The word "trinity" does not appear in the Bible. It literally means "tri-unity" (three-in-one). We know God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three distinct persons within one godhead. Trinitas was first used by Tertullian toward the end of the 2nd century, but it didn't become an "official" teaching of the Christian Church until A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicea. Theologians discerned this understanding of God's nature by examining the whole witness of Scripture. These three truths are made clear:

• There is only one God.
• The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God.
• The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct from each other.

Notice that this does not say there are three gods (that would be a heresy). Nor does it say there is one God who acts in three different ways (that would be another heresy). It says: three persons, one God. Hard to comprehend? It is for me, too. But why should we assume we can have God all "figured out"? The mystery of God is one of the realities that moves me to humbly worship.