3 Truths to Emphasize When Teaching the Trinity
The Trinity is among the most difficult doctrines in all of Christianity to understand. Many youth leaders are intimidated to the point that they don’t feel comfortable teaching this doctrine to their students. This hesitancy is easy to understand because of the mysterious nature of the inner workings of the Godhead. On top of that, many do not see why the Trinity needs to be taught in the first place!
While the Trinity may be one of the more confusing or difficult subjects to teach, it is also one of the most important. After all, it is the Trinity that distinguishes the God of Christianity from every other religion. On top of that, it is the Triune nature of our God that makes the gospel not only beautiful, but possible. As faithful discipleship-oriented youth leaders, we should learn how to communicate this crucial attribute of our God, even if we may never fully grasp all of its complexities ourselves.
Before You Start…
It is worth noting that many of the early church heresies reflected a misunderstanding of Trinitarian faith. Most of those heretical teachers were well-intentioned, but theologically misguided. That may terrify you as you seek to avoid similar mistakes when you teach, but it actually is a comforting thing - because the Church has done the work of clarifying its position for our benefit! What it also means is that we should approach the subject with humility.
We will never fully grasp the deep intricacies of the Godhead on this side of glory, and that is ok. It is not a sign of immaturity to mention that there are some things about God we can only understand partially, “through a mirror dimly.” It’s an act of humility, recognizing that our Triune God is far greater and more mysterious than our feeble minds are able to comprehend. Instead of discouraging us, this should lead us into greater worship.
But there are several key ideas we can understand about who God is and how He works. The main truth to communicate about the Trinity is this: God is three-in-one. Although there is one God, He exists as three, co-eternal, co-equal persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. That means everything true of God is attributed to each of them. All of the divine attributes: righteousness, holiness, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, etc., are shared by these three Persons. So when we speak of the Father, Son, and Spirit, we say they are equal because they share the same divine status and attributes that are true of God, even though they share a unique relation to each other.
Heresies to Avoid
We do not serve three different gods. This is one God, who exists as three, co-equal persons. The Father, Son, and Spirit aren’t three separate divine beings; they are the same God, with the same will, mission, and qualities.
There are not three “forms” of God. God does not shape-shift between Father, Son, and Spirit when He chooses. God did not start out as the Father, become the Son during the Incarnation, and then the Spirit at Pentecost. All three existed perfectly from eternity past, still co-exist today, and will continue throughout eternity future.
The Persons are not three parts of the same God. They are all equally, fully, completely God in their nature, authority, and glory. They don’t each exercise certain attributes, or each govern a certain part of His mission. Each Person is fully involved in every aspect of what it means to be God.
Three Important Truths to Teach
Truth #1: The Names of God
How do we know that this three-in-one nature of God is taught in Scripture? Because throughout the Bible, each of these three persons is either referred to with the same kind of divine titles, or given a divine association. Jesus is referred to as “Lord,” “I AM,” and the “Son of Man” (Mark 14:62). Jesus is said to be “one with the Father” (Jn 10:30), “the image of the invisible God” and “the Creator and Sustainer of all things” (Col. 1:16). Jesus claimed to be God, and He was called God by others. Yet, Jesus is distinguished from the Father and the Spirit.
The Spirit is also referred to as God. He is said to be the “giver of life”, the One who convicts people of their sin, who executes judgment, who gives spiritual gifts to the church, as well as receives the honor and worship that is reserved for God (Jn 16:8-15). Paul also claims that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, which is also referred to as the “Spirit of the living God” and “Lord” (2 Cor. 3:3, 17). And yet, the Spirit is distinguished from the Father and the Son.
Truth #2: The Acts of God
Not only do the persons of the Trinity share the same nature and identifiers; they share the same actions. The “inseparable actions of the Trinity” means each of the three persons is involved in everything God does. Everything that God does starts with the Father, is accomplished through the Son, and is completed or applied by the Spirit. They all function together in unison according to the same plan. In creation: the Father brings all things into existence, the Son is the agent of creation, and the Spirit brings it to life. In redemption: the Father lays the plan, the Son accomplishes the plan, and the Spirit applies it. In judgment, we stand before the Father, and Jesus judges us by the Spirit. Not only is each person called what only God is called, but they do what only God does.
Truth #3: The Love of God
In discussing the complexities of this idea, we often will miss the significance of why God must be Triune for the gospel to be true. God is eternally unchanging, because He is perfect in every possible way, never losing or gaining anything to His nature. If the gospel is built upon the idea that God is love, then He must be so eternally. But how is that possible? It is because God is Trinity.
One of the essential attributes of God is that He is love. Love is an eternal attribute of who God is. He didn’t start loving once He created humanity. He doesn’t need us in order to be loving. The three divine persons have been sharing perfect love eternally! It is because of who God is that He does what He does. And if God is not essentially loving, then the essence of the gospel crumbles, because God either has to change His nature (which means He isn’t perfect), or we never are shown love. This is why the immutability (unchangeableness) of God is good news. Only the Triune God can save.
The task of teaching such mysterious and deep subjects to teenagers is difficult. Our tendency is usually to force every possible detail into one lesson, or to overly summarize concepts that deserve further elaboration and thereby leave students more confused than when we began. It is worth finding our balance and learning how to teach and honor our Triune God within our youth ministries because it causes us to reflect on the beauty of the God we worship. The Father has chosen us, the Son accomplished redemption for us, and the Spirit seals us with the eternal promise of life with God.
The gospel is the love of the Triune God being shared with His creation from the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit. Each Person is worthy of our worship. There is no truth more glorious than this! So let us do our best to reflect on His nature with care, using Scripture as our guide to help students see the unique reality of the Christian God, and to worship Him as He is: three-in-one.