One of the most important doctrines in mainstream Christianity is the doctrine of the Trinity.  The Catholic Church refers to it as “the central doctrine of the Christian religion”.

The Catholic Online Encyclopaedia states:

The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion.

Thus, according to the Catholic Church, the doctrine of the Trinity is central to Christianity.  Her daughter churches, the Protestants and the Eastern Church, are all in agreement with the Catholic Church.  But are they correct in their belief?  Is God a Trinity?

To answer that we need to know exactly what the doctrine of the Trinity is.  The best place to find a definition of the Trinity is the Catholic Church.

Quoting from the Catholic catechisms (statements of belief) on the Trinity:

We firmly believe and confess without reservation that there is only one true God, … the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; three persons indeed, but one essence, substance or nature entirely simple.

The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons.

Quoting from the Catholic Online Encyclopaedia:

In the words of the Athanasian Creed : “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God.”

The Catholic Online Encyclopaedia refers back to the Athanasian Creed, which is an ancient creed (a statement of belief) dating back to the AD 400’s.   

The Athanasian Creed (which the Catholic Church upholds) goes on to say:

The Father [is] eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite.

This is saying there is one God, but three persons.  If you find this confusing, don’t worry, because it is confusing.

The Catholic Online Encyclopaedia goes on to say:

The Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent.

“Co-equal” means having the same rank or importance.

So according to the Catholic Church, the Trinity doctrine is the belief that:

• The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God in three persons.
• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all uncreated, co-eternal and all co-equal.

What do some of the other churches have to say about the Trinity?

The following is a Statement of Faith from the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches of Australia:

We believe and maintain the reality of one true and eternal God who has always existed as three distinct Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and yet not three Gods, but one God. These three persons in the Trinity are distinguished, but not divided; three Substances but one Essence. There has always existed a divine co-equality of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit and each of these three are fully and eternally God.

What about the Seventh Day Adventists?  Quoting from the Seventh Day Adventists statement of beliefs:

There is one God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.

So, the Protestants and the Seventh Day Adventists believe the same doctrine of the Trinity as the Catholics.

But how important is the Trinity doctrine to Catholics and Protestants?

As mentioned earlier, the Catholic Online Encyclopaedia quoted from the Athanasian Creed – which goes back to the AD 400’s.  The Athanasian Creed states:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, …

Thus, according to the Athanasian Creed, a belief in the Trinity is required for salvation.  So clearly, the Trinity doctrine is extremely important to Catholics and Protestants.

Where does the Trinity doctrine come from?  As we shall see later, it doesn’t come from the Bible.  The Catholic Church readily admits that the word “Trinity” does not appear anywhere in the Bible.  According to the Catholic Church, the word “Trinity” first appeared in about A.D. 180 and means in a collective sense “three persons in one essence.”  It was first used by Theophilus of Antioch.  Going further back, hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the belief in a Trinity of some kind existed in Sumeria, Bablyon, India, Greece and Egypt.  The real origin of the Trinity doctrine lies in paganism, not the Bible.

So where does the doctrine of the Trinity go wrong?

Remember the Trinity doctrine is the belief that:

• The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God in three persons.
• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all uncreated, co-eternal and all co-equal.

Where does this go wrong?  It goes wrong in three places.

1. The Trinity doctrine says the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-equal.
2. The Trinity doctrine says the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God.
3. The Trinity doctrine says the Holy Spirit is a person.

We are going to look at each of these three errors of the Trinity in turn.

1) The Trinity doctrine says that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-equal

Remember, “co-equal” means having the same rank or importance.  Why is this wrong?  Let’s look at John 10:29.  This is when Jesus was speaking to the Jews about Himself.

Joh 10:29  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Let’s look at John 14:28.  This is where Jesus Christ is talking to His disciples after the Passover, but before His crucifixion.

Joh 14:28  You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

Jesus said that His Father is greater than Him.  If the Father is greater than Christ then they are not co-equal, they do not have the same rank.  Some might think that statement was true only when Jesus was in the flesh as a human.  But there are other Scriptures which make it clear even today, right now, the Father is greater than the Son. 

