Christian Doctrines Chapter 4 - The Trinity

Before we get to the 'meat & potatoes' of the arguments in favor of the doctrine of the trinity, here are some arguments ‘against’ the doctrine:

Judaism
In the New Testament, Jews are described as rejecting Jesus' claims to divinity. They accuse him of blasphemy. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus forgives a man's sins and some Jewish teachers thought to themselves: "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" In the Gospel of John, some Jews began to stone Jesus, explaining that they did so "for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." Today, Jewish counter-missionary movements "Jews for Judaism" seek to educate Jews about why belief in the Trinity is incompatible with Judaism.

Arianism
Arianism is an anti-Trinitarian belief system originated by Arius, an elder in the Alexandrian church in the early fourth century AD. Arius affirmed the uniqueness of God and denied the complete divinity of the Son (Christ). He taught instead that Christ was a created and changeable being, who, while superior to humans, is not of the same order as the one God.

Islam
the Koran explicitly denies the doctrine of the Trinity. For the purposes herein, it is thankfully not necessary that the content of the Koran be given reference.

Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a self-proclaimed Christian group founded in the United States. Their teachings reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Instead, they teach a doctrine similar to that of Arius. They claim that Christ is the Son of God, a special being created by God before the beginning of time, but not equal with God. Jehovah’s Witnesses regard Arius as a forerunner of Charles Taze Russell, their movement's founder. A Jehovah's Witness brochure entitled "Beliefs and Customs that God Hates" includes the Trinity, saying: “Is Jehovah a Trinity-three persons in one God? No! Jehovah, the Father, is "the only true God." (John 17:3; Mark 12:29) Jesus is His firstborn Son, and he is subject to God. (1 Corinthians 11:3) The Father is greater than the Son. (John 14:28) The holy spirit is not a person; it is God's active force.(Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:18).” They’ve got the verses right, but they’re taking them completely out of context! Is Jesus subject to God the Father? Yes, he is! Is he any less holy? No! Consider a husband & wife relationship. According to the Bible, the wife is to subject to the leadership of her husband (contingent on the husband’s subjecting to the will of Christ). Does the wife’s subjecting role make her any less a spouse? No! Roles within the trinity, just as within a human family, are different in office; not in importance.

Mormonism (LDS)
Mormons believe that the Godhead is made up of three distinct beings which are "one in purpose" but not one in being. Jesus is affirmed as Son of God, but not God himself.
They believe He is a created spirit, not an eternal spirit.

Unitarianism
"Unitarianism" is the doctrine of the oneness of God, with the resultant denial of the Trinity. Today, the doctrine of unitarianism is expressed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and similar groups, which have their historical roots in sixteenth-century eastern Europe. Historically, Unitarian Universalists are defined by their rejection of the Trinity and their belief in the ultimate salvation of all humanity. Today, however, Unitarians draw from a variety of religious traditions, and do not focus on doctrine and creeds as much as love and justice between human beings. Because of this de-emphasis on doctrine, modern Unitarian Universalist arguments against the Trinity are scarce. However, the official Web site of the Unitarian Univeralist Association describes the early history of their beliefs this way: “During the first three centuries of the Christian church, believers could choose from a variety of tenets about Jesus. Among these was a belief that Jesus was an entity sent by God on a divine mission. Thus the word "Unitarian" developed, meaning the oneness of God. Another religious choice in the first three centuries of the Common Era (CE) was universal salvation. This was the belief that no person would be condemned by God to eternal damnation in a fiery pit. Thus a Universalist believed that all people will be saved. Christianity lost its element of choice in 325 CE when the Nicene Creed established the Trinity as dogma. For centuries thereafter, people who professed Unitarian or Universalist beliefs were persecuted.”

On to the Biblical arguments FOR the doctrine of the Trinity:

How many times is the word “Trinity” in the Bible? This is a trick question; the answer is ‘None’! So we’ve got a doctrine depending on an idea from the Bible with no definitive word for a label. How do we know there is a trinity if the word trinity isn’t mentioned?! Atheists & evolutionists have jumped to a conclusion, seeing this as an apparent weakness for the doctrine. They say “Dinosaurs have been proven to exist, but are not mentioned in the Bible. Therefore, the Bible must be fallible.” Unsound churches explain it away by saying “The Trinity is proven to exist by studying the Bible, but is not mentioned by name. Therefore, the doctrine must be wrong.” How can we reconcile these misinformed arguments with the truth from the Bible? We know dinosaurs have existed, and it needs to be understood that the Bible does NOT argue against the notion. Dinosaurs are simply not named. Is broccoli mentioned in the Bible? Nerd’s note: In the Book of Job there the Behemoth and Leviathan (giant animals) named and described, and the descriptions given sound a LOT like a brachiosaurus and a Plesiosaur, but that’s a future lesson!

The Bible teaches the unity of God: There is one and only one god. The Bible also teaches a distinction of persons within the Godhead. This distinction is threefold. We have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The word ‘Trinity’ is not in the bible,
But the DOCTRINE of the Trinity IS.

Trinity, definition from Webster’s Dictionary: The union of three persons (the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) in one Godhead, so that all three are one God as to substance, but three persons as to individuality.

