A Biblical Theology of the Trinity

 

 

 

 

 

A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE TRINITY

 

 

 

_______________________________

 

 

A Paper

 

Presented to Dr. Danny Akin

 

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

 

 

 

_______________________________

 

 

In Partial Fulfillment

 

Of the Requirements of the Course

 

T 3000: Systematic Theology

 

 

 

_______________________________

 

 

 

by

 

James Paul Inman

 

SEBTS Box 3348 / Phone: (919)554-4315

 

November 16, 1994

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF THE TRINITY

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Who is God?  This is really the fundamental question of the human existence 

 

that men and women have been asking throughout the centuries.  As part of its 

 

response to this question, orthodox Christianity has continually asserted that God is 

 

a triune being.  This assertion, according to Gleason Archer, “is absolutely unique 

 

in the history of human thought.  No other culture or philosophical movement ever 

 

came up with such an idea of God as this.”  Skeptics and members of other 

 

religions often scoff at this idea.  However, “the doctrine of the Trinity is crucial for

 

Christianity.”  Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for believers to have a correct

 

understanding of this doctrine.  This paper, as a biblical theology, will attempt

 

to briefly set forth the biblical teachings on this crucial subject.

 

Every person has presuppositions, and these presuppositions affect our

 

beliefs.  Thus, it is best to acknowledge them from the beginning.  This writer

 

has approached the subject at hand with the presuppositions that God exists, and

 

this God is a God of Truth.  He inspired all of the Bible which means that every

 

bit of Scripture is the Word of God, and therefore, the Word of Truth.  As a result,

 

Scripture is totally without error, and thus, totally consistent.  This does not rule

 

out the concept of progressive revelation, however.  Therefore, this writer’s

 

presupposition is that the Bible is the final authority for faith and practice, and

 

must serve as the foundation of all theology.

 

Theological method is also important to consider when doing theology.  This

 

paper represents an attempt to take the biblical text seriously and rightly divide the

 

Word of Truth (1 Tim. 2:15).  The writer believes that the historical-grammatical

 

method of interpretation should be used with Scripture being interpreted in its

 

immediate, biblical (analogy of faith), historical, and cultural contexts.  Theologies,

 

commentaries, word studies, Greek helps, and other tools of scholarship have been

 

used to aid in determining the correct meaning of Scripture.  The paper will

 

proceed by examining the evidence for the Trinity in the Old Testament and then 

 

the New Testament, looking at the Old Testament evidence in light of the New

 

Testament, and giving a biblical definition of the Trinity.

 

OLD TESTAMENT EVIDENCE FOR THE TRINITY

 

The fundamental premise of Old Testament theology is monotheism.  Genesis

 

1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Youngblood

 

writes, “The Book of Genesis begins by assuming that there is only one true God,

 

and that assumption is maintained throughout the OT.”  Exodus 20:2-3 says, “I

 

am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house

 

of bondage.  You shall have no other gods before Me.”  The theological truth that 

 

serves as the foundation for these verses is the fact that God is one instead of

 

many.  Deuteronomy 6:4 is the basic Jewish statement of faith known as the shema.

 

It states, “Hear, O Israel:  The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”  In addition,

 

Isaiah 45:5a says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides

 

Me.”  Therefore, the Old Testament clearly teaches that there is only one true God.

 

As a result of this clear teaching of monotheism, many people conclude that

 

it is impossible for the doctrine of the Trinity to be taught in the Old Testament.

 

However, there is more evidence to be considered before this conclusion is hastily

 

drawn.  In Genesis 1:1, God is translated from the Hebrew word, elohim, “which is

 

plural in form but not in number.”  Many scholars believe this indicates a plural of

 

majesty, but other scholars believe it implies the tri-unity of God, and this

 

implication is at least a plausible option.  In regard to Deuteronomy 6:4, the

 

Expositor’s Bible Commentary says, “To the Jews v.4 is not only an assertion of

 

monotheism, it is also an assertion of the numerical oneness of God contradictory

 

to the Christian view of the Trinity of the Godhead.  This kind of oneness, however,

 

runs contrary to the use of ehad in the sense of a unity made up of several parts.

 

Ehad “is used of a single bunch of grapes which in turn is divisible into

 

distinguishable individual grapes, rather than yahid, which means uniquely one.”

