CHRISTIANS APOLOGETICS: Defending The Christian Faith By JOSHUA NAABU

The Oneness of God (Trinity in the Old and New Testament)

An older preacher told the story of a young minister interviewing for his first pastorate. The Pulpit Committee had invited him to come over to their church for the interview. The committee chairman asked, "Son, do you know the Bible pretty good?"
      The young minister said, "Yes, pretty good." The chairman asked, "Which part do you know best?" He responded saying, "I know the New Testament best." "Which part of the New Testament do you know best," asked the chairman. The young minister said, "Several parts." The chairman said, "Well, why don't you tell us the story of the Prodigal Son." The young man said, "Fine."     
      "There was a man of the Pharisees name Nicodemus, who went down to Jericho by night and he fell upon stony ground and the thorns choked him half to death.       
      "The next morning Solomon and his wife, Gomorrah, came by, and carried him down to the ark for Moses to take care of him. But, as he was going through the Eastern Gate into the Ark, he caught his hair in a limb and he hung there forty days and forty nights and he afterwards did hunger. And, the ravens came and fed him.  
      "The next day, the three wise men came and carried him down to the boat dock and he caught a ship to Nineveh. And when he got there he found Delilah sitting on the wall. He said, "Chunk her down, boys, chunk her down." And, they said, "How many times shall we chunk her down, till seven time seven?" And he said, "Nay, but seventy times seven." And they chucked her down four hundred and ninety times.
      "And, she burst asunder in their midst. And they picked up twelve baskets of the leftovers. And, in the resurrection whose wife shall she be?"
      The Committee chairman suddenly interrupted the young minister and said to the remainder of the committee, "Fellows, I think we ought to ask the church to call him as our minister. He is awfully young, but he sure does know his Bible."

Sadly enough that is the kind of way we approach the bible. We mix up the facts and not really sure about the whole. This is because of our inability to rightly divide the Word of God. The doctrine of the Trinity is interwoven throughout the entire warp and woof of the Old Testament; it is not merely found in a discrete passage or proof-text here and there. In addition to the above verses we looked at earlier that speak of one or another person of the Godhead, assigning to them the names, attributes, and prerogatives of God, there are many passages which mention all three persons together, assigning to each a role in providence, and redemption. So am not going to show you six ways to get a date, I’m not going to show you five ways to make a girl fall madly in love with you, I’m not going to show you ten ways to get rich quick before you say the word “jack” but I am going to show you from the Old Testament, the concept of the Trinity. Let’s roll that dice shall we?

1. Isaiah 48:12-16 "Listen to Me, O Jacob, O Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together. All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; He shall do His pleasure on Babylon, And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken; Yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me.” 
Here, the First and the Last, i.e. the eternal God is speaking of a time when He is sent by the LORD God and His Spirit; Wow, what a shock!

2. Let's bring to mind that when the book of Isaiah was written originally, it wasn't written in chapters and verses. It was written on a scroll to its audience. It was a little later after the 13th century that the books of the bible were divided into chapters and verses to help in referencing. So the book of Isaiah in its original text is one continuous text from chapter 1 to chapter 66.
In Isaiah 60:22-61:1 “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”
Here, the LORD is saying that, the Spirit of the LORD is upon Him because the LORD has anointed Him to preach good tidings to the poor. You dig! You will realize that in Luke 4:17-21, Jesus read this scripture in the synagogue and told them, this day is this scripture fulfilled alluding this scripture to Himself. I know this is going to rock the world of a lot of people who think the concept of Trinity isn’t in the Old Testament.

3. Isaiah 42:1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
Looking at the context of this scripture, God the Father speaks about His Servant/Chosen One, Jesus Christ, and His Spirit, which will be upon His Servant. This scripture was fulfilled during the baptism of Jesus Christ when the Spirit of God rested upon Jesus and God the Father said, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

4.  During the Creation week, God stated:“ Let us make…” (Genesis 1:26). Obviously this isn’t the angels because they can’t create.  Both the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2) and Christ (John 1:1-3) were present and active at the Creation with God the Father.

In Deuteronomy 6:4, the Bible says "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” It is important to understand that the word “is one” comes from the Hebrew word “echad”, which often refers to a unity of more than one person. For example, in Genesis 2:24 we read, “…they (i.e. the man and the woman) shall become one flesh,” and in Ezra 3:1, “…the people gathered together as one man.” Also the word used for “our God” comes from the Hebrew word “elohim” which is a plural noun. So this verse teaches that Elohim is united. 

The Holy Bible teaches that there are three distinct, yet inseparable Persons who exist as the one true God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The three Persons of God, because they are personally distinct, have loving communion and dialog amongst themselves. They are always in unity in purpose. The three in unity -Trinity.

I have shown something of the fact that the concept of the doctrine of the Trinity is found in the Old Testament, and something of just how pervasively it is found in the prophetic writings. Now let’s take a look at what the New Testament says concerning the Trinity;

The Bible clearly affirms that there is but one God (1 Corinthians 8:4). In addition, the Bible teaches the deity of the Father (John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2), the Son (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:2; Titus 2:13; Colossians 1:16-17), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16). Moreover, the biblical writers go out of their way to affirm that all three Persons are distinct from each other;

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit;”

2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
Here the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:5-7 “And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”
Here the administrations of the Lord Jesus is differentiated from the operations of God, the Father and manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:30 “Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me,”

The Bible sates clearly in 1 John 5:7 that “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” Jesus when He was praying to the Father said in John 17:22 that "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” Jesus acknowledged that He is one with God the Father and wanted His twelve Disciples to be one just as He and the Father are One. The Oneness the Bible speaks of here, i.e. in the Trinity, is the Oneness in unity and purpose. So the Trinity as taught in both the Old and New Testament made simple is; “there are three persons distinct from each other yet eternal who are one in unity, essence and purpose.” Ta Da!

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