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THE TRINITY

 The doctrine of the Trinity has posed an intellectually difficult theological model for man's mind to construct. Non-Christian monotheists often attribute this model to paganism or an idea planted in the church by Satan. In attempting to lend understanding to the Trinitarian concept of God many triune models have been used as illustrative comparisons of three-in-one unity e.g. height, width, length; ice, water, steam etc. Believers of the Trinitarian doctrine will recognize references to all three Persons of the Godhead in scripture but will generally concede this as an unsolvable mystery of God. But perhaps this mystery may be better revealed by the illumination of another mystery, the human being, whom the Bible says is made in the image of God.

 The study of man by philosophers, theologists, psychologists, psychiatrists et al has produced a multiplicity of triune models of man;

mind, body, soul;

body, soul, spirit;

id, ego, superego;

conscious, subconscious, unconscious, etc.

Whether we agree or recognize any of these other models proposed by the many disciplines of psychology, it is significant that there are few models of man that don't suggest a divisible nature.

This divisible nature may also be readily seen and comprehended in layman’s terms. Many of us will recognize that there is an expressed difference in one's personal thoughts and one's actions. We have all had experiences where we thought of doing something good or uplifting but something internal didn't allow us to act this thought out...we but may have wanted to apologize for something that we did, but somehow never got around to it... we knew that we should have helped our child with her homework today but we didn't.

We, in our private thinking are determined to not to let the boss push us around anymore but we never deliver our prepared speech. We may imagine rescuing others from harm but find ourselves quite frozen in the face of danger.

It is as if there are two people sharing the same life! But what makes the active "person" not do what the personal thought “person" wants to do? Could it be even another "person"?! Perhaps a sub-conscious "person"?

THE "PERSONS" OF GOD AND MAN:

Others know us only by our words and deeds. Therein lies the interpretation of our personalities by society. Being made in God's image we have the ability to create, not only physical structures but also abstract ideas, philosophies, music, art etc. However even our ideas and philosophies do not reveal our individual personalities, as do our words and deeds. In all that God created He did not reveal His personality as clearly as through His Word, Christ Jesus. The Bible also declares that it was through Christ (The Word) that the universe was created.

One may suspect and believe that there is a God of creation, but only having creation as evidence of God, forces man to form an image of God in his own imagination. This is why all the various peoples of the world held widely and wildly different views of God. (Jesus says, "If you have seen Me you have seen the Father."   Man has been relieved of forming God according to his own imagination and philosophy.)  The Bible states that not only did Jesus create the universe but that Jesus also had the Godlike power to raise the dead, the God only power to forgive sins and will judge mankind on the Day of the Lord. If Jesus is doing all of this what is the Father doing? Indeed what is left for the Father to do?

In attempt to gain insight to this question let us return to our triune model of man. We have previously stated that others know us by our word and in comparative similarity God is now known by His Word, Jesus Christ. Let us continue our comparison.

We possess another personality that no one knows but us; our personal thoughts. Within our personal thoughts are many a noble idea, productive plans and intentions that would make for a more fulfilling life and possibly even greater character that might enhance many lives. There are many creative desires that require much organization of material things that our active selves would have to accomplish. It is often considered a tragedy of life that one doesn't fulfill the desires of his heart but it must be noted that frequently the tragedy lies in the lack of will of the individual. The spirit is willing but the body is weak. (Matt. 26:41)

Who is the real person? Which is the truest personality of an individual; the apparent manifestation of words and deeds or the hidden unseen and unknown thoughts of the inner being? There is a revealing axiom that states "we judge others by what they do but we judge ourselves by our intentions"; this is more than a simply convenient rationale; it points to our tendency to not recognize the dual reality of human nature. For the sake of our comparison of human nature to the Trinitarian concept of God, let us call the personal and hidden thought aspect of our personality, the "Father" Perhaps it is not altogether unreasonable for us to view the Father as the "thinker" in the Godhead. (At this point we would be well advised to remember God created us and we are not attempting to create Him. This entire discussion is designed to perhaps help us understand the mystery of God as He is presented in scripture).

When we call someone by the name "George" we refer to that person we know as he has let himself be known by his words, deeds, attitudes, apparent desires etc. We do not know all of George to the extent that George knows George! For he has many thoughts and desires that he can't or won't share. It is also a reality that even George doesn't    truly know "George", for there are subconscious forces working on George’s personality and psyche. These subconscious forces may have developed from his childhood past, traumatic experiences, past relationships; all forgotten by George's conscious memory but actively remembered by his hidden and subconscious personality. This subconscious personality has even acquired desires that George may not be aware of. For the sake of our triune comparison let us compare this aspect of our personality to the Holy Spirit.

It is often this subconscious personality that prevents the active "doing" person of George    to live up to and fulfill the wishes of the private inner thought persona of George. Note that George is fully aware of his private thoughts and secrets but largely unaware of his subconscious or what it is "made" of.

He may attempt to be the best friend to his best friend according to the well thought out and beneficent plans of his inner mind, but at critical points of friendship his powerful subconscious interferes and the "active" George falls short of his "own" ideals. If only his friend could have seen George's inner thoughts; his intentions!

