Why the Triune Nature Is

Essential
(A Defense of the Trinity)
By Christian Anarchist

I would like to take the time to explain

first why I am making this. I was in a
discussion with an atheist who goes by
the name of Absolute-Atheism on YouTube
concerning my last essay on the No True
Scotsman Fallacy. Our conversation lead
to him citing the following as the
essentials of the Christian Faith:

1. Believes Jesus Christ is the Messiah

sacrificed for the sins of mankind
2. Believes Jesus Christ rose from the
dead and ascended to heaven.
3. Has repent of all sins and continues to
do so.
4. Asks Jesus to save themselves and be
born again a child of Christ.
5. Follows the teachings of Jesus
according to the bible.
However, though I find this to be ok, I
noticed he left out the Trinity. When I
asked him about that, he simply rejected
it and said that hed be convinced that it
is a prerequisite if the text proves this. I
make this essay in dedication to him and
others who hold to his similar view on
what it takes to be a Christian.
The first thing I would like to do is lay
down why the Trinity is really important

as an essential doctrine before going into

details concerning scripture and church
history. The doctrine of the Trinity is
defined as God not being Unitarian, but
that he is Triune in nature. He is the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These are
three persons of the Divine Godhead who
are one. The Father is God as well as the
Son and Holy Spirit, but The Father is not
the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit.
It is important because if Jesus is a
created being in the same way that
Arians, Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons
believe, then Jesus is just a regular
creation who we are told to pray to (1
Corinthians 1:12, John 14:14, 1 John 5:1315). If he is just a part of creation, then
why would we be told to pray to Jesus, a
dead and created being, as if he were
God if the bible warns us not to do this
(Romans 1:25)?
When we examine the scriptures, we
can clearly see signs that Jesus is divine

and is God when he even goes as far to

call himself the I AM in John 8:58, which is
referring to the title in Exodus 3:14 (1).
You could really tell this action was bad
because right afterwards, Jesus was being
stoned because he said this. You could
really tell that the Jews at this time
considered what he said to be very
blasphemous. Jesus confirms this even
further when he says that he and the
Father are one in John 10:30. Doesnt this
just mean that its some spiritual sense of
a regular human being one with his deity?
Not according to the reaction he got,
which is explained in the next couple of
verses. The Jews that were near him
heard this phrase in John 10:30 and were
about to stone Jesus. Jesus said he did
many good works from the Father and he
was curious to know which one he was
about to be stoned for. They replied that
he wasnt going to be stoned for his
works or deeds, but for blasphemy. What

was the blasphemy they accused him of?

In John 10:33, it is quoted as ..and
because that thou, being a man, makest
thyself God.
Does the Old Testament lead to what
Christians consider to be a Trinitarian God
compared to what some skeptics may
have to say about it? Some will say that
the Trinity is just illogical or gets rid of the
basic passages in the Old Testament. The
most commonly used passage is
Deuteronomy 6:4 where it says that God,
The Lord, is one. Now if God is one, how
can he be triune? I think this question can
easily be solved when you look into the
Hebrew text and especially dive into
Lexicons. When we look at the word being
used for one is Echad or Hebrew #259.
While you can look up the meaning of this
term for yourself in lexicons, I will offer
one explanation of this word in use by Dr.
Michael Brown, a Messianic Jewish
scholar. In regards to this word, he states:

Actually, echad simply means one,

exactly like our English word one. While
it can refer to compound unity (just as
our English word can, as in one team, one
couple, etc.), it does not specifically refer
to compound unity. On the other hand,
echad certainly does not refer to the
concept of absolute unity, an idea
expressed most clearly in the twelfth
century by Moses Maimonides, who
asserted that the Jewish people must
believe that God is yachid, an only one.
There is no doubt that this reaction was
due to exaggerated, unbiblical, Christian
beliefs that gave Jews the impression
Christians worshipped three gods.
Unfortunately, the view of Maimonides is
reactionary and also goes beyond what is
stated in the Scriptures. In fact, there is
not a single verse anywhere in the Bible
that clearly or directly states that God is
an absolute unity.(1)(2)

