“Although the word ‘trinity’ does not occur in the Bible, the facts of scriptural revelation permit no other explanation.” The controversies that have sprung up surrounding this doctrine have inspired debates, councils and creeds to affirm the reality of the Trinity. All of this reveals the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. In order to have a greater understanding of this topic, it is crucial to consider its definition, the biblical defense for the Trinity, the historical defense for the Trinity and the overall importance of the Trinity to Christian Theology.
Before examining the definition of the word “Trinity,” an initial understanding of the limited nature of the human language to describe the divine must be discussed. The theological concept of the Trinity surpasses “human comprehension and has no parallel in human experience.” Human illustrations of the Trinity will always fall short in depicting the realities of an infinite God. Fortunately, great minds in years past have waded through the deep waters of this doctrine, mapping out a path for believers to be able to communicate a biblical explanation of these complex truths. Although it is difficult to comprehend, what Scripture says about the Trinity is never contradictory. If it could be fully comprehended, “God would be placed among the mundane.” He is infinite, and there will always be more about Him to worship. He is a mystery, yet He has revealed Himself. God is not what people want Him to be, He is who He is. He is Trinity.
In Christian theology, the term “Trinity” simply means God is one in essence and three in Persons, known respectively as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Charles Ryrie shared what he considers to be the best definition of the Trinity from Warfield: “There is one only and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence.” This definition accurately depicts the oneness and threeness of the Godhead. Substance in Warfield’s definition can be swapped with essence and subsistence means “necessary existence.” In other words, God is one essence (one being), within that there are three in subsistence (three Persons – not 3 beings). This definition also shows how each Person of the Trinity is equally divine and eternal. Much of this definition comes directly from the Athansian Creed which will be discussed later.
As stated before, the word “Trinity” is not mentioned anywhere in Scripture. The origins of Trinitarian vocabulary begin with Tertullian who “invented the word ‘Trinity’ (Trinitas), which has become a characteristic feature of Christian theology since his time.” Other contributions Terullian made include: persona and substantia. “Tertullian introduced persona, a Latin term to translate the Greek word hypostasis.” This word “denotes individuality and self-awareness.” From substantia, we get the word substance or essence. “Tertullian introduced this term to express the idea of a fundamental unity within the Godhead, despite the inherent complexity of the revelation of God within history. ‘Substance’ is what the three persons of the Trinity have in common” and “person” is what distinguishes them.
“The doctrine of the Trinity is not an invention from man.” The Bible clearly teaches that there is one divine essence, that there is only one God. The Bible also teaches that there is a plurality of Persons distinct from one another. Finally, the Bible also teaches that all Three Persons, although distinct, are equal to one another.
The Bible shares the unity of the Godhead and also their distinctiveness. “The unity of God means that there is but one God and that the divine nature is undivided and indivisible” This truth is depicted in “Deut. 6:4, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!’ (cf. Mark 12:29; James 2:19). God does not consist of parts nor can He be divided into parts. His being is simple, numerically one, free from composition.”
The doctrine of the Trinity has led to controversy in some circles, but Scripture gives clear evidence for the Trinity. In the Old Testament, Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness'” (ESV). The word for “God” in Hebrew is elohim, which is the plural word for God. If it were singular, it would be eloah. This is then followed by God referring to Himself in plural personal pronouns with “Us” and “Our.” Also in Isaiah 48:16, it says, “‘Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.’ And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.” Three Persons are evident: “the Lord God, and His Spirit have sent Me.”
In the New Testament, the doctrine of the Trinity is also revealed. Matthew, in his gospel, shares two clear instances of the Trinity. At Jesus’ baptism, Matthew shares how God the Father speaks from heaven, God the Son is being baptized, and God the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in bodily form like a dove. Later on, at the end of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus shares with His disciples what many have referred to as The Great Commission. It is there Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20 ESV). Here, the three Persons of the Godhead are explicitly stated. “Naming them together means they are equal. One is not more or less God than the other.” Peter in his greeting to the dispersed believers said, “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (ESV). Here we see all three Persons of the Godhead and their distinct functions/roles. In verses 20-21 of Jude, it says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (ESV). This Trinitarian pattern is found elsewhere throughout Scripture such as 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 2 Corinthians 13:14, and Ephesians 4:4-6. It’s important to include that every characteristic of deity is attributed to all Three Persons of the Trinity, providing more evidence for the Trinity.
It is from Scripture that the theologians throughout history have based their defense for the doctrine of the Trinity. Now, the deity of God the Father was universally accepted by the early church. “A brief scanning of the New Testament reveals numerous times that the Father is identified as God (John 6:27; Rom. 1:7; Gal. 1:1).” The deity of Christ and the deity of the Holy Spirit were put into question by many early church leaders who ultimately were exposed as heretics. It’s these debates and controversies that caused the church to articulate doctrines through creeds, which were agreed upon by councils. “With monotheistic Christianity, they had to first reconcile God incarnate, Jesus Christ.”
Scripture affirms the Deity of Jesus Christ. John 1:1-3 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (ESV). These verses helped form Logos Christology by early church father Justin Martyr. Logos, translated as “the Word,” represents Jesus. Logos is being distinguished from God, yet expressed as God in this passage. John 1:14 points to the incarnation when it says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (ESV). Colossians 1:15, speaking of Jesus Christ, says, “He is the image of the invisible God” (ESV). When Christ is in view, God is in view. Paul the apostle also wrote, “For in Him [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9 ESV). Jesus was fully divine. He did not forgo His divinity to become man, instead He was clothed in humanity. When people bowed down to angels, the angels would always defer the praise to God. When people bowed down to Jesus, He would receive their worship, because He is God, deserving of their worship. In Philippians 2:8-11, Paul speaks of the entire world worshiping Jesus: “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Even considering the charge against Jesus at His trial before His crucifixion, it was that He claimed to be the Son of God (Matt. 27:43; John 19:7). Other verses that speak to the deity of Christ include: Hebrews 1:8, Titus 2:13, Romans 9:5, 1 John 5:20, John 20:28, and John 5:23.
The deity of Jesus was challenged in the 4th century in what has been called as the Arian Controversy. It was based on the teachings of Arius, who was “a priest in one of the larger churches in the great Egyptian city of Alexandria.” He denied the Trinity, a great heresy of the early church. The fundamental themes of Arius’s teachings can be summarized in terms of four basic statements:
(1) The Son and the Father do not have the same essence (ousia). (2) The Son is a created being (ktisma or poiema), even though he is to be recognized as first and foremost among created beings, in terms of origination and rank. (3) Although the Son was the creator of the worlds, and must therefore have existed before them and before all time, there was nevertheless a time when the Son did not exist. (4) The term “Son of God” is thus a metaphor, an honorific term intended to underscore the rank of the Son among other creatures. It does not imply that Father and Son share the same being or status.
Arius affirmed the humanity of Jesus, but he did not affirm His divinity as being God and eternal. Arius’s most persistent critic was Athanasius of Alexandria. He first argued that only God can save and that no creature can redeem another creature. So whether Arius wanted to admit it or not, Jesus Christ could not be the Savior of humanity if Christ was a mere created being which he claimed. Athanasius’ other argument was that “Christians worship and pray to Jesus Christ. This pattern can be traced back to the New Testament itself, and is of considerable importance in clarifying early Christian understandings of the significance of Jesus of Nazareth.” If Jesus was a created being, then Christians would be guilty of idolatry. “Arius was not in disagreement with the practice of worshiping Jesus; he refused, however, to draw the same conclusions as Athanasius.”
This debate eventually culminated to the first ecumenical council at Nicea in 325 AD. The primary concern of the council pertained to the deity of Christ since the deity of God the Father was already widely accepted. They wanted to define their terms, to denote separation and unity without confusion. “The early church had come to the conclusion that the significance of Christ was best understood as being ‘of one substance’ (homoousios) with God.” This conclusion was expressed through a creed. Now, “the development of the creeds was an important element in the move toward achieving a doctrinal consensus within the early church.” Concerning Jesus Christ, the Nicene Creed says:
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and Invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made: Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man: Who for us, too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried: the third day He rose according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of the Father: He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom shall have no end.
The council also ended the creed with affirming the deity of the Holy Spirit. It was included but it was not the emphasis of the council.
