Is God a Trinity?

Nicaea and Athanasius Under Biblical Scrutiny

Excerpt from the Nicene Creed:

I believe in one God, the almighty Father, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of the same substance as the Father, through Whom all things were made (…) And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…

Scripture explicitly teaches in several places that there is only one God: the Father. This statement is the most devastating of all for the doctrine of the Trinity. 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; John 17:3; 1 Timothy 2:5

The most important truth in Scripture is that there is one God. This is not merely a matter of quantity, but of quality. A Deity who must share His place with another deity is not even Deity! God is GOD because there is only one. Out of Him, through Him, and for Him is all. Question the word “all,” and you enter the fog of polytheism. Mark 12:29-30; Romans 11:36

Paul writes:

For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

When we seek to put our thoughts about God and His Christ into words, there is only one safe method: use the words and phrases Scripture itself provides. Words of human wisdom are worse than worthless. 1 Corinthians 2:4–5; 3:19-20

It is shocking that the most important doctrine by which a person’s orthodoxy is measured is not explicitly taught in the Scriptures – or rather, is explicitly not taught there. Indeed, it took several centuries of reasoning to derive it from them!

The Greek word for “confess” is “omo logeo,” which means “to say the same thing.” An accurate confessional document that seeks to express the scriptural truth concerning something is therefore, by definition, dependent on the vocabulary of Scripture.

Nowhere does the Bible teach that creation proceeds out of the Son. All is out of God the Father, and all is through the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16

Nineteen times Scripture speaks of “God the Father.” Nearly fifty times it speaks of “the Son of God.” Not once do we find the expression “God the Son.” Telling.

God is the Invisible One, and the Son is the Image of the invisible God. Where God’s glory appears, it is in Him who is called “the Effulgence of God’s glory.” He is God’s Impress or Emblem. He is not the Father, but He is His Image. Whoever has seen Him has seen the Father. Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; John 1:18; 14:9

The Son of God’s love is the Image of God, the Invisible One. That the Son is so often presented in Scripture as God Himself is, quite literally, imagery. Colossians 1:15

The Son is God’s LOGOS (CLT: Word). Compare this with our word “logo.” A logo is a visual mark that represents an invisible entity. John 1:1

Christ is the ICON (CLT: Image) of God, the Invisible One. Human beings are explicitly forbidden to make icons and bow down before them. Why? Because this honor is reserved for the one perfect ICON! Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4

The claim that the Son has existed from eternity is yet another typical example of departing from scriptural terms. The Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God by virtue of His birth from Mary. Luke 1:35

Athanasius does indeed confess that the Son is generated—begotten or brought forth—yet simultaneously denies it by asserting that “in the Trinity none is before or after another … but all three Persons are coeternal.” Anyone who can make sense of that is welcome to explain it…

The Son of God is the “Firstborn of every creature.” In other words, among all creatures He occupies the highest place. Colossians 1:15–17; Psalm 89:27

Athanasius assumes that “the Spirit of the Father” is someone other than the Father Himself. Strange… Is a man’s spirit also someone other than the man himself? Matthew 10:20; 1 Corinthians 2:11

Mary became pregnant by the holy Spirit. In other words, the holy Spirit was the Father of the One who came forth from Mary. Matthew 1:18

The Spirit is not Someone alongside the Most High, but “the Power of the Most High.” Luke 1:35

Nowhere in Scripture is man called the image of God. Man was created according to God’s Image. And God’s Image is… Christ! Genesis 1:26–27

The church says: there is one God – the Father and the Son and the holy Spirit. Scripture says: there is one God, the Father. Period. This God is the Invisible One, and the Son is His Image and Form. The Spirit is the personal Power of the Most High.

In prayer, we address God the Father. Nowhere in Scripture do we read of praying to Jesus. Nor do we read of praying to the Spirit. We approach God through Christ Jesus. This is the formula that recurs throughout Scripture. Just as God comes to us through the Lord Jesus, so we come to God through the Lord Jesus. Christ Jesus is the Mediator between the one God and humanity. Ephesians 1:18; Colossians 3:17; Jude 25; 1 Timothy 2:5

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