Is God made up of 3 Persons?

Introduction

There has been much debate and argument about the doctrine of the trinity. Is it biblical?

Please read to the end if you are a Trinitarian.

We do not present this post to antagonize or attack anyone, but rather because we believe an honest and rigorous examination of the biblical evidence will support that the Father alone is God and Jesus is His created Son. Furthermore, we think it is important for Christians to know the truth about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

There is value in truth, and God and Jesus deserve to be known for who they really are. Knowing that there is only one God, and that He is not triune and thus sharing His identity with two others, elevates Him to His rightful position as the one God of the Bible, the Creator of the universe, and the One who we love with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Similarly, knowing that the Lord Jesus is who Peter said he was, “a man approved of God” (Acts 2:22 KJV), elevates him to his rightful position. He is the only begotten Son of God, who loved so much that he lived a sinless, obedient life and died on the cross for us, whom God raised from the dead and who now stands at God’s right hand as God’s second in command, administering the things of God.

Something that is openly admitted by theologians but not known by many Christians is that the doctrine of the Trinity is not stated in the Bible but is actually “built” by piecing together statements that are said to support it. But since most Christians believe that the Trinity is a mystery and no one can understand it, doctrinal discussions about it are often avoided or brushed aside and ignored. Worse, the teaching that the Trinity is a “mystery” has been used as a club to beat down doubters and dissenters, and those people are often branded as “heretics” and their role in Christianity minimized (the idea the Trinity is a mystery is covered in section 20 below).

Thus, the Trinity stands as an unchangeable but never-understood fortress in the center of Christianity. But Christians should get their doctrine from the Bible. What if a careful examination of the Bible showed that there was no Trinity? What if careful study showed that Yahweh was the one God of the Bible, and Jesus was who Peter said he was, “a man approved of God” and not a “God-man”? What if the “mystery” of the Trinity was not a mystery at all, but an erroneous doctrine that was formulated over time? This study will show that Jesus was indeed a fully human man approved by God.

I was Trinitarian for over 30 years. Then I started looking at the scriptural support for the doctrine. I looked at the history behind the doctrine to find out that before 325 AD and the council of Nicea this was not a central doctrine.

The doctrine was disputed that God was made up of one God of two or three persons.

Christian Jews for the first couple of centuries definitely did not believe in this doctrine as their basis for understanding God. Their foundation for God was the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one[4] LORD.This is a main tenant of Judaism.

This is real monotheism (One God) and not like the version that occurs when the idea of the Trinity is introduced.

Many will say but what about the scriptures which seem to say that Jesus is God. They all have to be looked at through the lens of God being the Only One and true God and cannot contradict them. Scripture cannot contradict itself. We also have to understand that our English bible translations are not always accurate. The translators try their best based on the manuscripts, but they have their own particular bias.

So our understanding must not be correct when we come across scriptures that seem to point to Jesus being God or our translations are not accurate. Most can be understood to mean something different if you dont look at them with “trinity” glasses on.

If we allow the scriptures and Jesus to speak for themselves then it becomes clear what is the makeup of the Godhead.

Jesus is meant to be our foundational source for the Gospel. So what Jesus says should have weight in our thinking and understanding and not what men teach.

Evidence

In the Old Testament, God the Father is referred to LORD (caps) which is the English word given for the tetragrammarton YHWH. Sometimes pronounced as Jehovah or Yahweh by Gentiles.

YHWH occurs over 6,500 times in over 5,200 scriptures in Old Testament. God is also referred to Adonai 451 times which is allowed to be pronounced in Hebrew. YHWH was never meant to be spoken as it was seen as sacred.

The Greek word for “one” is heis [1] and it means a literal numeral one. Not a plural or three.

Jesus never clarified or added himself as “God” to any scriptures that he spoke, with regard to God being “One”. The authors of the New Testament also never qualified their statements to include anyone else in the One God scriptures.

In 1 Timothy 2:5-7 Paul states clearly that God is One and that there is one mediator between God and men and that is the “man” Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:5-7 For there is one[1] God (Theos[2]) and one[1] Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Here we can see that the One God is the Father and Jesus is referred to as a man and the Mediator. Also notice that the Greek word “heis” is used twice which means a literal numerical “1”, once for God and once for Jesus. We should be able to agree that Jesus is one person and not two or three people. Therefore God must also be one person.

Following are some examples of scriptures using God being “One”. There can be no confusion based on these examples that when the term “God is One” or the “One God” that it means that God is 1 person only. There might be other scriptures that seem to indicate differently but they all must compliment on build on all the other scriptures including the ones in this post.

Matthew 19:17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Mark 12:29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD [3] OUR GOD[2], THE LORD[3] IS ONE. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Mark 12:32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.

The word Lord below is the Greek word kurios [3] and it does not mean deity. It means supreme in authority, that is a controller; by implication Mr. (as a respectful title): – Lord and master. The Greek word theos [2] would be used by the writers if they meant to imply deity.

1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is one God[2], the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord[3] Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Ephesians 4:6 one[1] God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

James 2:19 You believe that there is one[1] God[2]. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

There are other posts that cover most of the other scriptures that seem to indicate that Jesus is God. One of the challenges is defining what we mean by God. The basic definition of God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immortal and being eternal.

Conclusion

Based upon all the above scriptures and the meaning of “one”, “God” and “Lord” in the Bible, we can state that God as stated by Jesus is One Person. Jesus also did not state that he is God, in the above scriptures. The term son of God is covered in this post Does Jesus being the Son of God mean that He is God?

It is important to remember that we have to look at the whole counsel of scripture taking into account that God does not contradict Himself. So if we come across some scriptures that seem to contradict some others then we need to try and understand what they are saying. Looking at the from the point of view of the person who wrote it and the context of the passage.

This post covers the question of what is The Holy Spirit and is He God?

Notes

[1] One HEIS (G1520)

(Including the neuter [etc.] ἕν hen); a primary numeral; one: – a (-n, -ny, certain), + abundantly, man, one (another), only, other, some. Total KJV occurrences: 272

[2] God THEOS (G2316)

Of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively a magistrate; by Hebraism very: – X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward]. Total KJV occurrences: 1343

[3] LORD KURIOS (G2962)

From kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, that is, (as noun) controller; by implication Mr. (as a respectful title): – God, Lord, master, Sir. Total KJV occurrences: 748

[4] Hebrew One Echad (H259)

A numeral from H258; properly united, that is, one; or (as an ordinal) first: – a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any (-thing), apiece, a certain [dai-] ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together. Total KJV occurrences: 968