1Co 11:3  But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

This Scripture clearly states that the head of Christ is God, that is, God the Father.  So, if the Father is the head of Christ, they are not co-equal.  For one more Scripture which is indisputable, let’s look at 1Co 15:27.  In 1Co 15, Paul explains about the resurrection of the saints.  1Co 15:27 describes what will happened after the resurrection.

1Co 15:27  For “HE [the Father] HAS PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS [Jesus Christ’s] FEET.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

In other words, the Father has put all things under Christ’s feet except Himself.

1Co 15:28  Now when all things are made subject to Him [Jesus Christ], then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

These verses clearly say that the Son is subject to the Father.  If the Son is subject to the Father, the clearly the Son and the Father do not have the same rank.  That is, they are not co-equal.

So that first point of the Trinity doctrine we looked at, which says that that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-equal, is wrong.

2) The Trinity doctrine says that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God

There are plenty of Scriptures which show that the Father and Son are distinct. 

For example, Mat 24:36.

Mat 24:36  “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

The Father knows something which the Son does not.

Another Scripture which shows the Father and Son are distinct is Luk 22:42.  This is Christ’s prayer just before His crucifixion.  He prayed:

Luk 22:42  .. “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

The Father and Son have different wills. They have separate minds.

Trinitarians accept these scriptures and say, “Yes, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct, but they are one”.  Remember the catechism which states:

The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons.

So these scriptures don’t bother Trinitarians.  There is however, a very important point about the Trinity doctrine which I want to emphasise.

The important point about the Trinity doctrine is that Jesus Christ cannot have died (that is ceased to exist) without the Father and Holy Spirit ceasing to exist also, because the Trinity doctrine states there is just one God being.

So, you may be wondering, “How do Trinitarians explain Christ’s death”?  Trinitarians explain Christ’s death by relying on another false doctrine — the doctrine of the immortal soul.

Let’s briefly look at what the Catholics believe regarding the immortal soul.  The Catholics believe that man has an immortal soul.  Here is what they say from their catechisms. 

The Church [that is the Catholic Church] teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God – it is not “produced” by the parents – and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection.

In fact, concerning Christ’s time in the grave the Catholics teach the following.  This is from their catechisms:

This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell [grave]: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.

In other words, the Catholics believe that when Christ died, his immortal soul lived on, and for those three days and nights when Christ was in the grave, He preached to the wicked spirits.

Trinitarians explain Christ’s death by saying, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, only His body perished, but His soul lived on.  Because Christ’s soul lived on, the Trinity remained intact. 

The Catholics and all Trinitarians, because of their beliefs in the Trinity and the immortal soul, do not believe that Christ ceased to exist for three days and nights when he was in the grave.  They believe He died, but they don’t believe He ceased to exist.  They explain it by saying that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, only His body perished, but His soul lived on.

Is that correct?  No, absolutely not.  We know that Jesus Christ, who is the Word, became flesh, that is became a man, from John 1:1.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Dropping down to verse 14.

Joh 1:14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, …

And also, in his epistle, 2 John 1:7, the apostle John is very clear:

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The Bible is very clear that Jesus Christ, became flesh, that is became a man.

We also know that when we die, we cease to exist.  Our consciousness doesn’t live on in some immortal soul.  How do we know that when we die, we cease to exist?

Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, …

Ecc 9:10  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device [thoughts] or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

Psa 6:5  For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

So, when we die, we cease to exist. 

The Bible is very clear that Jesus Christ, became flesh, that is became a man.  And the Bible is very clear that when a person dies, he ceases to exist.  Thus when Jesus Christ died, just like all men, Jesus Christ ceased to exist.  Jesus Christ ceased to exist for three days and nights until His resurrection.

When Jesus Christ ceased to exist for those three days and nights, God the Father was alive in Heaven.  Therefore, since Christ did not exist while the Father did, they cannot be one being.  It emphatically disproves the Trinity.

3) The Trinity doctrine says that the Holy Spirit is a person

There is one Scripture which logically disproves the idea that the Holy Spirit is a person.  Let’s look at Luke 1:30.  This is the passage where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary.

