Bible Study: What Does the Bible Say About the Holy Trinity?

Why Is the Trinity More Than a Mystery?

For many of us, the Holy Trinity can seem like a great mystery, a teaching that is difficult for our minds to hold.¹ But God’s desire is not to confuse us. It is to invite us into His life. Think of the most loving family you can imagine, a family where each person lives in perfect harmony, overflowing with love and respect for one another.³ This is the tender image God shows us of Himself. He is a God who is, in his very heart, a relationship.

The Trinity is not some difficult test God asks us to pass.⁵ It is a beautiful, life-giving truth that He wants us toexperience.⁷ It is a divine invitation to enter into the fellowship of God Himself. The goal is not to have a perfect explanation for what is infinite to know, personally, the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This changes the Trinity from a distant idea into a living reality, a source of peace, strength, and purpose in our daily lives.

This change of heart is so important. Sometimes our fear of this mystery can keep us from a deeper friendship with God.¹⁰ But when we move from trying to understand with our minds to embracing with our hearts, something wonderful can happen.⁴ The Trinity is no longer a formula the very way we understand God’s love. It shows us that the very nature of God is a community of love, and into this community, every one of us is welcomed.

What Is the Holy Trinity?

At the center of our faith is one, true God. And this one God has shown Himself to us in a magnificent, personal way. The Bible teaches us, in simple and powerful words, that our one God exists for all eternity as three distinct and glorious Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.⁶ Each Person is not just a part of God; each one is fully and completely God. They are equal in power, glory, and being, living in a perfect, unbreakable unity of love.¹²

A Mystery to Embrace

That this is a mystery is something to celebrate, not to fear. It is a sign of God’s greatness. If we could fully understand God with our small minds, He would not be the Creator of this vast universe.¹ As one pastor said, we should not want a God who is less complex than our alarm clock.³ To embrace this mystery is an act of faith, a way of trusting that God has revealed to us everything we need for a deep and real relationship with Him.

The heart of this teaching rests on several truths we find all through the Scriptures:

• There is only one God. The Bible is very clear. The great declaration in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one,” is the foundation of our faith.⁵
• The Father is God. The Scriptures tell us again and again that the Father is God, the source of all things.¹
• The Son, Jesus Christ, is God. The New Testament shows us that Jesus is divine, calling Him “our great God and Savior” and “the Word who was God”.⁵
• The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit, too, is God. To lie to the Holy Spirit is to lie to God.⁵
• The Three are Distinct. They are not just different names for the same Person. The baptism of Jesus shows this so clearly, with the Son in the river, the Spirit coming down, and the Father speaking from heaven.¹⁴

This truth of God as Trinity is not a problem for our logic to solve. It is the beautiful answer to a deep question: “How can a perfect God be love?”.¹⁹ You see, love needs a relationship; it needs the giving of oneself.²¹ A god who was all alone could be loving our Triune God

is love in His very being—an eternal, flowing community of love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, from before the world began.¹⁹ The Trinity is not a complication; it is the perfection of our belief in one God, revealing a God who is personal, relational, and overflowing with love.

Where Do We Find the Trinity in the Bible?

A good question to ask is, “Is the word ‘Trinity’ in the Bible?” The simple answer is no, the word itself is not there.² It is a word that the Church began to use, first by Tertullian around the year 213 AD, to describe a reality that is woven into the story of the Bible from the very beginning to the very end.² To dismiss this truth because the word is not there would be like dismissing the Bible itself, because the word “Bible” is also not in its pages.² God did not give us a book of rules a beautiful story of how He revealed Himself to His people.

