The Trinity: Questions & Answers
A point-by-point walk through the Bible's own words on the nature of God and Jesus, and how they weigh against the doctrine of the Trinity.
This page continues from The Trinity, and works through specific objections and questions in more depth. In the name of God, the Almighty, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful — the intention behind these questions is to seek the truth, not to attack any religion. Where a question touches on something sensitive, it is asked in a spirit of honest dialogue, not hostility.
Summary
Before the detailed discussion, here is the shape of the argument in six questions:
Who is God according to the Old Testament — a triune God, or absolutely one in nature?
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה׀ אֶחָֽד׃
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV Who is God according to Jesus (peace be upon him)? A triune God, or absolutely one in nature?
αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή, ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας ἰησοῦν χριστόν.
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
John 17:3 ESV Who did the Israelites worship according to Jesus — a triune being, or the one absolute God, the Father?
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· Ἐὰν ἐγὼ δοξάσω ἐμαυτόν, ἡ δόξα μου οὐδέν ἐστιν· ἔστιν ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ δοξάζων με, ὃν ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐστιν,
“Jesus answered, 'If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God.'”
John 8:54 ESV Will there be any God to come after the God of the Israelites?
אַתֶּ֤ם עֵדַי֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה וְעַבְדִּ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּחָ֑רְתִּי לְמַ֣עַן תֵּ֠דְעוּ וְתַאֲמִ֨ינוּ לִ֤י וְתָבִ֙ינוּ֙ כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י ה֔וּא לְפָנַי֙ לֹא־נ֣וֹצַר אֵ֔ל וְאַחֲרַ֖י לֹ֥א יִהְיֶֽה׃ ס אָנֹכִ֥י אָנֹכִ֖י יְהוָ֑ה וְאֵ֥ין מִבַּלְעָדַ֖י מוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃
“You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”
Isaiah 43:10-11 ESV When Jesus was given the perfect opportunity to teach the Trinity — asked directly for the greatest commandment — did he correct the Jewish belief in one supreme God, the Father, and teach a triune nature instead?
εἰ δὲ ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ ἐγὼ ἐκβάλλω τὰ δαιμόνια, ἄρα ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.
“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."”
Mark 12:28-34 ESV If righteousness came through the Law, Christ’s crucifixion would have been unnecessary, according to Paul — yet Jesus said he came not to abolish the Law. Whose teaching takes precedence?
οὐκ ἀθετῶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ· εἰ γὰρ διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη, ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν.
“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
Galatians 2:21 ESV μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:17-19 ESV
Detailed questions
QuestionIf Jesus is God, then he is omniscient. If he is omniscient, why is he not knowledgeable of the time of his return?
περὶ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ ὥρας οὐδεὶς οἶδεν, οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, εἰ μὴ ὁ πατὴρ μόνος. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
One common response is that Jesus did not know the hour because he also possesses a human nature, and only the Father — in his fully divine nature — knows. But if that is the reasoning, why is it only the Father who is said to know? What of the Holy Spirit, who is also said to be fully God and not human?
QuestionIf the three persons of the Trinity are all equal, why would Jesus say the Father is greater than him?
ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπον ὑμῖν, ὑπάγω καὶ ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. εἰ ἠγαπᾶτέ με ἐχάρητε ἄν, ὅτι πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστιν. “You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”
QuestionIf Jesus is God and equal to the Father, why would he call the Father his own God?
λέγει αὐτῇ ἰησοῦς, μή μου ἅπτου, οὔπω γὰρ ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα· πορεύου δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου καὶ εἰπὲ αὐτοῖς, ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ θεόν μου καὶ θεὸν ὑμῶν. “Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”
QuestionChristianity teaches that Jesus is a mediator between God and men — so why did he himself worship and serve the Father directly, without a mediator?
Jesus’s own words in the Gospels, when tempted, were to quote the command to worship God alone:
τότε λέγει αὐτῶ ὁ ἰησοῦς, ὕπαγε, σατανᾶ· γέγραπται γάρ, κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῶ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις. “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.'”
