The Trinity Christian Bible

The Best Guide for Understanding the Trinity

From the beginning of creation in Genesis to the end of times in Revelation, God refers to Himself as "us" or "our" and thus describes the doctrine of the Trinity. The word trinity comes from "tri" meaning three and "unity" meaning one. God is three distinct individuals - God the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit - in one true God. These Bible verses and Scriptures about the trinity will help you have a better understanding of who God is. It can be a difficult concept to grasp, yet we can believe God's word and know that while His ways are higher than ours, we can trust in Him.

The Father’s words identify Jesus as both messianic King and humble servant who obeys the Father. While both Testaments insist there is only one living and true God, Jesus’ baptism shows we should distinguish the three divine persons: Jesus is baptized, the Father speaks from heaven, and the Spirit descends on Jesus.

The Scriptures are absolutely clear that there is only one God. In Deuteronomy 6:4, Moses declares “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” In Isaiah 44:6, we read “I am the first and the last; besides me there is no god.” This same assertion is found throughout the New Testament, even though we learn of three distinct persons in the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Paul writes, “there is no God but one. For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many `gods’ and many `lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” Elsewhere James writes, “you believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19). The Scriptures are crystal clear, there is but one God.

The Scriptures also speak of the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, created all things. Paul states, “God who created all things” (Ephesians 3:9), while the Psalmist declares “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100). Yet, in John's gospel we read of the Son, “all things were made through [Jesus], and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). In Colossians 1:15-17, Paul writes that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” In Job, we read of the Holy Spirit, for “the Spirit of the LORD has made me.” In Genesis 1:1 we read that at creation “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are said to have created all things. What we can say of the Father, we can say of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

It also reveals that each member of the Trinity is distinct from each other. We see all three linked together in scripture, for example commissioning us to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19 NIV) and found in the benediction “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV).

Not only that, we see each Person relating and interacting with each other. The Father sends the Son (Word) into the world (John 3:6). Jesus often talks about his Father (John 17:5; John 5:19) and prays to Him (John 17:20-26; Matt. 11:25-26; John 12:27-28). The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus as a dove in his baptism (Luke 3:22) and later Jesus promises to send this same Spirit from the Father to his disciples (John 15:26).