The Belgic Confession makes certain that all our ducks are in row. Before we can state what we believe, it answers the question, “How do we know what we know?” Articles 2-7 answer that question sufficiently. Now our ducks are ordered nicely. Article 8 directs our attention to who we know: "we believe in one God, who is one single essence, in whom there are three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct according to their incommunicable properties" (Article 8). We know one God in three persons.
The 8th Article of the Belgic clarifies what we mean about one God in three persons. We believe in one God in “one single essence.” What does this mean? Go back to Article 1 for the answer: this one God is simple and spiritual. The one God is “eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty, completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good.”
But God is also three persons. This is not the same as three gods. There is no Jerry-Maguire-“You-Complete-Me” in the Trinity. Jesus does not “complete” the Father, as if the Father was missing something like an arm. There is one God: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut. 6:4). Each person is fully God.
As one God in three persons, this does not mean that God plays three different roles. The Father does not change hats to act like the Son in the life and ministry of Jesus. God is not one God with three hats. This view is often advocated by an unhelpful illustration. Some try to understand the Trinity by pointing to a man and saying, “Look, he is a father, son, and worker. God is like this, too!” This illustration describes roles or Halloween costumes, not persons. God is three persons, all existing eternally. The 8th Article of the Belgic holds the tension between these two revealed truths: God is one and He exists as three eternal persons.
This tension between one God in three persons is not a logical contradiction. It would be a contradiction if He was three persons and one person. But He isn’t. He is one in essence and He is three in person. “Essence” and “person” are different just as “apple” and “blue” are different.
While it may not be a logical contradiction, the Trinity certainly is a difficult doctrine. It is difficult not because it is made up. Even the Bible never uses the word “Trinity”, it certainly teaches the concept of Trinity. It is difficult, rather, because of how it works. How can one God be three persons? Though we cannot fully understand how God is one God in three persons, we can trust that God is one God in three persons.
How are they different from each other? Scripture is clear that the Father—not the Son nor the Spirit—is the creator of all things (Gen. 1-2; Ps. 8). The Son is the Wisdom and the image of the Father, not the Holy Spirit (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might, proceeding from the Father and the Son (Joel 2:28; John 6:63).
The 8th Article of the Belgic Confession elaborates the same teachings of the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. Each of these creeds presents one God in three persons, as well. This is nothing new. It simply expands our understanding of this one God in three persons.
The 8th Article of the Belgic clarifies what we mean about one God in three persons. We believe in one God in “one single essence.” What does this mean? Go back to Article 1 for the answer: this one God is simple and spiritual. The one God is “eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty, completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good.”
But God is also three persons. This is not the same as three gods. There is no Jerry-Maguire-“You-Complete-Me” in the Trinity. Jesus does not “complete” the Father, as if the Father was missing something like an arm. There is one God: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut. 6:4). Each person is fully God.
As one God in three persons, this does not mean that God plays three different roles. The Father does not change hats to act like the Son in the life and ministry of Jesus. God is not one God with three hats. This view is often advocated by an unhelpful illustration. Some try to understand the Trinity by pointing to a man and saying, “Look, he is a father, son, and worker. God is like this, too!” This illustration describes roles or Halloween costumes, not persons. God is three persons, all existing eternally. The 8th Article of the Belgic holds the tension between these two revealed truths: God is one and He exists as three eternal persons.
This tension between one God in three persons is not a logical contradiction. It would be a contradiction if He was three persons and one person. But He isn’t. He is one in essence and He is three in person. “Essence” and “person” are different just as “apple” and “blue” are different.
While it may not be a logical contradiction, the Trinity certainly is a difficult doctrine. It is difficult not because it is made up. Even the Bible never uses the word “Trinity”, it certainly teaches the concept of Trinity. It is difficult, rather, because of how it works. How can one God be three persons? Though we cannot fully understand how God is one God in three persons, we can trust that God is one God in three persons.
How are they different from each other? Scripture is clear that the Father—not the Son nor the Spirit—is the creator of all things (Gen. 1-2; Ps. 8). The Son is the Wisdom and the image of the Father, not the Holy Spirit (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might, proceeding from the Father and the Son (Joel 2:28; John 6:63).
The 8th Article of the Belgic Confession elaborates the same teachings of the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. Each of these creeds presents one God in three persons, as well. This is nothing new. It simply expands our understanding of this one God in three persons.
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