That command traces back to the Old Testament:
אֶת־יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ תִּירָ֖א וְאֹתֹ֣ו תַעֲבֹ֑ד וּבִשְׁמֹ֖ו תִּשָּׁבֵֽעַ לֹ֣א תֵֽלְכ֔וּן אַחֲרֵ֖י אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים מֵאֱלֹהֵי֙ הָֽעַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר סְבִיבֹותֵיכֶֽם כִּ֣י אֵ֥ל קַנָּ֛א יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ בְּקִרְבֶּ֑ךָ פֶּן־יֶ֠חֱרֶה אַף־יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ בָּ֔ךְ וְהִשְׁמִ֣ידְךָ֔ מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה “It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you — for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God — lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.”
Given how strongly this Old Testament warning is worded, it seems risky to associate a partner with the Father, if He is indeed a jealous God in that sense. Jesus also instructed his followers to pray directly to the Father:
σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σου καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῶ πατρί σου τῶ ἐν τῶ κρυπτῶ· καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῶ κρυπτῶ ἀποδώσει σοι. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
QuestionIf Jesus is God, how do we reconcile this with the Bible calling God invisible?
λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ ἰησοῦς, ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν ἵνα ποιήσω τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με καὶ τελειώσω αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔργον. “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
QuestionIf Jesus is God and part of the Trinity, why did he not clarify this when directly asked for the greatest commandment?
εἰ δὲ ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ ἐγὼ ἐκβάλλω τὰ δαιμόνια, ἄρα ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."”
Recall from John 8:54 (above) that Jesus knew the Jews believed in one absolute supreme being, the Father alone. This encounter was the perfect opportunity to teach the scribe a new, triune nature of God — instead, he restated the shema, the core of Jewish monotheism: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Since Jesus himself was a Jew who upheld this belief, should we not follow the same God he worshipped, exactly as he taught in Matthew 4:10 above?
QuestionIf Jesus is God, why does he call the Father the ONLY true God?
αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή, ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας ἰησοῦν χριστόν. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Read plainly, this statement suggests that if the Trinity existed, any other persons associated with the Father as God would not be “true” gods by Jesus’s own words.
QuestionIf the atonement of sins required a sacrifice (per Leviticus 17:11), and Jesus is repeatedly called 'Son of Man' in the Gospels — how does that square with the Old Testament's insistence that God is not a man?
לֹ֣א אִ֥ישׁ אֵל֙ וִֽיכַזֵּ֔ב וּבֶן־אָדָ֖ם וְיִתְנֶחָ֑ם הַה֤וּא אָמַר֙ וְלֹ֣א יַעֲשֶׂ֔ה וְדִבֶּ֖ר וְלֹ֥א יְקִימֶֽנָּה “God is not man, that he should lie, or a Son of Man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
בֶּן־אָדָ֡ם אֱמֹר֩ לִנְגִ֨יד צֹ֜ר כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִֹ֗ה יַ֣עַן גָּבַ֤הּ לִבְּךָ֙ וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֵ֣ל אָ֔נִי מוֹשַׁ֧ב אֱלֹהִ֛ים יָשַׁ֖בְתִּי בְּלֵ֣ב יַמִּ֑ים וְאַתָּ֤ה אָדָם֙ וְֽלֹא־אֵ֔ל וַתִּתֵּ֥ן לִבְּךָ֖ כְּלֵ֥ב אֱלֹהִֽים׃ “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god.”
לֹ֤א אֶֽעֱשֶׂה֙ חֲר֣וֹן אַפִּ֔י לֹ֥א אָשׁ֖וּב לְשַׁחֵ֣ת אֶפְרָ֑יִם כִּ֣י אֵ֤ל אָֽנֹכִי֙ וְלֹא־אִ֔ישׁ בְּקִרְבְּךָ֣ קָד֔וֹשׁ וְלֹ֥א אָב֖וֹא בְּעִֽיר׃ “I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”
QuestionIf we cannot be saved by keeping the Law, why did Jesus say he came to fulfill it rather than abolish it — including the prohibition on pork?
