Foundational to Christian doctrine is the belief that there is only one God eternally existing in three persons–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three persons completely equal in attributes and divine in one nature. While each person of the Trinity is fully and completely God, they are not identical.

“Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
–Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
–Matthew 28:19 ESV

What does it mean for one God to exist as three persons? This would seem contradictory. Logically, one thing cannot be three things in the same sense at the same time. The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one in nature but three in persons. Another way to look at it: there is one what and three who’s. 

We won’t fully understand God’s nature until the day when heaven and earth are one in a redeemed creation (Revelation 21:1). All analogies eventually break down, though God does give us a glimpse into His triune nature through creation. 

Creation is made up of three things: time, space, and matter. All three depend on each other to coexist in order for any one of them to make sense. They are all distinct aspects of our existence, yet fully dependent on each other. 

Time and space without matter begs the question, “What exists within time and space?” Matter and space without time beg the question, “When did that thing exist?” Time and matter without space beg the question, “Where does it all go?” Time, space, and matter need each other in order to make sense. 

Further, each aspect of creation is composed of three distinct parts. Time consists of the past, present, and future. All aspects of time simultaneously exist, are distinct, and are dependent on each other. The past doesn’t exist without the present and so on. Space consists of length, depth, and height. Without one of these, we’d be flat objects on a 2-dimensional plane. Like a drawing on a piece of paper. Lastly, all matter exists as either a solid, liquid, or a gas. That’s not to say that a single molecule can exist in all three forms at the same time. Rather, matter as a category contains three distinct aspects that coexist. 

Any one of these analogies alone falls short in its representation of God’s triune nature. However, in God’s perfect wisdom and creativity, He put all of this in motion at creation. 

“In the beginning (time), God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter).”
–Genesis 1:1 ESV (My emphasis added in parentheses.)

In an instant, God created a trinity of trinities. He put in place the perfect combination that drives our empirical existence and life as we know it today. 

Everything we touch, feel, smell, see, taste, experience, and comprehend points to the formula set in place by a triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Perfectly distinct and unified as One. 

While we may not fully understand the mystery of God’s full nature, we see glimpses of its perfect union through His creation.