The Doctrine of the Trinity #2

Questions about the Trinity

Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law”

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

“The Trinity is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Spirit—who are each fully and equally God.” Mark Driscoll/

Is the Doctrine of the Trinity a Contradiction?

“Is the formula of the Trinity a contradiction? I could reply to my own question with a simple no. But that will not do. The answer must be more emphatic than a mere negation. I answer instead, “Absolutely not!” I put stress on the word absolutely. There isn’t the tiniest shred of contradiction in the church’s formula for the Trinity.” (Sproul 1990)

What is a contradiction?

Definition: To assert or express the opposite of a statement

Genesis 3:1-4 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

“The doctrine of the Trinity is filled with mystery. That God is one and three at the same time is beyond our ability to understand completely. We should never think it is absurd or contradictory, however. That would be true only if we think that God is one and three in the same sense. But this is not the case. He is one in one sense, i.e., one essence; and he is three in another sense, i.e., three persons.” (Cottrell 2002)

What is a paradox?

Definition: A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses truth.

Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities "It was the best of times it was the worst of times"
Matthew 16:25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 23:11-12 The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

What is a mystery?

Definition: Something that we do not understand.

1 Corinthians 13:12 or now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed

The doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious, it is most definitely a paradox, but it is not a contradiction.

Major Errors (heresies) in Regard to the Trinity: Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)

1. Polytheism (or Tritheism)

Claim: There is more than one God.
Example: Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. "That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other, is demonstrated by the accepted records of divine dealings with man." (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage)

What does Scripture say?

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me;
1 Kings 8:60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.
Isaiah 43:10-11 Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.
1 Timothy 1:17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

2. Modalism (Sabelianism, modalistic monarchianism, Jesus only, and Oneness )

Claim: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distinct persons but rather the same person.

There is one person who appears to us in three different forms (or “modes”)

Example: United Pentecostal Church

"The Oneness doctrine can be presented succinctly in two propositions:”

There is one indivisible God with no distinction of persons
Jesus Christ is all the fullness of the Godhead incarnate. All titles of the Deity can be applied to him and all aspects of the divine personality are manifest in Him" (Essentials of Oneness Theology)

What does Scripture say?

Matthew 3:16-17 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
(See Also: 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 4:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2, Jude 20-21)

3. Arianism

Claim: Denying that the Father, Son, and Spirit are equally God.

Jesus is a created being. (The Father is God, but the Son is not)

Example: Jehovah’s Witnesses

Jehovah's first creation was his 'only-begotten Son' (Aid to Bible Understanding)
Jesus was only a perfect man, not God in flesh (Reasoning from the Scriptures)
The Holy Spirit is a force, not alive (Reasoning from the Scriptures)

What does Scripture say?

See Trinity Part 1