Jesus says, ‘who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14:9). Elsewhere he comments, ‘I and the Father are one’ (John 10:30).And he also says, ‘before Abraham was born, I am’ (John 8:58). What does he mean by these? Let us look at the context of these statements to understand further. Let us also study what it means to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) and do a quick review of the Godhead mentioned in the King James Bible (Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, Colossians 2:9).

John 1:1 says, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'. This seems to say that the Word was God and with God at the same time. Even with the apparent lack of mention of the Holy Spirit, this passage is frequently quoted to prove a trinity. Let us study John's original words in Greek to get a clear understanding of what he says about the Word (the Logos) and God. This is indeed a very important scripture that takes us far above space and time, all the way to the beginning.

Trinitarians promote the theory that God and Jesus always existed eternally – with no beginning. If the question is asked whether Jesus and God will always exist, then the answer is yes, according to the Scriptures. But if the question is about whether God and Jesus both did not have a beginning, then the answer has to be researched further from the Scriptures. Let us look at some passages on this topic. Also the terms Father and Son themselves help us understand it better.

He answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I myself am working.’ For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:17-18). Although it doesn't mention the Holy Spirit, this verse is usually quoted to support a co-equal trinity. Let us study this verse's context and also look at other passages where Jesus directly states what kind of relationship he has with the Father.

The Bible’s prediction on the future of Christianity after the departure of the Apostles was interesting. The Apostle Paul forecast a great apostasy where savage wolves would rise from within the believers themselves and draw people away from the truth. How was this prophecy fulfilled? What were the various false doctrines brought in by this Great Apostasy? And how did they end up impacting Christianity?

The third part of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - is not declared as God anywhere in the Bible. And it was declared God in a Creed only in the 5th century (More on the history later). So what do we know about the Holy Spirit from the Scriptures? What is Spirit first of all? And why is it called Holy? What are the influences of the Holy Spirit? What did Jesus say about the Spirit? Alongwith the answers to these questions, let us also study a bit of Greek grammar along the way.

The advent of Gnostic theories triggered a forceful response in the Johannine epistles that Jesus was the very Word of God - the mighty Logos. Seen in light of that historical context, those writings take on a whole new meaning. After apostles died, history shows people gradually elevating Jesus from Son of God to God's Equalas a counter-measure to the Gnostics. Much later in the 4th century, we see politics play a role in setting up a Creed where Jesus is declared God. The concept of a trinity i.e. Holy Spirit also being deemed God, enters in the 5th century.

Surprisingly the word Trinity is not found in the Scriptures. Among the titles used by the Trinitarian Creed - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we find only one of these terms in the Bible - ‘God the Father’.The Bible has 3500+ instances of the word ‘god’. Obviously, almost all those refer to God himself. Nevertheless, we notice places where ‘god’ has other applications too. Yes, as Paul says, ‘indeed there are many gods and many lords’ (1Corinthians 8:5 NASB).So where do we see other gods in the Bible?

‘There are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ’ (1Corinthians 8:5-6 NASB)
Having confirmed the Father as our God, the Apostle says we have one Lord as well – Jesus Christ. As we saw before, this Lord is notthe same word as the LORD (all capitals) Yahweh. This Lord (Greek:Kurios) means Master. Paul is saying we have one God, the Father and one Master, Jesus Christ. Why is Jesus our Master?

The Athanasian Creed, widely accepted and followed by present-day Protestant denominations and the Vatican, says the Trinity is to be worshipped. It talks about three Persons of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, but all being one God. Jesus said we need to know what we worship (John 4:22). So it becomes important that we study the Scriptures and try to understand whom the Bible says we need to worship.

The Scriptures declare, ‘yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live’ (1 Corinthians 8:6).
And that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16).
We need to worship and praise the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father (Ephesians 1:17) and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:11).
But why is this so important?