 

Furthermore, there are verses in the Old Testament that seem to at least

 

imply plurality within the unity of the Godhead.  Genesis 1:26a states; “Then God

 

said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”  This verse 

 

asserts (like Gen. 1:1) that there is only one God, but the verse also uses the

 

plural pronouns “us” and “our” in reference to God.  Deliberation and

 

communication within the Godhead are also implied in this verse.  In addition, in 

 

Gen. 11:6, the LORD says, “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language,

 

that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

 

There are other verses in the Old Testament that bear an implicit witness to

 

the doctrine of the Trinity.  Psalm 110:1 says, “The LORD (Yahweh) said to my

 

Lord (adonay), ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’.”

 

According to the interpretation given by the New Testament writers, the first 

 

“LORD” refers to the Father, and the second “Lord” speaks of Christ.  Isaiah

 

63:7-10 refers to the LORD, the Angel of His Presence (Savior), and His Holy

 

Spirit.  Isaiah 44:6-7 says, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his

 

Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:  I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me 

 

There is no God.”  This is practically incomprehensible apart from the doctrine

 

of the Trinity.  Therefore, the conclusion this writer draws from this survey of

 

the Old Testament data is that the doctrine of the Trinity is not explicitly taught

 

but is definitely implied because it is asserted that there is only one God, but

 

there are also references to the plurality of the Godhead.

 

NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE FOR THE TRINITY

 

1 John 5:7 says, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven:  the Father, the

 

Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”  This would seem to be the

 

clearest Trinitarian statement in all of the Bible.  However, many scholars question

 

whether or not the part of the verse after “witness” is actually in the original 

 

manuscripts.  A. T. Robertson says of that part of the verse that “the Latin Vulgate

 

gives the words in the Textus Receptus, found in no Greek MS, save two late

 

cursives (162 in the Vatican Library of the fifteenth century, 34 of the sixteenth

 

century in Trinity College, Dublin).”  Gleason Archer says, “It therefore

 

seems best to omit this verse in the list of attestations of the Trinity, even though

 

it seems to contain excellent theology.”  However, there is still ample New

 

Testament evidence concerning the doctrine of the Trinity.

 

The New Testament doctrine of God does not contradict the Old Testament

 

teaching that there is only one true God.  1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one

 

God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”  Galatians

 

3:20 says, “Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.”  

 

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 teaches that there are many false gods but only one true God.  

 

Therefore, both testaments clearly teach that God is one.  This is foundational to

 

the doctrine of the Trinity because the doctrine asserts “God’s oneness and 

 

threeness.”  This paper will now proceed by examining the New Testament

 

witness to the threeness of God.

 

There are passages in the New Testament that refer to the Father, Son, and 

 

Holy Spirit together.  Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all

 

the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the

 

Holy Spirit.”  It is important to note that “name” is singular even though it refers to

 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Gleason Archer says, “This suggests that the name of

 

God is Father-Son-Holy Spirit.”  Other “triadic” passages include Rev. 1:4-5;

 

1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 1:3-13, 2:18, 3:14-19, 4:4-6; 2 Thess. 2:13; and

1 Peter 1:2.  However, these passages do not specifically teach that each of the

 

three is God.

 

In order to establish the doctrine of the Trinity; it must be shown that the 

 

New Testament refers to the Father as God, the Son as God, and the Spirit as God;

 

and the New Testament clearly does this.  First, the Father is called God.  2 Peter

 

1:17 says, “For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice

 

came to Him from the Excellent Glory.”  John 6:27; 1 Cor. 15:24; Gal. 1:1, 1:3;

 

Eph. 5:20, 6:23; Phil. 2:11; Col. 3:17; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:2;

 

2 John 3; and Jude 1 are other verses that use the phrase, “God the Father.”

 

Millard Erickson says, “It is apparent that, for Jesus, God’ and ‘your heavenly

 

Father’ are interchangeable expressions.”  In summation, Erickson also says that 

 

the Father’s deity “is scarcely in dispute.”

 

Jesus is also specifically called God in the New Testament.  Hebrews 1:8

 

records the Father saying to the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;

 

a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”  Therefore, the Son, 

 

Jesus Christ, is specifically called God.  This is taught in many other places in the 

 

New Testament.  Matthew 1:23 refers to Jesus as Immanuel, meaning, “God with 

 

us.”John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word {and the context clearly refers to

 

Christ}, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  In several places in

 

the Gospel of John, including 8:58, Jesus refers to Himself as I AM.  This refers

 

back to Ex. 3:14, “where the words stand for the eternal person of YAHWEH.”

