Is The Trinity a Scriptural

Teaching?
FOR centuries millions of people have believed the doctrine of the trinity, which

teaches that “in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the

Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from

another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: ‘The Father is God, the Son

is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one

God.’”

Many Persons think the trinity is a Christian teaching based on God’s Word, the

Bible. However, early Roman Catholic writers did not hesitate to admit that the

trinity could not be proved by Scripture alone. Listen to what a foremost Clergy,

Cardinal Hosius is quoted as having said: “We believe the doctrine of a triune

God, because we have received it by tradition, though not mentioned at all in

Scripture.” Other Persons are just as frank about declaring the trinity to be of

pagan origin. Arthur Weigall, in his book The Paganism in Our Christianity, states:

“Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New

Testament does the word ‘Trinity’ appear.” He says the idea of a coequal trinity

“was only adopted by the [Roman Catholic] Church three hundred years after the

death of our Lord; and the origin of the conception is entirely pagan.”

Truth is related to knowledge as much as falsehood is to ignorance. Would it be

reasonable for the Creator of man’s marvelous mind to allow ‘truth and soundness

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of mind’ to cease when it comes to worship? In fact, Jesus went on to say that

‘knowing’ the truth is a must in worship acceptable to God: “True worshipers . . .

must worship with spirit and truth. Read with me John 4:24. It says- God is a

Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.”

JEHOVAH’S only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, left no doubt about worship that

pleases his heavenly Father. While giving a heart-warming witness to a Samaritan

woman at a well near the city of Sychar, Jesus said: “You worship what you do not

know; we worship what we know, because salvation originates with the Jews.

Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will

worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for

suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must

worship with spirit and truth.” What then is the truth about the trinity? Is it a

scriptural teaching? As stated in the in John 17:17, God’s word the bible would be

our yardstick for testing the authenticity or otherwise of the trinity dogma.

The Bible states that God is Almighty and has a personal name. The Hebrew

and Greek scripture alluded to this fact. Let’s read two of these scriptures. Firstly,

Ex 18:11, And Re 16:7.

Ex 18:11, now I do know that Jehovah is greater than all the [other] gods by

reason of this affair in which they acted presumptuously against them.”

Re 16:7 and I heard the altar say: “Yes, Jehovah God, the Almighty, true

and righteous are your judicial decisions.”

That is why nowhere in the Bible is anyone but Jehovah called Almighty.
 Otherwise, it voids the meaning of the word “almighty.” Neither Jesus nor the Holy

Spirit is ever called that, for Jehovah alone is supreme. At Genesis 17:1 he

declares: “I am God Almighty.” And Exodus 18:11 says: “Jehovah is greater than

all the other gods.”

Therefore, he alone is uncreated, without a beginning. In the book of Psalms

Chapter 90, verse 2, He is described as being from time indefinite. Only Jehovah

is both without beginning and without end.

TO Israelites on the threshold of the Promised Land, Moses declared: “Listen, O

Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.”

What the Bible says about God is, He alone is Almighty, He alone is without

beginning, and He alone is Jehovah.

What role does Jesus play?

The book of Philippians’2:9-11 describes the role of Jesus. Open your Bible and

let’s read together Philippians 2:9-11. It says . 9 For this very reason also God

exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above

every [other] name, 10 so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend of

those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground, 11 and every

tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God

the Father.

Philippians 2:8, 9 reads: “More than that, when he [Jesus] found himself in
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fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes,

death on a torture stake. For this very reason also God exalted him to a superior

position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name.”

This passage does not mean that since only Jehovah has a name absolutely

above every other name, Jesus must be the same person as Jehovah. As the

context in Philippians chapter 2 shows, Jesus received his elevated name after his

resurrection. Before that, he did not possess it. On the other hand, Jehovah has

always been supreme, and his position has never changed. The fact that Jesus

received a name higher than the name he had before his earthly service proves

that he is not the same as Jehovah. When Paul said that Jesus was given a name

above every other name, he meant that Jesus now has the highest name of all

God’s creatures.

What is Jesus’ high name? Isaiah 9:6 helps us to answer. In prophesying about

the coming Messiah, Jesus, that verse says: “The princely rule will come to be

upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Here Jesus’ “name” has to do with his high

position and authority, which is also how we understand “the name that is above

every other name” mentioned at Philippians 2:9. Every knee is commanded to

bend to Jesus in recognition of the high position of authority that Jehovah has

given to him—a position of authority higher than that given to any other creature.

The word “other” in this translation is not directly represented in the underlying

Greek text, but it is implied by the sense of the verse. Jesus’ “name” is not above

his own name but is above every other creature’s name.

