How can one God be three persons?

Answer 1

God has His own way explaining things, and there are some things which human beings cannot understand or it is beyond human understanding. It is a difficult thing for our finite minds to comprehend but comparing it to something we can relate to may help. In our families we have many facets to ourselves. At any one time I am a wife a mother a daughter - and each plays a different role and no one of them explains the whole of me. It's not a great analogy because it is trying to explain something divine and largely inexplicable with something much less so. Nevertheless there is one God with three personalities - Father Son and Holy Spirit. Some of a scientific mind give as an example of a triune God the triple-point cell. This is a device in which water is maintained in all three of its states - solid, liquid, and vapor - in the same container. The cell has to be kept at a specific temperature and pressure, or the fine balance in the cell is broken, and one or two of the three forms is lost. The specific temperature and pressure is called the "triple point." The contents of the cell stays water, but the water is in three distinct states, each of which has properties unique to that state and no other, even though they're all water. Another more "down-home" analogy is cherry pie. According to Christian minister and comedian Mike Warnke, cherry pie filling, when made right, resists cutting; the filling stays liquid, flowing throughout the pie. You can therefore cut a cherry pie into three distinct slices, but underneath the surface there's only one united area of filling. As the paragraphs above state, though, there is nothing that is completely perceivable by the human senses that equates to the triune God. ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE Not all who claim to be Christian believe in the trinity. So, with all due respect to the previous answerers, I would like the opportunity to present another perspective. What is the trinity? According to the Athanasian Creed, there are three divine Persons (the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost), each said to be eternal, each said to be almighty, none greater or less than another, each said to be God, and yet together being but one God. The New Encyclopædia Britannica says: "Neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament, nor did Jesus and his followers intend to contradict the Shema in the Old Testament: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord' (Deut. 6:4). . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. . . . By the end of the 4th century . . . the doctrine of the Trinity took substantially the form it has maintained ever since."-(1976), Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. What does the Bible say? Matt. 26:39, RS: "Going a little farther he [Jesus Christ] fell on his face and prayed, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.'" (If the Father and the Son were not distinct individuals, such a prayer would have been meaningless. Jesus would have been praying to himself, and his will would ofnecessity have been the Father's will.) John 8:17, 18, RS: "[Jesus answered the Jewish Pharisees:] In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true; I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me." (So, Jesus definitely spoke of himself as being an individual separate and distinct from the Father.) Mark 13:32, RS: "Of that day or that hour no ones knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Of course, that would not be the case if Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were coequal, comprising one Godhead. And if, as some suggest, the Son was limited by his human nature from knowing, the question remains, Why did the Holy Spirit not know?) Matt. 20:20-23, RS: "The mother of the sons of Zebedee . . . said to him [Jesus], 'Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.' But Jesus answered, . . . 'You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.'" (How strange, if, as claimed, Jesus is God! Was Jesus here merely answering according to his "human nature"? If, as Trinitarians say, Jesus was truly "God-man"-both God and man, not one or the other-would it truly be consistent to resort to such an explanation? Does not Matthew 20:23 rather show that the Son is not equal to the Father, that the Father has reserved some prerogatives for himself?) Matt. 12:31, 32, RS: "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (If the Holy Spirit were a person and were God, this text would flatly contradict the Trinity doctrine, because it would mean that in some way the Holy Spirit was greater than the Son. Instead, what Jesus said shows that the Father, to whom the "Spirit" belonged, is greater than Jesus, the Son of man.) John 14:28, RS: "[Jesus said:] If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I." 1 Cor. 11:3, RS: "I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." (Clearly, then, Christ is not God, and God is of superior rank to Christ. It should be noted that this was written about 55 C.E., some 22 years after Jesus returned to heaven. So the truth here stated applies to the relationship between God and Christ in heaven.) 1 Cor. 15:27, 28 RS: "'God has put all things in subjection under his [Jesus'] feet.' But when it says, 'All things are put in subjection under him,' it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one."(So Jesus himself is subject to the father) The Hebrew word Shad·dai´ and the Greek word Pan·to·kra´tor are both translated "Almighty." Both original-language words are repeatedly applied to Jehovah, the Father. (Ex. 6:3; Rev. 19:6) Neither expression is ever applied to either the Son or the holy spirit. This is only a few points to consider from the Bible, which is the final authority on matters such as this. Many more are found in this online publication which I am providing the web address for: http://watchtower.org/e/ti/index.htmI It will discuss more such as, Answers such questions as: What is the Trinity? Does the Bible teach it? Is Jesus Christ the Almighty God and part of the Trinity? What is the holy spirit, and how does it function? == == Father * Son * Spirit = Elohim 1 * 1 * 1 = 1

Answer 2

AnswerYes. If God exists and is omnipotent, he can be three in one. Most Christians do believe in the Holy TRinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Hindus similarly believe in a trinity: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The ancient Egyptians believed in even more complex syncretism of their gods.

Answer 3

Don't worry - you aren't the only one. It's really an impossibility to wrap your head around the "nature of God" because his very nature is so far removed from our normal level of understanding that it just can't be explained. It can be accepted as true, but never fully explained. Imagine if you tried to explain sight to a person who has been blind their entire life - they hear the words you are saying, they get the concept, but the reality of actually seeing is not something they would truly be able to understand because they couldn't experience it. We are not eternal beings, and so we will never be able to understand the reality of something which is eternal. You know... like God.

Answer 4

For an omnipotent deity, it should not be hard to be three persons in one, even if it is something that mortals find hard to understand. The Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva is actually more complex than the Christian trinity.

Answer 5

God is three people in one person.