One teaching that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions is the extremely challenging doctrine of the trinity. At face value it seems simple enough; three persons, one God. But like God Himself, it is a concept that is as deep and mysterious as it is unfathomable. Is it biblical? Is it True? Let’s find out.
Did you know that the word “bible” is NOWHERE to be found in the Bible! Yet who would contest that the Bible is not “The Bible?” It would be an absurd to claim that. Of course it is.
However, there are some who argue the same thing about God! They say that since the word “TRINITY” is not found in the Bible, the concept is not taught there! Nothing could be further from the truth! Guess what? The word “monotheism” is not in the Bible either, yet no one denies that the Bible teaches that there is only one God!
One truth that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions is the extremely challenging doctrine of the trinity. At face value it seems simple enough; three persons, one God. But like God Himself, it is a concept that is as deep and mysterious as it is unfathomable. And that’s how it should be. If there is a God, we should be able to grasp the concept, and yet be swallowed up with amazement at his incalculable nature and endless glory!
The Bible is quite blunt about the trinity. Unequivocally it asserts that there is only one God (Romans 3:30, Deuteronomy 6:4). It also states clearly that the Father is God (1 Cor 8:6), that Jesus is God (John 1:1&14), and that the Holy Spirit is God (1 Cor 6:19)! One God or three? Our little brain has a difficult time picturing this! How can three be one?
Fortunately for us, God created the universe in His own image and left his footprints everywhere! The universe itself could be described with the trinity of words, TIME, SPACE, and MATTER. Without time, we would not be able to move about! We’d be frozen in one place! Without Space, there would be nowhere to go. And without matter there would be nothing in our universe to go to. We humans need all three to exist. The universe would not be a universe without all three. They combine into one singular reality we call the time-space-matter continuum. Three attributes, one reality.
Take time for example. God created time in His image. Past, present and future. The past is not the present which is not the future! One essence, time; three distinct periods –just like the trinity.
Another footprint is three dimensional space. We describe space with the words “Height, width, and depth.” All three dimensions are an absolute necessity for navigation through our universe. With these dimensions we create houses, cars and skyscrapers, and can see spherical objects, distance and outer space. We might even describe the trinity as the “three dimensions of God!”
And matter itself can be in liquid, gas, or solid form. An illustration of the trinity.
And there is more. Man is body, soul and Spirit. My body is physical, my soul is my personality, and my spirit is what relates to God and gives me life. I am a tri-unity myself! I have three parts, yet one me… unless of course you consider that I have a split personality!
But God is not made of any of the building blocks of the universe. He is the creator of time, space and matter, but is not part of the universe. To look for God in the universe would be similar to looking into a computer to find the computer maker. The computer maker is a flesh and blood human, but the computer is made of hardware and software. We must look outside the computer for the inventor and creator of the computer. And we need to look outside of creation for the inventor and creator of the universe!
The very first verse of the Bible is one of the most profound sentences ever crafted. It says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
In the beginning: That’s time. God was there before time, he created it and is not constrained by it. Unlike us God does not need time to go from one place to another because He is already everywhere!
In the beginning God created the heavens: That’s space. God existed before space was created. He is not a spacial being. In fact John 4:24 explains that “God is spirit.” That means that his essence is invisible and immaterial.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth: That’s matter. God existed before matter came into existence. He has no atoms, nor any of the building blocks of the universe. We like to say that He is outside the universe, or perhaps dwells in a different dimension.
How does this relate to the Trinity? Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three gods or One? We’ve already pointed out that God’s essence is SPIRIT. Essence is the intrinsic nature or quality of something that determines its basic make up. God’s essence is spirit; He is invisible; He can’t be readily seen with the human eye. He is immaterial; He isn’t made up of the basic building blocks of this material universe. He’s boundless; He isn’t subject to time or space.
By definition God is eternal, limitless, infinite, perfect, and all powerful. This, by the way explains why there can only be one God. It is impossible to have more than one infinite God. An infinite being, by definition lacks nothing. For there to be two different Gods, one must lack something the other has. However, a being that lacks something is not infinite!
Furthermore, having more than one God still does not answer the question where did God come from. It stands to reason that only an eternal, limitless, infinite, perfect and all powerful creator could have created everything. If we assume that something created that God, then he would not be limitless or eternal. Therefore there can only be one God.
Why can there be only one God? Let’s explore two possibilities. Let’s say that there were two gods. Here’s the problem with that.
A. If one of these gods ever got the upper hand, it would mean that the other one was not all powerful, thus there really would only be one God.
B. If both were equal and had to share power, neither one would be God because God by definition doesn’t share power, he is ALL POWERFUL. Thus there can only be one God.
God’s essence is that he is eternal spirit: He is ONE God. That is WHAT He is. But he exists in three persons. That is WHO He is. The best explanation we can come up with to illustrate this is that I am a Human. That is what I am. But I am Dennis. That is who I am.
God reveals Himself in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because we are three dimensional, time based, spacially limited beings, we can’t understand a five or ten dimensional being like God. God is so complex that he is ONE God, who is revealed to us in THREE persons.
Augustine, while puzzling over the doctrine of the Trinity, was walking along the beach one day when he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole.” A light went on in his head. Augustine realized that he had been trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind.
John 17:3 says that it is “eternal life to know God…and Jesus Christ, whom God had sent.” It’s exceedingly important to know who God is because Jesus set it forth as a requirement for “eternal life”.
