Last week I was hosting the apologetics night at our Christian coffeehouse. It is a time where people can come in, have a cup of coffee, and ask questions relating to the Bible, religions, morality, or truth. This is where the idea for my blog “Coffeehouse Questions” came from. Most of the questions that I answer are questions that have come up in our discussions. On a side note, this is a great ministry opportunity in a non-confrontational setting. People love to relax with a cup of coffee and just talk. So why not talk about God?

Anyways, I was asked the question, “Why do you believe in the Trinity?” Many times people don’t believe in the Trinity because the word “Trinity” never appears in the Bible. This doesn’t create a problem for Christians. Even though the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, its components certainly are. So what are the components that we need to build a case for the Trinity? Why do I believe in the Trinity?

1. There is only one God.

We see this teaching very clearly throughout the Bible (Deuteronomy 4:35, 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5; John 17:3). There is only one true God and there is no other. Christians do not believe in three different gods (polytheistic) but only one God (monotheistic).

2. There are three different persons.

There is a distinction in Scripture between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In John 14:16-17, Jesus is speaking in first person and asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit. We also see three distinct persons in Matthew 3. While John the Baptist was baptizing Jesus in the water, the Father spoke from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove. They are not the same person, but three distinct persons.

3. Each of these persons is divine.

Is Jesus divine? Jesus made claims of being divine in John 1:1, 8:58, and 10:30. We also see the divinity of Jesus in Mark 14:62, where he claims that He is the one that will come on the clouds of heaven. This man coming on the clouds is mentioned in Daniel 7:13, and He was worshiped by all people; worship due only to God. Jesus clearly claimed divinity.

Is the Holy Spirit divine? We see a claim for the divinity of the Holy Spirit in Acts 5:3-4. These verses show that when Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he was lying to God; showing that the Holy Spirit is God.

Conclusion

What conclusion follows from these three lines of evidence? The Trinity. Looking at these three components, it is clear that the Trinity is a biblical concept. Three distinct divine persons in one being. So I believe in the Trinity because it is the conclusion that best fits the evidence that I have given above.

Now I want to make it clear that is not my defense of the Trinity. As you can see, I didn’t go into detail of how the three persons can make one God, or how to refute contrary views. That may be a topic of a later blog. The point here was to give a reasonable response to why I believe in the Trinity.