Another thing to consider is a thought

brought to me by a YouTuber named
InspiringPhilosophy where he talks about
the concept of the persons of the Trinity is
in the Old Testament. Where the concept
instead of it being The Father, The Son
and The Holy Spirit (Ghost), it is now The
Lord, The Angel of the Lord and The Spirit
of the Lord. The first one is a no brainer,
but couldnt the others just be individual
angels or just The Lords spirit? Well we
will have to look at the passages that are
used. A good one to define the Angel of
the Lord is Genesis 16 in regards to the
Lord and Hagar. In verse 9, we see that it
says The Angel of the Lord spoke to her.
In verse 13, it reads: And she called the
name of the Lord that spake unto
her So it said the Lord spoke to
her in verse 13, but in verse 9 it said The
Angel of the Lord did. Then the Spirit of
the Lord is noticed as a parallel to the
Holy Spirit concept. An example of the

Old Testament and New Testament

parallel is seen in the concept of the
Spirit. In the New Testament, like in
Romans 8:9 where it mentions the
dwelling of the Spirit and Ephesians 5:18
where it mentions the filling of the Holy
Spirit. In the Old Testament, you will see
the same with Numbers 24:2 and Exodus
31:3. Similar language involving the
Trinity and its concept.
Now when it comes to the Early
Church, Christians believed in the
doctrine of the Trinity when it came to
aspect of God and believed this was the
identity of the one true God. An example
is Polycarp of Smyrna (70 155/160), who
was a disciple of the Apostle John, where
he states the following in his letter to the
Church at Phillipi: Now may the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
eternal High Priest Himself, the God Jesus
Christ, build you up in the faith. (3) Jesus
is referred to as Lord, who only God is

referred to as in the Old and New

Testament. How about Clement of Rome
(1 Century AD), who traveled with the
Apostle Paul and is mentioned in
Philippians 4:3, where he states this in his
letter to the Corinthians: For Christ is
with those who are humble, not with
those exalt themselves over his flock. The
majestic scepter of God, our Lord Jesus
Christ, did not come with the pomp of
arrogance or pride (though He could have
done so), but in humility, just as the Holy
Spirit spoke concerning Him. (4) And
here I will just continue to list a few more
quotes from other early church fathers.
Iraneus (130 - 202): But he Jesus is
himself in his own right, beyond all men
who ever lived, God, Lord, and king
eternal, and the incarnate word,
proclaimed by all the prophets, the
apostles The Scriptures would not have

borne witness to these things concerning

Him, if, like everyone else, He were mere
man." (5)
Theophilus (115 - 181): In like manner
also the three days which were before the
luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of
God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And
the fourth is the type of man, who needs
light, that so there may be God, the
Word, wisdom, man. (6)
Clement of Alexandria (150 215): The
Word, then, the Christ, is the cause both
of our ancient beginning, for he was in
God, and of our well-being. And now this
same Word has appeared as man. He
alone. is both God and man, and the
source of all our good things." (7)
Tertullian (155 240): God alone is
without sin. The only man without sin is
Christ; for Christ is also God. (8)

The Trinity has been a doctrine that

not only has been an affirmed by the
scriptures, but even the early church has
established this to be a well-established
fact and affirmed it even before the
Council of Nicea. Whenever a skeptic tries
to tell you that the Trinity is not essential
to the Christian faith, let them get shown
that history and the bible states
differently. When we hold to the doctrine
of the Trinity, then we really can see the
one and only uniqueness of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sources and Notes

(1.) InspiringPhilosophy. "The Trinity in the
Old Testament." YouTube. YouTube, 01
Oct. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2016.
(2.) The source that InspiringPhilosophy
seems to have used in order to get the
quote has been taken down due to
multiple third party notifications.

(3.) Polycarp to the Philippians, Chapter

12
(4.) 1 Clement 16:1-2
(5.) Against Heresies 3:19. 1-2
(6.) Theophilus to Autolycus 2:22
(7.) Clement of Alexandrias Exhortation
to the Greeks 1:7:1
(8.) The Flesh of Christ 5:6-7