 

Doubting Thomas, after seeing the resurrected Christ, exclaimed, “My Lord and

My God!”  (John 20:28), and Jesus received this as worship.  Romans 9:5 to Christ

 

as the “eternally blessed God.”  Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him dwells all the

 

fullness of the Godhead bodily.”  Revelation 1:8 refers to Jesus as “the Almighty.”

 

Many other verses could be adduced, but these should suffice to prove the point that

 

Jesus is God.

 

Third, the New Testament also refers to the Holy Spirit as God.  Acts 5:1-11

 

contains the story of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, who received the

 

judgment of God because they lied to God.  Peter indicated that they had lied to the

 

Holy Spirit (v.3).  He then proceeded to indicate that they had lied to God (v.4).

 

They had only told one lie, but Peter said they had lied to the Holy Spirit and God.

 

The logical conclusion of this is that the Holy Spirit is God.  1 Corinthians 3:16 says,

 

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells

 

in you?”  However, 1 Cor. 6:19 states, “Or do you not know that your body is the

 

temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not

 

your own?”  One of the verses states that our bodies are the temples of the Holy

 

Spirit while the other states our bodies are the temples of God.  The verses do not

 

say the Spirit and God.  This seems to indicate that they are interchangeable

 

expressions which would put the Spirit on equal footing with the Father.

 

Furthermore, it has already been noted in a previous paragraph that John 1:1

 

teaches the deity of Christ.  In John 14:16, Christ says, “And I will pray the

 

Father, and He will give you another Helper {the Holy Spirit, according to v. 17}, 

 

that He may abide with you forever.”  J. I. Packer notes the connection of these 

two verses in revealing the plurality within the unity of the Godhead.  There is a

 

connection because “another” is translated from the Greek word, allos, meaning

 

“another of the same sort”, as opposed to heteros, which means “another of a

 

different sort.”  Therefore, the Holy Spirit is of whatever sort Christ is.  Therefore,

 

if Christ is God, which He is, the Holy Spirit is also God, and it is His job to

 

continue the ministry of Christ.

 

Further evidence of the deity of the Holy Spirit is revealed in the fact that the

 

Spirit is a person.  Packer says, “John underlines the point {that the Spirit is God} by

 

repeatedly using a masculine pronoun (ekeino, ‘he’) to render Jesus’ references to

 

the Spirit, when Greek grammar called for a neuter one (ekeino, ‘it’) to agree with

 

the neuter noun ‘Spirit’ (pneuma):  John wants his readers to be in no doubt that

 

the Spirit is he not it.”  R. A. Torrey lists three proofs of the personality of the

 

Spirit.  He asserts that the marks of personality are knowledge, feeling, and will;

 

and each of these is ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the Bible (cf. 1 Cor. 2:11,

 

1 Cor. 12:11, Rom. 8:27, Rom. 15:30, Neh. 9:20, and Eph. 4:30)  Second, he says,

 

“Many actions are ascribed to the Holy Spirit that only a person can perform.”

 

Torrey illustrates this by noting that the Spirit speaks (1 Cor. 2:10), prays

 

(Rom. 8:26), and teaches (John 14:26).  Third, Torrey notes that the Holy Spirit

 

is “another Comforter”, and this is an office only a person can fill.

 

The preceding paragraphs demonstrate that the New Testament teaches that

 

there is only one God, but it names three persons (Father, Son, and Spirit) as God.

 

This demonstrates the three-in-oneness of God.  However, it is still necessary to

 

proceed by examining the relationship among the three persons.

 

First, the New Testament clearly teaches that each person within the Triune

 

God is eternal.  Psalm 90.2 speaks of the LORD being “from everlasting to

 

everlasting.”  The Father is generally assumed to be eternal because of the strong

 

and clear affirmation of His deity.  In Hebrews 9:14, the Holy Spirit is actually

 

called “eternal.”  The Son is not specifically referred to as eternal but His eternality

 

is clearly taught in the Scriptures.  Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the

 

Beginning and the End” (Rev. 1:8).  John 1:1 states that He was “in the beginning.”

 

This verse is parallel with Gen. 1:1.  In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say

 

to you, before Abraham was, I AM {ego eimi}.”  Ego eimi means “I have always

 

been.”  Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him {Jesus} all things were created that are

 

in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions

 

or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.”

 

Since Jesus created everything, He is not created, and thus, is eternal.  In fact, there

 

has never been a moment in all the eons of eternity that any member of the Godhead

 

was not in existence.

 

Second, the New Testament clearly teaches that each person within the

 

Triune God is equal.  John 5:17 records Jesus referring to God as “my  Father..”

