It would be arrogant to think our doctrines of God adequately describe him. However, the doctrine of the trinity is the formulation which best reflects what we believe revelation tells us. There is one God, but three persons of the same "essence", a philosophical term. The first instalment is about God the Father, and the different types of fatherhood are considered. Principally, he is Father to Christ Jesus, and his fatherhood of the elect is an image of this heavenly relationship.