What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?

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The doctrine of the Trinity — that there are three distinct Persons in the one Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is a truth that runs through the whole of Scripture, from its very first verse to its last pages. Although the word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, the reality it describes is woven into the fabric of divine revelation. The Testimony of the Old Testament The first hint comes in the very first verse of Scripture. A. J. Pollock draws out the significance of the Hebrew: The correspondence between Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1, is a case in point. We read, "In the beginning God [Elohim; plural] created [singular] the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).... Moses left to himself would never have written the name of God in the plural. In the Hebrew language there are three numbers, singular, one, and one only; dual, two, and two only; plural, three at least, or more. The idea of the Trinity is undoubtedly enshrined in the word, God, being in the plural. A. J. Pollock In his study of the divine titles, Pollock further explains how the great confession of Israel itself preserves this truth: "Hear O Israel: the LORD [Jehovah, singular] our God [Elohim, plural] is one LORD [Jehovah, singular]" (Deut. 6:4). Here in this very majestic declaration of the Oneness of the Godhead, care is taken to state it consistently with the truth afterwards revealed concerning the Three Persons of the Godhead — Father, Son and Spirit. These Three Persons, of one Substance, completely united in thought, will, purpose, counsel, are not three Gods, but One God, not a tritheism, but a Holy Trinity. We cannot understand the mystery of all this, but this truth lies at the very foundation of the Christian faith. Pollock Pollock also identifies a striking Trinitarian passage in Isaiah: "Come ye near unto Me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and His Spirit, has sent Me" (Isa. 48:16). Who is this that can speak of Himself as existing before the beginning? Surely none but a Divine Person. Here we have the Trinity — "The Lord God and His Spirit has sent Me" — "Me," the Word of John 1:1, and one of the persons of the Elohim of Genesis 1:1, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Baptism of Christ: The Trinity Fully Revealed J. N. Darby marks the baptism of the Lord Jesus as the moment when the three Persons are openly displayed together for the first time: When He was here as Man, at His baptism the heavens were opened, He was sealed and anointed, and the Father owned Him as His Son (and this is the first time that the Trinity was fully revealed), and then He goes to be tempted. J. N. Darby The Three Persons Inseparably United Darby also shows how the three Persons worked inseparably even in Christ's earthly ministry and resurrection: We may see how the three persons are closely connected all through the acts of Christ, even in the miracles — Christ as Son wrought the miracles; but it is said, "The Father that is in me, he doeth the works." And also, "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God." So we see the three inseparably united, as in the resurrection of Christ also. We find in chapter 2 of John's gospel Christ speaking of raising Himself. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it again." Then we read in another scripture, "Whom God raised from the dead"; and lastly, He was "quickened by the Spirit." All God's glory was engaged in the resurrection of Christ. He adds: The New Testament is the opening out of the unity of the Godhead in the Trinity of the Persons. Darby The Baptismal Formula: The Formal Declaration J. G. Bellett highlights the baptismal commission of Matthew 28:19 as the formal declaration of the Godhead: We are baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:19). This carries with it the formal declaration of the mystery of the Godhead; the Son being a divine Person (in the recognition or declaration of this sentence), as is the Father, and as is the Holy Ghost. In a searching passage, Bellett insists that these are not merely different modes or titles of one Person, but true, related Persons: Can I be satisfied with the unbelieving thought, that there are not Persons in the Godhead, and that Father, Son, and Spirit are only different lights in which the One Person is presented? The substance of the gospel would be destroyed by such a thought, and can I be satisfied with the unbelieving thought that these Persons are not related? The love of the gospel would be dimmed by such a thought. J. G. Bellett The Dictionary Definition Morrish's Bible Dictionary gives a concise summary of the scriptural basis: A word only used to convey the thought of a plurality of Persons in the Godhead. This was revealed at the baptism of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit descended 'like a dove' and abode upon Him; and God the Father declared "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." That the Father is a distinct Person and is God is plainly stated, as in John 20:17. Many passages prove that the Lord Jesus is God: one will suffice: "... in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." 1 John 5:20. That the Holy Spirit is a Person and is God the following passages clearly prove: Gen. 1:2; Matt. 4:1; John 16:13; Acts 10:19; Acts 13:2, 4; Acts 20:28; Rom. 15:30; 1 Cor. 2:10. The three Persons are also named in the formula instituted by Christ in baptism. Matt. 28:19. Yet there is but one God. 1 Tim. 2:5. Morrish's Bible Dictionary The Trinity in Matthew's Gospel J. T. Mawson draws the threads together from Matthew's Gospel: Thus we see Him in the early chapters of Matthew, who is the Son in the glorious Trinity (chap. 28:19), co-equal with the Father and the Holy Ghost, enter into the world as man, yet Emmanuel, to be the Saviour of His people, and their Ruler, who was not a child of days, but the Lord of Eternity. J. T. Mawson The Distinction of the Persons in Christian Experience William Kelly brings the practical side of this truth to bear, showing how each Person of the Trinity has a distinct role in the believer's experience: The Holy Ghost is present, and reveals the Father's love and Christ Himself to us, and thus the Holy Ghost is the power in us, and the Father and the Son are they with whom we have fellowship; and this is the reason why we do not pray to the Holy Ghost. His place, in the ways of grace, is to be in us; the Father and the Son are the objects, by His revelation of them, before the soul. William Kelly Synthesis The teaching of Scripture on the Trinity can be traced from the very first word of Genesis — where God (Elohim, plural) created (singular) — through the prophets, to the baptism of Christ where the Father's voice, the Son in the waters, and the Spirit descending like a dove are all present together. The baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19 gives the formal declaration. The epistles unfold the distinct work of each Person: the Father as the source of love and counsel, the Son as the One sent to accomplish redemption and reveal the Father, and the Holy Spirit as the One who indwells believers and makes Christ real to their hearts. Yet through all of this, Scripture insists there is but one God (1 Tim. 2:5; Deut. 6:4). As Pollock puts it, "not a trinity of Gods, but a triune God." The mystery surpasses human reason, but lies at the very foundation of the Christian faith.

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