# TRINITY AS CHRISTIANS DOCTRINE. ## WHAT IS TRINITY : as defined by the Oxford advance learners dictionary (in Christianity) is the union of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God,[source](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/trinity#:~:text=the%20Trinity%20%28in%20Christianity%29%20the%20union%20of%20Father%2C,the%20Oxford%20Advanced%20Learner%27s%20Dictionary.%20Check%20pronunciation%3A%20trinity.) Trinity as defined by Wikipedia, "The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Latin: Trinitas, lit. 'triad', from Latin: trinus "threefold")[1] holds that God is one God, but three coeternal and consubstantial persons:[2][3] the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios).[4] In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is."[source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity) As explained by the Catholic encyclopedia; The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion — the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. This, the Church teaches, is the revelation regarding God's nature which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came upon earth to deliver to the world: and which she proposes to man as the foundation of her whole dogmatic system. In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together. The word trias (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180. He speaks of "the Trinity of God [the Father], His Word and His Wisdom (To Autolycus II.15). The term may, of course, have been in use before his time. Afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian (On Pudicity 21). In the next century the word is in general use. It is found in many passages of Origen ("In Ps. xvii", 15). The first creed in which it appears is that of Origen's pupil, Gregory Thaumaturgus. In his Ekthesis tes pisteos composed between 260 and 270, he writes: There is therefore nothing created, nothing subject to another in the Trinity: nor is there anything that has been added as though it once had not existed, but had entered afterwards: therefore the Father has never been without the Son, nor the Son without the Spirit: and this same Trinity is immutable and unalterable forever (P.G., X, 986). It is manifest that a dogma so mysterious presupposes a Divine revelation. When the fact of revelation, understood in its full sense as the speech of God to man, is no longer admitted, the rejection of the doctrine follows as a necessary consequence. For this reason it has no place in the Liberal Protestantism of today. The writers of this school contend that the doctrine of the Trinity, as professed by the Church, is not contained in the New Testament, but that it was first formulated in the second century and received final approbation in the fourth, as the result of the Arian and Macedonian controversies. In view of this assertion it is necessary to consider in some detail the evidence afforded by Holy Scripture. Attempts have been made recently to apply the more extreme theories of comparative religion to the doctrine of the Trinity, and to account for it by an imaginary law of nature compelling men to group the objects of their worship in threes. It seems needless to give more than a reference to these extravagant views, which serious thinkers of every school reject as destitute of foundation.[source](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm#:~:text=The%20Trinity%20is%20the%20term%20employed%20to%20signify,Three%20Persons%20being%20truly%20distinct%20one%20from%20another.) ## WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF TRINITY :

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYi4YuLqf32BUpmPBeQbf3yVvSmDWXTLpkSk4LMSUCv4m/IMG_20210325_145424.jpg

“The impression could arise that the Trinitarian dogma is in the last analysis a late 4th-century invention. In a sense, this is true . . . The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century.”—New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), Volume 14, page 299.

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNMiZ69xgTechTMFL8Xwa3WDwhV9hXdBKVgXb34usF2ok/IMG_20210325_181215.jpgimage source

“The Council of Nicaea met on May 20, 325 [C.E.]. Constantine himself presided, actively guiding the discussions, and personally proposed . . . the crucial formula expressing the relation of Christ to God in the creed issued by the council, ‘of one substance with the Father.’ . . . Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the creed, many of them much against their inclination.”—Encyclopædia Britannica (1970), Volume 6, page 386.