The Trinity Doctrine (A Brief Overview)

Many people wonder, What about the doctrine of the Trinity? Trinitarian Philip Schaff states, The Trinity and Christology, the two hardest problems and most comprehensive dogmas of theology, are intimately connected.1 However, the doctrine of the Trinity was later formed because the Catholic Church settled on it's dogma that Jesus is fully God. The Catholic Church decided on it's final formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity in the late 4th century. It was that God, also called the Godhead, is one ousia (substance or essence) consisting of three co-equal and coeternal hypostases (subsistences, similar to beings): God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Church officially made belief in this doctrine essential for acquiring salvation. That is, if you did not believe in the doctrine of the Trinityor, more specifically, after having known about it you refused to believe it, or after having believed it you disbelieved itthe Church deemed that you

were not a genuine Christian. 2 This dogma sustained throughout the Protestant Reformation and remains the official teaching in all mainline church denominations to the present. That is why eminent Presbyterian, systematic theologian A.A. Hodge could assert, it is essential to salvation to believe in the three persons in one Godhead.3 Yet Hodge wrote in the same volume, A church has no right to make anything a condition of membership which Christ has not made a condition of salvation.4Did Jesus Christ make belief in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons in one Godhead a requirement for salvation? Chapter and verse, please! The deity of Christ is not the foundation of the doctrine of the Trinity. And without it, the doctrine of the Trinity collapses. Nathaniel Micklem even questions if it is legitimate to speak of the doctrine of the Trinity, as if there is and always has been only one. He informs, There are many doctrines of the Trinity. Then he cites a few, including those of Augustine, Abelard, L. Hodgson, Karl Barth, and Paul Tillich, showing that they all differ greatly. 6 Of course, church denominations have identified the doctrine of the Trinity as the one the Catholic Church deemed official in the 4th century and thus have endorsed it as the correct one. 2

Historical Development No matter who you listen to, the doctrine of the Trinity has proven to be the most technical and complex teaching in the history of church dogma. To assess it, we need to review briefly its historical development, which occurred in the following stages: 1st century: Advocating a strict Jewish monotheism, that God is one (Person or Being), so that only the Father is God. Thus, Jesus Christ is not identified as God. 2nd century: God is two un-equal Persons the Father and His inferior Logos-Son. Jesus Christ temporally preexisted as the Logos-Son prior to His incarnation as man. 3rd century: God is two un-equal Persons the Father and His inferior Logos-Son. But the Father generates the Logos-Son to become an eternally preexisting Peron. Early 4th century: God is two co-equal and co-eternal Persons: the Father and the Son. So far, nothing has been decided about the constitution of the Holy Spirit. Late 4th century: God is three co-equal and co-eternal Personsthe Father, the Son, and the Holy Spiritand all three members of this Trinity share the same substance.

So, the final formula of the doctrine of the Trinity did not obtain until the late 4th century. This prolonged, historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity raises serious questions. Why would it take so long for such a supposedly important doctrine to be discovered from the revered books and letters that became the NT? Doesnt such a lengthy period of development undermine its credibility? And how can Trinitarians claim that all professing Christians must believe this doctrine in order to be saved, since all generations of Christians prior to its final formulation in the late 4th century had never heard of it? No Biblical Basis For the Word Trinity The word Trinity is not in the Bible. Church father Tertullian coined it in 192 C.E. Many people ask, Why all the fuss about a word that isnt even in the Bible? We learned in Chapter Two what a fuss there was about the word homoousios in the Nicene Creed, which is not in the Greek NT either. Distinguished NT grammarian Nigel Turner, although a staunch Trinitarian, admits, Most of the distortions and dissensions which have vexed the Church have arisen through the insistence of sects and sections of the Christian community upon using words which are not found in the New

