The Trinity explained and defended in plain language with References

              We find unity in the Trinity in the New Testament as well.

Matt 3:16-17 And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, {and} coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This
is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

Matt 28:19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit,

In these passages we can see all 3, Father, Son & Holy Spirit are separate and also in unity. We can see the Trinity in the birth
of Christ as well.

Matt 1:20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Matt 16:16-17 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and
said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in
heaven.

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Notice that which was conceived in Mary was of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not called the Son of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is called
the Son of God. So here again we have all three. Jesus refers to God the Father as his father yet that which was conceived in
Mary was of the Holy Spirit.

Some people say the Trinity is hard to understand, so they cannot believe it. Whether it is hard to understand is not the point.
The point is, does the Bible teach it? The fact is, the Bible does teach it. Should it surprise us that God is somewhat complex? I
do not fully understand the law of gravity. But I know if I step off a cliff I will fall even if I do not understand or believe this law of
gravity. The Bible teaches that there are 3 separate persons that constitute only one God therefore I believe it. I believe it
because the Bible is the word of God.

The following are other comparisons, which would cause some to believe scripture conflicts until they recognize that there are 3
persons within the one God.

First, we will see that both the Father and Jesus are called the first and the last. How many, first and last, Alpha and Omega,
beginning and the ends are there? The answer is there is only one. There is only one God Is.44:8.

GOD THE FATHER
Isa 41:4 "Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first,
and with the last. I am He.'"

Isa 44:6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, and
there is no God besides me.

Isa 48:12 "Listen to me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.

JESUS
Rev 1:7-8 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of
the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

(Jesus is the one coming with the clouds, Mt.24:30, 26:64, Mk.13:26, 14:62, 1 Th.4:17)

Rev 1:17-18 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be
afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of
death and of Hades.

Rev 22:13-16 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Blessed are those who wash
their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the
sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. "I, Jesus,
have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning
star."

Next we will see that your body is a temple of God, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and it is Christ that
dwells in you. How can this be? ANSWER: These 3 persons make only one God.

YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF GOD
2 Cor 6:16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I
will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1 Cor 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that
you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.      (Jesus\God paid the price
Acts 20:28)

CHRIST DWELLS IN YOU
Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Next we will see that God will not give his glory to another. Yet Jesus shared this glory with him. How can this be?
ANSWER: They are one God.

Isa 42:8 "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images

John 17:5 "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.

Who raised Jesus from the dead? The answer is God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all raised Jesus from the
dead.

1 Cor 6:14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
(see also Acts 2:24, Acts 13:30, Romans 6:4)

John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days
I will raise it up." The Jews therefore said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But
He was speaking of the temple of His body.
(see also John 10:17-18)

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. (see also 1 Peter 3:18)

What about accusations that the Trinity is a doctrine derived from the 3rd or 4th century?
One well known organization that teaches this misconception is the Watchtower Organization commonly referred to as the
Jehovah Witnesses. It is easy to show that the doctrine know as the Trinity was not derived from the 3rd or 4th century. To do
this we will simply quote someone who lived before that time period.

Tertullian was a Christian theologian who lived 155-220 A.D. The following quote by him can be found in :
Roberts, Alexander and Donaldson, James, Ante-Nicene Fathers: Volume III, Tertullian Against Praxeas CH.25.

"What follows Philip's question, and the Lord's whole treatment of it, to the end of John's Gospel, continues to furnish us with
statements of the same kind, distinguishing the Father and the Son, with the properties of each. Then there is the Paraclete or
Comforter, also, which He promises to pray for to the Father, and to send from heaven after He had ascended to the Father.
He is called "another Comforter," indeed; but in what way He is another we have already shown, "He shall receive of mine,"
says Christ, just as Christ Himself received of the Father's. Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and of the Son
in the Paraclete, produces three coherent Persons, who are yet distinct One from Another. These Three are, one
essence, not one Person, as it is said, "I and my Father are One," in respect of unity of substance not singularity of number."

The following definition of "Paraclete" is by Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 10th edition. Par.a.clete n [ME Paraclyte, fr. LL
Paracletus, Paraclitus, fr. Gk Parakletos, lit., advocate, intercessor, fr. parakalein to invoke, fr. para- + kalein to call--more at
low] (15c): holy spirit

Tertullian here is referring to John 14: 9-16 where Jesus said he would ask of the Father and he would send the Holy Spirit also
referred to as another Comforter in the King James Version of the Bible. We see in this text that Tertullian referred to the
Paraclete as the Holy Spirit. Notice he stated that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were three persons that were distinct
from one another. He further stated that these three persons were one in essence. Tertullian just defined the Trinity remember
he lived 155-220 A.D.

Compare what Tertullian said to the following from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
TRINITY The coexistence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the unity of the Godhead (divine nature or essence).
The doctrine of the trinity means that within the being and activity of the one God there are three distinct persons: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.

We can go back even earlier than this. Ignatius was a disciple of the Apostle John who wrote the gospel of John, 1,2& 3rd John
and the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Now Ignatius had the distinct advantage that he could actually ask John
questions by what he meant in his writings We find that Ignatius also taught the Trinity and the Apostle John personally taught
him.

Ante-Nicene Fathers: Volume I, Roberts, Alexander and Donaldson, James,
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philippians.
Chapter I.—Reason for Writing the Epistle.

BEING mindful of your love and of your zeal in Christ, which ye have manifested towards us, we thought it fitting to write to you,
who display such a godly and spiritual love to the brethren, to put you in remembrance of your Christian course, “that ye all
speak the same thing, being of one mind, thinking the same thing, and walking by the same rule of faith,” as Paul admonished
you. For if there is one God of the universe, the Father of Christ, “of whom are all things; ” and one Lord Jesus Christ, our
[Lord], “by whom are all things; ” and also one Holy Spirit, who wrought in Moses, and in the prophets and apostles; and also
one baptism, which is administered that we should have fellowship with the death of the Lord; and also one elect Church; there
ought likewise to be but one faith in respect to Christ. For “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is through all, and in all.”

Chapter II.—Unity of the Three Divine Persons.
There is then one God and Father, and not two or three; One who is; and there is no other besides Him, the only true [God]. For
“the Lord thy God,” saith [the Scripture], “is one Lord.” And again, “Hath not one God created us? Have we not all one Father?
And there is also one Son, God the Word. For “the only-begotten Son,” saith [the Scripture], “who is in the bosom of the
Father.” And again, “One Lord Jesus Christ.” And in another place, “What is His name, or what His Son’s name, that we may
know? ” And there is also one Paraclete. For “there is also,” saith [the Scripture], “one Spirit,” since “we have been called in
one hope of our calling.” And again, “We have drunk of one Spirit,” with what follows. And it is manifest that all these gifts
[possessed by believers] “worketh one and the self-same Spirit.” There are not then either three Fathers, or three Sons, or
three Paracletes, but one Father, and one Son, and one Paraclete.

Wherefore also the Lord, when He sent forth the apostles to make disciples of all nations, commanded them to “baptize in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” not unto one [person] having three names, nor into three [persons]
who became incarnate, but into three possessed of equal honour

Some cults such as the Mormons will take verses out of context to try and show there is more than one God. Jehovah
Witnesses and others will also try desperately try to argue against the Trinity. Not only is the Trinity a biblical doctrine it is the
historic teaching of the church. If you are having trouble with any passages that cults take out of context to argue against the
Trinity please write to me. I would be happy to be of help.

Deut 6:4 "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!