How are We to Understand the Word “Persons”?as Used in the Doctrine of the Trinity?

??A typical Trinitarian statement of faith would declare something like “There is One God manifested in three Divine Persons”. What does this mean? The word “Persons” is often used of the distinctions in the Trinity. One of the primary misunderstandings that people apply to this word is that when they think of persons, they envisage separate human beings. This does not apply to God. In Trinitarian thinking, the word "Persons" is therefore simply used as a convenient shorthand to refer to the distinctions within the Trinity. This in no way detracts from the fact that they are personal, as opposed to impersonal, as God is not some sort of impersonal force, but has personality, will, emotions, etc. All attributes that are clearly personal. It must be admitted, that the word "Persons", when used of the members of the Trinity, is an imperfect term, but no universally acceptable alternative has ever been accepted by the Church, so the word remains.
Even non-Trinitarians use the term “Person” when speaking of God. For example, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society are clearly comfortable with calling God a Person:

"Some find it hard to think of God as a Person...when we hear the word "person" we may automatically think of a human. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, for example, defines "person" as "an individual human being." But it also defines "person" as "a being characterized by conscious apprehension, rationality, and a moral sense." Therefore, one can accurately think of God as a Person without depicting him as human." (The Watchtower, April 1, 1987, p. 3)
Similarly, another Watchtower source states the following:

"While most people say they believe in God, many do not think of him as a real person. Is he? Well, it can be seen that where there is intelligence there is a mind...So, then, the great mind responsible for all creation belongs to the great Person, Almighty God." (You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, p. 36).
But by speaking of God in this way, and using the word Person, it may well be misunderstood to mean that God is a human being of flesh and bone. This is clearly not the case however, but the point is, that the word “Person” when used of God, is open to being misunderstood. It is the same when the term “Persons” is used of the Trinity.

http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/trinityandpersons.htm

What is the Trinity?

The word "trinity" is not found in the Bible, but the concept is.  All cults deny the Trinity.  Christians claim it is true.  But, what is it?  Is it an office held by three gods (Mormonism) or a pagan concept borrowed from ancient cults (as the Jehovah's Witnesses teach)?  The Oneness Pentecostal believers teach that God is not a Trinity but is really one person who takes three forms.  So, which of these is true?  None.
The Trinity is the doctrine that there is only one God in all creation, all time, and all places.  This one God exists as three persons:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Each person is not the same person as the other, yet there are not three gods, but one.
The Bible has many references to a plurality concerning the nature of God's existence.  Consider the following verses as an example:  Gen. 19:24, "Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven."  Notice that the Lord rained FROM the Lord out of heaven.  Amos 4:10-11 says, "I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses, And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me, declares the Lord [YHWH]. 11I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me, declares the Lord."  Notice here that the Lord is talking and says, "I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." Sometimes when I show these verses to Jehovah's Witnesses (without saying anything else), they often respond with, "Are you trying to show me the Trinity?"  I then say, "You got the Trinity out of that?  Wow!"
In the New Testament there are several verses that show God's plurality.  Here are two of those verses.  Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,". Note that there is one name and three persons.   Also, 2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." These kinds of verses, and others are part of the means by which the doctrine of the Trinity is derived.
When we "theologians" use the word "person," we are not saying that God is three individual beings walking around who are actually one being.  That would be a contradiction.  Instead, we define a person as having self awareness, identity, can speak, love, grieve, etc.  These are attributes of personhood and we see all of these attributes, and more, in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Trinity is a very important doctrine within Christianity.  It is the correct view of the Godhead and needs to be affirmed by Christians.  Of course, the cults deny the Trinity, often misrepresent it as teaching three gods, or that it is an office, etc.  But the truth is that the Trinity doctrine is derived from Scripture and is unique to Christianity.
Finally, the Trinity is important because only in the doctrine of the Trinity can we have the true incarnation of God (the Word become flesh as the Son - John 1:1,14).  Only the God-man Jesus can offer a sacrifice sufficient to appease the infinite Father in heaven.  No mere man can do this.  No mere angel.  Instead, God the Word, in His grace, added to Himself human nature (Phil. 2:5-8) in order to bear our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) so that He might become sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21).  This way, He atoned for our sins by the shedding of His blood (Heb. 9:22) and guaranteed that all who trust in Him will receive everlasting life (John 3:16).  Because of what Jesus did on the cross, we might then have eternal life that is received by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8).  Amen to that!

 

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