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Note from Lee: This paper is based on a sermon delivered by Dr. D. James Kennedy, Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church on 6/3/03 & 6/4/03. It is one of the best explanations of the Trinity that I have ever heard. As usual, I have added a few of my own comments as well as all of the illustrations.

A Discussion of the Trinity

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
(Matt. 28:18-20)

WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
God has revealed himself in two books - the book of "nature" and the book of "scripture" (the Bible). God reveals very specific things about Himself through the bible - His character, His will, etc. But what if you have never read the bible. Could you still know something about God? The answer is "Yes!" God reveals himself through nature. This is called Natural Revelation. You cannot know everything there is to know about God or about His plan of redemption for man by simply observing the universe. However, the universe in and of itself is sufficient evidence for the existence of a creator by the mere fact of its existence. Creation is evidence of a creator.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4)

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

The idea of the Godhead - or Trinity - is not only revealed in scripture but also through Natural Revelation.

THE UNITY OF THE GODHEAD
The Being that we believers call "GOD" is revealed to be One entity consisting of three separate and distinct persons: The Father, The Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. Each person in the Godhead is 100% God. At first, this sounds contradictory and many people struggle to come up with an analogy to explain how something can be singular and plural at the same time. It is not a case of 1+1+1=3 but rather 1x1x1=1.

1. The Father is God
2. The Son is God
3. The Holy Spirit is God
4. But there is ONLY one God

We do not believe there are three different gods: We are not Tri-theists (or polytheists). We do not believe that there is simply a single person in the Godhead, playing three parts. But that within the essence of the one Godhead there are three centers of personality: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

"For this is what the LORD says - He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited - He says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:18)

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4)

We are certainly Monotheists. However, we begin to see glimpses of the Trinity even in the very beginning of scripture:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1)

In Hebrew, the word used here for "God" is elohim: ("el" is God, singular; "elohim" is Gods, plural) We believe it is plural because "God" contains all three personalities.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26,27)

Notice the mixed use of pronouns in this passage ("Us/Our His/He"). God s the one and the many… He is the "Singular Plural God"!

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS AND INCORRECT ILLUSTRATIONS ABOUT THE TRINITY

Example #1:
"The Trinity is like a Cherry Pie cut into three slices." or "an egg which is made up of the yolk, the white, and shell".

Problem:
The Father is not a third of God, The Son is not a third, The Holy Spirit is not a third. Each person in the Trinity is always fully God.

Example #2
"First, God came out dressed as an old man and revealed himself as the Father. Then when Act 1 was over, He went behind the curtain and changed costumes and came out again as a young man, The Son. Then after that act, He ascended, changed once again and came out as an invisible man, or the Holy Spirit."

Problem:
This is the most ancient of heresies in which there is only one person in three different "modes of dress" or "roles". This is called Modal Monarchism and has recently resurfaced in the "Oneness Pentecostal" movement.

Statement #3
"The Trinity is like water: sometimes it is solid, sometimes liquid, and sometimes gas."

Problem:
The same water cannot be solid, liquid, or gas AT THE SAME TIME. But God is always Father, always Son, and always Holy Spirit

THE TRINITY REVEALED IN NATURE
The only illustration in the entire universe that fully explains the Trinity correctly... is the universe itself! Any man who makes something (like a piece of furniture) inevitably leaves His fingerprints on it. The fingerprints of the Triune God are all over His creation.

The universe consists of three things: Space, Time and Matter... and NOTHING else. EVERYWHERE in the universe we find ALL of those things. Further, each of the triune parts of the universe is in itself, triune:

PART 1: SPACE - Space is made up of three, and only three, elements: Depth, Width, and Height.
Even a line drawn on a piece of paper has height if you looked at it through a powerful microscope.

Consider a square block of empty space (a cube). It has (a) Depth, (b) Width and (c) Height

If you began to draw a series of vertical lines through the cube, continuing until it was completely filled, you would eventually have a solid cube that was "100% Height".

Take the same cube and fill it with nothing but lines of depth and you would eventually have a solid cube that was "100% Depth".

And finally, take the same cube and fill it with nothing but horizontal lines and you would eventually have a solid cube that was "100% Width".

In fact a Cube is ALWAYS 100% Width, 100% Height, and 100% Depth… 100% of the time. It only depends on how you LOOK AT IT at any given time that it is revealed to be one or the other.

Just as God is:

100% Father (who is above us) - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)

100% Son (who is before us) - "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. "(Hebrews 12:2)

100% Holy Spirit (who walks beside us) - "But the Counselor [Gk. "parakletos" - literally, one who comes along side, a comforter] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

All three persons of the Godhead are 100% fully God; one in nature but each with different functions, responsibilities and characteristics depending on the "direction" in which you are "looking" - up, forward or lateral.

PART 2. TIME - Time is always Past, Present, and Future.
Any time that we have every known in this universe, always consists of these three components and nothing more.