Paul’s letters give the basis for why, in much Christian teaching, the Law cannot save:
ὁ γὰρ νόμος ὀργὴν κατεργάζεται, οὗ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν νόμος, οὐδὲ παράβασις. “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.”
ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν, “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.”
Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.”
οὐκ ἀθετῶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ· εἰ γὰρ διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη, ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
And yet, in his own words, Jesus said the opposite:
μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
If Paul relaxed the Law where Jesus said not to, whose teaching should take precedence? This question extends to food laws as well — the Torah is explicit that pork is unclean:
וְאֶת־הַ֠חֲזִיר כִּֽי־מַפְרִ֨יס פַּרְסָ֜ה ה֗וּא וְשֹׁסַ֥ע שֶׁ֙סַע֙ פַּרְסָ֔ה וְה֖וּא גֵּרָ֣ה לֹֽא־יִגָּ֑ר טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם׃ “And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.”
וְאֶת־הַ֠חֲזִיר כִּֽי־מַפְרִ֨יס פַּרְסָ֥ה הוּא֙ וְלֹ֣א גֵרָ֔ה טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶ֑ם מִבְּשָׂרָם֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֔לוּ וּבְנִבְלָתָ֖ם לֹ֥א תִגָּֽעוּ׃ ס “And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.”
As a Jew, Jesus himself would not have eaten pork, keeping kosher — the Jewish equivalent of halal. Jesus is also recorded warning that not everyone who calls him “Lord” but disregards the Father’s will is truly known by him:
οὐ πᾶς ὁ λέγων μοι, κύριε κύριε, εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name...' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”
To be clear: any Muslim who eats pork is not following Islam properly — a Muslim is someone who follows the Torah, Gospel, and Qur’an in their original teaching, and none of these permit it. Some Christians have argued that Jesus was sent to the Gentiles too, who did not follow the Torah’s food laws — but among the Gentiles were both those who accepted Jesus and those who did not; the question is which group’s practice should be taken as normative. Finally, some of Paul’s own writings appear to support upholding the Law, which is not always emphasized — and if righteousness truly could not come through the Law, that raises the further question of what the crucifixion was for, if Paul elsewhere affirms the Law’s continuing place.
QuestionIf God does not change, how could He go from strictly one to three-in-one?
כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה לֹ֣א שָׁנִ֑יתִי וְאַתֶּ֥ם בְּנֵֽי־יַעֲקֹ֖ב לֹ֥א כְלִיתֶֽם׃ “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”
QuestionIf God died for our sins on the cross, who was governing the world and the heavens in the meantime?
The common Christian response is that only the human part of Jesus died, not his divine nature. But if the divine nature did not die, it raises the question of why the death is still spoken of as God dying for humanity’s sins in the first place.
QuestionIf Jesus is both fully man and fully God, shouldn't he have said so plainly — 'I am God' — rather than leaving it to inference?
Miracles are sometimes offered as proof of Jesus’s divinity, but earlier prophets also performed miracles by God’s permission, not their own power. And even taking the miracles as evidence, how do we reconcile them with Jesus’s own statement that the Father is “the only true God” (John 17:3)? A claim of this magnitude — that one is God incarnate, and that eternal salvation depends on believing it — would seem to call for a direct, explicit declaration, not an inference from indirect statements. Searching the Gospels for the words “I am God” spoken by Jesus himself turns up nothing explicit; the closest candidate is this exchange, which the Qur’an itself addresses:
وَإِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ءَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ ٱتَّخِذُونِى وَأُمِّىَ إِلَٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ قَالَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِىٓ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِى بِحَقٍّ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُۥ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُۥ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِى وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ مَا فِى نَفْسِكَ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ “And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me — to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord."”
Turning to the Bible directly, the verse most often cited as Jesus claiming divinity is his statement to the Pharisees:
εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί. “Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.'”
The usual argument is that this echoes God’s self-revelation to Moses:
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֗ים הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֣י בָא֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י לָהֶ֔ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְאָֽמְרוּ־לִ֣י מַה־שְּׁמ֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֹמַ֖ר אֲלֵהֶֽם׃
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה “Then Moses said to God, 'If I come to the people of Israel... and they ask me, What is his name? what shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I am who I am.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.'”
But this reading is worth testing against other uses of the same Greek phrase, ἐγὼ εἰμί (“ego eimi”), elsewhere in John. The man born blind, once healed, uses the identical phrase to mean simply “I am the man”:
ἐκεῖνος ἔλεγεν ὅτι Ἐγώ εἰμι. “The neighbors... were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" ... He kept saying, "I am the man."”
The Samaritan woman receives the same phrase from Jesus meaning “I am the Messiah you’re expecting”:
λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγώ εἰμι, ὁ λαλῶν σοι. “The woman said, "I know that Messiah is coming... When he comes, he will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."”
And again in a warning to unbelievers:
ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ πιστεύσητε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν. “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
If “ego eimi” does not, by itself, imply deity in these other instances, the same caution should arguably apply to John 8:58. An alternative reading of “before Abraham was, I am” is that Jesus existed beforehand in God’s knowledge and plan — comparable to Paul’s own language about believers:
καθὼς ἐξελέξατο ἡμᾶς ἐν αὐτῷ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”
No one takes this to mean believers literally pre-existed the world; the same reasoning could apply to Jesus’s statement about Abraham, without invoking incarnation of a pre-existent divine person.
QuestionIf salvation is through believing Jesus is God, why does Jesus himself say salvation is 'from the Jews'?
ὑμεῖς προσκυνεῖτε ὃ οὐκ οἴδατε· ἡμεῖς προσκυνοῦμεν ὃ οἴδαμεν, ὅτι ἡ σωτηρία ἐκ τῶν ἰουδαίων ἐστίν. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
QuestionDoes 'I and the Father are one' (John 10:30) mean one being, or one in purpose?
ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν. “I and the Father are one.”
This verse is the strongest single candidate for explicit divinity. But if Jesus and the Father are one being, how do we make sense of Jesus praying to the Father (Luke 22:42) or crying out to God (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) — was he praying to himself? Jesus later uses the identical language of unity to describe his relationship with his disciples:
καὶ οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἐν τῶ κόσμῳ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν τῶ κόσμῳ εἰσίν, κἀγὼ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι. πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῶ ὀνόματί σου ᾧ δέδωκάς μοι, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς. “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”
ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, καθὼς σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὦσιν, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us... that they may become perfectly one.”
If “one” in 17:11 and 17:20-23 means unity of purpose among many distinct people rather than identity of being, the same reading fits 10:30 as well: Jesus and the Father share one purpose and mission — to worship the Father alone and to follow His prophets — not one single being.
QuestionWhy does Jesus object to being called 'good,' and accept being called a prophet without correction?
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός. “And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.'”
The same episode is recorded in Luke 18:19. By contrast, when others call Jesus a prophet, he does not correct them:
λέγει αὐτῶ ἡ γυνή, κύριε, θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ. “The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet."”
οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι ἔλεγον, οὖτός ἐστιν ὁ προφήτης ἰησοῦς ὁ ἀπὸ ναζαρὲθ τῆς γαλιλαίας. “And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee."”
QuestionDo even Christian theologians admit the Trinity is difficult to understand — and what should that suggest?
The Christian apologist James White has written candidly about this:
Yet the Bible itself says:
οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀκαταστασίας ὁ θεὸς ἀλλὰ εἰρήνης. ὡς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,”
As Einstein put it, “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved through understanding” — and, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” A doctrine this central to who God is should, ideally, be statable plainly.