Short Note on the Trinity

The Doctrine of our triune God
The Holy Trinity: What is it?
I think one of the least understood doctrines in all of Christianity is that of the Holy Trinity. And I must say that it is not meant to be fully understood by design; it is also a mystery that our finite minds cannot comprehend. To give some background on this topic, let’s loosely describe the trinity to develop a framework before we delve straight into it and potentially go off course. In short, the doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is one God in three eternal and distinct persons. These persons are of course the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is an error to maintain that they are three gods, or that the one God alternates his contact with us among the three persons. They are three distinct individuals. That is they are separate from each other in person. The Holy Spirit is not the same as Jesus and Jesus is not the same as the Father in person. However, they are all of the essence of God. What does that mean? It means they are of the same stuff as God. They are all, in fact, God. So, what we see here is a paradox: God is one yet at the same time, he is three persons. This is not however, a contradiction as so many people believe today.
So many people have failed at this point. They have been unable to reconcile the three persons of God with the fact that God is one. For Muslims coming to Christ, this is nary impossible to understand and is one reason Muslims put forth for continuing to reject Christ as Messiah. In any event, to prove that the doctrine of the trinity is not a contradiction, we must look at what the definition of a contradiction is. Once we are secure in that knowledge, we will then be able to test the doctrine of the Trinity to determine whether it is in fact, a contradiction.
The law of non-contradiction states that “one cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time”. That is, one cannot be “A” and not be “A” at the same time and in the same respect. For an example, a sheep cannot be both a sheep and not a sheep at the same time and in the same respect. The law of non-contradiction is a very powerful deductive tool for helping humans understand reality and truth. In any event, many fallaciously argue that God cannot be three and one at the same time and in the same respect. Therefore, the doctrine of the Trinity violates the law of non-contradiction.
To understand better what a contradiction is, it’s helpful to break down the etymology of that word. Contradiction is a mix of the Latin word “contra” which means to be against or opposed to something and the Latin word “dictio” which means speaking. So, a contradiction literally means that which is opposed to speaking. In short, a contradictory statement makes no sense when spoken. But does this apply to the Holy Trinity? Does the Holy Trinity make no sense when spoken?
Let us apply what the doctrine says to the law of non-contradiction. God is one in essence, but three in persons. Let essence = A and persons = B. God is one in “A” but three in “B”. Note, we have not said that God is one in essence and three in essence in the same time and the same way. Nor have we said that God is one in person and three in person at the same time and in the same way. So, what can we conclude from this? The doctrine of the Trinity does not violate the law of non-contradiction.