Must We Believe In A Triune God?

 In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here’s this week’s question: I’ve been told that the Doctrine of the Trinity is not all that important for Christians for a number of reason: 1) The word cannot be found in the Bible; 2) The Old Testament doesn’t teach it and certainly the Jews don’t believe it; 3) It is so mysterious a concept that no one can fathom it anyway.What do you think?

Tom:

Well, it’s true the word Trinity is not found in the Bible.It’s not true that the Old Testament doesn’t teach it and it is a concept that is really hard to fully comprehend, but nevertheless it must be logically, rationally and so forth.

Dave:

Before we get to that Tom, listening to this statement—“I’ve been told…” that’s how it starts.Told by whom?What are their credentials?Why would you believe them?“Well, I’ve been told that it’s not in the Bible.”Well have you checked the Bible out?Have you checked the Old Testament out for yourself?That’s what this program is all about.Search the Scriptures for yourself.Don’t take our word for it and don’t take somebody else’s word for it and as you said that statement is wrong.The concept is all through the Old Testament.Now, then he ends by saying—he or she—ends by saying “…and its so mysterious.”Well my gracious, everything is mysterious.We don’t know what gravity is, we don’t know what electricity is, we don’t know what an electron is, we don’t know what space is, we don’t know what time is.So to say that something is mysterious and use that as the reason for not believing it just simply isn’t rational.Can you explain God?Well if God is a trinity, this is part of His character.Now you said there are reasons why it must be.You have polytheism on one end and you have monotheism on the other end.But within monotheism those who believe in the Trinity are monotheistic, but there—

Tom:

But we usually think of the Jews who believe one God and Islam—

Dave:

Right.

Tom:

One god.

Dave:

Right, so we have a problem on both ends of the scale here.On the one end-polytheism-you have diversity but no unity.There are many gods but they don’t agree with one another.There’s no head God; there’s nobody to pull this whole thing together.They even fight wars with one another.On the other end you have a lonely God-Allah.One single individual and what many Jews believe Jehovah-one single individual.And until that god created other beings he was incomplete.He couldn’t fellowship, he couldn’t commune, he could—

Tom:

So He needed us in fact.

Dave:

That’s right.He couldn’t love anyone; he could not experience love.But the God of the Bible is three persons; one God.Father, Son and Holy Spirit.You have both unity and diversity.You have a God of whom it can be said, “God IS love.”You couldn’t say that about Allah.God IS love—He didn’t need to create us. Before any of us were created Father, Son and Holy Spirit loved one another, fellowshipped and communed with one another. Furthermore, in the Shama-“Hear Oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.”The very word there is echad—Hear O Israel Yahweh our Elohim (and Elohim is a plural for God); is one Yahweh.And the word for one is echad which means a unity not a singularity, but a unity.Man and woman became “one flesh.”The soldiers became one troop.

Tom:

Right.

Dave:

So it is a unity within diversity, made up of diversity.

Tom:

Right.Now this is Deuteronomy:6:4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
See All... that you just quoted.

Dave:

Right.

Tom:

Colossians:2:9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
See All... says (in the New Testament) says “…for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”We are talking about Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Dave:

Well Tom many years ago, I forget his name, Dr. Wood, very interesting book: The Secret of the Universe.He said if God is a trinity and he created the universe we ought to see His fingerprints in it.Well let’s take a look.The universe is made up of three things. Forget Einstein’s fourth dimension for the moment.The universe is made up of space, matter and time.Three things.Those three things are made up of three things.Space is made up of length, breadth, and height.And each one is separate and distinct, but each one is a whole.Draw enough lines lengthwise through space and you take up all of space.What about time?Well time is made up of three: past, present and future.And here it becomes a little more interesting.Because one is visible, the other two are invisible.Just as the Son is visible; the Father and the Holy Spirit are invisible.Now I won’t go on with that but no analogy is perfect.But man is made in the image of God and is made of body, soul and spirit.Again two are invisible one is visible.I don’t know what a soul is; I don’t know what a spirit is.But I know that the God who is love, the God who is complete in himself and didn’t need to create us—He must be more than—He can’t be a single individual—He is a—and the Bible teaches it—You have Elohim, in fact Genesis:1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All... “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…”Well the word there is Elohim.That literally means “Gods” but the created is in the singular.So all through the Old Testament you have a plurality yet a singularity.“Let us make man in our image.”Who is this “us” and this “our”?And at the burning bush it’s Elohim-Gods-who appear to Moses.But Elohim doesn’t say “we are that we are,” but “I am that I am.So you cannot escape it.There is a plurality and yet a singularity all throughout the Old Testament.

Tom:

For those who are struggling with this, even in the New Testament we have chapters 14, 15 and 16 of the book of John.Let me just quote one verse John:15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All... “But when the helper (the Holy Spirit) comes whom I (Jesus) shall send to you from the Father (there we have the Father) the spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me.There we have Jesus mentioned, referred to twice, the Father referred to twice and the Holy Spirit referred to three times.That’s the Trinity.How else can you explain it.

Dave:

Well Tom they try to say well these are modes or titles and so forth.A mode or a title doesn’t send another one.The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world and it only makes sense if they are real persons, yet one God.