Is God a Trinity?


Download Booklet

Adobe PDF Format (.pdf)
Electronic Publication Format (.epub)
Mobipocket Format (.mobi)

 

Find on other sites

Apple iBook (iPad, iPod)
Barnes and Noble (Nook, Nook Color)
Amazon (Kindle)

Is God a Trinity? The Trinity is one of mainstream Christianity’s most widely accepted and revered doctrines. The belief that God is three persons coexisting in one being or substance, as the doctrine is often defined, is held by millions of Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox believers alike. What is the truth?

 

Contents:

Introduction

Even though it's one of mainstream Christianity's most widely accepted and revered doctrines, theologians admit that the Trinity is largely incomprehensible. 

Is the Trinity Biblical?

Surely a teaching as widespread and popular as the Trinity is scriptural, isn't it? Yet time and again, theologians and researchers admit it isn't found in the Bible. 

The Surprising Origins of the Trinity Doctrine

Few understand how the Trinity doctrine came to be accepted - several centuries after the Bible was completed! Yet its roots go back much farther in history.

Greek Philosophy's Influence on the Trinity Doctrine

Many historians and religious scholars, some quoted in this publication, attest to the influence of Greek or Platonic philosophy in the development and acceptance of the Trinity doctrine in the fourth century. But what did such philosophy entail, and how did it come to affect the doctrine of the Trinity?

How Ancient Trinitarian Gods Influenced Adoption of the Trinity

Many who believe in the Trinity are surprised, perhaps shocked, to learn that the idea of divine beings existing as trinities or triads long predated Christianity. Yet, as we will see, the evidence is abundantly documented.

A Spurious Reference to the Trinity Added in 1 John 5:7-8 

Some Bible translators of past centuries were so zealous to find support for their belief in the Trinity in the Scriptures that they literally added it. A case in point is 1 John 5:7-8.

How Is God Revealed in the Bible?

A true understanding of God comes from only one source - God's revelation to mankind, the Bible. What does it reveal about God the Father and Jesus Christ?

Jesus Was Sent by the Father

The preexistent Word, who later became Jesus Christ, was sent to earth by the Father in heaven. The Gospel of John bears record to this truth many times.

Jesus Christ: "The Rock" of the Old Testament

The apostle Paul affirms that the God the Israelites of the Old Testament knew - the One they looked to as their "Rock" of strength (see Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:2) - was the One we know as Jesus Christ.

The Apostles Understood Jesus to Be the Creator

The book of Hebrews speaks of the Son of God as the Being through whom God created the worlds (Hebrews 1:2) and who "sustains all things by his powerful word" (verse 3, NRSV). Only God is great enough to do such things.

Did Jesus Christ Claim to Be God?

In addition to directly claiming in John 8:58 to be the "I AM" and having a Jewish crowd try to stone Him as a result (verse 59), as explained in this chapter, Jesus equated Himself with Yhwh of the Old Testament in other ways as well. Let's notice some of these.

"In the Beginning Was the Word"

The apostle John opens his account of the life of Jesus Christ with this declaration: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made . . . And the Word became 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" (John 1:1-3, 14).

The Claim of Jesus' Disciples

The statements of those who personally knew and were taught by Jesus, and who then wrote most of the New Testament, are thoroughly consistent with Jesus' declarations about Himself.

"There Is One God, the Father...and One Lord, Jesus Christ"

A number of scriptural passages identify Jesus Christ as God along with God the Father. Yet some contend that the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 denied the divinity of Christ in applying the distinction God exclusively to the Father. Let's consider what Paul was actually saying here - and what he wasn't.

God's Plan to "Bring Many Sons to Glory"

The Father and Jesus have, from the beginning, planned to increase Their kind. The "God kind" is a family! It is headed by the Father and now consists of the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:14-15 mentions "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named."

Jesus Christ's Submission to the Father

The apostle Paul, in Philippians 2, says that Jesus was willing to voluntarily surrender His awesome godly power and position for our sakes, telling us: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped [i.e., tightly held onto and not let go of], but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:5-8, NIV).

How Is God One?

Scripture tells us that "the Lord our God, the Lord is one"—from which some believe three persons exist as one God. But is this really what the Bible reveals?

"The Lord Our God, the Lord Is One"

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" This simple declaration by Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4, beginning what is now commonly referred to as the Shema (pronounced sh'MAH, Hebrew for "Hear"), has caused considerable consternation to many who try to understand who and what God is.

