Is God a Trinity of Persons? (Definition, History, Scripture)

We begin by defining the doctrine of the social Trinity before covering it's history and finally turning to the Bible to see how it fits.

Definition of the Trinity according to Wayne Grudem:
1. God is three persons
2. Each person is fully God
3. There is one God

God's Essential Attributes:
1. eternal
2. a se
3. greatest being
4. omnipotent
5. omniscient
6. omnipresent
7. immortal
8. invisible
9. untemptable

Stages of Trinitarian Development:
1. Theophilus (184)
2. Tertullian (208)
3. Alexander (313)
4. Nicea 1 (325)
5. Constantinople 1 (381)
6. Athanasian Creed (500s?)

Development of the Dual Natures Doctrine:
1. Ephesus (431)
2. Chalcedon (451)
3. Constantinople 2 (553)
4. Constantinople 3 (681)
5. Nicea 2 (787)

Bible:
God is one person (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; 6:4-5; Mark 12:28-34; John 17:3; 2 Kings 19:19), routinely referred to as “he” rather than “they.” Since every time people in Scripture speak to or about God, they always use singular pronouns, we should be suspicious of affirming plural persons within God.

God's spirit is not a different person from the Father or Son since the spirit lacks a name, never sends greetings (Romans 1.7), is left out of fellowship (1 John 1.3), is intrinsic to the Father's mind (1 Corinthians 2.11), is never prayed to, is left out of key creedal statements (1 Corinthians 8.6; 1 Timothy 2.5-6; Romans 10.9), is missing from end times knowledge (Mark 13.32), and is never given a throne or reigns (Revelation 3.21)

Jesus is not fully God because he lacks many of the essential attributes of divinity, including that he is not eternal (Matthew 1.18; Hebrews 1.5), not a se (John 6.57; Mark 10.18), not as great as the Father (John 14.28; 1 Corinthians 15.28), not omnipotent (John 5.19, 30), not omniscient (Mark 13.32), not immortal (1 Corinthians 15.3), not invisible (1 Timothy 1.17; 6.16), and temptable (Hebrews 4.15) unlike God (James 1.13).

Not only do the words “Trinity,” “same substance,” “eternal generation,” “three persons,” etc., fail to occur in the Bible, but scripture likewise lacks any explanation of the concept of the Trinity. Furthermore, if the apostles taught the Trinity, why is it missing from their recorded sermons in Acts? If the apostle Paul taught the Trinity, why didn’t any of his opponents argue against it either during his missionary journeys or among the many issues he dealt with in his letters? Furthermore, if Jesus was merely playing the role of a lowly human in his “incarnation,” why is that after his resurrections, ascension, and exaltation still refer to the Father as “my God” (Revelation 3:12) and remain in subjection to God for all of eternity (1 Corinthians 15:28)?

For more from Sean Finnegan, check out his podcast at https://Restitutio.org and his ministry website at https://lhim.org