On Facebook I have read some comments that deny the doctrine of the Trinity. I wrote the following comment to provide some basic Bible evidence that the doctrine of the Trinity most certainly is taught by the Bible.
Those who will take the time to carefully study the Bible itself, following the 24 rules of interpretation I have given in the October, 2010 archives at Real Bible Study, will learn that though the history of the doctrine of the Trinity as it developed in the “church” shows one means of deriving the doctrine, the better means is to see that the doctrine is what is taught in the Bible itself.
The doctrine of the Trinity is not named as such in the Bible. There are many things Bible-believing Christians understand in and from the Bible by terms that are not found in the Bible itself. You will not find the term “rapture” in the Bible, but the doctrinal teaching is definitely there. You won’t find the term “second coming” in the Bible either, but the doctrine is there.
The doctrine of the Trinity is derived from a careful study of the Bible by means of necessary inference.
I have given the Bible evidence for the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity in both The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and in my just-released Bible study software available for use in the e-Sword Bible study software program, under the title The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury.
Facebook is not the best venue for discussing the topic, because the evidence requires longer posts for accurate discussion. I can more easily discuss Bible doctrine at my Real Bible Study website. I will, therefore, post this comment there.
But in brief, I would say that the Bible clearly teaches the deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus is called God at John 20:28. From that passage if you check into the cross references I have provided you will see that Jesus is called God elsewhere at John 1:1; John 5:18; John 8:24; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 45:21-23; Matthew 1:23; Matthew 14:33; Romans 9:5; Ephesians 5:5; Philippians 2:6, 10, 11; 2 Thessalonians 1:12; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 5:20.
The Holy Spirit is called God in Acts 5:3, 4.
That the Holy Spirit is a person, not merely an influence, is demonstrated by the fact that the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).
So, there are three persons who are each called God in the Bible: the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is not the Father, but was sent by the Father (John 3:17; Galatians 4:4). They are, therefore, two separate persons, not the same person. When Jesus prayed to the Father, He surely was not praying to Himself (John 11:41, 42; John 14:16; John 16:26; John 17:1, 5).
At this present time, the Bible teaches, Jesus Christ is in heaven in the form of a man (1 Timothy 2:5), where He is our mediator. Therefore, Jesus Christ in heaven is a separate person from God the Father. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ will return to this earth in the same form as He left this earth, in human form, as declared most emphatically in Acts 1:11.
Therefore, by necessary inference, we understand from the Bible that there are three persons who are each called God, so we speak of the fact that there is one God, who exists in three persons, such that we must conclude there are three persons in the Godhead. This is the teaching of Scripture. This doctrine of one God in three persons is given the name or called the doctrine of the Trinity.
If you have questions, or information to the contrary, raise a question or post your contrary evidence in the comment section below.
The trinity is not from 1st century Christians, let alone pre-JC Judaism. Please research more before you lead more people astray.
Dear J. Kerr,
I am delighted to read your challenging comment here today. You ask that I “Please research more before you lead more people astray.”
I must say that I have indeed done as much research on the doctrine of the Trinity as perhaps anyone you may know or know about. I was motivated to do my research when the Jehovah Witnesses visited some of my high school Sunday school class students. My students told me I had taught them well and they were very prepared to answer issues brought up by the visiting Jehovah’s Witnesses. My students claimed that because they were girls, they felt that their answers were not being given any credence by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They asked me to be at one of their homes when the Jehovah Witnesses were scheduled to visit so I could help them answer the many questions which came up in discussions.
I met the Jehovah Witnesses, and they offered to teach me the Bible. They offered to come to my apartment every Monday night at 7 pm. They came for a total of 4 years.
In my published Bible research tools, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury, I have placed the arguments and Bible references used by the Jehovah Witnesses in the Topic Number Index, Topic Numbers 958 through 1013 on pages 1596 and 1597. In the Subject Index I have placed the answers to their mistaken doctrines under the entry “Jehovah Witnesses, Answers to Doctrinal Errors,” on page 1562.
I have studied many resources both for and against the doctrine of the Trinity and have incorporated the Scripture cross references which support or refute each view at the relevant text or texts of Scripture.
So, if you have some good information to share that presents a view contrary to mine, feel free to post it here for further discussion.