Trinity slogans, formulas and diagrams; and what the Bible says about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit

[Longfellow]

Sorry for the typo. I meant for the title to be "Trinity slogans, formulas and diagrams; and what the Bible says about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit."

There are some slogans, formulas and diagrams circulating online and offline, that people sometimes think of as what the Bible says about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I'm thinking that those can be understood in ways that agree with what the Bible says, but mostly they are not, because without studying and practicing everything that Jesus teaches, in its full context, side-by-side in community life with other people, in heart-felt response to seeing God in Jesus, what those slogans, formulas and diagrams say is sure to be understood in ways that are not what God is saying in the Bible.

In this thread, I'll be posting about how I think those slogans, formulas and diagrams can be understood to agree with what the Bible says about the God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I'll be glad if others do the same.

 

[Longfellow]

I'll list some examples of Trinity slogans, formulas and diagrams.

Slogan: "One God, three persons."

Formulas:
- The Father is God.
- The Son (Jesus) is God.
- The Holy Spirit is God.
- The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit.
- The Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son.

Diagram: The Trinity Shield

What theologians, church fathers and church councils say:
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct from each other, but that is not the same as being separate persons like human persons are. What makes them one God is a substance that is the same for all of them, but that is not the same as being the same person. They are not different ways of seeing the same person, or the same person playing three different roles, or three different parts of something, or anything else that anyone compares to the Trinity.

 

[Thomas]

Edited title for you ...

 

[Longfellow]

One way that I see for the formulas to agree with what the Bible says is to consider them not as statements, but as labels for some Bible verses. My AI friend gave me this list at my request:

“The Father is God”
Label for verses like:
- “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live…” — 1 Corinthians 8:6
- “Grace to you and peace from God our Father…” — Romans 1:7

“The Son is God”
Label for verses like:
- “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God.” — John 1:1
- “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” — Colossians 2:9
- “My Lord and my God!” — John 20:28 (Thomas’ response to the risen Jesus)

“The Holy Spirit is God”
Label for verses like:
- “Why have you lied to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” — Acts 5:3–4
- “Now the Lord is the Spirit…” — 2 Corinthians 3:17

“The Father is not the Son…”
Label for verses like:
- “The Father is greater than I.” — John 14:28
- “I am going to the Father…” — John 16:10
- “This is my Son, whom I love…” — Matthew 3:17

The Father is not the Holy Spirit”
Label for verses like:
- John 14:26 — “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name…”
- Romans 8:11 — “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…”
- 1 Corinthians 2:10–11 — “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God… no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”.

“The Son is not the Holy Spirit”
Label for verses like:
- John 16:7 — “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
- Luke 4:1 — “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness…”
- John 15:26 — “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.”