The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 3

 

Exploring the Foundations of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Faith

The Mystery of the Trinity: Part 3

At the very heart of Holy Scripture lies the profound mystery of the Holy Trinity: one God, eternally existing in three Persons. The Old Testament bears witness to God’s oneness in essence (ባሕርይ) and His Threeness in persons (አካል) through the testimony of the prophets, while the New Testament fully discloses this mystery in the life, Baptism, Transfiguration, and saving mission of Jesus Christ. This essay examines the oneness and Threeness of the Holy Trinity as revealed in the Holy Scripture.

The Mystery of the Trinity in the Old Testament

When God created man, Scripture says, “እግዚአብሔርም አለ; ሰውን በመልካችን እንደ ምሳሌአችን እንፍጠር።” (Genesis 1:26). The phrase “እግዚአብሔርም አለ” emphasizes the oneness of God, while “እንፍጠር” suggests plurality. When read with the understanding that God is three in person, as affirmed elsewhere in Scripture, this verse testifies to God’s perfect oneness and distinctive Threeness.  In this passage, “እንፍጠር፣ በመልካችን፣ እንደምሳሌያችን” is not the statement of a single speaker; rather, in harmony with other Scriptural verses, it indicates the unique Threeness of God. By using both singular and plural in this divine statement, Moses carefully indicates that God is three in person (በኣካል) yet one in essence (በባሕርይ) and existence (በህልውና).

When God made a covenant with humanity, Scripture states: “እግዚአብሔር አምላክም አለ፦ እነሆ አዳም መልካምንና ክፉን ለማወቅ ከእኛ እንደ አንዱ ሆነ።” (Genesis 3:22). The expression “እግዚአብሔር አምላክም አለ” affirms the oneness of God, while the phrase “ከእኛ እንደ አንዱ ሆነ” points to a plurality within the divine life. When this passage is read in harmony with other Scriptural witnesses to the Threeness of the Trinity, it reveals not only God’s oneness in essence (በባሕርይ) but also His Threeness in person (በኣካል).

At the time of the Tower of Babel (በባቢሎን ግንብ ወቅት), Scripture proclaims, “እግዚአብሔርም አለ፡- ኑ፥ እንውረድ፤ አንዱ የአንዱን ነገር እንዳይሰማው ቋንቋቸውን በዚያ እንደባልቀው።” (Genesis 11:6-8). The phrase “እግዚአብሔርም አለ” affirms God’s oneness, while “ኑ፥ እንውረድ” points to a plurality. The use of “ኑ እንውረድ” indicates a plural beyond two, since if only two were involved, it would read “ና እንውረድ,” not “ኑ እንውረድ.” When considered alongside other Scriptural passages, this relationship of singular and plural expressions reveals both the oneness and the Threeness of the Holy Trinity.

When God revealed Himself to Abraham, Scripture records: “በቀትርም ጊዜ እርሱ በድንኳኑ ደጃፍ ተቀምጦ ሳለ እግዚአብሔር በመምሬ የአድባር ዛፍ (ለአብርሃም) ተገለጠለት። ዓይኑንም አነሣና እነሆ፥ ሦስት ሰዎች በፊቱ ቆመው አየ፤ ባያቸውም ጊዜ ሊቀበላቸው ከድንኳኑ ደጃፍ ተነሥቶ ሮጠ፥ ወደ ምድርም ሰገደ።” (Genesis 18.1-2). This passage clearly bears witness that God is one in His divinity and yet revealed in three persons. While some may argue that a plural expression stated in the previous verses does not necessarily indicate three, this revelation answers such claims by showing that God is one in His attributes we discussed earlier, and three in persons.

