I have often been confused at the seeming newness of the doctrine of the Trinity in the New Testament. In my opinion, the doctrine is obviously taught in the New Testament, but it is veiled in the Old Testament so much that, though there are hints and shadows, you could not discover the Doctrine of the Trinity without the New Testament. But the reason that the doctrine is veiled in the Old Testament is that we are kept at a distance from God by Sin. We are never let into the inner life of God because one of his works in the Old Testament was to keep us at a distance from his inner life. It was not until after Jesus has died and rose from the dead that we were brought into the inner life of God, at which point the reality of the Trinity was revealed to us. The High Priest entered the direct presence of God once a year, but we live in the presence of God because we are washed by the blood and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. The veil was torn that had kept us out of God’s presence and now we experience the Trinitarian life. The Triunity of God was not revealed to us because we were not close enough to experience the reality of it, but when sin was done away with on the cross, we were reconciled to God and brought close enough to experience and enjoy the Triune life of God.
