Is The Trinity Biblical?

Posted by Wade Lowrey on Apr 7, 2010 in Theology |

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As a believer I want my beliefs to come from knowing they are biblical. So I must ask, Is The Trinity Biblical?

Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I’ve looked everywhere and I confess that the word ‘Trinity’ is nowhere in the Bible. Yet, I believe in the Trinity, how is that possible? The truth is, it is a word that best describes one Biblical fact about our amazing God: Our God is a Trinity. This carries with it the understanding that in the Godhead there are three persons in one God, not three separate Gods.

The persons of the Godhead are known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. But the person of the Father is not the same person as the Son. The person of the Son is not the sam person as the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that if you were to take away any one of them, there is no God. The Godhead has always been a Trinity from all eternity, meaning forever they have always exsited as God but three separate persons or a better word “substance”.

Here is what St. Augustine says about the Trinity: “There are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and each is God, and at the same time all are one God; and each of them is a full substance, and at the same time all are one substance. The Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. But the Father is the Father uniquely; the Son is the Son uniquely; and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit uniquely. All three have the same eternity, the same immutability, the same majesty, and the same power”

Subordination in the Trinity:

It is important to note that subordination does exist within the Trinity. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. This is an internal relationship and does not deny the deity, power, or glory of any person of the Trinity.

Different “Roles” in the Trinity:

The individual persons of the Trinity have different tasks. The Father is the ultimate source or cause of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); salvation (John 3:16-17); and Jesus’ human works (John 5:17, 14:10). The Father initiates all of these things.

The Son is the primary agent through whom the Father does the following: the creation and order of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17); divine revelation (John 1:1, 16:12-15; Matthew 11:27; Revelation 1:1); and salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42). It is true the Father does all these tasks through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the means by whom the Father does the following works: creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30); divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21); salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2); and Jesus’ works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38). Thus the Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Being Clear:
While maintaining a Trinity mindset it is important to distinguish between three persons and three forms. God, the Father, did not ‘become the Son’, who later became the Holy Spirit. The Bible is clear that all three are eternal and present persons that function together as God. The Bible affirms over and over that there is only one God. It does declare in many places that Jesus is God (John 1:1, 14), it says the Father is God (Phil. 1:2); and it says the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). There is one God who exists in three persons.

The Trinity while very logical is still something that as you study this doctrine it is beyond our ability to ever come close to fully comprehending. While it is impossible to fully define God it is always best served to praise God for His greatness and His wisdom beyond our own understanding.

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