The God of Trinity

Our God is the greatest dogma of Christianity and the greatest truth of our Faith. The meaning of God is so strange and so mysterious, that it was impossible to enter into man’s mind. The meaning of our God is inconceivable. God as one being, should have been understood as one person. The twelve gods of Olympus, false pagan gods of course, were understood to be twelve persons. The God of Christianity however, the true God, is not known as one person, but as three persons, as three supreme personalities. The strangest of all things, the mystery of mysteries, is that our God is the God of Trinity or Triune God and this is what was impossible to enter into the mind of man.

The understanding of the Triune God exists because He revealed Himself to mankind. It is important to note here, that in all the great religions, the existence of the trinity can be seen. The Egyptian Pantheon is full of trinity. The question may be asked. How is it that we can see the existence of the trinity in all of the great ancient religions? The answer to the question is as follows. From the moment that mankind was created, they knew God, their creator as Trinity. But as the ages passed by and as man distanced himself from God, the meaning of the trinity was altered and changed, it lost its original clarity and brightness, it became darkened.

In comparison with the other religions, apart from the Divinely inspired Scriptures, that is the Old and New Testaments, the meaning of the trinity was most preserved in Hinduism, where Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, were referred to as three persons, but one god. But in the Scriptures and in our Religion, the truth of our Triune God is distinctly clear and it shines brighter that the sun because the Scriptures are God inspired and our Faith is a revelation. According to the Scriptures and our Faith, God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons, but one essence or divinity.

In order to gain some understanding of the great mystery of the Triune God, we will use the sun to make an analogy. The physical sun has three characteristics. Firstly, the bright disk which we admire every day, secondly the light which comes forth immediately from the disk and thirdly, the warmth which proceeds immediately from the disk.

The disk is the sun, the light is the sun and the warmth is the sun. But these three characteristics do not mean that there are three suns, but we understand there to be one sun and that all three characteristics depend on one essence, a material essence. God is the Father, God is the Son who is begotten from the Father and God is the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father. These three persons are one God, because all the persons have the one and the same essence, a spiritual essence. As all three persons of the Trinity have the one and the same essence, one is not greater nor lesser than the other, but all three are the same and equal.

A person or personality is a being, which has logic and knowledge, feelings and a will and is conscious of his own existence. The Holy Spirit appears in the Scriptures with all of the characteristics of a person.

In relation to logic, we read the decision of the Apostolic Synod in Acts 15:28. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” In other words, “the Holy Spirit decided and so did we.” Only a person can decide what is fair and reasonable about something. For example, an energy like electricity, cannot make decisions because it is not a person. The Holy Spirit therefore, is a person and of course, a supreme person. It should have been written more accurately as, “it seemed good to the Lord,” but it was written “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit,” because the Holy Spirit is the Lord God.

In relation to knowledge, we read in I Corinthians 2:10-11 “… for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God … Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” The word ‘searches’ means to know. The Holy Spirit knows everything as well as the deep things of God the Father. Therefore the Holy Spirit is a Divine person, as He knows everything that has happened, is happening and that which is going to happen in the future.

In relation to feelings, it is written in Ephesians 4:30. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” Only people can grieve, not things. The Holy Spirit grieves for our sins because the Holy Spirit is a person and certainly a divine person. More accurately, we would have expected the following to be written, “and do not grieve God,” but we read “do not grieve the Holy Spirit,” because the Holy Spirit is God.

In relation to will, we read in 1 Corinthians 12:11. “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” As the one and same Spirit works in all the gifts of God which are distributed accordingly to each person as He wills, therefore the Holy Spirit is a person and of course God.

In relation to self-conscience we read in Acts 10:19-20. “While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you … I have sent them.” The Spirit is conscious of His own existence, therefore the Spirit is a person. This is why the Spirit spoke to Peter and sent the three men to him. The Spirit sent the three men just as He sent the angel to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-8). Therefore the Spirit is a person greater than the angels who are creations of God. This proves that the Holy Spirit is a person of the Divinity.

The Holy Spirit is a person because He “hears, speaks and tells” (John 16:13), “says” (Acts 21:11), “spoke before” (Acts 1:16), “teaches and brings to your remembrance” (John 14:26), “testifies” (John 15:26), “bears witness with our spirit” (Rom 8:16), “testifies beforehand” (1 Peter 1:11), “dwells in us” (James 4:5), as the bridegroom of souls yearns for us jealously, “calls” apostles (Acts 13:2), “makes overseers” (bishops) (Acts 20:28) etc. Many characteristics and actions of the Holy Spirit not only reveal the personality of the Holy Spirit but also His Divinity.

Christ said “and I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another helper … for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17) Christ is one Helper (see also 1 John 2:1); the other Helper is the Holy Spirit. Christ compares the Holy Spirit to Himself, therefore the Holy Spirit must be a person of equal ranking. Christ states that the Holy Spirit has the ability to dwell inside all the faithful, as in John 14:23, “and My Father will love him and we will come to him and make Our home with him.” As it is possible for the Father and the Son to dwell in us, therefore the Holy Spirit must be equal to them if He also can abide in us.

Christ gave the commandment to his disciples to baptise “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). In the Scriptures, nothing ever happens “in the name” of a thing or power, but always “in the name” of a person. Baptism occurs “in the name of … the Holy Spirit”, therefore the Holy Spirit is a person. It should also be mentioned that, “I baptize in the name of the Holy Spirit” means that “I give myself and belong from now on, to the Holy Spirit and I am His property.” This meaning is only valid if the Holy Spirit is a person and God.

Finally, the verse in Matthew 28:19, which refers to baptism, proves the Trinity of the Divine persons but it also proves their Oneness. The word “name” is used instead of “names.” The Three are one name, that is one nature, essence and divinity.

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