The Testimony of the Prophets. When God appeared to Moses, He declared, “እኔ የአብርሃም አምላክ የይስሐቅም አምላክ የያዕቆብም አምላክ ነኝ አለው።” (Exodus 3:6). By naming Himself as God three times—God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob—He revealed His Threeness, while the statement “I am the God” “አምላክ ነኝ”  proclaims His oneness. Likewise, the prophet David bears witness to this mystery, saying, “… የእግዚአብሔር ቸርነት ምድርን ሞላች። በእግዚአብሔር ቃል ሰማዮች ጸኑ፥ ሠራዊታቸውም ሁሉ በአፉ እስትንፋስ” (Psalm 33:5–6), revealing the Father, the Son (the word), and the Holy Spirit. The prophet Isaiah also testifies, saying, “ንጉሡ ዖዝያን በሞተበት ዓመት እግዚአብሔርን በልዑል ዙፋኑ ላይ ተቀምጦ አየሁት… ሱራፌልም ቅዱስ፣ ቅዱስ፣ ቅዱስ የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር ምድር ሁሉ ከክብሩ ተሞልታለች እያሉ ይጨሁ ነበር፡፡” (Isaiah 6:1–8). The threefold “Holy, holy, holy” proclaims God’s Threeness, while the single title “የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር” affirms His Oneness. Thus, the Seraphim (ሱራፌል) testify that the three persons are one living God (አንድ ሕያው እግዚአብሔር), one ruler (አንድ ገዥ), and one praiseworthy God (አንድ ተመስጋኝ አምላክ)—not more than three in person, nor more than one in essence (ባሕርይ) and existence (ህልውና), but one God in three persons.

The Mystery of the Trinity in the New Testament

In the New Testament, the oneness and Threeness of God—the mystery of the Trinity—is revealed most clearly in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ (በጌታችን በተዋህዶ ሰው መሆን).

This revelation is especially evident at the time of the Annunciation (በብስራት ጊዜ). When the angel Gabriel announced the divine message to our Lady, the Holy Virgin Mary, he declared: “መንፈስ ቅዱስ በአንቺ ላይ ይመጣል፥ የልዑልም ኃይል ይጸልልሻል ስለዚህ ደግሞ ከአንቺ የሚወለደው ቅዱስ የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ ይባላል።” (Luke 1:35). In this single verse, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are clearly revealed, bearing witness to the Trinitarian mystery within the salvation of mankind. “ልዑል/ the Most High” refers to the Father, “ከአንቺ የሚወለደው ቅዱስ  የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ” refers to the Son, “መንፈስ ቅዱስ” refers to the Holy Spirit.

At the time of Christ’s Baptism, when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River in His incarnate body—as true man—the mystery of the Holy Trinity was openly revealed. This event clearly manifests both the oneness and the Threeness of God: the Son is baptized, the Holy Spirit comes up on Him, and the Father bears witness from heaven. The following Gospel passages together proclaim this profound Trinitarian revelation.

“ኢየሱስም ከተጠመቀ በኋላ ወዲያው ከውኃ ወጣ፤ እነሆም፥ ሰማያት ተከፈቱ የእግዚአብሔርም መንፈስ እንደ ርግብ ሲወርድ በእርሱ ላይም ሲመጣ አየ፤ እነሆም፥ ድምፅ ከሰማያት መጥቶ፦ በእርሱ ደስ የሚለኝ የምወደው ልጄ ይህ ነው አለ።” (Matthew .3.16–17). This verse clearly reveals the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In this verse, the Father bears witness from heaven, proclaiming, “በእርሱ ደስ የሚለኝ የምወደው ልጄ ይህ ነው,” the Son is revealed in His coming forth from the water—“ኢየሱስም ከተጠመቀ በኋላ ወዲያው ከውኃ ወጣ,” and the Holy Spirit descends visibly like a dove—“የእግዚአብሔርም መንፈስ እንደ ርግብ ሲወርድ በእርሱ ላይ ሲመጣ”.

Similarly, this verse presents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “ወዲያውም ከውኃው በወጣ ጊዜ ሰማያት ሲቀደዱ መንፈስም እንደ ርግብ ሲወርድበት አየና፦ የምወድህ ልጄ አንተ ነህ፥ በአንተ ደስ ይለኛል የሚል ድምፅ ከሰማያት መጣ።” (Mark.1.10–11).