A Common Misconception about TIME:
Usually, we have the idea that WE come out of the past - that the past is "first" since that is where we came from. We remember the past, experience the present and anticipate the future.

In reality, time comes at us from the future. We meet it head on. It passes through the present and then slips into the past. ANY POINT IN TIME can be called past, present or future depending on where you are in that timeline.

For Example: Point A represents the point in time that we call "Today". Point B represents a future event that we call "Tomorrow".

When Point B arrives in the Present, we will call it "Today". We will then look back in the "Past" and call Point A "Yesterday" and Point C in the future is now called "Tomorrow".

Eventually, Point B moves into the past and we call it "Yesterday".

And so on. All events are first in the Future, then in the Present and finally disappear into the Past.

In his book The Secret Of The Universe, Dr. Nathan Wood devised a geometric analogy between the characteristics of time and the Godhead of the Trinity.

"The Future is the source! The Future is unseen, unknown, except as it continually embodies itself and makes itself visible in the Present. The Present is what we see and hear and know. It is ceaselessly embodying the Future, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. It is perpetually revealing the Future, hitherto invisible. The Future is logically first! But NOT chronologically first. For the Present exists as long as time exists, and was in the absolute beginning of time. The Present has existed as long as time has existed. Time acts through and in the Present! It makes itself visible only in the Present. The Future acts and reveals itself through the Present. It is through the Present that time , that is that, the Future enters into union with human life. Time and humanity meet and unite in the Present. It is in the Present that time, that the Future becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life. The Past in turn, comes from the Present. We cannot say that it embodies the Present, on the contrary, time in issuing from the Present into the Past becomes invisible again. The Past does not embody the Present, rather it proceeds silently, endlessly and invisibly from it. The Present therefore, comes out from the invisible Future. The Present perpetually and ever newly embodies the Future in visible audible livable form and returns again into the invisible time in the Past. The Past acts invisibly. It continually influences us in regard to the Present. It casts light upon the Present. That is its great function. It helps us to live in the Present which we know, and with reference to the Future which we expect to see!"

This is a PERFECT analogy… not in the literary sense as in a simile or metaphor in which something is LIKE something else… but it is an analogy in the mathematical sense. It is an EXACT replica as far as every line, every angle, every corner is concerned.

Now substitute God for Time, The Father for the future, The Son for the Present and The Holy Spirit for the past.

"The Father is the source! The Father is unseen, except as He continually embodies Himself and makes Himself visible in the Son. The Son is what we see and hear and know. He is ceaselessly embodying the Father, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. He is perpetually revealing the Father, hitherto invisible. The Father is logically first! And yet, NOT chronologically first. For the Son exists as long as God exists, and was in the absolute beginning of God. The Son has existed as long as God has existed. God acts through and in the Son! He makes Himself visible only in the Son. The Father acts and reveals Himself through the Son. It is through the Son that God, that the Father enters into union with human life. God and humanity meet and unite in the Son. It is in the Son that God, that the Father becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life. The Spirit in turn, comes from the Son. We cannot say that He embodies the Son, on the contrary, God in issuing from the Son into the Spirit becomes invisible again. The Spirit does not embody the Son, rather He proceeds silently, endlessly and invisibly from the Son. The Son therefore, comes out from the invisible Father. The Son perpetually and ever newly embodies the Father in visible, audible, livable form and returns into the invisible God in the Spirit. The Spirit acts invisibly. He continually influences us with regard to the Son. He casts light upon the Son. That is His great function. He helps us to live in the Son which we know, and with reference to the Father which we expect to see!"

An exact mathematical analogy of the Triune Nature of God!

The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it a bit more succinctly:

"In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor preceding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally preceding from the Father and the Son."

PART 3. MATTER - MATTER is Energy… in Motion… producing Phenomenon.

Energy is composed of atoms which are made up of tiny electrical charges with the electrons whirling around the nucleus at speeds of anywhere from 1 trillion to 1 quadrillion miles per second. If you look at an atom, it is very much like a solar system… which is made up primarily of nothing! Space!

The sun and planets and moons that make up the solar system are encompassed about by massive amounts of nothing.

If the atoms that make up the chair you are sitting on could suddenly stand still, and you could see with microscopic eyes the total amount of actual matter, you would get the impression that you are sitting on air. But the energy in motion is producing phenomena in the hardness of the chair, the softness and color of the cushion, etc.

Everything we know and see is made up of those same whirling atoms… which are only able to "whirl" because they exist in time and space.

• Without the passing of time (a measurement of change) all things would remain still, "frozen" until the next moment comes.

• Without the existence of three dimensional space there would be no place or room for atoms to "whirl" even if time were to pass.

• Without space, all matter in the universe would have to exist in one single, solitary point that is 0 height, 0 width, 0 depth.