Our purpose is to know and love God and to bring others to know and love Him.

The Trinity

By Patrick Coman
  1. The historical appearance of the doctrine of the Trinity
  2. The scriptural evidence for the Trinity
  3. Physical evidence for the Trinity
  4. Erroneous views of the Trinity

INTRODUCTION

The Trinity is the doctrine that "There is one God existing as three distinct persons; God the Father, God the Son who is also known as Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit."

A man had a friend who was an architect. He took him to inspect a house that he intended to purchase. The man liked one of the rooms of the house very much and he wanted to make it into his study. In the room there was a large built-in cupboard that he didn't like and so he said to his friend, " That cupboard will have to come out." The friend said, "You cannot take out the cupboard." The man replied, "If I buy the house I can take out whatever I want to. It will be my house - I can do whatever I want! The friend said, "It doesn't matter who owns the house. I have seen the plans, and if you pull out the cupboard the house will fall down."

Christianity is like that. If we remove belief in the Trinity Christianity does not work. Belief in the Trinity is absolutely essential for Christians. If the Trinity is not true there is no salvation, for salvation requires a holy perfect sacrifice without spot. The Bible declares "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom.3:23) If Jesus is not God he is short of the glory of God and cannot be a perfect sacrifice. If Jesus is less than God he is not sufficient to pay for the sins of the world.

We do not find the teaching of the doctrine of the Trinity taught plainly in any verse or phrase throughout the Bible, although we do find allusions to the Trinity throughout the whole of Scripture. The Trinity is not plainly stated, but it underlies all the teachings about God in his word.

In the following work I will examine briefly: The historical appearance of the Trinity, the scriptural evidence of the Trinity, the physical evidence of the Trinity, and erroneous views of the Trinity.

I. THE HISTORICAL APPEARANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

The term TRINITY has been credited to Theophilus Bishop of Antioch about AD 180 and to Tertullian who was born about AD 160. Either way we can see that the term Trinity was used by the Christian church as early as the second century.

Until the year 313 AD Christianity was an illegal religion in the Roman Empire. With the freedom of Christianity came more open discussion of the nature of God among other things. Emperor Constantine called a council of the Bishops in Nicea in the year 325 AD from which came a unified statement that became the Nicean Creed. This creed states in part, "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.

All but two of the 300 bishops signed this statement. One of the two dissenters was a Bishop called Arius who denied the deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Arius continued to lobby for more councils to bring prominence to his point of view. Arius and his views were condemned, and at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD a further clause was added to the Nicene Creed stating the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son. This completed form of the Nicene Creed is the one that Christians use today worldwide.

Another creed known as the Athanasian Creed came after the Nicene Creed. Athanasius was thought to be the author of the Athanasian Creed, but it now appears that the Athanasian Creed was authored sometime in the 6th century. Regardless of its origin, the Athanasian Creed represents the beliefs of modern evangelical Christianity. These creeds were the result of much prayer, discussion and bible study, and we find that they are firmly based on Holy Scripture.

II THE SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE FOR THE TRINITY

F.F. Bruce said, "Let us not be misled by the foolish argument that because the term "Trinity" does not appear in the Scriptures, the doctrine of the Trinity is therefore unscriptural.

A. OLD TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS TO THE TRINITY

There are no straightforward references to the Trinity in the Old Testament, but there are allusions to the Trinity and Scriptures that open up the possibility of the Trinity.

We would expect that if the doctrine of the Trinity were true, God would not leave it very long before he revealed this fact about himself. Therefore it is not surprising to find that God does this in the first sentence in the Bible. The Bible commences with the statement that , "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew word for God used here is the word, "Elohim". This word is plural in form and means more than one.

In Genesis 1:26 God (Elohim) said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; ... To whom was God speaking when he said us and our? He could not be referring to the Angels as they cannot create. There was noone else, so he must have been referring to himself. Then in the following verse, 27, a singular pronoun is used of God, "So God created man in his own image." The use of both plural terms and singular terms for God is an allusion to the Trinity.

This is confirmed in Genesis 2:4 where the word (Elohim) God is used in conjunction with the word (Yehovah) Lord. The word Yehovah is singular whilst the word Elohim is plural. The word Elohim is used over 2500 times in the Old Testament and it is often coupled with the word Yehovah. With these words used in this way God is shown to be one whilst at the same time being more than one. This concept is further strengthened by Deuteronomy 6:4 which uses these two titles but declares, "Hear O Israel: The Lord (Yehovah) our God (Elohim), the Lord (Yehovah) is one! Here the mystery of God is made known that there is one God but he is more than one.

With the aid of the New Testament at this point we can see the three persons of the Trinity present in the first chapter of the Bible. John 1:1 proclaims Jesus as the Word. John 1:3 credits Jesus as being the Creator. We know from Genesis that God created by speaking; he said, "Let there be ... etc... and it was so." God the Father speaks, Jesus is the Word and in Genesis 1:2 we find the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters.

