II.

The Trinity: a Biblical concept

To begin to understand the Trinity, one must understand that it is a concept presented in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible. In both Testaments there are clear statements of the unity of God and statements that imply or state some sort of plurality within the unity of God. For this article, it is assumed that the Bible is the authentic revelation that God gave to Israel, and the Church.

A. Old Testament references

  1. The Unity of God:
  1. "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:4,5)
     
  2. "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is none other." (Deuteronomy 4:39)
     
  3. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other Gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (Exodus 20:25)
  1. Plurality within this Unity:

God's own statements:

  1. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...'" (Genesis 1:26)
     
  2. "Then the Lord God said, 'Behold the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil...'" (Genesis 3:22)
     
  3. "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (Gen. 11:7)

Note that in Gen. 1:26 that the plural pronouns are used with singular nouns:  "God" is the singular subject of the sentence, "image" and "likeness" are singular nouns, in prepositional phrases, referring back to the singular subject. It does not say, "Let us make man in our images, according to our likenesses." Note also, that these are not plurals of respect or majesty as is a custom in some languages like Urdu. The ancient Hebrew language used in the Old Testament of the Bible never uses plurals in this way. Here is the observation of a noted professor of Semitic languages: "The first person plural can hardly be a mere editorial or royal plural that refers to the speaker alone, for no such usage is demonstrable anywhere else in biblical Hebrew." (1) No one in the Old Testament uses a plural of respect when addressing a superior. Plurals are not used that way in the Old Testament. Neither does any King in the Old Testament use this in addressing his subjects.

  1. The word for "one" in Deuteronomy 6:4,5, "echad," can be used to convey unity that has internal diversity or more than one internal components. "This" is a compound-unity noun that is to say, a noun which demonstrates oneness or unity, but at the same time contains several entities." (2) For example:
     
  1. Gen. 1:5 First day of creation, day and night = 1 day.
     
  2. Gen. 2:24 Man and wife become 1 flesh.
     
  3. Num. 13:23 1 cluster of grapes.

This word is used instead of the word "yachid" which signifies absolute oneness. Example:. Gen. 22:2 God said to Abraham: "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac..."  Note that this word, "yachid", is never used of God in the Bible. (3)

  1. The Angel of the Lord: This is a special angel in the Old Testament who spoke with the authority of God Himself, received worship from people, and left people with the knowledge that they had seen God personally. Here are the references of His appearance to:
  1. Hagar: Genesis 16:7, 13
     
  2. Abraham: Genesis 18
     
  3. Jacob: Genesis 32:24, 30
     
  4. Moses: Exodus 3:1, 15
     
  5. All Israel: Exodus 14:15, 20; 23:20, 22
     
  6. Joshua: Joshua 5:13, 15
     
  7. Gideon: Judges 6:11, 24
     
  8. Sampson's Parents: Judges 13:2, 32
  1. Specific references to the Son of God and the Holy Spirit of God in ways that imply deity:
  1. Genesis 1:2; 19:24
     
  2. Psalms 2:2,7,12; 45:6,7; 51:11; 110:1 (by David)
     
  3. Proverbs 30:4 (by Solomon)
     
  4. Isaiah 9:6; 11:1,2; 42:1; 48:12, 16; 61:1; 63:8, 16
     
  5. Zechariah 7:7, 14
  1. References that the Messiah is God:
  1. Psalm 2:12
     
  2. Isaiah 7:14; 9:6,7
     
  3. Jeremiah 23:5,6
     
  4. Micah 5:2

B. Things to notice about the Old Testament's presentation of the Trinity:

  1. All of the above mentioned facets state their various points and emphases simply, without detailed explanation. There is no section in the Old Testament that concisely sets out the doctrine of the Trinity. Isaiah has the most references to it. God revealed it bit by bit giving hints here and there, and He has left it to us to put them together as we study His word with humility and reverence.
     
  2. The Old Testament does not teach polytheism for at least the following reasons:
  1. The Old Testament constantly refers to God with singular pronouns as one Being.
     
  2. The Jews always maintained that they worshipped one God, and they maintained this in the face of clearly polytheistic cultures that surrounded them. When the people lapsed into idolatry and polytheism, the prophets of Israel called them back to the One God, and God brought judgments to punish their idolatry.
     
  3. The plurality within the unity of God is presented in a way that is totally different from polytheism. Polytheism tends to deify objects, animals, or people; to create God's in the image of things, animals, or people. These independent gods usually are identified with one characteristic or attribute of God. "Polytheism projects gods who are independent entities; gods who are at cross purposes with one another. Within the trinity there is always absolute unity in desire, design, and execution. Every biblical reference shows the Father, Son and Holy Spirit operating in perfect union." (4)
     
  4. No one has ever been able to show that the verses cited above as supporting the Trinity are corruptions of prior verses which support an absolute view of the unity of God. All of the verses mentioned above have always been part of the Old Testament Scriptures given by God.
     