[source](https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/wp20091101/myth-god-is-a-trinity/) When Constantine became sole ruler of the Roman Empire, professed Christians were divided over the relationship between God and Christ. Was Jesus God? Or was he created by God? To settle the matter, Constantine summoned church leaders to Nicaea, not because he sought religious truth, but because he did not want religion to divide his empire. Constantine asked the bishops, who may have numbered into the hundreds, to come to a unanimous accord, but his request was in vain. He then proposed that the council adopt the ambiguous notion that Jesus was “of one substance” (homoousios) with the Father. This unbiblical Greek philosophical term laid the foundation for the Trinity doctrine as later set forth in the church creeds. Indeed, by the end of the fourth century, the Trinity had essentially taken the form it has today, including the so-called third part of the godhead, the holy spirit From the above explanations and definitions the question now arises does the Bible support the trinity Doctrine[source](https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201308/trinity/) ## DOES THE BIBLE SUPORT THE TRINITY DOCTRINE? Only the Bible itself can offer satisfying answer to this question since the Bible itself is the only authority in which Christain doctrines is based or derived. ### THE BIBLES VIEWPOINT : Many Christian denominations teach that God is a Trinity. However, note what the Encyclopædia Britannica states: “Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament . . . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies.”[source](https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/trinity/) Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘Look! I can see heaven thrown open,’ he said, ‘and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.’”—Acts 7:55, 56, The New Jerusalem Bible. What did this vision reveal? Filled with God’s active force, Stephen saw Jesus “standing at God’s right hand.” Clearly, then, Jesus did not become God again after his resurrection to heaven but, rather, a distinct spiritual being. There is no mention of a third person next to God in this account. Despite attempts to find passages of Scripture to support the Trinity dogma, Dominican priest Marie-Émile Boismard wrote in his book À l’aube du christianisme—La naissance des dogmes (At the Dawn of Christianity—The Birth of Dogmas): “The statement that there are three persons in the one God . . . cannot be read anywhere in the New Testament.” The dogma that Constantine championed was intended to put an end to dissensions within the fourth-century Church but instead gives rise to so many questions[source](https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/wp20091101/myth-god-is-a-trinity/) ### HOW THE BIBLE DESCRIBES GOD : In fact, the God of the Bible is never described as being part of a Trinity. Note these Bible passages: “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.”—Deuteronomy 6:4. “You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”—Psalm 83:18. “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3. “God is only one.”—Galatians 3:20.[source]( https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/trinity/) " But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God - 1 corinthians 11:3. “To us there is but one God, the Father.”—1 Corinthians 8:6, King James Version The following scriptures evidently proves that there is only one true GOD not three in one God, the phrases "the only", "one Jehovah", and "you alone" as used in the Bible (the sculptures quoted above) to address GOD denotes a singular entity not three in one. ### WHAT THE BIBLE SAID ABOUT JESUS : For one thing, the Bible does not mention the word “Trinity.” For another, Jesus never claimed to be equal to God. Instead, Jesus worshipped God. (Luke 22:41-44) A third line of evidence concerns Jesus’ relationship with his followers. Even after he was raised from the dead to the spirit realm, Jesus called his followers “my brothers.” (Matthew 28:10) Were they brothers of Almighty God? Of course not! But through their faith in Christ—God’s preeminent Son—they too became sons of the one Father. (Galatians 3:26) Compare some additional scriptures with the following statement from the creed attributed to the Council of Nicaea.[source](https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201308/trinity/) My Father is greater than I [Jesus].”—John 14:28. * “I [Jesus] ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God.”—John 20:17. “To us there is but one God, the Father.”—1 Corinthians 8:6. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Peter 1:3. “These things saith the Amen [Jesus], . . . the beginning of the creation of God.”—Revelation 3:14. "He is the image of the invisible God God the first born of all creation, ....colossians 1:15-20[source](https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/g201308/trinity/) The following scriptures showed evidently that Jesus was never internal with God or always existed alongside God but instead Jesus has a beginning, his life started when God made him as the begging of his creations and through him God (colossians 1:15-20; proverbs 8:22-30) (Jehovah is the name of God according to the tetragrammation). So in no way does Jesus claimed to be equal to God but he refer to Jehovah as his father and his God (Mathew 6:9; John 14:28; 20:17). ### HOW DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBES THE HOLY SPIRIT? The Bible’s answer The holy spirit is God’s power in action, his active force. (Micah 3:8; Luke 1:35) God sends out his spirit by projecting his energy to any place to accomplish his will.—Psalm 104:30; 139:7. In the Bible, the word “spirit” is translated from the Hebrew word ruʹach and the Greek word pneuʹma. Most often, those words refer to God’s active force, or holy spirit. (Genesis 1:2) However, the Bible also uses those words in other senses: Breath.—Habakkuk 2:19; Revelation 13:15. Wind.—Genesis 8:1; John 3:8. The vital, or animating, force in living creatures.—Job 34:14, 15. A person’s disposition or attitude.