INTRODUCTION
Why Write this Article?
All Christians believe in the Trinity… but how many can explain it? And, just as important, how many know how to prove it from Scripture?
Have you ever heard any of the following claims?
🗣️ “The Trinity is man-made!”
🗣️ “The Trinity is a later invention!”
🗣️ “The Trinity is NOT in the Bible!”
If so, then you’re not alone.
The average lay-Christian’s inability to explain and prove the Trinity from the Bible has led to all sorts of wild accusations from cults, atheists, and other religions to become widespread online — all in an attempt to paint Christianity as incoherent mess. Sadly, sometimes even fellow Christians will take advantage of the ignorance in the pew to promote their particular denomination over others. For instance, those of us engaged in the Protestant apologetics world are no strangers to hearing certain Roman Catholic apologists argue in favor of their Magisterium and against the perspicuity of Scripture by claiming that even essential doctrines like the Trinity are not clearly laid out in the Bible.1
So, in the face of such rabid pushback on the Scripture’s testament to this key doctrine, I want to answer one simple question in this article:
Does the Bible clearly lay out the doctrine of the Trinity?
The answer, you might be surprised to find out, is… yes. Rather explicitly, I might add. While the literal word “Trinity” may not be in the Bible, the doctrine which is signified by that label is certainly present.2 In fact, the Scriptures rather forcefully compel us toward the doctrine — if we read them attentively and take into account all of the various truths about God dispersed throughout the text. Many different arguments could be made which bear this out; this article is just one example.
Aim of this Article
My goal with this article is not to give you a full-blown essay. I want to provide you with a resource that you, the reader, can turn to and quickly flip through for support the next time someone denigrates the Scriptures as obscure on account of this most glorious doctrine.
My goal is to gird you with a solid argument and equip you with Scripture to defend it in everyday conversation.
As such, I will only include the relevant Bible verses as well as minimal notes for added context in the body of this article, since I want to provide you with a resource that you, the reader, can turn to and quickly flip through for support the next time someone denigrates the Scriptures as obscure on account of this most glorious doctrine. Make sure to check out the footnotes throughout for extra resources.3
With all of that said, keep one last thing in mind: this is a cumulative case, and I am including a wide range of verses (some stronger and more direct than others) which TOGETHER bear out the argument in question. Do not miss the forest for the trees.
ARGUMENT: CLEARLY STATED
Trinitarian Syllogism
P1: According to the Scriptures, there is One True God by essence. This God has certain divine prerogatives that are uniquely associated with Him. [These prerogatives include such things as being the sole Creator, being the only worthy object of worship, etc…]
P2: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each identified in Scripture as possessing unique divine prerogatives.
C1: Therefore, according to the Scriptures, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each the one true God by essence. [That is: they are numerically the same essence]
P3: Scripture also reveals the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to be distinct persons (not merely modes or roles).
C2: Therefore, the one true God exists as one divine essence in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.4
Key Words: Defined
I like this definition of “person” and “essence” by Lutheran theologian Leonard Hutter:
"What do the words person and essence, as used, in this article, signify? The word person signifies that which is not a part or quality of another; but what subsists of itself. Or, a person is a living, indivisible, intelligent, incommunicable being, not sustained by another. Essence, however, denotes that which truly exists, even though it be communicated."
- Leonard Hutter, Compendium of Lutheran Theology: A Summary of Christian Doctrine, Article 2, Q10.
In other words,
“Essence” is what something is — its nature or substance, that which makes a thing what it is, as opposed to something else. Literally, the “whatness” of a thing.5
“Person” is an individual subsistence of a rational nature — a distinct who possessing the same what. A person is capable of being identified as a distinct "I" and a distinct "thou.”6
PREMISE #1: ESTABLISHED
One True God
The Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4
*Important Note: 7
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NKJV “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Isaiah 43:10-11 NKJV “'You are My witnesses,' says the Lord, 'And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior.’”
Isaiah 44:6-8 NKJV “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’”
Isaiah 45:5-6 NKJV “I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 NKJV “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
Only God is the Creator
“The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise” by Giovanni di Paolo
Gen 1:1 NKJV “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Nehemiah 9:6 NKJV “You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.”
