Trinity
Historic orthodoxy
There is one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each fully and equally God.
Also called: Trinitarian, Nicene Trinitarian, triune God, the Triune God, doctrine of the Trinity
What it means
The doctrine of the Trinity is the heart of the Christian confession of God. Scripture teaches that there is only one God. It also teaches that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and that these three are distinct from one another: the Father sends the Son, the Son prays to the Father, the Spirit is sent by both. The church puts these truths together this way: one God in three persons, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
The three persons are not three gods, and they are not three parts of God, and they are not one person wearing three masks. Each person is the whole God. They are distinguished by their eternal relations: the Father is unbegotten, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. They share one nature, one will, one power, and one glory.
This is not a later philosophical invention. The church formulated its words at Nicaea in 325 and Constantinople in 381 to guard what the apostles taught. Christians are baptized into the one name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and salvation itself is the work of the Father who chose, the Son who redeemed, and the Spirit who gives new life.
In Scripture
The Lord our God, the Lord is one: there is only one God.
Disciples are baptized into the one name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Word was with God and was God, and all things were made through him.
Paul blesses the church in the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit.
Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God.
At Jesus' baptism the Father speaks, the Son is baptized, and the Spirit descends.
Where it comes up
Confessions: Nicene Creed; Athanasian Creed; WCF 2.3; LBCF 1689 2.3
On this site: Trinity
Related terms
Nicene CreedHistoric orthodoxy
The creed of the councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), confessing that the Son and the Spirit are fully God with the Father.
Eternal functional subordinationFlagged as a concern
The teaching that the Son is equal to the Father in nature but eternally submits to the Father's authority, apart from his incarnation.
ModalismOutside historic orthodoxy
The teaching that God is one person who appears in three modes or roles, as Father, Son, and Spirit, rather than three distinct persons.
Non-TrinitarianismOutside historic orthodoxy
Any teaching that denies the one God exists eternally as three persons, usually by denying that the Son or the Spirit is fully God.
ArianismOutside historic orthodoxy
The ancient teaching that the Son of God is the first and greatest created being, not eternal and not fully God.
Divine simplicityHistoric orthodoxy
God is not made up of parts; his attributes are not pieces of him but are each the one undivided God.