The Mystery of the Trinity and the Rational Mind - InDeathorLife.org

The Mystery of the Trinity and the Rational Mind

Benjamin Henshaw

It is often objected by certain sects that the Triune God of orthodox Christianity is incoherent or "unreasonable", and therefore should be rejected. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, tend to argue against the Trinity along these lines. It should be remembered, however, that these groups (particularly the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses) rely strongly on extra biblical sources (i.e. Joseph Smith, his writings and supposed revelations; the New World Translation and the teachings of Charles T. Russell) and therefore cannot honestly claim to reject the Trinitarian position based on logical consistency alone.

Despite this fact, both sects have attacked this doctrine, and attempted to lure orthodox Christians into their unbiblical views of God by appealing to the supposed irrationality of the Trinitarian doctrine. It is the purpose of this essay to take these arguments head on and demonstrate that such arguments themselves are based on faulty reasoning. It will also be demonstrated how Christians can rationally and Biblically accept the truth of the Triune Godhead without pretending to have a full understanding of God's nature.

The Bible clearly teaches that there are aspects of God's nature that are beyond the grasp of his creatures. To believe that we can fully comprehend the nature of the infinite God would be to elevate ourselves to his level. This is exactly the consequences of such arrogant thinking as revealed in Mormon theology. Mormons have consequently reduced God to an exalted man and exalted themselves as "gods in embryo" hopeful to someday attain to godhood complete with control over their own planet. They, therefore, posit the notion of innumerable "almighty gods" throughout the universe (and no doubt infinite parallel universes considering ours is hardly adequate to accommodate so many gods). They reject the Trinity as understood by orthodox Christians based on its supposed irrationality, but fail to see the irrationality inherent in their own system. How can the Mormon rationally explain how there could be more than one "almighty" God? The word "almighty" is exclusive if the word is to retain any meaning at all. Therefore, rationally speaking, there can only be one "almighty" God, just as the Scriptures faithfully and powerfully declare. Mormons also run into problems with ultimate origins since to be true to their system there must be something like an endless extrapolation of gods that were once men. When did it all begin? If a god is to be defined as an exalted man then the Mormon cannot answer this question. Mormons cannot account for their own existence since their theological system makes ultimate origins impossible.

The Mormon confronted with such questions will have little recourse than to appeal to "mystery" in order to defend their doctrine, for it seems impossible that there can be any "rational" explanation. They might say that such things are beyond our capacity to comprehend, or that they are "sealed" and yet to be revealed. This, however, is exactly the kind of Christian response the Mormons find unacceptable with regards to the Triune nature of the Biblical God.

Many Mormon apologists love to make fun of Christians' attempts to grasp the concept of the Triune God. They pride themselves with having the "answers" that less informed Christians, without the benefits of new revelations, do not and cannot have. But are the Mormons playing fair? It has already been observed that Mormons, if honest and asked the right questions, cannot make sense of their own Theological systems. They cannot explain how their prophets can contradict each other, make embarrassing translating blunders (as in the Book of Abraham), give false prophecies, and still be revelators of the God of truth. They cannot explain how God can be unchanging from "everlasting to everlasting", (Moroni 7:22; 8:18; Morm. 9:9-10,19), yet be an exalted man who went through numerous changes to become a god. They cannot explain how Elohim and Yahweh can be two separate Gods when scripture clearly demonstrates that they are the same God. Again, and again the Mormon must cry out "mystery", or "sealed", when confronted with these difficulties. At times they will make attempts to explain these problems away but only find themselves immersed in contradiction. Explanations are plenty, but "rational" explanations are unattainable.

