Does the Bible mention the term Trinity? No. Does that automatically refute or verify any given doctrine or scriptural principle? No. Vast numbers of people strongly believe other doctrines which are not mentioned in the Bible, like, the rapture, women speaking in tongues and the sinner's prayer, but will reject the concept of the Trinity because that term is not found in the Bible.
One doctrine which is loudly touted as being scripturally sound is the "Jesus-only" theory, i.e., that Jesus is the Father, and He is also the Holy Spirit, that He is the only Person in the Godhead. One piece of material often used to propagate this notion is called the "Wheel of Prophecy" (WHOP) which lists many passages of scripture in its spokes that allegedly prove that only Jesus is the one God. While the scriptures are true, i.e., Jesus, the Son of God is in fact God, that is all it proves, and there is no contention that Jesus is God, however, the purpose of this WHOP is to eliminate the Biblical distinction which exists between God the Father, the Son of God, and God the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this material then becomes a WHOP'er of deceit!! This material compiled by C. P. Kilgore, stands out as a supreme example of selectively applying a few scriptures to support a man-made doctrine, because it excludes an enormous number of plain passages of scripture which shows the plural nature of the Godhead.
We find in the Old Testament, that the Hebrew word translated "God" is either the word El, or Elohim. The singular form (El) is found in the following example:
Gen 14:18 "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all."
The Hebrew term " אל êl" here rendered "God" is singular.
Elohim on the other hand, is the plural form of El, and is used 2607 of the 2845 times the word "God" is found in the Old Testament, e.g.,
Gen. 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
The Hebrew term in this example rendered "God" is, " אלהים - 'ĕlôhı̂ym," which is the plural form of El, and not only is "God" translated from this plural term 91.6% of the time, there are several verses which even refer to Elohim as Us, Our, and We!
Gen 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..."
Gen 3:22 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:"
Gen 11:7 "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
Isa 6:8 "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"
Isa 41:21 "Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come."
To whom then was God talking when He said, "let Us make man in Our image after Our likeness?" The apostle Peter said, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," (2 Pet. 1:20-21). If this notion of there being only one person in the Godhead is true, then why would the Holy Ghost, or whoever the person is in the Godhead, inspire these holy men of God to use such deceitful and confusing language? Why would God leave it up to uninspired men thousands of years later to decipher the 'truth' of His identity, by rejecting 91.6% of scripture, to ascertain this 'truth' from the remaining 8.4% of Gods word?
While the word Trinity does not occur in scripture, the concept and idea of the Trinity does, that is if you have eyes to see and ears to hear. It is a colossal mistake to be misled by a doctrine which rejects nearly 92% of scripture, and it should already be quite obvious even to the beginning Bible student that this notion is a farce, and the result of extreme denominational bias.
One way we can see how the Hebrew word Elohim is used in the plural, is its rendering as "gods" (referring to idols) 230+ times in the Old Testament. It is the exact same word which is translated "God," referring to the Almighty. Consider this example:
"I am the LORD thy God [Elohim], which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods [Elohim] before Me," (Exo. 20:2-3). Why would the Holy Spirit not use the singular El if in fact there is only one Person in the Godhead? If there is in fact only one Person in the Godhead, then isn't the Holy Spirit in error by using the plural Elohim 91.6% of the time to describe God?
Another very interesting account is found in Genesis, chapters 18 & 19.
Gen 18:1 "And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;"
Gen 18:2 "And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,"
Gen 18:3 "And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:"
Gen 18:4 "Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:"
Gen 18:5 "And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said."
Gen 18:6 "And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth."
Gen 18:7 "And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it."
Gen 18:8 "And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat."
Gen 18:9 "And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent."
Gen 18:10 "And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him..."
This is an amazing account of the LORD [Jehovah] appearing to Abraham. If there is only one Person in the Godhead, why did Jehovah present Himself as three persons? It is unmistakable from the text that Abraham immediately understood who this was, and offered not only his worship, which was not refused, but also his hospitality in washing their feet and preparing a meal for them. We see that Jehovah is telling Abraham that he will be blessed with a son.
Gen 18:13 "And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?"
Gen 18:14 "Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son..."
Gen 18:16 "And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way."
Gen 18:17 "And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do..."
Gen 18:20 "And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;"
Gen 18:21 "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."
Gen 18:22 "And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD."
Now the focus turns to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Notice that, "the men turned their faces...and went toward Sodom," while at the same time, "...Abraham stood yet before the LORD." How can this Biblical account be accurate if there is only one Person in the Godhead? Who went to Sodom while, Abraham stood yet before the LORD?
