This article is based on Pastor Adrian Rogers' message, Treasuring the Trinity.
The doctrine of the Trinity is what makes Christianity stand out from all the religions of the world. But it is, beyond doubt, the hardest doctrine to understand: the idea that we worship one God—not three—but one God who has revealed Himself in three Persons.
This is complicated, but so necessary. The doctrine of the Trinity is fundamental to all that we are and believe.
What is the holy Trinity? We are not talking about polytheism. The Bible totally condemns the worship of any god but Jehovah. But we do worship a triune God.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”…Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Isaiah 6:1-3,8, Emphasis added)
Isaiah said “holy” three times. Even here, we see an insight: holy is the Father, holy is the Son, and holy is the Spirit. And the Lord says, “Who will go for us?”—plural.
The only way we can understand—or believe—that God Almighty is triune is by picking up the Bible and reading it.
The Trinity is not contrary to logic; the Trinity is beyond logic. Think about infinity and eternity. How do they fit in your logic? Do not try to cram God into your mind.
There is not even one way to illustrate the Trinity. “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” (Isaiah 40:18)
But you see reflections of the triune Godhead all around.
For example, space is height, width, and depth. Each is distinct, yet inseparable.
Time is past, present, and future. You cannot have a past without a present. You cannot have a future without a past or a present. All are distinguishable, all are part of the same.
A man is body, soul, and spirit. Man, made in the image of a triune God, has a triune nature.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
The word “God” in this Scripture is Elohim—with the plural ending -im. (Seraph, seraphim; cherub, cherubim.) So the verb in Genesis 1:1 is singular, but the noun is plural. It is a plurality acting as a unity.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26a).
To whom is God speaking? Not to the angels. We are not made in the likeness of angels. God is communing with His triunity.
Who made everything? Genesis 1:1 says that God made it.
But John 1 says that Jesus made it.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made (John 1:1,3).
The book of Job says the Holy Spirit made it.
By His Spirit He adorned the heavens… (Job 26:13a).
Elohim made the heavens and the earth.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
Jesus said this Scripture, the Shema, is the first and greatest commandment. (See Mark 12:29-30.)
The word “LORD” comes from Jehovah, so we can read it this way: “Hear, O Israel: the Jehovah, our Elohim, is one Jehovah.”
“LORD” is singular: Jehovah. “God” is plural: Elohim. There is no contradiction here, because the word “one,” echad, means a collective one. (For other places in the Bible where echad is used, read Genesis 2:24, 11:6; Numbers 13:23; 1 Samuel 13:17; 2 Samuel 2:25; 1 Chronicles 17:21.)
In Isaiah 6:1, the word for “Lord” is Adonai, which is a name used for God alone. But in verses 3-5, Adonai is identified as Jehovah, the LORD of Hosts.
And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD [Jehovah] of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3, Word in brackets added)
So it is Jehovah who is asking, “Who will go for Us?” (See Isaiah 6:8.)
Do not get the idea that in the New Testament, we suddenly learn that God has a Son. In Psalm 2, God speaks of all of the contortions and imaginations of the wicked people of this Earth. Yet God overrules history, and He says:
“Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession’” (Psalm 2:6-8).
Even in the Old Testament, Jesus is prophesied and shown as co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father.
Luke tells us about the Virgin Birth of Jesus.
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
There you have the trinity: the Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son of God. You have the same thing in the baptism of Jesus Christ.
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).
There is no way to explain the deity of Christ apart from the holy Trinity. When He was here on earth, Jesus spoke of Himself as having a unique relationship with God the Father. He was not merely the Son of God; He was God the Son.
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).
I AM was the great Old Testament name for Jehovah. (See Exodus 3:14.) Jesus did not say, “I was.” There never was a time when He was not.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9).
This is the treasure of the trinity: the Father above us, the Spirit within us, the Savior who died for us. We worship one God who has revealed Himself in three Persons. When God wants to bless a congregation, do you know what the blessing is?
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them (Numbers 6:24-27).
Isaiah 6:1-3,8, 40:18; Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1,3, 8:58, 14:9; Job 26:13; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Mark 12:29-30; Genesis 2:24, 11:6; Numbers 13:23; 1 Samuel 13:17; 2 Samuel 2:25; 1 Chronicles 17:21; Psalm 2:6-8; Luke 1:35; Matthew 3:16-17; Exodus 3:14; Numbers 6:24-27
Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know? (Proverbs 30:4).
“So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” says the LORD (Isaiah 59:19-20).
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
