THE ALLEGED TRINITY VERSES IN THE SCRIPTURES

There are a lot of supposed Trinity verses in the Scriptures. These are the verses used both by Trinitarians and by the deniers of the deity of Christ, who profess that Jesus Christ is different from God. Trinitarians may say that Jesus Christ is God but say on the other hand that Jesus Christ is different from God. They say that the Father is God and the Son Jesus is God. They call Jesus Christ as God the Son. They profess that God the Father is God but he is not Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus Christ is God but he is different from God the Father.  They continue by saying that there is One God but in three persons. No wonder why the believers of this belief are so much confused and non-Christian religions accuse Christians of worshipping three Gods.

Others of the “Christian” faith don’t believe in the Trinity doctrine but they insist that there are three different individuals called God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. These people believe that there is only one God, which is true and we don’t deny that. But they go on to say that Jesus Christ is only a human being, created by God or simply a very special creature, created for a special purpose of being God’s dummy or robot. They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God himself who was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16 KJV). They believe that God created somebody who looks like him exactly – a human form – for him to dwell in, or let me say for him to “possess”.  And he gave this dummy a special job of “saving” and doing “miraculous works” which God alone can do. 

Remember that God said that he alone is “The Saviour”  Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”

The Bible also says that Jesus Christ is “the Saviour”

Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

But how can they explain that? God is the only Saviour, but Jesus Christ is also Saviour. Will God contradict his words? If the Bible says that God is the only Saviour and beside him there is no Saviour, it means that he is the only Saviour!  And if Christ is also the Saviour, then he is the God himself!  Or else there are two Saviours!  But that doctrine is outside of the Scriptural truths.

These deniers of Christ’s deity teach that this Christ is just a “human” being created to “save” people. So he is just a substitute Saviour in this sense or a deputy Saviour.  But if this is the case, that kind of God is a weak God and a coward God who has no real and sincere care and compassion for the people he wanted to save. If God is really serious in saving people he loves the most, he will not use other beings, his angels  or his “creatures” to do it but he himself will do it! The truth of the Scriptures is that, GOD HIMSELF SAVED HIS PEOPLE.  It was God himself who became Man and as a Man carried the cross and died for his people!  Is it impossible for God to do it? NO!

I will give some of the verses, though not all, that Trinitarians and the deniers of Christ’s deity use to prove their views whether Trinitarianism,  Unitarianism or whatever form it is.   We will use mostly from the New Testament Scriptures:

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

This is one of the greatest verses used to prove the Trinity doctrine.  They say that these are three persons of the “one God”; that God is One but he exists eternally in three divine persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.  But careful investigation of this verse leads us to the truth of “One God”.  Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not “three” eternal persons of One God. Take note that it says “baptizing them in THE NAME”.  That name is not “names”.  It is very clear unless you have crossed-eyes! If you have crossed-eyes, you will see “name” as two names!   This command to the apostles in “baptizing them IN THE NAME”.  How many names?   ONLY “ONE” NAME!    Name of whom?   Name of “The Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”.  So it is evident that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost has only ONE NAME!  So they are not three different persons or three different individuals, but three offices, functions and manifestations of that ONE NAME. What is that NAME then?  Though it is redundantly heard, but I will use it also:  Read Acts 2:38 and there you will see what is that NAME (not NAMES) that they were to be baptized in. And that name is the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST!

They say that we must follow the command of Matthew 28:19 than Acts 2:38 because Jesus Christ was the one who commanded the former and that the latter is just a word of Peter and not authoritative. But let us remember that Peter and his company when they spoke these words were “filled” with the Holy Ghost (Acts 4:8). So it is not Jesus versus Peter. It is not Matthew 28:19 versus Acts 2:38. The truth is the apostles baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost which the book of Acts proved as THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, the name that alone saves (Acts 4:12), the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:10).

The ONE NAME of the FATHER, of the SON and of the HOLY GHOST is JESUS CHRIST.  JESUS CHRIST is THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST!

