Probably one of the more difficult theological concepts to grasp is the Trinity. The concept of the Trinity, the idea that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God has divided denominations, confused Christians, and given rise to critics. Other religions call it polytheism. Unfortunately, many pastors themselves do not understand it either.
One problem is that the word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. However, that does not necessarily mean that the concept does not. In fact, the main word used for God's name in the Old Testament is elohiym. It is the plural form of both elowaa and el, both of which mean god or deity and are sometimes used for God's name as well. Also, there are several other passages, which we will look at shortly, which indicate one God with a plural nature.
Another problem is that the idea or concept of the Trinity is inherently difficult to visualize. Critics sometimes frame it as a mathematical formula, claiming 1+1+1=3, not 1. That seems reasonable enough. After all, how can three separate things each be one and the same thing. However, they forget that 1x1x1=1, not 3.
Still others point out Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD," as an argument against the Trinity. Yet, elohiym, the plural word for God, is used in the middle of the verse: "The Lord [Jehovah] our God [Elohiym] is one Lord [Jehovah]." Besides, 1 John 5:7 says, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
Of course, when the Bible says that "these three are one," it does not mean that the Father, Son (Word), and Holy Ghost are merely of one mind or that they are in agreement with each other. It does not mean that they are merely a team or committee with unity of purpose and common goals. It means that they are one and the same; one God manifested as the Father, the Word (Son), and the Holy Spirit. Considering that 1 John 5:7 is such a clear presentation of the Trinity, it is no wonder that the devil uses modern Bible translations to falsely attack its authenticity!
Now, we understand that both a team or a committee is a single unit. We also understand that, as a single unit, they are composed of two or more separate and distinct members. In other words, both team and committee, like the Hebrew word elohiym, are singular words yet they contain the idea of plurality in their makeup. One would not look at the individual members of the Cleveland Indians baseball team, for instance, and wonder how so many baseball players (plural) could be one team (singular). Nevertheless, that is what many do when they look at the Trinity. They wonder how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (plural) can be one God (singular).
The Trinity of God is not merely a team or committee, however. Teammates and committee members, unlike the members of the Godhead (a New Testament term for the Trinity), are generally quite different from each other and exist independent of each other. Each member of the Trinity is coequal in nature and substance and cannot be separated from the others. And, although each member of the Trinity is distinct from the others, they do not exist independent of each other, as do committee and team members. They are, therefore, not three Gods in committee or on the same team but one Godhead composed of three members.
Now several analogies have been used to explain the Trinity. One analogy is the egg; one shell, one white, one yolk, yet only one egg. Unfortunately, it falls short in that each part of the egg is radically different in both substance and nature from the other whereas all three members of the Trinity are co-equal in substance and nature.
Another analogy put forth is water. Water exists in three forms: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (steam). Each form is still water in both substance and nature. As such, it is certainly a better analogy than the egg in illustrating the Trinity. Unfortunately, each form can exist independent of the other form and still be water. Not so with the Trinity.
Perhaps a better analogy is an equilateral triangle with each side made from lines representing the three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. Because it is an equilateral triangle, all three sides are identical and all three angles are identical. You cannot separate one side from the others and still have a triangle. However, each side is distinct from the others so, depending on which side the triangle is viewed from, the observer would say that the it is either red, blue, or yellow. (Incidently, blended together, these three colors produce one color: white.)
Unfortunately, all three of these analogies have a common weakness. They are not Bible-based. They may help illustrate aspects of the Trinity but you cannot cite chapter and verse for them. Also, they really do not give us any spiritual insights into the meaning of the Trinity in our lives. Wouldn't it be better, then, if you could find an illustration in the Bible itself?
Well, you can!
In Genesis 1:26 the Bible says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Then, verse 27, the Bible continues, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
These two verses tell us clearly that man, that is to say human beings, are created in the image of God. It does not say that we are exactly like God. It says that we are merely images, much like a photograph is an image of the real person. Like the photograph, we are lesser than the original and not exactly the same in every way. Yet, like a photograph, we carry the image of God.
