Though there is but one God, and though there cannot be more than one true God, still it is the clear testimony of Holy Scripture that there are in the Godhead THREE Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that these three are co-eternal and co-equal, not one before or after another, not greater or less than another, but one God.1 Every one of these Persons is true God, and the one Person is not the other Person; nevertheless, there is only one God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not names, offices, or attributes, but divine Persons;2 the Father an eternal Person, the Son an eternal Person, the Holy Spirit an eternal Person; but the three Persons one eternal God. And while distinct offices and operations belong to one Person more than to another in the plan of salvation, still the three Persons have the same divine attributes; the three divine Persons have the same eternity, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence etc.;3 the three have the same holiness, goodness, love, etc.; the objects of the love of the three Persons are the same;4 and the eternal decree is the decree of the Trinity. And, though we cannot comprehend the doctrine of the Trinity, we ought to believe it,5 because God so testifies concerning himself. God knows himself perfectly, and is the God of truth; consequently, we ought steadfastly to believe his testimony concerning himself.
1 1 John 5:7; Matt. 3:16,17; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 1:1,2,14,18; John 15:26; Gal. 4:6. 2 Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15,16; Acts 5:3,4; Acts 13:2-4; Acts 15:28; Acts 20:28; Psa.139:7-10; John 5:26; Matt. 17:5. 3 Col. 1:17; John 1:1; John 21:17; Matt. 18:20; Rev. 1:11; Isa. 9:6; Gen. 1:1; Heb. 9:14; 1 Cor. 2:10; 1 Cor. 3:16; Luke 1:35; Acts 6:10. 4 John 3:16; John 14:21; John 15:9; John 16:14,15,27; Rom.15:30; 2 Cor. 8:9. 5 Job 11:7-9; Psa. 145:3.