Testament.7Amazingly, neither is the word Trinity in any of the early ecumenical creeds. 1 P. Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 2 See also Chapter Four/Is the Trinity in Genesis?/ Man in the Image of God. 3 Archibald Alexander Hodge, Outlines of Theology (London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1886) 4 A.A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology 5 G.W.H. Lampe, God as Spirit, 225. 6 Nathaniel Micklem, Ultimate Questions (Nashville: Abington, 1955), 135. 7 Nigel Turner, Christian Words (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1980), viii. 8 H. Kung, Christianity: Essence, History, and Future, 94 95. Emphasis his. 1Many distinguished Christian scholars now acknowledge that the doctrine of the Trinity is not biblical and does not represent primitive Christianity. Roman Catholic Hans Kung, one of the most celebrated theologians in the world for the past several decades, asks concerning the NT, Why is there never talk of the triune God?... throughout the NT, while there is belief in God the Father, in Jesus the Son and in Gods Holy Spirit, there is no doctrine of one

God in three persons no doctrine of a triune God, a Trinity. 8 He further observes, If 3 4 The most well-known biblical formulation that brings together the so-called three members of the Trinity is in Matthew 28:19. It has been the Catholc Churchs most popular baptismal formula. Yet most contemporary Trinitarian scholars now admit that all of these above passages only mention the Father, the Son, and the (Holy) Spirit without substantiating their Trinity doctrine. Thus, many of them would agree with V. Taylors assessment that the Trinity is not an express New Testament doctrine.142 1 P. Schaff, History of the Christian Church 14 V. Taylor, The Person of Christ 15 J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds 16 Johannes Schneider, theos, in NIDNTT 17 D.A. Carson, Matthew, Many Trinitarian scholars concede that their doctrine represents no more than a deduction from Scripture. J.N.D. Kelly says of the NT, Explicit Trinitarian confessions are few and far between; where they do occur, little can be built upon them. 15 Johannes Schneider admits, The NT does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity.16 And staunch Trinitarian D.A. Carson concedes, Individually these texts do not prove there is

any Trinitarian consciousness in the NT, since other threefold-phrases occur.17 In the past, Trinitarians identified the three members of the Trinity as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and they further denominated them as the first member of the Trinity, the second member of the Trinity, and the third member of the Trinity, respectively. But most contemporary Trinitarian scholars have abandoned these numerical designations since they imply rank and thus varying levels of dignity, concepts which seem to contradict their co-equality. Yet these Trinitarians continue the traditional arrangement and rarely if ever alter it, a practice that also implies rank. Notice that none of the eight passages cited above follow this fixed order. Instead, the supposed three members of the Trinity are arranged in five different orders in which God, who is the Father, is mentioned in the first position in only two of these eight passages. Contradictory, Confusing, and Incomprehensible So, the primary scriptural argument against the doctrine of the Trinity is that neither the word T/trinity nor its meaning are found anywhere in Scripture, but only that the

Father, Son, and (Holy) Spirit are occasionally mentioned together. The primary philosophical argument against Trinitarianism is that it postulates an abstract, tri-personal Godhead, a concept that is contrary to Nature. This Trinitarian God is not even reckoned as a Person. 5 6 President Lincoln was asked why he had never joined a church. Being a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln replied, Its because I cant understand their creeds. One wonders if he had in mind mostly Trinitarianism. Lincoln came from the region where the antiTrinitarian Christian Church denomination was centered. Many Trinitarians, both clergy and laity, insist that their doctrine is so complex that it is best to believe it and leave it. They mean, leave it only for scholars to discuss. Trinitarians have a famous ditty that can strike fear into the heart of most any Trinitarian who might be considering arguments for the implausibility of their doctrine. It is this: Try to explain the doctrine of the Trinity and youll lose your mind. But try to deny it and youll lose your soul.22 22 Cited by Millard J. Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, ed. L. Arnold Hustad (Grand Rapids: Baker, Seminary, 1992), 105. According to Lewis Sperry Chafer (Systematic Theology, 8 vols. [Dallas: Dallas Theological Seminary, 1947], 1:288), Robert South (Works, 2:184) penned the original as follows: As he