In this passage as well, the mystery of the Holy Trinity is openly manifested, as the three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “ሕዝቡም ሁሉ ከተጠመቁ በኋላ ኢየሱስ ደግሞ ተጠመቀ። ሲጸልይም ሰማይ ተከፈተ፥ መንፈስ ቅዱስም በአካል መልክ እንደ ርግብ በእርሱ ላይ ወረደ፤ የምወድህ ልጄ አንተ ነህ፥ በአንተ ደስ ይለኛል የሚል ድምፅም ከሰማይ መጣ።” (Luke.3.21–22).

On Mount Tabor, the mystery of the Holy Trinity was revealed at the Transfiguration, when our Lord Jesus Christ manifested His divine light. The incarnate Son appeared on Mount Tabor and revealed the glory of His divinity. Scripture declares, “እርሱም ገና ሲናገር፥ እነሆ፥ ብሩህ ደመና ጋረዳቸው፥ እነሆም፥ ከደመናው፦ በእርሱ ደስ የሚለኝ ልጄ እርሱ ነው፤ እርሱን ስሙት።” (Matthew 17:1–10). The Father is revealed as the One who bears witness from heaven, declaring, “በእርሱ ደስ የሚለኝ ልጄ እርሱ ነው።” The Son is revealed as the One who is transfigured, manifesting the glory of His divine light (ብርሃነ መለኮቱን የገለጸው), and the Holy Spirit is revealed in the bright cloud that overshadowed them, as it is written, “እነሆ፥ ብሩህ ደመና ጋረዳቸው።”

In giving the apostolic mission, our Lord Jesus Christ, after accomplishing His work of salvation and before ascending into heaven, assigned His disciples with a permanent command: “እንግዲህ ሂዱና አሕዛብን ሁሉ በአብ በወልድና በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ስም እያጠመቃችኋቸው ደቀመዛሙርት አድርጓቸው” (Matthew 28:19–20). Through this command, He clearly reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Likewise, the following passage further shows the same Trinitarian mystery, in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinctly yet inseparably manifested: “ዳሩ ግን እኔ ከአብ ዘንድ የምልክላችሁ አጽናኝ እርሱም ከአብ የሚወጣ የእውነት መንፈስ በመጣ ጊዜ እርሱ ስለ እኔ ይመሰክራል፡፡” (John 15:26). In this passage, Christ speaks, and the presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit is clearly revealed.

“ብትወዱኝ ትእዛዜን ጠብቁ። እኔም አብን እለምናለሁ ለዘላለምም ከእናንተ ጋር እንዲኖር ሌላ አጽናኝ ይሰጣችኋል::” (John 14:16–17). Similarly, in this passage, Christ speaks, the Father is present, and the Comforter (አጽናኝ) clearly refers to the Holy Spirit.

In the same way, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are revealed in this verse: “ከእናንተ ዘንድ ስኖር ይህን ነግሬአችኋለሁ፤ አብ በስሜ የሚልከው ግን መንፈስ ቅዱስ የሆነው አጽናኝ እርሱ ሁሉን ያስተምራችኋል እኔም የነገርኋችሁን ሁሉ ያሳስባችኋል።” (John 14:25–26). Here, Christ speaks, the Father is present, and the Holy Spirit (the Comforter, አጽናኝ) is clearly revealed.

In all of the above verses, the three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—are clearly and consistently revealed.

The Scripture further reveals the mystery of the Trinity through the Apostles’ words. Saint Paul, in 2 Cor. 13:14, writes, “የጌታ የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ጸጋ የእግዚአብሔርም ፍቅር የመንፈስ ቅዱስም ኅብረት ከሁላችሁ ጋር ይሁን።” This verse clearly manifests the Trinity, presenting the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:
Scripture consistently reveals the Holy Trinity. The Old Testament prepares us through creation, covenants, and prophetic witness, while the New Testament shows it through Christ’s life and teachings. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in essence (በባሕርይ) and existence (በህልውና), yet three in person (በአካል). These revelations show the living mystery of God, united fully in divinity (በመለኮት), governance (አገዛዝ), will (ፈቃድ), authority (ሥልጣን), and others of the same kind, yet three in person.

May God grant us understanding of this resource and enable us to continue to the next part.