A pupil asked the noted philosopher Hegel (1770-1831) to explain a passage he had written. Hegel read it and said, "When that was written, there were two who knew its meaning--God and myself. Now, alas! There is but one, and that is God."

Some people feel that way about the doctrine of the Trinity, noting that the word isn't even in the Bible. This truth, however, is clearly taught in Scripture.

A. H. Strong defined it well: "We do not say that one God is three Gods, nor that one person is three persons, nor that three Gods are one God, but only that there is one God with three distinctions in His being."

Baffling? Yes! Absurd? No!

The idea of a triune God is biblically sound and makes sense. Here's one way of explaining the logic behind the Trinity: The Bible says that God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). Love always needs an object. If God were an eternal, absolute unity, without the distinction of persons within Himself, eternal love could not exist. But because God is a Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can express love to one another. Not only that, but we benefit as well because the Son reveals the Father's love and truth to us by the work of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 15:10,26).

Thank God for the Trinity!  — Dennis J. De Haan