Thursday 29 September 2011

The Doctrine of the Trinity

Many Christians admit to being confused when it comes to understanding the doctrine of the Trinity - that our God is one God in three persons. Kevin DeYoung has written a short piece explaining the doctrine of the Trinity and why it is so significant. He says:
If any doctrine makes Christianity Christian, then surely it is the doctrine of the Trinity. The three great ecumenical creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—are all structured around our three in one God, underlying the essential importance of Trinitarian theology. Augustine once commented about the Trinity that “in no other subject is error more dangerous, or inquiry more laborious, or the discovery of truth more profitable.” More recently, Sinclair Ferguson has reflected on “the rather obvious thought that when his disciples were about to have the world collapse in on them, our Lord spent so much time in the Upper Room speaking to them about the mystery of the Trinity. If anything could underline the necessity of Trinitarianism for practical Christianity, that must surely be it!”


Yet, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, most Christians are poor in their understanding, poorer in their articulation, and poorest of all in seeing any way in which the doctrine matters in real life.
DeYoung goes on to explore the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity under three headings:
  • What does the doctrine mean?
  • Where is it found in the Bible?
  • Why does any of this matter?
You can read the whole article here.