By Rebecca Kee

Teaching children about the Trinity can be difficult. We can’t fully understand it ourselves. For example, John 1:1-3 tells us that Jesus is God, that He was with God in the beginning, and that all things were made through Him. But there was also a time when Jesus was born on the earth as a man. Luke 1:35 and John 1:14 tell us that Jesus’ birth was unlike any other birth in history, because Jesus is God who was born as a man.

Now, what if one of your children asks you, “How can there be God the Father and God the Son when the Bible says there’s only one God? How can Jesus be God and the Son of God?” If the deity of Christ is hard for adults to fully comprehend, how are we supposed to explain these important truths to children?

We hope this article, along with some of our videos and children’s resources, can help you answer these difficult questions. Rather than overload children with too much information all at once, you may want to teach these concepts over the course of several days.

First, children need to know that God’s Word, the Bible, has the answers.

What is God like?

• God is Spirit (He doesn’t have a body like we do) – John 4:24
• God is holy (1. perfect, without sin and 2. different than anything else) – 1 Samuel 2:2
• God is the Creator – Genesis 1:1
• God loves all people, including you – Jeremiah 31:3

Check out Sharing the Attributes of God for Kids for more ideas on how to teach the attributes of God.

The Trinity

Explain to your child that the Bible teaches that God is three Persons, but He is one God. This concept is called the “Trinity.” That’s tri- (which means three) and unity (that means one). Put them together and we get Trinity.

The three Persons of the Trinity are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Let’s see what the Bible says about these three Persons. Be sure to read these verses and simplify them for your child:

1. God the Father

• Psalm 93:1-2
• 1 John 3:1
• James 1:17

God the Father lives in heaven, but He is everywhere. God rules over His creation. He is in control of all things. He is the loving, perfect Father who cares for His children (believers in Jesus). He wants to have a friendship with you, so He sent His Son, Jesus, to make that possible.

2. God the Son

• Philippians 2:5-11
• 1 Peter 2:22
• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Jesus is God the Son. All things were created through Jesus. He willingly came to earth, taking on human form to be born as a baby. He lived as the perfect man and died on the cross to pay the price for our sin (death; see Romans 6:23). He was buried, came back to life, and now He rules in heaven as King with God, His Father. Anyone can have their sins forgiven if they trust in Jesus as their Savior.

3. God the Holy Spirit

• John 14:16-17
• John 16:7-11
• Galatians 5:22-23

God the Holy Spirit helps people know they are sinners. Then, He comes to live inside those who trust in Jesus. He is their special Helper forever, teaching them and giving them power to live God’s way. He helps them know how to pray for what God wants, He comforts them, and He gives each one spiritual gifts to help them serve God. The Holy Spirit also helps us understand God’s Word, the Bible.

God reveals Himself as three loving, perfect, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three different persons, but only one God.

Ask your child, “Do you see how each person in the Trinity is fully God? He isn’t split into three different parts, and there aren’t three different gods. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one.”

The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. But the Father is God, and Jesus the Son is also God. The Holy Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son, but the Holy Spirit is God. Three persons, one God.

There are several times in the Bible where the three persons of the Trinity are all present at the same time. One of the most well-known times was at Jesus’ baptism. If they are old enough, challenge your children to read Matthew 3:16-17 on their own.

Be sure to check out our song video about the Trinity! Singing about the Trinity can help children remember these important truths.

God the Son and God the Father

Jesus talked about God being His Father. He called God the Father His own Father. Let’s see what the Bible says about that.

• Luke 2:48-49 – When Jesus was a child, He called the temple His Father’s house. Even when he was only 12, Jesus understood His special relationship to God the Father.
• Luke 23:34 – Jesus prayed to His Father while dying on the cross.

God the Father also talks about Jesus being His Son. At Jesus’ baptism and His Transfiguration, God said this about Him: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5).

Jesus Is God

Tell the children, “Before time began, the Bible says Jesus lived. He did not begin as a baby in Bethlehem. He was in heaven before coming to earth. He did not have a beginning, and He will live forever. Jesus is God!”

In addition, you can explain to your children that Jesus also claimed to be God and showed that He is God.

Jesus demonstrated His deity through His miracles—He fed thousands of people with just a little bit of bread and a few fish, made blind people see, and rose from the dead!

Ask the children if they can remember other miracles of Jesus. Jesus is God, so He can help them with His power.

These miracles helped show that Jesus was telling the truth. Speaking of which, Jesus showed with His words that He is God. Here are just two examples:

• John 14:7-11 – When Philip asked Jesus to show the Father, Jesus explained that He and the Father are one. Whoever knows Jesus knows the Father.
• John 10:30 – When Jesus said that He was one with the Father, He was claiming to be God. But Jesus was not saying that He is the Father. He said He is God, and that He is God the Son.

Did We Answer Your Question?

After you’ve spent some time explaining these concepts, ask your children to think carefully about these questions: “Do you think it’s true that God is three in one? Do you think it’s true that Jesus is God and God the Son? The Bible shows that He is.”

You can apply these doctrines to their lives. You might say, “Jesus never sinned; He is the perfect God-Man. He can pay for our sins because He is God. Have you trusted in Jesus as the only way for you to be saved from your sin?

“If you have trusted in Jesus to save you, God the Father is your Father, too. Maybe it’s still hard to understand how Jesus can be God and the Son of God. But we can continue to learn more about Him. God the Holy Spirit is with you to help you understand confusing parts of the Bible. He can help you trust God the Father even though you do not understand everything about Him.” Ask you your child, “Will you ask the Holy Spirit to help you learn more about God and trust Him?”

Scroll to the end of this article for more tools to help children get to know God more every day.

Four Big Questions Children Ask About God

Q: Who is God?

A: The Bible, God’s Word, tells us that the one true God is Spirit. He doesn’t have a body like you and me. That’s why we can’t see Him, but He sees and hears and loves us. God is everywhere. God is the Creator. He made the world and everything in it—the mountains, oceans, and animals. God also made you and me. You are His most special creation, and He loves you very much.

Q: Are there many gods?

A: Some people worship false gods, but there is only one true living God. The Bible says we should not make or worship any other gods because He is the only God (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:4).

Q: Who made God?

A: No one. God is eternal. He has always existed. There has never been a time that He hasn’t existed. There will never be a time when He will stop existing. He is the Creator, not a creature, so no one made Him. God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is called “the beginning and the end” in the Bible. By Him everything was created.

Q: Where is God?

A: Since God is Spirit, He doesn’t have a body that stays in one place at a time. He is omnipresent—that means He is everywhere all at once. He is big enough to fill heaven (His home), the entire universe, and planet earth (Jeremiah 23:24).

More Resources

Click here to download our free, five-day Quiet Time sheet about Jesus, God the Son!

This Quiet Time sheet comes from Week One of our five-week, Good News Club® curriculum, Jesus: God Who Cares for People.

What if the children in your church could spend their vacation Bible school week Discovering Jesus?

Are the children in your life ready for a bigger challenge? They can learn more about God on their own with the help of a 30-Day Devotional Book, 60-Day Devotional Book, or our free, U-Nite Kids® app!

More curriculum about Jesus and devotional books for children are available at our online store, cefpress.com.