Hardly any biblical topic is as controversial as the so-called Trinity. The Roman Catholic Church takes a clear stance on this, apparently believing it once again to know it perfectly and to have to teach it accordingly. This is very dangerous territory.
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Argument against the Catholic Trinity is simple
DThe Trinity according to Roman Catholic teaching describes a “three-in-one” God, who consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So far so good. However, the Roman Church places this relationship in an idiosyncratic constellation. God and His “3 Personality”. Father is not Son, Son is not Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit is not Father, but all together as a common intersection would result in God. Up until that point, that’s still okay. But the Father “begets” the Son, and both together generate the Holy Spirit. The Bible points out in several places that this constellation can’t be right.
One of the most extreme versions of the Gospel is that of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” For them, Jesus Christ is not merely created, but simply an angel with exceptionally great power and corresponding privileges. In this case, they not only deny Jesus’ sonship, but also allow God’s arbitrarily chosen representative to die. Furthermore, they claim that Jesus Christ did not pay for sins with His blood, but rather through His high “worth.” This version is a kind of “thing” between Catholic works-based righteousness and the teachings of various “highly occult circles.”
How does the Church of Rome define the Trinity?
The Roman Catholic Church has its own concept of the constellation Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The following statement comes from this church itself (Source):
- The Father actively and eternally generates the Son, constituting the person of God, the Father.
- The Son is passively generated of the Father, which constitutes the person of the Son.
- The Father and the Son actively spirate the Holy Spirit in the one relation within the inner life of God that does not constitute a person. It does not do so because the Father and Son are already constituted as persons in relation to each other in the first two relations. This is why CCC 240 teaches, “[The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity] is Son only in relation to his Father.”
- The Holy Spirit is passively spirated of the Father and the Son, constituting the person of the Holy Spirit.
There’s already a problem with this idea at the very point of “begetting.” This depiction implies a created son according to human concepts. But that is not exactly what the Son, Jesus Christ, is, as verses John 1:1-3 and 14 alone describe. The Word was with God, the Word IS God, and the Word became flesh. Added to this is the usual pride of this church to be able to explain God. This church sees itself as his “representative on earth” in the form of the “mystical body of Christ.”
The Bible provides information
Actually, 3 verses from the 1st letter to the Corinthians were already enough to understand the respective independence “father” and “son” with simple words.
1. Corinthians 8:4-6
“As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.“
This statement alone clearly shows that God is not the combined essence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but is completely independent, as is His Son, Jesus Christ, and yet all together are one God. Sounds strange? Yes, it does seem that way, but only to our limited minds. Can we even understand that? No! Certainly not in our human condition.
The first verse and the fourteenth verse in the Gospel of John chapter 1 also show that Jesus Christ is an independent divinity that has not been created(!), but has existed for eternity.
John 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God..”
John 1:14
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.“
The verses in the Gospel of John further rule out the possibility that Jesus Christ could be a created being, let alone a simple prophet. God became man to free us all from our sins by sacrificing Himself, or rather, His blood (Philippians 2:5-8).
The prosecutor does not hold back
When Satan, the “chief accuser,” once points his finger at the sinner to denounce all his transgressions, the believing sinner can rightly respond that the Creator, Jesus Christ, took upon Himself all human guilt and suffered the only intended consequence: death. He shed His blood for our sins. Jesus Christ, Himself completely sinless, became sin. He died and rose again in flesh and blood on the third day.
The accused but believing sinner can therefore refer to our LORD Jesus Christ and Satan can refer his accusation to our Redeemer. “Therefore, do not accuse me, but accuse the Lord Jesus Christ.” At this point, the futility of the “righteousness by works” also taught by the Roman Catholic Church is emphasized. Even a single sin will result in death, and the rest of your life’s worth of good works won’t fix it.
Whole mountains of good works cannot unhinge the law of God. God’s righteousness is eternal righteousness and God’s law is Truth, so in Psalms 119:142. There is salvation only by grace because of faith. Good works, however, are a result of true faith, for faith without works is dead, as in James 2:47.
Anyone who now refers to the Roman Catholic Trinity as the “accused” is referring to a fiction that does not exist in this form. The reference to hundreds of good works alone is pointless anyway, and also presumptuous, since God “owes” nobody anything. Life is a gift from God and all of this in our situation also by undeserved grace.
Humans have limits
Indeed, it is impossible for humans to explain God. All that is available to us is a part of our known world. Therefore, it is also a visible creation of God. How can we humans possibly explain the Creator or compare Him to anything? This also applies to the constellation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What is certain is that all three have existed since eternity, and neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit were created. With His Word, God has communicated to us what is sufficient for our understanding and understanding.
It is important to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, because no one comes to the Father except through Him. Furthermore, the Lord Himself pointed out that there are “other things” that we cannot understand, as in Deuteronomy 29:29:
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.“
Other verses indicating the constellation
1 Corinthians 11:3
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.“
Galatians 4:4-6
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.“
1 Timothy 2:4-6
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.“
1 John 1:1-4
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.“
Genesis 1:26-27
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.“
Hebrews 1:7-9 (compare Psalm 45:8)
“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.“
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The Nicene Creed, in 325, was approved at the Council of Constantinople (381). Regarding this passage, there is an addendum “c,” which states:
“By the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary.”
This creed was ratified and thus given a “perpetual seal” at the Council of Ephesus (431). Since then, no one has been permitted to introduce, write, or compose any other faith except that defined by the “holy fathers.”
Considering that, according to Roman doctrine, this was the “Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,” the Roman Catholic understanding of the Trinity also becomes understandable. For, with the origin of Nimrod and his wife Semiramis, the ancient Egyptian mythology of Osiris, Isis, and Horus also developed. According to this myth, Osiris fathered his son Horus through Isis. Before Horus was born, Osiris died. Horus, the son, was therefore the reincarnation of Osiris. This fit seamlessly with the Roman Catholic Trinity.
Bible verses from King James Version
