Is “The Trinity” in the Bible?

One of the most common questions asked is why the doctrine of the trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is used when the Bible never uses the word “trinity”. While the word is not used, the concept is clearly present in the Old and New Testament.

The Trinity In the Old Testament

The names of God

God reveals his nature in part through his names. The first name for God used in Scripture is Elohim. Even in the first verse of the Bible, a hint of the Trinity is given; the word Elohim is plural. If this use of plural were the only teaching we had about God it would not be a strong argument since the Hebrew language elsewhere uses the plural in reference to majesty. “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).

When man gained a knowledge of good and evil God said, “The man is become as one of us” (Gen. 3:22). Before God judged at Babel, he said, “Let us go down” (Gen. 11:7). Isaiah “heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isa. 6:8).

Isaiah records a second name of God which is plural

The name “Maker” (Isa. 54:5) is plural in the Hebrew language. This verse then names three who are God. “For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isa. 54:5). These plural names of God suggest what is known as a “plural unity.”

The worship of God by use of a trinitarian formula

A second intimation of the Trinity in the Old Testament is seen in the worship of God. Isaiah’s vision of God included the threefold designation, “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:3). When Jacob blessed his son Joseph in the name of God, three times he identified God differently (Gen. 48:15, 16).

The Aaronic benediction given by God for recitation by Israel’s first priest was also threefold in nature: “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Num. 6:24-26). While these are not conclusive in themselves, most biblical theologians agree these threefold emphases in the worship of God allow for the threefold Person of God.

All three Persons are distinguished as God

A third inference of the Trinity in the Old Testament is the practice of distinguishing between God and God. The judgment by the Lord on Sodom and Gomorrah distinguishes between the Lord on earth- and the Lord in heaven (Gen. 19:24). More specifically, the Old Testament teaches Jehovah has a Son (Ps. 2:7) who is called God (Isa. 9:6). The Spirit of God is also distinguished in the Old Testament from God (Gen. 1:2; 6:3).

A clear statement points to the Trinity

Probably the clearest statement on the Trinity in the Old Testament is Isaiah 48:16, because it demonstrates an Old Testament belief in the three Persons of the Trinity. God the Son is speaking in this verse. He identifies the Father (Lord God) and “his Spirit” as having sent him. In the next verse the Son is more clearly identified as God. Therefore, this verse identifies three who are God yet it does not deny monotheism.

Missionaries to the Jews often use this verse when challenged by Jews that Christians believe in “three Gods.” Christians believe in one God in three Persons, just as the Old Testament teaches.

The Trinity in the New Testament

Trinity Revealed at the Baptism of Jesus

The most vivid illustration of the Trinity is found at the beginning of the earthly ministry of Jesus. He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River (Matt. 3:16, 17). As God the Son was raised from the water, he saw God the Holy Spirit “descending like a dove.” The Bible also records the voice of God the Father breaking the silence of heaven to acknowledge his delight in his Son.

Jesus taught the Trinity (John 14:16, 17)

Jesus believed in and taught his disciples the doctrine of the Trinity. When attempting to prepare them for their life of service after his resurrection, he told them he had asked the Father to send the Comforter, which is God the Holy Spirit. By this point in his ministry, the disciples were well aware that Jesus was God the Son. In his instruction concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit, he taught in such a way that assumes the disciples understood the doctrine of the Trinity.

Later the same evening, Jesus made the same reference to the Trinity to the same group. “But when the Comforter [God the Holy Spirit] is come, whom I [God the Son] will send unto YOU from [God] the Father. . . ” (John 15:26). Jesus would have had only to say something once to make it true, but the repetition of this teaching in this context suggests not only was the teaching true, but the learners (disciples) were able to relate to that truth. They were familiar enough with the doctrine of the Trinity to be able to learn new truth built upon old truth.

The New Testament church recognized the Trinity (2 Cor. 13:14)

The doctrine of the Trinity was taught in the early church. Two practices of the church revealed that the first Christians were trinitarians. The first is seen in the practice of greetings and benedictions. Christians often greeted one another in the name of the Lord. Even today some Christians will comment, “God bless you” as they part company. When the apostle Paul pronounced his final benediction upon the Corinthian church, he did so in the name of the three Persons of the Trinity. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14).

A second practice in the New Testament church which recognized the Trinity was baptism.

Jesus instructed his disciples to baptize converts “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). When a person was baptized, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were each identified in the act. Though three were identified, converts were baptized in the “name” singular, reflecting the unity of the Godhead. Some have misunderstood this point and have argued that the formula of baptism “in the name of Jesus” (Acts 2:38) is different than the formula of Matthew 28:19.

Actually this phrase is often used in the Book of Acts to distinguish Christian baptism from the baptism of John the Baptist. Specifically, it called for the recognition of the deity of Christ whom they crucified. Christian baptism was always “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19) in obedience to Christ’s commandment, hence in “the name of Christ.”

The distinct work of each Person of the Trinity points to the Trinity

Much of the work of God is attributed to each member of the Godhead. Hebrews 9:14 illustrates the cooperative efforts of each member of the Trinity in the atonement: God the Son offered his blood through God the Holy Spirit to God the Father for our salvation. In this way, an understanding of the Trinity is foundational to an understanding of the atonement. The author of Hebrews felt this was important when reminding Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem of what God had done for them.

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Dr. Elmer Towns

Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education.His personal education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971, and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty’s existence. Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean of the School of Religion.Dr. Towns has given theological lectures and taught intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. He holds visiting professorship rank in five seminaries. He has written over 2,000 reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees. Four doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious education and evangelism.