Last night in our Christmas Eve service this verse was read:

Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

I was struck how this is a clear a statement of the Trinity.

The Trinity, of course is a mystery, unfathomable for a human being: One God in three Persons. Each one God, each one different, each one playing a distinct role. Like in salvation where the Father plans, the Son carries it out and the Spirit finishes it up.

Some would say this is a New Testament construct. But, there are strong hints and foreshadowing of this mystery in the Old Testament. Look at this verse mentioned, Isa. 6:9:
“…a son” This is THE Son, Jesus
“ …who is called Wonderful Counselor” This is the Holy Spirit.
“…Mighty God,” The One God with three Persons
“…Everlasting Father,” The Son is the Father
“…Prince of Peace” the title of the Son.

Having a Triune God is very important. If God were only one, since He is love, he would need someone else to love, making him dependent on his creation. But the relationships within the Trinity are all He/they need. This makes Him truly God, independent of anything He creates.

There are other hints at the Trinity, beginning with the first verses in the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” The word for “God” here is “Elohim.” In Hebrew this is a plural word, and specifically a plural for three or more—just like the Trinity!
Then in verse 26 God says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” Not my or mine, but us and ours, again pointing towards a plural, to a relationship between two or more.

In Genesis 3:23, after Adam sinned, “…the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” God spoke of “us”, not “me” again hinting of the Trinity.

In Genesis 18:3 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. Then in Genesis 18:6 “One of these three spoke…. Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Obviously this is Yahweh, one of the great names of God. He showed Himself as three men, and speaks as the one Lord.

And in Genesis 19 in the story of the tower of Babel, God says, “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” Us, not me. Again the plural, not of majesty but of fact.

So God reveals Himself slowly to humans, beginning with the first verse in the Bible to let us know that He is one God and three Persons.

Then in the New Testament, this revelation is taken step by step to new levels. In John 5:17-47 Jesus makes over 15 statements of how He and the Father are one, both sharing the same names, authority and traits, while each also has distinct roles.

Praise God that He is three Persons in One, making Him truly God, the One we can depend on. The Trinity is like this picture: the light of the sun, the moon and its reflection in the pond: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.