Why is the word “Trinity” not found in the Bible? Can the doctrine of the Trinity be derived from Scripture itself?
These are questions I hear from people in non-Trinitarian religions as well as Christians who believe in the Trinity but aren’t entirely sure of its biblical basis. Since the Trinity describes the nature of the God that Christians worship, one might expect to see Trinitarian language evident in Scripture.
In fact, I recently received the following question on this topic on social media. Here is the question followed by my answer. I think this interaction can be helpful for Christians who engage in interfaith (or counter-sect) evangelism and apologetics.
Question:
A cleric who recently knocked on my door said that the doctrine of the Trinity was invented by the Christian Church a few centuries after Christ and had no biblical support. She said the word Trinity is not even a biblical term.
How can I respond effectively to this challenge?
My answer:
Thank you for your request. I have heard members of several non-Trinitarian religious sects (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christadelphians, Latter-day Saints) tell me the same thing.
Here is my way of answering:
Since the word “trinity” does not appear in the Bible, some might wonder whether the doctrine of the Trinity is not simply an innovation of historical Christianity. The term trinity comes from Latin trinits. The Church Father Tertullian (c. 160-230 AD) used this term when he wrote about “the trinity of the One Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”1
Some people are troubled by the fact that the word trinity does not appear in the Bible. But the absence of this word in no way invalidates the doctrine. Many important biblical concepts are conveyed by terms that do not actually appear in the Bible, for example terms like Bible, cannonAnd inerrancy. Nothing in the text prohibits the use of extrabiblical terms to express a proper meaning.
Although the word trinity does not appear, Scripture clearly reveals the doctrine of the tri-unity of God (three in one). Here is the doctrine of the Trinity in six biblical propositions:2
- There is one and only one God (1 Timothy 2:5).
- The person of the Father is God (2 Peter 1:17).
- The person of the Son is God (Titus 2:13).
- The person of the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4).
- The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct and simultaneously distinguishable persons (Luke 3:22).
- The three persons (Father or God; Son or Christ or Lord; and Holy Spirit or Spirit) are often listed together in a triadic model of unity and equality (John 14:26).
Now here is the logical conclusion drawn from these passages:
Since there is only one God, and because the three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are all called God, and since the three persons are distinct from each other, and because the three persons are all equal, then the three distinct persons and the equal persons are the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity is not formally and explicitly taught in the Bible but is implicitly derived from the content of Scripture. Although Jesus’ apostles were Jewish monotheists who believed strictly in one God, they nevertheless recognized that two other persons (the Son and the Holy Spirit) had revealed themselves as God. All three people possessed the qualities and prerogatives of divinity. The apostles therefore modified traditional Jewish monotheism3 in the light of the revelation concerning first the Son (Jesus Christ) and later the Holy Spirit.
The formal doctrine of the Trinity creed took several centuries to be defined and defended in the light of the various heresies which called it into question (modalism, tritheism, etc.).4 It was confirmed as a doctrine of the Church at the Council of Nicaea (325). But the foundation of the Trinity is found in the Bible.
Christian historian Mark Noll wrote that “the ancient beliefs became authoritative in the early centuries because they were deeply, profoundly, integrally, and passionately rooted in Scripture.”5
Takeaways
- The word Trinity is not in the Bible but the truth that God is three and one is biblical.
- The doctrine of the Trinity is not presented explicitly in Scripture but is clearly derived implicitly from it.
- It took a few centuries to define and defend the formal doctrine of the Trinity creed.
Resources
- For more on the biblical treatment of the Trinity, see Peter Toon, Our Trinity God: a biblical representation of the Trinity.
- For more on the history of the Trinity, see Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: in Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship.
- For more on the general doctrine of the Trinity, see “How God Can Be Three and One” in Kenneth Richard Samples, Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith QuestionsChapter 5.
- For a discussion of the Trinity as a divine mystery, see “Aren’t Theological Mysteries Just Logical Contradictions?” in the samples of Kenneth Richard, Christianity cross-examined: is it rational, relevant and good?Chapter 5.
Endnotes
1. Tertullian, By PudicitiaThe Tertullian project, 21, updated June 13, 2023.
2. For a more complete overview of the doctrine of the Trinity, see Kenneth Richard Samples, A world of difference: Putting Christian claims about truth to the test of worldview (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2007), 131-132.
3. New Testament and ancient historian Larry W. Hurtado describes Jesus’ vision of the early Judeo-Christian Church as an extension of Yahweh and a mutation within monotheistic Judaism. See Larry W. Hurtado, How the hell did Jesus become a God? Historical questions about the first devotion to Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2005). A similar mutation would take place if we also consider the Holy Spirit as an extension of Yahweh.
4. See “Trinitarian Heresies», monergism.com, accessed July 27, 2023.
5. Mark A. Noll, Jesus Christ and the life of the spirit (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2011), 2.