget or Begotten is not a word we use in daily language. As C.S. Lewis describes, “When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself… when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself.”3 For example, I beget my son/daughter but I can only make a statue. Even if I am very skilled at carving statues and can make it human-like, it still is not a person. I, a human, am a being and one person. God is a being and three persons.
I will leave you with one verse:
“…one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Resource for the doctrine of the Trinity:
References:
1. Norman L. Geisler, “Trinity”, in Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999)
2. Ed Hindson, “Is the Trinity a Contradiction?”, in The Comprehensive Guide to Apologetics (Hindson, 2018)
3. C.S. Lewis, “Beyond Personality: Or First Steps In The Doctrine Of The Trinity, in Mere Christianity (Lewis, 1952)
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