Here’s a series of questions and answers on this topic that I wrote many years ago for my congregation. If you have questions about why Christians believe in the Trinity, the doctrine that there is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, here is a brief explanation in a series of questions and answers.
1. What do we mean by God? God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He made all things out of nothing by the word of His power. He preserves and governs all His creatures and all their actions.
2. What does the Bible reveal uniquely about who God is? It reveals that there are three persons in the one, infinite essence of God.
3. What do we mean by nature or essence? We mean what something is. For example, the essence or nature of a dog is that it is a dog, of a chair that it is a chair, of man that he is human.
4. What do we mean by person? Each nature has particular instances of its nature. For example, you are one instance of human nature, and I am another. However, by person we mean also that a particular individual of a nature is also intelligent and capable of personal interaction.
5. Who are the three persons of the Trinity? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
6. How do we learn from Scripture that there is one God in three persons? The Bible refers to God in the plural, “Let us make man . . .” (Gen. 1:26). The Bible refers to these three as the one, true God. “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:18). “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14).
7. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the eternal Son of God.
8. Why do we believe that Jesus is the one, true God? Because the Bible teaches that and calls Him that. “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Ps. 45:6). “This is the name by which He shall be called, Yahweh (the proper name for God) our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6). “My Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:28)! “Christ, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Rom. 9:5). “Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13). “He is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn. 5:20).
9. Why do we not then believe that there are two Gods? Because the Bible teaches us that there is only one God.
10. Why don’t we believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not simply different manifestations of God? Because they are spoken of as being distinct persons interacting with one another. “I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me” (Jn. 8:18). “The Father will give you another comforter” (Jn. 14:16).
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