“For there are three that bear record in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 Jn 5:7 KJV).
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the two most contested doctrines in Scripture; the other being the doctrine of the deity of Jesus. Critics of the Trinity doctrine say that because it took centuries to develop, being incompletely defined in the First Council of Nicaea (325 CE), and finalised in the First Council of Constantinople (381 CE) during which the Holy Spirit was fully defined, that the doctrine couldn’t be divine revelation; therefore, it is a human construct.
But most Christians don’t believe in the Trinity because of what the Creeds say and how they define it; we believe in the Trinity because the revelation IS found in Scripture, albeit in disparate verses and passages scattered throughout the New Testament.
There are so many of these texts in the Bible that give insight and clarity to the role and importance of the Holy Spirit, without any reference to a creed. Some of these are listed below:
The Trinity
1 John 5:7: The clearest statement of the doctrine, is known as the Johannine Comma. It is a highly controversial passage and is only found today in the KJV and NKJV which are based on the Textus Receptus, the best exemplar of the Byzantine text-type. Although scholars claim that the Critical Texts based on the Alexandrian text-type, which are physically older than the Byzantine, the Byzantine readings are older still. For example, Cyprian (early 3rd century), clearly had a Byzantine manuscript from which he quoted the Johannine Comma (1 Jn 5:7); this was about two centuries before the oldest extant Alexandrian texts used for our modern bibles. This one reading is sufficient to refute the Critical Text advocates; and the Johannine Comma still stands.
Without this passage, those which mention the three Divine Persons together in other passages (Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14) has been stretched by unbelieving scholars to mean that just because they are mentioned together in one breath, so to speak, doesn’t mean they are saying that the Three are One. But in the light and clarity of 1 John 5:17, these other verses confirm that which John wrote.
John 16:7-11: Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a Helper. In this passage, he is both sent by Jesus and he comes to the believer. And when he comes, he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Therefore, he has agency and intelligence, which concepts are abstract; a mere influence cannot comprehend them (or anything else); and cannot convict or help or intercede for anyone. This can only be done by an intelligent being. “Being sent” and “coming” necessarily entails intelligence, not merely an “active force” (Watch Tower).
Furthermore, in this passage, Jesus says he will send the Spirit (16:7), but in Jn 14:26, Jesus says it is the Father who sends him. This not only confirms the filioque was rightly added to the Nicene Creed by the Western Church, but reveals and confirms the Unity of essence of the three Divine Persons. (The Eastern or Orthodox churches insist that only the Father sends the Spirit).
In John 14:26, the Holy Spirit is shown to be Divine and of one essence with the Father and the Son. This finds support in 1 Corinthians 2:12, where Paul says the Spirit is sent by God – Jesus said that he himself sends the Spirit, and that the Father sends the Spirit; putting these verses side by side confirms that the three Divine Persons are of one essence and therefore one God.
In Rev 1:4-5 the Three Divine Persons are spoken of as One – verse 4 mentions the Father and the Holy Spirit, and verse 5 mentions the God-man Jesus Christ, thus identifying that they are each of the same essence as the Father in their depiction of God.
Genesis 1:2: The Holy Spirit was there at creation with God the Father and God the Son. Each Divine Person had a different role but they all worked together to create the universe.
The Son
There is a multitude of verses which state the deity of Jesus:
John 1:1 says that the Word (the Son or Jesus) “was with God, and the Word was God”. In verse 14 we’re told that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us as a true human being. Verse 18 tells us that he was the Son, the Son of God, or God, among a number of different readings, depending on which bible version you choose. See also 1 John 1:1-4.
Paul also tells us that God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16 KJV/NKJV); but liberal scholarship insists that (a), the word “God” is not in the Greek text, so they don’t include it in the English text; and (b) the Pastoral Epistles – 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus – weren’t written by Paul anyway. But both of these are a common ploy they use to dismiss those texts which prove too much and demand obedience to the Truth (see Jn 3:19-21; Jn 8:47; 1 Cor 2:14; Rom 8:14).
In the Revelation, the risen Jesus claims equality with the Father by using titles of Jehovah to describe himself. But, for the same reasons given in the previous paragraph, you won’t find them in the modern bible versions.
For example, “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” (Rev 1:8 KJV).
Compare “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’” (NIV), and you’ll see Jesus’ claim to deity wiped away completely.
In this verse, the KJV shows that Jesus is applying Jehovah’s claim (Isa 41:4; 44:6; 48:12) to himself. The context of Rev ch 1 is that it is Jesus speaking to John, and he repeats his claim to equality with Jehovah (vs 11, 17).
But the matter is finally settled when both the Byzantine and Alexandrian texts agree: “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Rev 22:12-13 NIV). Jesus is of the same essence as Jehovah; Jesus is God.
The letter to the Hebrews sets forth the deity of Jesus in chapter 1 and his true humanity in chapter 2.
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power….For to which of the angels did He ever say: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’? And again: ‘I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son’? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.’ But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’ And: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.’ But to which of the angels has He ever said: ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’?”
This passage states the equality of the Son to the Father; the deity of Jesus; that being begotten by God signifies deity; that being the express image of God signifies his deity and not just having God’s characteristics and attributes without actually being God. And Jehovah actually addresses the Son as being God: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness”. (NKJV)
There are many more such passages but if these given are not enough for you, you won’t be convinced by more of the same.
The Holy Spirit
- John 14:26: Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit teaches and brings to our remembrance everything he (Jesus) told the Church. Only an intelligent being can do these things.
- Acts 8:29: This verse shows that the Holy Spirit not only speaks, indicating his intelligence and personality, but also commands. This an active force cannot do.
- Acts 13:2: Again, the Holy Spirit speaks and gives commands to the Church.
- Acts 5: 1-10): Here we see the Holy Spirit is actually said to be God (Acts 5:4), having intelligence and discernment because he can be lied to; and morality and individuality, because they tried to tempt him.
- Acts 15:28: The Spirit makes decisions.
- John 16:13: He is a person
- John 16:14: He glorifies Jesus
- Ephes 4:30: The Holy Spirit can be grieved
- Heb 10:29: The Spirit can be outraged
- 1 Cor 12:11: The Spirit gives spiritual gifts
- Rom 8:26-27: He intercedes for us
I want to acknowledge and thank my Adventist friend for inspiring me to re-think the Trinity and reminding me of the scriptures which confirm the doctrine, many of which are in this article. Without her gentle and patient counsel, this article would never have been written, and I would be apostate.