The word Trinity is a compound word supposedly created by the church father Tertullian (160-225 AD). He invented the word to combat a man named Praxeus who promoted the Monarchian heresy. The prefix Tri means three. The suffix “nity” is shorthand for the word unity meaning one. In regard to God, He is one God manifested in three persons: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many argue that Christians worship three gods[1] thus making Christianity a polytheistic religion. Polytheism is a religious system where one worships multiple deities. Christianity is monotheistic; we worship one God only.
In Deuteronomy 6:4 it says, “Hear, O Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord He is One!” The Hebrew word Elohim in Genesis 1:1 tell us that our God is plural in person and one in essence. The word Elohim is a compound word. El means God. The im suffix indicates a plural. An example would be a cherub is one angel, but cherubim indicate two or more angels. The name Elohim is the most common name used for God. It is used over 2500 times in the OT.[2] The primary meaning of the name Elohim is one of strength or power of effect. Elohim is the all powerful God. The Creator and sustainer of the universe and supreme judge of the earth.
When we try to rationalize the Triune God, we cannot. It is a mystery. There are no human comparisons one can make to explain the Lord’s Triune nature. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-powerful. They always work together in harmony.
All three persons of the Godhead were involved in creation
Genesis 1:1 tells us in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Verse three tells us the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. But where does the Son come in? John 1:3 tells us the Word (Logos /Christ) was everything made. And without Him was not anything made that was made. Colossians 1:16 says that by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Himn and for Him. In Revelation 4:11 John witnesses heavenly worship by angels and the twenty-four elders saying, “You are worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.”
The Godhead was present at Jesus’ baptism
In Matthew 3:16, When He (Christ) had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Clearly, the Trinity is present. Our God is one Lord manifested in three persons.
Jesus mentions the Godhead after His resurrection
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commands the disciples to make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Again, the Triune God from the lips of Jesus is mentioned, emphasizing the importance the unity, necessity, and power of the entire Godhead.
What is Modalism?
Modalism which was originally called Sabellianism is a heresy that teaches that God is not Triune; He is not three persons. Rather He appears in three modes. Sometimes He appears as the Father, then the Son, and at other times the Holy Spirit. This makes God a quick-change artist – a chameleon. He has to enter into the closet and change His clothes. This breeds all types of confusion. In modalism, the Father is the Son, and vice versa. The Son is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the Father and the Son. Modalism makes God a schizophrenic because He is talking to Himself. How can Jesus say My God My God why have you forsaken Me if He is also the Father? That would mean the forsaken and the forsaker are the same person. How can Jesus send the Holy Spirit to believers if He is the Father and the Spirit too? This is the scenario if you draw it out to its illogical conclusion. The best definition of the mystery and beauty of our God is He is one Lord in essence, but three in person. This is not a contradiction. It would be a contradiction if Christians said God is one in person and three in person. Or if we said He is one in essence and three in essence. The finite mind can never fully understand the transcendent truth of the Trinity. Modalism and all its forms were denounced as heresy at the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. The Trinity was accepted as Church doctrine in that same council.
Modalism is still alive in the Oneness (Jesus Only) Pentecostal denomination. Modalism is very dangerous because it attacks the very nature of God Himself.
Cleary our God is Triune. Christians are not polytheists or tritheits. Although the word Trinity does not appear in scripture, it does not negate its reality in it.
