Question 12
RS Stated:
“Although the word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, the word “godhead” does, and all through scripture we see that it consists of three”
The Original Q and A said:
12 Must We Believe in the Trinity?
No. “Trinity” is not a Scriptural term. We must believe what the Bible says about God, about Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. See Question 6.
The first part of 6 says:
6 Do Men Understand Exactly how God Works?
No. The belief that they do is based on pride. Men have neither the perspective, the knowledge, nor the intelligence to know exactly how God works. Any attempt to tie God down to a few simple mechanisms is a futile endeavour, based on pride.
I don’t pretend to understand precisely what the relationship is between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. People argue about it, and come to firmly held, but different conclusions. As the original answer says, we must believe what the Bible says about God, about Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Spirit, but that clearly leaves room for some varying interpretations. The Greek “Theotes”, often translated as “Godhead”, does not contain an implicit notion of tripleness. That is arrived at by interpretation. What really vexes me here is when it gets to the point of Calvin burning Servetus at the stake, partly for his rejection of Infant Baptism, but also for his different belief about the nature of “Trinity”. I will not be held to anybody else‘s prescription of what the Trinity is, nor do I expect others to subscribe to my view. I think there are more fruitful things to do than discussing the precise explanation here, and many things more fruitful than condemning others for their particular understanding, as some people do.
For what it’s worth, my own view goes something like this: I have seen President Obama on TV many times. Each time, it was genuinely President Obama. However, at no time was it really him, but only an image transmitted to my location electronically, bearing his words and thoughts. I see the Holy Spirit in a similar way, on one hand being truly God, but on the other, only a manifestation of God transposed to a particular location while the Creator Himself remains in place. I see Jesus as fully human, but uniquely having received half of his DNA not from a human father, but directly from God. He also had a uniquely powerful covering of the Holy Spirit; therefore, with the two together, was effectively God on Earth. But God Himself was still in Heaven. I could give this understanding the name “Trinity”, but the name would add nothing to it. As I said at the beginning, I offer this “for what it’s worth.” There are probably millions of words written by theologians on this that I have not had the time to read. If anybody has, and can offer me a different perspective which could improve my understanding of God and my witness as a Christian, I would be pleased to hear it.