What the Bible Teaches--A Guide to Total Christian Commitment 
by Rev. James McRobbie    ©Pillar of Fire, International 
"Although it is impossible for the mortal mind to fully grasp this sublime and great mystery, yet the fact of [the Trinity] is clearly expressed in the Scriptures."
Learn more about the power of the Holy Spirit for personal holiness through Sanctification

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Chapter 4 Contents: |What Is the Trinity?| |The Trinity and the Scriptures| |Various Phases of Trinity| |Conclusion|

[What the Bible Teaches refers to numerous passages from the Bible. Your study will be greatly enhanced by looking up the verses as you go along. If you want to look up Bible verses online as you study, clicking here will open up "The Bible Gateway" in a new window. You may then use the title buttons on your browser screen to move back and forth between the Bible and this study. All quotations in What the Bible Teaches are from the King James Version [KJV] unless otherwise specified.]
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Chapter 4: What the Bible Teaches ABOUT THE HOLY TRINITY

"I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three."
    The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a fact definitely revealed in the Bible, although obviously one of the sublime mysteries of God and beyond human comprehension. Although denied by the ancient Socinians and Arians, as well as by modern Unitarians and others, still apostolic teaching was very clear on this subject. There is, for instance, the apostolic benediction giving equal reverence and dignity to Father, Son, and Spirit [2 Corinthians 13:14], and likewise the baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19.
    St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, would often, in the midst of a sermon, find it convenient and elucidating to stoop down, pick up the three-bladed shamrock, and from it expound and explain the mystery and doctrine of the Trinity.

What is the Trinity?

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    The English word "Trinity" is derived from the Latin word, trinitas, which is a compound word, from tres, three, and unis, one, signifying three in one. This word, "Trinity," is not found in the English Bible; yet that is no warrant for denying our scriptural belief in this doctrine.
    The Jews were strict monotheists; they held tenaciously to the doctrine of one God, and their basic scripture for this, of course, was Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." Strangely enough, the Hebrew word for God in this scripture is Elohim, a plural noun, while the word for "one Lord" is echad, signifying a compound unity, that is, several in one. Therefore, this verse, so prominent in ancient Jewish teaching, literally reveals the Trinity.
    As against the monotheistic teaching of the Hebrews, the Gentile nations were fanatical polytheists. At the beginning of the Christian era the Greeks and Romans had virtually thousands of gods. When Paul visited Athens he found the people so conscientious that they had erected an altar to the UNKNOWN GOD.
    To hold to the teaching of the Trinity is not to suppose that there are three Gods in one God, or to understand that there are three persons in one person. That there are three persons cannot be denied, for the personal pronouns, I, Thou, and Me, are attributed equally to each. Jesus, when speaking of the Spirit, said: "When he is come." God so loved the world that He gave "his only begotten Son." These three Persons, being three distinct intelligent Beings, are nevertheless one and the same Being and, although each is endowed with separate intelligence, miraculous powers, and eternal existence, they are nevertheless not three Gods but ONE GOD. This great fact, the unity of the Godhead, constitutes the foundation upon which the whole structure of the Christian church is built.
    The battle regarding the unity and divinity of the Holy Trinity raged in the early centuries of the church. Athanasius (293-373) spoke out clearly in this respect when he said: "The catholic [universal] faith is this: that we worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal, and in this Trinity, none is afore or after other; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal."
 

The Trinity and the Scriptures

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    The Trinity can be seen in the first two verses of the Bible. "In the beginning God created" [Genesis 1:1]. The Hebrew word for God in this instance [as in Deuteronomy 6:4] is Elohim, the plural noun for God, Eloah being the singular. Therefore God the Creator in this opening verse has reference to the Father and the Son. John distinctly reminds us that the Son was in the "beginning" with the Father, and that all things were "made by him," that is, by the "Word," who is the Son. In Genesis 1:2 there is a direct reference to the third Person of the Trinity: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." In this same chapter, verse 26, the personal pronoun is used three times in the plural form: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Thus in the opening chapter of the bible the doctrine of the Trinity is fully established.
    The Trinity at work is seen in St. John's Gospel, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" [John 16:13-15]. Here is the Father, the possessor of all things; the Son our Lord Jesus Christ, the speaker, and He says, "All things that the Father hath are mine," showing equality; then the Holy Spirit, the divine Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, is seen as the believer's true guide. In this He is seen as performing His wondrous part in the Trinity as executive, doing the office work of the Father and the Son.
    On the occasion of the baptism of our Lord we again have the Trinity revealed [Matthew 3:16-17]. Immediately as Jesus stepped "from the water" [R.V.], the Father's voice was heard: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" -- the Father's divine approval of the Son. Then the "Spirit of God" was seen descending upon Christ in the form of a dove, "lighting upon him." Here then, at the initiation of the sacred ministry of Christ, we see present and in wondrous unity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- all working together.
    God the Father is seen in the Scriptures to be supreme over all in the Godhead. He is the "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," and, "Our Father which art in heaven" -- the "Father of eternity" [Isaiah 9:6, marg. R.V.]. He is "love," He is "Spirit." He is [Top of page] [Down]
  "God so loved the world": He is omnipresent: "In him we live, and move, and have our being" [Acts 17:28]. He is the great "I AM." God, the "high and lofty one. . .inhabiteth eternity" [Isaiah 57:15].
    David, being a prophet, was inspired to announce the Trinity as his source of comfort, fortitude, and blessing in the familiar words of Psalm 27:1:     The book above all that propounds the divinity and Sonship of Jesus Christ is the fourth Gospel, John. This is summed up unequivocally in John 20:31: "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." He plainly said, "I and my Father are one" [John 10:30; John 17:22]. To Philip He said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" [John 14:9]. He is the author of salvation [Hebrews 5:9].
    That Jesus is God, equal with God [Philippians 2:6], and one with God is proved by the three great works that were delegated to Him.     In the Scriptures, Father, Son, and Spirit are seen to be equally eternal.
    Eternal God [Deuteronomy 33:27].
    Eternal Christ [Hebrews 13:8].
    Eternal Spirit [Hebrews 9:14].
    In the story of Ananias and Sapphira it can be seen that Ananias is said to "lie to the Holy Ghost," while in the next verse it says, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" [Acts 5:3-4]. This reveals the fact that God the Father and God the Spirit are one and the same Being.

Various Phases of Trinity

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Conclusion

    God then, in a trinity of Persons, three in one, exists in the sublime unity of the Godhead from all eternity and to all eternity. Although it is impossible for the mortal mind to fully grasp this sublime and great mystery, yet the fact of it is clearly expressed in the Scriptures. Nowhere is this truth more forcefully set forth than in 1 John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost," and   "THESE THREE ARE ONE."

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