1 Chronicles 16:25-26 NKJV “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”
Revelation 4:11 NKJV “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Psalm 33:6-9 NKJV “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”
Jeremiah 10:10-12 NKJV “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. Thus you shall say to them: 'The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.' He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.”
Isaiah 44:24 NKJV “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: 'I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.’”
Only God is Worthy of Worship
“Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem” by James Tissot
Exodus 20:2–5 NKJV “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 'You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.”
Exodus 34:13-15 NKJV “But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice.”
Deuteronomy 6:13-15 NKJV “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.”
Isaiah 42:8 NKJV “I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”
Matthew 4:8-10 NKJV “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Revelation 22:8–9 NKJV “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’”
Deuteronomy 5:7-9 NKJV “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.”
PREMISE #2: ESTABLISHED
Father: The One True God (Creator & Worthy of Worship)
“Moses at Mount Sinai” by Jacques de Létin
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 NKJV “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
Malachi 2:10 NKJV “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers?”
Deuteronomy 32:6 ESV “Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your Father, who created you, who made you and established you?”
Isaiah 64:8 NKJV “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”
John 4:23 NKJV “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”
1 Chronicles 29:10-11 NKJV “Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: 'Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.'”
1 Peter 1:3 NKJV “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”
Ephesians 3:14 NKJV “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Matthew 6:6-9 NKJV “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. ‘Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name…’”
Revelation 7:9-11 NKJV “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God."
Revelation 4:8-11 NKJV “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!' Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 'You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.’”
Romans 15:5-6 NKJV “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Son: The One True God (Creator & Worthy of Worship)
“The Last Judgment” by Hans Memling
John 1:1-3 NKJV “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
Psalms 33:6 NKJV “By the WORD of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.”
Hebrews 1:1-3 NKJV “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”
Hebrews 1:8-10 NKJV “But to the Son He says: 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.' And: 'You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.’”
*Note: This passage echoes Psalms 102:25–27.
Colossians 1:15–17 NKJV “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
Proverbs 8:22-26 NKJV “The Lord possessed me [i.e. Wisdom] at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world.”
*Note: Jesus is identified as the Wisdom of God in several places of canonical Scripture.
1 Corinthians 1:22-24 NKJV “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 NKJV “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
Jeremiah 10:12 NKJV “He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His WISDOM, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.”
*Note: From Jeremiah 10:12 is where many speak of Logos/Wisdom Christology such as can be seen in several places within 2nd Temple Jewish literature. The word “Wisdom” is feminine in Greek and Hebrew, hence there is feminine language in a lot of these passages. Here are some examples from the deuterocanonical books of Scripture…
Wisdom of Solomon 7:25–27 RSV “For wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets;”
Wisdom 9:1-4 RSV “O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things by thy word, and by thy wisdom hast formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made, and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul, give me the wisdom that sits by thy throne, and do not reject me from among thy servants.”
John 20:27-29 NKJV “Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.' And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
Matthew 14:30-33 NKJV “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’”
Titus 2:13-14 NKJV “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
2 Peter 1:1 NKJV “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ…”
John 1:18 ESV “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
*Note: There is a textual variant here in verse 18.
Holy Spirit: The One True God (Creator & Worthy of Worship)
“Pentecost” by Jean Restout the Younger
*Important Note: 10
Job 33:4 NKJV “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
Psalms 104:30 NKJV “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.”
2 Corinthians 3:17–18 NKJV “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Acts 5:3-4 NKJV “But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’”
Acts 28:25–27 NKJV “So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: ‘The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, «Go to this people and say: Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.»’”
*Note: The Apostle Paul explicitly identifies the Holy Spirit as God, who spoke through the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 6:8–10 NKJV “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.’”
1 Corinthians 12:3-11 NKJV “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
Hebrews 9:14 NKJV “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
*Note: The author of Hebrews calls the Spirit “Eternal.” Only God is eternal.
Romans 1:20 NKJV “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse...”