Jehovah's Witnesses fare no better with regards to a rationally alternative Theological system. In their effort to strip Christ of his Deity and reduce the Holy Spirit to a mere "force" or "energy", they have fallen into the trap of becoming polytheistic like the Mormons, a concept abhorrent to the Witnesses. They have written their own Bible because to accept the true Bible is to accept the Deity of Christ and the personhood and Deity of the Holy Spirit. It has been well documented that those responsible for this "special" translation were ignorant of the dead languages, and only one of their number had anything beyond a High school diploma (many of them did not even finish High school). It should be no surprise that no one outside of the Jehovah's Witnesses' organization lend any credibility to this bizarre translation. In their effort to strip Christ of his Deity, they have translated John 1:1 as "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God." They have thus succeeded in creating two Gods despite their claims to being monotheistic. It should not surprise us that nearly all attempts to counter or discredit the orthodox Trinitarian position result in some form of polytheism and a gross distortion of Scriptural teachings.

So what of the Christian's appeal to mystery? Do they have any justification in claiming that the nature of the eternal God cannot be fully comprehended? Let us look to Scripture to find out what God has to say about Himself. In Exodus 33, we find an account of Moses desiring to fully experience the eternal God. Moses was one whom the Lord spoke to "face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." We must be cautious, however, not to read too much into this verse, as the Mormons have, in an effort to prove that God is an exalted man and not a Spirit, since this verse says he has a "face". The verse must be read in context. Moses is merely explaining his experience by way of human analogy and is not making a declaration that he literally gazed into the face of God. God plainly tells Moses in verse 20 "You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live." This is in response to Moses asking God, "I pray you, show me your glory." God is pleased, however, with Moses' request and allows Moses to see a visible after-effect of His glory (verses 21-23). It becomes clear, then, from this passage that there is something of God that no man, including Moses, can see or grasp. There is divine mystery within the eternal God. It should be noted that the Lord correlated "my face" with "me" in the second half of the verse. Moses could not see God's "face" because no man can see "me" and live. Why did the Lord not say, "...no man can see my face and live?" God seems to be making a purposeful connection between 'my face' and 'me.' To see God's face, therefore, seems to refer to seeing God's very essence. While Moses was permitted to see a visible expression of God, he was forbidden to gaze upon His divine essence.

Another passage of interest regarding this mysterious aspect of God's nature is Judges 13:11-22. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah and his wife concerning their unborn son, Samson, who God would use to deliver His people from the oppression of the Philistines. It must first be understood that "the angel of Yahweh" here is a manifestation of God himself and most scholars see such manifestations as the pre-incarnate Christ. This is in harmony with John 1:1 that declares Jesus to be the living and divine "Word", and the Hebrew meaning for "angel" which means "messenger" or "one sent". It is not difficult, therefore, to see how the divine "messenger of Yahweh" is the living Word that is with God and is God. That the angel of the Lord is God is clearly seen from verse 22, "So Manoah said to his wife, 'We will surely die, for we have seen God.'" The angel of the Lord is often "seen" without those seeing him experiencing death. It is therefore, again, proper for us to view this as the pre-incarnate Christ in light of Col. 1:15 and Hebrews 1:3, where Christ is described as the image or expression of the invisible God (invisible because He is Spirit and not flesh and bones as Mormons would have us believe). The Son is, therefore, the visible expression of the invisible God (the Father). For this reason, man has been able to see the Son and live because He is the expression of the Father, but there is still something of God "hidden" within the Son (Col. 1:19; 2:9). For the essence of God, fully realized in the person of Christ, is still hidden from human eyes. Only the "expression" can be seen without causing instant death.

In the Hebrew culture names play a very important role. Biblical names were not seen as arbitrary but rather expressions of the personality of those possessing that particular name. This is why to use God's name vainly was a capital offense, for His name was, to some extant, an expression of his divine nature and person. To misuse God's name was to disrespect the person and nature of the eternal God. This is very important when dealing with this particular passage of scripture. Manoah (not yet realizing the divinity of the being he is speaking with) asks the angel of the Lord to reveal His name (vs. 17). The Lord's response is of particular interest, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is incomprehensible?" (vs. 18) While the angel of the Lord could certainly have said "Yahweh", He chose instead to reply by letting Manoah know that his request could not be fully granted as no mortal can know God in all his fullness. He was trying to give Manoah a clue as to who indeed he was speaking with, not merely a man or an angel, but the incomprehensible God. Manoah somehow failed to make the connection and remained oblivious to the messenger's true identity until He performed a miracle in his presence (verses 20-22).