 Never did Jesus claim to be almighty God himself. Any impartial reading of the

Bible without preconceived ideas about the Trinity will verify that. For example, at

John 3:16, Jesus said: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-

begotten Son.” Just two verses later, Jesus again said that he was “the only-

begotten Son of God.” When the Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy, he

answered: “Do you say to me whom the Father sanctified and dispatched into the

world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, I am God’s Son?” Jesus did not say that

he was ‘God the Son’ but that he was “God’s Son.”

When Jesus died, even the Roman soldiers standing by knew that Jesus was

not God: “The army officer and those with him watching over Jesus, when they

saw the earthquake and the things happening, grew very much afraid, saying:

‘Certainly this was God’s Son.’” They did not say, ‘this was God’ or ‘this was God

the Son,’ because Jesus and his disciples taught that Jesus was the Son of God,

not God Almighty in human form.

God himself testified that Jesus was his beloved Son, as the Bible writer

Matthew noted when Jesus was baptized. Other Bible writers noted the same.

Mark wrote: “A voice came out of the heavens: ‘You are my Son, the beloved; I

have approved you.’” So God himself, all four Gospel writers, and John the

Baptizer clearly state that Jesus was the Son of God. And some time later, at the

transfiguration of Jesus, a similar thing happened: “A voice [God’s] came out of the

cloud, saying: ‘This is my Son, the one that has been chosen. Listen to him.’”

In these accounts, was God saying that he was his own Son, that he sent
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himself, and that he approved himself? No, God the Father, the Creator, was

saying that he had sent his Son Jesus, a separate individual, to do God’s work.

Hence, throughout the Greek Scriptures the phrase “Son of God” is used to refer

to Jesus. But not once do we see the phrase ‘God the Son,’ for Jesus was not

almighty God. He was the Son of God. They are two different Persons, and no

theological “mystery” can change that truth.

John 17 Verse 3 futher reiterate the fact that Jesus new his position when he

called his Father the only true God. Col 1 Verse15,16 says He is the image of

the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all

[other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things

visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or

lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created

through him and for him.

However what did Jesus mean when he said I and the Father are one!

According to John 10:30. Instead of being in a Trinity, Jesus and his Father were

one by being in agreement with each other as Father and Son. Never was there

any disagreement between them. The witness that the Father gave and the

witness that the Son gave were in agreement. Jesus the Son said to the Jews:

“The Father who sent me is with me. Also, in your own Law it is written, ‘The

witness of two men is true.’ I am one that bears witness about myself, and the

Father who sent me bears witness about me.” Jesus here spoke of himself and of

his Father as two distinct individuals. So by them enough testimony was provided

for the Jews to believe, since testimony was required of two witnesses at least.
 Though two distinct individuals, yet the Father and the Son were one in their

witness or testimony, because both their testimonies agreed.

Also, in his vision of heavens, Stephen did not see Jesus as being part of a

triune God but as “at God’s right hand”. So invariable Stephen saw two separate

Individuals. You can read on your own Acts 7:55,56.

So, the trinity doctrine conflicts with what the scriptures teach about Jesus. He

clearly isn’t the almighty, he had a beginning.

What then about the Holy Spirit? Nowhere in the Bible is the Holy Spirit

described as a person. The fact that the Bible gives no indication of the Holy

Spirit’s having a personal name at least suggests that it may not be a person. You

might ask also, ‘Has the Holy Spirit ever been seen?’ Well, at Jesus’ baptism it

was manifested as a dove and at Pentecost as tongues as if of fire. If it is a

person, why did it not appear as a person? And if the Holy Spirit is not a person,

what is it? Undoubtedly, it is the active force from God that at Pentecost was

‘poured out’ on the disciples. By this active force, Jehovah performed his acts of

creation—“God’s active force was moving to and fro over the surface of the

waters.” The same active force inspired the writers of the Bible.

One of those inspired writers was the prophet Daniel. In Daniel chapter 7 he

describes a wonderful vision Jehovah gave to him: “the Ancient of Days” on his

heavenly throne, with a multitude of angels ministering to him. Daniel saw also

“someone like a Son of man [Jesus],” who was given “rulership and dignity and

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kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even

him.” What, though, about the Holy Spirit? It is not mentioned as a person in this

celestial scene. After Jesus was resurrected, Stephen had a vision of heaven and

“caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand.” Thus, two

separate Persons were in evidence in heaven: (1) God and (2) the resurrected

Jesus Christ. No Holy Spirit is mentioned in this vision because it was not any third

person of a Trinity. The Holy Spirit, being God’s active force, would proceed from

God but not as a separate being. That is why Stephen saw only two Persons, not

three.

God stressed the importance of his own name when he said: “I am Jehovah.

