Trinity

Definition and Meaning

The Trinity is the doctrine that God is one in essence and exists in three persons: the Father (God the Father), the Son (God the Son, that is, Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit). A person in this sense is a distinct personal being. The doctrine does not teach that there are three separate gods. Nor does it teach that one God appears in three different forms at different times. Rather, it holds that the three persons are distinct from one another yet share the same essence and glory. The doctrine is confessed in common by Protestant churches, the Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Biblical and Historical Background

The word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible. The church has formulated the doctrine on the basis of two strands of biblical teaching. One is the Old Testament confession that God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4); the other consists of New Testament passages that name the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14 [13:13 in some versions]; and others). The Latin term trinitas is generally held to have been first used by the church father Tertullian, who was active in the late second and early third centuries.

In the fourth century, Arianism, which regarded the Son as a created being, sparked controversy. The Council of Nicaea in 325 declared that the Son is "of the same essence" as the Father. The Council of Constantinople in 381 further clarified the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The decisions of these two councils have been handed down to the present day in the Nicene Creed.

The Trinity in Korean Churches

All the major denominations in Korea accept the Trinity as a fundamental doctrine. Presbyterian churches address it in Chapter 2 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, Full Gospel, and Anglican churches, among others, likewise confess the Trinity in their respective creeds or confessions of faith. There is no significant difference among the denominations regarding the doctrine itself.

The Trinity is evident throughout worship:

• The Apostles' Creed, recited during worship, is structured in the order of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• Baptism (called "immersion" in some traditions) is administered "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
• The benediction pronounced at the close of worship invokes the name of the triune God, based on 2 Corinthians 13:14.
• Churches that emphasize liturgy, such as the Anglican Church of Korea, may also recite the Nicene Creed.

In Sunday schools and classes for new believers, the Trinity is sometimes explained with analogies such as water, ice, and steam. Theologians point out that such analogies can drift toward modalism, the view that one God merely changes forms. In addition, Korean denominations treat a group's understanding of the Trinity as one of the principal criteria when making heresy designations.