Part Three
In my last posting, I attempted to identify some tools that might be useful in the defense of the doctrine of the Trinity. There are, of course, countless other arguments against the Trinity and equally sound defenses against those arguments. However, the most important defense for any orthodox Christian doctrine or belief is the revelation God gave us in the Scriptures. Therefore, we will now turn our attention to that very important revelation of God.
What The Bible Says
For the Christian, God’s revelation of himself in Scripture is a crucial element of faith. So it is essential to investigate the Scriptures to determine its teaching relative to the Trinity. It is often argued by those that would oppose the doctrine of the Trinity that it is merely a man-made invention since it is never identified formally or informally in Scripture. The word “Trinity” never appears in either the Old or New Testaments. However, Thomas Oden writes, “Many technical terms familiar to Christian teaching, like eschatology, anthropology, pneumatology, hamartiology, and cosmology, are not found expressly in Scripture but derive explicitly from scriptural teaching. So it is with trinity.”[1]
Old Testament Support
Like many things about God’s revelation, it becomes clearer with the passage of time and perhaps with expanded revelation. This is the case with Old Testament support for the Trinity. For example, Herbert Lockyer writes, “Elohim, the divine term used of God at the beginning of the Bible (Genesis1:1), is a plural noun used some 500 times by Moses…accompanied continually by a verb in the singular. This is a term revealing the oneness of Deity and the plurality of Persons in the Godhead.”[2] God uses the plural pronoun “us” and “our” during the creative process recorded in Genesis when he says, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...” (Genesis 1:26) Donald Bloesch writes, “This evidence attests that the God of revelation was conceived from the very beginning as a composite rather than a solitary unity.”[3] What shall we make of the physical appearances of God, also known as theophanies, in the Old Testament? (Gen. 18, Jos. 5 and Dan. 3) Since the Father is spirit and has no physical body per se, these theophanies are largely held to be the preincarnate Jesus Christ himself. Furthermore, there are occasions when God speaks of the actions of his Spirit among Israel in terms that beg the question: What Spirit is God referring to when God the Father is spirit? (Joel 2:28) It seems clear that there is a distinction between God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit. However, it isn’t until the New Testament that we begin to see an expanded revelation of God and a much clearer view of the Trinity.
New Testament Support
Again Lockyer writes, “Any doctrine latent in the Old Testament is patent in the New Testament.”[4] The unfolding of the Trinity becomes increasingly clearer in the New Testament where there are countless examples that clearly identify both the unity and the plurality of God. One of the clearest examples of God’s plurality is demonstrated at Jesus’ baptism where Mark records the event beautifully saying, “As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” (Mk. 1:10-11) With similar clarity, the unity of God is demonstrated through the words of Jesus himself. John records an encounter between Jesus and one of his disciples, Philip, with respect to Jesus’ anticipated death, and return to the Father. Jesus is trying to give his disciples a glimpse of blessings that await them in the presence of the Father. “Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.’” (Jn. 14:8-9) Certainly Jesus is not saying that he and the Father are the same person. We know this because Jesus is often shown praying to the Father (cf. Matt. 26:39-42). It seems beyond reason to insist that he was praying to himself. Instead, it is far more reasonable to see in Jesus’ words and actions throughout Scripture that he and the Father are the same in essence while at the same time distinct in their individual personhood.
Conclusion
It goes without saying that there is no perfect argument in defense of the Trinity that would convince all doubters. However, to say that there is clear evidence against belief in the Trinity is far from accurate as well. The historical development of the doctrine was methodical and intentional. Biblical support, although not explicitly identifying the “Trinity,” nonetheless contains the building blocks necessary for the sound development of the doctrine. While these all may be fine sounding arguments in defense of the Trinity, there are some essential elements that must be considered in closing. John records an event before Jesus is crucified where Jesus says, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (Jn. 16:12-13) Christians are at times criticized for being unscientific in their biblical theology and instead relying on their faith as opposed to reason in matters such as the Trinity. However, while we may be called to give a defense of our beliefs, it is unreasonable to insist that we must somehow present a compelling argument to someone lacking the illumination of truth provided by the Spirit. Murray writes, “One lesson to be learned from this is that there is no sledgehammer apologetics. There are no arguments for the truth of Christianity which force the atheist or non-Christian to their intellectual knees. The unbeliever can always backtrack and give up some other belief instead.”[5] Additionally, one of, if not the, operative words in Christianity is “faith.” Faith, by definition, is belief in something that is not entirely certain. There are so many things about Christianity that are built upon the foundation of faith in something uncertain. We don’t understand nor can we explain how God exists outside of creation yet we believe it by faith. We don’t understand how God created something out of nothing yet we believe it by faith. We don’t understand how God became a man in the person of Jesus yet we believe it by faith. We don’t understand how Jesus died on a cross and then rose from the dead three days later yet we believe it by faith. We can’t explain how the Spirit lives within us when we accept Christ yet we believe it by faith. We believe these things by faith yet skeptics decry that it is unreasonable to believe that God exists as one essence in three persons because we don’t fully understand it and can’t fully explain it. It would seem that this is unbelief for unbelief’s sake. Instead, although the doctrine of the Trinity is built on a strong foundation of biblical support and sound scholarship, its ultimate acceptance is still a matter of faith.
[1] Thomas C. Oden, The Living God, (HarperSanFrancisco, New York, NY, 1987) p. 186.
[2] Herbert Lockyer, All the Doctrines of the Bible, (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1964) p. 123.
[3] Donald G. Bloesch, God the Almighty, (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1995) p. 168.
[4] Lockyer, All the Doctrines of the Bible, p. 124
[5] Michael J. Murray, ed., Reason for the Hope Within, (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 1999) p. 13.
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