Is the Trinity Biblical? A Clear Look at Scripture

The Origin of the Trinity

What is the doctrine of the Trinity? It is more than merely to invoke “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” The doctrine of the Trinity is about the nature of the connection between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

To offer a definition: The doctrine of the Trinity is the belief that one God exists eternally as three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who share the same divine essence.

The origin of the doctrine of the Trinity can be found in the “Christological” controversies of the fourth century A.D. At issue was the exact nature of Christ. One side was championed by Athanasius, who held that Jesus was, in fact, God. On the other side was Arius, who said that Jesus was the Son of God and a created being.  

Each man represented beliefs that were widely held in the Church at the time. The Roman emperor, Constantine, worried that this doctrinal conflict in the Church would create chaos across his empire and convened a council of bishops at Nicaea in 325 A.D. to resolve the issue.

The atmosphere at the council was marked by political pressure as well as theological disagreement. It had become both a political and a religious conflict. It was an acrimonious gathering. Constantine’s presence and influence added political pressure to the proceedings.

What resulted was theology by committee—not an ideal situation. Those bishops who refused the resulting creed were exiled and excommunicated. The decision of the council became the official doctrine of the Church and was enforced throughout much of the Roman Empire.

The creed produced at Nicaea read in part, 

“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things, visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father….” 

(The Nicene Creed, 325, as cited in Percival, 1900)

However, even with Nicaea, the doctrine of the Trinity was not yet fully formed. It would be developed and refined over the coming centuries.

Further church councils—including Constantinople (381) and Chalcedon (451)—continued refining the Church’s understanding of the nature of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Is the Trinity biblical? The doctrine was formed by the Church councils and creeds of the fourth century and later. This was hundreds of years after the Apostles and the New Testament. The origin of the Trinity is not to be found in the Bible, but in the later Church councils and creeds.

One or Three?

Even if the doctrine of the Trinity originated outside the biblical period, a person might still argue that the councils merely confirmed the biblical witness. We must be careful, then, to compare the Trinity with the actual words of the Bible.  

The belief that “one God exists in three persons” opens the trinitarian position to the charge of “tritheism,” or the belief in three gods. Trinitarians are forced to walk a fine line between the belief in one God and the belief in three persons.  

In reality, it may not be possible to have it both ways for the Trinity strains to sound like true monotheism. Even Jewish and Muslim theologians have historically found it hard to understand how the Christian Trinity is a belief in one God.

One of the foundational teachings in Scripture is that God is one. Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (ESV) sets the tone: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” In a world filled with idols and false gods, this was a bright shining revelation: There is only one God. This is a non-negotiable truth.  

Jesus himself confirmed the centrality of this truth in Mark 12:28–30 (ESV). Jesus was asked, “What is the first of all?” Jesus responded with those very words from Deuteronomy 6:4–5.

The Apostle Paul confirmed that God was indeed one. For instance, in Ephesians 4:6 (ESV), he wrote, “One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”  In 1 Corinthians 8:6 (ESV), Paul emphatically contrasted the faith of the Church to the polytheism of Roman culture, “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things.”  

Jesus, the Apostles, and the Bible writers had ample space to educate and to enlighten.  Yet, they all held to the simplicity of one God. Nowhere did they explain to us that “one” really meant “three in one.” They never had that conversation.   

I believe the Apostles were unaware of the doctrine later known as the Trinity. One meant one. Later generations introduced a more complex theological issue, complicating our understanding of the nature of God and Christ.

Is Jesus God?

Is Jesus God?  

Trinitarian or not, every Christian acknowledges that Jesus Christ was a real person. He walked the earth. He did miracles. He spoke the truth of God. He was crucified and was raised on the third day.  

While not denying the historical reality of Jesus, the doctrine of the Trinity insists that Jesus was God incarnate. Though appearing to all eyes as a man, he was, in fact, God.  

However, what does the Bible say? What did Jesus say about himself? Jesus, though a faithful servant and Son, understood his identity to be distinct from God.  

Jesus prayed to God.

In John 17:3 (NASB1995), he prayed, “This is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Jesus prayed to God, his superior. Jesus addressed God as the “only true God” (echoes of Deuteronomy 6:4–5).  

Jesus called God his God.

In John 20:17 (ESV), Jesus anticipated his ascension. He said, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” Jesus’ Father is God. Our God is also his God. 

Jesus submits his will to God.

Jesus was also keenly aware that he had been sent on a mission by God Himself. He subordinates himself to the One who sent him. In John 5:30 (NASB1995), Jesus said, “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgement is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Jesus has his own will, but he submits to the will of God. Again, Jesus portrays himself as having a different identity from God.  

This is also obvious in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was agonizing over his coming betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion. He again prayed to God (demonstrating subordination to God who is His Father) in Matthew 26:39 (NASB1995), “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not I as I will, but as You will.” Jesus has his will, and God has His will. And, Jesus submits himself to God’s will.  

Jesus doesn’t have full knowledge. God’s knowledge is complete.

Jesus, by his own admission, also lacked the omniscience of God. Regarding the timing of the second coming, Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 (NIV), “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Jesus lacked the knowledge reserved only for God, his Father.

Jesus was tempted. God cannot be tempted.

Also, consider the words of James 1:13 (NIV), “For God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” So, God cannot be tempted. Compare this to Hebrews 4:15 (NASB1995), which reads, “For we do not have a high priest [Jesus, in the context] who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” God cannot be tempted, but Jesus was tempted in all ways.  

Jesus’ authority was limited. God’s authority is supreme. 

In one final example, Jesus, after his resurrection, proclaimed to his disciples in Matthew 28:18 (NASB1995), “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth.” Jesus did not have this authority until it was given to him by God.  

Jesus did not have to be God to accomplish what he did. He was fulfilling the expectations of the Bible as the Christ, the one anointed by God with power and authority.

Is the Trinity Biblical?  

The word itself does not appear in the Bible.  

The origin of the doctrine is long after the time of the New Testament.  

The doctrine contradicts the foundational biblical principle that God is one.  

Finally, Jesus, according to the New Testament, has an identity that is distinct from God, his Father.  

Therefore, we conclude that the doctrine of the Trinity is not biblical.

Sources: 

Percival, H. R. (Ed.). (1900). The seven ecumenical councils (P. Schaff & H. Wace, Eds., Nicene and post-Nicene fathers, 2nd ser., Vol. 14). Christian Literature Publishing Co.