Deuteronomy 33:27 NKJV “The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, ‘Destroy!’”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NKJV “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
*Note: In the Old Testament, the presence of the Lord was in the temple (where the ark of the covenant resided); as such, sacrifices and worship were offered to God there. If we are turned into the temple of God so that the Holy Spirit may dwell within us… then what does that make the Holy Spirit?
2 Chronicles 7:1-4 NKJV “When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: ‘For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.’ Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord.”
Exodus 25:21–22 NKJV “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”
2 Samuel 6:2 NKJV “And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the Name, the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.”
Psalm 27:4 NKJV “One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.”
Psalm 138:2 NKJV “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”
BONUS: Trinitarian Formula
“St. Peter Preaching in the Presence of St. Mark” by Fra Angelico
Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”
I Peter 1:1-2 NKJV “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”
Ephesians 4:4-6 NKJV “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
*Note: Jesus is referred to as “Lord” all over the place in the New Testament.
John 14:16-17 NKJV “And I [Jesus] will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
Jude 1:20-21 NKJV “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
II Corinthians 13:14 NKJV “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
I John 5:7-8 NKJV “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”
*Note: There are early manuscripts that lack this verse, otherwise known as the "Johannine Comma".
PREMISE #3: ESTABLISHED
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Three Persons (not just Modes or Roles)
“The Baptism of Christ” by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci
In this section are several verses that ONLY make sense if the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons — these verses would make ZERO sense if “Father, Son, and Spirit” were just different names or different modes of the same, single divine person.
Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
John 14:16-17 NKJV “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 15:26 NKJV “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
John 5:30-32 NKJV “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.”
John 17:1-11 NKJV “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.”
CONCLUSION
First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea - Icon
I hope this article was helpful to you. The truth is that every article of our faith can—and should—be defended by the clear testimony of Scripture. To that end, we should never shy away from rigorous investigation and argumentation. The historic church stood ready to fight heresy with the Word of God in hand — and so should we.13
Like I said in the introduction, this is just one of many different arguments which could be provided for the Trinity. Let me know if you think I should write more articles exploring additional arguments!
Finally, please utilize this article as a jumping-off point for further personal study. And, if there are any verses which you feel need added context, please feel free to let me know in the comments. I’ll gladly fix any mistakes or oversights which may have been unintentionally included in the original article.
Until then,
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
*Edits: 14
Note: Lest this be perceived as a slanderous fabrication, here is a direct example of this sad and shameful tactic by one of the premier Roman Catholic polemicists from the Counter-Reformation…
“Nor, in addition to authorities, is reason lacking to confirm the same as well [speaking of the obscurity of Scripture and supposed testimony of the Church Fathers to this]. For in the Scriptures two matters can be considered, the things that are said and the way they are said. If you consider the things you must necessarily confess that the Scriptures are very obscure. For they hand on supreme mysteries: about the divine Trinity, about the incarnation of the Word, about heavenly sacraments, about the nature of angels, about the work of God in human minds, about eternal predestination and reprobation, and about arcane and supernatural things that are not investigated without great study and labor, nor without danger of the greatest error. Certainly if the science of Metaphysics is more difficult and obscure than all other natural disciplines, because it treats of the highest causes, how will sacred Scripture, which deals with far higher things, not be most obscure? What about the fact that a great part of Scripture contains prophecies of future things, and prophecies written in poetry, then nothing is more difficult, nothing more obscure?
But if we consider the way of speaking we will find innumerable reasons for difficulty. First, there are in the Scriptures many things that seem prima facie contrary….Second, there are ambiguous words and statements….Third, there are incomplete statements….Fourth, there are inverted statements….Fifth, there are phrases proper to Hebrew….Sixth, there are many figures of speech, tropes, metaphors, allegories, hyberbata, ironies, and other things of this sort without number.”
