Why I Believe in The Trinity

As a Christian I believe in One God, Deut 6:4,5; 1 Kings 8:60; Is 44:6-8; 45:5; Eph 4:4-6; 1 Tim 2:5. The Bible teaches that there is only one true God and all other gods are false.

Isaiah 46:9

[9]"Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,

Galatians 3:20

[20]Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one.

The Bible condemned polytheism in the strongest term.

Yet the same Bible taught that there is God the Father, Rm 1:7; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Philem 1:2. Then it also teaches that Jesus, the Son of God is God, Jn 1:1-4, 18; 5:18; 8:58; Rm 9:5; Phil 2:6; Heb 1:8; Col 1:15, 16. It also teaches the Holy Spirit is God, Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor 3:17. The Bible identified three Persons as God. Is this a contradiction? Is biblical Christianity a true monotheim or a tritheism? 

Christians have ponder this for a long time. There is no doubt that the Bible teaches there is one God. There is also no doubt that it identifies three separate Persons as God. The Bible affirmed the Oneness of God and the Three-fold Personality within that Godhood. The solution seemed to be in distinguishing God's essence from His Person. The essence is what makes God God, and a separate category say from man which has characteristics that separate him, say from a dog. Yet within the category that contains the essence of man are multiple personhoods which current estimate placed at 7.8 billions. That means there is one man in essence, but 7.8 billions in persons. The same thing applies to God- God is One in essence, but Three in Persons. Tertullian coined the term Trinitas for this Tri-unity within the Godhead. 

In other words there is an essence that belongs to God alone and that differentiates Him from man's essence, Num 23:19; Hos 11:9; Rm 3:4. And there are Three Persons that shared this essence co-equally, co-eternally and co-infinitely. As part of His essence, all Three Persons of the Godhead have sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, veracity and immutability among other things. 

This explained OT and NT passages that speak of One God yet multiple Persons called God. Everybody agree on a Father God who is eternal and holy. Yet in Isaiah 9:6 we are introduced to a child that will be born and at the same time a child given, who is called Mighty God, El-Gibbor. So this Mighty God is born a child! In Psalms 110:1, a passage Jesus used Himself to teach the Jewish leaders of His own Deity says, 

Psalms 110:1

[1]The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."

In that passage Yahweh is saying to David's Adonai to seat in Yahweh's side until His enemies are defeated and made footstool. The Lord's reasoning is if the promised Messiah is David's descendants (to be born hundred of years later), how did He become David's Adonai? The leaders were stumped and have no answer. Jer 23:5-6 identified a future descendant called The Lord Our Righteousness. Since Jews are not to take The Lord's name in vain, only The Lord can be called Lord Our Righteousness. Anyone else taking that name blasphemes. If that is not explicit enough, a Child born of a human virgin is to be called Immanu-El, God with Us. That is when this son is born, God is literally with us, that is among His created human beings. In Hos 1:6-7 Yahweh is promising a deliverance through another separate personality He called Yahweh their God. Is 6:8 identified a "WE" looking for messenger. Anyone reading Isaiah 6 will think that God the Father is speaking and looking for a messenger. Yet this is alluded to in Jn 12:41-42 and applied to Jesus. Paul used this same passage to refer to the Holy Spirit, Acts 28:25ff. So apparently the name Yahweh or Lord is used of three different Persons. That explain the WE as literal plural pronouns and not just a pronoun of majesty. 

The OT taught God has a Son, Is 9:6; Ps 2:7,8; Prov 30:4. This explained the plural pronouns used in Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:6,7 and Is 6:8; plural verbs in Gen 20:13 and Ps 35:7 as well as plural nouns in Ecc 12:1 (Creators) and Is 54:5 (Makers).

The OT records these Beings conversing:

Isaiah 6:8

[8]Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Isaiah 48:16

[16]"Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit." 

Note this I/Me speaking called Himself the First and the Last earlier in the chapter is sent by Yahweh His God and Yahweh's Spirit. 

Isaiah 63:9-10

[9]In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.

[10]But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.

Psalms 40:6-8

[6]Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.

[7]Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

[8]I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart."

Psalms 2:1-9 spoke of God and His Anointed which He begot.

Psalms 2:2

[2]The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,

The author of Hebrew identified this begotten as Jesus. 

The NT is even clearer. Other than NT passages quoted above that individually called the Father, the Son and the Spirit as God, we have so called Trinitarian and binitarian passages where 2 or 3 Persons called God talking or mentioned.

Binitarian passages include Matt 17:5 and Jn 10:30. God Himself spoke and called Jesus as His Son to whom we should listen. This is not the first time it happened. God spoke of Him as Beloved Son earlier at His baptism under John. 

Trinitarian passages include Matt 3:16-17; 28:19; Jn 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-15; Rm 8:14-17; Gal 4:4-6; Eph 1:3-14; 4:4-6; 1 Cor 12:4-6; 2 Cor 1:21-22; 13:14; Heb 9:14 and 1 Pt 1:2. 

Paul wrote,

1 Corinthians 8:6

[6]yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

This is familiar to those who know the Shema, 

Deuteronomy 6:4

[4]"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

Paul is a strict monotheist, a Hebrew of Hebrews who particularly is defending the one God against the idols, which are false gods and are in reality demons. Yet he has no problem using the familiar shema formula to God the Father AND Lord Jesus. Not only that, He related both Persons to the origin and end of all things.

There are others I can share but this is enough. Next time I will share why modalistic model of God does not work.

(Kung gusto ninyo ng karagdagang impormasyon, bisitahin ninyo kami. May pagtitipon kami sa Dahat, kada Linggo, alas 8:30-10:30 am. Sa Amoguis, 1:00-3:00 pm. Sana manampalataya kayo at kita-kita tayo.)