Trinity

According to historians, the word “Trinity” was coined in the late 2nd century AD by Theophilus1 and was eventually adopted at the council of Nicaea in 325 AD as part of the Nicene Creed2. Trinitarians believe that the doctrine is not a new doctrine but instead a new label for a concept that exists in the Bible. On that basis it should be possible to prove the Trinity from the Bible.

The fundamental concept of the Trinity is often described as a “mystery”.3 This mystery makes the exact details very difficult to pin down which in turn makes it a very difficult doctrine to prove or disprove and is sometimes an argument that is offered when flaws in the doctrine are highlighted. The Bible does include several “mysteries” but in almost every case the mystery is is explained. For example, the most obvious example is Jesus Christ, who is described in Colossians 2 as “God’s mystery”4. But Paul elucidates on this mystery in Ephesians 3:

by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,
(Eph 3:4-6)

Other mysteries include the “kingdom of God5“, the resurrection6, marriage (as a figure of the relationship between Jesus and the “church”)7 and the gospel8.

The one verse that could be attributed to the mystery of the Trinity is 1 Timothy 3:16

Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.
(1Ti 3:16)

At first glance, this verse seems to support the suppositon that God and Jesus were the same person “God was revealed in the flesh” but another possible explanation is God Manifestation. If this were the one and only reference to the mystery of the Trinity, it would make it a very vexing verse that Paul would drop a hint to some “new” mystery and then provide absolutely no more detail or context about it. What is far more likely is that he is referring to the “mystery of Christ” that as mentioned, is a theme that is taken up and explained well in Romans and Ephesians.

It is therefore intellectually and spiritually unacceptable for the Trinity to be accepted without a proper foundation from the Bible.

What is the Trinity Supposed to Be?

“[The Trinity is] one God existing in three coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons (hypostases) sharing one essence/substance/nature (homoousion).9

“Consubstantial” means ” of the same substance”. A common example of this concept presented diagramtically is:

10

The basic logical challenge that the Trinity presents is that it claims two multually exclusive facts to be be true:

  • God is one
  • God is three

It then (unsuccessfully) attempts to explain these contradictions by intellectual sleigh of hand.

Nonetheless, the doctrine of the Trinity was not manufactured out of thin air. There are some bible passages that when read in isolation and without a proper understanding of the underlying language do appear to support the idea of God being non-singular but at the same time there are many passages that unequivocally state that “God is one”11 and that Jesus is a separate being from God. An explanation of these apparent contradictions is necessary. Unfortunately, the Trinity is a failed and ultimately destructive attempt to explain these passages since it corrupts some of the foundational principles of the nature of God.

God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
(Gen 1:26)

Assertion: The plural reference is present because God is three fold

Explanation: The word for “God” in this verse is “eloheem” (messenger). In this context, the word is referencing angels, not the one and only God and hence the use of the plural. Refer to the page on God for more details. This is not translation dishonesty. Jesus himself points out the flexibility of this word in John 10:35

[Jesus said] “I and the Father are one.”
(Joh 10:30)

Assertion: Jesus is claiming to be God

Explanation: Jesus is claiming to be one in purpose not in person. This can easily be determined from the broader context of the chapter where Jesus is busy proving to the Jews that he is the Christ. For example, in verse 25 he says: “The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me.” This and verse 29 emphasise that Jesus and God are working hand in hand. The Jews make a smiliar mistake to the Trinitarian doctrine when Jesus makes the statement that he and God are one by accusing Jesus of making himself “God” in verse 33. Jesus’ response is exceptionally telling. Instead of responding that he is God in the sense that the Jews accuse him of which would make sense if he was the same being as God, he instead points out that the scripture has referred to men as “gods”. This is a reference to Psalm 82:6 where the Bible uses the word “god” (Eloheem) to clearly refer to the leaders of the people who were nonetheless regular human beings. By doing this Jesus shows that in one sense he is a “god” (a leader) but he is a not a “God” in the sense that the Jews accuse him of.

Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
(Mat 28:18-20)

Assertion: The word “name” is singular but refers to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit – meaning they must be a single entity.

Explanation: It can be readily understood from verses like John 17:6 and Exodus 34:5 that the “name” of God can be a reference to God’s character rather than a literal label for His personage. Jesus came in his Father’s name (John 5:43) and manifested that name to the people (John 17:6). The holy spirit was used to support the spreading of that same name (John 3:34). Thus all three shared God’s “name” in respect to it’s characteristics and sharing it more broadly but that is not to say that they were the same being.

For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
(Heb 2:18)

Challenge: James 1:13 says “Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.” How can Jesus be tempted if he is God and James is clear that God cannot be tempted?

Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.
(Mat 27:50)

Challenge: 1 Timothy 6:16 says of God “who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.” How can Jesus die if he is God and Timothy is clear that God cannot die.

To these he also showed himself alive after he suffered, by many proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking about God’s Kingdom.
(Act 1:3)

Challenge: A per 1 Timothy 6:16 (see above) no man has see God, nor can they and yet the entire Gospel is about people seeing Jesus, not to mention several other places where Jesus appears in the New Testament such as Acts and Revelation. Please note that “seeing God” is not clear-cut as it might seem due to the various ways that God reveals himself. Refer to the page on God for more infomation.

  1.  Theophilus, Apologia ad Autolycum, Book II, Chapter 15 ↩︎
  2. https://www.usccb.org/prayers/nicene-creed ↩︎
  3. https://www.catholiccrossreference.online/catechism/#!/search/234 ↩︎
  4. Colossian 2:2-3 ↩︎
  5. Luke 8:10 ↩︎
  6. 1 Corthian 15:51 ↩︎
  7. Ephesian 5:32 ↩︎
  8. Ephesians 6:19 ↩︎
  9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity#cite_note-h502-111 ↩︎
  10. By User:AnonMoos (earlier version of SVG file Sumudu Fernando) – Own workConverted to SVG from the following vector PostScript source code:Source code%!/!{def}def/N{counttomark}!/Q{grestore}!/r{rotate}!/p{N 2idiv{N -2 roll rlineto}repeat}!/q{gsave}!/m{moveto}!/M{x]makefont setfont}!/x{0 0}!/O{show}!/t{/Times-Romanfindfont}!/c{newpath 55 0 360 arc q 1 setgray fill Ql}!/l{stroke}!/v{rmoveto}!/o{scalefont setfont}! mark2.5 setlinewidth/X{t 36 o}!/Z{X(Is Not)O}!/W{X(Is)O}! 2120 translate 95.587 575.075 m 180.598 -104.434 0-208.241 47.63 x 208.241 180.587 104.434 -23.815 41.25-180.587 -104.434 -181.137 104.434 p l 142.141 575.7 m157.859 -273.3 157.859 273.3 -315.718 0 p l 89.641571.04 m 180.359 -312.39 60 0 180.359 312.39 -30 51.96-360.718 0 p l 254 586.5 m Z q 60 r 526 -145 m Z Q q -60r -315 375 m Z Q 300 484.391 c 140.491 575.7 c 459.509575.7 c 300 302.4 c q 30 r 580 257 m W Q q -30 r -87 558m W Q q -90 r -407 289 m W Q t[30 x 32 M 116.641 586m(The )O 102.641 555 m(F)O -1 0 v(ather)O 410.109 568m(The )O -.5 0 v(Son)O 262 471 m t 42 o(God)O t[26 x 30M 252.5 300.75 m(The )O -1.75 0 v(Holy)O 271.5 271m(Spirit)O pop showpage%EOF, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8256706 ↩︎
  11. Deut 6:4 ↩︎