God

3-in-1

Maybe you've heard the word "trinity" which simply means three (tri) and one (unity). God is three-in-one: he is the one true God, and he is also three. As the video says, thinking about it "hurts my brain" because how can one thing also be three things? God the Father loves us, God the Son saves us, and God the Spirit fills us. They are each God, but they are not each other.

Some things are made of three parts (like the shell, white, and yolk of an egg), but none of the parts alone equals the whole. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all fully God. They aren't each one-third of God.

Some things can exist in three different aspects (for example, H2O can be water, ice, or steam) but it can’t be those things all at the same time. People can have three different roles or identities (you can be a sibling, a cousin, and a son or daughter) but you can’t be all those things to all the same people. God is the Father and the Son and the Spirit, all at the same time, to all of his children.

We will never be able to fully understand the supernatural mystery of God’s triune nature. That’s OK. The main thing is that we can know the triune God himself, as our Father, as our Redeemer, and as our empowering Spirit.

Talk about the questions below, watch the video, and read the Bible passages to learn more about the three-in-one God.

Warm-Up

  • What are some ways you think God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are the same? Different?
  • Why do you think supernatural things are hard to understand? Why doesn't God make everything simple and obvious?
  • Why do you think it matters that Jesus is both God (God the Son) and human?

WATCH

"God"​ [8:09] *This video mentions attributes, Son of Man, Trinity.

You can read about God's wisdom personified in Proverbs 3:19-20 and 8:22-35.

You can read about God's glory personified in Exodus 33:17-23.

READ

Romans 4:25-5:11 or Romans 8:1-11. When Paul says "God" he almost always means God the Father.

RESPOND

  • How do God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit seem distinct or different in these verses?
  • How do they seem similar?
  • How do they each work in our lives?
  • How do they work together?

ENGAGE

Read the verses again. This time make a list of each thing the verses say about God (the Father), Jesus Christ (the Son), and the Spirit.

  • How do those descriptions help you understand God more fully?
  • Does the Father, the Son, or the Spirit feel most familiar to you? Why?

END

Ask the Lord to help you understand and know him more each day. Rest in the Father's love. Follow the teaching and example of Jesus. Be filled with the Spirit and pay attention to his leading and guidance.

P.S.

Here's one way to describe the Trinity:

  1. The Father is God.
  2. The Son is God.
  3. The Spirit is God.
  4. The Father is not the Son.
  5. The Father is not the Spirit.
  6. The Son is not the Father.
  7. The Son is not the Spirit.
  8. The Spirit is not the Father.
  9. The Spirit is not the Son.