You may hear some speak of the trinity of God, and hear others claim that the teaching of the “Trinity” is false because there is no mention of the trinity in the Bible. So, what is true? Is the trinity of God in the Bible?

Yes, it is! Check it out for yourself.

First, to be clear, you won’t find the specific word, “trinity,” in the Bible. And, regrettably,  because the word “trinity” isn’t in the Bible, there are those resist and reject God’s revelation of His One triune being. 

Rather than forming a doctrine over what isn’t in the Bible, shouldn’t you rather base your foundational beliefs on what is in the Bible?

When speaking of the trinity of God, we are referring to the triune being of God’s persona: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We aren’t talking about three Gods. For God is One! Yet, He is One God who reveals himself through three divine personas.

The Bible is God’s Word and, through it, God reveals His nature and character. So, your beliefs about the triunity of the Godhead should be based on what the Bible reveals to us about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In describing the triune attributes of God, it can seem conflicting because God says of himself: “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! (Deut. 6:4). But, the triunity of God doesn’t conflict with, or contradict, God’s revelation that He is One God. On the contrary, it gives us a fuller realization of who God is.

God’s character and being is far above man’s ability to even faintly comprehend. There is no word in any language of men that can come close to describing the fullness of God. So, in man’s feeble attempt to describe the triune God, man fashioned the word, “Trinity.”

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He gave many convincing proofs of His divinity by performing miracles that usurped the natural realm. He cured diseases and restored life to the dead. He healed many who were crippled, blind, or lame. He miraculously provided food for thousands. He walked on water. The miracles that Jesus performed and the words He spoke are evidence of His divine being.

Moreover, the Bible makes it absolutely clear that Jesus is One persona of the One triune God: “In [Jesus Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col.2:9). “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Word was with God, ad the Word was God.” (John 1:1).

Jesus was with the heavenly Father in the beginning when the Father spoke, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). Jesus, the One who created man, is the same One who descended from the riches of heaven and “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). It was necessary for our Lord, through whom all things came into being, to wholly clothe Himself as a man so He would become an acceptable sacrifice for the debt of man’s sin. At the same time, He couldn’t have been an acceptable sacrifice for sin unless He also remained sinless through the power and nature of His divinity. So, Jesus became fully man without surrendering His sovereignty.

What does the Bible tell us about the divinity of Jesus Christ?

Foremost, God the Father speaks clearly that Jesus is God and Lord:

But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness: Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” And: “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth. And the heavens are the work of Your hands. (Heb. 1:8-10)

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6)

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matt. 1:22-23) 

What did Jesus say about His Divine nature?

Jesus clearly believed, and taught, that He was one with God.

It should be stressed that Jesus quoted from Deut. 6:4 in inclusion of the greatest of God’s commandments. Therefore, any claims Jesus made about himself must be considered in accordance with His acknowledgement that God is One.

Jesus said about himself:

But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:17-18)

“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God,’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.” (John 6:45-46). 

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)

“I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30)

“but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” (John 10:38)

Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” (John 12:44-45)

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”  Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ (John 14:7-9)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8)

Jesus’ apostles believed that He is God:

The apostle John wrote:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1:18)

For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)

The apostle Paul wrote about Jesus:

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live. (1 Cor. 8:6)

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:5-11)

He [Christ Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions of principalities or powers All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. (Col. 1:15-19)

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Col. 2:9)

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. (1 Tim. 3:16)

“looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). (In this context, we know that “our great God and Savior” refers to Jesus Christ because Paul speaks of His “glorious appearing.” And, Jesus is the One who is appearing when He returns.)

The apostle Thomas:

And Thomas answered and said to Him [Jesus,] “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Many other biblical passages speak clearly to Jesus’ divinity, including:

“Until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.” (Dan. 7:22)

King David wrote: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” (Ps. 110:1)

[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:2-3)

Not only do Scripture verses speak expressly of Jesus’ divinity, Scripture always infers His divinity.

For example, man is commanded to worship God alone. Jesus knew this and spoke of it when He refuted Satan saying: “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Luke 4:8).

Knowing that God alone is to be worshipped, Jesus both allowed and accepted worship during His earthly ministry.

• Jesus was worshipped by a leper whom Jesus had healed. (Matt. 8:2)
• The Twelve disciples worshipped Jesus after He calmed the sea. (Matt. 14:33)
• The women returning from Jesus’ empty tomb worshipped Him when He appeared to them. (Matt. 28:9)
• The disciples worshipped Jesus when He appeared to them after His resurrection. (Matt. 28:17, Mark 24:52)
• A man who was healed from blindness worshipped Jesus. (John 9:38)

Rather, than take anyone’s word for it, I encourage you to study the Bible for yourself. This is too important. Explore scriptural passages that speak to the works by Jesus and worship of Jesus. Study also biblical attributes which are accredited solely to God and examine how many of God’s divine attributes are accredited to Jesus Christ (i.e. Lord, Creator, Sustainer, Holy, Divine, Savior, Eternal, etc.)

Studying Scripture, it is clear that Jesus, who being in very nature God, came into this world in bodily form, humbling himself into the likeness of a man so that He could pay the sin debt of man and reconcile man to God the Father. The blood of Jesus is the blood of God. That’s why His death is sufficient and “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

In reading, studying, and applying Scripture, you will gain deeper understanding of God’s command to us: “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Learn more and preview chapters in James’ award-winning book:

Grow in the Grace: Spiritual Growth Lessons from Peter’s Walk with Jesus