#18 - The Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity is a confusing concept to many Christians, yet it is one of the most basic doctrines of Christianity. Many questions arise in the mind of the unlearned Christian, such as “If there is only one God, then how can God be three? Does this mean that there are three Gods?” and the ever-popular “Where does the bible say that God is three persons? I’ve read that God said He is the one true God and there shall be no other Gods beside Him.” It is confusion that weakens the Christian’s faith and leaves him exposed to the dangerous heresies of non-Christian cults with their false beliefs. This article should clear up some of the confusion about the Holy Trinity.

To answer one of the above questions, the bible does indeed speak of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity appears in the New Testament at the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. This is mentioned in Matthew 3:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” and in Mark 1:10-11, “And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”, and also in Luke 3:21-22, “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased”. Here, we have three separate accounts of the same incident, as testified by Matthew, Mark and Luke; the Son, the Holy spirit descending upon him, and the Father who is well pleased in him—the appearance of the three.

Jesus Christ, showing himself, before his disciples, to be the almighty God, “came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”, and he continues “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 28:18-19). Here, again, we see the Holy Trinity, mentioned this time by Christ himself. If you were to baptize someone, wouldn’t it make sense to baptize him in the name of the highest being in existence? In the name of God Himself? Yes, it would. And, we are instructed by Jesus to baptize them in the name of the Father, AND in the name of the Son, AND in the name of the Holy Spirit. In other words, in the name of the three.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a favorite argument against this Christian doctrine. They like to ask the unsuspecting Christian, “What does the word ‘trinity’ mean? It means three. Therefore it cannot mean one. And God is One, therefore He cannot be Three.” This is just a play on words. And if we’re going to play with words, then we should also consider that the word ‘trinity’ is one word that means three. In other words, the meaning of three is described by one word. How is it then, that our One God cannot be three persons, or that three persons cannot be One composite God? If this is not enough evidence to support the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity, then here comes the clincher! 1 John 5:7 describes the triune nature of our One God as follows: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” There are three individual entities mentioned above. The identity of each one of the three is clearly stated. One is the Father, one is the Son, and the other one is the Holy Spirit. These three bear record in unison, as One. And most importantly, we are told that THESE ARE ONE!

Non-Christians, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, believe that only the Father is God, that the Son is inferior to the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is merely an energy. This is illogical. Since the Father is God, and the word and the Holy Spirit are together with the Father as one, then the Word and the Holy Spirit must also be God. This is logical. For if one of these entities is God, and God is perfect, then the other two entities must also be God, and perfect. The One God is perfection as a whole, and the whole of perfection, and cannot have any lesser parts (so to speak).

God can be thought of as the flame of a candle. The fire is the Father, the light is the Son, and the heat is the Holy Spirit. The fire begets the light, as the Father begets the Son. The heat proceeds from the fire, as the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The three are co-existent, and co-equal. One entity cannot exist without the other two. If you eliminate the light, then there can be no fire and no heat. If you eliminate the heat, then there can be no fire and no light. And if you eliminate the fire, there can be no light and no heat.

To say that the Holy Trinity is not God, or that God is not a Trinity, is to deny God’s inspired word—the Holy Scriptures. Can we deny what the Scriptures say? Can we deny that there are three that bear record in heaven, as the Scriptures say? Can we deny that these three are the Father, the Word Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, as the Scriptures say? Can we deny that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, as the Scriptures say? If we deny the Scriptures, then we are denying the truth, and we are only fooling ourselves.