After Abraham's discourse with the "LORD" ends...
Gen 18:33 "And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place."
Gen 19:1 "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;"
Now we see that there were two of the three "men" who appeared to Abraham that went to Sodom, and we also see that the inspired writer identifies the one still with Abraham as Jehovah, while at the same time identifying the two who went to Sodom as Jehovah.
Gen 19:2 "And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night."
Gen 19:3 "And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat."
Gen 19:4 "But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;"
Gen 19:5 "And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them."
Gen 19:11 "And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door."
Gen 19:12 "And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city; bring them out of the place:"
Gen 19:13 "for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it."
Gen 19:14 "And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy the city. But he seemed unto his sons in law as one that mocked."
Gen 19:15 "And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city."
Gen 19:16 "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city."
Gen 19:22 "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar."
Gen 19:23 "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar."
Gen 19:24 "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;"
Are there not at least three Persons mentioned in this verse as being Jehovah: the Two present with Lot, and One in heaven? In verse 13 notice, "for we will destroy this place...the LORD hath sent us to destroy it," and in verse 22, "for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither." Doesn't this indicate that the two "men" identified as Jehovah were going to destroy the cities? Since it is an unavoidable fact that there were two "men" here who are specifically and repeatedly identified as Jehovah, doesn't this plainly show that Jehovah was expressed in three Persons?
Gen 19:29 "And it came to pass, when God [Elohim] destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
Here in the end of this event we see again that the inspired writer uses the plural Elohim to describe Who (God) destroyed the cities, and the question arises again that if there is only one Person in the Godhead, why was the writer not moved by inspiration to use the singular form of the word which was readily available?
As noted above; Gen 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." "God" here, as it is in 91.6% of the Old Testament, through Divine inspiration, is the plural "Elohim." Let's compare this with John's record of the gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made," (Jn. 1:1-3). Genesis reveals that God (Elohim, plural) created heaven and earth, and the Divinely inspired apostle says that Jesus not only created all things, but most notably was in the beginning with God, and saying it once wasn't enough, for John doubles down on this fact that Jesus (the Word) was with God by saying it twice! This presents a problem to the Jesus-only notion, and a question that demands an answer, i.e., "WHO" was Jesus "WITH" in the beginning? How could Jesus be with someone who doesn't exist???
Another familiar concept and commandment found in the Old Testament was that of a thing being confirmed by witnesses:
Deut. 17:6 "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death."
Deut. 19:15 "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established."
This principle was not limited to the Old Testament:
Mat. 18:16 "But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. "
2 Cor. 13:1 "This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
1 Tim. 5:19 "Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses."
This practice of having a plurality of witnesses is Divinely infused throughout the Bible, so, if the Jesus-only theory is true, doesn't that leave Jesus without any witnesses? Jesus Himself said, "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true," (John 5:31). The conclusion that two witnesses establishes a fact cannot be avoided, and the Jesus-only assumption leaves Him without adequate confirmation. Hear oh infidels what your Bible says:
"It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." (John 8:17-18).
Mat. 3:16 "And Jesus (#1), when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God(#2) descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:"
Mat. 3:17 "And lo a voice(#3) from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Was Jesus a ventriloquist??? Did He throw His voice into heaven to trick men into thinking He had a Father? (...no guile was found in His mouth).
Mat. 17:1 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,"
Mat. 17:2 "And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light."
Mat. 17:3 "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him."
Mat. 17:4 "Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."
Mat. 17:5 "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
God the Father says, "I have a Son" but man in his audacious swank, says, "No, You don't have a Son, there is no "Son," and there is no "Father," there's just one."
2 Pet. 1:16 "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
2 Pet. 1:17 "For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
2 Pet. 1:18 "And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount."
The fact that Peter specifies "God" the Father shows plainly to the unbiased Bible student that there is a distinction between the Father and the Son, and that there are at least two Persons in the Godhead. To embrace this cunningly devised fable of the Jesus-only doctrine is to flat out and openly deny the voice God, but that is what the devil had been doing since the Garden of Eden, and satan's "ministers of righteousness" (2 Cor. 11:15) are expert in the field of prevarication! Furthermore, it makes God a liar, for it denies the witness that the Father gives of His Son.
1 John 5:9 "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son."
1 John 5:10 "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."
Why will man accept the eyewitness testimony of men, but reject the witness of God Almighty? Can you see the devilish consequence of endorsing and promoting this Jesus-only doctrine? To believe and teach that Jesus is the Father is synonymous with not believing the evidence of Jesus' divinity, and it makes God a liar. Furthermore, it makes Jesus a liar, for He said plainly, many times, that He is the Son of God. Even the devils confess this fact: Mat. 8:29 "And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?"
