God’s Revelation of Himself in Scripture
The Doctrine of the Trinity is not a
man made doctrine, but is rather an organized presentation of certain
truths
about God that are clearly and explicitly stated in Scripture – line
upon line,
here a little, there a little (Isaiah 28:9-10). One aspect of this
doctrine
affirms the fact that only one God exists, another the fact that even
though the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God there is still
only
one God, the three (tri) are one (une).
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD
(Jahweh) our
God (Elohim) is one LORD (Jahweh).
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered, The most
important of
all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.
And you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
Mark
1Timothy 2:5 There
is one
God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
James
1Corinthians 8:6 there is but one God, the
Father,
from whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through
whom are all things, and we through him.
Isaiah 43:10-11 I am he: no God was formed
before me,
and there will be none after me. I, even I, am the LORD (Jahweh);
and there is no savior other than me.
Deuteronomy
Isaiah 44:6 The LORD (Jahweh)
the King of
[Comment:
The purpose of these comments is not to explain the passages, but to
call
attention to what they say. All of them tell us that there is only one
God.
However, in the first passage the name “Jahweh”
is a
definite singular (which could be translated as “He who is” or “I am”).
Yet “Elohim” is a plural (coupled with the
singular word “is”). Thus
the plural nature of the One God is indicated, while the fact that
there is
only one God is emphasized. In the last passage (Isaiah 44:6) we are
told that Jahweh is both the God of Israel
and our redeemer
(Christ).]
THE FATHER IS GOD
Deuteronomy 32:6 Is
this your
repayment to the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? is
not he your father who has bought
you? has he not made you, and established
you?
Isaiah 64:8 But
now, O LORD,
you are our father; we are the clay,
and you are our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.
Isaiah 63:16 Surely
you are
our father, even though Abraham does
not know us, and
1Thessalonians
Malachi
[Comment:
While all of these passages tell that the Father is God, the words
“bought you”
(in the first verse) and “redeemer” (in the third verse) point to
Christ as
God.]
THE SON IS GOD
Isaiah
Isaiah 9:6 For
unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government will be on
his
shoulders: and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty
God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Psalm 2:7,12 Jahweh has said to me, You are my Son; this day
have I
begotten you… Blessed are all those who put their trust in him.
Hebrews 1:8 But to the Son he says, Your
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: and righteousness will be the
scepter of
your kingdom.
Isaiah 48:12-16 I
am He; I am
the first, I am also the last. My hand has laid the foundation of the
earth,
and my right hand has spread out the heavens… from the time that it
was, there
I am: and now the Lord GOD, and His Spirit, has sent me.
Isaiah 49:26 I Jahweh
am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty
One of Jacob.
Isaiah 54:5 your Maker is your husband; the
LORD of
hosts is his name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He will
be
called the God of the entire earth.
John
1Timothy 3:16 God was revealed in the flesh,
justified
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in
the
world, received up into glory. (See also 1Tim. 1:1 and 2:3.)
[Comment:
All of these verses affirm the deity of Christ. However, because there
is only
one God, in Psalm 2:7 Jahweh speaks as the
Father,
while in Isaiah 49:26 He speaks as the Son.]
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD
Acts 5:3-4 Peter said, Ananias,
why has Satan filled your heart to lie to
the Holy
Ghost… you have not lied to men, but to God.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.
Matthew 12:31-32 blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will
not be forgiven… anyone who speaks against the Holy Ghost, will not be
forgiven,
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is
upon me;
because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek.
[Comment: These verses all tell us that the
Holy
Spirit is God.]
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS
PERSONAL
(NOT A FORCE)
Acts 13:2 while they were worshipping the
Lord, and
fasting, the Holy Ghost said, Set apart for
me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
Romans 8:26-27 The Spirit
himself
makes intercession for us… He who searches our hearts knows the mind of
the
Spirit.
1Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit specifically
says, that in
the later times some shall depart from the faith.
John
Acts 5:3, 9 Why
has Satan
filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost… How is it that you have
agreed
together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?
Ephesians
1Corinthians
John
[Comment:
we refer to the Holy Spirit as a person [personal being] because the
Bible
tells us that He has a “mind” (Romans
EACH PERSON IS DISTINCT FROM THE OTHER TWO
Matthew 3:16-17 And having been baptized,
Jesus
immediately went up out of the water: and, the heavens were opened to
him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
And a
voice from heaven, said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.
John 14:16-17 I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Comforter, that he may remain with you
forever;
Even the Spirit of truth.
John 14:26 The Comforter, who is the Holy
Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and cause
you to remember
everything that I have said to you.
[Comment:
These verses all speak of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as separate
entities.
In the first verse Jesus comes up out of the water, the Holy Spirit
descends
upon Him, and the Father speaks from heaven.]
YET THERE IS ONE GOD, NOT THREE GODS
Mark 12:29-30 And Jesus answered, The
most important of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our
God is
one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.
Mark
[Comment:
See all of the Bible passages in the first section that tell us that
there is
only one God.]
THE THREE ARE ONE
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our
God is
one LORD
Matthew 28:19 Go, and teach all nations,
baptizing
them in the name [singular] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy
Ghost.
1John 5:7 There are three who bear witness in
heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three (tri) are one
(une).
[Comment:
The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God yet there
is only
one God, not three Gods. See 2 Corinthians 13:14, Isaiah 48:16, Genesis
18:1-3,
and all of the passages in the first section that tell us that there is
only
one God.]
THE TWO NATURES OF CHRIST
Isaiah 49:26 I Jahweh
am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty
One of Jacob.
[Comment:
See all of the passages in section three that tell us that Jesus is
true God.]
JESUS IS ALSO TRUE MAN,
THE
SERVANT OF JAHWEH
1Timothy 2:5 There
is one
God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, my chosen one,
whom I
uphold; and in whom my soul delights. (Matthew 12:18)
CONCLUSION
As you have seen, the doctrine of the Trinity
consists
of truths that are clearly and explicitly stated in Scripture.
Nevertheless,
during the fourth century Christians adopted a terminology that made it
easier
to express certain facts about God without contradicting what the Bible
says
elsewhere. For example, even though the Father is God, the Son is God,
and the
Holy Spirit is God, if we referred to them as three Gods we would
appear to contradict
the Bible passages that say there is only one God. Therefore, in order
to avoid
confusion, while making it clear that only one God exists, we refer to
the
Father, Son and Holy Ghost as three persons rather than three Gods.
Furthermore,
when we refer to them as “persons,” all we really mean is that they
have the
attributes of a personal being (they love, care, plan, think, speak,
etc.).
Christian
doctrine is
not produced by the theologian; all that the Christian theologian does
is that
he compiles the doctrinal statements contained in Scripture (in the
text and
context), groups them under their proper heads, and arranges these
doctrines in
the order of their relationship” (Francis Pieper, “Christian Dogmatics”, Vol. 1, pg 52)
Gary Ray Branscome