Author: Amanda McGarrigle

Year 3 Term 2— Incarnation
What is the Trinity?

Background Information
Christians believe that God is Trinity: God as three in one. This links to the concept of Incarnation, God coming to earth in Jesus, and the concept of Gospel — the good news of God’s rescue plan for humanity. In the context of the ‘big story’ of the Bible, God is the same throughout, Christians argue, but in broad terms, the role of God the Creator and Father, Jesus the Son and Saviour and the Spirit — Comforter and power of God — come to the fore at different parts of the story. For Christians, God in Trinity is not a ‘high and mighty’ or ‘selfish’ God, demanding that humans all bow and scrape. In Christian understanding, the invisible God is right here now, by the Spirit, they say, and is also revealed in human form through the life and teaching of Jesus.

Matthew 3:11–17
Corinthians 13:14

In this unit the children will be able to …
Identify the difference between a ‘Gospel’, which tells the story of the life and teaching of Jesus, and a letter.
Offer suggestions about what texts about baptism and Trinity might mean.
Give examples of what these texts mean to some Christians today.
Describe how Christians show their beliefs about God the Trinity in worship (in baptism and prayer, for example) and in the way they live.
Make links between some Bible texts studied and the idea of God in Christianity, expressing clearly some ideas of their own about what the God of Christianity is like.

By the end of this unit….
All children can:
Describe the difference between a ‘Gospel’, which tells the story of the life and teaching of Jesus, and a letter. (T)
Make suggestions about texts about baptism and what the Trinity might mean. (T)
Understand what might these texts mean to some Christians today. (T)
Most children will:
Identify how Christians show their beliefs about God the Trinity in worship. (I)
Some children will:
Explain the links between our Bible texts and the idea of God in Christianity, and what are my ideas about what the God of Christianity is like. (C)

Key Vocabulary
Trinity
Father
Son
Holy Spirit
Baptism
The Grace
Prayer