The Trinity in the New Testament by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.
[still under construction]
Although the word "Trinity" does not occur in the Bible, the theological concept of the One God consisting of Three Divine Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is founded upon various New Testament texts. Christians have also traditionally seen the Trinity foreshadowed or alluded to in certain Old Testament texts.
Terminology:
God; Divine, Divinity
Nature; Substance; Being; Person
Theism, Polytheism, Henotheism, Monotheism
Trinity, Triune, Trinitarian, Trinitarianism
Biblical Background:Basis in New Testament Texts:
Connections between Father, Son, and Spirit:
Matthew 28:19 (conclusion of the Gospel) - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."
Luke 3:21-22 (at the baptism of Jesus) - "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, / and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (parallels in Mark 1:10-11; Matt 3:16-17; John 1:32)
John 14—16 (Last Supper Discourse) - The Holy Spirit, as the "Spirit of Truth" and the "Paraclete," is intimately related to the Father and the Son (see esp. 14:16-17; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7, 13).
Galatians 4:4-7 - "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God."
Romans 8:14-17 - "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him."
2 Cor 13:14 (concluding prayer of the letter) - "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
1 John 4:2, 9, 13-15 - "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God... God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him... By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. / And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. / God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God."
1 Peter 1:2-3a - Peter writes to "who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be yours in abundance. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
1 John 5:5-6 - "Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth."
Connections between Father and Son, showing the divinity of Jesus:
Matt 11:27 - "All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (parallel Luke 10:22)
John 1:1-18 - Jesus Christ as the divine word/logos, the light and life of the world, the "only-begotten Son" of the Father
John 5:17-19 - "But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is still working, and I also am working.' / For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God. / Jesus said to them, 'Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.' "
John 10:30, 38 - "The Father and I are one." / "...the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
John 14:8-11a - "Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.' / Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? / Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. / Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me...' "
John 17:1b-5 - "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, / since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. / And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. / I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. / So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed."
Hebrews 1:1-5 - Jesus is "the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being" (v. 3); "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you'? (citing Psalm 2:7; repeated in Heb 5:5) Or again, 'I will be his Father, and he will be my Son'?" (citing 2 Sam 7:14)
1 John 1:3; 2:22-24 -
Connections between the Father and the Holy Spirit:
Luke 11:13 - " If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
John 4:23-24 - " But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
Acts 2:1-36 - God's Holy Spirit is poured out on the disciples at Pentecost (see esp. 2:33).
Allusions in Old Testament Texts:
Genesis 1:26-27 - When creating humans, God speaks in the plural: "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness"
Genesis 18:1-22 - "The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. / He looked up and saw three men standing near him..."
Isaiah 6:8 - The prophet see God on a throne: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me!' "
Throughout Christian history, the Trinity has been depicted in many different ways:
as three identical human figures,
three different human figures,
two different human figures and a dove, or even two identical human figures and a dove.
Moreover, the Trinity has also been symbolized with various geometric, architectural, and natural forms.
The Trinity in the Creeds of the Church:
