Notes compiled by Marty Zide and Steve McAtee
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of revelation, not of natural religion, and therefore the first thing we must realize is that we are totally dependent upon the revealed Word of God for its explanation. There is not one single text that gives all the information about this grand subject, therefore, we must search and dig in the Word so we can come to a Biblical conclusion about the Trinity.
God As a Triune Being
The Bible emphatically teaches that God consists of three persons who are one in nature. There are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet one Being. Each person is fully God, thus making them all equal and eternal
The Scriptural Basis for the Trinity
Although the word “Trinity” is never used in the Bible, the idea represented by the word is taught in many places.
Gen. 1:26 -Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth
Gen. 3:22 -Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.
Gen. 11:7 -Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.
Is. 6:8 -Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whomshall I send, and who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I. Send me!
Is. 48:16 -Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.
Matt. 3:16-17 -After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Matt. 28:19 -Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2 Cor. 13:14 -The grace of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
1 Pet. 1:2 -according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus the Messiah and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Jude 1:20 -But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Messiah to eternal life.
Deut. 6:4 -Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
The word “one” is a keyword in this passage. In Hebrew, there are two words for the word “one,” “echad” and “yachid.” “Yachid” means absolute one, like having one single grape. “Echad” refers to a compound oneness, like having one cluster of grapes that has many grapes on it, yet there is only one cluster. The Hebrew word that is used in Deut. 6:4 is “echad.” There is only one God, but He has revealed Himself as three persons.
Coming Next –The Mystery of the Trinity