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The word "Trinity" never appears in the Bible, yet some Christians believe in a triune God. How did they arrive at this conclusion? What evidence does the Bible have of a Holy Trinity? The Bible says there is one God yet three persons share the power and authority of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are distinct from each other; they have separate missions and also a collective mission. They are equal and different.
The Bible tells us that there is only one God: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) Yet throughout the Book we can find evidence of God being triune in nature, three equal persons in one. His expression of His own plurality appears early in the Scriptures. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) Notice that God refers to Himself as ‘us’, supporting the doctrine of plurality.
The Gospel of Matthew names the persons of the triune Godhead: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19) Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) Each person of the Godhead has a unique name, character and role. God is the mind of God, Jesus is the embodiment of God and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. We are made in His image with body, mind and spirit. Each part of our nature is distinct from the other but works together; each part of the Godhead is distinct but works together.
The three persons of the Godhead are distinct from each other. When Jesus spoke of God, He spoke of the Father. He prayed to the Father: “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” (Matthew 11:25) God spoke to Jesus, naming Him as His Son: “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Spirit speaks to God interceding with God on our behalf: “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:27)
The persons of the Godhead are equal to each other, too. “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18) Each person of the Godhead has the authority of God and the power of God. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:2) God alone has the power of foreknowledge; God alone has the authority to sanctify; God alone has the authority of salvation. God as the three persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit makes up the Godhead.
Each person of the Godhead glorifies the others. The Son of God glorifies God (Romans 16:27). The Father and the Son glorify each other: “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:” (John 17:1) The Spirit glorifies God and Christ Jesus (John 16:13-15) If only God is worthy of glory, the worship of each person of the Godhead by the other persons supports the doctrine of the triune God.
Each person of the Godhead has an individual mission and the triune God has a collective mission. Jesus was God’s presence on earth and the Spirit is God’s comfort on the earth. Jesus assumes the work of Savior in the New Testament. “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) In the Old Testament, only God was Savior. “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11) Jesus shares equality and authority with God. In the New Testament, God gave us a new way to learn from Him by becoming one of us in the body of Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament, God lived with His people. “And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.” (Exodus 29:45) In the New Testament, God sends His Holy Spirit to dwell in us. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) Here we see that the Spirit shares equality and authority with God. When God established His New Covenant with us through Jesus Christ, He gave us a new way to commune with Him, through the Holy Spirit in us.
God the Father testifies to the Godhood of the Son and sends His Holy Spirit to comfort us. He is also our Judge in heaven, while Jesus Christ is our defense attorney and the Holy Spirit is our intercessor. Each person of the Godhead has a unique function, yet they all share the work of salvation:
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:4 -6)
The Bible doesn’t use the word ‘trinity’ but it does name three persons as God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead is separate and distinct, yet they share power and authority. Each has a separate mission, yet they share a collective mission. Each testifies to the Godhood of the other proving God is triune and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is indeed true.
(All Scripture is KJV)
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