I am aware that the Trinity is claimed by some groups to be unscriptural
and a heresy. These people either do not regard Scripture as being the
infallible, inspired Word of God, or they are simply unaware of the all
the things Scripture DOES say about our God. The purpose of this document
is to set forth in outline form, a Biblical model of the Trinity. The statements
made here are based strictly on Scriptural teachings found inthe Bible.
The following excerpt is from the Athanasian Creed, set forth by
the early church:
"We worship one God in Trinity, and the Trinity
in Unity; neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance [Essence].
For there is one Person of the Father: another or the Son: and another
of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as
the Father is: such is the Son: and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father
uncreate [uncreated]: the Son uncreate: and the Holy Ghost uncreate...
the Father is Almighty: the Son Almighty: and the Holy Ghost Almighty.
And yet they are not three Almighties: but one Almighty. So the Father
is God: the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not
three Gods: but one God."
Because this creed was not written until the early fifth century, many people claim this is a relatively new doctrine added to the Christian faith and was not a teaching of either Christ himself or his apostles. Those who feel this way need to realize that many of the creeds that represent the Christian faith were written to counter a prevailing heresy that had either attacked or infiltrated the Church. The church fathers did not just put together their opinions on a subject and publish it as doctrine in this case, but summarized what they derived from Scripture on the subject. This particular creed was written to combat the false teachings of Modalism [one God, and one God only with three pictures of the same person] and Arianism [Christ was a created being and not of the same substance as God - Christ was of a 'like substance']. The creeds that are accepted by orthodox Christianity are still valid today because they were derived directly from Scripture, and are defendable by Scripture.
[Text note: portions of text contained inside single quotes are meant
to be underlined.]
a) Old Testament: Deut. 4:35,39; 32:39; 2 Sam.
22:32; Isa. 37:20; 43:10;44:6-8; 45:5, 14, 21-22; 46:9.
b) New Testament: John 5:44; Rom. 3:30; 16:27; 1
Cor. 8:4-6; Gal. 3:20; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim 1:17; 2:5; James 2:19; Jude 25.
a) Explicit Statements: Ex. 8:10; 9:14; 15:11;
2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Kings 8:23; 1 Chr. 17:20; Psa. 86:8; Isa.
40:18, 25; 44:7; 46:5, 9; Jer. 10:6-7;Micah 7:18.
b) "Becoming like God" is a Satanic Lie: Gen. 3:5; Isa. 14:14; John 8:44.
c) Fallen man became "like God" only in that he took
upon himself to know good and evil, not that he acquired godhood: Gen.
3:22.
Deut. 32:21; 1 Sam. 12:21; Psa. 96:5; Isa. 37:19;
41:23-24, 29; Jer.2:11; 5:7; 16:20; 1 Cor. 8:4; 10:19-20.
Deut. 32:17; Psa. 106:37; 1 Cor. 10:20; Gal.
4:8.
a) The image of God indicates that man is to
represent God and share His moral character, not that man can be metaphysically
like God: Gen.1:26-27; 5:1; 1 Cor. 11:7; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10.
b) The goal of being like Christ has the following
aspects only: 1)Sharing His moral character: 1 John 3:2; Rom. 8:29. 2)
Being raised with glorified, immortal bodies like that which He was raised
up in:Phil. 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:49.
c) Becoming partakers of the divine nature refers
again to moral nature ("having escaped the corruption that is in the world
by lust"), not metaphysical nature: 2 Pet. 1:4; Heb. 12:10 (on the meaning
of "partakers" see 1 Cor. 10:18, 20; 2 Cor. 1:17; 1 Pet. 5:1).
a) Scripture never says explicitly that men are
gods.
b) Powerful, mighty men are explicitly said not to be gods: Ezek. 28:2,9; Isa. 31:3; 2 Thess. 2:4.
c) Men and God are opposite, exclusive categories: Num. 23:19; Isa. 31:3;Ezek. 28:2, 9; Hosea 11:9; Matt. 19:26; John 10:33; Acts 12:22; 1 Cor.14:2.
d) Moses was "as God," not really a god: Ex. 4:16; 7:1.
e) Ezek. 32:21 speaks of warriors or soldiers as "mighty gods," but in context they are regarded as such by their pagan nations, not by God or Israel (see also Ezek. 28:2, 9).
f) The 'elohim' before whom accused stood in Exodus was God Himself, not judges, as many translations incorrectly render: Ex. 22:8-9, 28; compare Deut. 19:17.
g) The use of 'elohim' in Psalm 82, probably in reference to wicked judges, as cited by Jesus in John 10:34-36, does not mean that men really can be gods.