Clues in the Old Testament

Long before Jesus came, God was leaving clues, little whispers of His nature as a family. In the first pages of Genesis, God says, “Let us make man in our image”.¹⁴ This use of “us” and “our” suggests a loving conversation within God at the moment of creation.¹¹ The main Hebrew name for God in the story of creation,Elohim, is a plural word it is used with singular verbs, hinting at a deep unity within a plurality.¹⁴

We also see a mysterious person called “the Angel of the LORD.” This is no ordinary angel. He speaks as God and accepts worship.²⁷ When Hagar met this Angel, she said, “You are a God who sees”.³⁰ When this Angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He said, “I am the God of your father”.²⁸ Many see these moments as a glimpse of Jesus, the Son of God, visiting His people before He was born in Bethlehem.²⁷

And there are moments of great clarity. In Isaiah 48:16, the Messiah says, “And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit”.¹⁴ Here, in one sentence, we see all three Persons: the Father (Sovereign LORD), the Son (“me”), and the Holy Spirit, all working together in perfect harmony.¹⁴

A Clearer Picture in the New Testament

What was whispered in the Old Testament is announced with joy in the New. The life of Jesus Christ brought the reality of the Trinity into the light for all to see.

The baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16-17 is like a family portrait of God.¹⁸ In this one moment, we see the Trinity in action:

• God the Son is in the water, standing with all of humanity.
• God the Holy Spirit comes down on Him like a dove, preparing Him for His mission.
• God the Father speaks from heaven, declaring His great love: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.¹⁴

This event shows us that the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct Persons they are perfectly united in their love and their work.

In His final words to His disciples, Jesus gives a command that is also a revelation. He tells them to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).¹⁶ He says “name,” singular, not “names.” This is so powerful. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one name, one being, one divine life into which we are all welcomed.³³

This became the rhythm of the early Church’s life. The apostles would end their letters with blessings for all three Persons, like St. Paul’s beautiful words in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”.⁹ This was not just a nice phrase; it was the living faith of a people who knew and served a Triune God.

Who Are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

To understand the Trinity is to know a family—the divine family of God. When we move from ideas to a personal relationship with each Person, our faith is transformed.

God the Father

God the Father is the loving source of all life, the giver of every good gift.¹ He is not a distant king the perfect Father who planned our salvation and loved the world so much that He sent His only Son.³⁷ Jesus Himself taught us to call God “Our Father,” inviting us into a tender relationship with our Creator.⁶

God the Son

God the Son, Jesus, is our personal Savior and friend. He is God who came to live with us, the visible face of the invisible God.⁵ As it says in Hebrews 1:3, He is the “exact representation” of the Father. When Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).²³ He is the one who lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and rose again, opening the way for us to come directly to the Father.⁵

God the Holy Spirit

God the Holy Spirit is our constant companion and guide. He is not a force a divine Person who makes His home in the heart of every believer.¹² He is the Helper Jesus promised to send, the one who leads us to truth, comforts us in our sadness, and shows us our sin.¹² The Holy Spirit seals our salvation, like a promise of our inheritance in heaven.²³ He makes the Father’s love and the Son’s grace a real experience in our hearts each day.¹⁷

The Person of the Trinity	His Role in Your Life	A Promise for You from Scripture
God the Father	The Loving Source & Planner of Your Life	“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
God the Son (Jesus)	The Personal Savior & Redeemer Who Gives You Access	“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
God the Holy Spirit	The Indwelling Comforter & Guide Who Empowers You	“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

What did Jesus say about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

In Jesus Christ, we encounter the fullness of God’s self-revelation. Through His words and actions, our Lord provides the clearest picture of the Trinity, inviting us into the very life of God. Let us reflect on some key teachings of Jesus regarding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus consistently spoke of His unique relationship with the Father. He declared, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), asserting both His unity with and distinction from the Father. He taught us to pray to “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), revealing God’s paternal love. Yet Jesus also emphasized His own divine sonship, saying, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).

Regarding His own identity as the Son, Jesus accepted Peter’s confession of Him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). He spoke of His pre-existence, saying, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58), echoing God’s name revealed to Moses. Jesus’ “I am” statements in John’s Gospel further underscore His divine identity.

Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, whom He called the Advocate or Comforter. He said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). This passage beautifully illustrates the interrelationship of Father, Son, and Spirit.

In the farewell discourse of John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks at length about the relationships within the Trinity. He describes the Spirit as proceeding from the Father and being sent by the Son (John 15:26). He emphasizes the unity of purpose among the divine persons: “All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you” (John 16:15).

