Article I
Faith in the Holy Trinity

The Article

OF FAITH IN THE HOLY TRINITY

There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

In modern English

There is only one living and true God. He is eternal, without a physical body or separate parts, and is not subject to changing passions as creatures are. His power, wisdom and goodness are infinite. He made and sustains everything, both visible and invisible. Within the unity of the one God there are three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They share the same divine being, power and eternity.

Scripture readings

• Matthew 28:19
• 2 Corinthians 13:14
• Deuteronomy 6:4

Understand the teaching

The God at the centre of Christian faith

The Articles begin with God because every later teaching depends on who God is. Forgiveness, prayer, worship and salvation take their meaning from the God who gives them. Article I joins the English Reformation to the ancient Christian confession: one living God, eternally Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Anglicanism therefore begins within the shared faith of historic Christianity. Its concern for the gospel belongs within this older confession of the Creator and Redeemer.

Calling God living and true distinguishes him from idols, including the comfortable gods people construct in their imagination. He exists independently of our approval, sustains everything he has made, and possesses infinite power, wisdom and goodness. These qualities belong together. Power without goodness would make prayer terrifying; goodness without power would leave suffering beyond his help. The Article confesses the God whose character gives us reason to trust him, even where his providence exceeds our understanding.

One divine being, three distinct persons

The central distinction is between God's one being and the three persons. Father, Son and Spirit share the same divine nature, power and eternity. Each is fully God. The Father is distinct from the Son, and the Spirit is distinct from both. The language of person requires care: we should avoid imagining three separate individuals who have formed a divine committee. God is one, and the three persons eternally share the indivisible divine life.

This protects us from two familiar mistakes. One treats Father, Son and Spirit as three roles played by a single person. Yet Jesus genuinely addresses his Father, and the Father genuinely sends his Son. Another treats them as three portions of God. Yet the Son lacks nothing essential to deity. Analogies involving water, eggs or a person with several jobs can introduce these mistakes. The biblical pattern provides a safer foundation than any physical illustration claiming to explain God's inner life.

Learning the Trinity from Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:4 establishes Israel's confession of the one God. The New Testament continues that confession while identifying Jesus and the Spirit within God's unique identity. John 1:1–3 distinguishes the Word from God and identifies the Word as God; everything created came into existence through him. This makes it impossible to place the Son among the things he created. In John 20:28, Thomas addresses the risen Jesus with the language of personal worship.

Matthew 28:19 places Father, Son and Spirit together within the one baptismal name. Baptism introduces disciples into allegiance to the triune God. Second Corinthians 13:14 associates Christ's grace, the Father's love and the Spirit's fellowship in the church's blessing. These passages give the church the material its doctrinal language gathers together. The word Trinity summarises this biblical pattern. A theological term can faithfully explain Scripture even when the exact term does not appear within Scripture itself.

Without body, parts or passions

The older language needs patient translation. God is without body: the divine nature is spiritual and cannot be confined within physical boundaries. Without parts means God is not assembled from ingredients or dependent upon components. His goodness, wisdom and power belong to his undivided being. Article II will explain how the eternal Son genuinely assumes a human body. The incarnation does not turn the divine nature into a material object or cancel the distinction between Creator and creation.

Without passions expresses what theologians call divine impassibility. In classical usage, passions are experiences imposed upon someone from outside, producing involuntary change. God cannot be overwhelmed, manipulated or diminished by his creatures. This teaching affirms the constancy and freedom of his love. Scripture's accounts of God's compassion, grief and wrath reveal his genuine dealings with us; they deserve serious attention. Christians debate how best to relate that language to impassibility. The Article should never become an excuse to portray God as emotionally vacant or unconcerned.

Praying and living before the triune God

Ephesians 2:18 gives a practical pattern: access to the Father through Christ in the Spirit. When a believer struggles to pray, the whole work of salvation supports that approach. The Father welcomes through the Son's mediation, and the Spirit enables our response. Prayer does not depend upon finding a persuasive spiritual performance. Nor does this pattern prohibit directly addressing Jesus or the Spirit. All three persons share the glory and worship that belong to God.

Imagine someone whose experience of human fatherhood makes the word Father painful. Begin with Jesus' revelation of his Father, and allow that revelation to reshape the association gradually. The heavenly Father's character is known through the Son who welcomes sinners and gives himself for them. For your own practice, read Ephesians 1:3–14 and notice the Father choosing and adopting, the Son redeeming, and the Spirit sealing. Then thank each person for the one gracious salvation in which you share.

Bring it into everyday life

1. How might naming Father, Son and Spirit deepen your prayers this week?