How Do I Explain the Trinity to My Kids?

This new episode of CORE Christianity was pre-recorded.

How do I explain the Trinity to my kids? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adrian Sanchez. And this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us with your question at 833-THE-CORE. That's 1-833-843-2673. And you can feel free to leave a voicemail there as well.

You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And you're always welcome to email us your questions at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, first up today, let's go to Eric in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Eric, what's your question for Pastor Adrian? Hi. Hello. Hi, Eric. Hi, how are you? Doing well. Thank you for calling in. What's your question?

I have a question. I went to a new town, and I was visiting some churches. And last time they went to church, and there's a woman pastor there. And I just was wondering what the Bible has any insight on, whether it's good or maybe not quite so ideal to have a woman pastor. I haven't read across this before.

I'm just curious if there's any insight from the Bible. Yeah. Well, thank you for that question, Eric.

And it's one that we have received on the broadcast before. I'm glad to hear that you're looking for a church to get plugged into. I think that that's really important. And you want to find a church that values the teachings of the Bible first and foremost. We oftentimes, Eric, will talk about what makes a true church. What should you be looking for as you're trying to determine where to worship by yourself or with your family? Well, the first thing is the faithful preaching of the Word of God. And then you have just the right administration of the ordinances that Jesus gave to the church, baptism in the Lord's Supper, discipline. But the Word of God is central because the Word of God creates and sustains the church. And so wherever you go, you want to go somewhere that is steeped in the teachings of the Bible and faithful to the scriptures.

Now, with regard to this question about going to a church where there's a woman pastor, personally, I believe, based on 1 Timothy 3, Titus chapter 1, where it talks about the ordination of elders in particular teaching in the church and other places in the pastoral epistles, that the office of pastor or elder is reserved for men within the church. And there are various reasons for that, but I think that that's something that the Bible teaches. Now, I know that there are other people who I would say are still Christians, it's not that they're not Christians, who disagree with my interpretation there. And so I don't think that this is one of those issues that somebody disagreed with us on that interpretation, that would mean that they're not a Christian. And so my concern, though, is, because I do think that this is something that the Bible speaks to and that it speaks to clearly, that if this is an area in that church where there's a woman in that church where they're not seeing that clearly in scripture, what are some of the other things maybe that they're missing? I mean, that would be my concern. Is the word of God going to be faithfully taught here? Is Christ going to be proclaimed as he should be? And so I would have some reservations, brother, and that's what I would say.

I do think, I mean, you asked for what the Bible teaches, and then I do think that the Bible does teach that the office of pastor is reserved for called, qualified, competent men who are to serve as they're called by the church into that office. And so I would look for a church where you could find that. Thank you for your question, brother. Thanks so much for calling, Eric. Thank you for listening to Core Christianity. By the way, we get email questions every day. You can feel free to email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. And one of the things we often receive questions about is homosexuality.

It is such a controversial topic in our society right now, really one of those hot button topics. And we have a great resource that's available to you. It's a free resource that if you'd like to get that, we'd love to offer that to you.

Yeah. You know, Bill, people in different situations and with varying perspectives have asked us about the Bible's teaching on homosexuality. And so that's why we created this resource over at corechristianity.com called 10 Things You Need to Know About the Bible and Homosexuality.

It's free when you sign up for our weekly newsletter. In the world that we live, I mean, just everything is highly politicized. Important matters are oftentimes reduced to sound bites. We get into shouting matches with each other. It's so important for us to remember as we're having these kinds of discussions that we're dealing with people.

I mean, we're not just talking about issues, we're dealing with people. And so head over to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to download 10 Things You Need to Know About the Bible and Homosexuality. This would be great if you're in discussions with someone that has a different view on the whole homosexuality issue. Again, go to corechristianity.com forward slash offers to look for that very unique resource. Let's get back to the phones. We have Josh on the line from Spirit Lake, Iowa. Josh, what's your question for Pastor Adrian?

