The truth of the Trinity is found throughout the Scriptures – therefore, we know that the Bible is the Word of God. If the prophets and apostles had not been inspired by the Holy Spirit, they would have left out the Trinity. It is too difficult for the “natural” man to fathom, but the child of God accepts the Trinity by faith.
The word Trinity is not found in the Bible, while the truth of the Trinity is found from Genesis through Revelation. The word came from the Latin word TRINITAS, meaning “threefold” – the threefold manifestation of God.
The truth of the Bible is a pure revelation from God. There is only one God – not three. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God, the eternal Father, did not make the Son and the Holy Spirit as His creations at His set time. In other words, God, the eternal Father, the eternal Son, and the eternal Holy Spirit, have always been. The Godhead is a Trinity in Unity.
1. This truth is revealed in “names” in the Old Testament.
A. The word God in the Old Testament is called Elohim in the Hebrew language.
This name means “two or more.” It is a plural, not a singular noun. Notice how
God describes how He created man in the scripture below. Fill in the blank.
Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let _______ make man in _________ image,
after ________ likeness.
B. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are one. They are three
separate, distinct personalities each having its own function; each having His
own responsibility toward man; each carrying out His prescribed work, but all
coming in harmony and agreement as one. The Godhead is a Trinity in Unity.
EXAMPLE: One of the best examples of the Trinity is the sun. The sun itself
represents God the Father, the light from the sun Is Jesus, and the heat from the
sun is the Holy Ghost. Yet, all these elements operate as one sun.
1. What did God say about man in Genesis 3:22? “The man is become as
_____________ _____________ _____________.”
2. Who went down to confound the language of the people? (Genesis 11:7)
__________________________________________________________
3. Fill in the Blank. …The Lord said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for
________?” (Isaiah 6:8)
One God – Three Persons
C. Scripture indicates that God operated in the plural form. Yet, He is one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 states the Lord our God is ONE LORD. The word “one” here
means UNITED. For example, think about ONE FAMILY, ONE CHURCH, or ONE
TEAM. When speaking of the family, it is one family unit, but several
personalities are involved in that family: a mother, father, daughter, and son.
A local church is one church, but contains many members operating as one.
A football team has many players at various positions, but it operates as one
team. This is the best way to describe the Godhead. When we say God, we are not
referring to one person. The Bible indicates that God reveals Himself to us in
three distinct personalities, all operating as one.
D. Underline and list the names of the Trinity members in the following scriptures.
1. John 3:34 _______________________________________________________
2. John 5:36 _______________________________________________________
3. John 8:18 _______________________________________________________
4. Find the Trinity in Luke 1:35. ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5. Find the Trinity in Matthew 1:20-21. __________________________________
__________________________________________________________
E. Read Matthew 3:16-17.
1. Which one of the Godhead was being baptized? (verse 16) _____________
2. Which one of the Godhead descended like a dove? (verse 16) __________
3. Which one of the Godhead said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased”? (verse 17)
__________________________________________________________
F. In what name did Jesus tell us to baptize people? (Matthew 28:19)
___________________________________________________________
One singular name, yet three distinct persons.
G. Who raised Jesus from the dead? (Romans 8:11) _______ _____________
H. FILL IN THE BLANK. Paul concluded his letter in 2 Corinthians with the
following statement:
The grace of the ________ _________ __________ and the love of ________
and the communion of the ________ _________, be with you all (2 Cor. 13:14).
I. Turn to Acts 2:32-33.
1. Who raised Jesus from the dead? (verse 32) __________________________
2. Who is at God’s right hand? (verses 32-33) ___________________________
3. What promise did the Father send? (verse 33) _________________________
J. Turn to Acts 10:38.
1. Who anointed Jesus? ____________________________________________
2. Jesus was anointed with the ______________________________________.
3. Who went about doing good and healing the oppressed? _______________
K. Turn to John 14:16 and 26. Jesus is speaking.
1. Who did Jesus say He would pray to? (verse 16)_______________________.
2. He shall give you another? (verse 16) _______________________________.
3. Who is the Comforter? (verse 26)___________________________________.
4. Who sent the Comforter? (verse 26)_________________________________.
5. In whose name would the Comforter be sent? (verse 26) ________________.
L. Some Christian groups support the teaching that Jesus is God, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. In other words, everything is Jesus.
Questions:
1. Who was Jesus talking to in Matthew 26:42? __________________________
2. Who was He talking to in John 17:1? _________________________________
God manifesting or revealing Himself in three ways proves how much He really loves mankind. After the first man (Adam) sinned, every human being born into the world after that would be born in sin. God’s justice requires that sin be paid for by death. Man needed someone to die in his place who was without sin so he would not have to die himself. Since every man would have been born in sin, no man was good enough to die for anyone else but himself. The only person who was good enough to obey all the commandments of God where we had failed was God himself.
It was man who sinned, so a man had to pay the death penalty. God decided to take on the form of man and come down to earth where man could see, feel, and touch Him. Through the second person of the Godhead, the Son Jesus showed us what God was like, showed us how to live this life, took the sins of the entire world, and died in our place (1 John 2:2).
One day, Jesus had to return to the Father to offer up His blood for man’s sacrifice and be seated at the right hand of the Father. There He is ever praying and defending us before the Father. He did not want to leave us alone, so He sent the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost, to come and live within every born-again believer. Jesus could only be in one place at one time while physically on earth. However, the Holy Spirit can abide within us all at the same time, everywhere.
So, if there was no Trinity, then man never could have been saved. No man was good enough to die. This doctrine must be accepted by faith on the basis of Scripture, even if it is beyond our human comprehension.
God made us in His image. Man is a trinity as well, having a spirit, soul, and body, yet he is one person. All three are one (1 Thessalonians 5:23).