Study of the Heidelberg Catechism, Study 5: Questions 24-64: The Nature of The Trinity

I grew up on the west coast of Florida. As a teenager one of my favorite activities was watching the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. I made the trip from our house to the beach at the close of day whenever I could, generally several times a week. A few years ago I returned to my favorite sunset watching spot to discover a restaurant with a large deck. Although initially indignant about this commercial invasion, I still chose to enjoy a meal out on the deck at sunset. Just before the sun, that evening appearing gloriously huge and red, sank into the sea, a hush settled on my self and my fellow diners. Conversations all but stopped as we turned and looked west. When the last glimpse of the sun vanished below the horizon, everyone broke into spontaneous applause. I am still moved as I think about it. Surely the heavens declare the glory of God.

Of course, we all know, in this modern world that the sun doesn’t set, the world turns. Even so, whoever says, “That was a beautiful world-turning this evening”? Despite our education, it still appears to us that the sun sets.

The insight that the world revolves around the sun was first proposed by Copernicus in the early 16th century. His proposal did not arise out of common sense but by careful and thorough observations which led him to advocate that which even today seems counter-intuitive to our daily experience. In fact, much of what we know about the world today seems counter-intuitive; whether it be the strange world of quantum mechanics or the vastness of space filled with billions of stars and thousands of galaxies. Careful observation leads us to discover that reality is not what we expect.

In this regard, what is true for this physical universe is also true about God. God is not what we expect. Over the course of several centuries, the great teachers of the early church were driven to break with “common sense” as they struggled with the “data” revealed in Scripture. The God revealed by Jesus Christ was somehow God incarnate, and yet he prayed to his heavenly Father. The Trinity implied in the Apostles’ Creed and articulated in the Nicene Creed was their daring conclusion.

Copernicus’ heliocentric theory won out over common sense because no other proposal better explained careful observations or cleared up the persistent problems with calculating the calendar by the motions of the night sky. Likewise, for the theologians of early church, no other explanation adequately accounted for all that was revealed about God in the Scriptures or provided all the spiritual dynamics necessary to achieve the benefits of salvation that Jesus bestowed on his church.

The Heidelberg Catechism explores the mind wrenching conception of the Trinity in Questions 24 through 64. Questions 24 and 25 introduce the doctrine of the Trinity. There are three questions on the Father 26–28; sixteen on the Son, questions 29–52 and twelve on the Holy Spirit, questions 53–64.

We will look briefly at the introductory questions on the Trinity and the Apostles’ Creed in this study.

Question 24. How are the articles divided? Answer. Into three parts: The first concerns God the Father and our creation; the second, God the Son and our redemption; and the third, God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.

It is noteworthy that the Heidelberg includes the roles of each member of the Trinity in our creation, our redemption and our sanctification. It also includes their persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In some circles current discussion of Trinity refers exclusively to the members of the Trinity as Creator, Redeemer and Revealer. The underlying concern is that referring to God as Father and Son raises gender issues about God that are unpleasant for some to ponder.

However, both their person and their roles in this world are important for us to consider. We need to know not only that God is the Creator, but more than that, he is Father. We need to know Jesus, not merely as Redeemer, but as God’s Son. In their relationship and in their roles we find the explanations of this world and our redemption.

Each person of the Trinity has a special role: creator, redeemer and sanctifier. However, while each has a unique role, the roles are not exclusive. They are in relationship. Genesis makes it clear that the Spirit was active in creation while the first verses of John reveal that the Son was engaged in creation as well. Likewise each person of the Trinity has a role in our redemption and sanctification.

Question 25. Since there is only one Divine Being, why do you speak of three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Answer. Because God has thus revealed himself in his Word, that these three distinct persons are one, true, eternal God.

Following the articulation of their identity and roles from question 24, this question and answer affirms their unity. There are not three gods. There is only one God. We don’t believe in a “tri-theism” but a Trinity. Yet there is a distinctness that must be affirmed too. From the earliest articulations of this doctrine it was affirmed that Father is not the Son or the Spirit; the Son is not the Father or the Spirit; neither is the Spirit the Father nor the Son.

No metaphors or analogies are sufficient to explain this plurality of persons but unity of being. Reality, especially when it comes to God, is indeed stranger than we think and beyond our ability to comprehend. While meditation on this divine mystery ought to make your brain ache, it shouldn’t unsettle you about the plausibility of our faith. C.S. Lewis wrote that one of the reasons he believed that Christianity had such a ring of truth was because no one would ever come up such ideas by means of common sense.

Study Questions

1. What responses or concerns do you have concerning the doctrine of the Trinity?
2. Read Ephesians 1:1-23. What various references do you discover to the persons of the Trinity?
3. What is unique about the role of each person?
4. What do they share in common?
5. Read Ephesians 3:14-21. Again, look for various references to the persons of the Trinity. How do the persons of the Trinity work together in our lives?
6. A great Puritan leader said that we should have a personal relationship with each person of the Trinity. In what ways can you discern the persons of the Trinity active in your life?
7. At various times in our lives we may relate more to one person of the Trinity than another. With whom are you most consciously engaged at this point in your life?
8. How would you explain the Trinity to a new believer or to someone who was curious about Christianity?
9. Because the word Trinity is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible there are those who say that it is unbiblical. What might you say to them?

For Further Study (not an exhaustive list)

• The Father is God: I Cor 8:6; John 5:23-24, 26; 8:54
• The Son is God: John 8:58-59; Col 1:15-19, 2:9
• The Holy Spirit is God: Acts 5:3-4; Heb 9:14; Psa 139:7
• Theology Matters, Sep/Oct 2003, “The Essential Tenets and Reformed Distinctives”
• Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions by Millard J. Erickson, Baker Book
• The Trinitarian Faith by Thomas F. Torrance, T& T Clark, Edinburgh

This study first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 11, No. 3 (May/Jun 2005).