Is the Trinity Doctrine Taught in the Bible?

A working definition of the word Trinity put to the test of Scripture

In the last post, we explored three myths about the doctrine of the Trinity. If you haven’t read that article yet, you should do so before reading on: Three Myths About the Doctrine of the Trinity.

Before we dig into God’s Word to see if it teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, it will be helpful to understand exactly what is meant by the word itself.

What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity?

Let’s start with a working definition of the word Trinity so we can properly evaluate the doctrine in light of the Bible.

The website DesiringGod.org maintains that “the doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith.” And they provide a solid, orthodox definition of the Trinity: “The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths:

1. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons;

2. Each Person is fully God; and

3. There is only one God.”¹

Let’s dig into the Bible to look at each of these three claims.

1. Does the Bible Teach Three Distinct Persons in the Godhead?

If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons, we should see all three persons in the Godhead mentioned in the Bible separately.

Matthew 28:19 is one of the clearest examples in the New Testament of three distinct persons in the Godhead. Jesus is commissioning His disciples to begin their kingdom work of discipling the nations and teaching them to observe everything Christ commanded. He says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

One name. Three persons.

What about the Old Testament?

In Isaiah 48, God is revealing His plan to redeem mankind. The speaker in verse 12 identifies Himself as the First and the Last, the One who laid the foundation of the earth. One could identify this person as Jesus Christ when comparing it to Revelation 1:17 and other passages in the New Testament.

Verse 16 of the Isaiah passage reads, “Come near to me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me.”

Here we have Jesus Christ being sent by the Father and the Spirit. Three distinct persons. One essence.

Though I have only shared two verses here, both the Old and New Testaments are replete with such language. One cannot argue against the fact that the Bible speaks of three distinct persons in the Godhead — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2. Does the Bible teach that each person is God?

What about point (2) above? Is each of these persons in the Godhead fully God? Let me make note that the word Godhead does appear in the Bible. See Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9.

First, we will look at the Father as God, then the Son, and finally the Holy Spirit.

1. The Father Is God: I don’t think there is anyone who would deny the Father as God. Nonetheless, for the sake of kicking every stone, consider these three examples: 1) 1 Chronicles 29:10: “Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.’” 2) James 3:9: “With it (our tongue) we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” 3) Jude 1:1: “Jude. A bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.” In these three verses, we see the Father is, without a doubt, fully God. Again, this is a mere smattering of verses.

2. The Son Is God: While Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults seek to deny the deity of Christ, they must twist and distort the Bible to do so (or invent a plurality of gods or a lesser god). Let’s look at three Scriptures. 1) Speaking of Jesus, Isaiah 9:6 says of the Son of God: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Either Jesus is the Mighty God or there is more than one God, a lesser and a greater. 2) John 1:1 speaks of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Not only does this verse teach a distinction between the Father and the Word (Son) — it also teaches that Jesus (the Son) was and is fully God. 3) The Apostle John records Doubting Thomas calling Jesus God. Jesus receives the homage and title and does not rebuke Thomas: “And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). So here we see that Jesus Christ is part of the Godhead and fully God.

3. The Holy Spirit Is God: We’ve already demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person from the Father and Son. Yet, the three are intrinsically connected. Again, we will look at three points of evidence from the Bible. 1) David prays of the Father that He not take His Holy Spirit from him. “Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). This same Spirit is elsewhere called the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). 2) If the Father and Son are God, so is Holy Spirit. Yet, the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son, for in John 14:16, Jesus says: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” This helper is the Holy Spirit, distinct from the Father and the Son, yet God. A thorough study of the Holy Spirit will reveal that He has all the attributes of God. 3) In Acts chapter five, we read the story of Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Apostles about the value of a piece of property they had sold. “Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of land for yourself?…You have not lied to men but to God.’” Here, Peter calls the Holy Spirit God. This should put to rest the false notion that the Apostles and early church did not understand the concept of the Trinity — even if they did not use the word.

So far, we have demonstrated that the Bible teaches three distinct persons in the Godhead, each with the status and title of God. This is the TRI in Trinity.

3. Are the three persons in the Godhead ONE?

Now, let’s look at the unity in the Godhead. This is the NITY of the Trinity. Another way it could be said is Tri-Unity.

Deuteronomy 6:4 is the famous unity passage in the Bible. This is how we know, despite the three distinct persons in the Bible called God, that God is ONE. This is the Great Shema. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

It is a mystery. Much like marriage. In marriage, a man and a woman join together and become one flesh.

The word ONE in the Great Shema is Strongs H259 — the same word used in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Moreover, the word God (Elohim) in Deuteronomy 6:4 has a plural ending. This verse could literally be translated as “The LORD our gods in ONE LORD.”

The idea of a plurality in the Godhead is not new to the New Testament, nor was it invented by early Christians or the Catholic Church.

Ancient Jewish writers wrestled with these ideas, and modern Jewish scholars admit the tension. Dr. Benjamin Sommer, biblical scholar and Jewish theologian, recognizes that the concept of a plurality of Gods who exist as One God is taught in the Old Testament. He asserts, “We Jews have no theological right to object to the Trinity.”²

Ancient Biblical Roots of the Trinity

And just as it should, the doctrine of the Trinity begins at the beginning, in Genesis Chapter One.

Let’s turn there now.

The Trinity at Creation

Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God (Elohim - a singular word with a plural ending) created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:2: “The earth was without form, and void: and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God (Elohim - in the plural) was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Genesis 1:3-25: (Elohim - in the plural) continues with creation.

Note:

• The Father is the Creator: “Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it” (Isaiah 42:5).

• The Son is the Creator: John 1:3: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

• The Spirit is the Creator: Not only was the Spirit hovering above the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2), but He was also participating in the creation. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath (Ruah — or Spirit) of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6).

Isaiah 44:24 unifies the Godhead as ONE and the same Creator: “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.”

God stretched out the heaven all alone and spread the earth abroad by Himself. He had no helper. Yet, we know Jesus created all things. And God created all things through Jesus and the Spirit. The only way this is possible is if the three distinct persons in the Godhead are ONE.

Let’s get back to the Genesis creation account.

Genesis 1:26: “Then God (Elohim - in the plural) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God speaks of Himself in the first person plural: Us, Our.

Genesis 1:28: “Then God (Elohim - in the plural) blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God wanted mankind to take dominion of His creation and spread out over the earth — which takes us full circle back to Babylon.

The Trinity at the Tower of Babel

In Part One of this series, we saw how some “Christians” reject the Trinity because they claim it has its roots in pagan cultures like Babylon, Rome, and Greece. Even though we debunked that idea, it remains relevant to the discussion.

When man decided to ignore God’s command to fill the earth and chose instead to build a tower up to the firmament of heaven — an act of rebellion — God had no choice but to intervene.

Elohim (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) conferred together to frustrate their plans.

Genesis 11:7: “Come let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

The Trinity was not invented in Babylon. No. Indeed. The Trinity was ruling over and judging Babylon, putting an end to their rebellion. And the Trinity continues to rule over Babylon today — and forever — intervening in Satan’s attempts and man’s plans to fight against God’s rule and His rules.

Yes, there is a mysterious element of the Trinity. This must not turn us away from believing the doctrine. Is it possible for humans to ever fully understand the nature of God? No. We must, however, accept what He has revealed in Holy Scripture.

We will finish this discussion in Part Three by demonstrating how the Trinity will continue to fight against Satan’s Babylonian system — and win down here — before He returns to receive His spotless bride.

1. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity

2. The Trinity in Ancient Jewish Books