Seven Scriptures That Debunk the Trinity as a Single Being

The following seven scriptures show the fallacy of claiming that the Father and the Son are one being as the Trinity teaching asserts. How can one reconcile belief in the Trinity with these simple questions?

Elohim: The Plurality of God

Throughout Scripture we come back to the reality that God has chosen to express His personal nature in terms of a family relationship. Elohim is the Hebrew word translated "God" in every passage of Genesis 1 as well as in more than 2,000 places throughout the Old Testament.

Is the Holy Spirit a Person?

Many assume the Holy Spirit is a third divine person in the Trinity, along with the Father and the Son. But a closer look at the Bible reveals problems with this view.

Does Matthew 28:19 Prove the Trinity?

Matthew 28:19 is a biblical passage sometimes misunderstood with regard to the Trinity doctrine. Jesus is quoted as telling His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in ['into,' Greek eis] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Why the Holy Spirit Is Sometimes Incorrectly Referred to as "He" and "Him"

Many people assume that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, like the Father and Jesus Christ, based on references to the Spirit as "he," "him" and "himself" in the New Testament. This confusion arises from two factors—the use of gender-inflected pronouns in the Greek language (a difficult concept to understand for those who speak only English) and bias on the part of some translators.

What About Passages That "Prove" the Trinity?

Some people, seeking to buttress their belief in the Trinity, point to a number of biblical passages that supposedly show Father, Son and Holy Spirit operating together as a Trinity. But do these passages really show that? We must be sure to read exactly what these verses do say and what they don't say, and not read into them our own mistaken assumptions.

The Holy Spirit: God's Transforming Power

Contrary to Trinitarian teaching, Scripture reveals the Holy Spirit not as a person, but as something much different - the divine power through which God acts.

How to Stir Up God's Spirit

The apostle Paul admonished members in one of the churches he started, "Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19). He also urged the young evangelist Timothy: "Stir up [rekindle into flame] the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

God's Nature and Character

In any discussion about who and what God is, we must not lose sight of the most important truth about God—that God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are Beings of infinite love. John perfectly summarized Their divine character and nature when he wrote that "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16).

God's Purpose for You

Why were you born? Do you understand why you exist? The Trinity doctrine obscures the amazing truth, clearly revealed in Scripture, of God’s purpose for you!

The Likeness of God

In Genesis 1:26, God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness"—the plural "Us" and "Our" denoting both God the Father and the Word who would later be born in the flesh as Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3, 14). What is meant by God's image and likeness here?

Do Some Verses Deny a Divine Family?

As this booklet explains, the Bible reveals that the one God is a family, presently consisting of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. And God is in the process of adding to the divine family multitudes of others - eventually all human beings who are willing and who faithfully choose to follow God's way.

The God Family

Scripture clearly states that there is only one God (Isaiah 46:9; Malachi 2:10; Romans 3:30; James 2:19). Nevertheless, it is evident that the one God comprises more than one Being existing together as a divine family (compare Ephesians 3:14-15)—of which the human family is a physical type or model.

More Information


This post has favorited 5 times

Download All Booklets

Download all 34 booklets to your computer or mobile device. Choose from the following formats:

Download PDF format - (29MB .zip file)

Download ePUB format - (14MB .zip file)

Download Mobi format - (20MB .zip file)

About the ebook formats...

The ePUB booklets can be read on several types of ebook readers and tablets, including the Apple iPad (iPhone & iPod Touch) Barnes & Nobles Nook (Nook Color), Samsung Galaxy Tab (using Kobo) and Sony Reader.

The Mobi booklets can be read on e-readers and mobile devices (phones), including the Amazon Kindle , Cybook, iRex Digital Reader, iLiad, Hanlin and BeBook. Download the Mobipocket Reader for mobile phones (Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian & Palm operating systems).

 

Ebook FAQ Help...

Ebooks available for Barnes & Noble Nook or Amazon Kindle

Add ebooks (Mobi) to my Amazon Kindle

Add ebooks (ePub) to my Apple device

© 1995-2012 United Church of God, an International Association | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@ucg.org. Send inquiries regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster@ucg.org.



X
You may login with either your assigned username or your e-mail address.
The password field is case sensitive.
Loading