The truth about God being a Trinity is something that all Christians affirm, but few can articulate. In this message we explore the Biblical teaching concerning God being 1 in Being, and 3 in Person.
What Is The Doctrine of the Trinity?
If I were to ask you to explain the Trinity, how would you do it? You might not be able to even take a stab at it. If you did take a stab at it, you might say that the Trinity is 3 in 1. OK, but what does that mean? 3 what in 1 what?
If you believe in the Doctrine of the Trinity, it is important that you can actually articulate it. If you can’t articulate it, you don’t really know what you believe in. You might want to believe in it, but you don’t know what it is.
The Doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine that God is 1 in Being, and 3 in Person. Now, that’s not a contradiction. If we were to say that God is 1 in Being and 3 in Being, that would be a contradiction. So, what is the difference between a being and a person?
Being is that essence or substance that makes you WHAT you are. Person is that essence or substance that makes you WHO you are.
What kind of a being am I? I am a human being. Who am I? I am Brian Anderson. What I am – a human being. Who I am – Brian Anderson (my person). Those are not the same thing.
All of us share the same essential essence – we are all human beings. But none of you share the same person that I am. I am 1 in Being, and 1 in Person. God is 1 in Being and 3 in Persons. Is there anything like that on this earth? No. Does that mean God can’t be 1 Being and 3 Persons? Absolutely not. We get our information about what and who God is from what He has revealed to us about Himself in the Scriptures.
Sometimes when we read certain Scriptures we ascribe inferiority to Jesus, the Son. Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I” (Jn.14:28). A new hire at a large corporation might say, “The CEO of this corporation is greater than I” and he would be correct. The CEO is greater in authority, power, influence, and responsibility. However that CEO is still the same kind of being that I am – a human being. His being is essentially the same as the new hire. But his role is greater. When Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I”, He was His Being was equal to the Father, His role was inferior, because He willingly submitted Himself to His Father and came to earth to do the Father’s will.
The truth of the Trinity reveals that God is unlike anything else in this universe! And that’s what we would expect from an infinite almighty Being, isn’t it?
Now, I have attempted to explain the doctrine of the Trinity very succinctly. However, is my explanation true? Is it Biblical? That’s what I want us to grapple with next.
Let’s first look at a Definition of the doctrine of the Trinity, and then consider some Deviations from the doctrine of the Trinity that different people have held throughout history.
1. A Definition of the Doctrine of the Trinity
The word “Trinity” is not found in our Bibles. It is a word that was created to try to summarize the truth that God is 3 in 1. The word Trinity comes by coming two different words together – Tri and Unity.
Here is a working definition. “God eternally exists in the 3 distinct persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each of these persons is fully God, and there is only 1 God.”
Notice that this definition is made up of 3 different propositions:
- God eternally exists in the 3 distinct persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- Each of these persons is fully God
- There is only 1 God
Now, if you can prove that each of these propositions is true from Scripture, you have just demonstrated that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is Biblical. So, this morning, let’s see if these three different propositions can be proven from Scripture.
- God eternally exists in 3 distinct persons
This means that the Father is not the same person as the Son or the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Now, is that true?
The Son:
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That word “with” shows that there is a distinction of persons.
John 17:24 “You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” This relationship of love between the Father and Son implies a distinction of persons.
John 17:3 “Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The Father sent the Son. The Father did not die for our sins. The Son did.
1 John 2:1 “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous…” In order to be our Advocate with the Father, Jesus had to be a distinct persons from the Father.
The Spirit:
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…” Since the Father sent the Spirit, the Father can’t be the same person as the Spirit.
- But is the Holy Spirit a person? The JW’s don’t believe He is. They believe He is a power or force, like electricity. However, the passage says “He will teach you all things”, not “IT will teach you all things.”
- Further, we are told in the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit teaches, bears witness, intercedes, is grieved, speaks, can be blasphemed, can be resisted, strives, equips, directs, gifts, regenerates, inspires, convicts, guides and discloses. Those are all activities that a person carries out. An impersonal force cannot be grieved or blasphemed. An impersonal force does not bear witness or intercede.
