Article 1- Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

“There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” - BOD
When I read this initially one particular phrase jumped out at me and this may in fact be the most important item contained within this article and it is contained within the title of this article “Of Faith”. Faith is the most important item when it comes to dealing with the Trinity. There is precious little in scripture about the Trinity and its function and operation together. Because of the general lack of scriptural basis for the Trinity, this doctrine stands as a matter of faith it is a part of faith that has been shared in common with some of the earliest Christians. Even though in the church of Acts we would be hard press to say that those people had an understanding of a Trinitarian God like we do we can see in their stories examples of all three persons working within their community.

In this article in order to be in continuity with Christian history it is important to stress both the unity of God and the disunity of the Godhead. While this is essential for my self personally it is not the most important thing. The emphasis on “The maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible” conjures up a very specific and powerful thought for me. If it wasn’t for the will of God we would not be here. Science talks of Gravity being the essence that holds the universe together but I disagree, what holds gravity in place? What ensures us that our next breath will not be our last? God. With God being the answer how can we not believe? How can we not see the “infinite power, wisdom, and goodness,” of a God who loves and cares for us, a God that has chosen to interact with us and offer us salvation. God has chosen the method for interacting with us and it is us humans who are privileged to name God.

In the past I have struggled with this doctrine, partly because it is the most mystical doctrine that Christianity possesses (I do think how grace works in our lives may also be very mystical but that’s another post). In fact when I left the UMC and went into the United Church of Christ (UCC) it was one of the doctrines that I was struggling with the most. I actually expressed my struggle with my UMC mentor at the time; unfortunately he just brushed it off with an attitude of “the seminary will correct that”. Regrettably that was part of my reason for leaving; I didn’t feel I was being taken seriously. Even though I struggled with the trinity the ancient Trinitarian symbol (yes taken from pagan beliefs) still remained on my necklace. I have never removed it now for 6 or 7 years, it is always with me and serves as a constant reminder of the mystical dance that is our heavenly God.