1) It is Asaph, not the Lord, who calls the judges 'elohim' in Psa.82:1, 6. This is important, even though we agree that Psa. 82 isinspired.
2) Asaph's meaning is not, "Although you are gods, you will die like men," but rather, "I called you gods, but in fact you will all die like the men that you really are".
3) The Psalmist was no more saying that wicked judges were truly gods than he was saying that they were truly "sons of the Most High" (v.6b).
4) Thus, Psa. 82:1 calls the judges 'elohim' in irony. They had quite likely taken their role in judgment to mean they were 'elohim', or gods, and Asaph's message is that these so-called gods were mere men who would die under the judgment of the true 'elohim' (vss.1-2, 7-8).
5) Christ's use of this passage in John 10:34-36 does not negate the above interpretation of Psalm 82.
6) The words, "the Scripture cannot be broken," means "the Scripture cannot go without having some ultimate fulfillment" (see John 7:23;Matt. 5:17). Thus Jesus is saying that what the Old Testament judges were called in irony, He is in reality; He does what they could not do, and is what they could never be (see the Adam-Christ contrasts in Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 45 for a similar use ofOld Testament Scripture).
7) The clause, "those against whom the word of God came" (John 10:35) shows that this "word" was a word of judgment against the so-called gods, which shows that they were false gods, not really gods at all.
8) Finally, these wicked men were certainly not "godlike" or "divine" by nature, so that in any case the use of 'elohim' to refer to them must be seen as figurative, not literal.
h) Even if men were gods (which
they are not), this would be irrelevant to Jesus, since He was God as a
preexistent spirit before creation: John 1:1.
a) Scripture never explicitly states that angels
are gods.
b) Demonic spirits are not gods, 1 Cor. 10:20; Gal. 4:8. Thus, being "mighty spirits" does not make angels gods.
c) Satan is therefore also a false god: 2 Cor. 4:4.
d) Psalm 8:5 does not teach that angels are gods.
1) Psa. 8:5 is paraphrased in Heb. 2:7, not quoted literally (see Psa.68:18 with Eph. 4:8). In Psa. 8:5, 'elohim' certainly means God, not angels, since Psa. 8:3-8 parallels Gen. 1:1, 8, 16, 26-28. Note that the Psalmist is speaking of man's exalted place in creation, whereas Hebrews is speaking of the lower place taken by Christ in becoming a man. Thus, Heb. 2:7 may not mean to equate angels with gods at all.
2) Even if Heb. 2:7 does imply that angels are "gods," in the context of Hebrews 1-2 these angels would be those falsely exalted above Christ: Note Heb. 1:6 (which quotes Psa. 97:7, which definitely speaks of "gods" in the sense of false gods), and see Col. 2:16 on the problem of the worship of angels.
e) Elsewhere in the Psalms angels, if spoken of as gods (or as "sons of the gods"), are considered false gods: Psa. 29:1; 86:8-10; 89:6; 95:3;96:4-5; 97:7-9 (note that these false gods are called "angels" in the Septuagint); Psa. 135:5; 136:2; 138:1. See also Ex. 15:11; 18:11; Deut. 10:17; 1 Chr. 16:25; 2 Chr. 2:5.
f) Even if angels were gods (which the above shows
they are not), thatwould be irrelevant to Jesus, since He is not an angelic
being, but the Son who is worshipped by the angels as their Creator, Lord,
and God: Heb. 1:1-13.
1. Texts where Jehovah is said to be 'elohim' or 'el': Deut. 4:35,
39; Psa.100:3; etc.
2. Texts where the compound name "Jehovah God" ('Yahweh Elohim') is
used:
Gen. 2-3; 9:26; 24:3; Ex. 3:15-18; 4:5; 2 Sam. 7:22,
25; etc.