 

The next verse relates that the Jews tried to kill Him because He “also said that God

 

was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”  Jesus is everything He claimed to

 

be so His Father and He are equal.  The Holy Spirit is also equal to the Father and

 

the Son.  Some passages that speak of the Father, Son, and Spirit name the Spirit

 

before one or both of the others (cf. Rom. 8:12-17 and Rev. 1:4-5 for examples).

 

Packer says, “When the Father is put first and the Son third and the Spirit between

 

them, as here, no room remains for doubt as to the Spirit’s coequality with them.”

 

Third, the New Testament clearly teaches that each person within the Triune

 

God is of the same essence.  Jerry Hauhton says, “The divine essence is not divided

 

among three persons, but each one partakes equally of all the attributes of deity so

 

that there is a numerical unity of essence.  They are one in essence, but three in

 

person.”  Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30).  A. T. Robertson

 

says the Greek grammatical construction does not mean one person, “but one

 

essence or nature.”  Therefore, the Father and Son are of the same essence.  This

 

truth also extends to the Holy Spirit because He is another of the same sort as Jesus. 

 

H. Wayne House lists eternality, power, omniscience, omnipresence, holiness, truth,

 

and benevolence as attributes of deity shown in the Bible to be shared by all three

 

persons of the Trinty.

 

Fourth, the New Testament clearly teaches that each person within the

 

Triune God is distinct from the others.  John 1:1 says that “the Word was with

 

God.”  The preposition, “with,” pros in the Greek, could be translated as “toward,

 

and it suggests that the Word and the Father were facing one another.

Zodhiates says, “John is careful to point out to us that Jesus Christ, the eternal

 

Logos of whom he spoke in the first clause of the first verse, is not the same person

 

as God the Father.  He declares that He is a distinct Person and ought not to be

 

confused with the Father.”  In addition, Jesus taught His disciples that He must go

 

away in order for the Father to send the Holy Spirit.  This clearly shows a

 

distinction among the persons.  The passages describing the baptism of Jesus also

 

clearly demonstrate the distinction.  Jesus, the Son, is being baptized, the Father is

 

speaking from heaven, and the Spirit is descending like a dove upon the Son.  This

 

distinction does not abrogate the fact that the Son is the eternal “expression of what

 

the Father is” or that the Spirit “proceeds from the Father”(John 15:26).

 

However, the New Testament teaches a clear distinction between the three persons

 

who are the one God.  As Wayne House says, “The Godhead exists ‘undivided in

 

divided persons’.”

 

Fifth, the New Testament also clearly teaches that the three persons of the

 

Triune God function together in various roles to accomplish their will.  They have

 

worked together to bring about the great events in history.  The Father, the Son,

 

and the Holy Spirit functioned together to bring about the creation.  They also

 

worked together to bring about redemption.  The Father originates it by giving His

 

Son, the Son actually secures redemption by giving Himself at Calvary as the

 

atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2), and the Spirit applies the

 

benefits of salvation to the believer (John 3:5-6).  Also, many New Testament texts

say that God raised Jesus from the dead.  However, Gal. 1:1 says that the Father

 

raised Him from the dead.  Yet, Jesus taught that He would raise Himself (John

 

2:18-22).  Also, 1 Pet. 3:18 speaks of Christ “being put to death in the flesh but made

 

alive by the Spirit.”  The only way to understand this is that the three Persons who

 

are the one God functioned together to raise Jesus from the dead.

 

The triune God is also functioning together to work in the lives of believers

 

today.  They work in the Church, the body of Christ, because the Father has

 

ordained the Church, the Son is Head of the Church, and the Spirit is at work

 

empowering the Church.  Ephesians 1:3-14 declares that God blesses believers in

 

Christ Jesus.  This is brought about through the Father’s election, the Son’s

 

redemption, and the Spirit’s protection.  Christians pray to the Father (Mt. 6:9),

 

through the Son (John 14:6), and with the help of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26).  C. S.

 

Lewis lucidly states this truth by writing.

 

What I mean is this.  An ordinary simple Christian kneels

down to say his prayers.  He is trying to get into touch with God. 

But if he is a Christian he knows that what is prompting him to

pray is also God:  God, so to speak, inside him.  But he also knows

that all his real knowledge of God comes through Christ, the Man

who was God-that Christ is standing beside him, helping him to pray,

praying for him.

 

This should serve to illustrate the fact that the doctrine of the Trinity is a practical

 

doctrine.