that denies it may lose his soul; so he that too much strives to understand it may lose his wits. The Restitution of the True Doctrine of God, Even the Lord Jesus Christ by the Scriptures The Oneness of the Godhead is the basic fundamental doctrine of the Bible. I hope by the time you finish reading this page; you will understand there is but One God. First, we will begin with a few Scriptures. Exo 20:3 KJV Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Deu 6:4 KJV Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Isa 7:14 KJV Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isa 9:6 KJV 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isa 40:18 KJV To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Isa 40:25 KJV To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Isa 41:4 KJV Who hath wrought and done it,

calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. Isa 41:14 KJV Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Isa 41:20 KJV That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Isa 42:8 KJV I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Isa 43:3 KJV For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Isa 43:10-15 KJV 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. 13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? 14 Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the

Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Isa 44:6 KJV Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Isa 44:8 KJV Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. Isa 44:24 KJV Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; Isa 45:5 KJV I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: Isa 45:11-15 KJV 11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. 12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. 14 Thus saith the LORD, The

labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. 15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. Isa 45:18 KJV For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Isa 45:21-23 KJV 21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Isa 46:5 KJV To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? Isa 46:9-11 KJV 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I

am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. Isa 47:4 KJV As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Isa 48:12-13 KJV 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. Isa 48:17 KJV Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. Mal 2:10 KJV Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Mat 1:21-23 KJV 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child,

and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Mar 12:29 KJV And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Joh 1:1 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Joh 1:14 KJV 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. Joh 10:30 KJV I and my Father are one. 2Co 5:19 KJV To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Gal 3:20 KJV Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Eph 4:4-6 KJV 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Phi 2:6-11 KJV 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in

fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Col 1:15 KJV Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Col 2:8-10 KJV 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 1Ti 2:5 KJV For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1Ti 3:16 KJV And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Tit 2:13 KJV Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Heb 1:1-4 KJV God, who at sundry times and in

divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Jam 2:19 KJV Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 1Jo 2:20 KJV But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 1Jo 5:20 KJV And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Rev 1:8 KJV I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I know there are some that will say, "what about Genesis 1:26"? This next section is for you. "And God said, Let us make man in our image." Genesis 1:26 Why does this verse use a plural pronoun for God? Before we answer this, let us note that the Bible uses singular

pronouns to refer to God hundreds of times. The very next verse uses the singular to show how God fulfilled verse 26: "So God created man in his own image" (Genesis 1:27). Any interpretation of Genesis 1:26 that permits the existence of more than one person of God runs into severe difficulties. Isaiah 44:24 says the Lord created the heavens alone and created the earth by Himself. There was only one creator according to malachi 2:10. Since Genesis 1:26 cannot mean two or more persons in the Godhead, What does it mean? The Jews have traditionally interpreted it to mean that God talked to the angels at creation. this does not imply that the angels actually took part in creation but that God informed them of his plans and solicited their comments out of courtesy and respect. On at least one other occasion God talked to the angels and requested their opinions in formulating his plans (1 Kings 22:19-22). We do know that the angels were present at the creation (Job 38:47). Other commentators have suggested that Genesis 1:26 simply describes God as he counseled with his own will. Ephesians 1:11 supports this view, saying that God works all things "after the counsel of his will." By analogy, this is similar to a man saying "Let's see" (let us see) even when he is planning by himself.

I do not say that there is not a Father, Son, or Holy Ghost. I'm stating that there is but one God who has occupied three offices. If you look at man who was created in the image God you will find a body, a mind, and a soul. There are three different elements that make up mankind but we are still only one individual. The same principal applies to an egg, if we look at an egg we only see one egg. But what about the shell, the white, or the yolk. Are they considered different from the egg its-self. No, of course not. What about myself, I am a father, a son, and a minister, but I am only one person not three separate individuals. Just as there is only one God and his name is JESUS.