3. There is only one Yahweh/Jehovah: Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29.
4. Conclusion: Jehovah is the only God, the only 'el'/'elohim'.
1. Only one God, thus unique (see A. 1.).
2. None even like God (see A. 2.).
3. God cannot be fully comprehended: 1 Cor. 8:2-3.
4. God can only be known insofar as the Son reveals Him: Matt. 11:25-27; John 1:18.
5. Analogical language is needed to describe God: Ezek. 1:26-28; Rev.1:13-16.
6. God is transcendent, entirely distinct from and different than the universe, as the carpenter is distinct from the bench.
a) Separate from the world: Isa. 40:22; Acts 17:24.
b) Contrasted with the world: Psa. 102:25-27; 1 John 2:15-17.
c) Created the world: Gen. 1:1; Psa. 33:6; 102:25;
Isa. 42:5; 44:24; John 1:3; Rom. 11:36; Heb. 1:2; 11:3.
a) Heb. 1:3 (KJV) speaks of God's "person", but
the word used here, 'hupostasis', is translated "substance" in Heb. 11:1
(KJV); also in Heb. 1:3 "God" refers specifically to the Father.
b) Gal. 3:20 speaks of God as one party in the covenant between God and man, not as one person.
c) Job 13:8 (KJV) speaks of God's "person", but ironically
the Hebrew literally means "his faces".
a) Over 7000 times God speaks or is spoken of
with singular pronouns ('I', 'He', etc.), but this is proper because God
is a single individual 'being'; thus these singular forms do not disprove
that God exists as three "persons" as long as these persons are not separate
beings.
b) At least four times God speaks of or to Himself using plural pronouns (Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8), and monotheistic non-trinitarian interpretations cannot account for them.
1) Plural reference to God and the angels possible in Isa. 6:8, but not in the Genesis texts: in 1:26 "our image" explained in 1:27, "in God's image"; in 3:22 "like one of us" refers back to 3:5, "like God".
2) The "literary plural" (possibly, though never clearly, attested in Paul's writings) is irrelevant to texts in which God is 'speaking',not writing.
3) The "plural of deliberation" is apparently unattested in Biblical writings, and cannot explain Gen. 3:22 ("like 'one of' us").
4) The "plural of amplitude" or of "fullness" (which probably does explain the use of the plural form 'elohim' in the singular sense of "God") is irrelevant to the use of plural pronouns, and again cannot explain Gen. 3:22.
5) The "plural of majesty" 'possibly' attested in 1 Kings 12:9; 2 Chr. 10:9; Ezra 4:18 (more likely). But none of these are certain, and again it cannot explain Gen. 3:22. Also, nothing in the context of the Genesis texts suggests that God is being presented as King.
6) The uniqueness of God
(see C. above) should prepare us for the possibility that the one divine
Being exists uniquely as a plurality of persons.
John 17:3; 1 Cor 8:6; etc.
2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3.
a) Isa. 9:6; note 10:21. Translations which render
"mighty hero," etc. are inconsistent in their rendering of 10:21. Also
note that Ezek. 32:21 is 1) not in the same context, as is Isa. 10:21,
and 2) speaking of false gods (see A. 7. e. above).
b) John 1:1. Even if Jesus here is called "a god" (as some have argued), since there is only one God, Jesus is that God. However, the "a god" rendering is incorrect. Other passages using the Greek word for God ('theos') in the same construction are always rendered "God": Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38; John 8:54; Phil. 2:13; Heb. 11:16. Passages in which a shift occurs from 'ho theos' ("the God") to 'theos' ("God") never imply a shift in meaning: Mark 12:27; Luke 20:37-38; John 3:2; 13:3; Rom. 1:21; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 4:10-11.
c) John 1:18. The best manuscripts have "the unique God" ('monogenes', frequently rendered "only begotten," actually means "one of a kind," "unique," though in the New Testament always in context of a son or daughter). Even if one translates "only begotten," the idea is not of a "begotten god" as opposed to an "unbegotten god."
d) John 20:28. Compare Rev. 4:11, where the same construction is used in the plural ("our") instead of the singular ("my"). See also Psa. 35:23. Note that Christ's response indicates that Thomas' acclamation was not wrong. Also note that John 20:17 does show that the Father was Jesus' "God" (due to Jesus becoming a man), but the words "my God" as spoken by Thomas later in the same chapter must mean nothing less than was meant in v. 17. Thus, what the Father is to Jesus in His humanity, Jesus is to Thomas (and therefore to us as well).
e) Acts 20:28. "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." The variant readings (i.e., "the church of the Lord") show that the original was understood to mean "His own blood," not "the blood of His own [Son]" (since otherwise no one would have thought to change it).