Luk 1:30  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Luk 1:31  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

Luk 1:34  Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Luk 1:35  And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

The agent that caused Mary to conceive was the Holy Spirit.  That means if the Holy Spirit is a person, then the Holy Spirit is the real Father of Jesus Christ, not God the Father.  Yet Jesus called God the Father His father.  He never referred to the Holy Spirit as His father.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit cannot be a person. The Holy Spirit is the means or the power by which God the Father caused Mary’s miraculous conception.

Are there other Scriptures which show that the Holy Spirit is not a person?  Yes.  The Holy Spirit is described in ways which you would never describe a person.

The Holy Spirit can be quenched.

1Th 5:19  Do not quench the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit can be poured out.

Act 2:17  ‘AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.

People can drink of the Holy Spirit.

Joh 7:37  On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
Joh 7:38  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Joh 7:39  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

People can be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Speaking of John the Baptist, it is written:

Luk 1:15  For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Luk 1:67  Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

You wouldn’t say of a person, that you are going to “quench them”, or “pour them out”, or “drink them”, or be “filled with them”.  The Holy Spirit is described in ways in which you would never describe a person.  How then is the Holy Spirit described?

1) The Holy Spirit is the means through which God imparts life.

The word spirit is translated from the Hebrew word ruach and the Greek word pneuma.  Both words mean wind or breath.  Breath is descriptive of life.  If we stop breathing, we die.  When God made Adam, the Scripture says that God,

Gen 2:7  …breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The meaning of the word Spirit is breath, which is life.  The Holy Spirit is the “life force” of God.

In John 6:63, where Christ is preaching to the crowds, Christ says:

Joh 6:63  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

It is through the Spirit that God imparts life.  Also, in Rom 8:11

Rom 8:10  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

We will be made alive, that is given eternal life, by means of the Holy Spirit – if it dwells in us.

2Co 3:6  who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

1Pe 3:18  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

So, we see from these Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is the means through which God imparts life.

2) The Holy Spirit is related to God’s power.

2Ti 1:7  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Luk 4:14  Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Act 1:8  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; …

Rom 15:13  Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rom 15:18  For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—
Rom 15:19  in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

So, we see from these Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is related to God’s power.

3) The Holy Spirit is the means by which God inspires His prophets.

2Pe 1:21  for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

4) The Holy Spirit is the means by which God opens our mind to understand His truth.

In Eph 3 Paul explains the mystery which was revealed to him that Gentiles are also called to salvation.

Eph 3:3  how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery

Eph 3:5  which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:
Eph 3:6  that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Notice that the mystery was revealed by the Holy Spirit.  Paul also explains the same thing in 1 Cor 2:9

1Co 2:9  But as it is written: “EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
1Co 2:10  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

So, we see from these Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is the means by which God reveals His truth to us.

5) The Holy Spirit is the means through which God cleanses and transforms us.

Tit 3:4  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5  not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

2Co 3:18  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

So, we see from these Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is the means through which God cleanses and transforms us.

The Holy Spirit is the life force of God.  Here is a quick summary of what we have seen.

1. The Holy Spirit is the means through which God imparts life.
2. The Holy Spirit is related to God’s power.
3. The Holy Spirit is the means by which God inspires His prophets.
4. The Holy Spirit is the means by which God opens our mind to understand His truth.
5. The Holy Spirit is the means through which God cleanses and transforms us.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it helps us to understand what the Holy Spirit is.

Other Serious Issues facing the belief that Holy Spirit is a person

There are other serious difficulties facing the belief that Holy Spirit is a person.  These difficulties are a noticeable absence of the Holy Spirit being mentioned in various places.

1) Where is the Holy Spirit in descriptions of God’s throne?

Dan 7:9-14 describes the Ancient of Days sitting on His throne and one like the Son of Man.  There is no mention of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 7:55-56, Stephen as he was being martyred described Jesus standing at the right hand of God. There is no mention of the Holy Spirit.

2) Where is the Holy Spirit in the descriptions of God?

John 1:1 mentions the Word and God, but does not mention the Holy Spirit.  Here is another description of God.

