The doctrine of the Trinity is regarded as one of the most significant differences between Christianity and Mormonism.
Many different faiths claim that early Christians used Greek philosophy to errantly construct the doctrine of the Trinity shortly after the time of the apostles. But is that true? Is there one God eternally existing in three persons, or three gods who are united in purpose?
The doctrine of the Trinity is based on three essential claims:
- The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
- The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father.
- There only ever has been and only ever will be one God.
These three propositions form the backbone of Trinitarianism: three persons, one God. But does the Bible actually support each of these claims? If it does not, then the Trinity is indeed an invented doctrine. But if it does, then Christians are justified in saying that Trinitarianism is thoroughly biblical.
Let’s consider whether the Bible teaches these three points.
The Father, Son, and Spirit Are All God
Latter-day Saints readily acknowledge that Heavenly Father is God. Yet the Bible makes claims about the Son and the Spirit that are only properly true of God Himself. Christians throughout history have recognized this. In fact, the Westminster Larger Catechism (written in the 1600s) articulates this in a way that is helpful:
“The scriptures manifest that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father, ascribing unto them such names, attributes, works, and worship as are proper to God only.” (Q.11, WLC)
This catechism helpfully provides four categories for evaluating whether the Son and the Spirit are God:
- Both the Son and the Spirit are called names by which only God is called.
- Both possess divine attributes—attributes that only God fully possesses (such as being all-knowing and all-powerful).
- To both Son and Spirit are attributed the works of God—works that God has performed in history.
- They can receive worship—something only God may rightly receive.
Let’s consider these four points in turn.
Names
The beginning of John’s Gospel says:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
A few verses later, John makes it clear that this “Word” took on flesh (John 1:14). The Word is Jesus. John makes the staggering claim that prior to creation, Jesus (the Word) was with God, and He was God. John calls Jesus “God.”
Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus Himself claimed to be Yahweh/Jehovah: the “I AM.”
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
Jesus even added that those who do not believe He was the I am would die in their sins (John 8:24). Yet, the identification of Christ as God is not limited to the Gospel of John; the Book of Hebrews identifies Jesus as “Elohim”:
“Of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.’” (Hebrews 1:8)
In this verse, the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 45. In the original Hebrew of that Psalm, “O God” is literally “O Elohim.” Thus Hebrews, speaking of Jesus, states: “Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever.” These examples are not isolated occurrences; the apostles regularly attribute divine names to both the Son and the Spirit. For example:
- Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
- Peter calls Jesus “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1).
- Paul refers to Christ as “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) and “the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever” (Romans 9:5).
- Paul states of the Holy Spirit, “The Lord is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
In the book of Acts, Ananias and Sapphira lied about how much money they gave to the church. Peter asks Ananias:
“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” (Acts 5:3)
And then says:
“You have not lied to man but to God.” (Acts 5:4)
Jesus instructed his followers to baptize new disciples “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Notice, Jesus doesn’t say to baptize in the names of the Father, Son and Spirit, but rather into a singular name. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all identified as “God.”
Attributes & Works
Both the Son and the Spirit are depicted as having divine attributes and performing the works that Scripture attributes solely to God. The Bible teaches that Jesus has these divine attributes:
- Omnipotence: “…he upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3).
- Omnipresence: Jesus is present with his people, even while He bodily dwells in heaven (Matthew 18:20, 28:20).
- Omniscience: Jesus “Knows all people” and knows “all things” (John 2:24-25, 16:30)
- Immutability (Unchanging): “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).
Who created the world? Yahweh declares that He created the entire cosmos by Himself:
“I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.” (Isaiah 44:24)
Now consider what Paul wrote about Jesus:
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16).
Jude claims that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who led Israel out of slavery in Egypt (Jude 5). Paul writes similarly in 1 Corinthians:
“We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents.” (1 Corinthians 10:9)
The apostle is referencing an event in Numbers where Israel grumbled against God. Because of their grumbling, God sent fiery serpents among His people. This text identifies Christ as the God against whom the people grumbled. It was Christ who sent serpents among Israel.
And yet, paradoxically, Hebrews also identifies the Holy Spirit as the God against whom the Israelites sinned in the wilderness. Consider what Hebrews 3 says,
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me [The Holy Spirit] to the test and saw my works for forty years.’” (Hebrews 3:7–9, quoting Psalm 95)
So, who is the omnipotent, immutable, Creator God? Who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of the Exodus, and of the wilderness wanderings? Yahweh: Father, Son, and Spirit.
Attributes & Works
No being is worthy of worship but God. Jesus says as much when He is tempted by Satan:
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Matthew 4:10, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13).
