Marveling at the Incomprehensible Trinity

There's been a lot more talk on the Trinity lately in evangelial circles, but not a lot of it very helpful.  A number of books have been out that have tried to make sense of the Triune God amidst the challenges of life.  Problem is, they have sought to make the incomprehensible Trinity comprehensible.  That's kind of like trying to put a limit on eternity...  The two just don't go together!  How can God be three in one?   I don’t understand it- and therein lies part of God's glory!

That God is one is beyond dispute.  Listen to the famous “Shema” of Deuteronomy 6:4- “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”  Christianity believes beyond question that God has revealed Himself as a single God, a single infinite, eternal, sovereign, holy, being.  Yet, within the unity of the Godhead are three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Spirit.  I love the clear, yet mysterious and glorious, descriptions of the great creeds:

“There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible.” 
Article 1 of The Thirty-Nine Articles


3. And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship One God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
4. Neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance.
5. For there is one Person of the Father: another of the Son: and another of the Holy Spirit.
6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal.
7. Such as the Father is: such is the Son: and such is the Holy Spirit.
8. The Father uncreated: the Son uncreated: and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
9. The Father incomprehensible: the Son incomprehensible: and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
10. The Father eternal: the Son eternal: and the Holy Spirit eternal.
11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
Selection from The Athanasian Creed (early 5th century)

Perhaps the most famous creed that was explicitly formulated to help us understand the Trinity is the Nicene Creed from the 4th century.  Listen to the beautiful, clear, and yet mysterious explanation of our Trinitarian God:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty;
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all worlds;
God of God, Light of Light,
Very God of Very God,
Begotten, not made,
Being of one substance with the Father;
By whom all things were made;
Who, for us men and for our salvation,
Came down from heaven,
And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,
And was made man;
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered and was buried;
And the third day he rose again,
According to the Scriptures;
And ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
And he shall come again, with glory,
To judge both the quick and the dead;
Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life;
Who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son];
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
Who spake by the prophets.
And we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
And we look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.


Notice how they wrestled deeply and prayerfully with how to explain the “differentness” of the Son and the Spirit from the Father in such a way as to not rob them of their equal divinity and turn them into a creature.  Dr. Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University tries to help us understand how the language of this creed goes about helping us understand the Biblical teaching at this point.  He writes, “The Nicene formula described the Son as both the same in substance with the Father and yet in some way also distinct from the Father.  He was God of God (or, from God), Light from Light, very God from very God.  So the challenge was to explain this ‘fromness’ without violating the sameness.  They did this by declaring that the Son was begotton, but not begotten in the way that human fathers beget or generate their earthly children.  No, the Son of the heavenly Father was begotten from all eternity.” (cf. Prov. 8:22-31)

How glorious!  Glory is everywhere in the handiwork of the Trinity, but not usually in the ways we are expecting.  Glory is found in the Son turning water into wine… and later using wine to picture the upcoming outpouring of His blood in sacrifice for our sins.  Glory is in the Son willingly obeying the Father (See Jn 14-17).  We think of obedience as subordinating someone to the one they obey; the Trinity shows us that obedience can be given among equals.  Glory is in the great delight each member of the Trinity has in calling attention to the wonders of the others!  Again, listen to Dr. Timothy George:
From all eternity inside God, inside the mystery of God, inside God the Holy Trinity- the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit make room for each other, envelop each other, call attention to each other, glorify one another.  It is the ceaseless exchange of vitality, the endless expense of spirit upon spirit in eternal triplicate life.  The only competition in glory of this kind is to outdo one another in love. God the Holy Trinity, p. 155

How glorious.  Why do I so often think that glory is found in my accomplishments?  A well preached sermon, growth in the church, titles in front of names, numbers in bank accounts- what are these really next to the infinite wonder & glory of the Trinity. 

How can God be three in one?   I don’t understand it.  But from what little I can comprehend of this mystery, I can marvel & glory in the Triune God.  And that is more than enough!