2 Corinthians 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. Amen.

Reading this verse shallowly and not carefully will lead one to conclude that there are three “identities” or three “individuals” in the Godhead. But if we carefully examine this verse, it does not say that.  It rather teaches the ONE GOD truth expressed in his threefold expression as grace, love and communion.  Brother @Romee Abueg has a great exposition about that.

This ONE GOD manifested himself in three ways:  First, as the Lord Jesus Christ (the Son) – grace. Grace is unmerited favour. God gives us what we don’t deserve through Jesus Christ. Someone gave “grace” a meaning in acronym G.R.A.C.E.  -  God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. It means that God gave his riches of salvation to people by having Christ suffer in return as “the propitiation” and “sacrificial Lamb”. Apostle Paul said that “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).  Jesus Christ is this grace! Apostle John said that “the only begotten Son… hath declared him [the Father]” (John 1:18).  Yes, the Son is the “declaration” of God. The Son is how God showed his amazing grace to the people. It is through the Son that we are redeemed. 

Second, as God the Father – love. Apostle John said that “God is love” (1 John 4:7). Love is God’s nature and God’s character. The greatest love that he showed to the world is this: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”. (1 John 3:16).  God himself LAID DOWN HIS LIFE for us!  So God’s love, like grace is JESUS CHRIST.   So it is God the Father himself that died on the cross as the Son (Man).

Third, as the Holy Ghost – communion.  Another word for “communion” is “fellowship”. It means “being one with another”; “union with”. The communion/fellowship of the Spirit is being one with God.  God as the Father and as the Son makes his abode with us (John 14:23) through the Holy Ghost  (2 Tim. 1:14) The Holy Ghost is the Sanctifier (1 Cor. 6:11), the Sealer (Eph. 1:13) and the Baptizer (1 Cor. 12:13) into “ONE BODY”.  Communion is about being one.  “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). It is the “fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:9). The “communion of the Holy Ghost” is the same as the “fellowship of our Lord Jesus Christ” because our Lord Jesus Christ is the Spirit himself . “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17).

This verse 2 Corinthians 13:14 is not a proof of three persons but of One God who works in three manifestations.  Using this verse and others like this to prove Trinity is useless and illogical.  Just because you see  Christ, God and Holy Ghost there, that you conclude that there are three different persons? So how about this?

Colosssians 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

If we follow their pattern,  it goes something like this:  there are three persons or individuals:  First, God. Second, the Father. Third, Christ. So they will call them as God the God, God the Father and God the Christ. Ridiculous!  No! These are not that! But God, the Father and Christ are just different manifestations or functions of the ONE GOD named JESUS CHRIST.

1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

This verse does not prove that there are three different individuals but rather the contrary. God is One! God is the one who works it all:  First, as God the Father, his work of “foreknowledge”. Second, as the Spirit, his work of sanctification. And third, as Jesus Christ, his work of sprinkling (and shedding of blood).

Jude 1:1 shows God as the Sanctifier.  Acts 20:28 shows God as the one who purchased his church with his own blood.  So what does it show to us? God and Christ are only one and the same.  God and the Spirit are only one and the same. Christ is God and the Spirit.

This verse and others used to prove the trinity doctrine are verses that prove not the trinity but the threefold work and function of God for the redemption of man.

Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, 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 descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Both Trinitarians and Unitarians use these verses above to show that there are three different persons or identities, namely the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That’s what will come out by interpreting a verse without further investigation. Just because they see the words “voice from heaven”, they conclude that it is the person of God the Father; “Spirit of God”, that it is a different person or entity; and “Jesus”, that he is a separate individual.  But if we look at these verses carefully, we’ll see “Jesus” (the Messias) was baptized in water, and the “Spirit of God” was descending like a dove, and lighting UPON him; and “a voice from heaven” was speaking “this is my beloved Son”.   Yes, they are different from one another, but not different persons, but different manifestations of God in “symbolic form”. That event – the baptism of Jesus – is a very important event in showing to the world who is the Messias, a.k.a. the Christ, the anointed one of God.  The Spirit of God is God himself. He is the Lord Christ himself.  But here in this event, as Jesus (as the Son or as a Man) was baptized “as us”, the Spirit of God or God himself was descending UPON him - the anointing upon – the unction of God – like a dove.   The dove is a symbol of purity and gracefulness. It means that the Man Christ is God’s anointed and upon him God’s favor rests.  It is simply a confirmation that this Man was God’s anointed prophet, priest and king as only these three kinds of people were anointed in the Scriptures. Jesus got it all – as prophet, priest and king. That’s why he is called CHRIST – anointed.  Next, a “VOICE FROM HEAVEN” was speaking “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.   Another confirmation is “THE VOICE”. The voice of God himself.  It is said as “a voice FROM HEAVEN”, from God’s throne itself.  This is the WORD OF A KING! “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” (Eccles. 8:4). This is a ROYAL DECLARATION to the WORLD who REIGNS! Psalms 29 shows God’s voice as his power and majesty in his creation. The same with the descend of the Spirit as a dove, the voice from heaven is a divine declaration pointing to the Man Christ Jesus as the Messias, the Saviour of the world!

Jesus would never convince people by saying, “Hey men! I am God! I am here as a Man having God’s anointing! Listen to me. Look to me and be saved!” No! No! That’s not what he did. Instead, his deity and his being the anointed one was proved by these two confirmations or witnesses by the Spirit and by the voice from heaven which if we join together are God himself!  The descriptions of the Biblical writers must not be interpreted in a wooden interpretation that the Spirit looks like a dove, and that the voice is a different person speaking. 

What happened at Jesus’ baptism was the TWO NATURES of JESUS Christ giving confirmation to his Deity and being Christ.  The Spirit descending like a dove and the voice from heaven are the divine side and Jesus in physical flesh being baptized in water was the human side. That’s why the Man Christ Jesus is said as the “ONE MEDIATOR” between “GOD and MEN”. (1 Tim. 2:5).  GOD and MEN “became one” in Christ, because Jesus Christ was GOD and MAN in “ONE” and “IN HIM”  in that body “DWELLETH ALL THE FULLNESS” of “THE GODHEAD” (Col. 2:9). In that body flows “THE BLOOD” of “GOD” and dwells “THE SPIRIT OF GOD”. That body was the BODY  “PREPARED” by God to be his “TABERNACLE”.

Prophecy was fulfilled in the “INCARNATION” of JESUS CHRIST. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Rev. 21:3). Futurists and end-time fanatics place this prophecy into the far future but the Bible declares that it is a “PAST FULFILLMENT” when God himself became Man named EMMANUEL. Ask brother @Tim Liwanag. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) Yes! When Jesus Christ came in the flesh (1 John 4:2) or when God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16 KJV), the TABERNACLE OF GOD was WITH MEN, and GOD “DWELT” with them and became THEIR GOD. When God became flesh, the tabernacle of God was no more that place in the temple of Jerusalem but it was THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST himself who was GOD IN THE FLESH! As Apostle Paul said “GOD WAS IN CHRIST” (2 Cor. 5:19). It doesn’t mean that Christ is not God, but that God whose name is JESUS CHRIST dwelt in the human body of the Son (who is Jesus himself in the flesh) and in that body dwelt ALL THE FULNESS of THE GODHEAD. 

Deniers of Christ’s deity say that Jesus Christ was only a created being.  In a sense, that is true, but that is only half of the truth.  Jesus Christ had two natures: the DIVINE and the HUMAN.  As a human, he was created, made, born. It means he had a beginning, a birth.  But as God, he is from everlasting; he is eternal, no beginning and no ending.  As a man, he could die and so he died. But as God, he is immortal and has the power to raise himself from death! Jesus Christ is both the CREATOR and the CREATURE; both God and Man; both King and Prince; both Shepherd and Lamb; both Spirit and flesh; both the Father and the Son; both Infinite and Finite; both Unlimited and Limited; both the Priest and the Sacrifice; both God and Mediator to God; both King and Servant; both God and the Image of God.  Why? Because “CHRIST IS ALL and IN ALL” (Col. 3:11).

