Answering the Trinity

The Trinity is a beautiful and foundational doctrine in Christianity. Yet it can be a hard concept to explain to our Muslim friends and often is something we try to avoid when getting into conversation. This is especially true when it comes to conversations with Muslims who have been taught how to get Christians into a muddle by using verses that are difficult to explain. The Trinity however is foundational to our understanding of who God is, and is therefore an important topic to be able to defend well. While at first appearance explaining the Trinity can seem daunting, there are some simple approaches that will help us when engaging with our Muslim friends.

Delighting in the Trinity

The trinity is the foundational teaching of the Bible that God is one God, who has eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Sprit who each are fully God. This idea is denied by the Quran, which states that God is an indivisible unity, who can have no partners. The Trinity, while mysterious, is simple to define and a beautiful truth we can confidently hold to and reference in reaching out to others. »

The Misunderstood Trinity in the Quran

Muslims often accuse Christians of saying that they believe in three gods. Christians deny such claims, emphasising that they hold to the Bible, which teaches there is only one God, existent in three persons (hypostases), Father, Son and Holy Spirit who share the same divine nature (ousia). »

The Bible starts with the Trinity

The Bible starts with a God who is one and yet a plurality of persons, showing that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a later addition. »

Only a Trinitarian God can be a God of love

A God who is indivisibly one and self-sufficient is alone by definition, and cannot be a God of love as to love requires relationship. »

One can sometimes equal three!

Beware of using simple mathematical formulas to constrain or deny who God is. God is much bigger than maths. Yet, in certain contexts it is possible for one to equal three, like when describing a family. However, nothing in creation can fully explain the nature of God. »

The OT’s majestic plural shows us God is a plurality

The “let us” of Genesis 1:26 is not a speech device denoting glory or authority, or a reference to angels (God created all things alone), but on the contrary another sign that God, while one, is a plurality of persons. »

The word “Trinity” doesn’t have to be in the Bible for it to be true

The absence of the word “Trinity” in the Bible is no more a problem for Christians than the absence of the word “tawhid” in the Qur’an is for Muslims. Words do not create truth; they help us describe it. The Trinity names the one God revealed as Father, Son, and Spirit — eternally loving and relational. This is not a puzzle but a window into God’s heart, revealed in Jesus, who invites us into God’s family forever. »

The Bible describes God as a ‘composite’ unity

The Bible presents the oneness of God in a way that supports the doctrine of the Trinity by using a ‘composite’ unity that carries both the idea of the oneness of God who is at the same time a unity of persons. »

Developing thought, developing doctrine

The doctrine of the Trinity was discovered, not invented, as the early church encountered the Father through the Son in the Spirit. Rooted in Scripture and clarified by the early church councils, Trinitarian teaching protected true worship from distortion. That same clarity enables Christians today to speak with Muslim neighbours confidently and lovingly, making the triune God known through faithful teaching, everyday language, and caring mission in diverse modern cities. »