I once read about a victim of a hit and run accident who lay mortally wounded on the corner of the street. A priest in a clerical collar happened to pass by and those helping the victim asked if he would please speak to the injured man and pray with him. The priest knelt beside him and asked, “Do you believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?” The man looked up at those standing around him and replied, “Here I am dying and he’s asking me riddles.”
So, is there a riddle at the heart of Christianity? Christianity is monotheistic. It confesses that there is only one God. However it believes that this one God exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s what Christians speak of as the holy Trinity. For some people the trinity is a big stumbling block to embracing the Christian faith. Over the years more than one person has said to me, “That’s nonsense. How could God possibly be one and yet at the same time three?” It has also led to some opponents of Christianity charging us with polytheism – worshipping more than one God. But, no, the Bible states over and over again there is only one God, the creator of the universe. Yet when Jesus appears on the scene He claims to be God and He proves it by the miracles He performs. He claims that those who have seen Him have seen the Father. And when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the church on the day of Pentecost it soon becomes obvious that He too is God.
In my opinion folk need to be cautious about dismissing the Bible’s teaching about the Trinity as nonsense. To dismiss the Trinity as nonsense smacks of arrogance. We should remember that we are talking as creatures about our Creator. How can we finite humans ever fully get our head around who God is and what He is like? We need the humility to accept that God is far beyond our ability to fully comprehend Him. Instead we ought to simply accept that this is how He has revealed himself to us. And if you were to claim that one plus one plus one is three and that therefore it doesn’t make sense, then let me remind you that there is more than one way of putting three one’s together. Try multiplying them instead, because one times one, times one is still only one. At the end of the day God simply calls us to accept that this is how He has revealed Himself in the Bible and in history.
Having said that let me draw your attention though to a fact that I find somewhat fascinating. The Bible tells us in a number of places that God has left His fingerprints in Creation. In fact the Apostle Paul says that God showing His power and wisdom in creation is enough to leave people without excuse. So, if it is true that God has left His fingerprints in creation should there then not – at the very least – also be some hints of God existing in three persons? I believe there is. Consider how many things exist in threes. Back in our school days we learnt that there were three kingdoms in nature: animal, mineral and vegetable (one creation; three varieties). We also learnt that matter exists in three states: as solids, liquids and gasses. Meanwhile in grammar we learnt that verbal tenses can be either of three: past, present or future. Or think of geometry where we learnt that solids have three dimensions: length width and height. In geology we discover three basic kinds of rock: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Often when I mention this list to people I find that people start adding more things to the list.
Perhaps the fact that we can’t logically work out the trinity is the best evidence for the fact that it is true. Why would anyone make up something we can’t get our heads around? For Christians it’s a wonderfully encouraging teaching. I’m loved and cared for by my God in three ways… by the Father who made me, by the Son who gave His life for me and by the Holy Spirit who lives in me as my daily companion. Father, Son and Holy Spirit… what a wonderful God!
John Westendorp