Long ago, I was in a family prayer meeting, and when I was asked to raise my voice and pray, I started as follows: “Dear Lord Jesus...” After my prayer, one member, who happens to be an elder in his church, rebuked me, saying, “Clarisse, we don’t pray to Jesus; we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus.”
I had never questioned the doctrine of the Trinity before, but his statement made me realize that I did not truly understand the God I prayed to. Is He really one God, or is He three in one? If He is three in one, are those three persons jealous of one another? Is it a problem for the Father if I talk to Jesus instead of Him, or vice versa? Do I even have the right to talk to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit?
These questions stirred within me, and in the following days, I was even afraid to pray. That experience led me to begin questioning the Trinity, studying the Word of God on the subject, and praying for a clear understanding.
Imagine my shock when I realized that the Trinity was not even a biblical concept? Actually, the term Trinity itself was nowhere to be found in the scripture—not in the revelation of God to Abraham, the father of many nations through his faith in God, not in His revelation to Moses, the mediator in the Old Covenant, and not even in the teachings of the apostles.
My concern was, how did a doctrine that emerged centuries after the death of all the apostles become the foundation of Christian faith, yet we claim to be built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles? From which Biblical prophet or apostle did we learn the three-persons-in-Godhead concept?
As Philip, I also wanted to see the Father, yet He had always been there with me in the person of Jesus.
The Bible consistently affirms the absolute oneness of God. Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema, declares, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” This foundational statement confirms that God is indivisibly one, not a plurality of persons.
God identified Himself as the only God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6). Isaiah 44:6 further affirms this truth: “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.”
Isaiah 9:6 prophesies about Jesus, stating, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” This clearly identifies Jesus as the Father.
Jesus Himself declared in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.” If Jesus says that; he himself and Father are one, who am i to argue and say No, Jesus, you and the father are two distinct persons? In John 14:9, He told Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Furthermore, in John 8:58, Jesus proclaimed, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” identifying Himself as the eternal God who spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
As for the Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Jesus promised to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, but then immediately stated, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16-18), showing that He Himself would return as the Spirit.
If the Bible clearly states that Jesus is the Father, then how many Fathers do Trinitarians have? Scripture states there is only ONE Father: “Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?” (Malachi 2:10). Jesus is that Father (Isaiah 9:6), meaning there is no second Father.
Likewise, if Jesus is the Holy Spirit, how many Spirits do we have? Ephesians 4:4 declares, “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” If the Lord is that Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17), then the Holy Spirit is not a separate person from Jesus.
The term “Trinity” (Latin: Trinitas) was first coined by Tertullian (c. 155–220 AD), an early Christian writer from Carthage. Tertullian, influenced by human logic rather than divine revelation, sought to explain God using legal and rhetorical reasoning. However, no biblical author ever used the term “Trinity,” nor did they separate God into three distinct persons.
Additionally, the concept of a triune deity is not unique to Christianity. Many ancient pagan religions, particularly those influenced by Greek philosophy, worshiped gods in triads. Greek mythology, for instance, had the three ruling gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Similarly, the Egyptians had Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The influence of Greek thought on early Christian theology cannot be ignored. Most significantly, the Trinity doctrine only emerged after the apostles—all of whom preached the oneness of God—had died. Yet, Scripture exhorts us to be grounded in the teachings of the apostles and to reject any other doctrine. Galatians 1:8 warns, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
The doctrine of the Trinity did not spread by divine revelation or grace but through coercion and suppression. After the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) established Trinitarianism as orthodoxy, those who rejected it faced severe persecution. The Roman Empire, under Emperor Theodosius I, made the Nicene Creed the official state doctrine, declaring that those who opposed it were heretics. Many anti-Trinitarians were exiled, and some even executed. Rather than being a conviction brought by love and understanding, belief in the Trinity became a forced doctrine, causing fear and silencing discussion on the topic for centuries. Even today, questioning the Trinity is considered one of the greatest signs of heresy.
The doctrine of the Trinity was developed through human philosophy rather than divine revelation. Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The attempt to separate God into three persons is a result of intellectual reasoning rather than biblical truth. Instead of relying on man-made doctrines, believers should seek divine revelation and trust in the clear teachings of the Bible that affirm the oneness of God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Colossians 2:9).
Though the concept may seem difficult to grasp, it is better to align with biblical truth first, and pray for understanding rather than conform to philosophical reasoning and accept it as an unreachable mystery. God reveals Himself to those who seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13), and the true understanding of His oneness comes by revelation, not human speculation.