The Doctrine of Trinity
in the Scripture
By
G. Paulraj
Introduction
Since God is a
triune being, theologians use the word Trinity to represent the complex
doctrine through which man comprehends His existence. Since the word Trinity is
not found anywhere in the Scripture many argue that the doctrine of the Trinity
is not a Biblical one. However, when a person comes to understand the theory
that is embodied in the terminology they cannot help but find proof of the
Trinity throughout the Bible. Among the religions of the world, the Christian
faith is unique in making the claim that God is one and yet there are three who
are God. Furthermore, this doctrine is not overtly or explicitly stated in
Scripture. Nevertheless, devout minds have been led to it as they sought to do
justice to the witness of Scripture.[1]
1.
Definition of the Doctrine of the Trinity
The
Westminster Confession of Faith, which defines the Trinity in these
words: “In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance,
power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The
Father is of none, neither begotten, nor proceeding: the Son is eternally
begotten of the Father: the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and
the Son.” Here we are taught that in the one Godhead there are three persons,
the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. These three are distinguished by their
personal properties and each of these persons is truly God.[2]
Chafer and Walvoord give clear definition: God is one, He exists as three
persons. These persons are equal, have the same attributes, and are equally
worthy of adoration, worship, and faith. Yet the doctrine of the unity of the
Godhead makes clear that they are not three separate gods, like three separate
human beings. Accordingly, the true Christian faith is not tritheism, a belief
in three Gods. On the other hand, the Trinity must not be explained as three
modes of existence, that is, one God manifesting Himself in three ways. The
Trinity is essential to the being of God and is more than a form of divine
revelation.
2. Is the Doctrine of the Trinity Biblical?
Jerry M. Henry in Holman Bible Dictionary says The
Trinity is a biblical concept that expresses the dynamic character of God, not
a Greek idea pressed into Scripture from philosophical or religious
speculation. While the term trinity does not appear in Scripture, the
Trinitarian structure appears throughout the New Testament to affirm that God
Himself is manifested through Jesus Christ by means of the Spirit.[3] Millard
J. Erickson puts in this way “The Church formulated this doctrine of the
Trinity because it felt compelled, on the basis of its study of Scripture, to
affirm both that God is one and that there are three who are God. It did this
through the doctrine of Trinity: that God is three in one. He further says that
“this doctrine is taught in the Bible, either explicitly or implicitly.” The
church drew the inference of the Trinity from two sets of evidences it
accepted. On the one hand, the Bible taught that God is one. On the other,
there were three persons whom the Bible seemed to identify as being divine.[4]
3. Trinity in the Old Testament
Although
the doctrine of the trinity is not explicitly found in the Old Testament,
several passages suggest or even imply that God exists as more than one person.[5]
3.1. Plurality of Persons in God
In
the book of Genesis there are intimations that the names of God are in the
plural form; that the personal pronouns are often in the first person plural.[6] In
Genesis God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” These are
not plural of majesty because in the Old Testament Hebrew there are no other
examples of a monarch using plural verbs or plural pronouns of himself in such
a “plural of majesty.” Another suggestion is that God is here speaking to
angels but angels did not participate in the creation of man. So these passages
prove the plurality of persons in God Himself.[7]
3.2. Angel of
the Lord
In
all the early books of Scripture, we find a distinction made between Jehovah
and the angel of Jehovah, who himself is God, to whom all divine titles are
given, and divine worship is rendered.[8]
“The Angel of the LORD” suggests a plurality of persons in God. If this angel
of the Lord is a “messenger” of
the LORD; He is then distinct from the LORD Himself. The Angel of the LORD is
called “God” or the “LORD” (Genesis 16:13; Exodus3:2-6; 23:20-22; Numbers
23:35; with 38).[9]
3.3. The Spirit of God
In
the first chapter of Genesis, the Spirit of God is represented as the source of
all intelligence, order, and life in the created universe; and in the following
books of the Old Testament He is represented as inspiring the prophets, giving
wisdom, strength, and goodness to statesmen and warriors, and to the people of
God.[10] Isaiah
63:10 says that God’s people “rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit” apparently
suggesting both that the Holy Spirit is distinct from God Himself and that this
Holy Spirit can be “grieved,” thus suggesting emotional capabilities
characteristics of a distinct person. [11]
3.4. Trinity in the New Testament
The earliest
revelations of this truth was gradually unfolded, until the Triune God, Father,
Son, and Spirit, appears in the New Testament as the universally recognized God
of all believers.
3.5. Trinity in the Baptismal Formula
At the time of
Jesus’ baptism we have three members of the Trinity performing three distinct
activities. God the Father is speaking from Heaven; God the Son is being
baptized and is then spoken to from heaven by God the Father; and God the Holy
Spirit is descending from Heaven to rest upon and empower Jesus for His
ministry. At the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He tells the disciples that
they should go “and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.[12]
3.6. Trinity in the Apostolic Benediction
In the apostolic
benediction a prayer is addressed to Christ for his grace, to the Father for
his love, and to the Spirit for his fellowship. The personality and divinity of
each are therefore solemnly recognized every time that this benediction is
pronounced and received.[13]
3.7. Trinity in Apostle Paul’s Epistle
The New
Testament writers generally use the name “God” (Gk. Theos) to refer to God the
Father and name “Lord” (Gk. Kyrios) to refer to God the Son. We could see Trinitarian
expression in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the
same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there
are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every
one.” We see three persons mentioned separately in Ephesians 4:4-6 as well:
“There is One body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that
belongs to your call, one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, one God and the Father
of us all, who is above all and through all in all.”[14]
4. Summary of teaching of
the Scripture regarding the Doctrine of the Trinity
The doctrine of
Trinity is a mystery that we will never be able to understand fully. However,
we can understand something of its truth by summarizing the teaching of
Scripture in three statements.
