What is the Trinity?

Answer

The term “Trinity” comes from the Latin “trinitas,” meaning “three.” The Bible was originally written in Hebrew (most of the Old Testament), Aramaic (small portions of the Old Testament), and Greek (the New Testament). Therefore, the term “trinitas” does not appear in the Bible. The term “Trinity” was later used to explain the triunity (or three-ness) of God as depicted in Scripture. While not directly mentioned in the Bible and considered a theological descriptor, “Trinity” effectively conveys the unity and plurality of the Persons of God.

From the very beginning of the Bible, there is an indication of plurality within God. The Hebrew word for God (Elohim) in Genesis 1 and throughout much of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) is in plural form. In Genesis 1:1-2, God is distinguished from the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim). Additionally, Genesis 2:4 introduces the Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) as the Creator. Throughout biblical history, the Lord (Yahweh) God is recognized as the One who would engage—often in physical form—with humanity (e.g., Genesis 3:8; Genesis 12:1). This One is frequently referred to as “the angel of the Lord” (Genesis 16:7-11, 22:11-15; Exodus 3:2,4; etc.) and at times as “a man” (Genesis 32:24-30). These early references make it evident that there are three distinct Persons who are unified in essence and equality: God, the Spirit of God, and the Representative of God to humanity. Although the term “representative” is not explicitly used in these contexts, it aptly describes the role of this particular entity.

Dear Person. Regardless of the terms preferred, God is described as being three Persons. This is what the term Trinity conveys.

Perhaps due to the perceived complexity of the concept that God is one God and yet three Persons, there have developed two alternative explanations for the plurality attributed to God. One suggests that the three-ness of God really means three totally separate gods (a polytheistic view of the Trinity), while another argues that the three-ness or Trinity is really just referring to three expressions or modes of the same person (a modalistic view of the Trinity). While these two approaches try to bring clarity to what is often thought to be a difficult idea, the biblical text is clear on how we should understand the Trinity, and neither modalism nor polytheism are compatible with what the Bible teaches. This plurality and singularity are such important aspects of who God is that God identifies Himself to the Israelites in this way: “Hear, O Israel, Yahweh is our Elohim. Yahweh is one” «Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: », (Deuteronomy 6:4).

God directly asserts His triunity in Isaiah 48. The One who named (or called) Israel is speaking in Isaiah 48:12. The renaming of Jacob to Israel occurred in Genesis 32:28 when the “man” Jacob was wrestling gave Jacob a blessing. Jacob recognized that man as God «And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. », (Genesis 32:30). This same One refers to Himself as “the first and the last” and had earlier identified Himself as Yahweh, the King of Israel, the first and the last, and the only God «Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. », (Isaiah 44:6). This One claims to be the Creator “Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.”, (Isaiah 48:13). He also importantly adds that “now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit” “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.”, (Isaiah 48:16). So, God is sent by the Lord God (Adon Yahweh) and by His Spirit.

All the things said in Isaiah 48 are applied to Jesus in the New Testament. He is the Yahweh who interacted with Abraham (John 8:56-59). He was born to be the King of Israel “saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”, (Matthew 2:2). He is the first and the last (Revelation 1:17; Revelation 2:3; Revelation 22:13). He is the Creator “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”, (John 1:3). He was sent by His Father and empowered by the Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17; John 1:32-34, 5:23). In Isaiah 48:12 and 16, the preincarnate Jesus identifies Himself as God yet distinguishes Himself from the One He refers to as

His Father and the Spirit, just as He distinguishes the three again in John 14:15–16 and in Matthew 28:19.

The triunity of God as one God and three Persons, known as the Trinity, is a central biblical teaching and a key point of Jesus’ own teaching.