—Numbers 14:24. Spirit persons, including God and the angels.—1 Kings 22:21; John 4:24. These meanings all share the sense of something invisible to humans that produces visible effects. Similarly, the spirit of God, “like the wind, is invisible, immaterial and powerful.”—An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E. Vine. The Bible also refers to God’s holy spirit as his “hands” or “fingers.” (Psalm 8:3; 19:1; Luke 11:20; compare Matthew 12:28.) Just as a craftsman uses his hands and fingers to do his work, God has used his spirit to produce such results as the following: The universe.—Psalm 33:6; Isaiah 66:1, 2. The Bible.—2 Peter 1:20, 21. The miracles performed by his ancient servants and their zealous preaching.—Luke 4:18; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. The fine qualities displayed by people who obey him.—Galatians 5:22,23. The holy spirit is not a person By referring to God’s spirit as his “hands,” “fingers,” or “breath,” the Bible shows that the holy spirit is not a person. (Exodus 15:8, 10) A craftsman’s hands cannot function independent of his mind and body; likewise, God’s holy spirit operates only as he directs it. (Luke 11:13) The Bible also compares God’s spirit to water and associates it with such things as faith and knowledge. These comparisons all point to the impersonal nature of the holy spirit.—Isaiah 44:3; Acts 6:5; 2 Corinthians 6:6. The Bible gives the names of Jehovah God and of his Son, Jesus Christ; yet, nowhere does it name the holy spirit. (Isaiah 42:8; Luke 1:31) When the Christian martyr Stephen was given a miraculous heavenly vision, he saw only two persons, not three. The Bible says: “He, being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand.” (Acts 7:55) The holy spirit was God’s power in action, enabling Stephen to see the vision. ### MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT #### Misconception: The “Holy Ghost,” or holy spirit, is a person and is part of the Trinity, as stated at 1 John 5:7, 8 in the King James version of the Bible. #### Fact: The King James version of the Bible includes at 1 John 5:7, 8 the words “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth.” However, researchers have found that those words were not written by the apostle John and so do not belong in the Bible. Professor Bruce M. Metzger wrote: “That these words are spurious and have no right to stand in the New Testament is certain.”—A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. #### Misconception: The Bible personifies the holy spirit, and this proves that it is a person. #### Fact: The Scriptures do at times personify the holy spirit, but this does not prove that the holy spirit is a person. The Bible also personifies wisdom, death, and sin. (Proverbs 1:20; Romans 5:17, 21) For example, wisdom is said to have “works” and “children,” and sin is depicted as seducing, killing, and working out covetousness.—Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:35; Romans 7:8, 11. Similarly, when the apostle John quoted Jesus, he personified the holy spirit as a “helper” (paraclete) that would give evidence, guide, speak, hear, declare, glorify, and receive. He used masculine personal pronouns such as “he” or “him” when referring to that “helper.” (John 16:7-15) However, he did so because the Greek word for “helper” (pa·raʹkle·tos) is a masculine noun and requires a masculine pronoun according to the rules of Greek grammar. When John referred to the holy spirit using the neuter noun pneuʹma, he used the genderless pronoun “it.”—John 14:16, 17. #### Misconception: Baptism in the name of the holy spirit proves that it is a person. #### Fact: The Bible sometimes uses “name” to stand for power or authority. (Deuteronomy 18:5, 19-22; Esther 8:10) This is similar to its use in the English expression “in the name of the law,” which does not mean that the law is a person. A person who is baptized “in the name of” the holy spirit recognizes the power and role of the holy spirit in accomplishing God’s will.—Matthew 28:19. #### Misconception: Jesus’ apostles and other early disciples believed that the holy spirit was a person. #### Fact: The Bible does not say that, nor does history. The Encyclopædia Britannica states: “The definition that the Holy Spirit was a distinct divine Person . . . came at the Council of Constantinople in ad 381.” This was over 250 years after the last of the apostles had died.[source](https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/what-is-the-holy-spirit/) The following evidence proves truly that the Holy Spirit although at times personified in the Bible but is not a person neither is it a god, it is simply God's active force which he uses to accomplish his purpose. ### CONCLUSION : With the above stated information it is evident that the Bible in it's entirety do not support the trinitarian doctrine, it a myth adopted into Christianity for the sake of unity but unfortunately has become one the greatest misconception and a mystery, but factually stated and evidently proved trinity is not Bible teaching . You can learn more on what the Bible really teach by visiting www.jw.org . Special thanks to @trafalger, @focusnow, @gbenga, @whitestallion, @booming1, @stephenkendal, @steemcurator1, @steemcurator02 @booming04 @stephenkendal @steemalive @mato445 @bright-obias @xkool24