Answers to Verses Trinitarians Often Use

by Lynnford Beachy

Many Trinitarians really think that the following verses actually support a Trinity doctrine. We will examine them in detail. Please pray that the Lord will give you discernment to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." (1 Peter 3:15)

Matthew 28:19

Jesus said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19)

Jesus commissioned us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Greek pneuma). Was Jesus, by making this commission, trying to teach the idea of the Trinity? I think not, or He would have been contradicting other statements He made, and many statements by other Bible writers. There is nothing in the verse that says there are three persons in the Godhead. There is nothing in the verse that says who is God. We learn elsewhere in the Bible that the "one God" of the Bible is the Father. "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom (1 Corinthians 8:6) The Bible uses the phrase, "God the Father" thirteen times but never uses the terms "God the Son," or "God the Holy Spirit."

Notice also that the verse says we are to baptize in the name of… Why is it singular if there are supposed to be three persons? The word "name" in the Bible often refers to a person’s character. As an example, Jacob’s name was changed from Jacob ("supplanter" or "deceiver") to Israel ("God prevails") because his character had changed. If we believe this verse to be referring to actual names of three individuals it would be impossible for us to fulfill this commission because we only know the names of two of the individuals. The proper name of God the Father is YHWH or, as some understand it, Jehovah. The proper name of God’s Son is Jesus or, as some understand it, Yahshua. Yet the Bible nowhere gives us any indication that the Holy Spirit has a name, and if the Holy Spirit does have a name, there is no mention of it in the Bible. Besides this, every record of a baptism in the Bible, after Jesus gave this commission, has the disciples baptizing "in the name of Jesus Christ," "in the name of the Lord," or "in the name of the Lord Jesus." "When they heard this, they were baptized (Acts 19:5) There is no record anywhere in the Bible of anyone baptizing "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Jesus was saying that we are to baptize in the character of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Father anointed His Son with His own Spirit. Therefore they have the same Spirit. The Father said to His Son, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Hebrews 1:9) "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." (John 3:34) As is plainly shown, the Father and the Son share a Spirit. What type of Spirit do they share? Surely, it is a Holy Spirit. The Bible mentions several different types of spirit. We read in the Bible about "foul spirit," "evil spirit," "unclean spirit," "dumb spirit," "excellent spirit," "humble spirit," "wounded spirit," "broken spirit," "haughty spirit," "faithful spirit," "good spirit," etc. All these "spirits" are distinguishable by the adjective that describes them. We know that God the Father has a Spirit, and can that Spirit be anything else, or anything less, than Holy? The word "holy" is an adjective in every case, whether in English or in Greek. "Holy Spirit" is not a name, but a description of the Spirit of God.

John 14

Let’s look at the words of Jesus. "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [Jesus said that His disciples knew the Spirit because He dwelt with them at that time, and would soon be in them. Who was dwelling with them?] (John 14:16-18)

Paul wrote, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) The hope of glory is that Christ is in you. Not someone else, but Christ Himself. He said He would come to us. Peter said, "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." (Acts 3:26) After God raised up His Son from the dead, He sent Him into your hearts to turn you from your iniquity. "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6) It is the Spirit of Jesus that is in us, not a third God, not one who is unfamiliar with the trials and temptations we go through.

Please notice a very interesting verse in regard to the Holy Spirit. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26) Why does the Bible refer to the Holy Spirit as "it"? If this were speaking of an actual third being it would be an insult. We wouldn’t even refer to our friends as "it" let alone the great God of the universe. Yet the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as "it." Why? Paul wrote, "And grieve not (Ephesians 4:30) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. They are the same. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that (1 Corinthians 3:16) "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of (1 Corinthians 6:19)

It is interesting that when we think of the spirit of Lynnford, or the spirit of John, we never assume we are referring to a separate individual, but as soon as we speak of the Spirit of God we assume that it has reference to a separate individual. Suppose I were to tell you that I would like you to meet my mother. She is very pleasant to be around; she has an excellent spirit. If you would reply, "Well I know your mother is pleasant to be around, but I have never met her spirit" it would be evident that you had no idea what a spirit is. 1 Corinthians chapter two compares the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. Why would one suppose that the Spirit of God was a separate being, while the spirit of man is the internal person of a man.

Let me make something clear here. I am not saying "the Holy Spirit does not exist." The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, which can be abundantly proven from Scripture. The working of the Holy Spirit is crucial in our Christian experience, but let us not suppose that God’s Spirit must be a separate being to perform that work in us.

Fifteen out of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament start out with a greeting similar to this one. "Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." (2 John 3) Out of all these greetings, none of them mentions a third being. Just two are mentioned—the Father and His Son. Surely if there were a third being who is to be equally worshipped and adored, the writers of the New Testament would have included him in these greetings, but alas, there is not one to be found.

