An Apologetics Card (Put onto Paper)

“Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty. God in three persons, blessed Trinity.”

Many people have never understood those lines. How could God possibly be three persons, but yet one God? When I was young, I didn’t understand those words either. However, now that I am much wiser in matters such as doctrine, I still don’t understand! The Trinity is a mystery to all of us, not because we don’t know what it is, but rather because our frail human minds cannot grasp how it works. I am, of course speaking on the Trinity.

I would like to show the evidence I have found that supports, and is supported, by biblical teaching. This is my belief: That God exists as three persons, that each person is fully God, and there is one God.

Here are my points: 1) God exists as three persons, 2) Each is fully God and there is one God. And finally, I will end by explaining why this is so important to Christians.

The fact that God is three persons means that the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Spirit; they are distinct persons. We are told in the bible that Jesus is our High Priest and he will advocated for us before God the Father.

1 John 2:1 “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” so in order for Jesus to intervene of our behalf, he would have to be a distinct person.

Jesus is also distinct from the Holy Spirit; He says in John 16:7 “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor (speaking of the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.“

Jesus is telling his disciples that he will send the Holy Spirit when he gets to Heaven, the Holy Spirit and Jesus must be separate persons!

One of the very first places that suggests the presence of the trinity is in chapter one of Genesis: Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, Let US make man in OUR image after OUR likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of GOD HE created them.” Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the Trinity. But we know this was before creation. "Us" and "Our" is being said to some super being. I personally believe this to be the Trinity. This would explain the plural, ‘Let us make man in our image’, and the singular, ‘in the image of GOD HE created them’!

Another example of the Trinity at work was when Jesus was baptized. When He was baptized the Spirit of God descended on him in the shape of a dove, and a voice out of heaven proclaimed him as his Son. Again, three persons involved.

Three persons, plural. One God, singular. This brings me to my second point:

Each of the Trinity is fully God, and there is one God. Humans were made in the image of all three members of the Trinity, they were made in the image of the one God!

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” We have to remember that it isn’t saying “Three persons in one person”. It’s a mystery about a God whose ways are higher then ours. It is saying, “Three persons in one God”.

While each of the Trinity is fully and totally God, they have different tasks. A good example of that is our salvation: God the Father planned it, God the Son came to complete it, and God the Holy Spirit descended to dwell in us. But salvation was accomplished by God!

But why is this significant to us as Christians?

The Trinity is significant in all areas of life, but I will share two:

The most important area is this: If the Trinity did not exist, that would mean that Jesus Christ was not God but simply a created creature, like you and me. He would be sinful, unable to do anything with our sin. Unable to save us from our sin. Therefore, we could have hope only in doing Good works, but that itself will not get us to Heaven as the bible says.

The second area is this: When we pray, we pray to God the Father, in Jesus’ Name by the Power of the Holy Spirit. If the Trinity does not exist, then we would be performing idolatry!

Without the Trinity, Christians could have no hope of life after death. We would be “Most to be pitied” as the Bible says.

This is why we must not neglect this beautiful doctrine of our Triune God. Although it will always be, in a large part, a mystery to us.

Even though we don’t fully grasp the Trinity, we can know that God exists as three persons, that each person us fully God, and there is one God.

As Dr. Wayne Grudem says, in his book Systematic Theology, “It is spiritually healthy for us to acknowledge openly that God’s very being is far greater than we can ever comprehend. Thus humbles us before God and draws us to worship Him without reservation.” I think God delights in revealing a bit of his splendor to amaze us. I look forward to finding out how the Trinity works when I get to heaven. We will have eternity to learn.