As Christians who desire to be faithful in proclaiming the gospel, we must correct a Muslim’s erroneous understanding by both speaking and demonstrating the truth of what God’s word says. However, in our attempts to share the gospel, there are many unhelpful and wrong examples for explaining the Trinity, such as comparing how water exists as solid, liquid and gas, or how one individual can be a father, a son, and a husband. These kind of examples are inadequate and even heretical when used to describe God. 

One of the most essential doctrines of the Bible is also one of the hardest to understand and articulate—the Trinity. At the same time, this is the single most offensive element of the Christian faith to Muslims. So it is utterly important that we properly understand the Trinity, especially as we share the gospel with our Muslim friends. In this post, we will try to briefly describe and give evidence of the Trinity.

Helpful and unhelpful ways of understanding the Trinity

Muslims typically do not have a proper understanding of what we mean when we say God is a Trinity. Typically, a Muslim assumes Christians believe God had a relationship with Mary that produced Jesus, the Son of God. As Christians who desire to be faithful in proclaiming the gospel, we must correct a Muslim’s erroneous understanding by both speaking and demonstrating the truth of what God’s word says. However, in our attempts to share the gospel, there are many unhelpful and wrong examples for explaining the Trinity, such as comparing how water exists as solid, liquid and gas, or how one individual can be a father, a son, and a husband. These kind of examples are inadequate and even heretical when used to describe God. In fact, there is really no human analogy that can fully explain the doctrine of the Trinity. For when we refer to the Trinity we mean:

• God is one being
• God is three persons
• Each person is different
• Each person is fully God

While no example is able to completely display the reality of the Trinity, there are some helpful ways to express how we believe that God is both one being and three persons. The following illustrations demonstrate that oneness does not inherently entail unitarian oneness. Take the example of marriage. Two individuals become one flesh. Wherever one spouse goes, and whatever one spouse says, it can be understood as coming from both as they are now one unit and one body. There is also the example of music. Music can be represented as notes on a page, as something played or conducted, and something listened to. Also, the essence of language is conceptualized in the mind, spoken by the mouth, and listened by the ear. Time also, though one essence, can refer to the past, present, and future. Even the first example of “one” in the Bible is composed of two presentations: one day is evening and morning. While these examples are also not perfect in explaining the Trinity, they do help make the point that things are not as neatly divided, limited, and singularly one as you would like them to be–not every individual entity is a unitary oneness.

But perhaps a better way to help demonstrate and explain the Trinity is through examples seen in the world. For woven into the very fabric of the universe is the concept of the Trinity. While the following examples also do not prove the Trinity or comprehensibly explain the Trinity, I believe these five distinctions do not make sense without the Trinity. Consequently, I believe these five fundamental realities in the universe cannot be explained by any other worldview or religion than the triune God of Scripture.

Five Trinity Distinctions in Christianity

1 – Creation 

Only the triune God of the Bible can justify the existence of creation. If you don’t have the Trinity, you lose the ability to explain why God created the universe. For the triune God creates the universe as an overflow of the relationship he has within himself; within the three persons of the Trinity communing with each other.

Only with the Trinity does God stay the same before and after creation. God creates the world because that is who he inherently is by nature. He is always generating through the eternal begetting of the Son, he is always giving life through the eternal spiration of the Holy Spirit. So the creation of the universe is simply an overflow of his eternal begetting nature. It is fitting for God to give life to creation because it matches his eternal character, for he has always been giving life in eternity past.

However, if you believe God is a perfect and unchanging being, if you believe God is absolutely single and solitary, as Muslims do, then did he not change at the creation of the universe? Without the Trinity, the reasons given for why God would create the universe are ideas like he was lonely, he was bored, he needed fellowship, he desired worship, or you simply claim that it is too mysterious and you can’t truly understand why God would create the universe. 

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