The Trinity and Creation

In my Christmas Day article (Our God Contracted to a Span), I hammered home the traditional view that Jesus Christ is God. One of our correspondents has complained at this, claiming to be a supporter of AiG, but denying that Jesus is God, and referring to the doctrine of the Trinity as “unbiblical” and the Nicene Creed as “foolishness.”

Statement of Faith

I believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, not just because it is traditional, but because I believe it to be biblical. The Answers in Genesis Statement of Faith requires belief in the Trinity—and I sign to say I agree with this Statement of Faith once a year: a requirement which I am always delighted to fulfil. Our Statement of Faith is thoroughly Trinitarian, stating:

The Godhead is triune: one God, three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Section C1)

It might be helpful once more to rehearse our reasons for holding to this teaching.

There is One God

The scripture makes clear that there is only one God.

I am the LORD and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. (Isaiah 45:5)

There are many other references that could be given. See also: Isaiah 46:9; 1 Corinthians 8:5–6; Galatians 4:8-9.

Divine Attributes Held by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Having started by emphasising that there is only one God, we now see that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all have divine attributes.

1. All three Persons are called God.
   • “Grace to you and peace from God our Father” (Philippians 1:2)
   • “For in Him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” ( Colossians 2:9)
   • “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’” (Acts 5:3; emphasis mine)
2. All three Persons are the Creator.
   • “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)
   • “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:15–17)
   • “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4)
3. All three Persons are eternal.
   • “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:2)
   • “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
   • “who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God” (Hebrews 9:14)

One could go on and on listing divine characteristics of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three have the attributes of God, yet there is just one God. The only way we can reconcile these facts is to understand the concept of the Trinity—one God, three Persons. It is also clear from this analysis that the doctrine of the Trinity is not something gleaned from just one verse out of context—the concept is derived by analysing scripture as a whole. This makes it a very certain and scriptural doctrine.

The Trinity in Genesis 1

With this important background, we can even see evidence for the Trinity right at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 1.

The Father is in overall supervision. The whole of creation is made by His command. Yet, we read that God said, “Let there be light.” In John’s Gospel, Jesus is described as the Word of God—and also as the Light. We can see, then, that the creation was made through Jesus—and this is supported by Colossians 1:15–17. Finally, in Genesis 1:2, we read about the Spirit “hovering over the face of the waters.” That accounts for all three Persons of the Trinity at the very start of things.

For that reason, we see evidence for the Trinity in the world around us. Time can be expressed as past, present, and future. Matter can exist as solid, liquid, and gas. Space has the dimensions height, length, and width. The analogy is not perfect, but we can see expressions of the Trinity in these elements of the universe. Perhaps it is no accident that the strongest simple 2-D shape is that of a triangle.

Conclusion

At Answers in Genesis, we are not going to apologize for our belief in the doctrine of the Trinity. As a biblical organization, we must adhere to the truths of Scripture, including the teaching about the Trinity. It is sad that at least two people should choose to refer to themselves as our supporters, yet deny that this important doctrine is in Scripture. Belief in the Trinity is not an optional extra. Psalm 2 reminds us that we should “Kiss (or worship) the Son, lest He be angry with you.” The Son demands worship, and is worthy of worship, even though we are to worship only the One God.