Can anyone explain the concept of the Trinity to me?

Here's a good summary of the doctrine:

Question: "What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?"

Answer: The most difficult thing about the Christian concept of the Trinity is that there is no way to adequately explain it. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. God is infinitely greater than we are, therefore we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible also teaches that there is only one God. Though we can understand some facts about the relationship of the different persons of the Trinity to one another, ultimately, it is incomprehensible to the human mind. However, this does not mean it is not true or not based on the teachings of the Bible.

Keep in mind when studying this subject that the word "Trinity" is not used in Scripture. This is a term that is used to attempt to describe the triune God, the fact that there are 3 coexistent, co-eternal persons that make up God. Understand that this is NOT in any way suggesting 3 Gods. The Trinity is 1 God made up of 3 persons. There is nothing wrong with using the term "Trinity" even though the word is not found in the Bible. It is shorter to say the word "Trinity" than to say "3 coexistent, co-eternal persons making up 1 God." If this presents a problem to you, consider this: the word grandfather is not used in the Bible either. Yet, we know there were grandfathers in the Bible. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob. So don't get hung up on the term "Trinity" itself. What should be of real importance is that the concept that is REPRESENTED by the word "Trinity" does exist in Scripture. With the introduction out of the way, Bible verses will be given in discussion of the Trinity.

1) There is one God: Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Galatians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:5.

2) The Trinity consists of three Persons: Genesis 1:1; 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; 48:16; 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17; Matt 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14. In the passages in the Old Testament, a knowledge of Hebrew is helpful. In Genesis 1:1, the plural noun "Elohim" is used. In Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun for "us" is used. That "Elohim" and "us" refer to more than two is WITHOUT question. In English, you only have two forms, singular and plural. In Hebrew, you have three forms: singular, dual, and plural. Dual is for two ONLY. In Hebrew, the dual form is used for things that come in pairs like eyes, ears, and hands. The word "Elohim" and the pronoun "us" are plural forms - definitely more than two - and must be referring to three or more (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

In Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1, the Son is speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Compare Isaiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19 to see that it is the Son speaking. Matthew 3:16-17 describes the event of Jesus' baptism. Seen in this is God the Holy Spirit descending on God the Son while God the Father proclaims His pleasure in the Son. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are examples of 3 distinct persons in the Trinity.

3) The members of the Trinity are distinguished one from another in various passages: In the Old Testament, "LORD" is distinguished from "Lord" (Genesis 19:24; Hosea 1:4). The "LORD" has a "Son" (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:2-4). Spirit is distinguished from the "LORD" (Numbers 27:18) and from "God" (Psalm 51:10-12). God the Son is distinguished from God the Father (Psalm 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9). In the New Testament, John 14:16-17 is where Jesus speaks to the Father about sending a Helper, the Holy Spirit. This shows that Jesus did not consider Himself to be the Father or the Holy Spirit. Consider also all of the other times in the Gospels where Jesus speaks to the Father. Was He speaking to Himself? No. He spoke to another person in the Trinity - the Father.

4) Each member of the Trinity is God: The Father is God: John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2. The Son is God: John 1:1, 14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20. The Holy Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16 (The One who indwells is the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:9; John 14:16-17; Acts 2:1-4).

5) The subordination within the Trinity: Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. This is an internal relationship, and does not deny the deity of any person of the Trinity. This is simply an area which our finite minds cannot understand concerning the infinite God. Concerning the Son see: Luke 22:42; John 5:36; John 20:21; 1 John 4:14. Concerning the Holy Spirit see: John 14:16; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 and especially John 16:13-14.

6) The tasks of the individual members of the Trinity: The Father is the ultimate source or cause of: 1) the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); 2) divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); 3) salvation (John 3:16-17); and 4) Jesus' human works (John 5:17; 14:10). The Father INITIATES all of these things.

The Son is the agent through whom the Father does the following works: 1) the creation and maintenance of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17); 2) divine revelation (John 1:1; Matthew 11:27; John 16:12-15; Revelation 1:1); and 3) salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42). The Father does all these things through the Son, who functions as His agent.

The Holy Spirit is the means by whom the Father does the following works: 1) creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30); 2) divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21); 3) salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2); and 4) Jesus' works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38). Thus the Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit.

None of the popular illustrations are completely accurate descriptions of the Trinity. The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not parts of God, each of them is God. The water illustration is somewhat better but still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor, and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration. Instead of focusing on the Trinity, try to focus on the fact of God's greatness and infinitely higher nature than our own. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" (Romans 11:33-34)

PEOPLE who believe the Trinity teaching say that God consists of three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons is said to be equal to the others, almighty, and without beginning. According to the Trinity doctrine, therefore, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet there is only one God. Many who believe the Trinity admit that they are not able to explain this teaching. Still, they may feel that it is taught in the Bible. It is worth noting that the word “Trinity” never occurs in the Bible. But is the idea of a Trinity found there? Regarding the end of this system of things, he quotes Jesus as saying: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) How do these words confirm that Jesus is not Almighty God? Jesus says that the Father knows more than the Son does. If Jesus were part of Almighty God, however, he would know the same facts as his Father. So, then, the Son and the Father cannot be equal. Yet, some will say: ‘Jesus had two natures. Here he speaks as a man.’ But even if that were so, what about the holy spirit? If it is part of the same God as the Father, why does Jesus not say that it knows what the Father knows?