1 . God
is three persons
2 . Each
person is fully God
3 . There
is One God
4.1. God is three Persons
The fact that
God is three persons means that the Father is not the Son: they are distinct
persons. It also means that the Father is not the Holy Spirit, but they are
distinct persons. And it means that the Son is not the Holy Spirit. This
Biblical truth is seen in several passages of the Scripture. John 1:1-2 tell us
the distinction from God the Father and God the Son. John 17:24 show us the
distinctions of persons, sharing of glory, and a relationship of love between
the Father and the Son before the world was created. Hebrews 7:25 says Jesus
Christ is always interceding for us before God the Father therefore Christ must
be the distinct person from God the Father. The Father is not the Holy Spirit,
and the Son is not the Holy Spirit. They are distinguished in several verses. Jesus
says, But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my Name,
He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said
to you John 14:2. The Holy Spirit also prays and intercedes for us Romans 8:27
indicates a distinction between the Holy Spirit and God the Father to whom the
intercession is made. The son is not the Holy Spirit this also indicated in the
Trinitarian passages such as the Great Commission Matthew 28:19. And in John
16:7 where Jesus said “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if do not go
away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go I will send Him to you. [15]
4.2. Each Person is Fully God
In addition to
the fact that all three persons are distinct, the abundant testimony of
Scripture is that each person is fully God as well.
4.2.1. The Deity of God the Father
It is evident
from the first verse of the Bible, where God created the heaven and the earth.
It is evident through the Old and New Testaments, where God the Father was is
clearly viewed as sovereign Lord over all and where Jesus prays to His Father
in heaven.[16] We find deity expressly attributed to “the
Father” in Philippians 2:11 and 1 Peter 1:2. We saw Apostle Paul’s writing of
“one God, the Father” (1Corinthians 8:6), and in 1 Corinthians 11:3 we see the
Father referred to, granted without using the name, as the “head” of Christ,
that is, “God”.[17]
4.2.2. The Deity of God the Son
The testimony of
the New Testament to the deity of Christ is unanimous. In the writings of Paul
Jesus is “over all, God blessed forever.” In John’s writings He is “God,”
“equal with God,” and “Alpha and Omega”. In peter’s writings He is “our God and
Saviour Jesus Christ”; in James and Jude, which contain no explicit references
to the deity of Christ, He is presented constantly on a parallel with “God” and
with “the Father” and given equal glory and honour (James 1:1; Jude 1,4,21 and
25).[18]
4.2.3. The Deity of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit
is expressly called God. To Ananias Peter said, "Why hath Satan filled
thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?" and then in the very next verse,
he affirms "thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts
5:3, 4). The Scriptures very clearly and abundantly affirm that the Holy Spirit
is possessed of the attributes peculiar to God. They ascribe to Him absolute holiness.
As God is called "Holy," "the Holy One," being therein
described by that superlatively excellent property of His nature wherein He is
"glorious in holiness" (Ex. 15:1 1); so is the Third Person of the
Trinity designated "the Spirit of Holiness" (Rom. 1:4) to denote the
holiness of His nature and the Deity of His Person. The Spirit is eternal (Heb.
9:14). He is omnipresent: "Whither shall I flee from thy
Spirit?" (Ps. 139:7). He is omniscient (see 1 Cor. 2:10, 11). He is
omnipotent: being termed "the Power of the Highest" (Luke
1:35; see also Micah 2:8, and compare Isa. 40:28).[19]
4.3. There is One God
Scripture is
abundantly clear that there is one and only one God. The three different
persons of the Trinity are one not only in purpose and in agreement on what
they think, but they are one in essence, one in their essential nature. In
other words, God is only one being. One of the most familiar passages of the
Old Testament is Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord
is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. Solomon’s prayer is another evident that God is one.
Solomon prays “That all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God;
there is no other” 1 Kings 8:60. When God spoke to His people in the Old
Testament, He repeatedly made it clear that He is the only true God. When He
spoke He spoke alone. He said Isaiah 45:5-6 “I am the Lord, and there is no
other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have
not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its
setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no
other.” The New Testament also affirms that there is one God. Apostle Paul
writes “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus” (1Timothy 2:5). Apostle Paul affirms that “God is one”
(Romans 3:30), and that “there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things
and for whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6).[20]
[2] Robert Shaw, An Exposition of
the The Westminster Confession of Faith, (Scotland: Christian Focus
Publication, 1992), 36.
[3] Jerry M. Henry, “Trinity” of Chad Brand and others
(eds), Holman Bible Dictionary,
(Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Publishers, 2003), 1626
[4] Millard J. Erickson, Making
Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Question, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
200), 17, 18
[5] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to
Biblical Doctrine, (Secunderabad: O.M. Books, 2003), 226
[6] Hodge, Charles,Systematic
Theology - Volume I,http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hodge/theology1.html, accessed
on 22nd February 2011
[17]
E. Calvin Beisner, God in Three Persons:
The Word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible. Where did it come from and why do
we believe it, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1984), 28-29
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