Key Christian Terms · In Plain Words
The Trinity: One God in Three Persons
The Trinity means there is one God who exists eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, but the truth it names runs all through it. God is not lonely or distant. He is a perfect relationship of love, and he invites us in.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Matthew 28:19 (KJV)
In Plain Words
What Does the Trinity Mean?
In one sentence
The Trinity means there is one God who exists eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches two things side by side. First, there is only one God: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Second, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and they are distinct from each other: they speak to, love and send one another.
The church uses the word Trinity (tri-unity) to hold both truths together: one God, three persons. Not three gods, and not one person wearing three masks. Jesus told his followers to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19): one name, three persons.
The word itself: “Trinity” comes from the Latin trinitas, used by the early church writer Tertullian around A.D. 200. The Bible does not use the word, just as it does not use “Bible,” but it describes the reality on nearly every page of the New Testament.
Three Truths Held Together
There is one God
Christianity is not belief in three gods. Scripture is clear from start to finish that God is one.
Three distinct persons
The Father, the Son and the Spirit relate to one another: the Father sends the Son, the Son prays to the Father, the Spirit is sent by both.
Each fully God
The Father is God; the Son is God; the Spirit is God. Equal in nature, glory and power.
An Everyday Picture
Seeing It in Jesus’ Baptism
Every picture of the Trinity falls short. Water as ice, liquid and steam, or a man who is a father, son and husband, can suggest one God showing up in three ways, which is not what the Bible teaches. The best picture is the one the Bible itself gives.
At Jesus’ baptism all three persons appear at once: the Son stands in the river, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him,” and the Father speaks from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16–17). One God, three persons, present together, in love.
The Shield of the Trinity
One God, Three Persons
Christians have used this simple diagram for over 800 years. Read along the lines: each person is God, and each person is distinct from the others.
What the Bible Says
Three Key Verses
Matthew 28:19
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
In plain words: Jesus names one God in three persons when he sends his followers out.
2 Corinthians 13:14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
In plain words: Paul blesses the church with the grace, love and fellowship of all three.
Deuteronomy 6:4
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”
In plain words: The Trinity never means three gods. There is one LORD.
Clearing It Up
What It Is and What It Isn’t
A common mix-up
“Christians worship three gods.”
The Bible is firmly against that: “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me” (Isaiah 45:5). The Trinity is one God.
A common mix-up
“God is one person who takes turns being Father, Son and Spirit.”
At Jesus’ baptism all three are present at once (Matthew 3:16–17), and Jesus prays to the Father: “thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).
A common mix-up
“The Son and the Spirit are lesser than the Father.”
They have different roles, but the same divine nature. Thomas called Jesus “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), and Peter said lying to the Holy Ghost was lying “unto God” (Acts 5:3–4).
How It Connects
Trinity and the Other Big Words
The Bible’s big words are not separate ideas. They are different angles on one story: what God has done for us in Jesus.
The Son, second person of the Trinity, became man.
The Father plans, the Son achieves, the Spirit applies salvation.
The Spirit gives the new life the Son won for us.
The grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, the fellowship of the Spirit.
“Through sanctification of the Spirit” we are made holy.
The Father gave the Son, who offered himself through the Spirit.
Living It Out
Putting It into Practice
1
Pray to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit
“For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). Try praying with all three in mind.
2
Rest in God’s love
“God is love” (1 John 4:8). He was love before creation, among Father, Son and Spirit. You were made to be welcomed into that love.
3
Reflect God in relationships
A God who lives in loving relationship calls his people to unity and love. Look for a way to build unity in your church or family.
Questions
Quick Questions
Is the Trinity in the Bible if the word isn’t?
Yes. The word is a summary, like “Bible” or “incarnation.” The teaching is everywhere: the Father, Son and Spirit together at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:16–17), in the great commission (Matthew 28:19), in Paul’s blessing (2 Corinthians 13:14), and in Peter’s greeting (1 Peter 1:2).
Is there a Trinity in the Old Testament?
The Old Testament stresses that God is one, and it also gives hints of more: “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26); the Spirit of God at creation (Genesis 1:2); and “the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me” (Isaiah 48:16). Christians see these as early glimpses, made clear when Jesus came.
Do all Christians believe in the Trinity?
The Trinity has been the shared belief of the church since the earliest centuries, summed up in the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325 and 381). Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches all confess it. Some groups that use Christian language reject it, and historic Christianity has regarded this as a departure from the faith.
Why does the Trinity matter?
Because it shows who God is and how he saves. If Jesus were not God, he could not reveal God or save us. If the Spirit were not God, he could not make us new. And a God who is love within himself did not create us because he was lonely, but to share the love he already has (John 17:24).
Keep Reading
Continue Your Study
Read the key passages for yourself, then explore the Bible books and topics where trinity comes up most.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), which is in the public domain. Verse links open at BibleGateway.