Thus, all other renderings are attempts to evade the startling clarity and meaning of this passage.
f) Rom. 9:5. While grammatically this is not the only possible interpretation, the consistent form of doxologies in Scripture, as well as the smoothest reading of the text, supports the identification of Christ as "God" in this verse.
g) Titus 2:13. Grammatically and contextually, this
is one of the strongest proof-texts for the deity of Christ. Sharp's first
rule, properly understood, proves that the text should be translated "our
great God and Saviour" (see the same construction in Luke 20:37; Rev. 1:6;
and many other passages). Note also that Paul always uses the word "manifestation"
("appearing") of Christ: 2 Thess. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 4:1,
h) Heb. 1:8. The rendering, "God is your throne," is nonsense -- God is not a throne, He is the one who sits on the throne! Also "God is your throne," if taken to mean God is the source of one's rule, could be said about any angelic ruler -- but Hebrews 1 is arguing that Jesus is superior to the angels.
i) 2 Pet. 1:1. The same construction is used here as in Titus 2:13; see the parallel passage in 2 Pet. 1:11; 2:20; 3:2, 18.
j) 1 John 5:20. Note that the most obvious antecedent
for "this" is Jesus Christ. Also note that the "eternal life" is Christ,
as can be seen from 1:2.
a) Rom. 10:9-13. Note the repeated "for," which
links these verses closely together. The "Lord" of 10:13 must be the "Lord"
of 10:9, 12.
b) Phil. 2:9-11. In context, the "name that is above every name" is "Lord" (vs. 11), i.e., Jehovah.
c) Heb. 1:10. Here God the Father addresses the Son as "Lord," in a quotation of Psalm 102:25 (see 102:24, where the person addressed is called "God"). Since here the Father addresses the Son as "Lord," this cannot be explained away as a text in which a creature addresses Christ as God/Lord in merely a representational sense.
d) 1 Pet. 2:3. This verse is nearly an exact quotation of Psa. 34:8a, where "Lord" is Jehovah. From 1 Pet. 2:4-8 it is also clear that "the Lord" in v.3 is Jesus.
e) 1 Pet. 3:14-15. These verses are a clear reference to Isa. 8:12-13, where the one who is to be regarded as holy is Jehovah.
f) Texts where Jesus is spoken of as the "one Lord"
(see Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29): 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:5 (see also Rom. 10:12;
1 Cor. 12:5).
a) Titles belonging only to God.
1) The first and the last: Rev. 1:17; 22:13 (see Isa. 44:6).
2) King of kings and Lord of lords: 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16.
b) Titles belonging in the ultimate sense only to God.
1) Savior: Luke 2:11; John 4:42; 1 John 4:14; Tit. 2:13 (see v.10, etc.). See also Isa. 43:11; 45:21-22; 1 Tim. 4:10. On Jesus becoming the source of salvation see Heb. 5:9 and Ex. 15:2; Psa. 118:14, 21.
2) Shepherd: John 10:11; Heb. 13:20 (see Psa. 23:1; Isa. 40:11).
3) Rock: 1 Cor. 10:4 (see
Isa. 44:8).
a) Honor: John 5:23.
b) Love: Matt. 10:37.
c) Prayer: John 14:14 (text debated, but in any case it is Jesus who 'answers' the prayer); Acts 7:59-60 (see Luke 23:24, 46); Rom. 10:12-13; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 12:8-10 (where "the Lord" must be Jesus, see v.9), etc.
d) Worship ('proskuneo'): Matt. 28:17; Heb. 1:6 (see Psa. 97:7) (see also Matt. 4:10).
e) Religious or sacred service ('latreuo'): Rev. 22:13.
f) Faith: John 3:16; 14:1; etc.
a) Creation: John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16-17;
Heb. 1:2; Rev. 3:14 (see 21:6 on "beginning"); on "through" and "in" see
Rom. 11:36; Heb. 2:10; Acts 17:28 (see also Isa. 44:24).
b) Sustains the universe: Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3.
c) Salvation:
1) In general: see 3. b) 1. above.
2) Forgives sins: Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26; note that Jesus forgives sins not committed against Him.
d) All of them: John 5:17-29 (including judgment,
see Matt. 25:31-46; 2 Cor. 5:10).
a) All of them: John 1:1; Col. 1:15; 2:9; Heb.
1:3.
b) Self-existent: John 5:26.
c) Unchangeable: Heb. 1:10-12; 13:8.
d) Eternal: John 1:1; 8:58; 17:5; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:2.
e) Omnipresent: Matt. 18:20; 28:20; John 3:13; Eph. 1:23; 4:10; Col. 3:11.
f) Incomprehensible: Matt. 11:25-27.
a) John 5:18. Although John is relating what
the
Jews understood Jesus to be claiming, the context shows they were basically
right: In v.17 Jesus claimed to be exempt from the Sabbath along with His
Father, and in 5:19-29 Jesus claimed to do all of the works of the Father
and to deserve the same honor as the Father.
