Imagine two friends meeting for tea in a busy urban café. One is a Christian, the other a Muslim. The Muslim asks sincerely, “If the Trinity is so central to Christianity, why is the word not in the Bible?” It is an honest question, and one worth exploring. We often think that if a word isn't written down, the idea it describes doesn't exist. But language doesn't make truth; it helps us figure it out and talk about it. Before Newton named it, gravity pulled apples to the ground. A mother's love was there even before her child could say “love.” Just because a specific word exists or not, doesn't mean the reality isn't there.
This principle is not unique to Christianity. Muslims understand it well. The term “tawhid”, which expresses the oneness of God, never appears in the Qur’an. Yet the concept is woven throughout its pages: “Say: He is Allah, the One” (112:1). The shahada, which is the central confession of Islamic faith, does not occur in its complete form in the Qur’an1, nor is the five-times-daily prayer pattern set out in one place2. This is true too of the idea of shariah as a comprehensive system developed over time through reflection on the Islamic scriptures. These terms are not fabrications. They are theological summaries, human attempts to describe and teach truths that have already been revealed in each respective faith.
The same is true of the Christian concept of the Trinity. Words like this act as windows, allowing us to glimpse realities too vast to contain. Think of London’s skyline: long before the Shard was named, its foundations were being laid, its structure was rising. The name did not create the building - it simply provided people with a way to describe what already existed. In the same way, the term Trinity helps Christians articulate a truth revealed throughout Scripture: that the one God has made Himself known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word does not invent reality; it helps us see it.
The Bible begins with a foundational confession: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Christianity, like Islam and Judaism, is firmly monotheistic. There is one Creator, one Sovereign, one Lord. But from the opening pages of Scripture, we also see a complexity in how this one God acts and speaks. In Genesis, God creates through His Word and His Spirit. The Spirit hovers over the waters, the Word brings creation into being. Unity and diversity are already present in divine activity. (Genesis 1:1-3)
As the biblical story unfolds, we encounter more glimpses of this mystery. The Angel of the Lord appears to Hagar3, Moses4, and Gideon5, speaking as God, receiving worship, yet distinct from God. Many scholars see these appearances as pre-incarnate manifestations of the Son6, though Scripture leaves the details open. Wisdom is portrayed as existing with God from eternity7. Isaiah speaks of a Servant who will suffer for sin yet be exalted in glory8. Daniel envisions one like a Son of Man receiving eternal authority from the Ancient of Days9. These passages do not explain the Trinity outright, but they prepare us to understand how God will reveal Himself fully.
That revelation comes in the person of Jesus Christ. John begins his Gospel by proclaiming, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.10” Jesus forgives sins11, accepts worship12, and calls Himself "I AM,"13 which is God's holy name14. He prays to the Father but also talks about how He shared His glory before the world began15. At His baptism, the Spirit comes down on Him and gives Him the power to do ministry16. Jesus says that He will send this Spirit to His followers as a personal Counsellor who will live inside them17. Finally, He commands His disciples to baptize “in the name” - singular - “of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).18
Hear, Israel: the LORD is our God. The LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4
The early Christians did not create the doctrine of the Trinity; they encountered it. They prayed to the Father, worshiped Jesus as Lord, and depended on the Spirit’s power. Paul’s blessing to the Corinthian church mentions all three together: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). As they reflected on Scripture and their experience, they needed language to describe what they already believed. At the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, in response to the claim of the false teacher named Arius, who claimed that Jesus is created rather than eternal, the early church confessed that the Son is “of one being” with the Father. At Constantinople in AD 381, they affirmed the Spirit’s full divinity. These definitions did not add something new - they protected the truth revealed in Scripture.
Analogies can help us approach this mystery, even though none can fully capture it. From the sun come light, heat, and rays, distinct yet inseparable. A family is one household, yet made up of different persons bound together by love. A chord is made of three distinct notes, yet they form one harmony. So too with the Trinity: the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father, yet each is fully God, and there is one God. Christians believe there is one God, made up of three persons who are equally divine and who always have existed - a confession that protects both His unity and explains how He reveals Himself.19
The Trinity shapes every part of Christian life. We pray to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. We read Scripture as the story of the Father’s plan, accomplished by the Son, applied by the Spirit. We are sent into the world as the Son was sent, empowered by the Spirit, under the Father’s authority. The Trinity is not a mathematical puzzle for be solved, but the living heartbeat of Christian worship, mission, and identity.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14
At the centre of this mystery is love. Scripture declares, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Love is not something God began when He created the world - it is part of His eternal nature20. Before creation, the Father loved the Son, the Son loved the Father, and the Spirit united them in joy. This love exists on its own and depends on nothing; it is not dependent on creation. Instead, creation and salvation flow from the overflow of this eternal love. Human beings, made in God’s image, long for love, relationships, and belonging because a relational God shapes us.
The cross is where this love shines brightest. The Father sends the Son, the Son offers His life for us, and the Spirit raises Him from the dead. Salvation is not a distant transaction; it is God Himself stepping into history to rescue us. In Jesus, the eternal Son takes on flesh, bears our sin, dies our death, and rises to bring us into God’s family. Salvation is not merely forgiveness - it is adoption. Those who trust in Christ are welcomed as children of the Father, united with the Son, and given the gift of the Spirit who lives in every Christian. The Trinity is not only a doctrine to believe; it is the reality of salvation itself.
The Trinity changes how Christians live. Prayer is no longer a ritual, but a participation in God’s life: the Spirit helps us cry out, “Abba, Father.” Worship becomes richer as we praise the Father for His love, the Son for His grace, and the Spirit for His presence. Mission becomes more urgent, because we go not in our strength but in the Spirit’s power, bearing the message of the Son, under the authority of the Father. The doctrine of the Trinity shapes how we live, how we serve, and how we hope.
And it offers an invitation. For Muslims who affirm God’s oneness, Christianity does not present three gods21 but one God who is more glorious, relational, and loving than we could imagine. Could it be that the one God has revealed Himself this way, not to confuse but to invite? Could it be that when Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), He is opening a door to know him personally and intimately? The best way to explore this is not to debate words but to encounter Jesus Himself.
If you want to discover this for yourself, begin with the Gospel of John. Read it with an open heart. Notice how the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are woven together throughout the story. Ask God to reveal Himself to you. Christians believe that the one God is not distant but near, not abstract but personal, not cold but love. He invites you into His life - a life of joy, forgiveness, and belonging that can be yours through Jesus Christ.
He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8