Heb. 1:4 "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."
Heb. 1:5 "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?"
Heb. 1:6 "And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him."
Heb. 1:7 "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."
Heb. 1:8 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
"WHO" said unto the Son, "Thy throne O God..."? "WHO" called the "Son" THE GOD?!!! "God the Son?" Absolutely YES! The Father calls His Son, THE GOD! Notice in the Greek New Testament: Heb. 1:8 "προςδεG4314 G1161 τονG3588 υιονG5207 οG3588 θρονος σουG2362 G1473οG3588 θεοςG2316 ειςG1519 τονG3588..."
ο G3588 – the definite article, "the;" θεος G2316 - "Diety." God the Father calling His Son "the God." Two Persons in the Godhead, in the beginning, who said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." then John says, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was," (John 17:5). Notice that Jesus addresses God as "Father."
In Ephesians 4:4-6, the inspired apostle Paul says plainly that there is one Spirit, one Lord and one God. Why didn't Paul go on to say, "and these are all the same Person" if this notion of the Jesus-only theory is correct?
God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are one, but not one person. This is not a mathematical anomaly because we're not dealing with arithmetic! Husband and wife become one (Eph. 5:31), but they are not one person. When Jesus prayed that His disciples might be one, was He praying for all the disciples to become one person? When Jesus prayed for the disciples to become one as He and the Father are one, was He praying for the disciples to become God? Jesus, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and all the disciples to be one person, to constitute God??
2 John 1:9 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." How many does both mean? If there is only one Person in the Godhead, why was John inspired to use the word both which obviously indicates two?
If God and Christ are the same Person because the Bible says the Son is the "express image" of God, then wouldn't the same reasoning and logic demand that man is God because the same Bible says that man was created in the image of God? (cf. Gen. 1:26; Heb.1: 1-3).
Jesus declared that God the Father is a Spirit (John 4:23-24), while on Earth, but at the same time, He said to His apostles, "...for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have," (Luke 24:39), which shows an undeniable distinction between God the Father and God the Son! This proves beyond any argument, a distinction between God the Father, Who is a Spirit, Who was in heaven and not on Earth, and the Son of God, Who was made flesh, Who was on Earth and not in heaven.
Some will argue that God and Christ cannot be two Persons because the scriptures teach that God is in Christ, and because Paul said, "in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily," that means one Person. Consider this:
Col. 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
John 1:16 "And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."
Eph. 3:19 "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."
Yes, God is in Christ, but does that prove that they are the same Person? If, "...in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily " means God and Christ are one Person, then Paul's statement, "...that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God, " means that all Christians are God!
The following verses further corroborate the fact that simply because a passage speaks of God being in Christ, it doesn't mean that they are one Person:
John 15:4-5 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."
1 John 4:12-13 "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."
Following the same logic of God in Christ meaning one Person, then because Christ dwells in me, that proves that I am Christ, and because God dwells in me, that proves that I am God. Can you see the nauseous absurdity of man's reasoning when he refuses the contextual evidence in the Bible? Furthermore, John said plainly, "No man hath seen God at any time..." but at the same time, Paul declares in 1 Cor. 15:5-8 that the apostles seen Jesus, and on one occasion, He was seen of over 500 brethren at once, but, how can this be if God and Christ are the same Person?
Mat. 12:32 "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come"
If God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are one Person, why is it a worse offense to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?
1 Tim. 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
If God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are one Person, what does this passage mean?
If God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are one Person, Who came upon the apostles (Acts 2:4) while at the same time, Somebody was in heaven, at the right hand of..., Someone, (Acts 2:33)?
Heb 9:14 "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God..."
If God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are one Person, to Whom did Christ offer Himself?
John 14:28 "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I."
If God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are one Person, I suppose this means Christ is greater than Himself!
1 Thess. 3:11 "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you."
2 Thess. 2:16 "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,"
Do I really need to say anything here???
Acts 5:3 "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?"
Acts 5:4 "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."
Besides the fact that this text also identifies the Holy Spirit as God, it is patently obvious from the multitude of scripture and evidence already presented that this idea of only one Person in the Godhead is nothing more than satan's subterfuge to confuse the minds of the gullible. When man will simply accept what the Bible says, even when the finite mind can't fully comprehend and explain the intricacies of the Godhead, he will by faith accept the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, i.e., three distinct Persons in one God.
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