Both the Testaments agree on the fact that God is one. Dueteronomy 6:4 "Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" 1 Corinthians 8:4 says in part, "there is no God but one."

There are many references to the oneness of God in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament the oneness of God underlies the teachings about God although it is rarely stated. Nevertheless Scriptures like 1 Cor.8:4 make it very plain that the oneness of God is affirmed by both Testaments.

B. GOD EXISTS AS THREE PERSONS

  1. GOD THE FATHER

    1. In the Old Testament God is referred to by many names, but it isn't until Isaiah 9:6 that he is called the Everlasting Father. This passage however is referring to Jesus and refers to Him as being the father of salvation.

    2. In the New Testament there are many references to God as Father. Jesus calls him:

    your FatherMt.5:16
    our FatherMt.6:9
    my FatherMt 7:21
    O Father Lord of heaven and earth...Mt 11:25
    the FatherMt 11:27
    their FatherMt 13:43

    There are 43 references to God as Father in the Gospel of Matthew alone. There is no doubt that GOD THE FATHER IS GOD.

  2. GOD THE SON

    John's Gospel very plainly states the deity of Jesus Christ. In John 10:30-33 Jesus claims deity by saying, "I and my Father are one." The Jews understood exactly what Jesus intended for they immediately took up rocks to stone him. The Jews said, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you being a man, make yourself God." Jesus did indeed claim to be God. He called God the Father his father, saying to Philip, "... he who has seen me has seen the Father,..." John 14:9. In Hebrews 1:6 God the Father says, "Let all the angels of God worship him." The four living creatures and the twenty four elders fall down and worship Jesus the lamb of God (Rev 5:14). But only God can be worshipped - Exodus 34:14 states, "For you shall worship no other God." Therefore JESUS IS GOD.

  3. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

    The plainest Scripture that shows the deity of the Holy Spirit is Acts 5:3,4. Peter says to Ananias, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?..." and in the next verse he says "...you have not lied to men but to God." THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD.

C. ATTRIBUTES AND ACTS OF THE THREE PERSONS OF THE TRINITY

  1. ATTRIBUTES

    The attributes of the three persons of the Trinity should be the same because they are one God. And indeed they are!

    Attributes of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
    ETERNAL (everlasting) Is 40:28. Rev 1:8. Heb 9:14
    OMNIPRESENCE (ever present) Jer 23:23,24. Mt 28:20. Ps 139:7-10.
    OMNIPOTENCE (all powerful) Mat 19:26. Mt 28:18. Jn 10:17,18,27. Mic 2:7. Lk 1:36.
    OMNISCIENCE (all knowing) 1Jn 3:20. Jn 21:17. Acts 1:24. 1Cor 2:10-11. Jn 14:26. Jn 16:12-13.
    IMMUTABLE (never changing) Mal 3:6 Heb 13:8. 1Cor 12:4. Jn 14:17. Jn 16:13. 1Jn 5:6.

  3. ACTS

    The three persons of the Trinity have different functions but their acts often overlap. The Father originates, the Son reveals or implements, and the Holy Spirit executes or imparts.

    Acts of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
    CREATES Gen 1:1. Jn.1:1-3. Job 33:4. Ps 104:30. Isaiah 45:18
    GIVES LIFE Gen 2:7. Jn 1:4. Rom 8:18. Jn 6:63. Rom 8:10.
    GIVES PEACE Heb 13:20. Isaiah 9:6. Eph 4:3.
    SANCTIFIES OR MAKES HOLY 1Thess 5:23. Eph 5:26. Rom 15:16.

D. TRIAMORPHES

A triamorphe is the appearance of the three persons of the Godhead together in a passage of Scripture in such a way as to allude to the existence of the Trinity. Tria is the Greek word for three and morphe is the Greek word for form. Triamorphe simply means three-forms.

  1. BAPTISMAL FORMULA

    "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Mt 28:19.

    Without the existence of the Trinity the baptismal formula given to us in Matthew 28:19 is indeed a very strange thing. People are to be baptised in the NAME (singular) of three persons (plural), Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. This formula demands a relationship between these three persons in a similar way that the relationship between the plural (ELOHIM) and the singular (YEHOVAH) demands that although God is one (essence),he is more than one (person). The baptismal formula does not make sense unless God is a Trinity.

  2. BENEDICTION

    "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." 2Cor 13:14.

    This benediction found in 2Cor 13:14 demands a trinitarian explanation. Benediction means good word, but this is not just a good word, it is a blessing. Paul the Apostle is calling down the goodness of God upon the Corinthian Church. If Jesus is not God then the grace Paul calls for is not the best grace and isn't that what Paul is calling for. If this is the very best grace then Jesus is God. The same can be said of the communion of the Holy Spirit. The communion of the Holy Spirit to be the best must be the communion of God. The only reasonable explanation for a blessing like this is that the three persons of the Trinity are being spoken of. If not, Paul is blessing them with a first rate love and at best a second rate grace and communion. Paul is calling for an endowment of the grace of God and the love of God and the communion of God. Anything less is not the best, and the context demands the best, therefore we have a reference to the Holy Trinity.