John explains to us with whom we are to have fellowship. He says, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3) Surely if John were acquainted with a third God, he would want us to have fellowship with him as well, but there is no mention of another being. John further states, "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." (2 John 9) "Both" means two, and only two.

Reasoning with the Jews, Jesus said, "It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." (John 8:17, 18) If an additional being could testify in His behalf, Jesus would not have hesitated to mention him here.

Paul declared, "I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels." (1 Timothy 5:21) Paul called the heavenly agencies to witness this charge given to Timothy. Notice whom Paul called as witnesses for him. God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are naturally the first Ones to be mentioned, but Paul did not stop here. He called all the angels of God to be his witnesses also. Certainly if Paul knew of a third being who is coequal with the Father and His Son, he would have mentioned him in this verse. Yet there is no hint of another being, which is plain evidence that Paul knew nothing about a third God.

John 8:58

Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58) Many Trinitarians use this as conclusive evidence that Christ is the Most High God because He used the term "I AM" in reference to Himself. Is this the case? Jesus is the "Son of the most high God," (Mark 5:7) not the Most High God Himself. Let’s look at Exodus, the only place that the term "I AM" is used in the Old Testament. Moses saw a strange phenomenon as he beheld a bush burning but not being consumed. The Bible says, "And the angel of the L [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." (Exodus 3:2) Who was it that appeared to Moses? "The angel of the LORD." Who is that? As Moses drew near to the bush the angel of the LORD said, "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5) This is quite interesting. We read of a similar occurrence with Joshua when he was about to surround Jericho.

"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." (Joshua 5:13-15)

Here the Captain of the LORD’s host appeared to Joshua and told him to loose the shoes from off his feet, because the ground where he was standing was holy. We know this was not an angel because an angel would not accept worship. John began to worship an angel and the angel said, "See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10) We know that the Captain of the LORD’s host who appeared to Joshua was not God the Father for, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (John 1:18) The only One left who this could possibly be is Christ.

Christ is often referred to as "the Angel of the LORD." God told Moses, "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in Him." (Exodus 23:20, 21) "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them." (Exodus 14:9) Christ was the One who went before the children of Israel. Paul wrote about Israel that they "did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:4)

So we see that the only time the term "I AM" is used in the Old Testament, it refers to Christ. How then can one say that because He used the same term in the New Testament He all of a sudden was claiming to be the Most High God?

Acts 5:3, 4

"Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." (Acts 5:3, 4)

Many Trinitarians use this as conclusive evidence that the Holy Spirit is God, therefore being a third separate being, God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30) The word holy is an adjective in every instance. God has a Spirit, and His Spirit is holy. To lie to God’s Spirit is to lie to God. That is because His Spirit is Himself. If I were to lie to your spirit, you would not suppose that I lied to someone other than yourself.

Colossians 2:9

"For in him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9) In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead. Notice Colossians 1:19. "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell." (Colossians 1:19) God the Father was pleased to have His Son filled with all the fulness of the Godhead. How did this take place? "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." (John 3:34) God gave His Spirit to His Son without measure. Jesus was filled with all the fullness of God.

Does Colossians 2:9 say that Christ is the Godhead? No, it says that Christ was filled with all the fullness of the Godhead. How? "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:19) God the Father was in His Son, filling Him with all the fullness of the Godhead.

The word Godhead is used three times in the Bible. Here is the first time it is used, "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device." (Acts 17:29) We are the offspring of the Godhead. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26) Who is the Godhead? "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3) The ultimate Godhead is God the Father, who is head over all.

Just because Jesus is said to be filled with all the fullness of the Godhead, does not mean that He is the Godhead. In fact, the Bible tells us that we can be filled with all the fullness of God. "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)

John 1:1

What about John 1:1? Isn’t Christ spoken of here as being God? This is possibly the most widely quoted verse by trinitarians. Let’s take a look at it in the original Greek.

"In the beginning was the Word [the Son of God], and the Word was with [the] God, and the Word was God [Notice: He is not "the God" whom He was with]. The same was in the beginning with [the] God." (John 1:1, 2) Notice the distinction that is made when the word the is inserted in the proper places. The definite article the is in the original Greek, but was left out of most English translations.

There is no question that this verse refers to Christ as God, but it does not refer to Him as the Most High God, or the Almighty God. Jesus is God, but He has a God. "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." (Ephesians 1:17) Jesus Himself says, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of (Revelation 3:12) After His resurrection Jesus said to Mary, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to (John 20:17)

Jesus is God, but not the Most High God, whom He is the Son of. A devil-possessed man said to Jesus, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not." (Mark 5:7) Jesus is not "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,…" (Ephesians 1:3)

Jesus Christ has a God, God the Father does not. Jesus Christ worships God the Father. Jesus said to the woman at the well, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:22) God the Father never worships His Son. God the Father is greater than Jesus Christ for Jesus said, "my Father is greater than I." (John 14:28) Jesus Christ is not greater than God the Father. Jesus Christ has a head over Him, God the Father does not. "I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3)