The Trinity

23.01.20 | Godwin Sunder

(Talan er tolkað til føroyskt).

Hear Godwin Sunder speak on the subject of The Trinity.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” – Deut 6:4 (Mk 12:29)

My son, Levi, as a 4 year old (now he is almost 7 years) asked me a question regarding a Christian Doctrine and belief. We have all asked ourselves this question at some point in our lives and hopefully we have tried to get a proper understanding. How we answer this question is central to the very foundation of the Christian belief.

The question went like this: Babba, we have God the Father, we have Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit, does this mean we have 3 gods?

Trinity is one of the great mysteries of the Christian Faith. Trinity is not a word that is found in the Bible, but it simply means ‘Triunity’ or ‘3-in-1’ and the concept is clearly taught and revealed in the Bible. Though it is a mystery and goes beyond reason to comprehend it but it does not go against reason to apprehend it.Basically saying, we will never fully comprehend the depth of it but because we believe it, we can explain it to some extent rationally and logically. I will say this, it is important that a believer is able articulate the concept of Trinity if you believe in it.

WHAT TRINITY IS NOT?

Trinity is not –

It is not three gods – tritheism or polytheism
It is not that God choose to reveal himself first as the father, then as the son and presently as the spirit in three modes of operation

WHAT IS TRINITY?

God is one in Being and three in Person. That is not a contradiction but what would be a contradiction is if we said, God is one in Being and 3 Beings. So what is the difference between a ‘Being’ and a ‘Person’.

Being is the essence, or quality or character that makes WHAT you are
Person is the essence, or quality or character that makes WHOM you are

Let me explain further, WHAT type of a being am I? I am human being. Now, WHO am I? I am Godwin Sunder. What I am is my being and who I am is my person; the two are not the same thing. All of us share the same type, we are human beings, but we are essentially different. So the characteristic of a Being is different from a Person – I am one being and one person, and God is one Being and three Persons – Father, Son and Spirit. And this is how He has chosen to reveal Himself.

In other words, God alone is God but God is not alone.