Hi, thanks for taking my call. So I do a Bible study with my family about once a week, or try to faithfully. And the topic of the Trinity came up in the discussion there. And I wholeheartedly believe Jesus is God, you know, put himself in human form and sacrifice himself for our sins. And one of my children asked me, you know, if Jesus is God, why does he call him father? Why does it make it sound like there's two separate individuals there? And I was just wondering if you could explain that a little bit better than maybe I could or did I use water as an example, three different forms, the water as itself liquid, ice, and in vapor forms, and it's all the same material, but you know, maybe there's a better way to explain that.

Yeah. Josh, man, God bless you, brother, in just seeking to raise your children right in the nurturing admonition of the Lord and teaching them who God is. And boy, I've had this exact same question from my kids. I still get the question, but our kids are, our oldest is 10, our youngest is five months, and so I'm sure I'm going to continue to get questions about the Trinity. I remember one day we were sitting around the dinner table and my daughter, I think she was probably four or five at the time, she said, okay, if God is one, but he lives in your heart and in mom's heart and in my heart, how can God still be one if, I mean, isn't he divided, right? Like if he's in each of our hearts, that doesn't make any sense.

Kids just ask the best questions, I feel like, theologically. And sometimes we just need to recognize that when we're talking about who God is, how he's revealed himself, that we're going to have a hard time, you know, if we're trying to use creaturely analogies like water or an egg, I've heard the analogy of an egg or the three leaf clover, whatever, if we're trying to use creaturely analogies to describe the uncreated God, we're always going to fall short. And so it's okay if you're struggling to come up with, you know, how to explain who or what God is to your children, because we're talking about the Lord of heaven and earth. There's this great transcendence, we can't even begin to wrap our minds around God as he is in his essence.

But here's what we do have. We do have how God has revealed himself to us in creation and in his word. And the Bible makes it very clear, as you say, that Jesus is God, that the Holy Spirit is God, that the Father is God, but that there's one God.

And so what I like to focus on with my family is just giving them the sort of grammar of the faith. When we talk about worshiping God, the Holy Trinity, one God, three different persons. And if they say, well, how can he be one and three?

Well, we say he's one in essence, substance. When we're thinking about God's power, God's glory, there aren't differentiations between the Father and the Son, oneness there. But when we're talking about persons, we're thinking about the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Undivided persons and yet distinct in how they relate to each other personally as well. The Father is unbegotten, the Son is eternally begotten of the Father. And again, this is all I'm using technical theological terminology, but it just, I think, highlights the fact that what we want to do is just give them the terminology, the glossary, if you will, of the faith and pray that the Lord would grant them the grace to understand and to accept by faith the teaching of scripture. And so I say, rather than, and I've heard this before, rather than trying to explain the Trinity, we want to adore the Trinity. Sing with your family to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Songs that our Trinitarian pray to the Father in the name of the Son and by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Incorporate that as you're studying the Bible together, as you're leading your family in devotions and in prayers.

Do it in that Trinitarian way. That's how we begin to understand, I think, to the degree that it's possible, how God has revealed himself. It's through worship.

It's not through speculation, but adoration. And ultimately, the real understanding is a gift that God gives even to little children. I love what Jesus said in Matthew 11, verse 25, where he says, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise in understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

Pray. We should all be praying, brothers and sisters, that God, by the grace of his Spirit, would reveal the truth of the Gospel, the reality of who he is to us and to our children, because it's not something that we can just figure out. We need the help and grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit.

And so pray that for your family. And I would just, again, conclude by saying it's good to just say, God is one, Deuteronomy 6.4, but he's revealed himself as three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. But they're not three gods. There's one God, one in essence, undivided. And we worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and lead your family in worshiping God of the Holy Trinity, Josh.

Thanks. You know, your advice about not finding, you know, metaphors or ways to explain the Trinity is good advice. When I was in college, I was a camp counselor, and I remember the pastor at this particular camp said, the Trinity is like an apple. You have the skin and the flesh and the core. Yeah.

And I don't think that was really that helpful. Yeah. And what if you don't like apples?

You know, I'm not a huge fan of apples. So I just, we do say that oftentimes, right, like those analogies, and I know we sort of resort to that, you know, like, oh, we want to just try to explain God, figure God out. The Trinity is like an apple or is like, you know, water, ice and liquid vapor, whatever, an egg. Yeah. But again, we have to remember, like I said, we're talking about the uncreated God.

