The Godhead
Who Is the Holy Trinity?
The holy Trinity is the Christian belief that the one God exists eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. This is not a belief in three gods, and not one person wearing three masks. It is one Being, three persons, each fully God, bound together in perfect love. It is a mystery Christians confess because of how God has actually revealed himself.
One God, three persons
Christians begin where Israel began, with one God.
Yet the New Testament speaks of the Father as God, the Son as God, and the Spirit as God, while still insisting there is one God. The word Trinity is the church’s careful way of holding all of that together without collapsing it.
Not three gods, and not one mask
The Trinity is not the claim that there are three gods (that would be polytheism), nor that one person simply plays three roles. It is that the one God is, in his very being, a communion of three persons who have loved one another from all eternity. This is why Christians can say, in the plainest words, that God is love: love has always been at the heart of who he is.
Why this matters for you
Because God is love within himself, love is not something he had to create a world to feel. He made you not out of need but out of overflow, and the invitation of the Christian faith is to be drawn into that same life and love. The Trinity is a mystery, but it is a warm one.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the holy Trinity in simple terms?
- The Trinity is the Christian belief that the one God exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: one Being, three persons, each fully God. It is not three gods, and not one person in three roles.
- Where is the Trinity in the Bible?
- The word Trinity is not in the Bible, but the teaching is drawn from it: one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), yet Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each called God and named together (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). The church formed the word to hold these truths together.
- Do Christians believe in three gods?
- No. Christians are monotheists who believe in one God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is one Being in three persons, not three separate gods.
Come and see
You do not have to take anyone’s word for it, ours least of all. The living Christ is not a fact to be filed away but a Person to be met, and he still draws near to everyone who comes to him with an open heart. Read his own words, watch what he does, and see for yourself. The Gospel of John is a gentle place to begin, and it costs you nothing but a little quiet and an honest look.
Meet JesusRead the Gospel of JohnAsk for prayerJesus Christ is Lord.