There are numerous popular but utterly erroneous ideas about the Trinity throughout the world. A common misunderstanding is called “modalism”. Modalists believe the Trinity is explained by seeing God, who is One, fulfill different roles at different times. Sometimes God functions as a Father, sometimes as a Son, and sometimes as the Holy Spirit. Yet, while fulfilling one role as one the Persons of the Trinity, the other two do not exist, not until the Father takes off his Father’s “hat” and puts on the hat of the “Son” or the “Spirit”, in which case the other two do not exist. There is no simultaneous existence of all three, only one at a time. This is simplistic. It’s also very wrong and does not nearly fulfill the demands of the Trinity in the Bible. Too many times multiple roles in the Trinity are manifested simultaneously, as in the case of the baptism of Jesus by John. The Son was in the baptismal water when the voice of the Father was heard from heaven as the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Jesus in the form of a dove. In the Temptation, the Spirit led the Son into the wilderness where He communed with His Father.
Other attempts are made to simplify the complexity of the Trinity, but they, too, are woefully inadequate. Analogies, like the common egg with the shell representing the Father, the white the Spirit, and the yolk the Son provide a meager attempt at clarity. So also the analogy of water as liquid, steam, and ice, yet all constituting water. Such attempts are, no doubt, well-intentioned but not really satisfactory.
Our problem seems to be our insistence on having a God we can understand to the degree that satisfied our curiosity. But God is not concerned about satisfying our curiosity. He is concerned with our embracing Him as He has revealed, with all the mystery, complexity, and otherness He possesses. Can we allow the God of Scripture to be what He will and as He will without insisting on reducing Him to something of our liking and comprehension? In truth, we ought to acknowledge the Trinity as it is reflected in so many Old and New Testament passages, even though in none of the passages is it ever actually explained. It’s revealed; it’s stated, but never explained.
Our most valid reason for affirming the Trinity, though we are not given any detailed explanation of it, is because of all the issues upon which we are given detailed explanation. The Book all hangs together as a whole. We can accept things in the Bible we do not understand because of the things in the Bible we do understand. In actuality, is it not reasonable that the infinite, eternal Creator and Sustainer of all that is has some unapproachable mystery…utter mystery about Him? Would He not be too much like us if He did not?
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