THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

Our "infinite" God has some secrets that we cannot understand with our "finite" brains. He has recorded in His Word, a scripture that sheds some light on this predicament. In (Deut 29:29) NLT we read "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all He has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions". There is no way we can understand how God can be "One", but at the same time be "Three in One", unless He reveals it to us. Recently I read an article entitled "The Spiritual Life" by Victor L Torres Jr. in an old issue of ACTS magazine that has helped me with this topic. He explains the doctrine of the Trinity as

God the Father as the One who wills it. (The Source)
God the Son as the One who speaks it. (The Word)
God the Holy Spirit as the One who accomplishes it. (The Power)

This description helped me to see the different functions of our Almighty God, who is definitely one in essence, but functions in three entirely different ways. There has been much confusion over this doctrine, starting back in the fourth century, according to some church historians. That's when some theologian first came up with the "Jesus Only" theory, which was countered by some other theologian with a strong "Trinitarian" theory. Slight variations of these have been circulating in the church ever since. But if we can see that the same One and only God divides up His functions in these three different areas, it should help us understand His "Three In One" characteristic, and end the needless arguments!

Once we leave behind these arguments, and realize that the scriptures teach us that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are all co-equal members of the "Godhead", it should become easier to understand. I often try to use something simple like water (H2O), which we know can exist in three different forms, as liquid, as solid (ice), or as vapor (fog), to help us understand the Trinity. Each of these three different forms of water is essentially the same basic H2O atoms in different arrangements to form different objects. If we can see that plain ordinary water can exist in three distinct forms, why doubt that Almighty God can?
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer