The doctrine of Trinity is a controversial doctrine and often called as the cornerstone of Christianity. Trinity is what distinguishes Christianity from Judaism and Islam, by stating that God is one being who exists as three distinct persons, yet clamming Christianity being monotheistic faith. The doctrine of Trinity can be difficult to explain and still causes some confusion to Christians, depending on denomination. I would also say that there is no similar answer when speaking to different Christians. This doctrine can definitely confuse people, and this is why it always puzzled me of its validity as God is not the God of confusion. God never presented Himself as having three forms or three persons, but from the beginning highlighted:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6: 4
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 45: 5
“To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” Deuteronomy 4: 35
“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.” Isaiah 44:6
In the Hebrew Bible it has been presented very clearly that God is one, that there is no other God beside Him and that God is not sharing His essence with anyone, yet confusion was introduced in the New Testament by first writings of the Apostle Paul, who contributed to the formation of the doctrine and later expanded by the Early Church Fathers.
And again, it is important to look into this doctrine to assess if you believe in the Trinity because you have already been taught about it before you came to that understanding yourself, thus influencing your belief, or if you believe in the Trinity because it is very explicitly explained by God and there is no confusion?
We have to remember that Early Church Fathers were not a source of unmistakable answers, but they were just men, who could be in error. The same applies to the Apostles, who also could make some mistakes. Just because it was established centuries before, does not make it true or that we shouldn’t question it. And I certainly question this doctrine.
The doctrine of the Trinity is a central belief in most branches of Christianity. It teaches that God is one being who exists as three distinct persons: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. However, Christianity insists there is only one God, not three gods. At the same time, this one God exists in three “persons.” These persons are distinct, but they are not separate beings—they share the same divine essence. While equal in nature, each person of the Trinity is often described with different roles: The Father being the creator, The Son being the Savior of humanity and a just judge and The Holy Spirit, a presence of God in the world and in all believers.
Trinity is often described as a mystery because it goes beyond normal human logic, because how can something be both one and three at the same time? And that is why it is contradicting with the Hebrew Bible, where God presented Himself as One and in one form and never mentioned sharing His being or being part of three forms, even though Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament in prophets.
God would always separate Holy Spirit and say: “I will send my Holy Spirit”, however not saying “I will come in the form of the Holy Spirit”. Most traditions agree that Trinity is partly understandable but ultimately accepted as a mystery. Ultimately, many people—both historically and today—find it difficult to grasp and only accept it as a mystery.
The idea of Trinity started with the writings of the Apostle Paul. He never used the word “trinity” as this was introduced much later, however, Paul always emphasized the power of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which later, by analysis and interpretation of the letters of Apostle Paul, gave Early Church Fathers the conclusion of Trinity.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14
Therefore, Paul laid the groundwork by speaking about the Father, Son, and Spirit together as divine powers and equal to one another. This was later developed and disputed at many different Councils. Interestingly, we can find a verse in the New Testament that clearly states the idea of Trinity:
“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7
However, this verse was added to the Bible in 1525 for the purpose to convince sceptics who were saying the Trinity was not present in the Bible. If therefore we have clear evidence of verses being added to the New Testament, how can we truly trust it has been divinely guided?
Early Christians did not worship the Trinity or discussed the idea of the Trinity and only around 325 AD, thus around three centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection, this was introduced by the Council of Nicea. Early Christian thinkers like Tertullian were among the first ones who used the quote like: “One substance, three persons” in the 2nd century. In the 4th century, a priest named Arius argued that Jesus was not divine. He claimed that Jesus was created by God, and therefore not equal to the Father. This sparked a huge dispute across the Christian world and to resolve all those disputes, a Council of Nicea was formed to put a final mark on the idea.
The church leaders met at the Council of Nicea, where they agreed that Jesus is “of the same substance” as the Father and that He is fully God, not created. This was finalized and written into the Nicene Creed and from then on, this was established as a main doctrine of Christianity.
Later, the First Council of Constantinople expanded this teaching and added that Holy Spirit is also of the same substance and was also not created, confirming three people: Father, Son, and Spirit. Therefore, the idea about the Trinity emerged from an argument, then later developed and formed over 300+ years of debate and reflection, to finally being established at the Councils. It was not a straightforward process or thought and established by philosophers, thinkers and Church Fathers, whose main goal was to establish one and cohesive doctrine. It was more important to end disputes and arguments, as Christianity was closely linked with the state and acted as a political tool. It is very clear it was not about the truth, but about the majority of votes.