Psychologically, Jesus’ teachings about the Trinity provide a model for human relationships, balancing individuality and community. They speak to our deep longing for love, belonging, and purpose, showing these as rooted in the very nature of God.

Historically, Jesus’ words formed the basis for the Church’s trinitarian doctrine. The early Christians, reflecting on Christ’s teachings and their experience of salvation, came to understand God as an eternal communion of love into which humanity is invited.

What did the early Church Fathers teach about the Holy Trinity?

The development of Trinitarian doctrine was a gradual process, marked by major milestones. In the second century, we find figures like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons defending the divinity of Christ and the personhood of the Holy Spirit against various heresies, while maintaining the unity of God (Thompson, 2024). They laid important groundwork for later Trinitarian thought, even if they did not use the precise language of later creeds.

The third century saw more explicit attempts to explain the relationships within the Trinity. Tertullian, writing in North Africa, was the first to use the term “Trinity” (trinitas in Latin) and coined the formula “three Persons, one Substance” to describe the divine reality (Thompson, 2024). This formulation would prove influential in later Western theology.

In the East, Origen of Alexandria developed a sophisticated Trinitarian theology that emphasized the eternal generation of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Holy Spirit. While some of Origen’s speculations were later rejected, his emphasis on the eternal relations within the Trinity was foundational for subsequent Eastern thought (Thompson, 2024).

The fourth century was a crucial period for Trinitarian doctrine, as the Church grappled with the Arian heresy, which denied the full divinity of Christ. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD affirmed that the Son is “of one substance” (homoousios) with the Father, a key affirmation of Trinitarian orthodoxy (Thompson, 2024). Later in the century, the Cappadocian Fathers – Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa – further developed Trinitarian theology, emphasizing both the unity of the divine essence and the distinctness of the three Persons (Zhukovskyy, 2023).

I have noticed how these theological debates reflect deep human questions about identity, relationship, and the nature of personhood. The Trinitarian vision of God as a communion of Persons speaks profoundly to our longing for unity-in-diversity and perfect love.

The development of Trinitarian doctrine was not a smooth, linear process involved complex interactions between Scripture, tradition, philosophical concepts, and lived Christian experience. The Church Fathers were not engaged in abstract speculation in a vital effort to understand and communicate the reality of God as revealed in Christ and experienced in the life of the Church.

Although the early Church Fathers made major progress in articulating Trinitarian doctrine, they also maintained a sense of holy mystery. As Augustine famously remarked, “If you comprehend it, it is not God” (Sermon 52, 6, 16).

How Does the Trinity Change Our Daily Lives?

The truth of the Trinity is not just a doctrine; it is the power for our daily lives. It is the foundation for a life of faith that is vibrant, secure, and full of hope.

A Model for Our Relationships

Because God is a community of perfect love, it means that love and relationship are at the very center of the universe.¹⁹ We were created

from love, by love, and for a life of love. This gives great meaning to our own relationships. A good marriage, a true friendship, a loving church—these are all small reflections of the great love of God.⁴ Our relationships become sacred opportunities to mirror God’s own nature.

The Security of Our Salvation

Our salvation is also secure because of the united work of the Triune God.¹³ This gives us a peace that cannot be shaken. Our salvation is not a fragile thing. Instead:

• The Father planned it in His love, choosing us in Christ before the world was made.²³
• The Son accomplished it, paying the price for our sins on the cross.³⁷
• The Holy Spirit applied it to our hearts and sealed it, guaranteeing our future glory.²³

All three Persons of God are united in saving us. This is why Jesus could promise that no one can snatch us from His hand, because we are also held in the Father’s hand.⁴⁴

Power for Our Prayer

This reality also gives power to our prayer life, changing it from a duty to a living conversation.⁷ We pray

to the Father, who listens to us as His dear children. We pray through the Son, Jesus, who is our bridge to the Father. And we pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and helps us pray even when we do not have the words.⁴² Prayer becomes a beautiful dialogue with our Triune God.⁹ The Trinity is the “why” behind everything we do in faith, filling our lives with meaning and divine power.

How Can We Avoid Misunderstanding the Trinity?

