Day 48

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 3.

“In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word (or Son), and Holy Spirit,…”

Scripture Lookup

1 John 5:7.

Matt. 28:19.

2 Cor. 13:14

Reflection

“Are there more gods than one?”

“No, there is only one God.”

The children’s catechism is so helpful to this sidetracked momma of many. When teaching my children these questions and answers over and over, the questions, answers, and Scripture verses are taught to me as well. I may not have the more “grown-up” catechisms memorized, nor all the ins and outs of the Confession, but I have a good foundation from which to build. And all of them agree that there is one God.

That God one is the starting point for understanding who God is. He is the only living God, the only true God, who is not made up of parts. It is important to remember that “we believe in one God”, as the Nicene creed begins.

Yet there is a fundamental doctrine of Christianity that sets it apart from any other conception of deity:

the trinity.

God does not have parts, yet He consists of three subsistences, or as some put it, persons. They are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is not divided, but yet exists in three persons. We need to be careful how we explain the trinity lest we accidentally fall into heresy.

How can we wrap our heads around this? Well, as Sam Waldron writes, “This doctrine of the Trinity is and must for ever be a divine mystery.” Remember, if God is infinitely greater than we are, He is not going to be fully grasped by our finite minds. We base the truth of the trinity on Biblical support, but accept it upon faith.

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

-Reginald Heber

Questions to Consider

• What about the trinity would you like to further learn?