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Is God One, Three, or Something Else? Understanding the Trinity Clearly
Hello, Church Family!
Have you ever had someone knock on your door or send you a video online claiming that Christians worship three gods? Or maybe you’ve heard folks say that God just “shows up” in different ways sometimes as the Father, sometimes as the Son, and sometimes as the Holy Spirit but that it’s all really just one person wearing different hats?
These kinds of claims are often promoted by groups like Oneness Pentecostals or those influenced by modalism. But are they what the Bible teaches? What do we, as evangelical believers, mean when we say we worship one God in three persons?
Let’s clear this up because it matters deeply.
First, the evangelical understanding of the Trinity is this: there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three gods. Not three parts. Not one person playing three roles. One divine Being, three co-equal, co-eternal persons.
This isn't a contradiction or a man-made invention. It’s the honest result of taking all of Scripture seriously. The Bible clearly affirms that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Yet, the Bible is equally clear that God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). What we believe as evangelicals holds those truths together, rather than twisting or trimming them to fit a human-sized box.
Modalism, on the other hand, says that God is just one person who reveals Himself in different forms or "modes" over time. So, in this view, God was the Father in the Old Testament, then became the Son during Jesus’ earthly ministry, and now is the Holy Spirit. But that breaks down fast when you read passages like Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3. There, the Son is baptized, the Father speaks from heaven, and the Spirit descends like a dove, all at the same time. Three persons, one God, working in perfect harmony.
Why does this matter? Because if Jesus isn’t truly distinct from the Father, then who did He pray to in the Garden of Gethsemane? Who sent Him? Who raised Him from the dead? If the Holy Spirit is just another “mode” of Jesus, then who is our Comforter sent after Christ ascended? If we lose the Trinity, we lose the Gospel.
Oneness Pentecostalism and other modalist views, while often sincere, ultimately confuse the nature of God and undermine the very relationship that God has invited us into. The beauty of the Trinity is not just theological, it’s deeply relational. God has always existed in loving community, and in Christ, He brings us into that fellowship.
So, Church Family, let’s be both clear and kind. Let’s stand on the truth that our God is Triune, not because it’s easy to understand, but because it’s what He has revealed. And let’s be ready to lovingly explain that we worship one God, eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who saves, empowers, and dwells with His people.
Keep growing in truth and love!
Pastor Justin Wyckoff
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