There was much confusion regarding the deity of Christ because of the Incarnation. Many heresies surfaced due to theologians leaning too far towards Jesus’ humanity or the other side of the spectrum of Jesus being only divine. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ was a doctrine that was worded carefully to affirm both Christ’s deity and His humanity. The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) defined the Incarnation as:
We all with one voice confess our Lord Jesus Christ to be one and the same Son, perfect in divinity and humanity, truly God and truly human, consisting of a rational soul and a body, being of one substance with the Father in relation to his divinity, and being of one substance with us in relation to his humanity, and is like us in all things apart from sin (Hebrews 4:15).
This council silenced the debate for many centuries. The Incarnation of Christ was important to understand that Jesus was of the same substance as the Father, being truly divine. If Christ was not truly human, then He would not be able to pay for the penalty for sin for humanity. Christ is now the Mediator between God and man, seated at the right hand of the Father.
The deity of the Holy Spirit was also put into question, but Scripture also affirms how the Spirit is divine. He is not merely a person. He is a divine person. This can be shown in several ways:
(1) Attributes of deity are affirmed of him. He is eternal (Heb. 9:14), omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10.; John 14:26; 16:12), omnipotent (Luke 1:35), and omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-10). (2) Works of deity are ascribed to him, such as creation (Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4; Ps. 104:30), regeneration (John 3:5), inspiration of the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:21; cf. Acts 1:16; 28:25), and raising of the dead (Rom. 8:11). (3) The way in which he is associated with the Father and the Son proves not only his personality, but also his deity, as in the baptismal formula (Matt. 28:19), the apostolic benediction (2 Cor. 13:14), and the administration of the church (1 Cor. 12:4-6). (4) The words and works of the Holy Spirit are considered as the words and works of God (cf. Isa. 6:9. with John 12:39-41 and Acts 28:25-27; Exod. 16:7 with Ps. 95:8-11; Isa. 63:9 with Heb. 3:7-9; Gen. 1:27 with Job 33:4. (5) Finally, he is expressly called God (Acts 5:3; 2 Cor. 3:17).
In studying the Bible, the deity of the Holy Spirit can be concluded. But similar to the deity of Jesus Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit was also debated in church history.
“The debate in question initially centered upon a group of writers known as the Pneumatomachoi or ‘opponents of the spirit,’ led by Eustathius of Sebaste (c.300–77 or 380). These writers argued that neither the person nor the works of the Spirit were to be regarded as having the status or nature of a divine person.”
In response to such concerns, writers such as Athanasius and Basil of Caesarea (c.330–79) made an appeal to the formula which had by then become universally accepted for baptism. Since the time of the New Testament (see Matthew 28: 18–20), Christians had been baptized in the name of “the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Athanasius argued that this had momentous implications for an understanding of the status of the person of the Holy Spirit. In a letter to his friend Bishop Serapion of Thmuis, Athanasius declared that the baptismal formula clearly pointed to the Spirit sharing the same divinity as the Father and the Son.
Another aspect of Athanasius’ defense for the divinity of the Holy Spirit was similar to his defense of Jesus’ divinity. For instance, only God can save, Jesus saved humanity, therefore Jesus is God. So only God can sanctify, the Holy Spirit sanctifies, therefore the Holy Spirit is God. “A creature cannot make anyone holy; only God can do this.”
The Nicene Creed briefly iterates the deity of the Holy Spirit when it says, “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son: Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets.” Another voice speaking for the deity of the Holy Spirit was Gregory of Nazianzus. He stressed that “Scripture applied all the titles of God to the Spirit.” Also, “the functions which are specific to the Holy Spirit establish the divinity of the Spirit.” These all contributed to the deity of the Holy Spirit being more widely accepted in the church.
Athanasius was a prominent voice for the doctrine of the Trinity. The creed named after him, the Athanasian Creed, speaks to the definition of this doctrine. It affirms the three Persons distinctiveness and the unity of being of the same substance/essence.