b) Phil. 2:6. Jesus did not attempt to seize recognition
by the world as being equal with God, but attained that recognition by
humbling Himself and being exalted by the Father (vv. 7-11).
a) "Son" in Scripture can mean simply one possessing
the nature of something, whether literal or figurative (i.e., "Son of man,"
"sons of thunder," "sons of disobedience," see Mark 3:17; Eph. 2:1).
b) Usually when "son of" is used in relation to a person (son of man, son of Abraham, son of David, etc.), the son possesses the nature of his father.
c) Jesus is clearly not the 'literal' Son of God, i.e., Scripture does not teach that He was physically procreated by God.
d) On the other hand, Jesus is clearly the Son of God in a unique sense (see "only begotten Son," John 1:14; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9) and in a preeminent sense (i.e., the term is more fitting for Him than for anyone else).
e) Scripture is explicit that the Son possesses God's essence or nature (see 6. above).
f) Jesus' repeated claim to be the Son of God was consistently understood by the Jewish leaders as a blasphemous claim to equality with God, an understanding Jesus never denied: John 5:17-23; 8:58-59; 10:30-39; 19:7; Matt. 26:63-65.
g) Jesus is therefore God's 'Son' not God's creation,
God's servant, God's agent, etc.; Jesus is God's Son who 'became' a servant
for our sake and for the Father's glory (John 13:13-15; 17:4; Phil. 2:6-11;
Heb. 1:4-13; 3:1-6; 5:8; etc.).
a) Prov. 8:22. This text is not a literal description
of Christ, but a poetic personification of wisdom (see all of Prov. 1-9,
especially 8:12-21; 9:1-6), poetically saying that God "got" His wisdom
before He did anything -- i.e., that God has always had wisdom.
b) Col. 1:15. Does not mean that Christ is the first creature, since He is here presented as the Son and principal heir of the Father (see vv. 12-14); thus "firstborn" here means "heir" (see Gen. 43:33; 48:14-20; Ex. 4:22; 1 Chr. 5:1-3; Psa. 89:27; Jer. 31:9); note that v.16 speaks of the Son as Creator, not creature (see 5. a) above).
c) Rev. 3:14. "Beginning" ('arche') in Rev. as a title means source or one who begins, i.e., Creator (see Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13); elsewhere Christ is called the 'arche' in the sense of "ruler," Col. 1:18, see plural 'archai' "rulers" in Col. 1:16; 2:10, 15, also Luke 12:11; Rom. 8:38; Eph. 3:10; 6:12; Tit. 3:1; see Luke 20:20; Jude 6; 1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21.
d) 1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28. Jesus is still subordinate to God, but as the Son to the Father (i.e., they are equal in nature, but the Son is subordinate relationally to the Father).
e) John 20:17; Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Cor. 1:3; Rev. 1:6; 3:12. Jesus calls the Father "my God" because He is still man as well as God. Note the distinction between "my God" and "your God" in John 20:17 (i.e., Jesus never speaks of "our God" including Himself with the disciples).
f) Mark 13:32. Jesus' statement that He did not know the time of His return is to be explained by His voluntary acceptance of the humble form and likeness of a man (Phil. 2:7). In fact Jesus, as God, did know all things (John 16:30), and after His resurrection He does not include Himself as not knowing (Acts 1:6-7).
g) Mark 10:17-18. Jesus does not deny being God, but simply tells the man that he has no business calling anyone "good" in an unqualified sense except God.
h) Heb. 5:14. Jesus was tempted (see James 1:13), but note that Jesus could not sin (John 5:19).
i) John 1:18. No one has seen God, but men have seen Jesus (i.e., 1 John 1:1-2); but note that no man can see the glorified Jesus either (1 Tim. 6:16), and that to see Jesus is to see the Father (John 14:9).
j) 1 Tim. 1:17. God cannot die, but Jesus did (i.e., Phil. 2:8); but note that no one could take Jesus' life from Him, He could not remain dead, and He raised Himself (John 10:18; Acts 2:24; John 2:19-22).
k) 1 Cor. 8:6. Father called God, Jesus called Lord: but here "God" and "Lord" are synonymous (see v.5; see also Rom. 14:3-12 for a good example of "God" and "Lord" as interchangeable); moreover, this text no more denies that Jesus is God than it does that the Father is Lord (Matt. 11:25); see Jude 4, where Jesus is the only Lord.
l) 1 Tim. 2:5. Jesus here supposedly distinct from God; but Jesus is also distinct from (fallen) men, yet is Himself a man; likewise Jesus is distinct from God (the Father), but is also God.
m) Deut. 4:12, 15-25. God did not appear in a human form to Israel, lest they fall into idolatry; but this does not rule out His appearing inhuman form later after they had learned to abhor idolatry.
n) In many texts Jesus is distinguished from God:
He is the Son 'of' God, was sent 'by' God, etc.; in all these texts "God"
is used as a name for the person most commonly called God, i.e., the Father.
Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17-18.
a) Eternal: Heb. 9:14.
b) Omnipresent: Psa. 139:7.
c) Omniscient: 1 Cor. 2:10-11.
a) Creation: Gen. 1:2; Psa. 104:30.
b) Incarnation: Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35.
c) Resurrection: Rom. 1:4; 8:11.
d) Salvation: Rom. 8:1-27.
a) Has a name: Matt. 28:19; note that even though
"name" 'might' be used of a non-person, here, in conjunction with the Father
and the Son, it must be used of a person.
b) Is the "Helper".
1) Is 'another Helper': John 14:16, see 1 John 2:1; note also that "Helper" ('parakletos') was used in Greek always or almost always of persons.
2) Is sent in Jesus' name, to teach: John 14:26.
3) Will arrive, and then bear witness: John 15:26-27.
4) Is sent by Christ to convict of sin, will speak not on His own but on behalf of Christ, will glorify Christ thus exhibiting humility: John 16:7-14.
c) Is the 'Holy' Spirit in contrast to unholy spirits? Mark 3:22-30, see Matt. 12:32; 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 3:24-4:6.
d) Speaks, is quoted as speaking: John 16:13; Acts 1:16; 8:29; 10:19; 11:12; 13:2; 16:6; 20:23; 21:11; 28:25-27; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:7-11; 10:15-17; 1 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13,22.
e) Can be lied to: Acts 5:3.
f) Can make decisions, judgments: Acts 15:28.
g) Intercedes for Christians with the Father: Rom. 8:26.
h) "Impersonal" language used of the Spirit paralleled by language used of other persons.
1) The Holy Spirit as fire: Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16; see Ex. 3:2-4; Deut. 4:24; 9:3; Heb. 12:29.
2) The Holy Spirit poured out: Acts 2:17, 33; see Isa. 53:12; Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6.
3) Being filled with the Holy Spirit:
Eph. 5:18, etc.; see Eph. 3:17, 19; 4:10.
a) "'the' Father and 'the' Son and 'the' Holy
Spirit": use of definite article before each personal noun indicates distinct
persons unless explicitly stated otherwise; compare Rev. 1:17; 2:8, 26.
b) The views that "Father" and "Son" are distinct persons but not the Holy Spirit, or that the Holy Spirit is not a person at all, or that all three are different offices or roles of one person, are impossible in view of the grammar (together with the fact that in Scripture a "spirit" is a person unless context shows otherwise).
c) Does singular "name" prove that the three are one person? No; see Gen. 5:2; 11:4; 48:6; and especially 48:16.
d) "Name" need not be personal name, may be title:
Isa. 9:6; Matt. 1:23. If a single personal name is sought, the name shared
by all three persons is "Yahweh" or "Jehovah".
a) Neither passage specifies that certain words
are to be spoken during baptism; nor does the Bible ever record someone
saying, "I baptize you in the name of...".
b) Those said to be baptized in the name of Jesus (whether or not the formula "in the name of Jesus" was used) were people already familiar with the God of the Old Testament.
1) Jews: Acts 2:5, 38; 22:16.
2) Samaritans: Acts 8:5, 12, 16.
3) God-fearing Gentiles: Acts 10:1-2, 22, 48.
4) Disciples of John the Baptist: Acts 19:1-5.
5) The first Christians in Corinth were Jews and God-fearing Gentiles: Acts 18:1-8; 1 Cor. 1:13.
c) Trinitarian formula for baptism (if that is what
Matt. 28:19 is) was given in context of commissioning apostles to take
the gospel to "all the nations," including people who did not know of the
biblical God.
a) The salutations: Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor.
