It perhaps surprises many people that the trinity doctrine did not begin until well after Jesus’ time. If the trinity doctrine were true, we would see it made manifest throughout scripture. Yet, there is no trinitarian theology in the Old Testament (Stewart, n.d.). Many trinitarian theologists will argue that passages in the Old Testament can be interpreted as being trinitarian. Scholars, however, agree that “No trinitarian doctrine is explicitly taught in the Old Testament” (Tuggy, 2020).

 

Trinitarian interpretations from the Old Testament come from several factors. Firstly, Christians today approach the Old Testament already believing in the trinity doctrine. They allow their beliefs to shape their interpretation of the bible, instead of allowing the bible to render their beliefs. In addition to this backwards way of approaching faith, people who read trinitarian doctrine into the Old Testament do so from a perspective of interpreting the Old Testament based on New Testament theology. In fact, it should be the other way around. We need to base our understanding of New Testament revelation from the Old Testament.

 

What about the New Testament? Do the Gospels, Epistles, or letter indicate that the apostles believed in the trinity? No. A study of our oldest manuscripts and of manuscripts written concurrently to the time of Jesus, there is no reason to believe that the apostles believed in the trinity (Jefford, 2013). Never in any documents, either bible manuscripts or concurrent manuscripts, is Jesus referred to as divine. He is only ever referred to as “teacher”, “servant”, “child”, and “Lord” (Jefford, 2013).

 

In 110AD, Ignatius the second Bishop of Antioch referred in a letter to the churches of Asia minor to the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit as being in unity the way flesh and spirit are in unity. Some argue that this is the earliest recorded doctrine of the trinity. Can we say for certain that Ignatius was calling all three separate and distinct individuals while being one God? No. Ignatius was referring to the unity of purpose shared between the Father and the son, manifest through the Holy Spirit. Ignatius was a student of John the Apostle. Just as John’s ministry had a heavy focus on the unified purpose and teachings of Christ and Yahweh, so did Ignatius. Earlier in that same letter, Ignatius wrote, “Be ye subject to the bishop, and to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father…” (Kirby, 2024). Here Ignatius was clearly demonstrating that Jesus was in subjugation to the Father! Clearly not co-equal, as trinitarian theologists claim.

 

In 169, Theophilus of Antioch became the first to use the term “trinity”. And yet, this word was not to indicate that Yahweh God was three-in-one. Again, Theophilus used this word to indicate the unity in intent and purpose that God and Christ possessed by means of Holy Spirit (Gaston, 2007). In fact, Theophilus did not believe in the divinity of Christ, nor that he was “co-eternal” with the Father (Dodds, Chapter 10: To Autolycus)! Theophilus believed that Christ was begotten by the Father, just as the book of Proverbs indicates he was.

 

It isn’t until the 3rd century, over 200 years after Jesus had died on the cross and well after the apostles or their students had died that we see the first “modern” trinitarian theology develop. Our study of ancient manuscripts reveals Tertullian, often called the “father of the trinity”, to be the first to indicate that the Father, son, and Holy Spirit were one divine entity. Even though he preached this ideology, Tertullian famously also preached that the son and the Spirit were in subordination to the Father, an idea later rejected to be replaced by our modern understanding of the trinity (Le Saint, 2003, Tuggy, 2020). Still, it was Tertullian’s teaching that the Father and son were two persons of one substance that would lead to the trinity doctrine we know today.

 

Meanwhile, as this belief was propagating throughout the early church, there were some who held firm to the doctrine taught by the apostles. Leading this charge was one such presbyter named Arius of Alexandria. Arius preached that Jesus was begotten of the Father and thus had a definite beginning. He also argued that although Jesus contained the same divine qualities as his Father, he was a separate entity from his Father entirely (Tuggy, 2020).

 

During this time confusion ran rampant through the early church. It had been hundreds of years since the apostles died. Who among their descendant students had the right notion of Jesus? Remember, this was before scriptures had been consolidated into the bible. Some congregations had access to certain letters and not to others. Some had letters that weren’t scripture, but the assemblies believed they were.

 

It was in 325AD that bishops gathered in Nicaea for council. For several days these church leaders gathered and discussed what they thought was the truth. Here, the bible was finally consolidated and approved. It was also during this First Council of Nicaea that Arius of Alexandria faced Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria and one of Arius’s own tutors, to debate the topic of the trinity. By all accounts, it was a hot topic, with some even recording physical violence to break out between the two parties.

 

In the end, it was decided that the Athanasius must be correct, as by then the belief in trinitarianism had become the standard. Arius and any who supported him were excommunicated from the church and banished to Illyria (Tuggy, 2020).

 

This was the birth of a heresy that dominates Christianity to this day. Of course, those who believe in the truth from the bible still existed, but they were met with harsh opposition from those who believed in the tradition of man. In fact, the rampant persecution against non-trinitarian believers still exists to this day. Many will say that those who don’t affirm the Nicene Creed – or the belief in the trinity doctrine as stated at the First Council of Nicaea – aren’t “real” Christians.