Misconceptions Clarified III; "Is the Doctrine of the Trinity Unbiblical?"
Is the Doctrine of the "Trinity" Unbiblical???
When it comes to the doctrine of Christianity, the Trinity is one of the most controversial aspects of the Christian faith. For many, the three-in-one concept of God is difficult by itself to comprehend. For others, the three-in-one concept denotes polytheism (belief in more than one God) instead of monotheism (belief in only one God). And for some, the challenge is in the actual term, "Trinity" which is not found in one single instance in the Bible, and therefore, it cannot be biblical, right? But, how many people know that just because a certain word is not found in the Bible does not mean that it is unbiblical? The term "Trinity" was created to describe who God is since obviously there was no such term that defined God's three-dimensional being. Whatever the case may be, let's examine what the Bible really has to say in regards to God having more than one person to himself.
Before this article gets into the biblical evidence, it's important to note that many anti-Trinitarians reference Deuteronomy 6:4 to defend their position which says, "Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one." However, what exactly does the author Moses intend to mean when he says "The Lord your God is one"? Does Moses mean that God is one in dimension, or one in quantity? Well, according to the Hebrew transliteration "echad" the word "one" not only means one in quantity, but it also means “united” as one or “altogether” as one. Meaning, God's multiple dimensions of himself i.e. Father, Son, Holy Spirit are altogether united as "One God."
The problem many people have when it comes to the hermeneutics (the interpretation) of the Bible is that they use a 21st century perspective to interpret the ancient scriptures. For example, the definition for the term "one" in the English language means literally one in quantity. However, in the ancient Hebrew language a word could have more than one meaning i.e. literal, numerical, and, or figurative. Additionally, in the Hebrew language each character also represented numerical value. Therefore, when it comes to the interpretation of the ancient Hebrew language into a modern language like English, there are a few variables to keep in mind in order to gain a sound interpretation, which are the ancient languages itself, the historical and scriptural context, the author's intent, and scripture interpreting scripture.
And speaking of scripture, is there any evidence for the doctrine of the Trinity (not the term itself) found in the Bible? Well, see the evidence for yourself!
In Genesis 1:1-2 it says, "In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Now, there are a couple of challenges anti-Trinitarians face with this particular passage. First, why did the author Moses use a plural term for God "Elohim" instead of the singular term "El" if God was singular in dimension? Second, why would the author Moses again identify "The Spirit of God" separately in this passage if there is only "one" person to God's being?
Here's the answer: Because Moses knew that there was more than one person at work. Because Moses knew that there was more than one aspect to God's being. Because Moses knew that there was more than one dimension of God operating altogether as One God. And because Moses knew that God was plural in being, but only One Triune God.
Let's briefly examine the two other persons of God's being according to the scriptures. First, "The Angel of the Lord" is mentioned in a multitude of occasions in the Old Testament to include Genesis 16:7-14, Genesis 31:10-13, Genesis 48:15-16, Exodus 23:20-23, Judges 2:1-5, Zechariah 3, and Psalm 34:6-7. This Angel of the Lord is identified separately from God himself, who possesses attributes only God can possess such as forgiving sins, giving life, judging the earth, and knowing all things just to name a few. Please read these passages to see for yourself the Angel of the Lord at work functioning in the role as God. For more information on the Angel of the Lord, please visit this website: https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_26.cfm
The other person of God at work who possesses attributes that only God himself can possess is the "Spirit of the Lord" mentioned in Psalm 104:30, Psalm 139:7-12, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Ezekiel 37:12-14, Job 33:4, 2 Samuel 23:2, Isaiah 63:10, 11, 14, Genesis 1:2, and Exodus 33:14. This is absolutely amazing because the Angel of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord are identified separately from God himself, but working as God themselves! Which is exactly what Moses intends to mean in Deuteronomy 6:4; that God has three dimensions to himself united together as "One." And believe it or not, this is just scratching the surface on the abundance of scriptural references pertaining to the doctrine of the Trinity in which anti-Trinitarians would have to contend with.
Lastly, notice also that all of the above references are found in just the Old Testament. The New Testament references for the doctrine of the Trinity include Mark 1:10-11, Matthew 3:17, Luke 3:22, John 10:30, John 16:13-15, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, Ephesians 4:4-6, 2 Corinthians 13:14, and the clearest reference comes from Matthew 28:19 where Jesus commands his disciples, “to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The scriptural evidence for the doctrine of the Trinity is inarguable, and the challenge for anti-Trinitarians in this particular passage is this: if Jesus is not God himself and if the Holy Spirit is not God himself, why didn't Jesus just command his disciples to baptize his people in the name of the Father only? Furthermore, if Jesus really wasn't God himself, why would Jesus command his disciples to baptize his people in the name of "created" beings like you and I? It doesn't make sense or add up that Jesus would make such a command if He truly wasn't God in the flesh.
Hence, here's the truth: The Father is God, The Son (Jesus) is God, and The Holy Spirit is God united all-together as "One" Triune God according to the scriptures; which is exactly what Moses meant in Deuteronomy 6:4 that the Lord your God is united as "One." Additionally, notice what Jesus said in John 5:46, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." Which means that Jesus is the only person who can stand in the place of "The Angel of The Lord" in the Old Testament.
So, the final answer is, "NO" the doctrine of the Trinity is not unbiblical, but very biblical. Why? Because even though the term "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, that does not mean the doctrine itself is unbiblical. Additionally, even though the Bible doesn't quote God specifically as saying, "I Am the three-in-one God" doesn't mean God is not Triune. And even though the name "Jesus" is not mentioned specifically in the Old Testament does not mean Jesus was not present or at work. We have to always remember that the authors of the Bible were not concerned about appeasing the literary criticisms of the 21st century! 2 Peter 1:21 says, "For prophecy never had it origins in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
#Time4Truth #Trinity #Misconceptions #Clarified
Please click on the YouTube Video below by Sam Shamoun, a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who explains the doctrine of the Trinity from an Old Testament perspective.