The Concept of God and the Trinity

Although it is virtually impossible to completely comprehend the concept of God, G. L. Bray describes God as “the ultimate author and principal subject of the Bible.”[1] It is impossible to look at God outside of a religious context and put God into some abstract concept; therefore, we must look at God in the light of tradition and certain themes. In the Catholic Christian tradition, the rational demonstration of God’s existence is central to their beliefs. Karl Barth is a proponent of the opposite position, which says that the existence of God is beyond human reason. Many Protestants align themselves with Barth’s view.[2] Regardless of how we view God’s existence, it is still impossible to fathom who God is and how he works. The only way we can get some glimpse into who God is, is to look at God as the triune God of the Trinity. Karl Rahner expounds upon this idea describing the Trinity as “the one God whose one essence subsists in three persons.”[3]

The doctrine of the Trinity has been an essential part of our faith in that it helps to bring explanation and comprehension as believers attempt to understand God. From the beginning until now, Christians have researched, dialogued, fought about, defended, and questioned the doctrine of the Trinity. All of these things have been done in an attempt to gain more understanding concerning this doctrine so that believers would be able to draw closer to God in a growing relationship.

At the heart of the Christian faith is that through Christ, we have come to know the triune God. The three identities of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which are separate, yet a part of a greater whole, help to provide us with a glimpse of God that we are able to better understand. It is his desire that we understand that his plan for the world is for all believers to enter into fellowship with him.

How do we get our doctrinal understanding of the Trinity? Several historical events have helped develop the Trinity we know today. The Council of Nicea was the result of the Arian controversy. Arius’ Christology stated that the Son was not eternal—there was a time when the Son did not exist. Athanasius opposed Arius and believed that Jesus was fully God. The Word was made flesh so that humanity might be made divine. During the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., the church established that the Son was next to the Father as being fully divine. The Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople further established our idea of the Trinity giving the Holy Spirit full deity status.

For Irenaeus, the doctrine of the Trinity is the “rule of our faith, the foundation of the building, and what gives support to our behavior.”[4] It also provides understanding of the individual functions of each Trinitarian part. He suggests that primary to our faith is that God is the creator. Secondary is Christ, who restores fellowship between God and humanity. Thirdly, it is the Holy Spirit that is being “poured out in a new way on our human nature in order to renew humanity throughout the entire world in the sight of God.”[5]

C.S. Lewis uses very simple language in describing each function of the parts of the Trinity and brings clear and simple understanding to Irenaeus’ idea. He suggests that God the Father is the creator and is above everything that is in existence. Jesus is beside us in our daily walk and never leaves us alone. He compels us to act according to God’s plan for our lives.

We all come to the concept of God and the Trinity with preconceived ideas and experiences. However, using the Bible as a reference point, there are several scriptures that point to the triune God, such as Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14.[6] Kenneth Barker writes in the NIV Study Bible, “It [2 Corinthians 13:14] serves to remind us that the mystery of the Holy Trinity is known to be true not through rational or philosophical explanation but through Christian experience, whereby the believer knows firsthand the grace, the love, and the fellowship that freely flow to him from the three Persons of the one Lord God.”[7]
Works Cited

Barker, Kenneth, The NIV Study Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995, 1779.

Berkhof, Hendrikus, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.

Bray, G.L., New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000.

Brown, David, The Divine Trinity, London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd, 1985.

Douglas, J.D. and Merrill C. Tenny, NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1989.

Gilkey, Langdon, “God,” Christian Theology: An Introduction to its Traditions and Tasks, Peter C. Hodgson and Robert H. King, eds. Minneapolis: Fortress Publishers, 1994, 88-112.

Fortman, Edmund, The Triune God: A Historical Study of the Doctrine of the Trinity, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972.

McGrath, Alister, ed., The Christian Theology Reader, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1995.

Peters, Ted, God as Trinity: Rationality and Temporality in Divine Life, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993.

Pittenger, Norman, The Divine Triunity, Philadelphia: United Church Press, 1977.

Rahner, Karl, The Trinity, Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Burns and Oates, 1986.

Ward, Keith, The Concept of God, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1974.

Ward, Keith, God: A Guide for the Perplexed, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2002.

[1]Bray, G.L., New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 511.

[2] Ward, Keith, The Concept of God, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1974), 2.

[3] Rahner, Karl, The Trinity, (Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Burns and Oates, 1986), 58.

[4] McGrath, Alister, ed., The Christian Theology Reader, (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1995), 93.

[5] McGrath, Alister, ed., The Christian Theology Reader, (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1995), 93.

[6]Bray, G.L., New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 516.

[7] Barker, Kenneth, The NIV Study Bible, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 1779.