The question of the Holy Trinity (God in three persons) continues to trouble many hearts in this new age especially as many try to use modern mathematics to explain it. The Bible itself is very explicit on this subject and the Triune God has always been seen in all that happens in the Bible and the life of god’s people, therefore it is absurd for one to say he believes in God and does not believe in the Holy Trinity.
The Bible (the word of God) opens with the demonstration of God in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. “In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light”. (Gen 1:1-3) The purpose of this introduction is for God’s children to understand in deeper meaning the real nature of God as they read through the Bible; since the book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of the earth and its inhabitants. In the verses quoted above, we see God in three persons at work.
In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep – here we see the Father (the first person of the Holy Trinity) the one whose voice we heard in the baptism of Jesus at the River Jordan and the one Jesus himself prayed to in many instances especially in John 17.
And the Spirit of God hovered over the waters – here we see the spirit of God the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Holy Trinity). This spirit came down to Jesus during his baptism in the form of a dove as recoded in the gospels. This is the same spirit Jesus promise and sent to the apostles on Pentecost Sunday, the force of the Holy Trinity.
God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light” – Here we see Jesus the Son of God (the second person of the Holy Trinity). What is vital here is God’s word because the Bible tells us that God said. We can understand this better if we refer to the introduction of John’s gospel: “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God; he was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him nothing came to be”. (John 1:1-3). John’s introduction does not only tell us that Jesus was the word God used to create the world, it does tell us of Jesus’ (the Son) equality with God (the Father).
The introduction of the Bible in the book of Genesis shows us how united these three persons (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) are in the creation of the earth and the life of God’s people. Their appearance in the history of humanity is so symbolic and important as per the roles they play that it is completely wrong to hold unto one without the other.
St Paul reminds us in his epistle to the Hebrews that in the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets but today he has spoken to us through his Son, Christ Jesus. (Heb 1:1-2: read the whole chapter if you can)
When asked to show the father by his apostles, Jesus replied: “I have been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever sees me sees the Father; how can you say: 'Show us the Father'? (John 14:9) This is to explain the uniqueness of the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son is in the Father as the Father is in the Son. St Paul tells us in his letter to the Hebrews that Jesus is the “radiance of God's Glory and bears the stamp of God's hidden being”. (Heb 1:3)
In the Old Testament God the Father promised through the prophets that he was going to send his son to save the world. When Jesus was about to leave his apostles, he promised not to leave them orphans but to send the Holy Spirit who was to be their advocate. All these biblical passages give us all we need to believe that God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
How can one be baptized and initiated in God as a triune God and do not believe in the triune God? Jesus himself instructed the apostles: “Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations. Baptize them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. (Mt 28: 19) We are all baptized in God in the three persons and this has a greater meaning to our spirituality that starts from our belief and this is the base or foundation of our faith. Unless you believe in God the three persons your baptism is incomplete.
Gog bless you today!
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