Another thing that we find in these two verses is the idea of a singular God with a plural nature. The plural word for God, elohiym, is used in both verses. That makes it understandable why God says in verse 26, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," yet in the next verse the singular "in his own image...created he" is used. The plural language of the first verse highlights the plural nature of the Trinity whereas the second verse emphasizes the singularity of the Godhead. One God with a plural makeup.
Now combine what we see in Genesis 1:26-27 with what we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Clearly, man, like God, is a singular being with a plural makeup. Understandable since we are created in His image.
This concept is illustrated further for us with the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7. The Bible says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
Notice the three-fold nature of man as God creates Adam in His own image. First, "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground." This is the creation of Adam's body. Second, God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." This is the creation of Adam's spirit. And, third, Adam "became a living soul." This is the creation of Adam's soul.
Our body, the physical part of us, obviously corresponds then to the physical manifestation of God: God the Son. God appeared physically in the Old Testament to Moses as a burning bush, and led the children of Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He appeared physically to Abraham, Gideon, and others as an angel. And then, in the New Testament, "...the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…(John 1:14)." God the Son was literally "...manifest in the flesh... (1 Timothy 3:16)."
Our spirit, then, should be obvious as well. It corresponds to God the Holy Spirit. Interestingly enough, the most common Hebrew word for spirit in the Old Testament is ruwach and the most common Greek word for spirit in the New Testament is pneuma, both of which mean a breath or current of air. However, the Hebrew word translated as breath in Genesis 2:7 is n@shamah, which, nevertheless, is also translated as spirit in Job 26:24 and Proverbs 20:27.
That leaves our soul, which includes our mind, our will and personality, to correspond to God the Father.
Looking at man, created in the image of God, as a living analogy the Trinity also makes several somewhat difficult passages in the New Testament easier to understand. For instance, in John 5:19 Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." Likewise, He says in John 6:38, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." And then, in Luke 22:42, Jesus prays, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Passages such as these make people wonder if God the Son (Jesus) and God the Father are two separate Gods.
However, that is not the case. Instead, it illustrates a very important lesson for us. Namely, it shows that the physical part of our being, our body, is not supposed to be in charge. The flesh is supposed to be in subjection to the our mind because, according to Romans 7:15-25, our sin nature resides in the flesh.
Unfortunately, instead of the mind ruling over the flesh, the flesh frequently masters the mind. We are literally taken captive by the sin in our flesh. We "get in the flesh" when we get angry. We say and do things without thinking. We find ourselves in the same dilemma as Paul in Romans 7:15,18 when he writes, "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I...For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."
Knowing that we are created in the image of God also helps explain why Jesus said in John 16:7: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." The Flesh, as it were, had to give way to the Spirit.
You see, we are either led by the spirit or led by the flesh. However, before salvation our spirit is dead. It is no more able to relate to a living God than a dead body is able to relate to the living guests at its funeral. It is only when we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior that our dead spirit is made alive (Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36;26) and we become a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). As a child of God we reckon ourselves "to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:11)" "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Romans 6:6-7)" Then, and only then, can we be led by the Holy Spirit as He communes with our spirit during times of prayer, Bible reading, worship, and Christian fellowship.
Unfortunately, if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior your spirit is still dead and you are at the mercy of the flesh and its sin nature. The flesh, in turn, is easily affected by the devil and led astray by the corrupt world system around us. Craving the "pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25)," the flesh leads us away from rather than towards God. Left unchecked it takes us on an unending spiral deeper and deeper into sin and the world. That helps explain why so many live an animal-like existence, acting and reacting to the lusts of the flesh with minimal thought and even less spirituality.
Consequently, understanding that we are created in the image of God not only helps us to understand the Holy Trinity of God, it helps us then to understand ourselves better as well. Understanding that we have a soul (mind) that must constantly choose to be led by either our flesh or our spirit helps us grasp what Paul meant when he wrote in Romans 7:22-24: "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
Yes, we are truly created in the triune image of God; body, soul, and spirit. With the body we interact with the world. With the spirit we interact with the Lord. And with the soul we choose which one we will follow.