Knowing God, First Starts With Belief
The fundamental description of the Christian God is there are three persons in one God. Outside of Christianity, no other belief system acknowledges three distinct persons but only one God. The great minds of Christianity throughout history have struggled to explain God’s inner life, always falling short of the mark. With good reason, explaining the eternal with a mortal mind is an exercise in futility.
Given the vast disparity between God and his creation, our knowledge of God is not derived from human intellect or observation but solely through divine revelation. This divine communication, initiated by God himself, has been a continuous thread in human history, from Adam and Eve to Noah, Abraham, and beyond.
This divine communication culminates when Moses, inquisitive about addressing God, is told, “I am who I am.” In other words, God tells Moses he is life itself without a beginning or an end by referring to himself as “I am.”
He clarifies his identity by affirming that he is the same God who interacted with Moses’ ancestors. “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, this is my title for all generations.”
Our ancestors in faith learned something about God through his communication with them. As St. John recalls, the source of life itself was revealed in his Word, and the Word was with God. “He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him, nothing came to be.” In the fullness of time, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The God who was beforehand not visible took on a human nature and body in the Incarnation of Jesus.
Like any mortal being, the disciples could not discern the complex relationship between Jesus and the Heavenly Father. Philip dared to ask, “Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus replied and told him, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father.’”
Now, there is an understanding of God, who has always existed and is relational with his creation, made evident by taking on his creation’s nature in the person of Jesus Christ. The invisible God is now visible through a human body and has entered time and space with one objective—saving his creation from death.
The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is revealed again through scripture. The Holy Spirit is present when Jesus is baptized in the Jordan, on Mount Tabor during the Transfiguration, and in resurrection stories when Jesus beathed his disciples, saying receive the Holy Spirit.
So, there you have it: Three persons revealed in time and recorded in scripture, proving that they are one God. But in reality, this proves nothing to the rational mind and everything to someone who believes.
The believer comprehends the Trinity not through fancy arguments or human words because God is so much greater than they can ever know. If mere words cannot define God, then something must draw us in to believe.
St. Columban calls that something– faith. “If you search by means of discussions for God who cannot be defined in words, he will depart further from you than he was before. If you search for him by faith, wisdom will stand where wisdom lives. Where wisdom is, wisdom will be seen, at least in part. But wisdom is also to some extent truly attained when the invisible God is the object of faith, in a way beyond our understanding, for we must believe in God, invisible as he is, though partially seen by a heart that is pure.”
Understanding the Trinity better is not an academic enterprise but one grounded in faith and strengthened by purity of heart. Then you will know the Holy One, the Immortal One, far better than any theologian’s explanation.
Amen