The word person in that definition is unique, not used in same manner anywhere else… In the Trinity, a person of the godhead is different from a person of mankind, the humble creation. For mankind, one person is one being, and three persons are three beings. For the Godhead, there are three persons, and ONE being. This is one of the many things about God which are beyond human comprehension. The doctrine of the Trinity is received as true on the authority of the Bible. If someone asks why we believe in the Trinity, an acceptable answer might be “I receive its existence as fact, because I believe that the scriptures reveal the fact.”

To illustrate an incomprehensible idea using simple analogies: An egg is the yoke, the white, and the shell, but all three make one egg. A peach has the skin, the meat, and the pit (seed). All three make one peach. It’s interesting also to notice the trinity of trinities in the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning”: time: past, present future. “God created the heaven”: space: length, width, depth. “And the earth”: matter: liquid, solid, gas. This is a blessing to see that the words God starts the Bible out with introduce the idea of trinities! What is meant by the definition of the word ‘Trinity’ is everywhere in the Bible.

We know that in the Old Testament, when God Speaks referencing himself, the plural number is used.
Genesis 1:26
Genesis 3:22
Genesis 11:7
Isaiah 6:8
It’s a fact, there is a plurality speaking for itself as one voice. This fact will be distinctly revealed in the New Testament.
Matthew 28:19
“In the name”, not names, “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
The ordinance of Baptism is connected to each of the three. There is an equality in nature and divinity. The deity of the Father is accepted by any who believe in God. An equality within the Trinity implies an equal divinity of the Son & the Holy Spirit. The Son and Holy Spirit can’t possibly be angels or archangels, or any other creatures created by God. The Creation (universe and everything included) is not equal, it is not divine. The conjunction of the names mentioned in Baptism is so important. The validity of Baptism is inseparable from it.

Some believe in the deity of the Father and Son, But suppose the Holy Spirit to be an energy or influence. Baptize in the name of an energy or influence? That’s absurd! The last commission of Christ included a reference to persons; not energies or influences.

2 Corinthians 13:14
This is known as “The Apostolic Benediction”. It is an invocation –calling upon for presence – of the three members of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity here is distinct. The love of God is invoked, the grace of Christ and the Communion of The HS are invoked. These two are invoked in immediate connection with the Love of God. They are the same in substance, and equal in glory. IF the names of Gabriel and Michael are put in place of Son and HS, this would be a blasphemous substitution for one thing! To elevate even the highest order of creation to equality w/ God. However, invoked together are: The Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father. This shows the equality of the three persons of the Trinity.

Ephesians 2:18
Here, the three persons are referred to. This passage confirms the doctrine of the Trinity.

Revelation 1:4-5
Seven was the perfect number among the Jews. We understand by “The Seven Spirits”, the Holy Spirit in his plentitude of gifts, in the completeness and diversity of his beneficent operations. If this is right, special attention is to be given to the fact that grace and peace are sought from the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, as well as from He “which was, which is, and which is to come” which implies existence from eternity to eternity - God. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are once again named in conjunction with God, indicating equality of divinity.

An argument in favor of doctrine of trinity:
The King James Bible gives use to personal pronouns “I, Thou, He”. God, referring to himself uses “I, Mine, and Me.”
“As I live, saith the Lord.”
“I am the Lord.”
“All souls are mine.”
“Every beast of the forest is mine.”
“Besides me there is no Saviour.”
“Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Also, Father and Son say to each other “Thou, Thee and Thine”
“Thou art my Son ; This day have I begotten thee.”
“Thou hast loved righteousness”
“As thou hast given him power over all flesh”
“All mine are thine, and thine are mine.”
The Holy Spirit is referred to as “He and Him”
“But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in
my name, he shall teach you all things.”
“He shall glorify me.”
The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and Son. Neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit sent the Father. The Son became flesh and died. But this cannot be said of the Father or the Holy Spirit. A threefold distinction of persons is obvious. This both justifies and requires the names of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This distinction does not conflict the Unity (one-ness) of God. The three are one in substance, but three in individuality. This truth presents a unity in the Trinity. There is equality of nature, but inequality of office. They are equal in nature and in essential glory, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in some part inferior to Father. The Father is supreme in office. The Son and the Holy Spirit act in subordination to Him. God the Father sent his son into the world. He who is sent is inferior to him who sends.
Matthew 12:18
The Son is the servant of the Father. The servant is subordinate to the master. Christ said again and again: “I came to do the will of him that sent me.” Doing the will of another denotes inferiority. Christ, in doing the will of the Father, appears as his inferior. This inferiority is in office, not nature. The subordination is official, it does not touch the divine substance. Likewise, with the Holy Spirit: God the Father says “I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh” The Father is said to “Give the Holy Spirit” Jesus says “The Comforter whom I will send unto you”. This references an inequality in office. But there is all along the most beautiful equality in nature.

To illustrate:
The President of The United States of America is superior in office to any and every US man & woman. No one aspires to become his equal. But in nature, every citizen of his republic is his equal. We possess the same human nature.

Some people get all hung up on the issue of the Bible teaching there is only one God. No where does the Bible state God is only one person. They’ll recite the following:
Deuteronomy 6:4.
The word for one there is the Hebrew word Echad, one in unity, not in number! See elsewhere in the Bible where this word Echad is used:
Genesis 2:24 (‘one’)
Ezra 2:64 (‘together’)
Ezekiel 37:17 (‘another’)
The Bible teaches there is one Church but many members. There are no problems with understanding this, and when it comes to the Trinity, we should be just as open to this concept.