Does it matter what Christians believe about God?
Researchers at Arizona Christian University surveyed 2,100 Americans and found that a majority of Christians “reject the basic Christian teaching of the Trinity.”
Apparently, most Americans assume it is sufficient to believe Jesus existed to be considered a Christian. For instance, 59% of those surveyed believe in the existence of Jesus Christ, but only 29% believe in the Holy Spirit.
But, worst of all, barely 2% of those surveyed agree with the Christian teaching of the Trinity.
What is the Trinity?
The Trinity is a theological term that describes the basic Christian belief that God is “three distinct but inseparable and equal Persons in one infinite Being.” As revealed in the Bible, those three Persons are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The be clear, the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. It’s a term that describes what the Bible reveals about the nature of God. He is One God (Deut. 6:4, Eph. 4:5-6) existing in three Persons (John 10:30-38, 17:21, 2 Cor. 13:13).
Why does it matter?
You may be thinking, “So what? As long as I believe Jesus existed, I am a Christian, right? Why does it matter what I believe about God?”
You don’t need to understand or be able to explain the Trinity to be saved. But you cannot reject it, either. Being a follower of Jesus includes knowing that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are involved in your salvation and your eternal life.
Sometimes Christians are accused of a perplexing polytheism, that our belief in the Trinity means we believe in three gods. But no. We don’t. We believe that God is One God in three Persons. And this distinctive Christian belief emerges from the biblical revelation of God.
Of course, it’s hard to get your mind around that. After all, how could God possibly be one God and three Persons at the same time?
So, we create analogies to help us grasp this mystery.
Faulty analogies
But as fallible, temporal people, any illustration of an infallible, eternal God always falls short. God exceeds our ability to describe or illustrate His nature.
For example, one popular illustration goes something like this—I am Bob. And I am a man. As a man, I am a husband, a father, and a pastor. Sounds like three-in-one, right? So why does that fall short?
It’s inadequate because I described three roles of the same man, not one man who is three persons. God is not one God with three roles. He is one God in three Persons.
Or how about this one.
Consider water. Frozen, it’s ice. Then steam. Then melted, and again it’s liquid. But that doesn’t work, either.
That analogy describes three modes of water. God is not one God appearing in three modes, but one God in three Persons. All the time. For all eternity. That’s just who He is.
It’s who He is
It’s the riveting, dynamic reality of our God, so thickly woven into Scripture that the very history of God’s people would be inexplicable otherwise. Rather than teach the Trinity, the Bible assumes it (John 8:27, 36, 38; John 14:15-17; 1 Cor. 8:6).
The teaching of the Trinity doesn’t lessen God or misrepresent who He is. On the contrary, it pictures the fullness of God revealed in scripture and represented in God’s greatest work, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it is nowhere more prevalent than the New Testament’s descriptions of our salvation. If it weren’t for this truth of God’s nature, there would be no gospel, no crucifixion, no resurrection, no church, and no hope.
God’s plan for your salvation
Take one example. Consider 1 John 4:13-15, “This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God.”
Father, Son, and Spirit. All three are God, and all three participate in your salvation.
- God the Father orchestrates salvation.
God the Father moves history forward under His gracious, guiding hand. He orchestrates salvation for us.
While the Son and the Spirit are equally God with the Father, the Trinity represents perfect order among equals, so the Son and the Spirit carry out the plans of the Father. He sends the Son with a purpose (John 5:19-22).
Scripture pictures God the Father fielding the players in the salvation drama at just the right time (Heb. 1:1-4, Gal. 4:4). He makes the decisions that lead to our salvation, and His plan is perfectly implemented.
- God the Son implements salvation.
In perfect, sinless obedience to the Father, the Son of God came to earth and was born into humanity. He was completely human, and at the same time completely God. Though He shed His divine glory for the duration of His purpose on earth, His deity was never diminished (Phil. 2:5-11).
The Son’s purpose was clear from the start—to die for the sins of humanity (Luke 9:21-22, 1 John 2:2, Rom. 10:9-10). He then trusted that the Father, to fulfill His perfect plan, would raise Him from the grave (Rom. 8:11). The Son of God in Jesus Christ lives today so that you, trusting Him, can have eternal life (John 11:25).
- God the Holy Spirit activates salvation.
The Holy Spirit is not an “It.” He is not an abstract divine force permeating the universe, and He is not your warm and fuzzy feelings.
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is as much God as the Father and the Son are God. He is personal, intentional, and carries out the Father’s plan in the church (Acts 1:8).
And when you submit to Him, He activates the Father’s plans in your life. He resides in each believer, ensuring salvation, gifting us for service, and shaping each of us to be more and more like Christ (1 Cor. 6:19, Rom. 8:14, 29, 1 Cor. 12:1-31).
He is not your emotions, but He gives you joy (Gal. 5:22-23). He is not your self-help positivity, but He gives you hope. He is not your intuition, but He prods your conscience and applies the great truths of His Word to your life. He is God’s voice and God’s power in your life (John 14:26, 1 Cor. 2:10).
He builds disciples of Jesus, crafting the character of the Son in the people the Father has saved (Gal. 5:22-23).
Christ’s death saves you (Eph. 1:7-8) and the Holy Spirit activates and assures that salvation (Eph. 1:13). He witnesses to Christ through the church, never seeking center stage for Himself. In each local church that is devoted to Christ, the Holy Spirit is working through God’s people to carry out the Father’s perfect plan (1 Cor. 12:1-31).
So that’s why it matters
So, yes. It matters what you believe about God. And the biblical view of the Trinity is essential to a robust and accurate Christian faith.
God graciously reveals that He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And because He loves us, all three participate in God’s plan to give us salvation, resurrection, hope, and life.
That’s who God is.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Matt. 28:19