The Trinity : Is It Biblical ?


Brothers and Sisters ; I have heard many professed "Christians" deny the Trinity as being biblical . More often than not , the people who deny the Trinity are involved in the various denominational cults .

Granted , we , as mortal human beings with our finite minds will NEVER ( this side of Heaven ) , completely understand and / or comprehend the Trinity . Neither will we EVER ( this side of Heaven ) , completely understand or comprehend GOD !! To do so , would mean that He could NOT be God !

Many well-intentioned Christians have attempted to explain the Trinity with various analogies ( e.g., the three forms of water , space and time [ past,present,future ] , etc.) But , here again , there is no perfect analogy to describe the Trinity , even though I will use one later on . Hence , this is where our faith must come in .

The Doctrine of the Trinity is not only foundational to true Christianity, but has also been well established by sound Biblical exegesis over the centuries. Contrary to oneness teachings, Biblical Christians (Trinitarians) do not teach that "Jesus and God are two separate and distinct beings." It is important that we study the Bible in the context of its entirety and not remove individual verses upon which to build doctrine. True Biblical Christianity teaches that:

-God is one
-The Father is God
-Jesus is God
-The Holy Spirit (Ghost) is God
-God is one One God in three persons . .

To deny the true triune nature of the Godhead as revealed in Scripture is to create a god in your own image and in accordance to your finite understanding. Trinitarian doctrine accepts the reality that God is far beyond our mortal comprehension and that ... "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God "(Luke 18:27). Simply put, where God is concerned, some things must be accepted by faith.

The Bible teaches each of the above five points of the doctrine as the absolute truth of God. The only way to reconcile the points is to believe Jesus when he tells us that ... The things which are impossible with men are possible with God (LUKE 18:27 ) and believe the whole word of God when it tells us that God is indeed ONE, and that The Father is God, and Jesus is God, and The Holy Spirit (Ghost) is God, and that they all interact with mankind, and each other, as distinct Persons (NOT separate beings). Simply put, the God of the Bible is One God, an eternally existent triune God. The Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. Three in one.

Adherents to the oneness doctrines are absolutely correct when they state that "the reason it is essential for us to know this (the true identity of Jesus) is because the validity, authority, and truthfulness of all He taught depends on His identity as God." The question here is "Which God ?"

Make no mistake, Trinitarian Doctrine teaches that Jesus is God. Jesus, Fully God, Fully Man, God the Son, The second person of the ONE true triune God of the Bible.

Three Persons - "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17)

One God - "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." (1 John 5:7 ) .

I would like to use 'time' to illustrate the Trinity.  Is the "past" plus the "present" plus the "future" a total of three times ?  Not at all . It simply is a representation of three distinct aspects of the nature of time: past, present, and future.  Likewise, the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit are not three separate beings or entities, but three distinct persons in the one nature of the Godhead.

One more comment about Jesus.  As I mentioned earlier , ALL cults deny that Jesus is God, the creator of the universe, in flesh.  Various objections are raised saying that Jesus could not be God, otherwise, He would be praying to Himself, etc.  Let's work with the analogy above, and continue with 'time' as our illustration.

Let's take 'present' and add to it human nature.  Present, then, would have two natures: time and man.  If 'present' were truly human then he would be able to communicate with us, tell us much, and we could see and touch him.  But, because he is also 'time' by nature, he would be able to tell us both the past and the future as he manifested the 'time' nature within him.  If 'present' then communicated with the past and the future, it would not mean he was communicating with himself, but with the distinctions known as the past and the future.

I know this is only an analogy, but I think it is a good, thorough, basic, illustration of God's nature as expressed in Trinitarian expression.

Also , Christians acknowledge the Bible never mentions the word trinity, or triune nature of God. However, there are plenty of references to the Trinity. Here are just a few:

Genesis 1:26 tells us , "Let us make .." (cf. 3:22 ; 11:7 ; Isa. 6:8 ) does NOT indicate multiple gods . Such a polytheistic view would be inconsistent with the lofty theology of the chapter and with the singular "His own image " (1:27 ; 5:1-2 ) .

John 1:1 ; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. "  What Jesus taught and what He did are tied inseparably to WHO He is . John shows Jesus as fully human AND FULLY GOD ! Although Jesus took upon Himself full humanity and lived as a man , He never ceased to be THE ETERNAL GOD who has always existed , the Creator and Sustainer of all things , and THE SOURCE of ETERNAL LIFE !  This is the truth about Jesus and the foundation of all truth . If we CANNOT or DO NOT believe this basic TRUTH , we will not have enough faith to trust our ETERNAL DESTINY to Him .

We must also take note that the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses , in THEIR corrupted New World Translation , they have CHANGED the original Word of God in this passage to read , "The Word was a god." They obviously are ignoring the words of God HIMSELF in Revelation 22:19 , "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. "

John 1:14 ; "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." This right here TELLS us that God (The WORD ) , became HUMAN in JESUS CHRIST !  By doing so , Christ became the perfect teacher - in Jesus' life we see how God thinks and therefore how we should think ( Philippians 2:5-11 ) .

