So what is the correct definition of the Trinity? To our Muslim friends we say that from the Scriptures we find revealed a divine unity of three Characters: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These make up the Trinity.
Muslims, ask where in the Scriptures the word trinity appears. We must say from the outset that the word “Trinity” never appears in the Bible. Not once! It is a word which did not even exist at that time.
The word trinity is in fact a theological term adopted later by Christians to define what the Bible teaches concerning God. The word “trinity” in the early church simply meant “three”, but was always undergirded with the unity of God.
To correspond with Biblical revelation, the Christian must equally emphasize that God is one and three. Today the church has adapted the word to mean three in unity (or tri-unity). Though God is immensely complex, and cannot be exhaustively known, He has so revealed Himself in scripture that He can be truly known. The early church theologians wrestled with the difficulty of defining God from what is revealed in scripture with the limitations of the human language which had no word to express the reality of one God, who is three (even this definition in English seems illogical, and illustrates the point).
For centuries theologians adopted many words to try to express God's revelation of Himself as three in one (for instance, words such as three 'prosopon', 'hupostasis', and 'trias'), yet they were all inadequate. As an example of the difficulty which concepts like these engendered, the early church theologian, Tertullian (145-220 A.D.) created 590 new nouns, 284 new adjectives, and 161 new verbs to help explain this and other theological ideas found in the Scriptures; ideas which because of their sophistication needed new terminology for us to understand them. It was Tertullian who came up with the word “trinity” over five hundred years before the writing of the Qur'an, where its validity is disputed. Over the years “trinity” became the accepted word for this concept.
It is impossible to fully define the mystery of God as “triune.” That there is only one God, yet that the One God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the most basic Christian belief. All Christian beliefs depend upon the truth of that single statement.
The word trinity is simply used to express what the Scriptures delineates as God comprised of three, who are infinite, personal, in complete unity of will, purpose, action and love, yet cannot be separated though they have different functions.
The Scriptures speak of 'God the Father' who is the co-Creator with God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He blesses (Ephesians 1:3-4), initiates (John 17:2-9) and sends (John 17:3,18).
The Scriptures also speak about 'God the Son', who speaks-out the creation (John 1:1), and acts in history, both during the time of the prophets (Genesis 32:25-30; Exodus 3:2-5; 13:21; 33:9-11; Judges 2:1), and later when he was physically incarnated as the Saviour, the historical Jesus Christ (John 1:14).
And finally, the Scriptures speak of 'God the Holy Spirit', who is resident within the disciples of Jesus Christ, who guides, instructs and empowers them (John 14:16-17), and who mediates Jesus Christ and his atoning work (John 15:26).
Jesus referred to this 'Trinity in Unity' when He commanded His apostles to go everywhere and to persuade men to become His disciples, and to baptise them “...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Muslims, ask where in the Scriptures the word trinity appears. We must say from the outset that the word “Trinity” never appears in the Bible. Not once! It is a word which did not even exist at that time.
The word trinity is in fact a theological term adopted later by Christians to define what the Bible teaches concerning God. The word “trinity” in the early church simply meant “three”, but was always undergirded with the unity of God.
To correspond with Biblical revelation, the Christian must equally emphasize that God is one and three. Today the church has adapted the word to mean three in unity (or tri-unity). Though God is immensely complex, and cannot be exhaustively known, He has so revealed Himself in scripture that He can be truly known. The early church theologians wrestled with the difficulty of defining God from what is revealed in scripture with the limitations of the human language which had no word to express the reality of one God, who is three (even this definition in English seems illogical, and illustrates the point).
For centuries theologians adopted many words to try to express God's revelation of Himself as three in one (for instance, words such as three 'prosopon', 'hupostasis', and 'trias'), yet they were all inadequate. As an example of the difficulty which concepts like these engendered, the early church theologian, Tertullian (145-220 A.D.) created 590 new nouns, 284 new adjectives, and 161 new verbs to help explain this and other theological ideas found in the Scriptures; ideas which because of their sophistication needed new terminology for us to understand them. It was Tertullian who came up with the word “trinity” over five hundred years before the writing of the Qur'an, where its validity is disputed. Over the years “trinity” became the accepted word for this concept.
It is impossible to fully define the mystery of God as “triune.” That there is only one God, yet that the One God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the most basic Christian belief. All Christian beliefs depend upon the truth of that single statement.
The word trinity is simply used to express what the Scriptures delineates as God comprised of three, who are infinite, personal, in complete unity of will, purpose, action and love, yet cannot be separated though they have different functions.
The Scriptures speak of 'God the Father' who is the co-Creator with God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He blesses (Ephesians 1:3-4), initiates (John 17:2-9) and sends (John 17:3,18).
The Scriptures also speak about 'God the Son', who speaks-out the creation (John 1:1), and acts in history, both during the time of the prophets (Genesis 32:25-30; Exodus 3:2-5; 13:21; 33:9-11; Judges 2:1), and later when he was physically incarnated as the Saviour, the historical Jesus Christ (John 1:14).
And finally, the Scriptures speak of 'God the Holy Spirit', who is resident within the disciples of Jesus Christ, who guides, instructs and empowers them (John 14:16-17), and who mediates Jesus Christ and his atoning work (John 15:26).
Jesus referred to this 'Trinity in Unity' when He commanded His apostles to go everywhere and to persuade men to become His disciples, and to baptise them “...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
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