Although there is in a certain reality only one George, we also see that   there are clearly three distinct  “persons", in relationship with one another, that form this one person. 

George the private (personal thoughts and desires)                                      (Father)

George the visible (words and deeds)                                                             (Son)

George the hidden (unconscious influences)                                              (Holy Spirit)

UNITY

The Bible not only states that man was made in the image of God but also that man through sin is separated from God. Not only is man separated from God but man's image is now also a distortion of God. Man has not only been separated from God but has also been separated from nature and himself. It is this latter separation that we concern ourselves with now.

One very striking difference between the three "persons" of man and the Trinity is the lack of unity in man. Man through sin is separated from himself, his thoughts say one thing, his flesh does another and his unconscious has a life apparently of its own; he knows not what he does!

How many times have we said to ourselves.."I should have followed my mind"? Even when we follow our minds we quite often find ourselves unsatisfied with our actions, for our minds are deceived by our unconscious selves.

On the other hand the three persons of the Godhead are in total unity. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus. He never claims His own separate purpose. Jesus (The Word) only wishes to do the Father's will. The Father completely trusts the Son. (Do you completely trust yourself?)

As we are led by our subconscious Jesus was led and moved by the Holy Spirit. Trinitarian doctrine speaks of the Holy Spirit as a distinct individual, capable of individual response such as being grieved. This is not as difficult as we think to understand. If we take a good look at our own subconscious we'll see that it has a nature of its own, only understood by probing beyond our conscious knowledge.

Monotheists who are understandably offended by the idea of God being divided or multiplied probably have not viewed the subject in this light. Interestingly enough many monotheist demand that God   be   understood   simply   and   rationally    whereas    they can hardly understand themselves let alone be understood by others. (Of course with a little use of denial they can disavow any complicated or aberrant nature, so don't ask them, ask their spouses!!)

BORN AGAIN:

The Gospels revelation of rebirth stands as humankind's most beautiful psychological, philosophical and theological thought and reality. It has been recognized as a prime axiom of nature. It has been used in the rites of passage motifs of many early peoples. It has been suggested, hinted at and regurgitated by philosophers of all flavors. Now in the Gospel, God takes it to its full meaning and intended reality.

Its beauty has the additional radiance of its testimony among man. It remains a philosophy to all but the born again man who has experienced deliverance from "himself" (or more clearly those forces which ruled him against his will). It is that type of beauty that allows bread to be nutritious even if we don't understand    biological chemo-physiomolecular metabolism (smile now). Belief and faith in the resurrected Christ brings about a change in one's internal make up. One is born again, first of the flesh, this time of the Holy Spirit. This born again man is a drastic change in humanity. C.S. Lewis calls it The Next Step placing it in the realm of the evolutionist's expected futuristic change man must undergo. (I say however that this step is actually a return to the humanity man once knew and some still know, but that is another essay).

THE FLESH AND DYING TO SELF:

Although a man be born again, he still maintains a will and in order for his character to change he must choose two competing personalities within him. Now he has four; his personal thoughts, his words and deeds, his unconscious influences and now the Holy Spirit. One must die! Can there be any hope for him that chooses the Holy Spirit to die?

When it is spoken of dying to self, are we being asked by God to die to enjoyment or to any thing that is pleasing to us? Are we to forego all aspirations, perhaps scale down our career goals to something less profitable?  Which self should we die to? It wouldn't do us well to die to the "person" of words and deeds, for we would be left paralyzed and speechless. If we were to die in the "person" of our personal thoughts we would be rendered mindless. Perhaps the answer lies in our will and obedience.

It becomes apparent that the person within us that we have so very little control over is the subconscious. It is this aspect of our personalities that wrecks so much havoc in our lives; this aspect that needs to be understood and placed under control. It is also the area that interests the psychologist and therapist so. It is by God's grace that we receive His Spirit but it is according to our will how we will respond to His Spirit. God's Spirit speaks to us internally in prayer, through study and reflection, in fellowship with His church and even in our private thoughts. We can be disobedient to His Spirit and instead respond to our old subconscious desires. We may be quite willing and desire to follow God's will in our personal thinking and also be quite willing to have our actions conform to our thinking, but we must become obedient to a third person in our being. As we respond to the Holy Spirit within us we die to that subconscious master of old. The apostle Paul delineates     this struggle in Romans 7 and the solution in Romans 8.

O' merciful Father, by thy Spirit shape us into the nature of thy Son. That we might have a unified character, that we might even say what we mean, mean what we say and do what we mean and say.

THE CONTEMPORARY TRINITY

If Jesus was the Son of God and is now sitting at the "right hand" of the Father does it follow that there is no longer an earthly manifestation of the Trinity? Should we merely concede that two persons of the Trinity are now in the heavenly realm leaving the Holy Spirit as the sole representative of the Godhead amongst mankind?

It is this writer's joyous perception that the beauty of the Gospel is that man joins God's reality and purpose. It is we that become God's word! It is we that become God's manifestation on earth.

Jesus prays to the Father; "...I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:22,23 (NIV)

God is still the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He still guides His son through His Spirit for we are His Sons through Christ Jesus. The world will still witness the works of God through the manifest love of His children.

Alan Bernard Glover

 © 2000 Alan Glover
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