The Holy Trinity

Foundation Of The Christian Faith

 

The Christian faith believes in a triune God which we call the Holy Trinity.  It’s comprised of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Members of the Holy Trinity are distinct and divine, yet they are one.  The term Trinity  or “Trinitas” was coined by Tertullian, a trained lawyer and ordained priest who lived in the Roman province of Carthage between 160 AD to 225AD.  Due to human intellectual limitations we are not able to fully comprehend how three can be one.  This is why over the centuries there have been many critics of the faith and those that have argued against this concept.

Within the first three centuries following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Church has developed two crucial statements of faith called the Apostles and Nicene Creeds. Although we don’t know precisely when the Apostles creed was written, we are certain that it may have been written in the first or second centuries.    As for the Nicene Creed, it was written in 325 AD when Emperor Constantine came into power and summoned a meeting to unite the Church from its fragmented state.

It’s important to note that each Creed was written to address heresies that were tearing apart the Church.  It established truths about the faith that solidified theological doctrine amidst attacks from fringe groups.  Why is this worth mentioning?  Essentially the understanding of the Holy Trinity was at this point under attack and both Creeds established the understanding of this vital Christian doctrine.

Apostles Creed 

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Nicene Creed 

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the (Holy) Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The main opposition to the Holy Trinity was Arianism/Unitarianism.  Arianism is considered a heresy and was taught by a 4th century presbyter named Arius from Alexandria.  According to the dictionary defintion , a presbyter is an office bearer who exercised teaching, priestly, and administrative functions.  He taught that there is only one God, God the Father, and the Son was reduced to a demigod status. Essentially, Arius was teaching pantheism, because he maintained worship of the Son, but not at the same status as the Father.  The modern name used for Arianism is Unitarianism.

Here are verses that speak about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Trinity):

  • Heb. 1:8 – God the Father called the Son “God.”
  • Isa. 9:6 – The “child” is called the “Mighty God.”
  • Mt. 1:23 & Is. 7:14 – Jesus is called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”
  • John. 1:1 – Jesus (the “Word”) is called “God.”
  • 1 Tim. 3:16 – Paul said Jesus was God “manifested in the flesh.”
  • Col. 2:8.9 – Paul said Jesus was the “fullness of the Godhead bodily.
  • John. 20:28 – Thomas said to Jesus, “…my God.”
  • Titus 2:13 – Paul called Jesus “the great God.”
  • Phil. 2:5,6 – Paul said Jesus didn’t feel it was wrong to be considered “equal with God.”
  • John 5:18 – The Jews wanted to kill Jesus because He was “making Himself equal with God.”
  • John 10:30 – Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”
  • Gen. 1:1 & Col. 1:16 – The Bible said God created all things and that Jesus created all things.
  • Mic. 5:2 – The messiah (Jesus) had always been in existence.
  • Isa. 44:6, Rev. 1:2,8, 11,13 – God claimed to be the “First and the Last”, so did Jesus. God clearly states that He is the only savior, and the Christ says the same.
  • John. 8:41 – “The only Father we have is God Himself.” – Father is God
  • Eph. 4:6 – ” … one God and Father of all …”
  • Acts 5:3,4 – “… you have lied to the Holy Spirit … you have not lied to men, but to God.” – Holy Spirit is God
  • Acts 28:25,26  – Referring to Isaiah 6:9,10,  Peter said the “Holy Spirit” spoke to the prophet Isaiah.  In the book of Isaiah, it says the “Lord” spoke to the prophet Isaiah.
  • 1 Cor. 3:16 – “Don’t you know you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
  • Mk. 12:32 – “You are right in saying God is one and there is no other but him.” – The is only one God
  • Mk. 12:29 – “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
  • 1 Tim. 2:5 – “For there is one God …” 1 Cor. 8:4 – ” … and there is no God but one.”
  • Gal. 3:20 – ” … but God is one.”
  • James 2:19 – “You believe there is one God. Good!…”
  • Ps. 86:10 – ” … you alone are God.”
  • Deut. 6:4,5 – “The Lord our God, the Lord is one…”
  • Isa. 44:8 – “Is there another God besides me?”
  • Isa. 45:21 – “There is no God apart from me … there is none but me.”
  • Isa. 45:22 – “For I am God and there is no other.”
  • Isa. 46:9 – “I am God, and there is no other”
  • Isa. 45:5 – “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.”
  • Isaiah 45:18 – “I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
  • Mal. 2:10 – “Did not one God create us?”

There are other verses in the New Testament where we see Jesus’ Lordship, primarily in examples of Him forgiving sins.  Only God can forgive sins, and we see Jesus doing just that.  Here are verses that portray this: Luke 7:48, Mark 2:5, Matthew 9:2, Luke 5:20-24   In two other examples that we see proof of the Trinity in the worship of God in the Old Testament and the statement made by Christ in the Testament when he appeared to His disciples after his resurrection.  First, we see worship of God with the word Holy used three times.  This is one proof of recognition of three as one and each one being acknowledged (Revelation 4:8 and Isaiah 6:3).  The other example is in the New Testament in Matthew 28:16-20.  This section is called the Great Commission, and Christ told His Apostles to ” 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”.

Lastly, one additional fact worth noting regarding some of the disagreements in the various churches is in regards to the structure of the Holy Trinity, known as the Filioque Controversy. Basically, the western churches (Catholics and Protestants) believe that the Holy Spirit came forth from the Son, whereas the eastern churches (Orthodox, Syriac, Apostolic) believe that both the Son and the Holy Spirit came forth from the Father.  Illuminating Faith believes that believers must spend ample time to better understand the principles of the faith.  Therefore, take the necessary time to study the scriptures.