As we’ve been working our way through the Apostle’s Creed, we come today to the third and final person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. So why is it that Christians believe in one God in three Persons?
Well firstly, because this is what the Bible teaches. The word Trinity is not a biblical word; it is the theological term that describes what the Bible says about God, which is: (i) there is only one God (Ex 20:2-3), (ii) the Father is God (Matt 6:26), (iii) Jesus is God (John 20:28), (iv) the Spirit is God (Act 5:3-4), (v) Jesus is not the Father (John 14:6-11), (vi) Jesus is not the Spirit (John 16:7), (vii) the Spirit is not the Father (John 14:26), and yet (viii) the Father, Son and Spirit are one (Matt 28:19).
Yet just as important is that the Trinity is beyond human understanding. Every other world religion follows domesticated (i.e. easy to understand) gods, who when we come to think of it, are very small and weak gods. The fact that ‘three persons in one Godhead’ is beyond human comprehension shows the God of the Bible is not a made up god. You simply cannot make up something that is beyond the human capacity to understand.
Thirdly, the Trinity shows the wonderful nature of other-person centred relationships, as each person in the godhead is not interested in themselves, but in the others. The Father loves the Son (John 3:35), the Son obeys the Father (John 8:28-9), and the Spirit does not speak for himself (John 16:13-14).
May Christians never be ashamed of believing (i) in the Father Almighty, (ii) in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, and (iii) in the Holy Spirit. For he truly is worthy of all praise.