1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; 6:23; Phil. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1, 2;
1 Tim. 1:1, 2; 2 Tim.1:2; Tit. 1:4; Philemon 3; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:2;
2 John 3.
b) Two witnesses: John 5:31-32; 8:16-18; see Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:15.
c) The Father sent the Son: John 3:16-17; Gal. 4:4; 1 John 4:10; etc.; see John 1:6; 17:18; 20:21.
d) The Father and the Son love each other: John 3:35; 5:20; 14:31; 15:9; 17:23-26; see Matt. 3:17; 17:5; 2 Pet. 1:17.
e) The Father speaks to the Son, and the Son speaks to the Father: John 11:41-42; 12:28; 17:1-26; etc.
f) The Father knows the Son, and the Son knows the Father: Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 7:29; 8:55; 10:15.
g) Jesus our Advocate with the Father: 1 John 2:1.
a) Isa. 9:6. "Father of eternity" means eternal;
compare other names formed with word "father": 'Abialbon', "father of strength"
= strong (2 Sam. 23:31); 'Abiasaph', "father of gathering" = gatherer (Ex.6:24);
'Abigail', a woman's name (!), "father of exultation" = exulting (1 Chr.
2:16).
b) John 10:30.
1) Jesus did not say, "I am the Father," nor did He say, "the Son and the Father are one person."
2) The first person plural 'esmen' ("we are") implies two persons.
3) The neuter word for "one" ('hen') is used, implying essential unity but not personal unity (compare John 17:21-23).
c) John 5:43. Jesus' coming in His Father's name
means not that He was the Father because He had the Father's name, but
that, while others come in their own name (or their own authority), Jesus
does 'not';
e comes in His Father's name (on His Father's authority).
d) John 8:19; 16:3. Ignorance of Jesus in indeed ignorance of the Father, but that does not prove that Jesus is the one He calls "My Father".
e) John 14:6-11.
1) Jesus and the Father are one being, not one person.
2) Jesus said, "I am 'in' the Father," not, "I am the Father."
3) The statement, "the Father is in Me," does not mean Jesus is the Father; compare John 14:20; 17:21-23.
f) John 14:18. An older adult brother can care for his younger siblings, thus preventing them from being "orphans," without being their father.
g) Colossians 2:9. Does not mean that Jesus is the Father, or that Jesus is an incarnation of the Father; rather, since "Godhead" ('theotes') means Deity, the state of being God, the nature of God, Jesus is fully God, but not the only person who is God. "The Godhead" here does not equate to mean the Father (not that Jesus is in the Father, John 10:38; 14:10, 11; 17:21), but the nature of the Father.
h) The Father and the Son are both involved in various
activities: raising Jesus (Gal. 1:1; John 2:19-22), raising the dead (John
5:21; 6:39-40, 44, 54; 1 Cor. 6:14), answering prayer (John 14:13-14; 15:16;
16:23), sending the Holy Spirit (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7), drawing people
to Jesus (John 6:44; 12:32), etc. These common works do prove that the
two persons are both God, but not that Jesus is the Father.
a) Prov. 30:4. This is 'not' a predictive prophecy;
"prophecy" in 30:1 translates 'massa', which is rendered elsewhere as "burden".
b) The Son created all things: see F. 5. a).
c) Jesus was "with" ('pros' or 'para') God the Father before creation: John 1:1; 17:5; 'pros' in John 1:1 does not mean "pertaining to," although it does in Hebrews 2:17; 5:1 (which use 'pros' with 'ta').
d) Jesus, the Son of God, existed before John the Baptist (who was born before Jesus): John 1:15, see 1:14-18, 29-34.
e) Jesus, the Son, came down from heaven, sent from the Father, and went back to heaven, back to the Father: John 3:13, 31; 6:33, 38, 41, 46, 51, 56-58, 62; 8:23, 42; 13:3; 16:27-28; see Acts 1:10-11; see the sending of the Holy Spirit, John 16:5-7; 1 Pet. 1:12.
f) Jesus, speaking as the Son (John 8:54-56), asserts His eternal preexistence before Abraham: John 8:58.
g) The Son explicitly said to exist "before all things": Col. 1:17, see 1:12-20.
h) These statements cannot be dismissed as true only in God's foreknowledge.
1) We are 'all' in God's mind before creation; yet such passages as John 1:1 and John 17:5 clearly mean to say something unusual about Christ.
2) To say that all things were created 'through' Christ means He must have existed at creation.
3) No one else in Scripture is ever said to have been with God before creation.
i)
Texts which speak of the Son being begotten "today" do not mean He became
the Son on a certain day, since they refer to His exaltation at the 'resurrection'
(Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:3-5; 5:5; see Psa. 2:7; also Rom. 1:4).
a) The Holy Spirit is "another Comforter": John
14:16; compare 1 John 2:1.
b) Jesus sent the Holy Spirit: John 15:26; 16:7.
c) The Holy Spirit exhibits humility in relation to, and seeks to glorify, Jesus (John 16:13-14).
d) The Son and the Holy Spirit are distinguished as two persons in Matt. 28:19.
e) The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus: Luke 3:22.
f) Is Jesus the Holy Spirit?
