The Trinity: An Inherently Relational GodSample

When it comes to the topic of pursuing Biblical and healthy relationships in our own lives, we can not skip past the Trinity. In fact, we should stop and camp out there for a while because the God of the Bible is, in many ways, a relationship in and of Himself, and we can learn a lot from Him.

The subject of the Trinity is a tricky one, mainly because it’s two things at the same time:

1. One of the most essential foundations of the Christian faith, and
2. One of the most mysterious elements of the Christian faith.

It is both mysterious and essential; an essential mystery. It doesn’t help that the word "Trinity" is not even in the Bible…

The mysteriousness of the Trinity is why so many people over the years have tried to come up with different analogies and images to try and explain the Three-In-One God of the Bible.

Some of the most famous include:

• An egg: yolk, white, and shell. One egg, three parts.
• Water, ice, and steam: same substance, three forms.
• The sun: the sun itself (the Father), the light that illuminates the sun (Jesus), and the heat from the sun (the Holy Spirit).
• A three-leaf clover; three leaves, one clover.

And there are many others! And unfortunately, all of them fall short.

A large part of our struggle with the Trinity may come from a place of not liking the idea of such an unexpected God. How is it that One God can exist simultaneously in three distinct modes of being?

It’s tempting to want God to be more simple, to be made up of the kind of maths that actually makes sense to us (a.k.a: one God = one person). One God as Three Persons, Three Persons as One God, it’s hard to grasp, and at first glance, it can simply seem illogical or even incomprehensible. This is why many people simply shove the whole topic into the "too hard" box, and leave it for another never-coming day.

But, as followers of Jesus, we simply cannot do that, because we do not believe in an unknowable, intangible, or a simply metaphorical God.

In fact, the opposite is true: God names Himself within Scripture. We see God fully in the Person of Jesus, and we ourselves can know Him intimately as vessels of His Holy Spirit. At the end of the day, Christianity is not just a set of moral principles that lead to lifestyle changes, but it is at its core about knowing God. To know Him, to enjoy Him, and to grow in Him is literally what we were saved for – and thus the Trinity simply can not be so mysterious that it is entirely outside of our realm of understanding.

To finish up today’s study, think through or journal answers to the following questions:

What have you been taught about the Trinity? When you think about the Trinity, what comes to your mind?

Which analogies or pictures of the Trinity have you been taught or heard?

What does it mean that God is a relationship in and of Himself?

In what ways do you know God? In what ways would you like to know Him better?

A.W. Tozer said this of the Trinity: “Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside.” What do you think of this? What does that mean to you?

Spend some time in prayer, asking the Trinitarian God to reveal Himself to you throughout this study. What does God want to teach you about Himself?