- Robert Bellarmine, Disputations about Controversies of the Christian Faith, Volume 1, First General Controversy, Book 3, Chapter 1, p. 139-140, link: https://www.aristotelophile.com/Books/Translations/BellarmineControversyOne.pdf
Additionally, here is an entire, almost 2-hour interview by Roman Catholic apologist Trent Horn with a Unitarian premised upon this very talking point:
Finally, here is a video from my channel where my buddy Joshua Pearsall documents a lot of additional Roman Catholic voices accusing the Scriptures of being obscure on the Trinity:
Note: It should be of no surprise to us that the word “Trinity” is a later label used to signify the doctrine in question; after all, it would be quite rare for a label to precede that which it signifies. Let us not be so dull as to think that if a given label is not present, then the thing signified by that label must not be present either.
Note: Here is a playlist that I’ve put together on my channel compiling solid resources on the Trinity…
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjjcmFjyDP060j9AsKIvBgdhBBdm6D6cR&si=QfRah4E2NVnQuZNO
Additionally, in case you have found your way here due to conversations you’re having with Muslims, here is a playlist of Christian apologetics addressing Islam…
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjjcmFjyDP07ayQuPvM6DPGtBIE-qgGB8&si=ftEUjP0rMBTA9VPx
Note: Notice that this is an informal syllogism, since the aim of this article is to provide readily available and accessible source material for day-to-day conversations with others. If enough people voice a need for a formal version of the syllogism, I will gladly add one here in the footnotes.
Note: There has been plenty of debate throughout church history regarding the distinction (or lack thereof) between essence (what a thing is) and existence (that a thing is). For instance, here are three different positions that one may observe during the Medieval period on this question:
Thomas Aquinas posited that in the case of creatures, essence and existence are really distinct. In the case of God, however, essence and existence are identical.
John Duns Scotus posited that in the case of God, there is a formal distinction between God’s existence and essence. In other words, he believed that while the two are not really distinct in God, they can be conceptually distinguished.
William of Ockham posited that in the case of BOTH creatures and God, essence and existence are identical. As a Nominalist, Ockham believed any distinction between essence and existence to be purely conceptual (distinctio rationis) — that is, existing only in the mind.
That being said, the above cited disputes on the finer theological points of this matter do not affect the argument laid out in this article.
Note: A “rational nature” here simply refers to a nature capable of will and intellect. This would distinguish persons from non-personal beings (such as plants, for example).
Important Note: Skeptics, cult members, and heretics will often try to dispute the fact that the Bible is Monotheistic. Here are a few free resources that provide robust responses and pushback to their arguments…
“Is Dan McClellan Right? No Monotheism in the Bible?” by Gavin Ortlund
“Final Response to Dan McClellan on Monotheism in the Bible” by Gavin Ortlund
Additionally, here is an interesting video by Christian apologetics channel InspiringPhilosophy making a case for ancient monotheism…
“The Case for Ancient Monotheism Documentary” by InspiringPhilosophy
Important Note: For further reading making an in-depth case for the Deity of Christ, feel free to check out the following books…
Ancient works…
“On the Incarnation of the Word” by St. Athanasius of Alexandria
“Four Discourses Against the Arians” by St. Athanasius of Alexandria
“Defence Against the Arians (Apologia Contra Arianos)” by St. Athanasius of Alexandria
Modern works…
“Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ” by Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski
“The Incarnate Christ and His Critics: A Biblical Defense” by Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski
Important Note: Here are a few introductory videos specifically addressing the erroneous views of Jesus among other religions…
“Mormon Jesus vs Bible Jesus - Jeff Durbin”
“Why Believe Jesus Christ is God?” by Nabeel Qureshi
“Nabeel Qureshi: Jesus in Islam vs. Jesus in Christianity”
Note: Here are a couple of historic works by Christians on the Holy Spirit…
“On the Holy Spirit (De Spiritu Sancto)” by St. Basil the Great
“On the Holy Spirit” by St. Ambrose
Important Note: Here is a good quote by Lutheran theologian Francis Pieper defining the heresy of Unitarianism and summarizing its history…
