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This question is about the Holy Trinity. Did the Scriptures explained that God is necessarily three persons?

[ This question doesn't challenge the Trinity if it is true but rather, the question, if answered will be for the benefit of the Trinitarian]

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marked as duplicate by David Stratton, Flimzy, Affable Geek, Wikis, Narnian Nov 11 '13 at 13:58

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  • It is known that some Christian sects reject Trinitarianism altogether, because they may believe that there is not enough biblical evidence to suggest that God is three. I think the fact that scripture does not really suggest Trinitarianism explicitly is the prime reason why people disagree with each other. So, it may be difficult for people on both sides (Trinitarian and non-Trinitarian) to support their points, and therefore, it's largely opinion. – Double U Nov 10 '13 at 23:37
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    Good news, someone already answered this at Why is the Trinity a Trinity?, so you don't need to wait for an answer! – David Stratton Nov 10 '13 at 23:46
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This question is covered in other places such as here

The bible does not anywhere in it say that god is clearly three persons. That is a human perception of what is written. There are many scriptures such as John 1;1 that obscurely support it. There are many more scriptures that suggest that God and Jesus are separate such as 1 Corinthians 11;2.

There is, however, no scripture that comes out and says directly Jesus, Jehovah, and the holy spirit are 1 being.

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    You are correct, "the Bible does not anywhere say in it that god is clearly three persons." It does contain hints, however. Tanakh alone contains numerous hints, from Genesis to Chronicles. In fact, there are so many hints (and, yes, prophecies which had their fulfillment in the stone the builders rejected but which became both the cornerstone and the capstone--see Ps 118:22) that I think I'll provide an answer to the OP's question, with very little, if any, reference to the "New" Testament. It'll take a few days, but I'm willing to put in the time. P.S. I admire your chutzpah! – rhetorician Nov 11 '13 at 2:01
  • I'll take your usage of chutzpah in a positive up-building manner :). Thank you for your view on the matter and I'll be sure to follow up and read the information you present and thank you in advance, as I'm sure it will be very good. – Jeremy Nov 12 '13 at 4:01
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The problem with many people when they contemplate about the Trinity is that they try to view the Trinity from the perspective of Polytheism. You cannot find the word 'Trinity' in the Bible nor any notion of three Gods. The Bible clearly says that God is one, not three.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NIV)

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:28-30, NIV)

one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:5-6, NIV)

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder (James 2:19, NIV)

The Trinity defines God, His personality, His nature and His attributes. We don't have three Gods. Some people are confused with this idea that they think that Christians have three Gods. If we try to relate the Trinity with polytheism, it is a valid question to ask why there are only three incarnations of God and why not four or more. But Christianity is monotheism, believing in one God, a God who never comes through many forms with different natures. God came as He is, without changing His nature.

All complex substances are composed of many parts. For instance, we may divide man into three parts - body, soul and spirit. We may divide an egg into three parts - shell, white and yolk. God has three parts - Father, Son(Word) and Spirit. We may understand this as - God, God's Word and God's Spirit. Parts of a man can be separated. For instance, when we die, our body remains on earth while our spirit is either in Hell or Heaven. The unique quality of God is that, all three parts of God can function like a person. The Father has the function of the head and controller of all things, the Son(Word) has the function of a mediator between God and men, the Holy Spirit has the function of transforming and sustaining men. All three parts have their own specific roles and yet they act in one mind. They can never go against each other because they are one. This is our God, who is awesome, full of love and full of grace.

Trinity is the nature of God and God never changes. Trinity is what God is and it will never change. Our God will always be a Triune God, in the past, now and forever more.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8, NIV)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8, NIV)

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  • I think you are right in expressing the threefoldness of man as an image albeit imperfect one to the Triune nature of God for we ourselves are created in God's own image. – Radz C. Brown Nov 11 '13 at 7:42
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Man: Image of the Trinity

We can glimpse God himself in us because we were created in his very own Image ( Genesis 1:26-27).

God is a Trinity of persons ( Matthew 28:19) and we humans bear semblance with God albeit incompletely:

God has his Wisdom and Spirit

Man has his Wisdom and Spirit

God's Wisdom is a person like him and in fact, it is his own Word or expression of himself ( Proverbs 8:22-30 LXX, 1 Corinthians 1:24-25, John 1:1) God's Spirit is a person like him and in fact, his very life per se. ( Spirit- Greek: pneuma, breath, wind). - Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4

Man's wisdom is not a person but through it Man lives rationally ( i.e logos). Man's spirit is a person albeit not a separate one. ( by man, we mean a soul i.e. body+spirit) Hence, a soul is not a separate person with the spirit but a term for the united body and spirit ( Genesis 2:15, James 2:26).

The relationship of God to his Wisdom and Spirit is personal in the sense that his own Wisdom and own life is alive in the sense that he is alive ( i.e. Conscious rational entity).

As to why God's relationship to Wisdom is filiation is because his relationship with it is like Father to his Son.

A Father and Son relationship evinces the ff:

AUTHORITY

Just as the trait wisdom, word and power is controlled by God so is the Son under the Father's authority.

CONSUBSTANTIALITY

Just as the trait wisdom, word and power is in God's being so is the Son same in being with the Father. Authority

The fact that we are in a sense Trinitarian in being further disproves the Unitarian ideas about God ( i.e. Modalistic monarchianism and Dynamic monarchianism).

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  • You answer your own question but I still don't see how your answer is clarifying why there are three instead of four or more. – Mawia Nov 11 '13 at 5:27
  • @Mawia , Based on Scripture, only the possessors of the divine nature are "God Almighty" and it is also recorded that only three persons are called" God" in the sense of possessing the nature of God. The Son has the nature of the Father and the Spirit has the nature of both. There's only one nature and this is subsisting only in three distinct persons. Perhaps, there is something in their relationship that makes it necessary to be just three not four or five. – Radz C. Brown Nov 11 '13 at 7:39
  • You present an answer saying the question "remains unanswered"; and I don't understand how you can cite the Nicene creed (fourth century) in answering the question you asked. – Andrew Leach Nov 11 '13 at 7:48
  • @AndrewLeach, I answered my question why is God three persons and my answer is this: It's because there are only three persons who shares in the divine nature. The thing i am pointing out "unanswered" is the question of why the Trinity is necessarily three. – Radz C. Brown Nov 11 '13 at 8:17
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    Ok. I will modify my answer. I am sorry for my error – Radz C. Brown Nov 11 '13 at 12:19

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