What “first” does and does not mean
“First Person of the Trinity” is a Christian teaching term, not a phrase found word-for-word in the KJV. Here, first does not mean that the Father was created before the Son, that he is more divine, or that he has more value than the Holy Spirit. God has no beginning, and the Son was already present with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).
The word “Person” also needs a little care. It does not mean three separate gods or three human-like individuals. It is a way Christians have used to speak of the real distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit while holding firmly to the Bible’s witness that God is one.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
The Father’s relationship to the Son
The Father is called first because he is Father. The Son is called Son. These names show a relationship within God, not a ladder of importance. Jesus speaks of the Father having life in himself and giving the Son to have life in himself, language Christians have understood as pointing to the Son’s eternal relationship with the Father (John 5:26).
This does not make Jesus less than God. John introduces Jesus as the Word who was with God and was God (John 1:1). Jesus also speaks of profound unity with the Father (John 10:30). The Father is not God while the Son is something less. Both are fully divine.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Holy Spirit is not overlooked
The Holy Spirit is equally included in this life of God. Jesus says that the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son (John 15:26). Christians have debated exactly how to describe that relationship, especially between Eastern and Western churches. Yet they agree that the Spirit is not a mere force and is not less than the Father or Son.
Jesus’ baptism gives a vivid picture. The Son is baptised, the Spirit descends, and the Father’s voice is heard from heaven (Matthew 3:16-17). They are distinct, yet Scripture never presents them as competing gods.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Why this matters
This teaching protects two truths the Bible holds together: there is one God, and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are genuinely distinct. Paul can speak of one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, without setting them against each other (1 Corinthians 8:6).
So when you hear “the Father is the first Person of the Trinity”, hear an order of relationship, not a claim that he is better than the Son or Spirit. The heart of the doctrine is worship: the one God has made himself known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a deep mystery, but not an empty puzzle. Read the passages slowly and notice how each Person acts in the saving work of God.