Was the doctrine of Trinity accepted with wide arms by the early Christians?
The answer is no; early Christians did not welcome the doctrine of the Trinity straight away. It was a controversial idea, debated, and resisted for several centuries before becoming widely accepted. One of the reasons was the fact that the idea is philosophically complex and, in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th century, there were many uneducated people who didn’t understand many philosophical concepts.
We can also say that many people even today, 2 thousand years after, are still skeptical and only accept this doctrine as this is the requirement to be called a Christian. Another point important to mention is that God said on many occasions that He does not change, therefore why He would present Himself as One before Jesus and after Jesus’ resurrection, we would then be introduced to Him in three forms?
What does the Bible say about Jesus’ divinity?
In the Hebrew Bible we only see the worship of God the Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We see many prophets rising and being the “mouthpiece” of God and messengers of God’s coming judgement. There was no confusion, no discussion on this and it was very clear that there was only One God. In the Hebrew Bible we see that the coming of the Messiah was prophesied, which in Christianity is widely accepted as Messiah being Jesus, however Judaism still rejects Jesus as their Messiah. Messiah, otherwise known as Christ or “Anointed One”, which means being filled with God’s Spirit.
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.” Isiah 42:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;” Isaiah 61: 1-2
“Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.” Isiah 55: 4-5
Therefore, from this we see that Jesus was prophesied and called as the Messiah and Anointed One, the one filled with God’s Spirit, God’s Servant, the Elect One, the witness, as a leader and commander. Also, God mentioned that “My Elect One in whom My soul delights!” – if God was talking about Himself in a different form, this would be a little strange, that God delights in Himself in a different form. Here we can clearly see that God was distinguishing Jesus from Himself and was giving Jesus many different titles, which Jesus earned rather than it was given to him because of being God.
Moreover, when Jesus was on earth, He was always pointing to the Father and said He is not greater than the Father:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.” John 13:16
From the book of Isaiah, we see that God called Jesus His servant, and here we see Jesus saying that a servant is not greater than the one who sent Him. Therefore, Jesus confirms He is not equal to the Father.
“If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” John 14: 28
Here Jesus clearly distinguishes Himself and highlights that the Father is greater than he is. Therefore, the idea that Jesus is of the same essence or equal to the Father is not confirmed by the words of God in the book of Isaiah or by Jesus, but only by interpretation of the Early Church Fathers.
Why the doctrine of Trinity is wrong?
The main criticism of the doctrine of Trinity is the fact that it is simply not backed anywhere in the Bible, apart from some mentions by the Apostle Paul and a false verse added in 1525. When we exclude the letters of Paul and only focus on the words of God and Jesus, both clearly separate themselves and Jesus points out that the Father is greater than Him and God delights in His Servant. The idea of the Trinity is not Biblical but only based on traditions, disputes and arguments.
Another important point is that in pagan traditions, it was very common to have triads: three main gods that were worshipped. Ancient Greek and Roman religions were polytheistic with many gods, however groups of three deities (triads) did exist and were important. In ancient Greece was Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. In Babylonian religion the three main gods were Marduk, Ishtar and Shamash. Romans had more formal state-sponsored triads, such as Jupiter, Juno, Minerva. Therefore, the idea of trinity was more fitted into Christianity once Christianity was accepted as a main religion by previously pagan Roman Empire.
Why the idea of Trinity is also dangerous, is because it stole the worship of the Most High God and Christianity only worships Jesus. Many Christians also believe that Jesus is Yahweh and that Jesus created the world. Some believe Jesus was just present during the creation and some think Jesus in heaven is one form as God the Father and on earth in three forms. It’s all very confusing and there is no one definitive answer even after 2 thousand years. And we have to remember – God is not the author of confusion.
Moreover, God presented Himself to uneducated people in Israel, He gave clear and easy instructions to all, regardless of their level of education and educated philosophers driven by their ego to win an argument, created doctrines that were close to their old pagan traditions, completely misunderstanding the idea that God wanted to convey to peopl. This was to only fit God into their already existing model, rather than accept how God presented Himself to People. God didn’t ask us to discuss, argue or guess what is His true nature. He presented Himself as One God and He only asked us to follow His Laws and commandments. This doctrine takes away from the true meaning of God’s nature and His character. But people always want to assume, label and box concepts and ideas that can be conceptualized by human logic.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 45: 5
By Dagmara Z.