Confused about the Trinity
Q: I have a perplexing question that needs clarity...
My whole life I have always talked to God and Jesus separately. I never believed they are all one person because of the amount of times Jesus refers to himself as Gods Son. And God referring to him as his only son. So I've heard of the trinity recently. I've been confused about this.
So Christians typically believe God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus are all the same? That form basically into one? This does not make sense to me and I do not know if I believe this. This could be because I'm new & still starting out reading the Bible. But I've been led to believe that the trinity was something that didn't happen or was talked about until wayyyyyy after the Bible. I don't think I believe they're all one thing. Maybe my thoughts will change after I understand this better. But I did always wonder why we pray to Jesus so much. Yes I do love him. Yes I think he deserves the recondition he gets for what he did, but I also feel like I should be praying to God too at church and not just Jesus. Any guidance on this? Any churches that maybe pray more to God, but also Jesus too but as one person? I feel like this whole time when people talk about God, that they had this mindset that Jesus is God too and I feel like I never knew that.
A: God is a trinity. [Jesus is God]....So all together they are One God. All of the same essence and nature. United as One. Similarly using a flawed human example would be a Family. Husband, wife, child. Or even Triplets gives a vague idea. Individual yet together as One. Another example is Marriage. The two unite together as One flesh Scripture says. There are difficulties in grasping the trinity, both as a new believer snd in general as a human with limitations in grasping the concept of God, but we can know what is possible to grasp. And gain a clearer understanding in time.
This will help 😊. It explains about God, and also has a solid Trinity education page.
And yes we can pray to all 3. We typically pray to the Father, through Jesus, and in & by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also brings things we cannot even realize or utter from us to the Father on our behalf. Jesus is our High Priest and Mediator between God [the Father] and Man. In simplicity, It's like we pray and Jesus is says to the Father... I paid for this one's sins, on my behalf- hear his prayer and petitions.
It is an essential basic of Christianity that God is a trinity and not a single person. A single God would be heresy and exclude one from being Christian, because its clearly revealed by God as truth in Scripture. So it's vital you understand this topic and believe it.
You'll notice also (in that resource) a section on God's Attributes. If you also study that, you will have a more rounded, deeper understanding of Who God Is, (than most who sit in the pews of a church today). The Bible teaches us about these things about God, but most have no clue about all these truths about who God really is. They don't see it together, but this is the Doctrine of God. We can grow closer to God by knowing him more and more, as we learn in Scripture, and also in seeing him work in our lives. We can see he is totally trustworthy, just, good, etc. (And why what he does all makes sense). He reveals more and more to us as we grasp the basics & on into to a more deeper understanding over time. Even what you learn there will deepen as your faith walk matures in time.
God Bless
