CHAPTER IV

Our Triune God

INTRODUCTION

Since each of these chapters carries forward the thought of those that precede, let us review briefly the preceding chapter. In it we considered the sovereignty of God, interpreted in the scriptures, as the keystone to all Presbyterian thought. We recognized other points of view and the Biblical point of view. Then we presented God as the creator and preserver of the universe, and attempted to understand predestination and human freedom in God’s universe. Now we turn to recognize the difficulty of understanding the Trinity, then the meaning of the Trinity, the functions of the three Persons in the God-head, and the difference the Trinity makes to believers.

A. THE DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING THE TRINITY

Two adolescent girls, one of them a Jew and the other a Christian, were good friends at school. One day they began to talk about God. They agreed that they both worshiped a God who could not be seen with physical eyes, who always existed, who had all wisdom and power, and who was concerned about His creatures on the earth. But when they came to the number of Persons in the God-head, they began to differ.

The Jewish girl said: “We worship one God only. The Lord our God is one. We do not worship three Gods as you Christians do.”

The Christian girl said: “We worship one God only. But we worship God who has revealed Himself as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit.”

Because she did not understand her belief about the Trinity very well, she found it hard to present that belief to her friend. But her problem is not peculiar to youth. Theologians in different centuries have puzzled over, and have sometimes modified the doctrine of the Trinity to suit their own understanding of God.

Take, for example, the belief of the Greek Orthodox Church. The accepted creedal position, which was arrived at in controversy with the Western church, is that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father but not from the Son. The deity of the Son is not denied, but He is not believed to have been sufficiently equal with the Father to participate in sending the Holy Spirit. Without going into the theological arguments, we may recognize in this belief a modification of the doctrine of the Trinity as held by the Western church and the major branches of Protestantism.

An example of the outright rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity is to be found in the teaching of the Unitarian church. In this teaching Jesus is presented as the best man who has ever lived, and as the perfect example for humanity. He lived closer to God than anyone else has lived. He dared to die for his faith. The Spirit of God is an expression of God and a power of God which is known in human experience, but is not the power of the Holy Spirit in the traditional Christian sense. Unitarianism, because of its rejection of the Bible as its final authority, and because of its free spirit, has modified its own teachings to a point where no official body of doctrine exists. But it does agree in principle to a rejection of the Trinity.

Of these three classic types of theology, the Greek Orthodox modifies somewhat, and the Jewish and Unitarian faiths deny outright the doctrine of the Trinity. Presbyterians may properly ask what do we believe about the Trinity? How may we give answer to our friends who charge that we worship three Gods instead of one? Let us examine briefly what we mean by the Trinity.

B. THE MEANING OF THE TRINITY

It is not too much to assert that there is no single theologian in history who has ever been able fully to explain the Trinity. We know only in part. But our knowing in part does not prevent that partial knowledge from being accurate as far as it goes. When therefore as Presbyterians we affirm our belief in the Trinity, we follow the scriptures which present this great mystery. In answer to Question 6 of the Shorter Catechism we affirm: “There are three persons in the God-head: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”

While it is true that we cannot explain the Trinity fully, we may approach the essential idea of three persons and one substance with an analogy from the world of science. If someone were to ask you, “What is H2O?”, you might quickly answer, “It is water, of course.” When pressed further, you might modify your statement to say, “It is either ice, water, or steam, depending on the temperature.” This latter statement would be more accurate than the first. For below freezing temperature, H2O is ice and has all of the properties of ice. Above freezing and below evaporization temperature, H2O is water, and has all of the properties of water. We use it in many forms in our daily life. Above vaporizing temperature H2O is steam, having still other properties. One would not drink steam or attempt to pour it into a container. Yet by chemical analysis steam contains the same elements of Hydrogen and Oxygen that ice and water do. It is the same in substance.

This is not an explanation of the Trinity, but is an analogy which helps us to see how God as a spiritual being is revealed in scripture in three persons. The Larger Catechism, in answer to Question 7, asserts:

“God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty; knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”

Each of these characteristics deserves meditation and consideration. They point to the character of God as Spirit and not as matter. He is spiritual Being in essence. He is in Himself all-sufficient and almighty. He is everywhere present. He knows all things. He is just, loving, and gracious. The qualities revealed in the Old Testament and the New belong to Him. In Himself and in all His attributes we believe that God is one.

At the same time we believe that God has revealed Himself in the scriptures in three ways: as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. All three are personal revelations of the same God. To any who would question our belief we would say that the same God who spoke to Abraham, to Moses and the prophets also spoke through His Son incarnate in the flesh. It was Jesus Himself who said, near the end of His ministry, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Before He departed this life Jesus promised to return in the person of the Holy Spirit. The risen Christ who ascended to glory after His resurrection ministry of about forty days came in the person of the Holy Spirit upon the church at Pentecost. He has been coming ever since upon believers who were willing to receive Him. In Christian experience the apparent intellectual impossibility is resolved, and God is known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those who miss this high doctrine have also missed something very important in Christian experience. Therefore Presbyterians cannot surrender their belief in the Trinity even though some of their friends in other faiths may do so.

C. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE THREE PERSONS IN THE GOD-HEAD

The functions of the three persons of the Trinity are clearly outlined in Eph 1:4-14. Verses 4-6a present God the Father as electing saints in Christ and as adopting believers as sons. God chooses and ordains men for His own glory. He invites believers to view their redeemed life, not as the result of caprice or chance, but as a part of the purpose of the eternal God. This eternal purpose of God brings believers into a filial or father-child relationship with God. When two parents adopt a child, they claim that child for themselves and of their own free will give that child the love and care that they would have given a child born in their own family. The adopted child has the privileges and the inheritance of a child born in the family. Before the law the child is declared to be the same as if he were born to those parents. Thus the Father purposes to redeem His own and adopts them as sons.

The primary function of the Son is to provide the redemption which brings a believer into an experience of sonship to God. Verses 6b-12 describe the redemptive work of Christ in providing this redemption. Jesus Christ who gave His life for us redeems us by His blood. He not only forgives past sins, but also provides the power for the new way of life. When men looked into the face of Jesus Christ, when they saw His mighty works, when they heard His teachings, when they saw Him die on the cross, when they obeyed the instructions of the risen Lord, they came to know that God is gracious. The riches of God’s grace belonged to those who believed. Christ made them a heritage through their faith in Him. That heritage was pointed to [orig: pointed toward] in the covenant relationship in the Old Testament and made full of meaning in the New. For as Paul says in Romans 4 and 9, the spiritual seed of Abraham inherit the covenant promises of God. They find their destiny in their faithful obedience to the Son. They accept for themselves and for their children the redemption provided in the Son.

Not only do Presbyterians believe that the Father purposes the redemption which the Son provides, but they also believe that the primary function of the Holy Spirit is to apply this redemption to believers so as to make it operative in their daily living. The salvation of believers is an experience which begins at some moment in time but which continues throughout eternity. Redemption is provided once for all in Christ. It is applied continuously by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit causes a believer to respond to God in faith. The Holy Spirit nurtures the child of faith in Christian growth. Just as the Holy Spirit united with the Virgin Mary to produce God’s Son in the flesh, so the Holy Spirit unites with the heart of believers to reproduce Christ’s life in them. The nickname given to believers in Antioch was more accurate than the critics knew. For the word Christian means “little Christ”. It is ours to make the name as meaningful as they did.

Some people use the wrong pronoun to refer to the Holy Spirit. They refer to Him as “it”. The New Testament does not follow this practice. No more should we. He is the third person of the Trinity. He would dwell in us and give us guidance and power. He would remake us into the likeness of Christ. He would make redemption, purposed by the Father and provided by the Son, operative in our lives.

D. THE DIFFERENCE THE TRINITY MAKES TO BELIEVERS

Both young and old may ask why it makes any difference whether or not we believe in the Trinity. We believe that question has been partially answered. It makes a great deal of difference to the believer that from the very beginning of God’s purpose and plan for the world, his life has been significant. Because it is a part of God’s plan, it can never become insignificant. Others may view themselves as flies on some giant millwheel in space revolving in a circle, but Presbyterians believe that God the Father has a purpose for their lives.

It also makes a difference that we can look into the face of Jesus Christ and know better what God is like. He was not known too well even in the experiences of Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. But He became very personal in the incarnate Son who provided redemption for believers. God showed Himself as a Friend and as a Saviour in His Son. It is good to know that the Redeemer of the universe is our Friend.

Because we know that the Holy Spirit moves us to believe and to grow in our faith, we respond with confidence to our great Ally. We cannot lift ourselves by our own bootstraps, but we can overcome our temptations by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. When we are in danger or darkness, we are encouraged by a consciousness of the fact that He is nearer than breathing. When we despair of our progress in the Gospel, He comforts us and spurs us on to new endeavor. He becomes in us the down-payment of our eternal life beyond the grave, for He brings the life and power of the living God into our hearts. By the power of the Triune God, we who seek the victory hereafter already know the life of victory here.

Presbyterians therefore do not hesitate to affirm their faith in the Trinity. Against the background of this great doctrine they move forward in thought to consider many other phases of their historic faith.