Trinity

“Trinity” literally means “Tri-Unity” : Three in One

The Trinity explains Christians beliefs of how the one God has revealed his nature in three distinct ways; 

• As the loving creator and sustainer of the universe (God the Father) 

• As the saviour who became incarnate (born in human flesh) and lived, died and rose again (God the Son) 

• As the source of strength which Christians find at work in their hearts (God the Holy Spirit)

The Nicene Creed

The belief in the Trinity is found in Nicene Creed, which is one of the earliest statements of Christian belief. The Nicene Creed is a declaration of faith written by the early Christian Church to help all Christians understand key Christian beliefs such as the trinity.

Early Christian Views

The Trinity graudally emerged in christainity. The early followers of jesus treated his death like meeting a risen jesus. Because of this they treated jesus as being God. St Paul expresses this in his letter by saying that “The son is in the image of the invisible God”. The Gospel of Matthew makes clear distinction of the Trinity saying “in the name of the Father, the son and the Holy spirit”

St Augustine views

. St Augustine believed, as do all Christians, that ‘God is love’. He also realised that love needs three things: The person who is doing the loving, the person who is being loved and the love itself.

Many people during Augustine’s time opted to speak of the Trinity as a mystery of faith we cannot understand until the next like. Some even believed in THREE Gods! -

Augustine tried to combat this kind of heresy by explaining bible quotes and how they do not contradict each other. -

He did this by explaining that all persons of the Trinity as three equal persons “Father = Son = Holy Spirit”

Why is the Trinity important :

1. The doctrine of the Trinity means that the God that Christians believe in is a community of persons. This means that it makes sense to say ‘God is love’, because even before any creatures existed for God to love, there was a relationship of love within God which has existed for all eternity.