Being from New Orleans I could be talking about the Holy Trinity for cooking. The “holy trinity” in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of the three ingredients of onions, bell peppers and celery. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from this base. These ingredients are often prepared together for purchase in local grocery stores.
However, what I would really like to talk about is that great theology mystery, the Holy Trinity that consist of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The need for man’s understanding the concept of the Trinity came into existence when, the Jewish man, Jesus, came to earth proclaiming to be the Son of God. Clearly this would be a cause of concern since for generations the foundation of the Jewish religion was that that there was only one God. It is easy to understand why the Jewish Nation rejected Jesus because he claimed that he was the Son of God which they considered blasphemy since their centuries old religion was based on a single God. Christians also added the Holy Spirit to the Holy Trinity, so Christians now believed in the Trinitarian God consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Clearly there was a need to reconcile the Trinitarian God with the single God of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible).
Christians, in general, did not believe the Trinity existed in the Old Testament. We will re-examine that statement later. The Christians did not help by arguing for centuries on how to explain the Holy Trinity. For example, Catholic theology, believed the persons of the Blessed Trinity subsisting within the inner life of God to be truly distinct relationally, but not as a matter of essence, or nature. Each of the three persons in the godhead possesses the same eternal and infinite divine nature; thus, they are the one, true God in essence or nature, not “three Gods.” Yet, they are truly distinct in their relations to each other. Clearly this was not easily understood and the Council of Florence, AD 1338-1445, attempted help us in this regard.
The Council’s definitions concerning the Trinity taught there is one nature in God, The Son “proceeds” from the Father, and the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” These are the two processions in God. The Holy Spirit was not considered a person and was thought to represent the love between the Father and the Son. None of this was easy to understand.
As you might guess this did not help in understanding the mystery of the Trinity nor did most other explanations of other Councils, but it is important to give some of this background on the attempt to define the Holy Trinity over the centuries before we proceed. While it was difficult to define, many believed that the Trinitarian God best explained the true and complete nature of God.
I would like to propose the idea for your consideration that the Trinitarian God did exist in the Old Testament, in fact the Trinitarian God existed from the creation. This is not just my opinion but also the opinion of Father Richard Rohr, the Francian priest who wrote about this in his book on the Holy Trinity called the Divine Dance. You might want to let that sink in for a while. Father Rohr is also the author of several other books and is the Founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque.
So, let’s look at Scripture and see if there is evidence that the Holy Trinity existed since the creation. Perhaps that it was there but simply a case of ears that could not hear, and eyes that could not see. As stated in Wisdom13:1, “For all men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.”
Let us begin with Jesus’ own words; in John 17:4-5.
“I have given you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
Do you now, Father, give me glory at your side, a glory I had with you before the world began.
And again, in John17:24
Father, all those you gave me I would have in my company where I am, to see this glory of mine which is your gift to me because of the love you bore me before the world began.”
Clearly Jesus, the Son of the Father, is claiming to have been here before the world began. These statements also give an indication on how the communication in the Trinitarian God occurs among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let us go on the reasonable assumption that Jesus’ words are true, let us then look for some evidence that the Trinitarian God existed in the Old Testament. It is clear that God existed and was a single God which was the strength and significance of the Jewish Religion. What about the Spirit? Some of the prophets of the Old Testament do mention God’s Spirit; Joel 3; 1-2, God says he will pour out his Spirit on all mankind. The prophet Ezekiel 36:23-29, is another example of God promising to send his Holy Spirit to his people; “I will put my spirit within you”. So, we know that God and the Holy Spirit existed during the times of the Old Testament, what about the Son of the Father?
That could be a little more difficult, except for the most amazing prediction in Isaiah 7:14, which states the Lord will give this sign, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. The word Immanuel means “God is with us”. The first miracle would be the virgin birth, this is not possible unless God wills it. The second miracle is that the child will either be God or some close tie to God (God is with us). Clearly this a foretelling of the birth of Jesus centuries before it happened. Why this was kept secret in the Old Testament will be discussed later.
So, if the Trinitarian God existed from the beginning, what was the Son of the Father called then, since we did not know the name Jesus until his birth in human form? He is called Wisdom. Look first at Proverbs 8:22-31, and just replace the name Wisdom with the Son of the Father.
Proverbs 8:22-31
Thus says the Wisdom of God:
“The Lord possessed me, the beginning of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; from of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water; before the hills, I was brought forth, while as yet the earth and fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world.
When the Lord established the heavens, I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep. When he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth; when he set the sea at its limit, so that the waters could not transgress his command; then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the human race.”
Since we have identified the Son of the Father as Wisdom in the Old Testament it seems logical, we can find more evidence in the Book of Wisdom and we can. Wisdom 9:9 says “Now with you is Wisdom, who knows your works and was present when you made the world”
All of this implies that the Holy Trinity was present since the beginning of creation. The question is why was this hidden from us? I believe that question is linked to a similar question we often hear, why was the God of the Old Testament a vengeful and punishing God and the God of the New Testament was a God of Love and Mercy. Were not the Gods the same?
Father Rohr addresses this in stating that the God depicted in the Old Testament was a pyramid system with God at the top who was normally unapproachable but the God in the New Testament was a Trinitarian God based on the circular relationship of the interaction of God, the Father, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit which was a more inclusive God and a God of Love and Mercy.
It is often said that the writers of the Old Testament wrote about the times as they understood them and that included their conception of God. Remember that the Jewish Nation asked God to give them a King like other nations. In those days kings were all powerful and took bounty and enslaved the people they conquered, often showing no mercy. We should be aware of this when we read accounts in the Old Testament.
