Scriptural Background
The word Trinity is not found in Scripture, but theconcept of the Trinity is clear in its accounts. It is an important doctrine of the Christian faith, advocating that God eternally exists as three persons. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God—but there is only one God. Because of our finite minds, this concept is impossible to fully understand
and/or explain. Let’s consider a few things.
There is only one God. “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 45:5). See also Isaiah 46:9; Galatians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 8:5–6.
All three persons of the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are called God. In Christ all the fullness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). The Holy Spirit and God are both referred to as God (Acts 5:3–4).
All three persons of the Trinity are eternal. God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2). The throne of the Son is forever and ever (Hebrews 1:8). The Spirit, too, is eternal (Hebrews 9:14).
All three persons of the Trinity are Creator. Genesis 1:1–3 clearly references that God and the Spirit of God were present at creation. John 1:1 –5 brings Christ—the second person of the Trinity—into the picture at creation. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through him. Colossians 1:15–17 again confirms that Jesus Christ is the
firstborn over all of creation. And by him all things were created. This passage also reiterates the eternality of Christ.
Historical/Apologetics Background
The Bible, while not using the term Trinity, plainly teaches that while there is but one true God, he consists of three separate yet equal persons—and all were present at creation. In fact, the term Trinity did not become a formal doctrine of the church, by name, until the fourth century. This fact has led to numerous debates over the origin of this word and its validity as a doctrine of Scripture.
Many teachers in the history of Christianity have twisted the concept of the Trinity. To misunderstand the nature and character of God is a serious problem. When this misunderstanding leads to a compromise in the true understanding of the gospel, the mistake can rightly be called a heresy—a doctrine that leads to damnation.
A brief look at some of the historical heresies built around the doctrine of the Trinity follows. In all cases they deny either the oneness of God, the distinction between the persons of the Trinity, or the full deity of one or more persons of the Godhead.
Modalism: This idea suggests that God acts in three different “modes” but is only one person. God appeared as the “Father” in the Old Testament, as “Jesus” in the earthly ministry, and as the “Spirit” in the present age. Presently, some Pentecostal groups hold to Modalism.
Arianism: Named for the fourth-century teacher Arius, this view teaches that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were created by God the Father. This idea was condemned at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
Adoptionism: This view teaches that Jesus was an ordinary man until, at his baptism, he was adopted by the Father and given supernatural powers and the status of “Son of God.” Some Unitarians hold this view today.
Unitarianism: This view holds that there is a single God with no distinct persons. Whether Jesus or the Father is God varies, but many present-day Unitarians reject the pre-existence of Jesus, insisting that he began to exist at the virgin birth.
Church councils were called to deal with mutations of the truth that were being spread in the early church. As a result, the doctrine of the Trinity was codified in the Nicene Creed in 325, and later in the Athanasian Creed. Both of these creeds are the basis of an orthodox understanding of the relationships within the Trinity. Even today we see how misunderstanding the Trinity can skew the gospel by denying the biblical understanding of atonement, justice, and the effect of Christ’s work on the cross.
We often hear people speak of God: God is good; God will answer our prayers; God is in control; God has a plan. Yet many of these same people seldom speak the name of Jesus Christ—and may not even believe that salvation comes through him alone. They deny and fail to understand the important doctrine of the Trinity—three persons in one God.
These people discount the significance of who Jesus is—that he is 100% fully God and 100% fully man. Specifically, there are many who claim that Jesus Christ was merely a man—a prophet; the first created being; a sinless, good person—but not God in human flesh. The significance of the doctrine of the Trinity eludes them. And yet, the New Testament is abundantly clear that Jesus is God. Jesus claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30–33); he used the title of “I AM”
from the Old Testament (John 8:23, 8:58); he demonstrated his power over nature, disease, demons, and death (Matthew 8); and he forgave sins—something only God can do (Mark 2:1–11). Upon seeing the resurrected Christ, Thomas
declared, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), and Jesus did not rebuke him but affirmed him for saying so. And finally, the Jewish leaders recognized Jesus’ claims to deity and tried to stone him for it (John 5:18, 8:59); ultimately they had him crucified for supposed blasphemy. Why is it important to believe trinitarian doctrine and specifically that Jesus is both God and man? Our very salvation requires it. The death of a mere man (no matter how noble) could not provide the purchase price required to redeem other men from their sins against an infinite God. But because Jesus is God, is eternal, and is infinite, he alone is able to satisfy the penalty for those sins by his death.
In addition, Jesus had to be fully human in order to redeem Adam’s fallen race—the human race. The substitutionary atonement required that Jesus Christ must die as a man to bear judgment for the sins of men. Only the God-man could bridge the gap and bring both God and man together. As a man, he lived a perfect life and is qualified to be our high priest and Savior (Hebrews 2:17, 7:24–28).
Many discussions surround this important doctrine and can cause division in the church. This is a mysterious doctrine that cannot be comprehended by the human mind. We know that God has revealed the primary truths of the Trinity in his Word. With that in mind, we must be willing to allow that there are secret things that belong to the Lord our God,
which have not been revealed (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Studying God’s Word
Introduction
? In our last lesson we discussed how we can prove that God exists. Does
the Bible try and prove God’s existence?
