Brothers in God :
The Holy Spirit and Jesus
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1. The Trinity is Three Persons in One God 
Trinity is defined in the Webster Dictionary as "people or three things as one." At first glance the math doesn't seem to work. Three does not equal one anymore than one equals three. The equation seems heavily weighted on one side. Saints have struggled down the ages to understand this mystery. St Catherine of Siena wrote, "You, O eternal Trinity, are a deep sea, into which the more I enter the more I find, and the more I find the more I seek. The soul cannot be satiated by the abyss, for she continually hungers after you, the eternal Trinity, desiring to see you with the light of your light. As the heart desires the springs of living water, so my soul desires to leave the prison of this dark body and see you in truth."
The Mystery of Trinity
Teachers down the ages have sought to explain the mystery of the Trinity. It has been described as the three slices of a pie; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being equal parts in the same deity. Each is of the same essence like the crust and filing, yet the parts are distinct from one another and quite separate. Another analogy which helps us to plumb the mystery of the Trinity is that of water. This plentiful fluid with the chemical name H2O exists in three quite different states in nature. At normal temperatures it flows like a liquid, when heated up, it vaporizes as steam and when frozen it is as hard as ice. Ice, steam and water are quite distinct but still H2O.
Three States Essentially the Same
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, like the three separate states of water have quite particular qualities but are still essentially the same. Another analogy that might throw some light on the meaning of Trinity is that of relationships in a family. A person can be a father, a son and a husband at the same time. Similarly a woman may be a mother, a daughter and a wife. These descriptive words depict the role of one person in relationship to others. In the same way the names, "God the Father," "God the Son" and "God the Holy Spirit," may be used to delineate the separate and quite distinctive roles of the three persons of the Godhead.
The Three Fold Trinitarian Name
The threefold name is often misunderstood, sometimes with amusing consequences. The Vicar's small daughter was seen burying a dead bird in the garden: "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and into the hole he goes. Amen."(1)
The Actual Name "Trinity"
Though the idea of the three persons in the Godhead is shot-through the Scriptures, the actual word "Trinity" is not in the Bible! The concept is clearly presented in the Creation account when God the Father causes matter to come into existence, the Holy Spirit hovers over the waters, and Jesus stands in the background. According to Jesus' own words, "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."(2) Paul later writes of Jesus, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (3) I am always amazed when I read in Genesis 1.26 "Let us make man in our own image" that the little word "us" has survived despite century upon century of scribal copying. The Jews were strict deists who could not countenance any other god but the One Holy God of Israel. Despite this, they faithfully preserved a clear indication of the Trinity, the plurality of the persons in the Godhead.
Trinity in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, we see the person of Jesus appearing and disappearing. After Daniel and his two friends had been thrown into the furnace of fire, the king approached the door and peeked in. What he then said rocks us on our heels, "I see four men... and the fourth looks like the son of the gods" (4) Even a pagan king recognized that God was with these three brave people. This "son of the gods" probably referred to Jesus in his pre-incarnation form! There are other Old Testament examples of a "God figure" talking to Abraham and wrestling with Jacob.
Meditation
How do you personally come to terms in your own mind with the concept of three persons in one God?
Notes
(1) Bishop's Brew (2) Luke 7.47-50 (3) Ephesians 1.4 (4) Daniel 3.25
"The Relationship of the Holy Spirit and Jesus."