Unitarianism — known also as Monarchianism and Anti-Trinitarianism — has appeared in various forms. For practical purposes the Monarchians have been divided into two classes, modal and dynamic. The Modalists of the third century held that God is a Unity and therefore unipersonal. This unipersonal God has revealed Himself successively in three different modes, or forms: In the Father as Creator, in the Son as Redeemer, and in the Holy Ghost as Sanctifier. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not three distinct Persons, or hypostases, but merely three roles, or parts, played by the one divine. Person. Modal Monarchianism as advocated by Noetus of Smyrna, the Patripassian Praxeas, and especially Sabellius (excommunicated 260), at first appealed to many because it not only upheld monotheism over against pagan polytheism, but also taught a certain trinity in God’s mode of revelation and apparently also emphasized the deity of Christ. Dynamic Monarchianism, on the other hand, teaches that Jesus was a mere man, who was pre-eminently endowed by the indwelling of the Logos, a power [dynamis] emanating from the unipersonal God. Likewise the Holy Spirit is only a divine power operative in Moses, the Prophets, and particularly in Jesus. The three divine names are therefore actually no more than the personification of such divine attributes as omnipotence, love, grace. Jesus may be called the Son of God because, under the Logos influence, He was able to establish a moral union with God, i. e., His will was in perfect agreement with God’s will. As a result of the indwelling of the Logos and the Holy Spirit, Jesus was “adopted” as God’s Son (Adoptionism), received the power to perform miracles, and ultimately attained a permanent oneness with God. Dynamic Monarchianism was repudiated by the Church when its chief representative, Paul of Samosata, was excommunicated in 272. While Modalism and Dynamism differ in many important points, they are agreed in their categorical denial of the three distinct Persons in God. The Photinians, adherents of Photinus (bishop of Sirmium, d. 366 A.D.) were anti-Trinitarians; their teaching was revived by the Socinians of the 16th century. In our day all those Protestant theologians who reject the doctrine of ‘the two natures’ in Christ, or the ‘enhypostasia’ of the human nature of Christ, holding that the human nature of Christ is a person by itself, distinct from the Person of the Son of God, are to be classed with the Unitarians. When Seeberg, e.g., says (in Grundwahrheiten, p. 115): “This eternal energy of love [God’s] so filled the human soul of Jesus that it became its content. This is the deity of Christ,” he might be classed as a Dynamic Monarchian. Most of the English, American, and German Unitarians are Dynamic Monarchians. The Christian Church has always successfully met and overcome Unitarianism by the following three Scripture proofs:
a. The names Father, Son, and Holy Ghost can denote only three self-subsisting persons, drei Ich. No one who hears these names of God will think of three modes of appearance or three activities of the same person.
b. Personal actions, such as knowing, willing, teaching, reproving, speaking, are ascribed to each of the three, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Scripture says that the Father and the Son “know” (Matt. 11:27); that the Son “declares” (John 1:18), and “wills” (John 17:24; Luke 22:42); that the Holy Ghost “teaches” (John 14:26); “reproves” (John 16:8); “speaks” (Acts 28:25). All these predicates denote personal acts. Here the axioms apply: Actiones semper sunt personarum sive suppositorum intelligentium. Opera sunt personis propria.
c. Scripture expressly describes the relation between Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as ἄλλος χαἰ ἄλλος χαὶ ἄλλος. In His relation to the Son, the Father is expressly called ἄλλος; and again, in His relation to the Father and the Son, the Holy Ghost is expressly called ἄλλος παράκλητος (John 14:16). The Athanasian Creed therefore says correctly: Alia est persona Patris, alia Filii, alia Spiritus Sancti. The Augustana reproduces the ecclesiastical usus loquendi of “person” fully when it states: “And the term ‘person’ they use as the Fathers have used it, to signify not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself” (Art. I).14
- Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, Volume 1, The Doctrine of God, §3.
Note: Here a couple of historic works defending the Trinity against heresies like Sabellianism (Modalism) and Subordinationism…
“Against Praxeas” by Tertullian
“Against Eunomius” by St. Gregory of Nyssa
Note: Here are several historic works by Christians on the Trinity…
The Three Ecumenical Creeds: Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed
“On the Holy Trinity” by St. Augustine of Hippo
“Theological Orations” by St. Gregory of Nazianzus
“An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith: Book I” by Hilary of Poitiers
Edit (10/22/25): I tweaked the syllogism slightly to make it flow better.
You are missing 1 John 5:7-8.
@Eulogētos thoughts?