The Doctrine of the Trinity
The Doctrine of the Trinity
The World English Bible (“WEB”) is in the public domain. The rest of this lesson is copyrighted by David W. Biggs.
The church has developed the doctrine of the Trinity as the church’s way to reconcile the following Biblical truths:
There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6).
Isaiah 44:6 says:
“This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: I am the first, and the last; and besides me there in no God.” (WEB).
Another way of saying God is the first and the last is by saying he is the Alpha and Omega. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the book of Revelation both God the Father, and God the Son are called the first and the last, and the Alpha and Omega.
The Bible says about God the Father in Revelation 1:8: “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” (WEB).
Revelation 11:17 refers to God as the one who is and who was.
Revelation 22:11 refers to Jesus as the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
2. The Father of Jesus is God (John 3:16).
John 3:16 says:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (WEB).
This verse teaches us that God the Father is distinct from God’s Son. Yet we see in John 1:1 that not only is God the Father God, but also God the Son.
3. Jesus is God. In John 1:1 Jesus is called God’s Word. See John 1:14 where the Word is identified with the Son of God. John 1:14 says: “The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (WEB).
Jesus as the Word of God was with God the Father in the beginning and Jesus was God. John 1:1 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (WEB). In John 20: 28 Jesus is worshipped as God.
Jesus came from heaven not to do his own will but the will of God the Father who sent him (John 6:38).
God the Father is the source of all things and Jesus is the means of all things (1 Corinthians 8:6). Jesus is not just a god, but God because he created all things (John 1: 1-3).
5. The Holy Spirit has divine qualities. He is eternal (Hebrews 9:14) and yet is distinct from the Father and Son (John 16:5-15).
6. The Holy Spirit is almost indistinguishable from the Father and Son in other Bible passages (Rom. 8: 9-11). God the Father is Spirit and is to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth (John 4: 21-24). This clearly shows God the Father is Spirit. In Matthew 10:20 Christians arrested for their faith will be given a defense and it will be the Spirit of God the Father that will speak in them. However, in a parallel passage in Luke 12:12 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach them what they should say. The distinction if any is that in Luke the Holy Spirit teaches them what to say and in Matthew it is God the Father’s Spirit that is speaking in them. The Old Testament talks of the Spirit of the LORD (or Yahweh) as though it is referring to God the Father’s Spirit but in some passages in the New Testament some of these passages is referring to the Holy Spirit as a distinct person from God the Father. For example, in the Old Testament book of Joel, God says he will pour out his spirit upon all flesh. From the Old Testament perspective, it appears this is referring to God the Father’s Spirit (Joel 2:28-29). This passage is quoted in Acts 2: 16-18. However, in the context of Acts 2, it is the Holy Spirit who was poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4).
7. The Holy Spirit points beyond himself to God the Son (John 16:5-15, note especially verse 14).
8. Jesus commanded baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20).
9. The Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son. God the Son is subordinate to God the Father. God is the head of Christ just as Christ is the head of every man and man is the head of a woman (1 Cor. 11:3). Although a woman is subject to her husband, the man and woman are equal before God. Although Jesus is subordinate to God the Father in authority, he is God’s equal because he too is God. Christ will submit to God at the end of the world after God has submitted all things to Christ, except for himself, so God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). Yet Jesus will co reign with God the Father in heaven. Revelation 11:15. Jesus came not to do his own will but the will of the Father who sent him (John 6:38). The Holy Spirit does not point to himself but points to Jesus (John 16:5-15, note especially verse 14).
10. We are to pray to God the Father (Matthew 6:9). We are told to worship the Father and the Son (John 6:38). We are never told in scripture to worship the Holy Spirit. However, worship includes the idea of serving. We worship the Holy Spirit not by singing praises to him but by obeying him and walking in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25). However, since the Holy Spirit is also God, it is not improper to worship him.
There is a unity of purpose, will, and work between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father is our Savior (Titus 2:4). Jesus is our Savior (Titus 2:13, Titus 3:6). The Holy Spirit is our Savior (Titus 3:5). Jesus came to do God the Father’s will. Jesus never opposes God the Father’s will. The Holy Spirit speaks of Jesus and not himself. All springs from God the Father’s will.
Titus 3:4-7 says: “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (WEB).
In this passage God the Father is called our Savior (Titus 3:4). Salvation is through the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). The Holy Spirit is poured out through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:6).
To do:
Memorize Titus 3:4-7.