Friday, April 4, 2025

Trinitarian "Proof-Texts"

What about the "Trinity Proof-Texts"? 
        A First Century Faith Perspective... 



The doctrine of the Trinity is often supported by a collection of commonly quoted Bible verses. However, when read in context and compared with other Scriptures, these "proof texts" often do not teach what Trinitarian theology claims. This article presents ten of the most frequently cited Trinitarian verses and offers a Biblical Unitarian response rooted in a first century understanding of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

1. Genesis 1:26 – “Let us make man in our image…”

Trinitarian Claim: The plural “us” and “our” indicates a multi-personal God (Father, Son, and Spirit).

Refutation:

  • This is best understood as God addressing His heavenly court—angelic beings who were present at creation (Job 38:7).
  • Only God creates in the passage: “So God created man in His own image…” (Gen. 1:27), reverting to singular.
  • The royal or majestic plural is another possibility, found in ancient kings’ speech.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Isaiah 6:8: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” – similar usage where God speaks in plural but is clearly one.
  • Job 38:4-7 – God speaks of the “sons of God” (angels) shouting for joy at creation.

2. John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Trinitarian Claim: “The Word was God” shows that Jesus (the Word) is God.

Refutation:

  • “Word” (Greek: logos) is God’s plan, wisdom, or expression, not a second divine person.
  • In John 1:14, the logos becomes flesh—it does not say “the Son” became flesh, but “the Word.”
  • The phrase “the Word was God” (Greek: kai theos ēn ho logos) lacks the definite article for theos, implying divine nature, not identity as “the God” (ho theos).
  • Even many early Church Fathers understood the logos as an impersonal principle before incarnation.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Proverbs 8:22–30 – Wisdom personified as present with God “before the world was.”
  • Psalm 33:6 – “By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made…”
  • John 1:18 – “No one has seen God at any time…” (even though Jesus was seen).

3. John 10:30 – “I and the Father are one.”

Trinitarian Claim: Jesus is claiming to be one in essence with the Father.

Refutation:

  • The word for “one” (hen) is neuter, indicating unity of purpose, not identity of being.
  • Jesus later prays that believers may be one “even as we are one” (John 17:22). This clearly means unity in will, not shared divinity.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • John 17:11, 22 – “that they may be one, even as we are one.”
  • 1 Corinthians 3:8 – “He who plants and he who waters are one…” (same Greek word).

4. John 14:9 – “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”

Trinitarian Claim: Jesus is claiming to be the Father or identical in nature.

Refutation:

  • Jesus is the visible representation of God’s character, not the Father Himself.
  • Hebrews 1:3 – Jesus is the “exact representation” (charaktēr) of God’s being.
  • Colossians 1:15 – Jesus is the “image of the invisible God.”

Supporting Scriptures:

  • John 1:18 – “No man has seen God at any time.”
  • 1 Timothy 6:16 – God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.”
  • Exodus 33:20 – “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

5. Matthew 28:19 – “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Trinitarian Claim: This shows a triune God of three co-equal persons.

Refutation:

  • This shows roles or authority, not ontology.
  • The word “name” (singular) represents authority or identity, not personhood.
  • Acts repeatedly shows baptism in the name of Jesus alone (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48).

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Acts 2:38 – “Be baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ.”
  • Acts 10:48 – “They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
  • Colossians 3:17 – “Whatever you do…do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

6. Colossians 1:15–17 – “By him all things were created…”

Trinitarian Claim: Jesus is the Creator, therefore God.

Refutation:

  • Jesus is the agent (dia autou – “through him”), not the source (ek tou – “from him”).
  • “All things” refers to new creation, not Genesis creation—Paul is speaking of thrones, dominions, authorities (v.16) which are spiritual powers.
  • The word “beginning” (v.18) links this to Jesus' resurrection, not pre-Genesis creation.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • 1 Corinthians 8:6 – “One God, the Father, from whom are all things… and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.”
  • Ephesians 1:10 – God’s plan is to sum up all things in Christ.
  • Revelation 3:14 – Jesus is “the beginning of God’s creation,” not the Creator.

7. Philippians 2:5–7 – “Being in the form of God… he emptied himself…”

Trinitarian Claim: Jesus was equal with God but became man.

Refutation:

  • “Form of God” (morphē) means appearance, representation, not essence.
  • Jesus did not grasp at equality with God but humbled himself.
  • This is a model of obedience, not a metaphysical claim.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • John 5:30 – “I can do nothing on my own.”
  • John 14:28 – “The Father is greater than I.”
  • Hebrews 5:8 – “He learned obedience…”

8. Isaiah 9:6 – “His name shall be called… Mighty God, Everlasting Father…”

Trinitarian Claim: This is a prophecy calling Jesus “God” and “Father.”

Refutation:

  • These are titles reflecting authority, not identity.
  • In Hebrew, titles can be descriptive or honorific.
    • “Mighty God” (El Gibbor) is also used of other mighty ones (e.g., Ezekiel 32:21).
    • “Everlasting Father” likely means Father of the coming age (Hebrew idiom).

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Hebrews 1:4 – Jesus “inherited” a more excellent name.
  • John 17:2 – Jesus has authority over all flesh given by the Father.
  • Isaiah 22:21 – Eliakim is called a “father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (not literal deity).

9. Hebrews 1:8 – “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”

Trinitarian Claim: The Father calls the Son “God.”

Refutation:

  • This is a quotation of Psalm 45:6, originally spoken of a human king, using the word “elohim” in a representational way.
  • Some scholars argue it should be translated, “God is your throne” (a genitive construction), i.e., God is the source of your authority.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Psalm 45:6–7 – “God, your God, has anointed you…” – distinguishes God from the king.
  • Exodus 7:1 – “I have made you a god to Pharaoh” (Moses as elohim).
  • John 10:34 – “You are gods” (Jesus quoting Psalm 82 about human judges).

10. 1 John 5:7 (Comma Johanneum) – “These three are one.”

Trinitarian Claim: Explicit proof of the Trinity.

Refutation:

  • This is a later addition, not found in any Greek manuscript before the 14th century.
  • The original verse reads: “There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water, and the blood.”

Supporting Scholarship:

  • Nearly all modern Bible translations omit this phrase, including the ESV, NIV, and NASB.
  • Even the 1611 KJV did not include this verse in its early Greek manuscripts.

An open book on a table AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Conclusion: When interpreted through the lens of first-century Jewish monotheism, these so-called "proof texts" do not teach a coequal, coeternal Trinity. Instead, they consistently affirm the distinct roles of God the Father and His Messiah, Yeshua, the Son of God—the one appointed, anointed, and exalted by Yahweh.

Let us return to the faith once delivered to the saints, grounded in the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4).
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