Misunderstanding the Trinity :: Tritheism
The doctrine of the Trinity is a mysterious but wonderful doctrine that describes God’s three-in-oneness. Interestingly, the actual word “trinity” is never used in the Bible, but the doctrine itself is clearly taught in Scripture. To sum it up simply, the doctrine of the trinity means that:
God is three persons.
Each person is fully God.
There is one God.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been talking about common misconceptions of the Trinity. I’m calling them misconceptions or misunderstandings, but to be honest, they’re all teachings that were condemned as heretical by the early church.
The one I want to talk about today is what is called Tritheism. Of the three misunderstandings I’ve mentioned so far, this one is less common than modalism or Arianism. However, this misunderstanding is not unheard of, so it’s important to mention it as well.
Tritheism is the teaching that there is not one God, but actually three different Gods. Thus the Father is a God, the Son is a God, and the Spirit is a God.
This idea clearly denies Scriptures such as John 10:30:
John 10:30
I and the Father are one.
Or:
John 14:8-10
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Notice, Jesus says that to see him is like seeing the Father. But at the same time Jesus never collapses the individuality of himself and the Father either. Somehow, mysteriously, the Father and the Son and the Spirit are all individual persons, but still one deity. They are not one person, but three. And they are not three deities, but one.
Similarly, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel using the Greek word “paraclete.” A paraclete is a helper / mediator / intercessor. For instance in John 14:16, Jesus says:
John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper (paraclete), to be with you forever,
However, Jesus is also called a “paraclete” in 1 John 2:1
1 John 2:1
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate (paraclete) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
What makes all of this interesting is a second Greek word that Jesus also uses. If you look back at John 14:16, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is “another helper.” The Greek word for “another” in this passage [allos] refers to something or someone who is “another of the same kind.” If we read carefully then (with a little help from the Greek), we realize that Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit is another of the same kind as he is. This doesn’t mean that Jesus and Spirit are the same person, but that they are of the same kind (i.e. - they are same God).
The closeness of the Father and the Son and the Spirit cannot be overstated. They are in perfect unity with one another. They are three persons, but they are one God.
Grudem explains one reason why this important. He says:
Wayne Grudem
“Although no modern groups advocate tritheism, perhaps many evangelicals today unintentionally tend toward tritheistic views of the Trinity, recognizing the distinct personhood of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but seldom being aware of the unity of God as one undivided being.” [1]
I want to encourage us all to think carefully as we think about God, and to seek to understand God the way that the Bible describes God. Being alert to a proper conception of the Trinity will help us as we interact with other religious groups. Pretty much every single cult or world religion misunderstands or denies the Trinity. If we get the Trinity "right," we can more easily understand the ways in which we think differently about God when compared to the Jehovah’s Witness, or followers of Islam, or the Oneness Pentecostals (all of whom deny the Trinity).
- Ben
[1] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 248.
