*FYI, I decided to do this series on difficult doctrines in the Bible one day before I needed to post my article. Because of this and because of a recent discussion with an individual about the Trinity, I decided on this subject for my first post. I started with a previous post on the subject, but added some significant, Scriptural additions. I hope this is a blessing to you. * If this post makes you uncomfortable, I beg you to read the whole post and honestly consider the evidence presented from Scripture. If you disagree, I’d love to hear Scriptural evidence. I do stop responding when friendly debate in search of the truth turns into accusations and insults, so please base your arguments on Scripture.

Because the God of the Bible is the true God and Creator of everything: matter & energy, time & space, things seen & things unseen, He** **is not a God who can be fully comprehended. There are things about God that make our heads hurt when we try to fully understand them. The God of the Bible is not an easy-to-understand God made from the mind of man, but the true Creator of all things. He has shared the truth about Himself to us, so we may understand who He is, at least as much as our finite minds can comprehend infinity.

§What is the Trinity?

One trait of God that is particularly hard to comprehend is the fact that He is 3 persons in 1 God. There are many arguments over this trait because it is so difficult to understand. First, I’ll admit that the word trinity (or any form of it) is not used in the Bible. At the time the Bible was written, there wasn’t a word to describe His 3 in 1 nature. We come to understand His 3 in 1 nature by reading descriptions of God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son (Jesus). God also frequently refers to Himself in the plural, implying His 3 in 1 nature. Although God’s Trinitarian nature is not explicitly explained until the New Testament, even the Old Testament suggests this nature from the very beginning.

“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.” (Genesis 1:26)” {emphasis mine} Notice how God refers to himself as “Us” and “Our.” God refers to himself in the plural. There are other clues in this verse that are not visible in English. In the original Hebrew, “Then God said” is actually “Then Gods(plural) said(singular)” This is saying that the three persons of God speak as one. Many deny the Trinity, but the Trinitarian nature of God is implied in the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible. Like many other things, such as salvation through faith in Jesus and God caring for the whole world and not just Israel**,** the Trinity is not made clear until the New Testament.

§Is Jesus God?

When people argue against the Trinity, the biggest argument is that Jesus is not God. They think He is a prophet, a wise teacher, a good man, or even a good man who was converted into something more, but not God. Unfortunately for them, Jesus does not leave this option open to us.

