THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY TRINITY IN CONTROVERSY

By Gary Ray Branscome

Although the doctrine of the Holy Trinity embodies truths that are plainly stated in Scripture, throughout history Satan has attacked it with a fury. He has attacked it through those who deny that only one God exists, and through those who deny or explain away what the Bible says about God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. He has attacked it through false religions, such as the Muslims who spread their religion by the sword, killing, enslaving and persecuting Christians along the way. And, he has attacked it through false prophets and through fools “professing themselves to be wise” (Romans 1:22). Against all such attacks the Bible warns, “There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will privately introduce damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2Peter 2:1).

Those who deny that there is only one God have to explain away passage after passage of Scripture. However, the words, “Those who know God accept what we [the inspired writers of Scripture] say; those who are not of God will not accept what we say. That is how we can distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error,” tell us that all who explain away statements of Scripture have a spirit of error, and should not be listened to (1John 4:6). As it is written, “To the law and to the testimony: if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20).

Regarding the fact that there is only one God, the words, “Master, you have spoken the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He,” plainly state that truth (Matthew 12:23). The words, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” again tell us that there is one God (1Timothy 2:5). And, the words, “You believe that there is one God; you do well: even the demons believe, and tremble,” tell us that even the demons believe that there is one God (James 2:19).

Those who deny that there is only one God have been known to quote the words, “There are gods many, and lords many,” but they are pulling that statement out of context (1Corinthians 8:5). In context that verse says, “When it comes to eating meat that has been offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as There are gods many, and lords many,) Yet for us there is but one God,” so those words are saying the opposite of what they claim (1Corinthians 8:4-6). And, to all who think that they can just make the Bible say what they want it to say, God says, “Woe unto those who are wise in their own eyes, and think they are shrewd… Their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:21,24).

Those who go in the other direction by denying that there are three distinct persons, usually deny the deity of Christ. However, the words, “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,” plainly tell us that Christ is God while emphasizing His unity with the Father (Isaiah 9:6).

The words, “Surely you are our father, even though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not recognize us: you, O LORD [Jahweh], are our father, our redeemer; your name is from everlasting,” tell us that our redeemer is Jehovah (Isaiah 63:16). And, the words, “Behold, the days come, says the LORD, when I will raise to David a righteous Branch… and this is the name by which He will be called, The LORD [Jahweh] Our Righteousness,” ascribe the name Jehovah or Jahweh to the descendant of David, namely Christ (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

The words, “Before you brought the mountains into existence, or formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God,” tell us that God is from eternity (Psalm 90:2). While the words, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you will He come forth unto me who is to be ruler of Israel; whose origin is from long ago, from everlasting,” tell us that Christ has existed from eternity (Micah 5:2). So we see that the Bible equates God with Christ by ascribing eternal existence to both.

The words, “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged according to what they had done, as it was written in the books,” tell us that God will judge all men (Revelations 21:5). At the same time, the words, “The Father does not judge anyone, but has committed all judgment to the Son,” tell us that when we are judged by God, it will be God the Son (not God the Father) who will judge (John 5:22).

The words, “Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us?” tell us that God the Father is our creator (Malachi 2:10). The words, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life,” tell us that God the Holy Spirit is our creator (Job 33:4). The words, “All things in heaven and earth, both visible and invisible, were created by Him, whether they be thrones, or jurisdictions, or provinces, or authorities: all things were created by Him, and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things have their existence,” tell us that God the Son is our creator (Colossians 1:16-17). And, the words, “Who, being by nature God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the nature of a servant, and was born as a man,” tell us that God the Son is equal to God the Father (Philippians 2:6-7). In fact, if God the Son was not equal to God the Father He would not be fully and completely God. That is why all attempts to portray the Son as subordinate to the Father wind up with more than one God. And, that is how we know that when Christ says of Himself, "My Father is greater than I,” He is speaking of Himself according to His human nature in His state of humiliation (John 14:28).

Those who portray Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three modes or faces that God puts on, wind up explaining away all of the Bible passages that speak of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as distinct from each other. For example: The words, “Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the time has come; glorify your Son, so that your Son may also glorify you,” tell us that the Son is not the Father (John 17:1). The words, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may remain with you forever,” tell us that the Son and the Spirit are distinct from the Father (John 14:16). And, the words, “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me,” again tell us that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct persons within the One true God (John 15:26).

We know that the Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force, because the words, “The Spirit specifically says, that in the future some will depart from the faith,” tell us that the Holy Spirit speaks (1Timothy 4:1); the words, “He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,” tell us that the Holy Spirit has a mind (Romans 8:27); the words, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things,” tell us that the Holy Spirit teaches (John 14:26); the words, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” tell us that the Holy Spirit can grieve (Ephesians 4:30); and the words, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost,” tell us that the Holy Ghost can be lied to (Acts 5:3). Those are all the qualities of a personal being, not a force.

We know that Christ’s divine nature is distinct from that of the Father because the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” tell us that Christ [the Word] not only was God but was with God (John 1:1). We know that Christ is “the Word” because the Bible says, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). And, we know that Christ existed from eternity because Christ said, “Truly, truly, I tell you, Before Abraham was, I am,” and because the words, “You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer; your name is from everlasting,” tell us that Christ [our Redeemer] “is from everlasting,” (John 8:58, Isaiah 63:16).

The Bible tells us that, “The minds of those who do not believe have been blinded” (2Corinthians 4:4). And, Satan has several ways of blinding those he wants to keep in darkness. He blinds some by making them think that they are smarter than everyone else. That keeps them from listening to those who try to point out their errors. He blinds some by making them think that the Bible is full of deep mysterious statements. That gets them so busy looking for something profound that they fail to see the plain meaning of the words. He gets some into cults that lead them to twist and explain away many truths of Scripture. He leads some to filter everything the Bible says through the Godless philosophy of naturalism. And, he leads all of them to think that they are good people, or that the rules they keep make them good. It is those who have been blinded by Satan who are not satisfied with the Doctrine of the Trinity as it is plainly stated in Scripture, and as it has been taught by the Christian church for two-thousand years.