Yet, Jesus receives and approves of worship from His disciples. Matthew records that:
“[His disciples] in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 4:10)
and
“And behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him” (Matthew 28:9).
Furthermore, the author of Hebrews makes clear that Jesus receives worship from the angels in heaven:
“And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him’” (Hebrews 1:6)
When we consider the names, attributes, works, and worship attributes to the Son and the Spirit in the New Testament, it becomes increasingly clear that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
And yet, there is a real distinction between these three persons—a point often misunderstood about Christian beliefs.
The Father, Son, and Spirit Are Distinct Persons
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He regularly spoke of the Father as a distinct person. He said things like:
“I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (John 5:30)
and
“The Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.” (John 12:49).
Jesus also taught that He and the Father would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26). Clearly, there is a real distinction between Father, Son, and Spirit.
Some accuse Christians of believing God is simply playing puppet games when Father, Son, and Holy Spirit appear during events like Jesus’ baptism. At Christ’s baptism, the Father speaks from heaven, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Son is baptized—three distinct persons acting in one event.
Historically, Christians have confessed that the Son is “eternally begotten” by the Father and that the Holy Spirit “eternally proceeds” from both the Father and the Son:
“We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father” (The Nicene Creed)
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. (The Nicene Creed)
This language reflects the specific language used in the Bible and has therefore been used by Christians to describe the relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit. In other words, Christ has always been the Son of God (begotten), existing eternally in relationship with the Father. Similarly, the Holy Spirit proceeds or comes from the Father and the Son.”
Thus, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father.
Up to this point, Latter-day Saints and Christians might seem to agree: Father, Son, and Spirit are God, and these three are distinct. The real difference between an LDS and Christian worldview comes to the surface on this third point:
There Is Only One God
Christianity teaches that there only ever has been and only ever will be one Creator God. But Mormonism holds that while there might be a great number of exalted beings (gods) that exist in the cosmos, there is only one God for us.
(Some have actually suggested that Mormonism is more henotheistic than monotheistic. Henotheists acknowledge the existence of many gods, yet choose to worship only one.)
Consider the logic: if Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct beings who are merely united in purpose, that would make three gods—and that’s not even counting a “Heavenly Mother,” “Heavenly Grandfather,” or any other exalted being! Mormonism substantially diverges from historic Christianity on this point. Joseph Smith himself once said:
“I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the elders for fifteen years” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 370)
He even claimed this was plainly taught in the Bible:
“Hence the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine. It is all over the face of the Bible. It stands beyond the power of controversy” (History of the Church 6:474)
That’s a bold claim. But is it true? Consider what the Bible says:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
and
“To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.” (Deuteronomy 4:35).
In Isaiah, God repeatedly stresses that He alone is God:
“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isaiah 44:6)
“I am the LORD and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5)
“Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any” (Isaiah 44:8)
God does not know of any other gods. If the Father, Son, and Spirit were three separate gods, then the Lord could not possibly make such a claim.
Some Latter-day Saints point to passages such as Psalm 82 or Psalm 89 and claim that they mention the existence of other gods. It is true that the Bible sometimes uses the term “gods” to refer to angels or spiritual beings. That being said, the Bible also makes clear that none of these heavenly beings are like the true God as explained in the Bible. None of these so-called “gods” have the attributes, glory, or nature of Yahweh. God is utterly unique. He cannot be compared to any other creature (or exalted being).
“Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me.” (Isaiah 44:7)
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5)
“And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.” (Isaiah 45:21)
“To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” (Isaiah 46:5)
Verses like these are found throughout the Bible. They all sing the same tune: there is none like God.
Paul wrote of God:
“‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:34-36)
No other being can say they have never been counseled. No other being can claim they’ve never been given a gift.
Sometimes I ask Latter-day Saints, “What verse would have to appear in the Bible to convince you that there is no being like God?” The Bible speaks plainly about this point, and it’s why Christians have long confessed in the creeds:
“We believe in one God…” (The Nicene Creed)
Revealed, Not Invented
Christians readily acknowledge that God’s triune nature is challenging for finite human minds to grasp. Yet the entirety of Scripture repeatedly affirms:
- The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
- The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons.
- There is only one God.
Christians can know who God is because He reveals Himself in His Word. Trinitarianism reminds us that God is higher and greater than our understanding. Mankind’s ability to comprehend need not limit an infinite God’s nature. Though difficult to understand, the doctrine of the Trinity is something Christians humbly receive and worship.
What a glorious thing, that God would reveal such incomprehensible mysteries to lowly creatures like us. This is not a doctrine to balk at, but one that should drive us to worship.
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised.” (Psalm 145:3)
So did the early Church use Greek philosophy to invent a new version of God? No. The doctrine of the Trinity is precisely what God revealed about Himself in the Bible.