So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? … So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. (John 8:25,28-30) {emphasis mine} In the English translation, the translators added the word “He” to “know that I am He” for ease of reading, but the word “He” is not in the original Greek, therefore what He really said was “you will know that I am.” Why is this important? Jesus was claiming to be God. In the Old Testament, when Moses asked God’s name, He replied, “I AM.” Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:13-14) A Jewish man using the term “I AM” about Himself would be blasphemous because He is applying the name of God to Himself. I later learned that this statement is even clearer in the original Greek. In Jesus’s time, the Old Testament was regularly referred to according to the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament). In Greek, there are two different words for “am.” In the Exodus passage above, the Septuagint effectively says “I AM AM has sent me to you.” using both “am” verbs. When Jesus (in John 8 above) says “I am He,” the actual Greek wording is “I am am.” This is why the Pharisees reacted so violently against Him. It wasn’t a careless, “I am.” He referred to Himself with “I am am,” which was the name of God. Jesus also makes this amazing comment: Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58) Jesus is not only saying that He existed before Abraham, but by saying “I am” instead of “I was,” He is claiming to be God. He is taking the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush. By beginning this statement with “Truly, truly,” He is saying, “Pay attention. This is important.” This isn’t an offhand comment. This is one of the most important truths He wants to communicate to us. In the original language of the Scriptures (admittedly less obviously so in English translations), Jesus is so clear about His claim to deity that it is illogical to say otherwise. I appreciate this quote: C.S. Lewis says: “I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic– on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg– or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” When the Jewish leaders heard Jesus talking, they understood that His statements were claims to be God. For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself** equal with God**. (John 5:18) {Emphasis mine} When the Jewish people heard Jesus talking, they understood His statements were claims to be God. I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (John 10:30-33) {Emphasis mine} The Jews understood what Jesus was saying, and they were partially right. Any mere man who spoke as Jesus spoke would be guilty of the worst kind of blasphemy and worthy of being stoned. Unfortunately for these men, Jesus really was fully man and fully God, and because of this, it was they who were blaspheming God. We know Jesus and the Father are one based on this passage: Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. (John 14:8-10) {Emphasis mine} Why does Jesus say that seeing Him is the same as seeing the Father? Because they are one God. If they were distinct individuals, this would not make sense. How can Jesus be in the Father at the same time the Father is in Jesus if they are distinct individuals? It does, however, make sense if they are one God, but three persons. Also Jesus said, Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. (John 8:42) {Emphasis mine} Jesus claims to have “proceeded forth … from God.” Everyone knew He had been born by Mary. How could He “proceeded forth … from God” if He was born naturally like every other man? If He was born no differently than any other man, then He wouldn’t be God. Of course, we know He was born differently. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18) and Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! T he Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:26-35) {emphasis mine} This was no normal birth, and Jesus is no normal man. Being born of Mary and the Holy Spirit enabled Him to be fully God and fully man at the same time (an idea as hard for our minds to grasp as the 3 in 1 nature of God). It may be hard for our human minds to comprehend, but we serve an awesome God who can do and be things beyond our understanding. This is one of many unfathomable miracles of God. Jesus also claimed to have “all authority”. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18) {Emphasis mine} Is it possible for anyone other than God to have “all authority?” Would God give all of His authority to a lowly man He created by His hand? If you believe the Bible at all, it has not given us the option of thinking that Jesus was anything less than God. Not only does Jesus claim to be God and his listeners understand Him to be claiming to be God, but other books of the Bible also refer to Him as God. who [Jesus], although He existed in the form of God, did not regard** equality with God** a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11) [Clarification mine] {Emphasis mine} This is one of the clearest declarations of the deity of Jesus in the Bible. It says Jesus “existed in the form of God.“ This sounds like the Bible is calling Jesus God. It also says Jesus “did not regard** equality with God*** a thing to be grasped*.” In other words, Jesus was totally God, so He didn’t have to work at acting like God, speaking like God, or claiming to be God. His Godhood was clearly evident. This passage says Jesus’s name is “the name which is above every name.” Does anyone actually believe that God the Father, Yahweh, would put any other name above His own? Of course not! Jesus’s name is “above every name” because He is one with God the Father and one with God the Holy Spirit. This passage says “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow,” but we know every time someone bows to anyone other than God, including angels or prophets of God like Paul and Silas, the people are immediately told to bow to no one but God. Here it states that “every knee will bow.” This would not be true unless Jesus was God and one with God the Father. It also says, “that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Would calling Jesus Lord be to the glory of God if Jesus was not God? I think not. After His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples, and this event happened. Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:27-29) {emphasis mine} Thomas, seeing Jesus and putting his hands in His wounds, cries out, “My Lord and my God!” Does Jesus correct Thomas? No! He blesses everyone who likewise believes. Jesus openly receives the titles “Lord” and “God.” He does not correct Thomas. He blesses everyone who believes like Thomas. How much clearer could Jesus be about His divinity? One of the most awe-inspiring verses about Jesus’s deity doesn’t technically use the name of Jesus, but if you take the entire Book of John and his stated purpose: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25) In this context, it is clear that John refers to Jesus as the Word in John 1:1-3. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5) {emphasis mine} Just in case anyone doubts that this passage is about Jesus, Jesus explicitly tells us He is the light in multiple instances including: Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12) {emphasis mine} and that He is the truth: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6) {emphasis mine} and therefore He is the word: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. (John 17:17) {emphasis mine} We also know that the Word is Jesus because later in the chapter, John says this: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) {emphasis mine} Not only do we see the Creator God becoming flesh through the physical birth of Jesus, John emphasizes His glory—the same glory attributed to God. If John 1:1-5 is about Jesus, then the following are all true about Jesus:

• Jesus was from the beginning
• Jesus was with God
• Jesus was God
• Jesus is creator
• Life comes from Jesus
• Jesus is Holy (light in the darkness)

Can there be any conclusion other than that Jesus is God?

§Is the Holy Spirit God?