1) 2 Cor. 3:17: the Spirit is here called "Lord" in the sense of being Yahweh or God, not Jesus (see v.16, citing Ex. 34:34; see v.17 in the New English Bible); note Acts 28:25-27, see Isa. 6:8-10.
2) 1 Cor. 15:45: Jesus is "a life-giving" Spirit," not in the sense that He is the Holy Spirit whom He sent at Pentecost, but in the sense that He is the glorified God-man; and as God He is Spirit by nature. All three persons of the Trinity are Spirit, thought there are not three divine Spirits; and only one person is designated "the Holy Spirit."
3) Rom. 8:27, 34: the fact that two persons intercede for us is consistent with the fact that we have two Advocates (John 14:16; 1 John 2:1).
4) John 14:18: Jesus here refers to His appearances to the disciples after the resurrection (compare 14:19), not to the coming of the Spirit.
5) Jesus and the Holy Spirit
are both involved in various activities: raising Jesus (John 2:19-22; Rom.
8:9-11), raising the dead (John 5:21; 6:39-40, 44, 54; Rom. 8:9-11), dwelling
in the believer (John 14:16; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27), interceding for the
believer (Rom. 8:26; Heb. 7:25), sanctifying believers (Eph. 5:26; 1 Pet.
1:2), etc. These works prove that the two persons are both God, but not
that Jesus is the Holy Spirit.
a) The Father sent the Holy Spirit: John 14:15;
15:26.
b) The Holy Spirit intercedes with the Father for us: Rom. 8:26-27.
c) The Father and the Holy Spirit are distinguished as two persons in Matt. 28:19.
d) Is the Father the Holy Spirit?
1) Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35: It is argued that the Holy Spirit is the Father of the incarnate Son of God; this argument ignores the fact that the "conception" is not a product of physical union between a man and a woman!
2) The Father and the Holy
Spirit are both said to be active in various activities; the resurrection
of Jesus (Gal. 1:1; Rom.8:11), comforting Christians (2 Cor. 1:3-4; John
14:26), sanctifying Christians (Jude 1; 1 Pet. 1:2), etc. The most these
facts prove is that the two work together; they do not prove the two are
one person.
a) One God.
b) The Father is God.
c) The Son is God.
d) The Holy Spirit is God.
e) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons
(i.e., they are not each other, nor are they impersonal; they relate to
one another personally).
1. 'Sovereignty'. Because the three persons have each other, we
can be assured that God created us only to share the love they have and
not as means to His own end: Acts 17:25; John 17:21-26.
2. 'Mystery'. The triune God is totally unlike anything in our world, and therefore greater than anything we can comprehend: Rom. 11:33-36; Isa. 40:18.
3. 'Salvation'. God alone planned our salvation, came to save us, and dwells in us to complete our salvation: 1 Pet. 1:2; Eph. 1:3-18; etc.
4. 'Prayer'. We pray to the Father through the Son, and also pray to the Son directly, in the Spirit: John 14:13-14; Eph. 2:18; etc.
5. 'Worship'. We worship Father and Son in the Spirit: John 4:23-24; Phil. 3:3; Heb. 1:8; etc.
6. 'Love'. The love among the three persons is the basis and model for our love for one another: John 17:26.
7. 'Unity'. The unity of the three persons is the basis and model for the unity of the church: John 17:21-23.
8. 'Humility'. As the persons of the Trinity seek the glory of each other, so we should seek the interests of others above our own: Phil. 2:5-11; John 16:13-14.
9. 'Sonship'. We are "sons of God" as we are united with the Son of God by the work of the Holy Spirit and the adoption of the Father: John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:14-17.
10. 'Truth'. All those who wish to worship and love God must seek to know Him as He is in truth, for God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is truth: John 4:24; 14:6, 17; 15:26; 16:13.
[The outline presented above under Roman Numeral II. was taken, except for a few clarifying comments and editing, from 'The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity; An Outline Study' by Robert M. Bowman, Jr. This outline is an uncopyrighted freely distributed document, and can be obtained in its original form free of charge by writing for it to: The Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 500, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693-0500]
[This document was made available to America Online members on February 17, 1992, and was contributed by Stripes7. The author encourages distribution of this file, and would ask only that it be distributed "as is", in its entirety, including these end notes. E-mail regarding this document may be addressed to 'Stripes7'.]