So our creaturely, you know, illustrations, analogies are never going to do justice to that. We just want to stick with how God has revealed himself in his word and worship him by faith. Amen.

Great advice. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question for us about the Bible or the Christian life, you can always leave us a voicemail. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. You might want to jot that down. You can call us anytime. 833-THE-CORE or 1-833-843-2673.

You can also send us a message, a question through our YouTube channel. And Karen had this one for you, Adriel. She said, someone told me that a helpmate was only for husbands.

Is that true? It seems to me, if you take Genesis 2 literally, it's okay for women to be alone. Hmm. Yeah.

Okay. I mean, there's a couple of things there. I mean, obviously the New Testament does say some people are called to singleness. I mean, there's a gift that God gives there. Not everybody is, but there are some people for whom it's perfectly fine to be alone. God uses them in that situation. In fact, the apostle Paul himself, when he's exhorting the Corinthians, he says, look, you know, I would encourage you guys to consider singleness, you know, focusing on your devotion to the Lord, because when you get married, you know, you're devoted to and concerned for the needs of your spouse. But if you're not married, you can be totally focused on the pursuit of the Lord and serving the Lord in your life.

And so we don't want to minimize, I think, the blessing that singleness can be. And also the fact that some people are called to being single and called to being alone in their service to the Lord. But with regard to being a helper, and that language does come from Genesis chapter two, the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone.

I will make him a helper fit for him. Now, what's interesting about that word helper is, a lot of people don't know this, but when you look at that word throughout the Old Testament, it's most often used of God. God is identified as the great helper of God. Of his people, the great helper of Israel, the one who delivers them, who saves them. And so, you know, sometimes people, people see that word and they think, oh, that just doesn't seem like a, like a great position to have.

That doesn't seem like the kind of thing I would want, but it's actually a very high calling. And it's one that God himself assumes throughout the Old Testament as the helper of his people. And so here, you know, in the context of Genesis two, when you're thinking about marriage and God bringing Adam and Eve together, he's made her, he's made for Adam, this, this helper compatible with him, equal with him in, in terms of dignity, in terms of, you know, nature, human nature, if you will, but, but call to compliment one another, the man and the woman in their service to the Lord. And I think that's what our marriages should look like today as well. You know, we're serving each other, we're serving the Lord, we're using the gifts that God has, has given to us and the, and the callings that God has placed upon our lives for the good of each other and for the good of our, of our families. And so that's what you see there early in, in Genesis.

And and it's a beautiful thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean that, that there aren't some people who are called to being alone or called to singleness. And that requires wisdom, discernment and prayer, I think, in order to, to determine that. And so thank you for, for that YouTube question, Ciaran. God bless you. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We do receive voicemails and we try to review our voicemails once each day. Here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Paul. Hi, Adriel. I have a dilemma at work. There is a person described as trans, a female transitioning to male. And they've worked at my workplace for around a year now, but I've never seen her in the men's bathroom. And apparently it has just happened recently. And it's not had a good reaction among some of my coworkers. And for me, I just decided if anyone can use the men's, then I'm going to use the women's. And by that, I have to clarify the women's is a private bathroom, one stall, a locked door. So it's not like I'm walking in on anybody. And my boss has been okay with that.

But as a Christian, how do I approach this situation? Thanks for your guidance. Love your show. Bye. Hey, Paul, thanks for the question. You know, I know that this is something that's becoming more and more of an issue in the workplace. I don't know that the right approach would be like, okay, well, if you're going to go to the men's restroom, I'm just going to use the women's restroom.

I think there are probably better ways to go about this. Maybe not trying to be abrasive or to sort of make a statement in that way. Frankly, I think it's still something that you should be able to talk to the people that you work with about.

And in particular, the people who are making these kinds of policies in administration and express your concern. And not just for yourself, but maybe for some of the other people who are there. Another thing that I would just say, maybe consider is I don't know what your relationship is like with this individual, but man, I think as a Christian, I think praying that God would give you an open door to talk with this individual about Jesus, about the gospel, about the important things in life.

