Transcript:

Here is the definition of the Trinity. If you are going to write something down tonight, write this: God is one in essence and three in persons. One in essence and three in persons. This is not a contradiction. If I said that God is one in essence and three in essence, that would be a contradiction; I would be arguing with myself. If I said that God is one in person and three in person, that is a contradiction. God is one in essence and three in persons.

The next obvious question is: “Nabeel, what is the difference between an essence and a person?” I’m glad you asked. Thank you. The essence is the quality that makes you what you are or makes a thing what it is. So, the essence is the “what-ness,” and the person is what makes you “who” you are.

For example, I am a human being. That is what I am, in case you were confused. I am a human being. Who I am is not a human being. Who I am is Nabeel Qureshi. What I am is a human being. Who I am is Nabeel Qureshi. What I am is heart, lungs, muscles, eyes, tendons, bones, etc. That is what I am, but it is not who I am. Who I am is a kind, loving, caring, compassionate person, as my wife would immediately tell you. Who I am is very different from what I am.

Humans are one being and one person. That is what humans are: one being, one person. God is different. God is one being. Yahweh is what we call God, but He is three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. These three persons are equal because they are all God. They have all existed from the beginning, as John says in chapter 1, because they are all God.

So, the question arises: “How can Jesus say something like ‘The Father is greater than I’ if they are all God?” And the answer is quite simple. Suppose I point to the President of the United States. Suppose I say “Obama.” I can accurately say “Obama is greater than I am,” because when he goes somewhere, he goes with his entourage. He is the most powerful man in the world. People hold press conferences when he sneezes. I mean, he is greater than I am. But, is he more human than I am? No, he is not. He is greater than I am in terms of role, but he is not greater than I am in terms of essence.

Similarly, the Father is greater than the Son in terms of role. The Father is superior; the Son is subject to the Father in terms of role. We see this in 1 Corinthians 15, where it says that Jesus will submit to the authority of the Father so that the Father may be all in all. It is because the Father is superior in terms of role. But, is He more God than Jesus? No, because they are both God. There is only one God, and they are equal in essence: Father, Son, and Spirit.

see original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL2q_Mg-D58