- Further, in Mt. 28:19 we are told that we are to baptize disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Everyone acknowledges that the Father and the Son are persons. It would be very strange to baptize people in the name of a force, and 2 other persons!
Conclusion: I am convinced that the Bible teaches that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons.
- Each of these Persons is Fully God
Now, is that true? Is the Father God? Is the Son God? Is the Spirit God?
Father. Ephesians 4:6, “one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”
Son.
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 20:28 When Jesus told Thomas to see His hands, and put his hand into His side, Thomas responded, “My Lord and my God!”
Hebrews 1:8 “But of the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…”
Titus 2:13 “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus…”
2 Peter 1:1 “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”
Romans 9:5 “from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”
In addition, Jesus Christ received worship in the gospel accounts.
Mt. 2:11 The Magi “after coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him.”
Mt. 14:33 When Jesus calmed the storm “those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!”
Mt. 28:9 When the women saw that Jesus’ tomb was empty on Easter morning, they ran to report it to the disciples, but Jesus “met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.”
Mt. 28:17 After Jesus rose, He appeared to His disciples in Galilee and “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him…”
Luke 24:52 Jesus was carried up into heaven. “And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy…”
John 9:38 Jesus healed the man born blind. Later Jesus found this man. “And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.”
It is interesting that in none of these accounts did Jesus rebuke or even discourage anyone from worshiping Him. That would be extremely odd if Jesus were not God. When Peter came to Cornelius house, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter said, “Stand up; I too am just man.” When John bowed down to worship the angel in Rev. 19:10, the angel said, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours.” But Jesus did not correct these people that worshiped Him. If He were only a man, and He accepted worship as many cult leaders do, He would have been a very wicked person. But if He truly is God, then it is only reasonable to accept worship.
The Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:3-4. When Ananias lied about how much money they had given the church when they sold a piece of property, Peter called him on the carpet. 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.” Why did you lie to the Holy Spirit… you did not lie to men but to God.
1 Cor. 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
2 Cor. 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Hebrews 10:15 “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant…” and then he quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34. But when we go back to Jeremiah 31:31-34 it begins this way, “Behold, days are coming” declares the LORD! Both Hebrews 10 and Jeremiah 31 are giving us the same truth. But in Jeremiah it is the Lord who is declaring it, and in Hebrews 10 it is the Holy Spirit who is testifying to us. That tells me that the Holy Spirit is equated with the Lord Jehovah.
Perhaps a chart may help here:
All 3 Possess the Same Divine Attribute
| Attribute | Father | Son | Holy Spirit |
| Eternality | Ps. 90:2 | Is. 9:6; Mic. 5:2 | Heb. 9:14 |
| Omnipotence | Rev. 1:8 | Is. 9:6 | Rom. 15:19 |
| Omniscience | 1 John 3:20 | John 21:17 | 1 Cor. 2:10-11 |
| Omnipresence | Jer. 23:24 | Mt. 28:20 | Ps. 139:7 |
| Holiness | Ex. 15:11 | Acts 3:14 | Acts 1:8 |
| Truth | John 7:28 | Rev. 3:7 | 1 John 5:7 |
| Goodness | Ps. 100:5 | Acts 10:38 | Neh. 9:20 |
All 3 Perform Divine Works
| Creation of the World | Genesis 1:1 | John 1:3 | Genesis 1:2 |
| Creation of Man | Genesis 2:7 | Col. 1:16 | Job 33:4 |
| Raises the Dead | John 5:21 | John 5:21 | Romans 8:11 |
- There is Only 1 God
Deut. 6:4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Isaiah 45:5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God…”
Sometimes, members of other world religions believe that Christians hold to a veiled polytheism. That is not true. Christians believe in one God, not three.
2. Deviations From the Doctrine of the Trinity
Very early on in church history, some began to deny one or more of the three propositions we have put forth above. This was probably because they were unwilling to live in tension with Biblical truth. What are some of the heresies that arose?