  3. GOD EMPOWERED SERVICE

    "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 1Cor 12:4-6.

    This passage appears just before the list of the gifts of the Spirit. We know that every good and perfect gift comes from God (Jas 1:17), but in the verses quoted above these gifts are attributed to the Holy Spirit. Furthermore these gifts are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry which is attributed to the work of Jesus in Eph 4:12. This 1 Corinthians passage is another reference to the Holy Trinity where the three persons of the Trinity are involved in equipping God's people for service in the Church.

  4. CHURCH LEADERSHIP

    "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:4-8) . . . . ."And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ..." (Ephesians 4:11-12.)

    At the beginning of this passage the oneness of God is reaffirmed - one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father, but as we saw in the previous section this passage ties the three persons together as the giver of gifts. Therefore this is another place where the Holy Trinity is confirmed.

  5. THE INDWELLING OF GOD

    "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." Romans 8:9.

    The whole of the passage that includes this verse discusses spirituality and carnality. The conclusion is that those who live carnally will die but those who live spiritually will live, verse 6. The only conclusion we can come to by reading verse 9 is that either Christians have three spirits, or that this is a reference to the Holy Trinity. I am forced to conclude that this is a reference to the Trinity because Eph 4:4 declares that there is only one Spirit.

III. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The three-ness of God appears to be stamped on the universe that God has made.

  1. THE NATURE OF MAN
    Each person is made up of a spirit soul and body, 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Man is made in the image of God so it is not surprising that we have three dimensions.
  2. THE UNIVERSE
    The universe is three dimensional, it is : SPACE X TIME X MATTER.
  3. SPACE
    Space is three dimensional, it is : LENGTH X BREADTH X HEIGHT.
  4. TIME
    Time is three dimensional, it is : PAST X PRESENT X FUTURE.
  5. MATTER
    Matter is three dimensional, it is : ENERGY X MOTION X PHENOMENA.
  6. ILLUSTRATIONS
    Many different illustrations have been used to show God's mark on creation but some of them fall short of what is needed, and some stray into the area of heresy. No illustration is really sufficient to explain God, for the fullness of God is beyond our understanding. However here are a few that do some justice to God.
    1. THE EGG
      The egg is three in one. It is shell, yolk and white. The shell is egg. The yolk is egg, and the white is egg.
    2. THE APPLE
      The apple is three in one. It is skin, flesh and core. The skin is apple. The flesh is apple, and the core is apple. There is a further application here. God the Father is like the skin that holds all things together. Jesus is God come in the flesh and the Holy Spirit is like a seed, the beginning of life.
    3. THE SUN
      The sun is like God. The sun is like God the Father in that it is the source of heat and light. The rays of light and heat coming down from the sun is like God the Son who is the visible manifestation of the source, and the heat coming from the sun is like the Holy Spirit who is the felt manifestation of the source.
    4. A ROOM
      A room has a ceiling, walls and a floor. If any one of these things is missing it is not a room. God is like the room in that He is made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is not complete unless all of the persons of the Godhead are included in much the same way that a room is not a room unless it has walls, a floor and a ceiling.
    5. A CUBE
      A cube is one, but is made up of three dimensions height breadth and depth. The height breadth and depth are all the same but on a different plane. Without one of the three the cube is not a cube but is incomplete. God is like this. Alternatively, a cube has faces, edges and corners - all different, but all cube, and all essential.

IV. ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF THE TRINITY

  1. UNITARIANISM - God is one person

    This appears to be so from Deuteronomy 6:4,5. "The Lord our God is one Lord." However when one has the light of other Scriptures something other than unitarianism must be meant. God says in Genesis 1:26,27; "Let us make man in our image..." "So God created man in His own image..." The use of the plural forms 'us' and 'our' for God and the use of the singular form 'His' in the next verse shows that God is one essence but more than one person. This is reinforced when consideration is given to the use of Elohim (plural) and Yehovah (singular) together (see section II. A. Allusions to the Trinity in the Old Testament).

  2. TRITHEISM - God is three distinct gods

    This view of God is very quickly and often refuted in Scripture. Deuteronomy 4:35 says, "...the Lord himself is God; there is none other beside him." In this verse God (Elohim) is plural and is followed by the statement "there is no other beside Him." These statements rule out the possibility of three gods. However the word Lord is (Yehovah) which is singular, showing that although God is more than one He is only one Lord.

  3. SABELLIANISM - There is one God with three roles

    This view is also called Modalism. God is viewed as the Father at one time, the Son Jesus at another time and the Holy Spirit at another time. Thus it would be impossible for the three of them to be present at the same time. But they were exactly all present in Matthew 3:16,17. Jesus the Son of God had just come up out of the water after being baptised, the Holy Spirit descended onto Him as a dove, and God the Father spoke saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." In another instance Stephen said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Sabellianism or Modalism has no substance at all. God is three persons but still only one God.

Related Pages