When Christ was conceived , God became a man . He was NOT part man and part God ; He was completely human AND completely divine , ( "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9 ) . BEFORE Christ came , people could know God partially . AFTER Christ came , people could know God FULLY because He became VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE IN CHRIST ! Christ IS the perfect expression of GOD in human form . The two most common errors people make about Jesus are to minimize His humanity or to minimize His Divinity . JESUS IS BOTH GOD AND MAN !

Matthew 1:23 ; "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Jesus would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah , for He would be Emmanuel (God with us , see Isaiah 7:14 ) . Jesus IS God IN THE FLESH ! Thus , God was LITERALLY among us . Through the Holy Spirit , God is present today in the life of every believer .

John 14:9 ; "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father ? " Jesus is the visible , tangible image of the invisible God . He is the complete revelation of what God is like . Jesus explained to Philip , who wanted to see the Father , that to know Jesus IS to know GOD ! The search for God , for truth and reality , ends in Christ !  (see also Colossians 1:15 ; Hebrews 1:1-4 ) .

John14:10-11 ; "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."  Right here , these two verses guard against fully separating the Father and the Son into distinct gods . Each interpenetrates the other - what the ancient Greeks called pericoresis .

Lastly , my friends , as I mentioned at the beginning of this article , the only ones who do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity , (beside atheists and other non-believers ) , are the religious CULTS ! I am listing the ones I KNOW for sure reject not only the Trinity , but much of The Bible itself .

MORMONISM :

Founded By: Joseph Smith, Jr., 1830.

Mormons believe that God was once a man, but became God. He has a physical, flesh and bones, eternal, perfect body. Men have the potential to become gods as well. Jesus is God's literal son, a separate being from God the Father and the "elder brother" of men. The Holy Spirit is also a separate being from God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit is regarded as an impersonal power or spirit being. These three separate beings are "one" only in their purpose, and they make up the Godhead.

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES :

Founded By: Charles Taze Russell, 1879. Succeeded by Joseph F. Rutherford, 1917.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God is one person, Jehovah. Jesus was Jehovah's first creation. Jesus is not God, nor part of the Godhead. He is higher than the angels, but inferior to God. Jehovah used Jesus to create the rest of the universe. Before Jesus came to earth he was known as the archangel Michael. The Holy Spirit is an impersonal force from Jehovah, but not God.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE OR "SCIENCE OF [THE] MIND"

Founded By: Mary Baker Eddy, 1875.

Christian Scientists believe God is life, truth and love. As an impersonal principle, God is the only thing that truly exists. Everything else (matter) is an illusion. Jesus, though not God, is the Son of God. He was not the Christ, but rather, the Christ idea or the conceptual idea of God. The Holy Spirit is the teachings of Christian Science.

ARMSTRONGISM :

(Philadelphia Church of God, Global Church of God, United Church of God)

Founded By: Herbert W. Armstrong, 1934.

Traditional Armstrongism denies a Trinity, defining God as "a family of individuals." Original teachings say Jesus did not have a physical resurrection and the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force.

CHRISTADELPHIANS :

Founded By: John Thomas, 1864.

Christadelphians believe God is one indivisible unity, not three distinct persons existing in one God. They deny the divinity of Jesus, believing he is fully human and separate from God. They do not believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, but simply a force—the "unseen power" from God.

ONENESS PENTECOSTALS :

Founded By: Frank Ewart, 1913.

Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God and God is one. Throughout time God manifested himself in three ways (not persons), as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

UNIFICATION CHURCH :

Founded By: Sun Myung Moon, 1954.

Unification adherents believe that God is positive and negative, male and female. The universe is God's body, made by him. Jesus was not God, but a man. He did not experience a physical resurrection. In fact, his mission on earth failed and will be fulfilled through Sun Myung Moon, who is greater than Jesus. The Holy Spirit is feminine in nature. She collaborates with Jesus in the spirit realm to draw people to Sun Myung Moon.

SCIENTOLOGY - DIANETICS :

Founded By: L. Ron Hubbard, 1954.

Scientology defines God as Dynamic Infinity. Jesus is not God, Savior or Creator, nor does he have control of supernatural powers. He is usually overlooked in Dianetics. The Holy Spirit is absent from this belief system as well. Men are "thetan" - immortal, spiritual beings with limitless capabilities and powers, though often they are unaware of this potential. Scientology teaches men how to achieve "higher states of awareness and ability" through practicing Dianetics.

I pray that you NEVER fall into the trap of those who will deny that Jesus IS GOD , and if you are already in that mindset , or are in one of the religious denominational cults that have indoctrinated you to that thinking - I beg you to GET OUT NOW !! Seek and search the TRUTH for yourselves . DO NOT let ANYONE isolate you so that you cannot 
discern for yourself what is TRUTH . Recall the words in 1 John 4:1 , "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

Until next time , may God bless and keep you all -

Yours in Christ ;
Pastor Mike