donotturnoff

Support for the Trinity

This is a living document containing evidence for the Trinity from the Bible. Currently, most is focused on the divinity of Christ, as this is probably the most debated aspect. I will add to this document as and when I discover more evidence.

The unity of the Godhead

The divinity of the Father

The divinity of the Son

The child called Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)

Calming the sea

According to Hebrews, who does David praise? (Psalm 102 with Hebrews 1)

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:

But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Psalm 102:25-27

Here, David is praising the immutability of God, Yahweh, who is the “thou” he refers to. Now look at the first chapter of Hebrews:

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

Hebrews 1:10-12

It is revealed here, in the New Testament, that those inspired praises that were sung of Yahweh by David were in fact directed at Jesus!

Note that this is not just the author of Hebrews reapplying some Old Testament verses about Yahweh to Jesus, telling us that Jesus and Yahweh are both immutable; though this in itself would be great support for the divinity of the Son. This is the author of Hebrews explaining the psalm to us, telling us that God intended it to be about Jesus in the first place. Jesus is identified as Yahweh, not just like Yahweh.

I learned about this from Dr James White, The Doctrine of The Trinity on YouTube. As he explains in the video, this evidence is present in the New World Translation too, and so can be used to help Jehovah's Witnesses to see the truth of the Trinity.

TODO: add comment about Genesis, who the creator is.

According to John, whose glory did Isaiah see? (Isaiah 6 with John 12)

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Isaiah 6:9f

Here, we see God telling Isaiah of the response his prophesying will bring about amongst the people of Israel: in telling them about the truth of God, His holiness and the coming judgment, Isaiah would cause many of Israel to turn away, in the stubbornness of their hearts. There is plenty more to say about this passage, but I will not go into depth here on the matter, except to compare it to what John writes in chapter 12 of his Gospel:

But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,

He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

John 12:37-41

Here John tells us that Isaiah's prophecy was in fact fulfilled in Israel's rejection of Jesus. The interesting thing here is that in verse 41, John says that Isaiah saw “his” glory, and spoke of “him”, by which he means Jesus, who is the only single character in this section other than Isaiah himself. But whose glory did Isaiah see back in Isaiah 6? Yahweh's!

Also, note that in Isaiah 6:1, the Hebrew tells us that Yahweh's “train filled the temple”. However, the Greek Septuagint says that His “glory filled the temple&rqduo;, using the same word as John uses in John 12:41. This is particularly significant because the Septuagint was the most used translation in the near East by the time that John was writing, and so it is very clear that John and Isaiah are referring to the same being, but one says Jesus, and the other Yahweh.

As with the previous evidence, I learned this here, and it can be used to help Jehovah's Witnesses, as it is present in the New World Translation too.

The first and the last (Isaiah 48:12 with Revelation 1:17f and Revelation 21:6)

The piercing of Yahweh (Zechariah 12:10)

In very nature God (Philippians 2:6)

The glory of Jesus (Isaiah 42:8 with John 17:5)

The name above every name (Philippians 2:9)

The singular name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

Calling on the name of the Lord

The prophet who doesn't say “Thus says the Lord”

God our Saviour, Jesus our Saviour (Titus 2:10, 2:13, 3:4 and 3:6)

God's own blood (Acts 20:28)

The divinity of the Holy Spirit

The distinct personhood of the Father

The distinct personhood of the Son

The distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit

External resources