Who cares about "extra layers of unnecessary complexity."? I only care about what is True. Scripture teaches:
- There is only one God. (Deut 6:4)
- The Father is that God. (John 17:3)
- The Son, Jesus Christ, is that God.(John 1:1-18; Titus 2:13; etc)
- The Holy Spirit is that God. (Acts 5:3-4)
- And, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally, relationally distinct, aka distinct persons.(Matthew 28:19; John 14:16-17, 26; John 17:5.)
I'll go with this over your human reasoning.
Why do you think such human reasoning is a reason to reject:
- There is only one God. (Deut 6:4)
- The Father is that God. (John 17:3)
- The Son, Jesus Christ, is that God.(John 1:1-18; Titus 2:13; etc)
- The Holy Spirit is that God. (Acts 5:3-4)
- And, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are eternally, relationally distinct, aka distinct persons.(Matthew 28:19; John 14:16-17, 26; John 17:5.)
I'll go with this over your human reasoning.
#1-4 are all true statements, but #5 is a mischaracterization of the terms.
1. There is only one God. Truth, but your definition of "one" is radically different than what the writers of the OT thought. "One in unity" doesn't match all the singular pronouns in reference to God in Deut 6. There is no they, them, or us in Deuteronomy 6. You are implying that God purposefully used singular pronouns in a deceptive manner.
2. The Father is God. Truth. Why do Trinitarians infer that references to simply "God" in the NT refer to the Father and not to the Holy Spirit? Furthermore, you lack consistency in such places as JOHN 1:1 where "God" is "God the Father" in one side of the sentence ("word was with God the Father") and "God the Son" in the second part of the sentence ('the word was God the Son"). Do you ever ask yourself WHY the Bible writers didn't talk Trinitarian talk?
3. The Son, Jesus Christ, is that God. Truth, but calling him an eternally begotten Son before the incarnation contradicts the meaning of the term "Son". You reject the NT definition of why he is called the Son in LUKE 1:35
4. The Holy Spirit is God. Truth. How could the essence or incorporeal substance of God not be God?