One of the foundation “stones” upon which the Institutional Church is built is the universal belief in a three-membered Godhead composed of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. According to church theology, these three co-equal deities combined into one entity are “God in three persons–the blessed Trinity.” In this holy triumvirate each entity has his own part to play in running the universe. All three gods (actually one god), are/is necessary for the godhead to operate properly. Each of these gods can be anywhere or everywhere at any time and at all times. This characterization of the Godhead sounds ultra-spiritual which, in the mind of many, makes it automatically true. But is it? Is this concept true? Or could it be partially true?

Though “known” to be “Bible fact,” the “trinity” has proven to be the most difficult church concept to understand and explain for the “Bible scholars” within professing Christendom. Many a minister has struggled when trying to explain the concept of a one-entitied, three-personed godhead. Making it even more difficult is the fact that in various cultures the one-in-three/three-in-one godhead has been presented in different forms, having different names and exhibiting different personalities, powers and agendas. The modern way of explaining the threesome/onesome is to compare them/it to an egg. This explanation has God the Father as the white part, Jesus Christ as the yellow part and the Holy Spirit as the shell. Though this is the most common “explanation” of the trinity, the consensus is that the egg theme does not adequately describe, explain or characterize the universe-creating, universe-ruling, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-and anywhere-at-all-times-and-at-any-time trinity that the Holy Bible presents. When it comes to the church’s trinity, confusion reigns. However, “God is not the Author of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33). This means, of course, that God is in no way involved in the church or in its theology. And where God is absent, Satan is present.

The Holy Bible does indeed speak plainly and often about three Holy Entities–God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. But are They actually one God consisting of three beings as the famous hymn depicts them/him to be? “Yes,” the entirety of Catholicism/Protestantism responds. This pronouncement is then followed by the recitation of several Bible verses that supposedly “prove” the existence of a trinity. Let us briefly examine professing Christendom’s “proof” of a three-in-one godhead. Let us study her  “proof” Scriptures with a heart (mind) open to God’s Truth, a willingness to believe what He tells us, and the determination to embrace it as the final Word on the subject.

In John 17:11,21,22 we find one of professing Christianity’s Biblical “proofs” of a three-in-one divinity. For an in-depth study of the subject read the series titled The Trinity. Key word–Trinity. In the John 17 passage we find Jesus speaking to the Father and asking Him to make the disciples “… ONE as WE are ONE” (vs 11). In verse 21 He prays that “… they ALL (12) may be ONE  as You, Father are IN ME and I IN YOU, (so) that they also may be ONE IN US.” The concept is further complicated by Christ’s statement that, if the disciples obeyed His commandments HE AND THE FATHER would abide IN THEM (Jn. 14:23). Notice that the Holy Spirit is not mentioned relative to God and Christ being ONE and IN each other. Nor were the disciples to be ONE WITH and IN the Holy Spirit. If, as we are told, the Holy Spirit is one of three equal Gods that comprise the trinity, why did Jesus so conspicuously leave Him out of His prayer for ONENESS RELATIVE TO THE GODHEAD AND THE DISCIPLES?  Confusion reigns supreme when Bible scholars attempt to explain Christ’s glaring omission of the Holy Spirit in the ONE and IN discussion. The problem is normally resolved  when all involved conclude that “God’s ways are not our ways.” Problem solved. But is that what Jesus meant when He said in John 8:32: “… and you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free” (of error). Note that He prefaces the statement by reminding the disciples that to know the Truth one had to know His Word (vs 31). He tells us in John 17:17 that God’s Word is in fact His Truth. Why would God and Christ speak about man being IN THEM and THEY being IN MAN if man was not supposed to understand THEIR WORDS? which are the Words by which man must live in order to be saved (Mat. 4:4), which are the same Words by which man will be judged (Jn. 12:47,48).

When trying to comprehend the three-in-one scenario a problem arises if we do not understand the connection between being ONE with and being IN another person or a God. To fully understand what Biblical writers wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:14-16) one must fully grasp the meaning of the words “one” and “in” when they are presented in a spiritual context. To do this one must also be under the power and direction of that Spirit, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, (only) they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). Only sons of God can hear His spiritual “voice” and understand His Spirit-spoken Words. Spiritual sons of God are not those who call themselves His sons, but rather are those who conduct their earthly lives as did His original Son–Jesus of Nazareth. L.J.