The Trinity

by Larry Ollison

Several years ago after speaking at a Full Gospel Business Men's Convention, I was approached by a man who wanted to enlighten me on the error of my teaching. He went on to explain that even though I had mentioned the Trinity in my message, he wanted to inform me that the Trinity did not actually exist because the word "Trinity" was not in the Bible.

While the man was talking to me, I was smiling and nodding my head, being the polite person I try to be, but inside I was thinking, "What an idiot!" I politely asked him how he had gotten to the convention center, and he said he had driven there in his new Chevrolet. I told him, "That's impossible! Chevrolet's don't exist because they aren't mentioned in the Bible." He gave me a puzzled look, we both smiled, and departed. He probably went home and searched for Chevrolet in his concordance!

While it is true that the word Trinity is not in the Bible, the concept is woven throughout the Scriptures. The Bible clearly teaches that God functions in three different manifestations and this allows us to understand the completeness of Almighty God.

Through the years, there have been attempts to illustrate how God could be three and still be one. One illustration is that of H2O. H2O can be ice, it can be water, and it can be a vapor. It can freely move between these three functions without changing what it is. While one person may see ice, in another place a person may see steam, while another sees water. And in some cases, all three manifestations can be seen at once. My house overlooks the Lake of the Ozarks and in the winter sometimes the lake will freeze. When spring arrives, the ice melts on top and early in the morning you can see steam rising. In other words, you can see ice, water, and steam at the same time.

Another illustration is of a man who is a father, a husband, and a son. Depending upon who you are determines how you see the man. To his father, he's a son. To his wife, he is a husband, and to his children, he is a father. But at the end of the day, he is still the same person and all three are one.

While these illustrations show the possibility of three being one and one being three, they still fall short of the magnitude and complexity of God Almighty.

As Christians, we worship one God. We are monotheistic. We worship Jehovah God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who has always been and shall always be. He is without beginning and without end. He created man on the sixth day and in the days of man on the earth (six days equals six thousand years) God is revealing himself to mankind as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Let's take a look at a few of the scriptures where God reveals himself.

Genesis 1:1 tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In verse 2 it tells us that the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) was hovering over the face of the waters. In John 1:1-3 we are told that the Word (Jesus) was also in the beginning and that everything that was created was created by Him. So here we can clearly see the concept of the Trinity at the very onset of the Bible. And throughout the Bible, God has manifested himself as the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit.

In Luke, we are told that the Holy Spirit came upon a young girl named Mary and she conceived and bore a Son. Of course, that Son was Jesus. When Jesus prayed to God, He referred to Him as His Father. Since the Father is the one who impregnated the mother of Jesus (Mary), then obviously the Holy Spirit and the Father are one.

Another time when Jesus was speaking with His disciples, He said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). So if Jesus and the Father are one, and the Father and the Holy Spirit are one, then the only conclusion is this: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these three are one. (1 John 5:7.)

When Jesus sent out His disciples and gave them the command to evangelize the world, He said that they should teach all nations and baptize the believers in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). He was clearly showing the three manifestations of God.

When Jesus was 30 years old, He was baptized in the Jordan River. And as He came out of the water, there was a voice that came from heaven. It was clearly the voice of God and He said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17).

Jesus made another interesting statement in John 8:58 when He stated that "Before Abraham was, I AM." Once again He clearly stated that even though He was the Son of Man on earth, that He himself was also God Almighty.

There are dozens of other proofs in the Scripture, but they can all be summed up clearly in one verse. First John 5:7 says, "There are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word (John 1:14), and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." These three are what we refer to as the Trinity.