The Bible says:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16)) {Emphasis mine} but it also says: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:20-21) {Emphasis mine} If the inspiration of Scripture comes from God and comes from the Holy Spirit, that makes the Holy Spirit the same God. The two are spoken of in the same way. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) {Emphasis mine} In the same way, if our bodies are “a temple of the Holy Spirit” and we are a temple of God. If we are a temple of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit isn’t the same God as God the Father, how would this “glorify God in your body?” But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4) {Emphasis mine} This Bible passage equates lying to the Holy Spirit to lying to God. This is true since they are just two parts of the one true God. We’ve already proven that Jesus is God. In the verse below, Jesus refers to himself leaving and the Father sending the Holy Spirit. All three are given equality as God, with each having a different purpose in the will of God. In this passage, “I” and “My name” refer to Jesus, while “Helper”, “Holy Spirit”, and “He” refer to the Holy Spirit. “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:25-26) {Emphasis mine} Also … Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30) In this verse, the Holy Spirit is referred to as separate and independent, though still part of God. He is one person in the totality of God. We also see the Holy Spirit in the first chapter of Genesis: And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:2) {Emphasis mine} All three persons of God were involved in the creation of all things. In this verse, the Spirit of God is compared to the spirit of man. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For** who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him**? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13) {Emphasis mine} Just as the spirit of man is part of a man, so also is the Holy Spirit part of God. In Genesis God creates man in His image. I’ve heard it said that part of being in God’s image is a trinitarian design of man (although we are never as separate as the 3 persons of God). Man is body, mind, and spirit just as God is the Son (Jesus), the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

§Is the Father God?

I’ve included this section for completeness, but I don’t think anyone who believes the Bible even a little denies that the Father is God. Some may believe that He is the only part of God, but they don’t deny the Father’s deity, so I won’t waste your time on something you likely don’t doubt.

§Doesn’t the Bible speak of God as One?

The most common argument against the trinity is the use of this verse in Deuteronomy.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4) Jesus even confirmed that this was a critical understanding of God when asked what is the greatest commandment. Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; (Mark 12:29) The problem is that this verse is speaking against a pantheon of gods, such as those of Greece and Rome. The Trinity may have 3 persons, but He is still only one God. They aren’t separate. They are of one mind and one will. They can’t be separated from one another like the “gods” in other religions, which have a multitude of “gods” that usually fight among themselves. This is hard for us to understand, but it is clearly communicated in the New Testament. As I’ve shown in the many verses above, the Bible clearly talks about one God, which includes three persons. Just as Jesus is fully man and fully God, so also is God one God in three persons. The fact that this is hard for us to understand doesn’t make it any less true. We can’t pick and choose which verses we will listen to and which we will ignore. We also need to understand that the Bible never contradicts itself. The fact that God is spoken of as one and as three means He is both at the same time. If we say there is only one God and deny the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we are apostate. If we say that we worship three separate Gods, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, we are equally apostate. Ironically, I think one of the best arguments for the Trinity is the fact that it is so hard to understand. No mere man would make up such a difficult and hard to understand God. The very fact that this incomprehensible doctrine exists is a powerful argument for its truth. There is no benefit to inventing this doctrine. It only causes division and confusion. The only reason to teach it is that it is true. The God of the Bible, the one and true God, is three persons in one God. We need to trust God and believe His word, even if we can’t fully understand how it can be so.

§What are some mentions of the entire Trinity?

There are many passages that refer to the three persons of the Trinity working together as one. When Jesus was about to ascend to heaven after rising from the dead, in His last words He said:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) {Emphasis mine} As Christians, we are called to be baptized “*in the name of the *Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” We are to acknowledge all three persons in the Godhead. Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22) {Emphasis mine} Likewise, when Jesus was baptized to fulfill the law of God, all three persons were present. Jesus was fulfilling the Law of God so He would be a worthy sacrifice to take away our sins. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a helper and as a sign to John the Baptist that Jesus was the predicted Messiah. God, the Father, spoke blessings on the obedience of Jesus in fulfilling their mutual will. The three persons of God acted as One. “These things I [Jesus] have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:25-26) {Emphasis mine} This verse also speaks of all three persons working in concert. It also clearly separates the Spirit (Helper) from Jesus because as one (Jesus) leaves, the other (Helper) comes to help us. Once again the Bible shows the three persons of God acting as One. He who hates **Me [Jesus] hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me [Jesus] and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ “When the Helper [Spirit] comes, whom I [Jesus] will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He [Spirit] will testify about Me [Jesus], and you will testify also, because you have been with Me [Jesus] from the beginning. (John 15:23-27) [Clarification Mine] {Emphasis mine} Once again, this verse shows all three persons of God working as One. Just as John 8:42 (above) describes Jesus proceeding from God, John 15:26 describes the Spirit proceeding from the Father. They proceed from God/Father because they are all One. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11) {Emphasis mine} Our sanctification and our justification come **from all three persons of the one true God. If we do not believe this, can we truly be saved? If we do not believe in the deity of Jesus, can we truly be a child of God? Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7) Jesus explains that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father implying they are one and the same. Trust Jesus. Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated

KK