The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV

By: Scott Schuler

When we hear the name God, who or what comes to mind?

The mystery and majesty of creation has always touched a soft place in my heart. I remember lying on my back by the edge of a lake, late one evening when I was in my early 20s, peering into the vast starry sky and thinking, “How could anyone not believe in God?”

Even as a child, I realized that creation is too magnificent for it to just happen without a greater force at work! I had always believed in God as that greater presence and power, however I couldn’t grasp the concept of who Jesus was.

It was not until I was 27 that it became clear to me through a number of uncoincidental circumstances that the absence of faith in Jesus was going to lead me to permanent separation from God in a place the Bible calls Hell (Revelation 21:8).

This fear of not knowing God brought me to search and read the Bible and this is when I started to understand “God” and truth of the Christian faith.

The Bible (John 15:26) reveals that God consists of: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I learned that even though the Father is God, He is not the Holy Spirit or the Son. Jesus is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, too, but He is not the Father or the Son. Wait … what?

While I was on a trip to Ireland, a tour guide explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to me in a simple yet powerful way.

Reaching down and plucking a three-leaf clover from the field, the guide turned it upside down and pointed to the clover’s three leaves. Each leaf represents a component of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then, pointing to the stem, he explained that even though there are three leaves on the clover, they are all-in-one on the stem.

Similarly, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit operate with individually specific purposes, but they are all-in-one as God. Because Jesus became fully human to pay the sin debt for humanity, He is the one with whom we walk in a personal relationship. The apostle Paul explains it this way in the New Testament:

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4–6

Whether you have received theological training in a seminary, or you have little knowledge of the Bible, the individual roles of the Trinity can seem complex.

Part of my mission as your guide through these Blogs and developing your walk with Jesus is to simplify these complicated concepts. The next three Blogs will focus on bringing clarity to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit separately to understand how all three work together to draw us into the Father’s presence.

Read through the verses in this Blog and think through how the Bible describes the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Share your thoughts.

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