Because the Trinity is a divine mystery, people have sometimes tried to use simple analogies to explain it. These can be helpful they can also lead to wrong ideas about God.¹⁰ For example, comparing the Trinity to an egg (shell, white, and yolk) is not quite right, because the shell is not the whole egg. This can lead to thinking each Person is only a part of God (Partialism).²³ Comparing God to water (ice, liquid, steam) is also a problem, because water is not all three at once. This can lead to the error of Modalism.²³ The truth is, our God is so magnificent that nothing on earth can fully capture His glory.⁷

It is important to gently correct these ideas to protect the truth of who God is. The Bible gives us clear truths to guide our understanding.

Common Heresies

• Not Three Gods (Tritheism): The Bible is clear: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).¹⁰ The Father, Son, and Spirit are not three separate gods. They are one God in one divine being.⁴⁶
• Not One Person with Three Masks (Modalism): This error teaches that God is one person who just changes roles, sometimes acting as the Father, then the Son, then the Spirit.⁴⁸ This is not what the Bible teaches. At Jesus’ baptism, all three were present and distinct.¹⁸ Jesus prayed to the Father; He was not talking to Himself.¹² Modalism denies the real, loving relationships within God.⁴⁸
• Not One “Big God” and Two “Lesser Gods” (Arianism): This old error taught that Jesus was not fully God was a created being.⁴⁹ This view makes Jesus less than God and weakens the truth of our salvation. But Scripture tells us Jesus is fully God, and in Him “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9).⁵ Although the Son submits to the Father’s will, this is a loving submission within their relationship; it does not mean He is less than the Father in His divine nature.¹

These errors often come from our human desire to make God simple, to fit Him into our own logic.⁴⁹ But true faith finds peace not in making a smaller god in humbly accepting the great mystery of the God who has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures.

How can we explain the Trinity to someone new to Christianity?

Explaining the mystery of the Holy Trinity to someone new to our faith is both a joyful privilege and a powerful challenge. We must approach this task with humility, recognizing that we are speaking of realities that ultimately transcend human understanding. Yet, we are called to share the truth of God’s triune nature in ways that are accessible and meaningful.

Let us begin by emphasizing that Christians believe in one God. This is fundamental. We are not polytheists. But we believe that within the unity of God, there are three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these Persons is fully God, yet they are not three separate gods one God in three Persons.

A helpful starting point might be to reflect on human personhood and relationships. As beings created in God’s image, we find that our own nature offers hints of the divine reality. We are individuals, yet we find our fullest expression in relationships of love. In a similar but infinitely more perfect way, God’s very being is a communion of Persons in eternal, self-giving love.

We might explain that we encounter God in three primary ways: as the transcendent Creator and Father of all, as the incarnate Son who became human in Jesus Christ, and as the indwelling Holy Spirit who guides and empowers us. These are not three “parts” of God or three “modes” of God’s existence three distinct Persons who share the same divine nature.

It can be helpful to use analogies, while acknowledging their limitations. For instance, we might speak of how water can exist as solid, liquid, and gas – three distinct forms of the same substance. Or we might consider how a single human can be a father, a son, and a husband simultaneously. These analogies can provide a starting point for understanding we must be clear that they fall short of fully capturing the mystery of the Trinity (Addai-Mensah, 2020).

I have noticed that the doctrine of the Trinity speaks to our deepest longings for both unity and diversity, for self-giving love and intimate communion. It offers a vision of personhood that is inherently relational, mirroring the divine reality.

The Church’s understanding of the Trinity developed gradually as believers reflected on their experience of God’s saving work in Christ and through the Spirit. This reminds us that grasping the Trinity is not merely an intellectual exercise a matter of encountering the living God in faith and love.

We should emphasize that belief in the Trinity is not an abstract theological concept has practical implications for Christian life. It shapes our understanding of God’s love, our approach to prayer, our vision of human community, and our hope for eternal life.

We must convey that the Trinity is a mystery of faith – not a puzzle to be solved a reality to be lived and experienced. We are invited to enter into the life of the Triune God, to be embraced by the Father’s love, transformed by the Son’s grace, and empowered by the Spirit’s presence.