The concept of God as trinity – one God, but three “persons” – is one of the trickiest doctrines of orthodox Christian faith to get your head around.  And it’s a doctrine that is often attacked as “unbiblical” – the word trinity does not occur in the Bible, and the doctrine is not explicitly spelt out in the Scriptures, and therefore it is claimed that this concept of God as trinity is a human construct.

However, belief in a trinitarian God flows inevitably out of belief in the resurrection of Jesus.  When the disciples encountered Jesus on Resurrection Day, and the days that followed, their immediate and spontaneous response was to worship Him – note the words of Thomas when he first met the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)  This was a truly remarkable response when you remember that these people were Jews – the Jewish faith was and is fiercely monotheistic.  These disciples had been taught from their earliest days that there is only one God.  They knew this to be true; they also knew that the only right response to their risen Lord was worship.  A few weeks later, when the Holy Spirit came upon them in power on the Day of Pentecost, they knew this too was God – but experienced as they had not experienced Him before.

One God … yet known and experienced now as three distinct “persons”.  The concept of God as trinity flowed unavoidably from this insight.  And of course the only
reason human beings have a problem with this concept is that we tend to imagine that God should fit neatly into our human concepts and thinking.

Jesus is risen!  He is Lord and God!

Happy Easter!