Answers to Questions Muslims Ask
Do Christians Believe in Three Gods
Christians do not believe in three Gods. The Bible says in the Torah, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4), and in the New Testament (Injil) it says, "We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4).
Christians do believe in the Trinity: one God who exists in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Christians did not make up the doctrine of the Trinity, but believe it because of the teaching of the Bible, which teaches that:
a. There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:4, quoted above).
b. Three entities are identified as God:
1) The Father: Jesus refers to "God the Father" in John 6:27, and the Lord's prayer begins with: "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name" (Matthew 6:9).
2) The Son: God the Son became man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is referred to in the Injil as "the Word," as in the Qur'an he is referred to as "a word from God." In the Gospel of John, it says of him: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Later it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
Jesus himself claimed, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30), which angered the Jews so much that they tried to kill him because he, a mere man, claimed to be God (John 10:30). Jesus backed up his claim to be God in human flesh by his sinless life and by his unequaled miracles (John 10:32), especially his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:1-4).
3) The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the personal extension of God's presence anywhere in the universe. The Holy Spirit is equated to God in Acts 5:3-4 where lying to the Holy Spirit is equal to lying to God. All three entities of the Trinity are referred to together as equals in Matthew 28:19-20, which speaks of "baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," and in 2 Corinthians 13:14 which speaks of the "grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit."
c. These three entities are distinct Beings. For example, Jesus [the Son] prayed to God the Father in heaven (John 17), and God [the Father] is said to have sent the Son into the world (John 3:16-17). In John 14:26 Jesus says that he sends out the Holy Spirit from the Father. In John 16:13-14 it says that the Spirit gives glory to Jesus [the Son].
So Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not just different names for the same thing, but each represent a personal entity which acts in relation to the others: the Father sends the Son, the Son sends the Spirit, the Son prays to the Father, the Spirit brings glory to the Son, etc.
The only way to make sense of these three truths (one God, three Persons identified as God, each distinct from the other) is to believe in One God existing as three entities (Father, Son, and Spirit) perfectly united in harmony and Being.
Admittedly, the doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious and hard to understand. But this does not mean it is wrong. God himself is mysterious and beyond what we can hope to fully understand. Nevertheless, some analogies can help us make sense of the Trinity. Just as a single beam of light can be divided into its three primary colors (red, green, and blue), so one God can be divided into Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The mathematics of the Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, but 1 x 1 x 1 = 1.
Next Question: How can Jesus be the Son of God?
Christians do believe in the Trinity: one God who exists in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Christians did not make up the doctrine of the Trinity, but believe it because of the teaching of the Bible, which teaches that:
a. There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Corinthians 8:4, quoted above).
b. Three entities are identified as God:
1) The Father: Jesus refers to "God the Father" in John 6:27, and the Lord's prayer begins with: "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name" (Matthew 6:9).
2) The Son: God the Son became man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is referred to in the Injil as "the Word," as in the Qur'an he is referred to as "a word from God." In the Gospel of John, it says of him: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Later it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
Jesus himself claimed, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30), which angered the Jews so much that they tried to kill him because he, a mere man, claimed to be God (John 10:30). Jesus backed up his claim to be God in human flesh by his sinless life and by his unequaled miracles (John 10:32), especially his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:1-4).
3) The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the personal extension of God's presence anywhere in the universe. The Holy Spirit is equated to God in Acts 5:3-4 where lying to the Holy Spirit is equal to lying to God. All three entities of the Trinity are referred to together as equals in Matthew 28:19-20, which speaks of "baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," and in 2 Corinthians 13:14 which speaks of the "grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit."
c. These three entities are distinct Beings. For example, Jesus [the Son] prayed to God the Father in heaven (John 17), and God [the Father] is said to have sent the Son into the world (John 3:16-17). In John 14:26 Jesus says that he sends out the Holy Spirit from the Father. In John 16:13-14 it says that the Spirit gives glory to Jesus [the Son].
So Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not just different names for the same thing, but each represent a personal entity which acts in relation to the others: the Father sends the Son, the Son sends the Spirit, the Son prays to the Father, the Spirit brings glory to the Son, etc.
The only way to make sense of these three truths (one God, three Persons identified as God, each distinct from the other) is to believe in One God existing as three entities (Father, Son, and Spirit) perfectly united in harmony and Being.
Admittedly, the doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious and hard to understand. But this does not mean it is wrong. God himself is mysterious and beyond what we can hope to fully understand. Nevertheless, some analogies can help us make sense of the Trinity. Just as a single beam of light can be divided into its three primary colors (red, green, and blue), so one God can be divided into Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The mathematics of the Trinity is not 1 + 1 + 1 = 3, but 1 x 1 x 1 = 1.
Next Question: How can Jesus be the Son of God?