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11. The Trinity

 (Important: We recommend that you read the topics “The Deity of Jesus Christ”, “The Deity of the Holy Spirit” and “Unitarian Pentecostalism”. These can be found in the section “Are you a long time Christian?”.

 

The doctrine of the Trinity consists of the belief that affirms that God is one being and exists simultaneously as three different persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). This doctrine is accepted by all groups of Christians with the exception of a few minority such as Unitarians (see topic 13 regarding this matter) as well as other belief Systems derived from Christianity such as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 

The Christian denominations and psuedo-christian religions that reject the concept of the Trinity do so on the basis that the Trinity is not a Biblical concept and is instead an invention from Catholocism that was elaborated by the Nicene and Constantinopolitan creeds (the Nicene Creed was reaffirmed in Constantinople in 381). The scarcity of the term “Trinity” in the Bible is their proof.

 

In the following section we will show how the Bible affirms that the concept of the Trinity is valid and completely accurate.

 

Does the Bible mention the Word “Trinity”?

 

If it is true that the term “Trinity” is not mentioned in the Bible, this does not mean that the doctrine of the Trinity is false or that the Bible does not deal with this concept. The lack of a concrete word in the Bible does not mean that the essence of the word does not exist.

 

The Bible itself proves this through other concepts such as atheism. If we tried to search the Bible for the word “atheism” or any of it’s derivations, we would end up with no results. However, the Bible still deals with the subject of atheism. One example, among others, is found in Psalms 14:1 where atheism is discussed without the use of the term, “atheism”.

 

Psalm 14:1

The fool says in his heart,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,

there is none who does good.

 

Here, the atheistic idea in not believing in a divine being (for us that is God) is being compared to and identified by the psalmist with foolishness. In the same manner, the Bible indentifies and proves in different ways the concept of the Trinity without mentioning this exact word.

 

The Biblical concept of the Trinity

 

On various occasions, the Bible shows us the concept of the Trinity. First, in the plurality with which God speaks:

 

Genesis 1:26

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 

Genesis 3:22

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—

 

Genesis 11:7

7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

 

Secondly, with the separation of persons. In the following example we can see that two of the persons are identified in a single verse. First, the Father and the Son and second, the Father and the Holy Spirity:

 

Psalm 2:7

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

 

Psalm 104:30

You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.

 

In this third example we can see how the three persons of the Trinity are named separately and are distinguishable.

 

Matthew 28:19

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

 

John 14:16

16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

 

Psalm 110:1

The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

 

Note concerning Psalms 110:1: Recall that the Bible tells us that we can only worship one God. In this verse, David is worshipping two Gods. The reason that he does this is because God is three persons in one Trinity.

 

Manifestation of the Trinity in the Bible

 

Aside from the verses mentioned above (which are in themselves sufficient in revealing the truth of the Trinity to eliminate doubt), we have a passage from the Bible where the three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are present in the same place and interacting at the same time.

 

We see this incredible moment in the baptism of Jesus that is reflected in Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-22. In the three events it is shown how the persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were present simultaneously:

 

Matthew 3:16-17

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

 

Mark 1:9-11

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

 

Luke 3:21-22

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He waspraying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

 

Conclusion

 

After this brief analysis of the subject matter, our conclusion is that the Trinity is a pure, authentic and entirely Biblically based doctrine. Those who reject this doctrine are wrong and we should, with love and God's help, make them understand and see their error so that they may repent.

 

Note: This is a brief explanation of the topic in matter. If you need the explanation of a verse or have any other questions, please contact us and we will explain it gladly.