Trinity

1. The Bible says that there is only one God: Deuteronomy 6:4 (cross ref. Matt ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microso ft-com:office:smarttags&q uot; />12:29), Isaiah 43:10, 44:6-8, 45:5,14,18,21,22, 46:9 (and an indirect reference in 47:8).

    

2. The Bible also names 3 persons as God:
   
   

    

   1. God the Father – 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:4-6
      
      

       

   2. God the Son (Jesus Christ, the Word) – John 1:1-5, 1:14 (cross ref. 1 John 4:2-3), John 8:58 (cross ref. John 8:24, Exodus 3:14), John 10:30-33, 20:28, Col. 2:9, Phil. 2:5-8, Heb. 1:8,6, also Phil 2:9-11 (cross ref. Isaiah 45:23).
      Note: Jesus is worshipped several times throughout scripture, whereas worship is commanded only to be given and received by God (Matt. 4:10, Luke 4:8, Exodus 20:5,6).
      
      

       

   3. God the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) – Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 (cross ref. Exodus 34:34), Isaiah 63:10

       

3. God in the Old Testament talks about Himself in the plural.

    

   1. Gen. 1:26 – Let us make man in our image…

       

   2. Gen. 3:22 - …become like one of us...

       

   3. Isaiah 6:8 - …and who will go for us…

       

   4. Psalms 45:6, cross ref. Heb 1:6-8 – God said to my God – The context is the Father speaking and since it is requited in Hebrews 1:6-8, the New Testament reveals that God the Father was calling the Son God, illustrating an agreement between the persons that each individually is God, yet there is but one God

       

   5. Malachi 3:1-2, Hosea 1:7 - God is speaking about the Lord, speaking of another person who is called Lord in the third person, who is God Himself.

       

4. The Pre-existence of the Son – The Second Person in God's being added humanity to His deity - Psalms 110:1, cross ref. Matt. 22:44, Mr. 12:36, Luke 20:41-44, Heb 1:13 – Jesus quotes Psalms 110:1 where Jesus says that this is a direct reference to Himself, the Christ, in the Old Testament. The Christ is called Lord here, and is with God, pre-existent to His appearance on earth in the New Testament. Also, it is noteworthy that Jesus quotes Psalms 110:1 in a dispute with Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, in Luke 20:41-44, proving and showing them from the psalms that the Christ is not only pre-existent and not of human origin, but the Lord of the Old Testament that spoke to David who would be both God and man.

    

5. The Person-hood of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit in several passages such as these is spoken of as a personal, living, thinking, feeling individual, like the Father. For example, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30, Isaiah 63:10), can teach and is referred to as someone separate from Jesus (John 14:26), can speak (Acts 13:2), and intercede or be sent (Romans 8:27), and many other examples.

    

   1. John 14:26 Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach us – teaching is an activity that is personal, and this passage also refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, or Helper.

       

   2. John 16:13-15 refers to the Holy Spirit as distinct from the Father and the Son and the Son says that the Holy Spirit will guide us.

       

   3. In Acts 16:6-7, the narrative of the passage talks about the Holy Spirit telling Paul and Silas not to preach in one area and directing them to another – some translations have 'the Spirit of Jesus,' which is another reference to the Holy Spirit.

       

   4. In Acts 10:38 – 'How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…' – if the Holy Spirit were just the 'power' of God or some force, it would read differently, such as, 'with the power of God,' but passages such as these show how the Holy Spirit and the power of God are different (1 Thess. 1:5, and the ones above show how the Holy Spirit is not impersonal, but a person of God (for example, in 2 Cor. 3:17 we find that, like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is called Lord).

       

6. The Three Persons mentioned together – The bible mentions them together over 60 times

    

   1. Here are some: Matt 3:16,17, Matt 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14, Ephessians 4:4-6, Titus 3:4-6, John 14:26, John 3:34, and many others.

       

   2. Think of when Jesus was baptized in Matt. 3:16-17 – The Father spoke from heaven, Jesus was being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven – all 3 appeared, and all 3 were distinct from each other, yet there is but 1 God. This then occurs in all 4 gospels: Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:22, and John 1:32.

       

7. 1 Cor. 12:1-6 – This passage shows that there is a pattern in the New Testament where the Greek word for 'Lord' (kurios) is usually applied to the Son and the Greek word for 'God' (theos) is generally applied to the Father, but as we have seen, these are divine names and titles that directly refer to each person being God.

    

   1. The Greek word Lord (kurios) is applied to Jesus. The Hebrew equivalent refers to the person of the Son over 6,800 times in the Old Testament. It is one of the Old Testament names for God: Spirit, Lord and God (3 persons).

       

1. Examine this passage: 2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
   Here, the Son is called Lord, the Father is called God, and then there is the person of the Holy Spirit.

    

2. Examine this passage: John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. (NIV) Psalm 110:1

    

3. Examine these:

    

1. From these passages, and many others, we see that the Father is usually called God, the Son is usually called Lord, and the person of the Holy Spirit is usually called Holy Spirit, or Spirit – even though each person individually is called God or Lord in others passages and each person is distinct from the other two (Jude 1:20-21, and so on). There is one God as three persons.