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The concept of the Trinity enlarges the concept of God found in the Old Testament and makes certain Old Testament passages more understandable. For example, some 2,500 times the word for God is Elohim, plural, instead of El, singular. There are plural pronouns used to describe the one God: “Let us make man” (Genesis 1:26); “Man is become as one of us” (Genesis 3:22); “Remember Thy Creators” (Ecclesiastes 12:1, literal); “Rejoice in His Makers” (Psalm 149:2, literal).

And, in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV), the word for “name” is singular, representing three persons.

The plural pronouns are an indicator of the trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — the Three in One.

Ken Horn

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First John 5:7 in the King James Version is such a great proof-text for the Trinity. Why is it not found in newer versions?

When you read 1 John 5:7 in the KJV it does seem like a great proof-text for the Trinity. It reads, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

Newer versions omit that wording.

So why would Christians omit wording that helps prove the Trinity? (1) Those words are not authentic, and (2) There is plenty of proof for the Trinity without them. We don’t need to use spurious words to authenticate the doctrine.

Scholar F.F. Bruce explained it well in his excellent book History of the Bible in English:

They [the words of 1 John 5:7 as found in the KJV] first appear in the writing of a Spanish Christian leader named Priscillian, who was executed for heresy in A.D. 385. Later they made their way into copies of the Latin text of the Bible. When Erasmus prepared his printed edition of the Greek Testament, he rightly left those words out, but was attacked for this by people who felt that the passage was a valuable proof-text for the doctrine of the Trinity. He replied (rather incautiously) that if he could be shown any Greek manuscript which contained the words, he would include them in his next edition. Unfortunately, a Greek manuscript not more than some twenty years old was produced in which the words appeared: they had been translated into Greek from Latin. Of course, the fact that the only Greek manuscript exhibiting the words belonged to the sixteenth century was in itself an argument against their authenticity, but Erasmus had given his promise, and so in his 1522 edition he included the passage. (Today one or two other very late Greek manuscripts are known to contain the passage; all others omit it.)

[New York: Oxford University Press, 1978 (third edition), pp. 141-2]

Ken Horn

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I am having a difficult time explaining to my children how Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are one person. Can you help?

The Trinity is first-rate mystery.

Augustine said that anyone who denies the Trinity is in danger of losing his salvation, and anyone who tries to understand it is in danger of losing his mind. It is not fully explained in Scripture.

In fact, the word Trinity is not found in the Bible. But, by the late second century it was being used by the church to describe a biblical concept—literally, tri-unity, or “three in one.”

This does not mean three Gods … though Christians have been accused of being polytheists by other world religions. Instead Christians have a unique view of God, one that comes about because they believe both the Old and New Testaments.

There are six basic biblical steps to understanding the Trinity:

1. There is one God. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Deuteronomy 6:4 is one of the most important verses to the Jews, who believe in one God. It is known as the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

Here is the Hebrew: Shema Yisrael: Yahweh Elochenu Yahweh Echad. The Hebrew language has two words that are translated “one”—Yachid and Echad. Yachid means an absolute one. Echad refers to a united one. Echad is the word used of God in the Old Testament—God is a united one.

2. The Father is God. (2 Peter 1:17)

3. The Son is God. (John 8:58)

4. The Holy Spirit is God. (Acts 5:3-4)

5. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct individuals. (John 14:26)

6. Therefore, there are three Persons in the one Godhead.

A typical, accurate doctrinal statement is this, Assemblies of God Fundamental Truth no. 2: “WE BELIEVE … There is only One True God—revealed in three persons … Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).” (See ag.org for all 16 Assemblies of God Fundamental Truths.)

Since the Trinity is completely unique, no analogy really fits. The Trinity is not really “like” anything.

But attempts have been made. The best analogies do not look at the Trinity as three parts that make up a whole, like these examples:

• Shamrock: Saint Patrick, who spread the Gospel in Ireland, used a three-leafed clover.
• Egg: Another common one—eggshell, egg white and yolk.
• H2O: The three phases of H2O—water, ice, steam—are better as an analogy but also fall short since any given temperature produces only one of these at a time. That picture leads to a false doctrine that says the Trinity is really only one person who takes on one of three modes at any given time. This belief is problematic for those who hold it: Just what was going on in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying to the Father? Was He talking to himself?

The best illustration I have seen comes from C.S. Lewis:

• The three dimensions of space: Length, width and height. All coincide in the same place, yet are distinct.

Ken Horn

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