One of the clearest pictures and most obvious example of the Trinity in scripture is given to us in the gospel of Matthew where it relates the baptism of Jesus in chapter 3, verses 16-17:
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; (17) and behold, a voice [the Father] from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (ESV)
“And Jesus, when He [Jesus] was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice [the Father] from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (KJV)
“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, (17) and behold, a voice [the Father] out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (NASB)
“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (17) And a voice [the Father] from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (NIV)
Translation to translation, it doesn’t change even though some of the wording does. Be it the Geneva, Darby, Bishops, King James; nor in the Weymouth, RSV, HCSB, the BBE, CEV, GNB. Not even in a paraphrase like The Message where the description of the event is clearly and always the same.
In Matthew’s gospel account, all three persons of the Trinity are identifiable and simultaneously present. Each one is doing something apart from the other two, and doing something different from the other two.
God the Son (Jesus) is baptized in the water, and anointed by the Holy Spirit of God.
God the Holy Spirit descends on His shoulder and anoints/empowers Him as Messiah.
God the Father speaks of His pleasure at this event from the heavens above.
I don’t pretend that seeing this, and realizing it as truth is anywhere near being able to fully grasp and understand it, but how much clearer does it have to be given to be accepted as existing?
Luke recounts the exact same thing as happening in the third chapter of his gospel in verses 21-22:
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, (22) and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice [the Father] came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
Paul, the greatest of the Apostles spoke of it existing in 2Corinthians 13, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2, and 5, and Peter expressed it directly in 1Peter 1:2 when he stated how it is put together for our benefit (the Trinity exists for us!!):
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”
Sure, there is a difference of opinion on the inclusion of 1John 5:7, but the difference doesn’t arise from what it says, merely if it originally said it at the spot in the texts. Proof that no difference of opinion exists regarding what it says can be found in verse 8 (which no one disputes) that begins with, “And there are three that bear witness…”
In Matthew chapter 28, verses 18-20 Jesus Himself says:
(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
All I have written here is just scratching the surface of just how often the scriptures speak of, and teach of the existence of the Triune nature of our great God. There are dozens of other verses we could reference, and I would suggest seeking them out and studying them as well, but honestly, I fail to see how anyone can go through even the handful of instances here in this writing and deny the existence of the Trinity; at least for any other possible reason than that they just plain do not want to accept it.
Whether that desire to reject it comes from frustration at not being able to understand the nature of the Trinity more fully (our vanity and pride are always near to the surface), or from some deeper issues (rebellion etc), I don’t pretend to know. I do know that I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and only by those three names would I consent to baptize another, in order to do as my God (which they in One are) commanded us.
We can choose to read books and commentaries (and there are hundreds) by the historic church fathers as well as by modern church leaders on the doctrine(s) of the Trinity, both pro and con. Doing this may give a us a deeper understanding of how it works, or a better idea of why it exists than we can manage on our own, BUT…the only thing we actually need to be able to find and prove and accept it, is the Holy Word of God’s book , the Bible, and hearts willing to listen.
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; (17) and behold, a voice [the Father] from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (ESV)
“And Jesus, when He [Jesus] was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (17) And lo a voice [the Father] from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (KJV)
“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, (17) and behold, a voice [the Father] out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (NASB)
“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. (17) And a voice [the Father] from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (NIV)
Translation to translation, it doesn’t change even though some of the wording does. Be it the Geneva, Darby, Bishops, King James; nor in the Weymouth, RSV, HCSB, the BBE, CEV, GNB. Not even in a paraphrase like The Message where the description of the event is clearly and always the same.
In Matthew’s gospel account, all three persons of the Trinity are identifiable and simultaneously present. Each one is doing something apart from the other two, and doing something different from the other two.
God the Son (Jesus) is baptized in the water, and anointed by the Holy Spirit of God.
God the Holy Spirit descends on His shoulder and anoints/empowers Him as Messiah.
God the Father speaks of His pleasure at this event from the heavens above.
I don’t pretend that seeing this, and realizing it as truth is anywhere near being able to fully grasp and understand it, but how much clearer does it have to be given to be accepted as existing?
Luke recounts the exact same thing as happening in the third chapter of his gospel in verses 21-22:
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, (22) and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice [the Father] came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
Paul, the greatest of the Apostles spoke of it existing in 2Corinthians 13, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2, and 5, and Peter expressed it directly in 1Peter 1:2 when he stated how it is put together for our benefit (the Trinity exists for us!!):
“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”
Sure, there is a difference of opinion on the inclusion of 1John 5:7, but the difference doesn’t arise from what it says, merely if it originally said it at the spot in the texts. Proof that no difference of opinion exists regarding what it says can be found in verse 8 (which no one disputes) that begins with, “And there are three that bear witness…”
In Matthew chapter 28, verses 18-20 Jesus Himself says:
(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
All I have written here is just scratching the surface of just how often the scriptures speak of, and teach of the existence of the Triune nature of our great God. There are dozens of other verses we could reference, and I would suggest seeking them out and studying them as well, but honestly, I fail to see how anyone can go through even the handful of instances here in this writing and deny the existence of the Trinity; at least for any other possible reason than that they just plain do not want to accept it.
Whether that desire to reject it comes from frustration at not being able to understand the nature of the Trinity more fully (our vanity and pride are always near to the surface), or from some deeper issues (rebellion etc), I don’t pretend to know. I do know that I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and only by those three names would I consent to baptize another, in order to do as my God (which they in One are) commanded us.
We can choose to read books and commentaries (and there are hundreds) by the historic church fathers as well as by modern church leaders on the doctrine(s) of the Trinity, both pro and con. Doing this may give a us a deeper understanding of how it works, or a better idea of why it exists than we can manage on our own, BUT…the only thing we actually need to be able to find and prove and accept it, is the Holy Word of God’s book , the Bible, and hearts willing to listen.
