Have You Ever Wondered?

WHAT is one of the major stumbling blocks that separates Muslims and Jews from the religions of Christendom? It is the teaching of the “Most Holy Trinity.” What does this dogma state? The Trinity was defined in the Athanasian Creed as the worship of “one God in Trinity . . . The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet they are not three gods, but one God.” Each is said to be eternal, to be almighty, with none greater or lesser than another; each said to be God, and yet together being but one God. Theologians describe it as a mystery.

Does the Bible say anything about the Trinity?a The following questions might lead you to some interesting conclusions. Biblical answers are found on page 12.

 1. If God is and always has been a Trinity, did the Jews find that teaching in the Hebrew Scriptures (“Old Testament”)?

 2. What do the Hebrew Scriptures say about God?​—Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 145; Zechariah 14:9.

 3. Do the Hebrew Scriptures refer to the holy spirit?​—Judges 15:14; Zechariah 4:6.

 4. In the Hebrew Scriptures, is the holy spirit referred to as a person or as God’s active force?​—Judges 14:6; Isaiah 44:3.

 5. Do the Hebrew Scriptures refer to a promised Messiah, or Anointed One?​—Daniel 9:25, 26.

 6. Does any text in the Hebrew Scriptures equate the Messiah with God?​—Psalm 2:2, 4-8; Isaiah 45:18; 61:1.

 7. Does any Hebrew text give a solid basis for believing that Jehovah is three persons in one God?​—Isaiah 44:6; 46:9, 10.

 8. Who sent Jesus to the earth? Then who is superior?​—John 5:19, 23, 30; 8:42; 14:28; 17:3.

 9. Did Jesus ever say that he was God?​—John 7:28, 29; 14:6.

10. Many saw Jesus, but has any man ever seen God?​—John 1:18; 6:46.

11. Did Jesus say that he was the ‘Son of God’ or that he was ‘God the Son’?​—John 10:36; 1 John 4:15; 5:5, 13.

12. Did Jesus ever say that he is equal to the Father?​—John 14:28; 20:17.

13. Do the words “I and the Father are one” prove a Trinity?​—John 10:30; 17:21; Matthew 24:36.

14. How did the early disciples view Jesus?​—John 1:29, 34, 41, 49; 6:69; 1 Corinthians 11:3.

15. How did God view Jesus?​—Mark 9:7; Luke 2:9-11.

16. Do the Greek Scriptures (“New Testament”) contradict the Hebrew Scriptures regarding the holy spirit being God’s active force?​—Matthew 3:11; Luke 1:41; John 14:26; Acts 1:8; 4:31; 10:38.

17. At the time of Jesus’ baptism, where were the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit? Were they three in one?​—Matthew 3:16, 17.

18. What position does the resurrected Jesus occupy in the heavens?​—Acts 7:55, 56; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 12:2.

19. Who gave Jesus that exalted position?​—Philippians 2:9-11.

20. Does that make Jesus God or second only to God in the universe?​—1 Corinthians 11:3; Philippians 2:9-11.

21. Who is the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe?​—Deuteronomy 3:24; Acts 4:24-27; 1 Corinthians 15:28.

Have You Ever Wondered? The Bible’s Answers

“After being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up, and he saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him. Look! Also, there was a voice from the heavens that said: ‘This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.’”​—Matthew 3:16, 17.

Following are some of the texts that answer the questions asked on page 11:

 1. The Encyclopedia of Religion admits: “Theologians today are in agreement that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity.” The New Catholic Encyclopedia also says: “The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the O[ld] T[estament].”

 2. “Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) “Jehovah must become king over all the earth. In that day Jehovah will prove to be one, and his name one.”​—Zechariah 14:9.

 3. “Jehovah’s spirit became operative upon [Samson], and the ropes that were upon his arms came to be like linen threads that have been scorched with fire, so that his fetters melted off his hands.” (Judges 15:14) “This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘“Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit,” Jehovah of armies has said.’”​—Zechariah 4:6.

 4. “Jehovah’s spirit became operative upon [Samson], so that he tore it in two, just as someone tears a male kid in two, and there was nothing at all in his hand.” (Judges 14:6) “I shall pour out my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your descendants.”​—Isaiah 44:3.

 5. “You should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-​two weeks. . . . And after the sixty-​two weeks Messiah will be cut off, with nothing for himself.”​—Daniel 9:25, 26.

 6. “This is what Jehovah has said, the Creator of the heavens, He the true God, the Former of the earth and the Maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited: ‘I am Jehovah, and there is no one else.’”​—Isaiah 45:18.

 7. “Remember the first things of a long time ago, that I am the Divine One and there is no other God, nor anyone like me.”​—Isaiah 46:9.

 8. “I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; just as I hear, I judge; and the judgment that I render is righteous, because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 5:30) “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.”​—John 14:28.

 9. “I have not come of my own initiative, but he that sent me is real, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am a representative from him, and that One sent me forth.”​—John 7:28, 29.

10. “No man has seen God at any time; the only-​begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.” (John 1:18) “Not that any man has seen the Father, except he who is from God; this one has seen the Father.”​—John 6:46.

11. “Do you say to me whom the Father sanctified and dispatched into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, I am God’s Son?”​—John 10:36.

12. “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.”​—John 14:28.

13. “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) “In order that they [Jesus’ followers] may all be one, just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am in union with you, that they [Jesus’ followers] also may be in union with us, in order that the world may believe that you sent me forth.”​—John 17:21.

14. “See, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) “We have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”​—John 6:69.

15. “A voice came out of the cloud: ‘This is my Son, the beloved; listen to him.’”​—Mark 9:7.

16. “You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you.” (Acts 1:8) “God anointed [Jesus] with holy spirit and power.”​—Acts 10:38.

17. See illustration, left, and text above and on page 12.

18. “As we look intently at the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus. For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”​—Hebrews 12:2.

19. “For this very reason also God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name.”​—Philippians 2:9.

20. “The head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God.”​—1 Corinthians 11:3.

21. “O Sovereign Lord Jehovah, . . . who is a god in the heavens or on the earth that does deeds like yours?” (Deuteronomy 3:24) “When all things will have been subjected to him [Jesus], then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone.”​—1 Corinthians 15:28.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 13]

Did God pour out holy spirit on himself?