Letters From Timothy

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

-2 Corinthians 13:14

The Christian concept of the “Trinity” is very difficult for non-Christians and Christians alike to grasp. My Jewish friend says she can’t understand why Christians consider their religion to be monotheistic. The idea of the Trinity is this: though there is one God, God is made up of three different aspects or “persons.” The first challenge to understanding the Trinity is to understand how this is possible. St. Patrick famously tried to explain the idea of the Trinity with a shamrock: though the shamrock has three leaves, it is but one plant. I prefer to use the example of the United States Government, which has three branches, but is only one government.

The Father: “The Father” refers to the creative God. The title derives from how Jesus described the God that still reigned in Heaven while He walked the Earth, though this part of God is by no means male. Jesus probably referred to it as “Father” since his mother Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit (which I’ll get to soon). The Father was the aspect of God that created the earth, the universe, and people. The Father was the aspect of God that spoke from the clouds in the Old Testament, and from the Burning Bush to Moses. From a Christian perspective, Jews and Muslims worship the “Father” aspect of God. The traditional image of the Father is the supreme King of the universe, sitting on top of His divine throne and judging humanity.

The Son: “The Son” refers to Jesus, “son of God.” Though Jesus was born in human form, most Christians believe that he was divine. The Bible says that he was sinless (Is. 53:9, 1 Pt. 2:22) , so though Jesus was born of flesh, he lacked one defining characteristic of a human: crimes against God. Jesus led a sinless life, but he apparently was also free of Original Sin, which marked every other human. One way to think of Jesus is as an “avatar” of God: not as a separate being, but merely God shoved inside a human package. So while Jesus is essentially God, Christians consider Him to be a somewhat different entity than The Father because Jesus had a human form. But in the Bible, Jesus seems to differ from The Father in tone, as well. The Old Testament is famous for fiery condemnations from God, and condemnation is certainly not the only thing God gave the ancient Israelites. So perhaps God thought it necessary to set the record straight by sending himself in human form and proclaiming his most important rule loud and clear: love others as you love yourself. In this way, Jesus can also be thought of as an “ambassador” to the Father.

The Holy Spirit: “The Holy Spirit” (also known as “The Holy Ghost”) refers to the aspect of God that Jesus left on Earth when He ascended into Heaven. On the Pentecost, what appeared to be tongues of flame came to rest on the heads of the apostles, and they suddenly began to speak tongues (Acts 2:1-4). Many Christians today believe that the Holy Spirit is the aspect of God that works through mankind–His “hands,” if you will. The Bible also seems to imply that the Holy Spirit is the soul of Jesus, as when Jesus is accused of having an “unclean spirit,” He warns against blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-30). That’s going to be confusing, so let me reiterate: Jesus is the body, the Holy Spirit is the soul. So, when Jesus ascended into Heaven, he left part of his soul in the soul of every other person. It may sound bizarre, but let me re-frame it again, like this: When God left earth in human form, He left “the power of God” in all people to be able to do His will. As I mentioned earlier, The Holy Spirit is also mentioned in the Bible as what impregnated Mary: simply, the power of God (Matthew 1:18). From this perspective, all miracles could also be attributed to “The Holy Spirit.”

I hope this helps you understand this very confusing bit of Christian dogma. If you still don’t understand something, or need clarification, don’t hesitate to write me back!

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit…
In the name of God…

Amen.

-Timothy