- This teaching denies the three distinct persons. This position espouses the belief that there is only one God, and the Father, Son, and Spirit are all fully God, but not distinct persons from one another. They believe that God is one person who appears to man in three different modes. That’s why it is called Modalism. They teach that God appeared as Father in the Old Testament; reappeared as the Son in the gospels, and then as the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This would be like the same actor appearing as three different characters in the course of a movie.
Sometimes this teaching is referred to as Sabellianism, after a man by the name of Sabellius who lived in Rome in the early 3rd century.
In 1916 a group broke off from the Assemblies of God when all ministers were required to hold to the doctrine of the Trinity. This group became the United Pentecostal Church. Many today know them as Jesus Only.
- This teaching denies that the Son and the Spirit are fully God. In the early 4th century, a man by the name of Arius began to teach that there was a time when Jesus Christ was not. He emphasized texts that refer to Jesus as the “only begotten Son”, and he reasoned that if Jesus was begotten it must mean that He was brought into existence. He believed that when Paul said Jesus was the “first-born of all creation” in Col. 1:15, that meant that Jesus was the first creature God created, and then the Father and the Son together created everything else. His teachings erupted into a huge debate with much controversy.
Emperor Constantine convened a council in Nicea to settle the dispute. He was only interested in preserving the peace of the Roman Empire. He invited 1,800 bishops to attend, but in the end only 400 came. In the end a creed was written to put down Arius’ view which says: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, very God from very God, begotten not made, of the same substance as the Father, through whom all things were made, both things in Heaven and things in earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was made flesh, was made man, suffered and rose again the third day, ascended into Heaven, and shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost. And in those who say, “There was a time when He was not” and “He did not exist before He was made” and “He was made out of nothing” or those who pretend that the Son of God is “of another hypostasis or substance” or “created” or “alterable” or “mutable,” the Catholic Church anathematizes.”
As a result of this council, Constantine ordered all books of Arius’ burned “so that his depraved doctrine shall be entirely suppressed and so that there shall be no memorial of him left in the world.”
What did Arius believe about the Holy Spirit? He believed that the Spirit was a force or power. There was a later council in Constantinople in 381 AD. At that Council a section was added to the earlier creed which read: “and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, who proceeds from the Father, who is worshiped and glorified together with the Father and the Son.” This doctrine of the Trinity remained virtually unchanged after this council in 381 A.D.
Today the most well known religious group that holds to Arianism are the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
- This teaching denies that there is only one God. They believe that God is three distinct persons and each person is fully God, but they believe these three persons are three distinct gods. Very few people have actually held this view in the history of the church. A man by the name of John Philoponus in the 6th century espoused this view, but was condemned by the rest of the church.
So, you can see that if you reject any of the three propositions, the result will be some kind of heresy.
Conclusion
The Christian church has always held the doctrine of the Trinity as a primary doctrine. There are primary doctrines which the church holds in a closed hand. Then there are secondary doctrines which the church holds in an open hand. The doctrine of the Trinity has almost universally been considered a closed hand doctrine. That’s why a person may not become a member in most churches if they reject the doctrine of the Trinity.
So, are there any practical implications of the doctrine of the Trinity?
- We should worship all three Persons in the Godhead. Many Christian hymns do that like “Holy, holy, holy… Gop in three persons, the Blessed Trinity.”
- We can be confident in our salvation, because the Person who effected it is none other than God of very God! If Jesus were just a mere man, he would not have been able to accomplish our redemption. He would have been born in sin, the same way every other person is, and would then have died for his own sins, not for ours. But because He is Divine, He is able to save to the uttermost. 45:22 “turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
- We should pray in dependence upon all three Persons. We pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Spirit.
- We should learn from the example of our Triune God for our marriages. Jesus is equal to the Father in Being, but takes a submissive role to the Father. In exactly the same way, husband and wife are equal in status before God, but God calls the wife to a submissive role in the marriage.
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