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? Do people already know God exists?
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We saw that people don’t necessarily need fancy proofs of God’s existence;
they need to hear God’s Word—that’s what will bring them to faith.
A couple weeks ago, we talked about the attributes of God. Well today,
we will examine another attribute of God—one that is very difficult to
wrap our minds around.
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The Father, the Son, and the Spirit All Created
The idea of the Godhead being three-in-one (triune)—the doctrine of the
Trinity—is not directly stated in Scripture, so we are going to look at how
the Bible presents this extremely important doctrine.
? Have you ever heard, or used, the analogy of the three states of water
to describe the Trinity to someone? Since water can exist in three different states at different temperatures
(i.e., ice, water, and steam), it seems like a helpful way to illustrate the
idea of the Trinity—that God is one, yet three. If I melt ice, it will
become liquid water. If I heat water in a saucepan or let it sit on
the counter, it will turn into a vapor. Yet it is still made up of two parts
hydrogen and one part oxygen, H2
O. As we continue through this lesson,
let’s think about that analogy and see if it holds up to the test of what is
recorded in Scripture. We’ll come back to this analogy later. The typical
explanation of this analogy comes across as the heresy of Modalism, but we’ll
explain how it can be rightly used later in the lesson.
Genesis 1:1–3
? Who are the characters mentioned in the passage?
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? What actions are ascribed to God and the Spirit?
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? When did this take place?
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? Who is responsible for creation?
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? What does the passage tell us about the nature of God?
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Remember that connecting various passages on a given topic is a critical
part of the inductive Bible study method.
Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3
Genesis 1:1–3 is not the only place that talks about creation. Let’s look at
three other passages that talk about creation: Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3,
and John 1:1–5.
?What connection do you see between these verses and Genesis 1:1–3?
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John 1:1–5
? What is the parallel between this passage and Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3,
and Genesis 1?
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Discover the Truth
None of these verses has stated that God is a Trinity. But as we look at
these verses, it should be clear that three distinct persons are involved in
the act of creation—God, the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit), and the Son (Jesus).
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God Is Three in One
This next passage we’re going to look at presents an interesting idea.
Isaiah 44:23–24
? What type of literature is this passage?
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? What features mark this passage as poetry?
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? What is God being praised for?
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? What has God done according to verse 24?
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? Who helped God perform these acts of creation?
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? In the previous set of verses, we concluded that three persons were
involved in creation. Does this verse contradict our previous conclusion?
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? Provide an explanation that reconciles these ideas?
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Colossians 1:15–17
? Who is the Creator according to the Colossians passage?
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? Who is the Creator of humans according to Psalm 104:30?
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? If we look at all of these passages together, what do they tell us about who
the Creator is—God the Father, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit?
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Discover the Truth
Although we have not encountered the word Trinity anywhere in the Scriptures we have looked at, I hope you can see the picture coming into focus. God is both one and three, but in different ways so that there is no contradiction. He is one God existing as three distinct persons. The Father is not the Son is not the Spirit, yet they are all the single God described as creating the universe. We have been examining this idea using the role of Creator, but many other roles and descriptions are ascribed to all three members of the Trinity. We might say that God the Father commanded the Son and the Spirit as the agents of creation.
Likewise, we could examine passages that describe the worship of each of the three persons, yet we are to worship only the one true God. We could examine passages that call all three persons eternal and that
attribute the resurrection of Jesus to all three persons. The doctrine ofthe Trinity is one that is constructed by looking at the whole Bible, and comparing Scripture with Scripture. When we do this, the text reveals one Godhead with three distinct persons.
? What is a passage in Scripture that would help us show that
there are indeed three members of the Godhead?
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The Baptism of Jesus
Let’s look at one last passage that shows the Trinity.
Matthew 3:13–17
This passage has a lot of implications for how we understand the
Trinity, but let’s make sure we examine the text to avoid any errors of
interpretation.
? Who are the human characters?
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? How do we see the three persons of the Trinity present in this passage?
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? Does this passage demonstrate that God exists as a Trinity?
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? How could this passage be misunderstood?
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Other verses speak of all three persons. In John 15:26, Jesus said that he
would send the Helper (Holy Spirit) from the Father. Again, this doesn’t
prove the Trinity, but only shows the personhood of each member of
the Godhead.
Discover the Truth
Now that we have looked at this idea, let’s make sure that we understand that no individual verse proves the Trinity, but that when we look at the entire Bible and its teaching, the doctrine of the Trinity emerges as a unifying theme. Many reject this idea and insist that God is a single person (Unitarianism) or that there are multiple gods (polytheism). We’ll examine some of these positions in the activity, but here is a quick reference that gives a summary of the passages that support the Trinity. You can keep this in your Bible to refer to in the future.