That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise

to graven images.” The importance of Jesus Christ’s name was emphasized

before his birth when an angel told Mary: “You are to call his name Jesus.” If the

names of the Father and of the Son are so important, why does the Holy Spirit not

have a personal name? Surely, this detail alone should make a person wonder

whether the spirit is really equal to the Father and the Son.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, or the “Old Testament,” there are references to the

“Holy Spirit” and to “my [God’s] spirit.” We read that the Holy Spirit can fill a

person, come upon him, and envelop him. Some of God’s Holy Spirit can be taken

from one person and given to another. The Holy Spirit can become operative upon

someone, enabling him to perform superhuman feats.

What can reasonably be concluded from such statements? Surely not that the

Holy Spirit is a person. How can a portion of a person be taken from one individual
 and be given to another? Moreover, there is no evidence that when Jesus was on

earth, faithful Jews viewed the Holy Spirit as a person equal to the Father. They

certainly did not worship the Holy Spirit. Rather, their worship was directed solely

to Jehovah, the One whom Jesus himself called “my Father” and “my God.”

Like the so-called Old Testament, the part of the Bible called the Christian

Greek Scriptures, or “New Testament,” says that the Holy Spirit can ‘fill’ a person

or be “upon” him. Holy Spirit was ‘given,’ ‘poured out upon,’ and ‘distributed.’ At

Pentecost 33 C.E., the disciples received “some of” God’s spirit. The Scriptures

also speak of baptism with Holy Spirit and of anointing with it.

The bible describes the Holy Spirit as God’s active force. Jesus received it

when he got baptized, it enabled him to perform miraculous healings, raise the

dead, and control the forces of nature.

Figuratively, God is spoken of as accomplishing work with his “finger(s),” such

as writing the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, performing miracles, and

creating the heavens. That God’s “fingers” employed in creative activity have

reference to his Holy Spirit, or active force, is indicated by the Genesis account of

creation, where it is said that God’s active force moved over the surface of the

waters. However, the Christian Greek Scriptures give the key to sure

understanding of this symbolic usage, Matthew’s account explaining that Jesus

expelled demons by ‘God’s Holy Spirit’ and Luke’s telling us that it was by “God’s

finger.”

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 Read with me Psalm 33 Verse 6, By the word of Jehovah the heavens

themselves were made,

And by the spirit of his mouth all their army.

So the Holy Spirit is God’s Active Force used to accomplish his purposes.

Here again the trinity doctrine cannot be reconciled with what the scriptures

reveal about the Holy Spirit.

At Mark 13:32, Jesus said concerning the day and hour of the great tribulation,

“nobody knows... but the Father”. The Father and Son cannot be equal, with the

Son not knowing all that the father knows.

Although Trinitarians claim that the Son was limited by his humanity from

knowing, they still cannot explain why the Holy Spirit does not know.

Jesus stated at Luke 10:22:” Who the Son is no one knows but the father,; and

who the father is, no one knows but the Son.”

Again, since the Holy Spirit is not a person, it does not know,

To say that the trinity doctrine was later received by tradition, although not

taught in the scriptures, contradicts Paul’s words in Galatians Chapter 1: 8. Let’s

read. . 8 However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to

YOU as good news something beyond what we declared to YOU as good

news, let him be accursed.

Clearly, the Bible refutes all facets of the trinity doctrine.

 We are encouraged to hate falsehood and love truth. One of such glorified

falsehood is the trinity doctrine. We need to embrace the truth about Jehovah’s

unique God ship.

Through his word, Jehovah our grand instructor shows us the true way of

worshipping him. Isaiah 30:20,21 says And Jehovah will certainly give YOU

people bread in the form of distress and water in the form of oppression; yet

your Grand Instructor will no longer hide himself, and your eyes must

become [eyes] seeing your Grand Instructor. 21 And your own ears will hear a

word behind you saying: “This is the way. Walk in it, YOU people,” in case

YOU people should go to the right or in case YOU should go to the left.

By adding walk in it he urges us to act.

In fact, Paul explained something about God’s purposes that makes it

impossible that Jesus and his Father are equal parts of a Trinity. He wrote in 1 Cor

15 Verse 27: “God ‘subjected all things under his [Jesus’] feet.’ But when he

says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that it is with the

exception of the one who subjected all things to him. But when all things will

have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to

the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to

everyone.” Thus, God will still be over all, including Jesus.

Is the Trinity taught in the Bible, then? No. It is not in the Bible, nor is it a part of

“Christian thought.” Do you view this as important to your worship? You should.

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Jesus said: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only

true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” If we take our

worship of God seriously, it is vital that we know him as he really is, as he has

revealed himself to us. Only then can we truly say that we are among the “true

worshipers” who “worship the Father with spirit and truth.”