The validity of the
Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is disputed among
Christians. The concept of a triune nature in the Godhead has lead to major
divisions among Christians. The doctrine is basically defined as,
"There is one God. There are three separate, distinct, and equal persons in God- Father, Son, Holy Spirit- and each is fully God; but, NOT a god."
It should come as no surprise,
that trying to understand the Divine Nature of God in our limited human
perspective is impossible. We can only know, what He has revealed to us
about His Nature, through the Bible.
There are those who rightly claim that the word "Trinity" does not appear in Holy Scripture. But what about the concept of the three-fold (triune) nature of God?
There are many verses in Scripture, which when viewed together give us a glimmering of the nature of the Godhead. The purpose of these pages is to present some of the them, thereby giving the background for the belief in the Trinity of God.
One of the major stumbling points in trying to define God is that we try to do it in human terms. Trinitarians teach that there are three, separate, equal, & distinct, Persons in God and that each is fully God; but, that there is only one God, not three. This doesn't make sense to the human mind. All the examples set forth by believers in the Trinity are inadequate and do not fully explain the Godhead. Non-Trinitarians cannot envision the concept of a triune nature in the Godhead, since Holy Scripture flatly proclaims "There is only one God." It really matters little what man believes about the Nature of God. It is, what it is!
God has revealed some aspects of His Nature in His 'inspired word', the original manuscripts of the Bible. Unfortunately, man in making various translations (versions) of Scripture has clouded, and in some cases changed, what God revealed to the original writers. If you believe that,
" All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness- "
(2Timothy 3:16)
you may find some help in understanding God's Nature on the following pages.
The following pages examine some of the many verses of Holy Scripture, which clearly show a plurality of beings/persons in the Godhead. They form part of the basis for the Trinity Doctrine.
Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7 & Isa 6:8
Genesis 18 & 19
Isaiah 48:16
Isa 61:1-2 & Luke 4:18-19
Jeremiah 23:5-6
Zechariah 10:12
Matthew 28:19
John 1:1-3
John 14:23 & 1John 2:24
2 Corinthians 13:14
Colossians 2:2
Hebrews 1:8-10
Hebrews 3:7-11
1 Peter 1:2
Revelation 3:21
John 20:28
Holy One of Israel
What about verses such as Deuteronomy 4:35, Isaiah 43:10, & Isaiah 44:6, which proclaim that there is only one God? Non Trinitarians point to these, and similar ones, claiming that they disprove the Trinity Doctrine. This stems from a misunderstanding of the Trinity belief, on their part. Trinitarians do NOT believe that there is more than one God. They believe that,
"the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit" are each fully God; but, not that each is a god.
The closest, but not perfect, human analogy, that comes to mind, is a Tribunal, a three Judge court. The three Judges comprise "The Court" and can be referred to as such. Each Judge is a separate, distinct, person, yet each has the power & authority of the Court; each can individually act as the Court; and individually each can be referred to as, "The Court", or by their own names. The imperfection in this analogy is that, although the Court is a single entity, it is basically a committee of three; and, there the analogy fails when applied to God. Although imperfect, the analogy can give us a small glimmering concerning the nature of the divine, spiritual, being, who is "God."
There are a number of people who claim that the Trinity is based on pagan beliefs, popular at the time of the early Christian Church. A fellow Christian, Robin Brace, discusses this claim on his page
"Is the Trinity Pagan?"
Also on his page, is a well put together table showing biblical evidence of various titles of God being attributed to The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit. You will find additional evidence of the Trinity of the Godhead on his page.
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Trinity
Page updated 04/02/2011.