We are going to look at one of the historical confessions of the Christian faith, the Athanasian Creed. This creed dates from around AD 500, almost 200 years after the Nicene Creed, but is a refined explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity based on the whole counsel of Scripture. This creed is held by the catholic church to be the orthodox confession. Here
catholic simply means universal, not the Roman Catholic Church, but this confession is used by Catholics and Protestants alike, predating that historical division.
Through the early church, these doctrines, based on the clear teaching of the Bible, were established at various councils and written in creeds. The Athanasian Creed is named for Athanasius of Alexandria, though it was written after his death and was not the product of a formal council. The creed puts the beliefs regarding the Trinity into simple statements that
help identify both true and heretical teachings. Heresy is rightly defined as an unbiblical teaching that prevents salvation for those who hold to it—a damnable doctrine. For instance, believing that Jesus was simply a man, not God, is a view condemned as heresy by the Athanasian Creed, which draws that idea from Scripture.
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Athanasian Creed
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.
As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible.
So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three gods, but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord. And yet not three lords, but one Lord.
For as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so we are also forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
So, there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
And in the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
He therefore that will be saved must think thus of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect
God and perfect man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching His godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching His manhood; who, although He is God and man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the godhead into flesh but by taking of the manhood into God; one altogether; not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ . . .
This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe
faithfully, he cannot be saved.
[taken from http://www.carm.org/christianity/creeds-and
confessions/athanasian-creed-500-ad]
Trinitarian Heresies Worksheet
To help us identify ways that the concept of the Trinity has been distorted, we are going to use the Athanasian Creed and Scripture to evaluate these heresies. On the worksheet you will find a short summary of these ideas that are contrary to the Bible’s teaching and are outside orthodox Christianity.
Your job is to identify the statements from the Athanasian Creed that counter these ideas and then find Scripture references that support the creed’s claims. Then, if you are aware of any modern holders of these views, note those. We will come back together in a few minutes to compare our lists and share Scripture references and other information you have found.
Sabellianism/Modalism: Named for a third century teacher, Sebellius, this idea suggests that God
acts in three different “modes” but is only one person.
Athanasian Creed Statement:
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Bible Reference:
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Modern Examples:
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Arianism: Named for the fourth century teacher Arius who taught that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were
created by God the Father.
Athanasian Creed Statement:
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Bible Reference:
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Modern Examples:
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Subordinationism: Jesus and the Holy Spirit are eternal, divine beings, but they are of a lesser nature
than the Father.
Athanasian Creed Statement:
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Bible Reference:
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Modern Examples:
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Adoptionism: This view teaches that Jesus was an ordinary man until, at his baptism, he was adopted
by the Father and given supernatural powers and the status of “Son of God.”
Athanasian Creed Statement:
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Bible Reference:
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Modern Examples:
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Unitarianism: This view holds that there is a single God with no distinct persons.
Athanasian Creed Statement:
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Bible Reference:
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Modern Examples:
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Tritheism/Polytheism: The three persons described in Scripture are actually three distinct Gods.
Athanasian Creed Statement:
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Bible Reference:
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Modern Examples:
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Connect to the Truth
God has called us to worship him in truth. If we are not worshipping God as he has revealed himself in the Bible, we are not honoring him. Groups and teachers who teach ideas contrary to the Bible’s revealed truth lead people into error and will face great judgment from God. We must study Scripture carefully so that we do not fall into the same errors. Knowing what heretical ideas have already been rejected by those who have come before us can save us much time and effort in countering errors.
Application
We started this lesson with an analogy of the Trinity. We spoke of the Trinity in terms of ice, water, and steam.
? Identify the potential error in this analogy?
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Let’s summarize what we have learned today by reviewing three key concepts that present the case for the triune nature of God. We will put them in a diagram to help us remember the relationships the Bible presents within the Trinity.
• Premise 1: There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:23–24,
46:9).
• Premise 2: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all identified
in Scripture as God (Galatians 1:1; John 1:1; Acts 5:3–4).
• Premise 3: These three each relate to one another and to the world as
distinct persons (Matthew 3:13–17; John 15:26).
• Conclusion: The one true God of the Bible has revealed himself to
exist in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When you engage people in conversations about the gospel, you are likely to face questions about the Trinity as you speak of the Father whose wrath abides on sinners, the work of Christ in his obedient life and death on the cross, and the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion. An understanding of the Trinity will help you become a more effective witness. You can also use this understanding to praise God for the way he works through each person of the Trinity to accomplish his will and bring glory to himself, especially in providing a way for sinful man to be reconciled to a holy God.
? Why is it important to have a proper understanding of the Trinity?
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? The Athanasian Creed includes this statement: “He therefore that will be saved must think thus of the Trinity.” Why did the drafters of this creed believe this was such an important doctrine, and do you agree?
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? When you consider the Trinity, what is the most difficult aspect for
you to understand?
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? How does understanding the Trinity affect your view of God?
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Group Prayer Time
• Praise God for his majesty revealed in the Trinity.
• Ask God for grace to know him better.
• Thank God for his Word which reveals him as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.