If you don’t believe in the Trinity, then you don’t understand who God is. You can’t possibly understand Jesus Christ—that He is God in human flesh. And you can’t understand the Holy Spirit – that He is the very Spirit of God who promises to live within every believer! Knowing the trinity helps us to know God.
The Trinity is one of those things that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions.
Islam: There is only one god, and he did not have a son! To the Muslim, the concept of the Trinity is like a three headed monster! It is a horrible monstrosity.
Jehovah Witnesses: There is one God, Jehovah is his name. The Spirit is a force, and Jesus was an archangel before he came to earth. When Jesus was born be became an average every day, run of the mill man! Jehovah Witnesses deny the Deity of Christ and the personality of the Holy Spirit.
Mormonism: As man now is, God once was. As God now is, man can become! They believe that the Father is God, Jesus is God, Adam is God and you can be too! Instead of a Trinity, they have a multiplicity of gods.
Modalism: Some religions that claim to be Christian erroneously see the trinity as three historical expressions of God. God expressed Himself in the Old Testament as the Father, manifested Himself in the Gospels as the Son, and revealed Himself in the Book of Acts as the Holy Spirit. One God, three different names for three different times. This too is a false representation of God.
The Trinity in the Bible
First Mention: Genesis 1:26-27 26 Then God (singular) said, “Let Us (Plural) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness … 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Whose image did He create mankind in?)
God speaks in the singular and plural numerous times: Gen 3:22; Gen 11:7; Is 6:8
The Father and the Son together: “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days. Daniel 7:13-14
The Father and the Spirit together: Ge 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The three who came to Abraham
Genesis 18:1-3 And the LORD appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
The Three in the Birth of Christ
Luke 1:35 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
The Three at the Baptism of Jesus
Matt 3:16-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21 “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: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
The Three in the Great Commission
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
The Father is God
1 Cor 8:6 “there is but one God, the Father, who made all things.”
What do we learn from the Fatherhood of God?
1 John 3:1 – “Behold what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God”
Psalm 68:5 “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Jesus is God
Matthew 1:23 “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Hebrews 1:8-9 “The Father says to the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
John 1:1, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 10:3-33 Jesus said, “I and My Father are one.” 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
1 Timothy 2:5 “there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
What do we learn from the Sonship of Christ?
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Philippians 2, “5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery though he was equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
The Spirit is God
In a definitive statement in 2 Corinthians 3:17 it says, “The Lord is the Spirit.” You can’t get any clearer than that. But here in first John, He is called the Spirit of Truth. And verse six is describing the witness of the Holy Spirit at the very beginning of Jesus ministry when He went to see John and was baptized.
Acts 5:3-4 Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied to men but to God.”
26 times the Bible calls Him “The Spirit of God.”
What do we learn from God the Holy Spirit?
John 14:16, “and I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”
The Battle over the Trinity – 7
1 John 5
7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
Now I want to introduce you to the Battle over the Trinity. As an illustration of this battle, 1 John 5:7 has become one of the most contested verses in the Bible. Some of your Bibles have moved verse 7 to the margin. This verse even has a name, It is called the infamous Comma Johanneum. This is what it says.
7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 1 John 5:7
This is one of the clearest statements on the trinity. The reason our modern translations have moved this verse to the margin is because scholars argue that it is not in many of the older Greek manuscripts. How did it get removed? We’re not sure.
But some think that it began sometime before the year 325, when a bishop named Arius who was very popular and powerful in Alexandria, Egypt taught that Jesus was not God. He was called to a council in Nicaea and was condemned by the church. While the Western church held firmly to the Scriptures, Egypt followed Arius. Some believe that Arius removed this verse from what are called “Alexandrian manuscripts” which came from, you guessed it Alexandria, Egypt.
Despite that it is missing from many manuscripts, we can point to nearly a dozen early church fathers who lived before the year 500, including Tertullian, Cyprian, Priscilian, etc who quoted this verse.[i][ii][iii]
So who’s right and who is wrong. I’m not 100% sure. I can tell you this. I think it is a little easier to remove things than to add them. Regardless of who is right, I only want to use this as an illustration of the battle lines that have been drawn over the trinity. The trinity is a Christian belief that we get from many other places in the Bible. It is under attack, because God is under attack.
But let me just say this. If you reject God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, you are missing, not only the truth of God’s Word, but you are missing eternal life.
Jesus is the Christ
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot Him also loves him who is begotten of Him. 1 John 5:1
To the surprise of some, “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. It is his title. “Christ” comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “anointed one” or “chosen one.” This is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Mashiach, or “Messiah.” “Christ” is His title, signifying Jesus was sent from God to be a King and Deliverer. Practically, it means he is Inaugurated to the Highest Rank possible – that is to be seated at the right hand of God.
John had a lot to say about Jesus truly being the Christ.
1 John 2:22-23 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist.
2 John 1:7-9 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
John 6:69 we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
John 20:27-31 Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Let me sum it up for you. Jesus is the Christ. 1. If you deny Jesus is the Christ – you don’t know God. 2. The Christ has come in the flesh – Jesus came as a man. 3. The Christ is the only begotten son of the Father. 4. Jesus Christ is Lord and God. By believing in Him you have life in His name. To sum it up, the Bible teaches that Jesus is God
And it teaches that the Spirit is God, and it teaches that the Father is God; Three persons, that’s who God is. One God, That’s what God is!
[i] https://www.puritanboard.com/threads/1-john-5-7-manuscript-evidence.51763/
[ii] http://www.defendproclaimthefaith.org/1_john_57_and_the_record_in_heaven.html
[iii] http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/1john57-exegesis.htm