How can God be three and one?

This is one of the most profound questions in Christian theology, and your mathematical objection is one that's been raised for centuries. Let me explain why the Trinity isn't a contradiction—though it is a mystery that stretches human categories.

First, What the Trinity Is NOT:

• Not 1+1+1=3 — This assumes God is composed of "parts" that add up. The doctrine doesn't teach three Gods.
• Not one God wearing three masks (modalism) — Father, Son, and Spirit aren't just modes or roles God plays.
• Not three separate beings (tritheism) — Christianity is strictly monotheistic.

What the Trinity IS:

One Being (essence/nature), Three Persons (distinct centers of consciousness and relationship)

A better mathematical analogy might be: 1 × 1 × 1 = 1

But even that falls short. The Trinity reveals that ultimate reality is relational at its core—that Love, Communion, and personhood exist eternally within God's own being.

Biblical Foundation:

1. The Shema affirms ONE God:

Deuteronomy 6:4

— "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

The Hebrew word for "one" here (echad, אֶחָד) often describes a compound unity—the same word describes "one flesh" in marriage (Genesis 2:24), where two become one.

2. Yet Scripture reveals three distinct Persons:

• The Father sends the Son (John 3:16)
• The Son prays to the Father (John 17)
• The Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son (John 15:26)

3. All three are called God:

• The Father: 1 Corinthians 8:6
• The Son: John 1:1, Hebrews 1:8
• The Spirit: Acts 5:3-4 (lying to the Spirit = lying to God)

4. They appear together distinctly:

At Jesus' Baptism (Matthew 3:16-17): The Son is baptized, the Spirit descends as a Dove, the Father speaks from heaven—simultaneously and distinctly.

Why This Matters:

If God were a solitary monad before Creation, love would be something God only learned when He created others. But the Trinity means love is eternal—Father, Son, and Spirit have always existed in perfect loving relationship.

1 John 4:8

says "God is love"—not just that God loves, but that love is His very nature. This only makes sense if God is Trinity.

Would you like me to explore the philosophical coherence of this, or look at how the early church councils articulated the doctrine?

You're absolutely right that the word "Trinity" (Trinitas in Latin) doesn't appear in Scripture. It was first used by Tertullian around 200 AD. But here's the key distinction:

The term is not biblical. The concept is thoroughly biblical.

Consider: the word "Bible" isn't in the Bible either. Neither is "monotheism," "Incarnation," or "omniscience." These are terms we use to describe what Scripture teaches.

The Pattern in Scripture:

The raw data of the Trinity appears throughout the New Testament:

1. The Baptismal Formula

Matthew 28:19

— "Go and make Disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Note: "name" is singular (not "names")—one divine name, three Persons.

2. The Apostolic Benediction

2 Corinthians 13:14

— "May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Paul places Jesus and the Spirit on equal footing with "God" (the Father) in blessing the church.

3. Jesus' Own Claims

John 10:30

— "I and the Father are one."

John 14:9

— "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."

John 8:58

— "Before Abraham was, I AM." (using God's covenant name from Exodus 3:14)

Why Did It Take Time to Articulate?

The early church didn't sit down and invent the Trinity. They were forced to articulate it because heresies arose:

The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD) didn't invent doctrine—they defended what the Apostles taught against distortions.

An Analogy:

Imagine you discovered a new element. You'd need to create a name for it and describe its properties precisely. The element existed before you named it—your terminology just helps communicate the reality.

The early church did the same: they encountered the living God as Father, Son, and Spirit in Scripture and experience. Then they developed precise language to protect that encounter from misunderstanding.

Would you like me to show you more passages where Jesus claims equality with God, or explore how the Old Testament hints at plurality within God?

Why "I AM God" Would Have Been Less Clear:

Here's the irony: if Jesus had said "I am God" in Greek (ego eimi theos), it would have been ambiguous in a polytheistic world. Which god? The Greeks had many.

Instead, Jesus used language His Jewish audience couldn't misunderstand:

1. "I AM" (ἐγώ εἰμι, ego eimi)

In John 8:58, Jesus says "Before Abraham was, I AM"—using the present tense for existence before Abraham, and echoing God's self-Revelation to Moses:

Exodus 3:14

— "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM... say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.'"

The Jews immediately picked up stones because they understood: Jesus was claiming to be Yahweh.

2. Accepting Worship

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus accepts worship (Matthew 14:33, John 9:38), something no faithful Jew or Angel would do:

Revelation 22:8-9

— When John falls to worship an angel, the angel says: "Don't do that! Worship God!"

Yet Jesus never says this. He receives Thomas's declaration "My Lord and my God!" with approval (John 20:28-29).

3. Forgiving Sins

Mark 2:5-7

— Jesus says to a paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." The Scribes think, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" They're right—and Jesus proves His authority by healing the man.

4. "Son of Man" from Daniel 7

When Jesus calls Himself "Son of Man," He's referencing Daniel 7:13-14—a figure who receives worship from all nations, whose kingdom is eternal, and who approaches the "Ancient of Days" as an equal.

The Evidence of Reaction:

The strongest evidence that Jesus claimed deity is how His opponents responded. They tried to kill Him repeatedly for blasphemy—not for being a good teacher or prophet, but for "making himself equal with God" (John 5:18).

As C.S. Lewis famously argued: Jesus didn't leave us the option of calling Him merely a great moral teacher. He claimed things that, if untrue, would make Him either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

The Apostles who knew Him best—and who were strict Jewish monotheists—worshipped Him as God. Something convinced them.