The Trinity

We have been finding out about the Christian idea of the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are separate, but they are facets, faces, of the same God.
 
God the Father, the one who cares for us and loves us like a good father. He is the creator and sustainer of the world. 
 
God the Son, Jesus, the one who was sent to earth as a human being in order to save humanity from itself. He is both fully God and fully human. He is the example of how to be. 
 
God the Holy Spirit, the aspect of God present and working in the world. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen but the Spirit’s power can be felt.

The three separate parts come together to create the God of Christians. They are separate and yet work together and within one another.

All the children designed their own symbol to represent the Trinity. This has formed part of our Collective Worship display to help remind everyone about the Trinity.

We even compared the three parts of an apple to the different Persons in the Trinity.  The skin is like God the Father, because He protects us.  The flesh is like God the Son, because Jesus Christ took on human flesh.  The seeds are like God the Holy Spirit, because He helps us to grow.  Each of the parts of an apple is different, but they are all ‘apple.’

Saint Andrews Rublev's famous icon of the Trinity

We looked at this picture and discussed how it represents the Trinity. Discuss some of the questions below:

How many people are in this picture?

What is the same about all of the people in the picture?

What colours are they wearing? Why do you think they are wearing those colours?

What are all of the people holding?

Who do you think the people in the picture represent?

These are some of our thoughts about the Trinity: 

Although we have learnt a lot about the Trinity, there are still lots of things that puzzle us:

• Why does a dove represent the Holy Spirit?
• How can someone be three things?
• How can God be all of these things at the same time?
• If God made the world, then who made God?
• If they are all God, how is the father not the son and how is the son not the holy spirit and how is the Holy Spirit not the father?
• Why did God send Jesus to Earth?
• Why did Jesus leave the Holy Spirit on Earth?