 

THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHING IN LIGHT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

 

Millard Erickson says, “The whole Bible must be taken into account when we

 

interpret Scripture.  The Old Testament and New Testament are to be approached

 

with the expectation that a unity between the two exists.”  Packer contends that

 

Old testament references to God should be read “in the light of the New Testament

 

disclosure that God is triune.”  Thus, it is proper and important to examine the

 

Old Testament in light of the New Testament.  It is this writer’s opinion that the

 

verses that were dealt with in the Old Testament section should be viewed in light of

 

both the consistency of Scripture and progressive revelation.  Based on this, it is this

 

writer’s conclusion that the doctrine of the Trinity that is taught explicitly in the

 

New Testament is definitely implied in the Old Testament.  There is no qualitative

 

difference between the two.  It is only a matter of detail and specificity.  The Old

 

Testament verses looked at earlier certainly allow for a plurality within the unity of

 

the Godhead, and passages such as Gen. 1:1-3 can certainly be interpreted as

 

Trinitarian when looked at in light of the New Testament.

 

A BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF THE TRINITY

 

This section will seek to synthesize the biblical material presented in this

 

paper into a coherent, working, biblical definition of the Trinity.  First, the Bible

 

clearly asserts from beginning to end that there is only one God.  This refutes

 

tritheism.  Second, the Bible names three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: as

 

God.  The full deity of each of the persons is affirmed.  This refutes

 

subordinationism.  Third, the Bible affirms that the Father, the Son, and the Holy

 

Spirit are the one God.  Fourth, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy are

 

co-eternal and co-equal.  This refutes dynamic monarchianism.  Fifth, the Bible

asserts that the three persons are of the same essence but are distinct persons.  This

 

refutes modalistic monarchianism.  Sixth, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son,

 

and Spirit work together to accomplish the functions of the Godhead.  In summation,

 

the biblical doctrine of the Trinity is that there is one God who is a plurality within

 

unity.  This one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They are co-eternal, co-equal,

 

and of the same essence but with distinction of persons.  They work together to

 

accomplish their will, and it is the responsibility of all persons to respond to this

 

God in love, worship, obedience, and service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCES CONSULTED

 

Archer, Gleason L. Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Zondervan Publishing House, 1982.

 

   Criswell, W. A., ed. The Believer’s Study Bible:  New King James Version.

Nashville:  Thomas Nelson, 1991.

 

   Elwell, Walter A. The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.

Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Baker Book House, 1991

 

   Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Baker Book House, 1985.

 

   Gaebelein, Frank E., ed.  Expositor’s Bible Commentary.  Vol. 3.  Grand Rapids,

Michigan:  Zondervan, 1992

 

   Gruenler, Royce Gordon.  The Trinity in the Gospel of John:  A Thematic

Commentary on the Fourth Gospel.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Baker Book House, 1986.

 

   Haughton, Jerry.  Every Wind of Doctrine.  Living Spring Press, 1976.

 

   House, H. Wayne.  Charts Of Christian Theology And Doctrine.  Grand Rapids,

Michigan:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.

 

   Lewis, C. S.  Mere Christianity.  New York:  Macmillan Publishing Company,

1952.

 

   Packer, J. I.   Keep In Step With The Spirit.  Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Fleming H. Revell, 1984.

 

   Packer, J. I.  Knowing God.  Downers Grove, Illinois:  InterVarsity Press, 1973.

 

   Richards, Lawrence O., ed.  The Revell Concise Bible Dictionary.  Tarrytown,

New York:  Fleming H. Revell Company, 1991.

 

   Robertson, A. T.  Word Pictures In The New Testament.  Vol. 5.  New York: 

Richard R. Smith, Inc., 1932.

 

   Robertson, A. T.  Word Pictures In The New Testament.  Vol. 6.  Nashville:

Broadman Press, 1933.

 

   Should You Believe in the Trinity?.  Brooklyn, New York:  Watchtower Bible And

Tract Society of New York, Inc., 1989.

 

   Strong, James.  Strong’s Comprehensive Concordance of the Bible.  Iowa Falls,

Iowa, World Bible Publishers, Inc.

 

   Torrey, R. A.  The Holy Spirit.  New York:  Fleming H. Revell Company, 1927.

 

   Vine, W. E.  Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.

Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Fleming H. Revell, 1981.

 

   Zodhiates, Spiros.  The Complete Word Study Dictionary:  New Testament.

Chattanooga, TN:  AMG Publishers, 1992.

 

   Zodhiates, Spiros.  Was Christ God?.  Chattanooga, TN:  AMG Publishers, 1966.