Website of Dr. John K. LaShell
Is
the Trinity Nonsense?
Published in the Allentown Morning Call May 29, 2010
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Many people think that the doctrine of the Trinity is
unbiblical, contradictory, unintelligible, and useless for any practical
purpose. To the contrary, the major branches of the Christian
church—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant—regard this as the
central doctrine of the Christian faith. I want to respond briefly to these
charges.
Unbiblical? The
word Trinity does not occur in the
Bible. It is a made-up word meaning Tri-Unity. It is a short-hand way of
summarizing three truths that the Bible frequently teaches. (1) There is one
God (Isaiah 44:8). (2) Three Persons are God (John 20:27-29; Acts 5:3-4). (3)
These three Persons are distinct (Matthew 3:16-17). The doctrine is biblical,
even though the word is not.
Contradictory?
It would be contradictory to say that there is one God who is
three Gods or to say that God is one Person and three Persons. It is not contradictory
to say that the one God exists as three distinct Persons—Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
Unintelligible? The
essential definition of the doctrine as given above is clear. Each of the
defining statements is easy to understand. God Himself is naturally far above
our comprehension. Many people do not understand the electrical wiring in their
house, but they know how to turn on a light switch, and they know not to stick
bare wires plugged into an outlet into their mouths. God has told us what is
essential for us to know, even if our minds cannot adequately picture the inner
life of the triune God.
Useless?
First, the doctrine of the Trinity is essential for seeing how
an infinite, holy God has reached down to save weak and sinful people. In
Christ, God became a man to bridge the gulf between God and men. “God was
in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses
against them…. [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our
behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2
Corinthians 5:19, 21).
Second, the relationships among the Persons of the Trinity form
the pattern for all healthy social relationships among human beings. Each
Person of the Godhead is equal in power, glory and wisdom to the others (Revelation
5:11-14). However, Jesus, the Son of God, always submitted to the will of God
the Father (John 5:19; 6:38). The Father honored His Son and the Son honored
His Father (John 17:1-5). When people forget that equals can and should submit
to other equals, one of two evils typically occurs. The first is anarchy, a
state in which no one willingly submits to anyone. The second is that the
powerful turn the weak into sub-human creatures—either cattle to plow the
master’s fields, or machines to produce his goods.
Third, like a great artist, God desired to express what was in
Himself on a canvas of His own making.
And what was in Him? He was filled up with the harmony of love that
binds the members of the Trinity together.
All the beauty of the created world is only a dim reflection of that
harmony. Because human beings are
made in God's image, we are able to delight in the beauty He has built into the
world: the splendor of the heavens; the explosion of color on a crisp fall day;
and the melody of a bird’s song.
Even though our world is broken, it is still surrounded and
sustained by the beauty of the triune God. That is the theme of a book I have
written, The Beauty of God for a Broken
World, scheduled to be published by Christian Literature Crusade in July.
Please contact me if you want to be notified when it is available.
© 2010, John K. LaShell