The trinity is only incomprehensible because it is a false doctrine. God gave us his word (the bible) for a reason. He wants us to know him and how to worship him. Anyone who thinks God purposely confuses or clouds something that they also deem to be a vital part of their worship doesn't really know him at all. He in fact loves us very much. (1 John 4:9,10)

Here are the facts.

God is the Universal Sovereign. No one is greater than him. (Isaiah 45:18)

Believe it or not he has a name! (Psalm 83:18)

Jesus is God's first creation and therefore his only begotten son. (Proverbs 8:22-23)

The holy spirit is not a person, but rather God's active force (his means of using his power to accomplish his purpose). (Luke 11:9-13)

There are many, many more scriptures that will verify what I have shared with you. If you have to do a report on the trinity, then proving it is not a bible teaching might be a great start!

No one can explain it, nowhere in the Bible does the word "trinity" appear. Besides don't you agree that it's alot easier to understand God as being one being than three? Why would God not put anything in the Bible that explicity states that he, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the same being? There's more scriptures in the Bible that STATE Jesus, God, and the holy spirit are seperate, than are scriptures that IMPLY the trinity. For example look at John 14:28.

God is a trinity of persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the same person as the Son; the Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Spirit is not the same person as Father. They are not three gods and not three beings. They are three distinct persons; yet, they are all the one God. Each has a will, can speak, can love, etc., and these are demonstrations of personhood. They are in absolute perfect harmony consisting of one substance. They are coeternal, coequal, and copowerful. If any one of the three were removed, there would be no God.

The doctrine of the trinity came about because there was a great falling away from the original Church that Christ organized. People hadn't seen or talked with God for decades, even centuries, so they forgot what He was like. So a bunch of people got together and argued it all out and came up with a long dissertation of what God was like, even though they had never seen Him before. Nobody ever even thought to ask Him what He was like, or He might have shown Himself to them. I guess they decided that just wasn't going to happen. (It wouldn't be the first time people didn't want to actually see God. God tried to show himself to the people shortly after He delivered them out of bondage in Egypt, but they wouldn't have any of it then, either, and He was pretty ticked off about it. So only Moses got to talk to God, as he said, "face to face as a man speaks with his friend.")

If you read the bible, it is clear that Jesus is the son of God, that He has a resurrected body of flesh and bone, that He looks exactly like God, and that He never did anything that God didn't do and also that God is greater than He is. He also spent a lot of time praying to Him. He prayed that the people would be one, even as He and God were one. I guess this word "one" confused an awful lot of people.To me, that means they are unified in purpose, but these people apparently took that single word in a literal sense and disregarded everything else describing God in the scriptures. Then, when Christ finished His earthly mission, the Holy Spirit was sent to be a comforter and a witness of the truth of all things and to be the constant companion to those who had made covenants with God. It's a very clear picture when you read the scriptures themselves, but when you read about the doctrine of the trinity that these people made up, you can't even recognize that they are talking about the same thing. I guess that's what Timothy was referring to when he said, (2 Tim. 4: 4) "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." and Peter likewise said, (2 Pet. 1: 16) For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty." They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Being an eyewitness has the same effect.

1 John 5:7 is one Scripture that talks about the Trinity. Think of it as an egg. You have the shell, the white, and the yolk, but it is all the SAME egg.

It is a FALSE doctrine! There will be MANY that tell you otherwise. It originated thousands of years ago in the ancient Babylonian Mystery religions and survives today in the Catholic church and the Protestant offshoots. You can't understand it because it makes no sense. It is called "the mystery of the trinity"!

"Spirit" is the power of "mind".

Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

God has a "mind" also. It is referred to as the "Holy Spirit".

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the SPIRIT OF GOD moved upon the face of the waters.

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

His mind is a LOT more powerful than ours.

Not sure how theologically sound this is, but here is how it was explained to me:

We as humans have a body, soul, and mind. God also has a body (Jesus/son), soul (Holy Spirit) and mind (Father).

They are different facets of the same character.

Of course, we can't split our parts like He can.

Ahh the perks of divinity!

i'm not a christian..i'm a muslim,but i've been studied all of these problems for years..and alhamdulillah(praise to Allah),my faith in islam is getting bigger and greater from time to time..

in christianity,jesus is god's son..which is not ordinary son..he is the begotten son of god(the father)..the fater,jesus christ and the holy ghost are one..where their divinity are the same..it's just the different form of them..which is,jesus is human form of god..holy ghost is spirit form of god..and the father is the true form of god..for them,they have the same divinity..

but,in islam..the father is Allah himself,jesus is Allah's messenger..and holy ghost is the Gabriel..differ to christianity,islam puts them in different status and powerness...where,Allah is the Only God and Cretor..He creates everything around us includes jesus and gabriel..while gabriel is one of the angels..jesus is one of Allah's messengers..beside jesus,there are thousands of Allah messengers including Muhammad,abraham,moses,zachariah,etc..

when we check the christianity's faith,we could see that there's a lack in their trinity..where in their faith,1+1+1=1..how can that be possible???while 1+1+1=3..so??