We should also make note of Ezekiel's vision of God. Ezekiel goes into great detail describing the chariot of Cherubim (Ez 1:4-25), and the divine being that sat upon it (vss. 26-28). This is probably the most descriptive vision of God recorded in the Bible, and yet Ezekiel is very cautious in letting his readers know that what he saw was not God in all His fullness, but rather "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." (verse 28, emphasis added)

So what can we learn from these passages? While it is possible to understand God as far as He is revealed in Scripture, there is an aspect of God that is hidden from mankind, shrouded in mystery, and incomprehensible (1Tim. 6:15, 16). Scripture declares that there is one God in three eternal Persons. We can believe and accept this revelation without fully grasping how such a thing could be so. Duet. 29:29 states, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." We can rejoice in what God has revealed of himself while standing in awe of the mystery of His divine nature. Such has been the experience of many godly men like Moses, Manoah, and Ezekiel. We have been given further insight into God's divine nature through the person of Jesus Christ and the writings of the New Testament, but it remains as true today as it was in the days of the exile and before, that the God of the Bible in all his glory and essence is beyond our ability to grasp.

It may be objected, "How then can we be expected to love someone that we can not fully understand?" Here we impose on our relationship with God something we do not impose on our relationships with each other. There is mystery inherent in those made in God's image just as there is mystery in the nature of God.

No man can adequately explain how a physical brain can interact with or be responsible for an immaterial mind capable of free will and abstract thinking. We can make many observations that lead us to the conclusion that man has an immaterial spirit, but how this is so no one can adequately explain. Does this then mean that I cannot love my wife? We are physical people made up of molecules that are made up of atoms which are made up of subatomic particles which have completely baffled those who study their behavior (quantum physics). These particles behave strangely, to say the least, and seem to do the impossible. They do not obey the laws of physics as we know them. Simply observing them seems to affect how they react and behave. Light photons seem to be able to exist in two places at the same time. Truly all the laws of physics seem to break down at the subatomic level. No honest quantum physicist would claim to fully understand how such things can be, yet they are capable of loving and interacting with those that are made up of these unruly and truly bizarre particles.

To my knowledge, scientists still cannot make sense of the phenomenon of gravity. While it is understood that our universe could not exist without the strange power of gravity, the causes of gravity are still unknown. There are plenty of theories, but no honest scientist has claimed to fully understand the mystery of gravity. Despite this, we as humans properly interact with gravity every day (i.e. we do not tend to walk off tall buildings or stand under heavy falling objects). Gravity plays a part in every physical interaction we have on this planet. This is not to say that we will not someday understand what causes gravity, but understanding what causes gravity is not a prerequisite for properly interacting with it anymore than my sending a fax requires me to fully understand how a fax machine works.

To claim, as some have done, that there can be no mystery within the Creator of all such things, or that we cannot love that which we cannot fully understand, is to be dishonest with human experience and with the Scriptural record. If we still cannot fathom certain aspects of God's creation, how then can we expect to fully grasp the nature of the God that spoke them into existence? We can certainly love and experience God without fully comprehending him just as we love and experience each other without fully comprehending our human nature (for what man or woman would honestly claim to have their spouse totally figured out?). God has revealed enough for us to love and interact with each other and Him (Duet. 29:29), but God is not required to reveal that which is beyond us, nor would we be able to understand such things if He did (Judges 13:18; Job 38-42). Our finite brains are not capable of wrapping themselves around the infinite God, and it should seem to be the ultimate in human arrogance and irrationality to think they could. God forgive us for ever trying to reduce the almighty God to our stature for the sake of reason. To do so is to worship ourselves and our finite minds and to strip the living God of the awe-inspiring worship and glory that he alone deserves (Rom. 1:25).

Copyright © 2005, Benjamin Henshaw
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