  5. It can be seen from all of the evidence mentioned above that, "the Hebrew Bible abounds with the idea of the three aspects of God: God the incomprehensible; God who appears to man in the image of man; and God who communicates with man by the Holy Spirit." (5) All three of these aspects are presented as having individual personalities, yet being the one God. It is difficult to understand, yet that is what the Old Testament presents.

This Old Testament teaching on the nature of God is continued and made more explicit in the New Testament. It is the view of God Jesus Christ used for the basis of His teaching which He then gave to His apostles.

C. New Testament References

  1. The Unity of God:
  1. "...Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord..." (Jesus, quoted in Mark 12:29)
     
  2. "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (Paul, in 1 Timothy 2:5)
     
  3. "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder." (James, the half-brother of Jesus in James 2:19)
     
  4. "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy..." (James, the half-brother of Jesus in James 4:12)
  1. Plurality within this Unity:
  1. Jesus, using the titles Son of God, Son of Man, and the Messiah of Himself, said and did things that are only proper for God to say and do.
  1. Jesus claimed to have authority to forgive sin: Mark 2:512
     
  2. Jesus claimed to be able to grant eternal life to whoever believes in him: John 6:3540; 17:2
     
  3. Jesus claimed to have authority over all mankind: John 5:22; 17:2
     
  4. Jesus claimed to be worthy of the same honor due the Father: John 5:23
     
  5. Jesus received worship from men due to God: Matthew 14:33; 28:9; John 20:28,29
     
  6. Jesus identifies himself as the the Angel of the Lord of the Old Testament, identifying himself by the most holy name of God from the Old Testament: John 8:57 with Exodus 3:13,14 "Yahweh."
  1. Jesus is positively identified as the Son of God at least 110 times in the New Testament. All of the Gospels identify Him as the Son of God (Matthew 11x, Mark 5x, Luke 11x, and John 26x). Both Mark's and John's gospel accounts were recorded expressly to show that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1; John 20:31). The following people identified Jesus as the Son of God:
  1. Satan: Matthew 4:3; Luke 4:3
     
  2. Numerous demons: Matthew 8:29; Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41
     
  3. The Centurion overseeing Jesus' crucifixion: Mark 15:39
     
  4. John the Baptist: John 1:34
     
  5. Jesus' closest disciples: Matthew 14:33; 16:16; John 1:49
     
  6. Jesus himself: Matthew 16:17; Mark 14:61,62; Luke 22:70; John 3:1618; 5:17-26; 11:4,25-27
     
  7. God the Father: Matthew 3:17; 17:5
  1. Also, the Bible presents that the Messiah and the Son of God are the same person, Jesus. This is done by Jesus' disciples (Matthew 16:16; John 1:49; 20:31) and by Jesus himself (Luke 4:41).
  1. In Mark 14:61,62 and also John 5:25-27 Jesus identifies Himself as both the Son of God and the Son of Man. He also ties both of these titles to the title "Messiah," or "Christ." All three of these titles, Son of God, Son of Man, and Messiah are related in the Bible. They refer to the same person. They speak to different facets of His identity, ministry, and character, but they also all refer to a person who is God in human flesh. "Son of God" primarily refers to Jesus' nature and relationship with the Father. "Son of Man" refers to Jesus' true, full humanity and His identity as the unique person from heaven mentioned in Daniel. "Messiah" refers to Jesus' role as God's perfect human prophet priest and king, both the king of Israel and the high King over all nations. Also, the Messiah is the One with God's authority and power to anoint people with the Holy Spirit of God. That is how the rest of the Bible uses these titles and it is how Jesus uses them of Himself.
  1. Other New Testament statements showing plurality within the unity of God:
  1. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)
     
  2. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy spirit, be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)
     
  3. "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts." (Galatians 4:6)
     
  4. "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, 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 bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:57)
     
  5. "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life." (Jude 20,21)
  1. Things to note concerning the New Testament's presentation of the Trinity:
  1. The concept of the Trinity is found throughout the New Testament. It is not found in just the writings of only one disciple like John or Paul. It is found in the Spirit - inspired writings of the closest disciples of Jesus. It is stated or assumed in all of the New Testament books in that they openly and directly speak of Jesus being God and Lord. The doctrine of the Trinity is not based on a single verse, like 1 John 5:7,8. It is stated and assumed throughout the whole New Testament.
     
  2. Statements of plurality in the unity of God are more abundant and explicit in the New Testament than in the Old Testament. They continue and develop the facets of the doctrine revealed in the Old Testament.
     
  3. The Holy Spirit is treated as having full personality and exercising all of the attributes of God in the New Testament, as also do the Son and the Father. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is presented as God Himself, not an angel representing God. The Holy Spirit's deity is too long of a subject for this article. There are many capable treatments of the subject that can be recommended. (6)

C. Conclusions

Though the word "Trinity" does not occur in the Bible, the concept is throughout the very fabric of both the Old and New Testaments. It is not something that men invented. It is a truth that was revealed by God. The Biblical concept of God's tri-unity was called "Trinity" by Christians who were seeking for a word to express what the Bible revealed about God's nature.