1 1 Jn 5:7; Mt 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; Jn 10:30

Christians have often been vilified by unbelievers and Unitarians (such as the Jehovah Witnesses and Muslims) as believing in a contradiction. The is sadly, often some elements truth in their charge, for they would often ask professing Christians if they believe that 1+1+1 = 1, and the answer in 9 out of 10 times would be "yes!" But if it is true that we believe that 1+1+1 = 1, then we do believe in a contradiction, whether we call it a paradox or some other mystifying terms!

Thankfully, this is not what the Scriptures, or our Confession and Catechism teach. The Scripture does not teach that there are three Gods and yet one God. No, it teaches that there is only one God who is living, eternal and true (e.g., Deut 6:4). However, it also teaches us that there are three Persons in the Godhead—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is to say God is one in essence or being, but three in persons or subsistence. We do not hold that God is one in essence and three in essences at the same time, or one in person and three in persons at the same time (as Isaac Watts surmised heretically).

It is true, that the Scripture teaches that the Father is God (Isa 63:16; Mt 10:33; 11:27; 16:27; Lk 10:21 etc); the Son is God (Jn 1:2; Isa 9:6; Rom 9:5; 1 Tim 3:16 Phil 2:6; 1 Jn 5:20; etc.); the Holy Spirit is a God (Ps 139:7–9; Heb 9:14; etc.). It is true the Scripture teaches us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are "the same in substance, equal in power and glory." However, the Scripture also clearly teaches us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, "distinguished by their personal properties."

This plurality of Persons in the Godhead is hinted in the Old Testament with the use of the plural pronoun, e.g., "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen 1:26). But it is most clearly seen in the baptism of the Lord Jesus (Mt 3:16–17),—where we see the Son being baptised, the Holy Spirit descending and the Father speaking from heaven at about the same time. This is also seen in the recorded communications between the persons in the Godhead, such as the Lord’s prayer to His Father (John 17) and the Father’s declaration to His Son (Ps 110:1). From these passages we may quickly conclude that the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit; the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son.

But the fact that this distinction does not imply that there are three Gods is clear not only from the frequent assertions that there is only one God, but also in the fact that the Lord Jesus commands us to baptise in "in the name [not names] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Mt 28:19).

How to reconcile the apparently contradictory biblical data? I believe it is quite impossible apart from the ancient formulation of the Trinity: God is one in Essence and three in Persons: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (1 Jn 5:7). When we view the Scriptural revelation about God’s being with this formulation in mind, we find that there is in fact no contraction at all! Instead we are left breathless as we behold how this truth reveals itself consistently throughout the inspired Scripture though none of the writers, with the possible exception of the apostle John, made any distinct declaration concerning the Trinity.