The doctrine of the Trinity maintains that God is one God in three Persons. It is one of the most confusing and contentious beliefs in evangelical Christianity. The Trinitarian view has drawn the scorn of numerous critics of Christianity, and even from some who consider themselves Christian.
The Trinity in the Bible
While the word “Trinity” appears nowhere in the Bible, the apostle John wrote in his first epistle that “there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (I John 5:7).
Of course, with the advent of textual biblical criticism, a majority of biblical scholars have called the authenticity of I John 5:7 into question, pointing out that most of the Greek manuscripts do not contain this verse. Personally, I consider the Textus Receptus (“Received Text”) tradition credible and trustworthy, but…
Even if I John 5:7 is set aside, the doctrine of the Trinity can still be inferred from other passages.
One of the most striking manifestations of the Trinity is the account of Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23).
Additional examples include:
- “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)
- The author of the Gospel of John describes Jesus as “the Word” and writes that the “Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1)
- There are numerous references to the “Spirit of God” in the Scriptures — references that indicate a distinct member of the Godhead. One example: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2)
- In the Great Commission, Jesus ties all three together, instructing his disciples to baptize new believers “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Is the Trinity Logical?
Critics of the doctrine of the Trinity maintain that a Triune God smacks of polytheism and contradicts the way Jehovah is presented in the Old Testament. But the late Christian theologian Norman Geisler argued that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a contradiction.
Geisler wrote, “A contradiction occurs only when something is A and non-A at the same time and in the same sense. God is both three and one at the same time but not in the same sense. He is three persons but one in essence. He is three persons but only one in nature.” (Zacharias, Ravi and Geisler, Norman. Who Made God? And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).
The late great Christian thinker C.S. Lewis explained that the human mind often has a tough time grasping the Trinity because we are limited to one-dimensional experience. However, once we remove those limitations from our mind (or at least open ourselves up to the possibility of their removal), we begin to see reality in a different perspective. Lewis explains:
A world of one dimension would be a straight line. In a two-dimensional world, you still get straight lines, but many lines make one figure. In a three-dimensional world, you still get figures but many figures make one solid body. In other words, as you advance to more real and more complicated levels, you do not leave behind you the things you found on the simpler levels: you still have them, but combined in new ways – in ways you could not imagine if you knew only the simpler levels.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Ravi Zacharias has pointed out that the Trinity actually avoids the breaking of the Law of Non-Contradiction. How so? Well, the Bible presents God as a God of Love. How would this be possible if God were a singular Being with no one to love?
With the Trinity, one can appreciate the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each loved one another before the human race was created.
The doctrine of the Trinity remains a mystery. Even the staunchest advocate of the Trinity recognizes and acknowledges its mystery. Yet the Bible does present God in such a manner. Rejecting or ignoring the doctrine of the Trinity therefore puts one at odds with God’s revelation to us.
God is indeed Three in One.