But was not the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament the same? Of course. Let’s take a different look at the relationship of God with mankind in the Old Testament. God was attempting to get man to understand that God wanted to save as many of his creations as possible, so that they could live with him throughout eternity. But despite prophets and signs and wonders they constantly fell backwards away from God. God was dealing with an immature mankind who had not yet fully understood his message. So, the God of the Old Testament became the God of Tough Love!
We will never understand God’s mind or his sense of time. In 2 Peter 3:8, we are reminded “In the Lord’s eyes, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day.” But for whatever reason, God introduced mankind to the Trinitarian God with the birth of Jesus and the God of Tough Love of the Old Testament became the God of True Love of the New Testament!
This is truly significant; it means God’s plan is to continuously expose mankind to more truth as mankind matures to offer salvation to more people. This is means that God, who is Love, loves us and wants to save more of us so that we can live eternally with him in Heaven. He is doing this through the Trinitarian God with not only the words and miracles of Jesus and the workings of our helper, the Holy Spirit but also in allowing us to experience that Heaven is real through the near-death experience (NDEs) of those who visited Heaven and returned! He wants us to know that what he has promised us “my Father has prepared many houses for you” is real. We cannot say that time is running out (because as pointed out, God’s time is not our time) but clearly the message of all these signs should be – pay attention! And perhaps most important, it is time to take seriously that most important commandment, found in both the Old Testament (Leviticus 19: 18) and the New Testament (1 John 2: 7-11) which is to Love God and Love your Neighbor. If we live our lives according to that commandment we will be welcomed in Heaven.
It should be good news that God loves us and has developed a plan to make sure we all get an opportunity to experience his love. God is Love throughout the Bible but clearly our understanding of the God of Tough Love is different from the God of True Love. This is part of God’s plan. The advent of the Trinitarian God opens the opportunity to have a closer relationship with God (something unheard of during the time of the God of Tough Love). In fact, Jesus, the Son of the Father tells us that God is a loving father and he is our Father also and that we can directly communicate with him. Jesus gives us a prayer, The Our Father, to address our Abba, Father. The Holy Trinity not only allows but encourages us to approach God through the Son or the Holy Spirit. This closeness allows us to experience the Love of God in a personal way.
Despite all this good news, what Jesus realizes is that one of his tasks is to convince his followers that the Son of the Father has come to save everyone not just the Jews and Gentiles but even the Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans and Jesus uses them in several episodes to highlight the importance of accepting everyone. It is the era of loving God and loving your neighbor. A good example of this is Luke 9: 51-56: “As the time approached when he was to be taken from this world, he firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem, and sent messengers on ahead of him. These entered a Samaritan town to prepare for this passing through, but the Samaritans would not welcome him because he was on the way to Jerusalem. When his disciplines, James, and John saw this they said, Lord would you not have us call down fire from heaven to destroy them? He turned toward them only to reprimand them. Then they set off for another town.”
This represents a transition from the God of Tough Love to the God of True Love in which everyone who accepts God will have an opportunity to be saved. Being saved means spending eternity in Heaven with God. This is the era of loving God and loving your neighbor. The Trinitarian God expands that hard to keep commandment further by saying that we should love our enemies also!
Jesus is the most visible of the Trinity since he took on human form and came to live among us. Jesus taught us much but the most important thing he demonstrated was that there was life after death. In order to do that, he had to have a very public (and terrible) death so that multitudes witnessed his death. Thus, when he reappeared three days later everyone knew he had returned from the dead. Without his resurrection there would be no Easter Sunday! There would be no Christian churches. Christ’s rising from the dead was the most notable demonstration that there was life after death and that was his primary purpose. There were other attributes of Jesus’s death on the cross. Much was implied in Isaiah’s famous suffering servant sayings which predicted how Jesus would suffer. Isaiah 53; 4-6, talks about how he took on all our sins, and which ends with “we had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.”
Some saw this as an effort to bring the Jews back into direct contact with God since their priests frequently offered animal sacrifices to atone for their sins and the message was that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross atoned for their sins and animal sacrifices were no longer necessary. While this may be true, the Christians fully embraced this concept and often that is the main point made about Christ’s death on the cross, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, often overshadowing the importance of Easter Sunday.
We have covered a lot in this discussion about the Holy Trinity. I believe the Trinitarian God as presented by Father Rohr is the best representation of who God is. It gives the most complete description of God possible; and to understand God we must considered God as part of the Trinity, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that the Holy Trinity was here since the beginning of time. In introducing us to the circular relationship of the Holy Trinity, Father Rohr believes we have been invited to join them in their dance! An exciting thought which will take more contemplation on my part before attempting to join in the dance.
I have expressed the happy notion that God has a plan for our salvation. He seems to be revealing more about himself and we have no way to understand his timeline but I believe we are heading in the right direction (we are closing in on the end times). His allowing for so many near-death experiences of persons who have witnessed Heaven (and Hell) is an indication to let us know that there is life after death and it is filled with love and peace. It is his desire to have us in Heaven with him.
I should mention in the book I wrote, Yes Virginia there is a God and He created the Universe, based on science and scripture that I mention the Trinity. God is not only Love but God is Light. If God is Light, I proposed a Question to be Pondered, “Light can be either be a wave or a particle. If light can be in two different states, is it possible that it can have a third state not yet discovered? If so, would that help explain one of the great mysteries of theology, the Trinity. Could the Trinity be one yet have three states? Can the states exist simultaneously: If so, why did Jesus say, I must first go, before the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) can come?”
This was simply raising a question but what if the next step of reveal comes from science? Certainly, we can consider the near-death experiences based on both science and spirituality. Perhaps we may finally get a better definition of the Holy Trinity.
Well, we have certainly opened some boxes for reconsideration. I have learned a lot from my deep dive into the Holy Trinity. While you may not accept some of the things, I have suggested I hope you will also take a deep dive into trying to understand the mystery of the Holy Spirit.
Will Lannes