Trinity

[yomotalking]

How do we know that the Trinity exists, if the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible?

[EricH]

The term trinity is just a term theologians have developed to describe what the Bible teaches about the nature of God.Many theological terms that we accept do not occur in the Bible. They are just words used to summarize Biblical teaching. All of the aspects of the doctrine of the Triunity of God are found in the Bibe (Jesus as God, The Father as God, The Holy Spirit s God, the unity of the God-head etc.)

[Leonard]

If I remember correctly, Yomo, you believe in the Rapture; but that word isn't in the bible either. Why do you believe in that?

[Guest stevej]

Yomo,

Begin by looking at the first verse in the Bible. For a little better explanation i made a post in the worthychatters section last week on it.

[hupo]

How do we know that the Trinity exists, if the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible?

The word "Bible" doesn't appear in the Bible either.

I have trouble accepting the absence of something as proof that it doesn't exist.

As for the concept of the Trinity. I too would like to know how we can tell if the Trinity actually exists.

Is it for real or was it just forced by Constantine?

A contradiction concerning the topic, that I "googled up":

Luk 1:35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. The child born was the son of God and was begotten by the holy spirit. This brings to mind that the Holy Spirit and God are one and the same

Act 5:32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." Here the Holy Spirit is given by God and they seem to be two diferent enteties

[Kabowd]

How do we know that the Trinity exists, if the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible?

EricH gave a great, concise answer. But I also wanted to add, that just because something isn't in the Bible does not mean it isn't true or does not exist in reality. While the Bible is 100% truth, it does not contain exhaustive truth. In other words, the Bible is not an encyclopedia that contains ALL knowledge and information on EVERYTHING. It contains the precise information (all truth) that God intended for us to know, as it relates to us and our relationship with Him and mankind. Make sense?

As far as the Trinity, though, the concept is most certainly in Scripture. Here are a few:

"And God said, Let us make man in our own image.." (Gen. 1:26)

"..the man is become one of us." (Gen. 3:22)

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? (Isaiah 6:8)

These are just a few verses that indicate there is more than one person involved in the Godhead. Furthermore, we have Scriptures that show us Christ existed before the world was made (John 1:1-3, 14-15 for instance) and that Christ was involved in creation (see Col. 1:16-17). But one of the most interesting things I learned that give evidence for the Trinity can be found in the phrases that say things like "before the world began.." or "before the foundations of the world..". Look at these:

Jesus praying to the Father: "Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24)

Jesus asks the Father to glorify Himself: "..with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5)

"He [God] hath chosen us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world.." (Ephesians 1:4)

Regarding Christ's sacrifice: "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.." (1 Peter 1:20)

Regarding the promise of eternal life: "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.." (Titus 1:2)

"Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.." (2 Timothy 1:9)

These verses all indicate to us that Love and Communication existed within the Godhead before the world was ever created. Notice that Christ was "promised" even before the world began. Who was that promise made to? Because of the sequence, the Scripture indicates it had to have been a promise made from the Father to either the Son or the Holy Spirit because at this point (before the foundation of the world) nothing/no one else existed.

[Kabowd]

How do we know that the Trinity exists, if the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible?

The word "Bible" doesn't appear in the Bible either.

I have trouble accepting the absence of something as proof that it doesn't exist.

As for the concept of the Trinity. I too would like to know how we can tell if the Trinity actually exists.

Is it for real or was it just forced by Constantine?

A contradiction concerning the topic, that I "googled up":

Luk 1:35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. The child born was the son of God and was begotten by the holy spirit. This brings to mind that the Holy Spirit and God are one and the same

Act 5:32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." Here the Holy Spirit is given by God and they seem to be two diferent enteties

Google is not going to be a good source for truth. The Trinity was not a concept that Constantine invented. Not only is the concept in Scripture (therefore advocated by the apostles), but it existed among the early church fathers as well (like Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Tertullian and Cyprian for example) who's works and writings all assert a belief in the Trinity (God, who is three persons in One) and most, if not all, of these men lived before Constantine.

[Guest shiloh357]

How do we know that the Trinity exists, if the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible?

The word "grandfather" is not in the Bible either. Yet we know that Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob. Jesse was the grandfather of Solomon, etc.

There are grandfathers in the Bible, even if the word itself does not appear. Trinity is not a Hebrew or Greek word. It is a purely English word. That does not mean that the Bible does not teach that The Father Son and Holy Spirit are God. It may not use the word, but the concept is there.

[Artemus Prime]

[hupo]

How do we know that the Trinity exists, if the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible?

The word "Bible" doesn't appear in the Bible either.

I have trouble accepting the absence of something as proof that it doesn't exist.

As for the concept of the Trinity. I too would like to know how we can tell if the Trinity actually exists.

Is it for real or was it just forced by Constantine?

A contradiction concerning the topic, that I "googled up":

Luk 1:35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy--the Son of God. The child born was the son of God and was begotten by the holy spirit. This brings to mind that the Holy Spirit and God are one and the same

Act 5:32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." Here the Holy Spirit is given by God and they seem to be two diferent enteties

Google is not going to be a good source for truth. The Trinity was not a concept that Constantine invented. Not only is the concept in Scripture (therefore advocated by the apostles), but it existed among the early church fathers as well (like Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Tertullian and Cyprian for example) who's works and writings all assert a belief in the Trinity (God, who is three persons in One) and most, if not all, of these men lived before Constantine.

Thanks Kabowd. Your first post was exactly what I am looking for.

I know I won't find the truth in google but it does send me to various views on the subject.

We do hear all kinds of theories and views and I find that hearing other views balances things out untill I can get to the Truth itself.

As "Trinity" doesn't appear in scripture, I need to find scripture that shows the essence of the Trinity.

Thanks again