Do Christians have three gods? What is the Trinity?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The word “Trinity” is a theological term to refer to the biblical truth that God is one in essence yet three in Person. This does not mean Christians believe in three gods—a heresy known as tritheism—but that the one God eternally exists as three Persons, coequal and coeternal.

From Genesis to Revelation, all of Scripture supports the doctrine of the Trinity. While God is declared to be one (Deuteronomy 6:4), His Spirit is seen distinctly present and active in creation (Genesis 1:2) and human beings (2 Samuel 23:2). Jesus, the Son, while a distinct Person from the Father is also called God (John 1:1, 14). In addition to the three Persons having distinct activities within Scripture, we also see all three Persons together at once, demonstrating that God does not merely reveal Himself in different Persons at different times, but that the one God is, at the same time, three Persons (Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 3:16-17).

While the doctrine of the Trinity is impossible for us to fully understand, Scripture clearly teaches it. The Godhead is another way of referring to this same doctrine.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “The LORD our God, the LORD is one,” clearly affirming monotheism, not numerical simplicity. The Hebrew word for “one” (echad) can refer to a unified whole, such as one cluster of grapes or one flesh in marriage, allowing for complexity within unity.
• While God is clearly identified as one, as early as Genesis 1 we see hints of plurality within the Godhead. In Genesis 1:26, God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and then follows it with, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). This pattern of a plural pronoun followed by a singular one also appears in Genesis 3:22, 11:7, and Isaiah 6:8. While some explain these as examples of royal language, the surrounding context consistently limits the reference to God alone. These passages give early glimpses of the triune nature of God, even if the full doctrine of the Trinity had not yet been revealed.
• In addition to the pronoun hints, we see two other Persons clearly mentioned within the Old Testament who also appear to be God: the Spirit and the Angel of the LORD.The Spirit of God is described as present and active from the opening lines of Scripture (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30). He is later seen speaking and acting with divine authority (2 Samuel 23:2-3; Ezekiel 2:2).The Spirit is both personal and divine—pointing to His identity as the third Person of the Trinity.
• The Angel of the LORD, whom most scholars believe is the preincarnate Christ, also appears throughout the Old Testament as a distinct Person who speaks as God, receives worship, and yet is not the Father. In Genesis 22, for example, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1-2), but when the Angel of the LORD stops Abraham, He says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Genesis 22:12). God gave Abraham the command, yet the Angel of the LORD said that Abraham had obeyed Him. Thus, He is somehow distinct from God yet also identified as God.
• Isaiah 48:16 provides a rare passage where all three Persons seem to be present: “Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And then it continues, “And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.” The One speaking is Yahweh, who says He was sent by Yahweh along with His Spirit. Though subtle, this passage strongly anticipates the clearer Trinitarian language of the New Testament.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The full clarity of the Trinity is revealed in the New Testament. At Jesus’ baptism, all three Persons are present: the Son is baptized, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven, affirming His pleasure in the Son (Matthew 3:16-17). This scene shows that God is three Persons acting at the same time.
• Yet, though three Persons, the New Testament continues to maintain that God is one. For example, when Jesus commanded His followers to baptize others, He said to do it “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The use of the singular word “name” followed by three Persons underscores both unity and distinction within the Godhead.
• Jesus is explicitly called God. John opens by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1; c.f., John 20:28). The “Word” is a reference to Jesus. Jesus also claims divine authority, forgives sin, receives worship, and shares in the Father’s glory (John 5:23; 14:9; Matthew 14:33). For example, in John 8:58, He uses the divine name “I AM” for Himself, which provokes an immediate attempt to stone Him (John 8:59; c.f. Exodus 3”14). These claims only make sense if Jesus truly is God in the flesh.
• At the same time, Jesus operates in submission to the Father. He said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). His mission was unique: to live a sinless life and die as a substitute for sinners (Philippians 2:8; John 19:30). As the eternal Son, He shares the divine essence; as the incarnate Messiah, He fulfills a distinct role in the plan of redemption.
• The Holy Spirit is also revealed as a divine Person. He teaches, guides, speaks, and can be grieved (John 14:16-17; Acts 13:2; Ephesians 4:30). In Acts 5:3-4, lying to the Spirit is equated with lying to God. The Spirit, then, is not an impersonal force. Rather, He is God, having the distinct role of dwelling with and in believers all the while pointing them to Jesus.
• Though distinct Persons, because they are of the same divine essence, they always work together in perfect unity. For example, passages like 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Ephesians 1:3-14 include all three Persons working together in salvation. The Father chooses (Ephesians 1:4), the Son redeems (Ephesians 1:7), and the Spirit seals (Ephesians 1:13). Each Person is fully God, fully personal, and fully involved.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The Trinity is a doctrine that we will never fully understand. As finite creatures, we cannot get our mind around an infinite God. Every heresy in history has started with the assumption that God can be “figured out.” That is why some say there are three gods while others claim that a single god is changing modes to sometimes be the Father, sometimes the Son, and sometimes the Spirit. These and other heresies all explain “God” by making Him weak, small, and understandable.

However, the true God is eternal, omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipotent (all powerful). Each Person of the Trinity shares these attributes because they share the same essence. Yet, each Person also has unique functions. All three worked together in salvation, yet Jesus had the specific task of living and dying as the sacrificial Lamb that turned away His Father’s wrath for all who believe in Jesus. Today, the Spirit is opening the eyes of unbelievers to show them who Jesus is and living within believers to help us grow to be more like Jesus.

We may not understand how the Trinity can possibly be, but it’s a glorious truth. We are infinitely different from God, yet, out of love, the Father sent the Son so that we can be united with Him through salvation. By thinking about who God is and realizing that we are joined to Him, we will grow in humility.

Consider God for who He is. Accept Him as He has revealed Himself. Marvel at His unknowability. And praise Him for His great kindness in revealing Himself to us so that we can know the Father, through His Son, and by His Spirit.

UNDERSTAND

• Christians believe in one God revealed in three distinct Persons.
• Scripture teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are God.
• Limited human beings cannot grasp the Trinity, but we humbly accept God’s revelation of Himself to us.

REFLECT

• How is your view of God impacted by the fact His triune nature is not completely knowable?
• How do you worship each Person of the Trinity?
• How do you discuss Trinity with unbelievers?

ENGAGE

• What metaphors are used to explain the Trinity, and what are their weaknesses?
• How is God both knowable and unknowable?
• What are some faith traditions that reject the Trinity, and how might Christians reach them?