The Doctrine of The Trinity

INTRODUCTION:

The Doctrine of the Trinity is a fundamental doctrine to Christianity. Understanding the Doctrine of the Trinity is necessary for us to understand what God is like. The Doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who exists as three distinct Persons - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While the word Trinity doesn’t appear in the Bible, this doctrine is based on several emphatic statements that are found throughout the Word of God. The three members of the Godhead share the same attributes and cooperate in the same work. God’s characteristics are consistent, expressing His divine nature.

I-THREE IN ONE GODHEAD

A. There is only one God.

Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV 1900

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

This is the essential truth about God. He is a person and not a vague pantheistic force. Being one, He cannot be represented by contradictory images. Since the LORD our God is one, He is not Baal, or Ashtoreth – He is the LORD God, and they are not.

1 Corinthians 8:6 KJV 1900

6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

We need to understand this...We worship one God, existing in three persons, not three separate gods.

B. The Son is one with God.

John 10:30 KJV 1900

30 I and my Father are one.

This comes right from where we were just a moment ago in Deuteronomy 6:4...

Our Lord made a statement that He knew would startle His enemies and give them more reason to oppose Him.

This was the “plain answer” that the religious leaders had asked for. “I and My Father are One” is as clear a statement of His deity as you will find anywhere in Scripture.

The word One does not suggest that the Father and the Son are identical persons. Rather, it means that they are one in essence, or nature: the Father is God and the Son is God, but the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father.

He is speaking about unity, not identity.

C. The Spirit is one with God.

Acts 5:3–4 KJV 1900

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

There are people today who deny that the Holy Spirit is God.

But look at what the Bible says: First Peter says, “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” Then he says, “Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

Why is it worded like this? Because the Holy Spirit is one with God.

II-THREE IN ONE CHARACTER

A. All three are eternal.

The Father

Romans 16:26 KJV 1900

26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

The Son

Isaiah 9:6 KJV 1900

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The Spirit

Hebrews 9:14 KJV 1900

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

B. All three are all-knowing.

The Father

1 John 3:20 KJV 1900

20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

The Son

Matthew 11:27 KJV 1900

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

John Butler gives some pretty good stuff on this verse:

• The dynamic for Christ. “All things are delivered unto me of my Father” (Matthew 11:27). This discloses where Christ got His power, His dynamic. God gave it to Him.

• The Deity of Christ. “My Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father” (Matthew 11:27). Christ expresses a relationship with God that is unique. We may call God “Father,” but it does not express the same relationship that Christ has with God. Christ’s relationship says Jesus is God!

• The discernment about Christ. “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son” (Matthew 11:27). We have here both the discernment of God about Christ and of Christ about God. First, the discernment of Christ by the Father. “No man knoweth the Son but the Father.” God knows Christ better than man. And that knowledge of Christ certainly is better than the knowledge of the book writers and movie makers, who so degrade Christ in their works. Second, the discernment by Christ of the Father. “Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the son.” No one knows God the Father better than God the Son. If we would know about God, we need to listen to what Christ says about Him.

• The deliverance through Christ. “And he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). The deliverance of our soul from damnation is dependent upon Jesus Christ. “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

The Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 KJV 1900

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

We see here the Spirit of God is all-knowing - not man’s spirit, but God’s...

C. All three are holy.

The Father

John 17:11 KJV 1900

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Revelation 4:7–11 KJV 1900

7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The Son

Mark 1:24 KJV 1900

24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

The Spirit

John 14:26 KJV 1900

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

III-THREE IN ONE WORK

A. In Creation

Genesis 1:1–3 KJV 1900

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

John 1:3 KJV 1900

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:14 KJV 1900

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

B. In Christ’s Ministry

Acts 10:38 KJV 1900

38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power...

His empowerment from heaven made a difference on the earth. Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.

• He set the captives free.

• He healed the sick,

• He cast out demons,

• He freed the helpless and gave hope to the hopeless.

• The gospel’s are full of the life and work of the Lord Jesus.

John 20:30–31 KJV 1900

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

C. In Salvation

1 Peter 1:2 KJV 1900

2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

The Bible here presents the doctrine of the Trinity: the foreknowledge of God the Father, sanctification of the Spirit, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Folks, don’t let anyone tell you that the Bible does not teach the Trinity—the Bible is full of it! All three work together in the work of Salvation!

CONCLUSION:

The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, but there is only one God. There have been several attempts at illustrating the Trinity, however, there are flaws in them because there is no real analogy to the Trinity to which humans can compare the Trinity. The truth of the Trinity must be decided on what the Bible says concerning the subject. Human reasoning simply doesn’t do justice when comparing the divine nature of God to something human or of this world. Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”