THAT’S IN THE BIBLE

Is Matthew 28:19 Proof of the Trinity?

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Trinity, a widely accepted teaching in mainstream Christian professing religions, insists that God is a three person deity composed of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Today, let’s find out if that common doctrine has its roots in the Bible’s teaching or simply in the minds of false teachers.

[SHOW OPEN]

The Bible: The basis of our faith in the Church Of Christ, which answers questions about proper worship, the right relationship with God, and most importantly, salvation. That’s in the Bible.

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: I’m Bob Pellien and welcome to the program, That’s in the Bible. Here in the Church Of Christ we believe and teach what’s in the Bible, that the true God is the Father alone. Understandably, those who believe in the trinity don’t agree and point to Bible verses they believe support their position. One comment came in from John Ford. John asked us this:

Matthew 28:19 One name, three persons. The Bible is clear about ONE GOD. It also presents the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as God….

Johnford5568

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Thank you John for your comment. To understand John’s comment fully let’s read what Matthew 28:19 actually records:

“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,

Matthew 28:19  New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Dear friends, this Bible verse teaches the baptism procedure. One should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible does not teach here that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one and the same God, or that they must be counted as one. Or that each are one third of God or one of three persons composing God.

So, let’s ask the Bible’s response to those, like John, who may still believe that God is composed of three. To do so let’s break it down into even greater detail with these four questions:

Where did the term Trinity originate?

Is there proof of the Trinity doctrine in the Bible?

Who did Jesus introduce as the one and only True God?

How do some try to prove the Trinity is true using Matthew 28:19?

So let’s start our discussion with the first question, where did the term “Trinity” originate? Is the trinity Biblical? We cannot go to the Bible for the answer. Why not? I would like to quote first from the Protestant Theologion Augustus Hopkins Strong, he wrote in his book entitled Systematic Theology on page 304 the following:

The term ‘Trinity’ is not found in Scripture,…The invention of the term is ascribed to Tertullian.

Systematic Theology by Augustus Hopkins Strong, 1907 pg 304

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Dear friends, the Trinity is not found anywhere in the Holy Bible. According to this Protestant theologian it has its origin in the writings of early Catholic Church patriarchs such as Tertullian. But you know, some may say, it may be that the term trinity is not in the Bible, but the doctrine, or the idea of one God three persons, or that God has three comparable or equally powerful parts or persons is a Biblical concept. But, is there proof of the trinity in the Bible?  Does God himself agree that He has two others comparable with Him in a three person God? Isaiah the prophet quotes God’s response to that kind of question here in Isaiah 46:5 where it says:

“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike?

Isaiah 46:5  New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: So dear friends, does God himself agree with the trinity ideology? In this rhetorical question posed by God, He would not agree with the common trinitarian concept that He is made up of three equal partners. Why are we so sure about that? Continuing in the writings of Prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 45:5:

I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

Isaiah 45:5 New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Why are we so sure? Because God the Father indicates clearly here dear friends that He recognizes no other God or no other partner Gods, nor a trinitarian concept of God. Still, there are some who find it hard to accept this. Would they be willing to accept it if Jesus said it? Who did Jesus introduce as the one and only True God? John 17 records his answer here in verse 3, as well as verse one:

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

John 17: 3,1 New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed that the Father is the only true God. Not Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No.

Sometimes they also try to use, you know, philosophical comparisons like comparing God’s alleged nature to a man with three parts (body, soul, and spirit), or even go so far as to make the comparison with an egg having three parts (yoke, whites, and shell), or even to water. Water can be solid, can be liquid, or vapor. So how do some try to prove the trinity is true using Matthew 28:19? Let’s go back to it Matthew 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,

Matthew 28:19  New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Dear friends, it is then concluded by teachers of the Trinitarian concept of God that the use of the word “name” as in “baptised in the name of…” instead of “names” as in “baptised in the names of…” proves that the three must be counted as one, one God. However, the use of the word “name” instead of “names” has been gravely misunderstood by trinitarians. It does not refer to a number, but rather to authority or power. Besides, that interpretation directly runs counter to what the Lord Jesus Christ stated as we read in John 17:1 and 3. Now, is there any biblical evidence of this though? Consider what’s recorded here in the Book of Acts 4:7:

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

Acts 4:7 New King James Version

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: We just read a similar phrase here in Acts 4:7 which clearly indicates the use of the word “name” as not referring to someone’s personal name but rather to their power, just as we saw it in Matthew 28:19. In fact, how is that same verse rendered in yet another translation of the Bible? Let’s take a look at Acts 4:7 in the Moffat rendition of the Bible, it reads:

They made the men stand before them and inquired, “By what authority, in whose name, have you done this?

Acts 4:7 Moffat

BROTHER BOB PELLIEN: Again the use of the word “name” is not intended to depict a personal name, but authority. Matthew 28:19, likewise is a baptismal procedure depicting that one is baptized by the authority of the Father, the authority of the Son and the authority of the Holy Spirit. All of this considered dear friends, it is evident that Matthew 28:19 is in no way teaching that there are three in one or that God is a trinity.

Dear friends, let’s review the questions we began with and let’s see what the Bible has revealed to us. We asked:

Where did the term Trinity originate?

Well, we learned it was created by one of the early patriarchs of the Roman Catholic Church named Tertullian, not from the Bible.

Is there proof of the Trinity doctrine in the Bible?

We read how the Father declared that there is no one like Him and there is no other.  Showing therefore, that the idea of two others just like Him making up a trinity God is a false teaching.

Who did Jesus introduce as the one and only True God?

We also learned from the Holy Bible that Jesus clearly introduced the Father as the only true God, not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a triune God. No.

How do some try to prove the Trinity is true with Matthew 28:19?

Others teach that the use of the word “name” instead of “names” shows that the verse, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are to be counted as but one. One God in personal name, and three persons. It was proven however that the word “name” in Matthew 28:19 is not referring to a God with three persons, but rather to the power or authority upon which a person is to be baptized.

Therefore, members of the Church Of Christ stand firm in our belief that the Father is the only true God and that the idea of God being a trinity or is composed of three separate entities is an untrue doctrine which should be discarded by all seekers of truth.

And we’d like you to continue learning more about this important topics and the true teachings of the Holy Bible taught inside the Iglesia Ni Cristo, Church Of Christ. To do so please visit online and browse the different topics or set up an appointment to meet with a minister of the gospel. If you have any questions about the Bible or salvation, please email them to us. I’m Bob Pellien. Thanks for watching. See you next time on That’s in the Bible!