1Co 8:6  yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

There is no mention of the Holy Spirit.

Col 2:2  that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

Again, there is no mention of the Holy Spirit.

3) Where is the Holy Spirit in the openings of the epistles? 

In all of Paul’s epistles his opening greeting is along the lines of “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  There is no mention of the Holy Spirit.

Scriptures commonly used to support the Trinity

Let’s look now at some of the Scriptures which are commonly used to support the Trinity doctrine.

1) The first is found in 1Jn 5:7-8. 

1Jn 5:7  For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8  And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

It sounds like it could be describing the Trinity.  The words “in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth” are not found in many modern Bible translations. Those words are not found in any Greek manuscript before the AD 300’s century.  In fact, there are only two Greek manuscripts which have it.  They are generally accepted to have been added to the original text.  1 John 5:7-8 should just read:

1Jn 5:7  For there are three that bear witness:
1Jn 5:8  the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

2) Another Scripture commonly used to support the Trinity doctrine is Mat 28:19 -20

Mat 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,
Mat 28:20  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

These two verses are not a description of the nature of God, rather they show the involvement of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the conversion process.

3) What about those Scriptures which make it sound like the Holy Spirit is a person?

For example, it says in Luke 12:12 that when we are brought before authorities, we are not to worry about what to say:

Luk 12:12  For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

How can God’s Spirit teach us?  Or what about Rom 8:26 which says:

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

How can God’s Spirit intercede for us?  Or what about Eph 4:30 which says the Holy Spirit can be grieved? 

Eph 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Or even lied to?  Remember Peter said to Ananias:

Act 5:3  … why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit … ?

Elsewhere the Holy Spirit is described as talking, e.g.

Act 13:2  As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

It is God who is doing these things, teaching or interceding or talking and so forth, but He is doing it through His Holy Spirit.  The Bible sometimes uses language to describe inanimate things, as though they are alive.  For example, when God spoke to Cain He said, “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”  The blood didn’t literally cry out, it’s just figurative language. Figurative language is used in various places throughout the Bible.  In the book of Psalms, it describes valleys shouting for joy (65:13), rivers clapping their hands (98:9).  Isaiah talks of mountains, forests and trees singing (44:23).  Rom 10:6 describes righteousness speaking.  The Bible sometimes uses figurative language.

In the passages where the Holy Spirit is ascribed activity as though it is a person, it’s just figurative language that’s being used.

4) What about those Scriptures which refer to the Holy Spirit as “He”?

For example:

Joh 16:13  However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears, He shall speak. And He will announce to you things to come.

The Holy Spirit is described as He.  Is this correct?  Several verses describe the Holy Spirit as the Helper, or Comforter.  For example,

Joh 14:26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

The Helper or Comforter is described as He.  Is this correct? 

Greek, like French and other languages assigns a gender to every noun.  For example, the French word for door is porte.  It’s feminine.  In French you refer to a door as “she”, not “it”.  So, for example, the French would say, “I knocked on the door. I knocked on her.”  When you translate from French to English you must change the “she” to an “it” to make sense.

In Greek it’s similar.  The Greek word for spirit is pneuma.  The gender of pneuma is neuter.  So, in Greek spirit is referred to as “it”.  The Greek word the helper is parakletos.  The gender of parakletos is masculine.  So, in Greek the helper is referred to as “he”.  

Thus when pneuma and parakletos are translated into English, should they be referred to as “he” or “it”?  In English it’s quite simple.  Any male is referred to as “he”.  Any female is referred to as “she”. Almost everything else is referred to as “it”.  (Countries are sometimes referred to as she, as are ships.)  So, in English, if the Holy Spirit is a person then references to it should be translated as “he”.  If the Holy Spirit is not a person then references to it should be translated as “it”. 

We know the Holy Spirit is not a person so all references to it should be translated as “it”.  Unfortunately, most Bible translators believe in the Trinity and so they translate references to the Holy Spirit as “He”.  When you see the Holy Spirit being referred to as “He” in your Bible, it doesn’t prove that the Holy Spirit is a person, rather it shows the Trinitarian bias of the translators.