Counseling Theology: the Trinity, and its biblical basis

Intro

The Athanasian Creed has been used since the 6th century, when it was written - supposedly by Athanasius of Alexandria - to assist in our understanding of the Trinity. The Creed states:

“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence…”

So in this very brief discussion of the trinity and its biblical basis, we start with the historic proclamation, that “we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity”

God is One

Although Christians believe that God is trinity, we also believe that God is one. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 declares the oneness of God: 

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” 

This teaching is so clear, that we are exhorted in the following verses to teach this to our children at all times and in all places, and that the reality of the unity of God should never be a truth that escapes our minds. But not only in the Old Testament is God declared to be one, but this teaching is clearly carried on into the New Testament as well. In 1 Corinthians 8:4 Paul reminds us that “there is no God but one.” And again in Ephesians 4:6 God is declared as one, and in likewise, James 2:19 says that it is a good thing to believe that God is one. While God is declared as one it must be noted that the Hebrew word for “one” is “never used in the Hebrew bible of a stark singular entity.” So while God is referred to as one, it is meant by the author, and would have been likewise understood by the original reader, that God is “one in unity.” 

To assist in our understanding, an illustration of one bunch of grapes can be used, or when the people of Israel responded as one people. Exodus 24:3 says, 

“Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!” 

Likewise, when Adam declared that the man and wife would become one flesh, he did not mean that they would be one person, but would rather become one in unity; one in a divine way. 

God is Trinity

Although God is one, he reveals himself in three persons, or substances as Calvin liked to describe it. The trinity, or plurality of God, is established early in the creation account of the universe and all that is in it. In genesis 1:26 God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Emphasis Added). And again in Genesis 11 in reference to the tower of babel, God says, “let us go down and confuse their language” (Emphasis Added). In Isaiah 6:8 it is written, “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Emphasis Added). Here in Isaiah, both unity and plurality is articulated in this one verse, and all from the voice of the Lord. He declares it about himself. So it is plain that God has established himself to be a united oneness, and yet existing in defined and different persons as a plurality from the very beginning, and has revealed more and more of himself as history has progressed. 

In the New Testament however, we see a very robust revealing of the trinity in comparison to what God did before the incarnation of Christ. Although the truth of the trinity was revealed in the Old Testament, it was less obvious, and more shadowed than it is in the New. In John 1:1 we are told that “the Word became flesh” and in this he dwelt among us. In doing this we can clearly see the second person of the trinity - the Son becoming flesh and being with us. Additionally, In the New Testament it is specifically Christ who stands as the Savior and Redeemer of his people. In Matthew 1:20,21 we are shown this. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and revealed to him that Mary would have a child conceived from the Holy Spirit, and that this child would save his people from their sins. A statement explaining the existence of two persons of the trinity. 

In relation to the Holy Spirit, he now dwells in the church, and empowers her for ministry and faithfulness. In Romans 8:9,11 Paul is explaining to the church at Rome, that the Holy Spirit dwells in them as a church and that this indwelling has taken them from the realm of death to life, and from flesh to spirit, and that this results in them belonging to Christ. 

Additionally, when Paul gives a benediction to the Corinthian church he says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” In quoting the Athanasian Creed, one commentary writes, 

“[This is] the benediction which proves the doctrine of the Divine Trinity in unity. “The grace of Christ” comes first, for it is only by it we come to “the love of God” the Father. The variety in the order of Persons proves that “in this Trinity none is afore or after other”

Trinity in Counseling

There are countless ways that the trinity can be beneficial in counseling, but here are but a small sampling:

I remember being in counseling with my wife many years ago, and the biblical counselor looked at me and quoted David in Psalm 51, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” He continued and said, “your offense against your wife is serious, but she is not the one you have supremely sinned against. In fact she isn’t even second one the list, she is 4th. You sinned first and foremost against the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This was a shocking realization to me because it made the trinity something tangible. I didn’t just offend one God - that I could “handle.” I offended a plurality of persons who are unified and one God. And these three persons said I had sinned, and offended them. 

Likewise the unity of the trinity gives us example for the expected unity in all of life. The trinity shows us the unity that should exist in marriage, the unity that ought to be exemplified in the church, and unity between brothers in Christ. 

The love within the trinity is an example to us of the kind of love that we ought to show to others, and the partnership we are expected to show those who we are in fellowship with.