Affirming the triunity of God in the local church

One of the most intriguing aspects of our history is the initial rejection of the Trinity by many early leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They perceived Christ as derived from the Father and considered the Holy Spirit an impersonal force, not the Third Person of the Godhead. Though different from our current understanding, these views were part of our church’s faith journey and propagated through Adventist periodical articles. As a result, the early decades of Seventh-day Adventism were marked by an antitrinitarian stance, a historical context that we now look back on with curiosity and reflection, appreciating the growth and unity we have achieved.¹

Today, the Seventh-day Adventist Church affirms the doctrine of the triunity of God in its second fundamental belief: “There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons.”² This unity of the Godhead is the prevailing stance of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on the Trinity, a stance that brings us together in our faith and reassures us of our shared beliefs. However, in the past fifteen years, a growing number of Adventists have advocated a return to the views of the pioneers. Urging the church to reject the concept of the Trinity, these voices have become increasingly vocal, leading to conflict in some congregations.³

Commitment to doctrinal clarity

The Biblical Research Institute at the General Conference has released a series of materials addressing this issue.⁴ Adventist scholars, in consensus, affirm a biblical understanding of the triune nature of the Godhead. This understanding is succinctly captured in four tenets outlined by theologian John Peckham:

1. There is only one God (the oneness of God).
2. There is a Trio of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the threeness of God).
3. The Father, Son, and Spirit are fully divine and therefore coequal and coeternal (the full divinity of the Persons).
4. The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct Persons: the Father is not the Son nor Spirit, the Son is not the Father nor Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father nor Son (the distinctness of the Persons).

The core Trinity doctrine thus affirms God’s oneness; God’s threeness; the full divinity of Father, Son, and Spirit; and the distinct Personhood of Father, Son, and Spirit.⁵

As such, the Adventist Church and its theologians reject modalism, tritheism, subordinationism, antitrinitarianism, and any other teaching that undermines the biblical portrayal of God’s triune nature as revealed in Scripture. This rejection testifies to our commitment to doctrinal clarity and our confidence in the biblical portrayal of God’s triune nature. Adventists are, therefore, nuanced but robust biblical Trinitarians who affirm this cardinal doctrine of historic Christianity.⁶

What are we doing with it?

But we must ask ourselves: What are we doing with this doctrine? Is the Trinity like gold, locked away in a carefully guarded vault, or is it a divine currency, flowing freely through the church and enriching its members? The time is ripe, I believe, for us to take proactive steps in promoting biblical Trinitarian awareness within the local church. Our people should know and appreciate the doctrine of the Trinity and understand its biblical foundation.

We ought to name and proclaim the triune God in our worship, singing, praying, and preaching—unashamedly celebrating God in His triune greatness and explaining Him clearly to our congregations. Because it is the solemn responsibility of pastors to cultivate this vibrant Trinitarian experience in their churches, I suggest the following actions.

Trinitarian treasures

First, discover the Trinitarian treasures in Scripture and name them for yourself. By Trinitarian treasure I mean an indirect or direct biblical reference to the Trinity that reveals God’s love in action for our salvation. The term Trinity does not appear in Scripture, but the concept is progressively revealed throughout the Old Testament and reaches its zenith in the New Testament. Only through the revelation of Jesus Christ—His incarnation and life—can we understand God’s inner relations as triune.

In coming to this world, Christ “revealed the Trinity to us in a way that no amount of verbal revelation could ever communicate.”⁷ He is the “crown jewel of the Triune God’s work of salvation.”⁸ In Him, we see how each member of the Godhead “plays a unique part in the plan of salvation, with the Father as Source, the Son as Mediator, and the Spirit as Actualizer.”⁹ To name the Trinity is to directly state and recognize the distinct persons of the triune God in worship and teaching.

As you read through the New Testament, notice not only the more obvious threefold formulas of the Father, Son, and Spirit—such as in Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14—but also the many indirect references to God’s triunity. One scholar concluded that there are 75 references to the Trinity in the New Testament.¹⁰ When you come across one of these triadic treasures, name it for yourself. For example, “In Christ, I have access to the Father through one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18). “Through Christ’s redeeming work, God the Father has adopted me as His son/daughter, and through the Spirit, I can cry, ‘Abba, Father’ ” (Gal. 4:4–6). “I pray in the Holy Spirit, live in the love of God, and wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 20, 21).¹¹ In this manner, you will think and pray using the Trinitarian vocabulary and grammar of Scripture. Thus, you name (and claim) the triune God in these Scriptures for yourself and can then proclaim them to your people.

The final word

Second, make Scripture the final word in your teaching about God’s triunity. The Adventist Trinitarian understanding goes as far as Scripture and no further regarding how God can be One in Three Persons. A noteworthy feature in all occurrences of the triadic pattern in the New Testament is that the inspired writers do not attempt any explicit development of the doctrine. But the triadic ground plan, the triadic formulas, and the oneness and unity of God are all there. This threefold pattern consistently appears throughout the New Testament, naturally and organically reflecting the Trinitarian awareness of the writers. Their purpose was to set forth each divine person of the one Godhead in terms of their role and function in the plan of redemption.¹²

Thus, the oneness and threeness of God held together in Scripture is a reality but a paradox not fully explained. We must accept it as such and avoid probing into details upon which the biblical writers are silent. The historical debates of the third and fourth centuries and the resulting creeds, which introduced classic terms such as essence, substance, and person to explain the Trinity, can be helpful.¹³ However, the final appeal should always be to the language of Scripture.

How should we regard the many analogies and images used to explain the Trinity (such as the three-leaf clover; an apple with its skin, flesh, and core; or three persons huddled under an umbrella)? First, all analogies—whether from nature, social settings, or psychology—inevitably fall short of capturing the whole reality of the Deity. God is transcendent, wholly separate from and above His creation, so no created thing can perfectly represent His greatness, uniqueness, or threeness in oneness. Second, while there may be a place for the careful use of analogies, it is safest to stay close to Scripture, which does not rely on analogies to illustrate the mysteries of the Trinity. For example, the baptism narrative in the Synoptic Gospels offers a powerful scriptural depiction of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit working together in the life and ministry of Christ.

Follow the lead

Third, Ellen White is helpful when she is studied in the light of Scripture, not vice versa. Some former Adventists and antitrinitarian advocates misinterpret Ellen White’s writings by overlooking the literary and historical context of her statements on the Godhead and her consistent submission to Scripture as the ultimate authority on the subject.

With a biblical Trinitarian consciousness, she wrote as a monotheist who expressed a relational view of the triune God and sought to give practical application of what this means for salvation and Christian living.¹⁴ She often named the triune God¹⁵ and did so for herself: “When I feel oppressed and hardly know how to relate myself toward the work that God has given me to do, I just call upon the three great Worthies, and say: You know I cannot do this work in my own strength. You must work in me, and by me, and through me” (emphasis added). And then she proclaimed it: “And this is the prayer that every one of us may offer.”¹⁶

Conclusion

The beauty and power of how the triune God reveals Himself in Scripture allow believers to cultivate a personal and experiential relationship with each divine Person—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This relationship is not just doctrinal but deeply personal, encompassing the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the communion with the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). True spirituality is rooted in an intimate connection with the entire Trinity, where each Person of the one God plays a unique and vital role in the believer’s life. Imagine the impact if every believer in our churches truly understood and experienced the fullness of the triune God. The transformation begins with us.

In the sequel to this article (scheduled to be in the February 2025 issue), I will address how to celebrate the Triunity of God in our worship and preaching.