According to Scripture, is God the Trinity?

Holy Trinity (1620s) by Hendrick van Balen

According to scripture, is God the Trinity? The doctrine of the Trinity is that God is one God in three distinct Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Of course, this doctrine is not stated specifically in scripture. But it need not be in order for it to be believed. For instance, “believe in the Bible” is not mentioned in the Bible, but Christians still believe in the Bible. Also, it should be noted that mankind could not know that God is the Trinity if God did not reveal it. With that said, the doctrine of the Trinity is implied from the following scripture verses.

(The following scripture verses will be from the NRSV, so sometimes the verse numbers do not match with other Bibles. If this is the case for you, look a couple verses before or after the verses quoted.)

The following scripture verses show that God is three Persons:

Genesis 1:1, NRSV - In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,

The word for “God” used here is the Hebrew word “Elohim,” which can be translated as “Gods.”

Gen 1:26 - Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness

God said, “Let us” not “Let me.”

Gen 3:22 - Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil;

“Us” again is used. The verses below also say, “us.”

Gen 11: 6-7 - And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language… Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there...”

Is 6:8 - Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

“Name” (singular) is stated instead of “names” (plural) which implies that three persons are within the one Godhead. It would be abnormal to say name if God was not three persons in one God, just as it would be odd to say, “I send you in the name of Peter, James, and John.” In this case, since Peter, James, and John are three different persons, it is proper to say, “in the names of Peter, James, and John.”

The following scripture verses show that the three Persons of the Trinity are distinct (though not separate):

Is 48:16 - Draw near to me, hear this! From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there. And now the Lord God has sent me and his spirit.

Here, Jesus, the Word, is speaking in the Old Testament. Jesus makes notice that God sent Him and the Holy Spirit.

Mt 3:16-17 - And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Luke 1:36 - The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

John 14:15-17 - “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him."

2 Corinthians 13:13 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

1 Peter 1:1-2 - Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of the Dispersion… who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood

The following scripture verses show that each Person of the Trinity is God. (These will be discussed more in detail in different posts.)

The Father is God.

John 6:25-27 - Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you… work… for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

“God the Father” is explicitly stated.

Romans 1:7 - To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Son is God.

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word is Jesus as shown in John 1:14. The Word became flesh. And Jesus is the only Person of the Trinity who became flesh. Therefore, Jesus is the Word.

John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Colossians 2:9 - For in him [Jesus] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily

This does not say that “part of the fullness of deity dwells bodily” in Jesus. If that was the case, then one could argue that Jesus is not fully God. However, that is not the case. Instead it says “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” in Jesus, therefore, Jesus is God.

The Holy Spirit is God.

Acts 5:3-5 - “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?.... You did not lie to us but to God!”

Lying to the Holy Spirit is stated to be equivalent to lying to God.

1 Cor. 3:16 - Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1 Cor 6:19 - Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?
(The cross reference shows that) God’s temple = the Holy Spirit’s temple

The following scripture verses show that God is one:

Deut 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.

1 Cor 8:4 - Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.”

Galatians 3:20 - Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human

Matthew 28:19 (quoted above) - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

See explanation under section - “God is three persons.”

John 10: 30 - I and the Father are one.

John 14:8 - Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Summary:

Thus, according to scripture, God is the Trinity. From the following verses, it was shown that [1] God is three Persons, [2] The three Persons are distinct, [3] each Person is God, and [4] God is one. Though some topics were not addressed in exhaustive detail, they are sufficient to show the truth of the Trinity in scripture. There are many other aspects of the Trinity to be discussed within scripture, but this is a start. For now - and ever - let us go forth glorifying God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Praise to the Holy Trinity:

I praise You, Father all-powerful. I praise You, Divine Son, our Lord and Savior. I praise You, Spirit of Love. One God, three Persons, be near me in the temple of my soul. Draw me to share in Your life and love. In Your kindness grant to me and to my family the riches of Your mercy, and a share in Your blessing. May we come to the glory of Your Kingdom where we may love You for all eternity. Amen.

Contributed by: Fidel Valenzuela

Servants of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts