When we speak of the Trinity, we are referring to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Although the word ‘Trinity’ is not found in the Bible, the truth of the Trinity is found throughout the Bible.  The first evidence of God being in the form of a trinity, is the very first verse of the Bible.  Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning GOD created the heaven and the earth.”  In this verse, the Hebrew word for God is “‘ĕlôhîym” which is defined as “gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God.”  We see this truth brought out again in verse 26 where we read, “And God said, LET US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness…”  This shows that our God exists as a plurality…He is one, but He is three.  You and I also exist as a trinity.  We are mind, body, and spirit…thus we are created in the image of God.  He created us as a trinity, even as He exists as a trinity.

To be sure, there is only ONE GOD.  We read in Isaiah 45:5, “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me…”  Isaiah 45:21 says, “…there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.”  1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, “For there is one God…”  So, although God is three, there are not three different gods, but one God in perfect unity. Each person of the Godhead is fully God, sharing the same nature, power, and glory. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God, yet together they are one. This truth is clearly taught in the scriptures.

The thought of one of the Trinity being greater than another probably arises from passages that speak of the Son’s submission to the Father. Verses like “…my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28) might seem to teach a chain of command. Yet elsewhere scripture emphasizes the deity of the Son as in John 1:1 which says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  These statements may seem contrary, but they are not!

The Lord’s statement in John 14:28 was made during His earthly ministry, when He took on human flesh and became obedient to His Father.  We read in Philippians 2:6-8 of Christ, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be EQUAL WITH GOD: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him THE FORM OF A SERVANT, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and BECAME OBEDIENT unto death, even the death of the cross.” So, the reference to His Father being greater can be understood as relating to the Lord Jesus’ position or role within redemption’s plan. There is a functional subordination, by choice and for the sake of salvation, yet no inferiority in His person or His purpose.

It would be illogical to think of the Trinity having a chain of command when we realize that God is one in purpose, power, and absolute unity of thought.  The Lord Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.”  We read of the Lord Jesus in Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”  The ‘fulness of the Godhead’ shows the Father and the Spirit dwell in the Lord Jesus.  Blessed revelation and blessed mystery!  (CC)  (731.4)