1 John 5:7 KJV For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

This Scripture verse above is one of the most abused verses used for trinity. I was one of those men who used this verse to prove the trinity doctrine together with Matt. 28:19 and 2 Cor. 13:14. I did those things because that was what was taught to me. Of course, a student follows his master.  That’s what I was doing. I was a Trinitarian Pentecostal then so I was one of the defenders of that doctrine.  And one more thing, I was a King James Version believer (even until now I am and proud to be one, yes, standing with Brother @Rey Halili Dungca, a real Ruckmanite).

I learned that the corrupt Bible versions don’t have this verse 1 John 5:7 because their translators believe that this is not in the original manuscript.  But we have it in the King James Bible and in the Textus Receptus Bibles. Many KJV believers are Trinitarians and so they say that the KJV proves that the trinity is a biblical doctrine.  That was my stand but I have changed my view, no not the KJV view but the trinity view on 1 John 5:7.

1 John 5:7 does not teach “THREE PERSONS IN ONE GOD”.  Let us analyze.

There are THREE that BEAR RECORD “IN HEAVEN”. Does it say that there are “THREE PERSONS” bearing record in heaven? No! What does it say then if it does not say three persons?  It says that “THERE ARE THREE”. Three what? Three that “BEAR RECORD”.  What does bear record mean?  Another words for bear record is “Witness” and “Testify”.  There are THREE that WITNESS in HEAVEN.   Therefore, it is not THREE PERSONS but THREE WITNESSES.

Where are the THREE WITNESSES?  There are three that bear record IN HEAVEN.  What is HEAVEN? Heaven is God’s throne (Psalm 11:4) God’s throne is everlasting.  Heaven is also synonymous with “eternity” as God is “eternity” and inhabits “eternity” and is from everlasting to everlasting. (Isa. 57:15; Psalm 90:2; 93:2).

Heaven is “eternity” and “infinity”. It transcends time and space. It is not limited by time and space. Heaven is past, present and future. So heaven is God’s essence.

What are the THREE  WITNESSES IN HEAVEN?  They are THE FATHER, THE WORD and THE HOLY GHOST.  They are not three persons but three witnesses rather.  They are THREE WITNESSES IN HEAVEN – IN ETERNITY.  Are these the same as The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? Not exactly. Because, in the list here are the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost and NOT The Father, the SON and the Holy Ghost. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are God’s three MANIFESTATIONS within that redemptive history (New Testament times).  But 1 John 5:7 tells a different thing.  These are not three MANIFESTATIONS but God’s three ETERNAL NATURES of JESUS AS GOD. IN eternity God is the FATHER (the originator and the source of everything). In eternity God is the WORD (his revelation of himself). In eternity God is the HOLY GHOST (life-giving, quickening, inspiration, empowerment, strengthening, and enlightenment).

Are the THREE WITNESSES really three?  The verse ends with this:  “AND THESE THREE ARE ONE”.  The three witnesses are THREE as witnesses but these three are ONE, not “became One” or “united in one” but “ARE ONE”. That’s an ABSOLUTE ONE!  GOD IS ONE (Gal. 3:20).  And this ONE GOD  bears  record IN HEAVEN (eternity) as THE FATHER, THE WORD and THE HOLY GHOST.  

If you can follow this thought, you now understand the truth that there is only ONE GOD, who is in eternity FATHER, WORD and HOLY GHOST and was manifested in the FLESH as THE SON (temporarily) to “DECLARE GOD” to men and to be the “MEDIATOR between GOD and MEN” by his FINISHED WORK OF REDEMPTION through HIS BLOOD.

These are some of the Scripture verses used by Trinitarians and even the deniers of Christ’s deity to prove that the Father and Jesus are different entities. But we have shown and proved that the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost are not three different persons of Godhead but are MANIFESTATIONS of GOD who is IN HEAVEN or ETERNITY,  THE FATHER, THE WORD and THE HOLY GHOST whose name is JESUS CHRIST. 

To God Jesus Christ alone be all the glory!

   amorilp Pliroma Revelation Bible Ministry