This is the true Christian faith, that we worship one God in three Persons and three Persons in one God without confusing the Persons or dividing the divine substance. For the Father is one Person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is still another, but there is one Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, equal in glory and coequal in majesty. What the Father is, that is the Son and that is the Holy Spirit: the Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated; the Father is unlimited, the Son is unlimited, the Holy Spirit is unlimited; the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal; and yet they are not three Eternals but one Eternal, just as there are not Three Who are uncreated and Who are unlimited, but there is One who is uncreated and unlimited. Likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord, and yet they are not three Lords but one Lord. For just as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the Christian religion to say that there are three Gods or three Lords. The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten by anybody. The Son was not made or created, but was begotten by the Father. The Holy Spirit was not made or created or begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly there is one Father and not three Fathers, one Son and not three Sons, one Holy Spirit and not three Holy Spirits. And among these three Persons none is before or after another, none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are coequal and coeternal, and accordingly, as has been stated above, three Persons are to be worshiped in one Godhead and one God is to be worshiped in three Persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.
This summarizes the doctrine of the Trinity so well. It communicates the oneness between the Godhead along with their distinctiveness. It addresses many of the issues that arose in Athanasius’ day and even in the 21st century. This creed actually continues, affirming the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The Athanasian Creed speaks to the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. The section above begins with, “This is the true Christian faith, that we worship one God in three Persons and three Persons in one God without confusing the Persons or dividing the divine substance.” The Trinity is one of many doctrines that distinguishes Christianity from other religions. Judaism, the religions from where Christianity was birthed, does not believe in the Trinity. They cannot rationalize it. The creed goes onto say, “Whoever wishes to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.” A line is drawn in the sand and is declared a salvation issue. To deny the deity of any Person of the Godhead, is to believe in a god that is not revealed in Scripture which is idolatry. For idolatry can be metal or mental. If someone says they worship God, but it is really a god of their own creation that does not line up with Scripture, that is indeed idolatry and therefore are not saved. “This is a doctrine worth dying for, as it describes who God is.” To deny this doctrine is to deny God.
So many heresies, false teachings and cults have emerged from people getting the Trinity wrong in one aspect or another. This is not just a theme in modern times, but throughout history as explored by McGrath and others. An accurate understanding of the Trinity informs the believer that those who have an inaccurate view of Jesus are not a part of the fellowship, but are a part of the mission field. They need to be saved. The truth of the Trinity needs to be studied so it can be communicated accurately to others and when false teachings arise, it can be combated with the truth. A believer’s faith should be rooted in sound doctrine, for the fruit will then produce sound living.
Why is the doctrine of the Trinity important? Without the Trinity, you do not have Christianity. Without the Trinity, you do not believe the God of the Scriptures and therefore are not saved. The proper response is to repent of your idolatry and believe the true Triune God consisting of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This doctrine is paramount for if we do not get God right, we do not have God. There is a clear biblical defense for the Trinity and saints throughout history have defended these truths. In conclusion: The basic feature of this doctrine is that there are three persons within the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and that these are to be regarded as equally divine and of equal status. The coequality of Father and Son was established through the Christological debates leading up to the Council of Nicea; the divinity of the Spirit was established in the aftermath of this, especially through the writings of Athanasius and Basil of Caesarea.
There must be an understanding of the Trinity because that is who God is. To believe anything else would be heresy and to be in the same camp as Arius and not be saved.
Bibliography
Chafer, Lewis S. Major Bible Themes. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2010. Kindle.
“Creeds.” Accessed November 10, 2021. https://www.aflc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Creeds.pdf.
Holden, Joe. “Theology Class 1: Prolegomena – Organizing your Doctrinal Closet.” Theology Lectures, Calvary Chapel Bible College, Murrieta, CA.
McGrath, Alister. Christian Theology: An Introduction. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2017.
Parkin, Ben. “Matthew 3:13-17.” Calvary Chapel Centralia. November 21, 2021. Accessed December 19, 2021. https://vimeo.com/648322679.
Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1999. Kindle.
Slick, Matt. “What is the Trinity?” Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. November 24, 2008. Accessed December 18, 2021. https://carm.org/doctrine-and-theology/what-is-the -trinity/.
Sproul, R.C. “For the Doctrine of the Trinity.” Ligonier Ministries. August 6, 2015. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh72wgZEcKk.
Thiessen, Henry. Lectures in Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. Kindle.