Obviously, maybe it's a conversation about gender and sexuality. We know that there is so much confusion out there in the world related to those topics. But I think as believers, our desire should be, we want to see people's hearts change.

And we know that that only comes through the work of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the gospel. And so I think as a Christian, the approach should be one. I think it's totally fair and fine to express your concern, frustration, dissatisfaction with whatever the policy is. I think that that's your prerogative as an employee there.

And I think that you should. And obviously, I think it's strange the kinds of things that businesses and companies are doing right now. But two, I think you should want to think about this individual as someone who Jesus pursues. I mean, think about Jesus in the gospels and his pursuit of sinners, right? Pursuit of people that you wouldn't expect him to pursue. And this is one of the things that the scribes and the Pharisees were so often frustrated about Jesus.

They'd grumble about him because of this. And so I would say, man, consider the fact that Jesus pursues sinners, that he pursues this individual, and that he might be using you to extend the truth of his word, the truth of the gospel to this person, and pray that the Lord would open those doors for that to happen. I mean, that's ultimately what we want to see, is we want to see people transformed by the gospel, by the grace of God.

And certainly we know that that's possible because the God that we serve is great. And so pray with confidence and ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to be able to strike up a conversation about these very important matters. Thank you for your question. There's so much confusion about gender roles and sexuality and gender identity in our culture today. One of the resources that we have that would really be helpful to you, especially if you're a mom or dad talking to your kids about one of these issues, is a new resource.

It's absolutely free. It's called 10 Things You Need to Know About the Bible and Homosexuality. You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Again, 10 things you need to know about the Bible and homosexuality at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. Here's an email question we received from one of our listeners named Chad, excuse me, and Adriel Chad says, I listen to core Christianity every day at work.

My question is this. What exactly should a Christian's relationship with Jesus look like? I know we pray to him in thanksgiving and in repentance, but a lot of people talk about Jesus as a friend.

Should we also talk to him in that way as a friend, talking about any random thing like we do with our friends? You've probably seen it. There's a t-shirt that was actually popular for a while, at least it was here in Southern California where I'm at. It was an image of Jesus. At the top, it said, Jesus is my homeboy. It's just sort of like, yeah, he's my bud.

He's my guy, that kind of a thing. You think sometimes people will talk about God to me and they'll reference the big man upstairs. It just is sort of, I would say, low view of God as he's revealed himself in his word.

While the answer in one sense is yes, we want to have an intimate communion with God, with Jesus, a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus is not my buddy. He's not my homeboy.

We're not peers. He's the Lord. He's my savior. He's the God man, the eternal word of the father who assumed humanity for my redemption. He's the one at whose feet John the apostle fell down as a dead man in the book of Revelation.

Think about this for a moment. John knew Jesus, reclined on his chest there in the upper room. There's this closeness, but when he sees Jesus and he has his vision of Jesus in heaven in the book of Revelation, he falls down like a dead man. The life, it seems, is drained from him and God raises him up. I think we can have too low of a view of Jesus, of his holiness, of his greatness. The balance is having that personal intimate relationship with Christ whereby we can pray to him and speak to him about the concerns we have, about the longings of our hearts, but we're not approaching him as though we were approaching a peer, as though he's just like the buddy that I hang out with.

No, this is the Lord. I think also you need to take a cue from the prayers that we find in scripture, from the examples that we have in scripture in terms of how people have approached Christ, falling down at his feet in repentance, clinging to him in love, in hope, and in humility. I think one of the big problems in the church today, frankly, it's something that we see all over the place, is a minimizing of God and his holiness, his greatness. We want to make God in our image.

I want somebody who looks like me, who thinks like me, who struggles like I do with the same things that I struggle with. That's what I'm comfortable with. Too often in churches, pastors, the way they portray God is as just your buddy. He's just like you.

Well, no. He's the uncreated Lord who assumed humanity so that he might sympathize with your weaknesses, and yet was without sin so that he could forgive all your sins. That's the Jesus we serve. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833, the CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.