The Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian religion. But what does it really mean?
You may think the Trinity is simply a difficult theological concept, but in reality it is an invitation to a life of beauty and grace that brings fulfillment and happiness.
Christians teach that we came from God and to God we must ascend and return. And understanding the Holy Trinity and the missions of each of the three Persons is central to knowing how the soul is to arise to God.
Is it difficult to understand the Trinity? Yes.
Is it worth contemplating the Trinity anyway? Also yes.
The Holy Trinity is simply not a concept to be grasped but a mystery to be lived—but it is a mystery that is often misunderstood…
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Is the Holy Trinity a mystery?
When Christians call the Holy Trinity a “mystery,” they do not mean something unable to be known, as if these teachings have to be accepted by blind faith. Rather, it means that while these teachings can be explored with the intellect—they can never be exhausted.
In other words, you can understand this mystery but never fully—the Trinity always invites you to higher contemplations. Like standing before Michelangelo’s statue of David, you can understand what it is, but the more you look, the more its beauty reveals something further. It is inexhaustible.
Though very intellectual, Christian theology is not academics. You do not graduate and become Christian; rather, Christian theology is about a relationship, as knowledge about God is an invitation to love Him—and knowledge of the Trinity, a deep knowledge, is an invitation to a deep love.
Christianity is not about turning your brain off—but rather it is about allowing your brain to contemplate higher things.
But a misunderstanding will skew the fruits of your contemplation, and the Trinity is often taught incorrectly.
Who is God?
The concept of the Holy Trinity is built upon the concept of God, like an edifice upon a foundation. What then can be said about God? God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnipresent (everywhere). He is also outside of time (eternal), and He is both transcendent to Creation and somehow more intimate to Creation than it is to itself (“I AM”). God also has a nature, and He exercises His powers according to this nature—a nature of love, truth, goodness, and beauty.
You can explore the powers and nature of God further here: Can God Really Do All Things?
Is the Holy Trinity in Scripture?
Christians teach that the Holy Trinity is one God in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The best biblical example of the Trinity is the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:16-17). In this story, you can see all three Persons of the Holy Trinity acting at the same time. First, Jesus, who is God the Son made flesh, is being baptized. Second, God the Father is speaking from heaven that this is His Son in whom He is well pleased. Third, the Holy Spirit is descending upon Jesus like a dove from heaven. Jesus’ baptism is a model for your baptism, and His baptism it marked by an image of the Trinity. Jesus makes this explicit when He tells His disciples to baptize all nations “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19-20). It is important to note that Jesus Himself gave Christians the Trinitarian formula.
But, how is “One God in three Persons” not pantheism?
And what is wrong with the analogies Christians normally teach their children about the Trinity?
The Trinity is not a sterile, academic concept. It is a mystery to be lived! But, if the mystery is misunderstood, so will be the life to which you are called.
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