Best Bible Verses on the Trinity in 12 Aspects

As believers in Christ, it can be challenging to present our faith…especially when it comes to a topic as profound as the divine Trinity.

We may think that such a topic is just  for theologians, for people who have special training in the teachings of the Bible.

However, Paul, in 1 Timothy 2:4, said,

“Our Savior God who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.”

The divine Trinity is definitely a primary truth of the Christian faith. It’s not just for theologians. The Trinity is for “all men” to see, experience and enjoy. So as believers we need to be able to present this divine truth.

But how can we present the Trinity to people? How can we show them the wonderful Triune God who is one and at the same time three–the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

The Best Bible Verses on the Divine Trinity in 12 Aspects

First, we need to know the Scriptures. We need to pick up the crucial Bible verses. That’s because our base is not a  certain creed or some popular theology. It is the Bible itself, the God-breathed Word.

But do we know what the Bible says? Can we open the Scriptures to people in a simple way to show them the right verses concerning the Trinity?

The following are the best Bible verses I’ve found to present the Trinity according to twelve aspects. They’re worth remembering…at least the references and the basic thought.

I encourage you to follow the links, read the verses with the related footnotes in the Recovery Version.

1. The Trinity–the Father, the Son, and the Spirit–being eternal

Isaiah 9:6 speaks of  “the eternal Father…”
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Hebrews 9:14  mentions “the eternal Spirit.”

We need to see and declare that the Divine Trinity is eternal:

• The Father is eternal.
• Christ, the Son, is eternal–the eternal Word who was with God and was God from the beginning, from eternity past.
• And the Spirit is also eternal.

2. The Trinity being involved in the incarnation of the Savior

In Luke 1:35 it says,

“And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.”

Then from Matthew 1:18  we can see that this birth was a divine conception with the Holy Spirit as the essence.

“Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.”

In this way, the wonderful One who was born in Bethlehem was called  “Emmanuel (which is translated God with us).” (v.23)  for He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9).

For a deeper understanding of the significance of  the divine incarnation you may enjoy this post and this note.

3. The Trinity existing simultaneously seen in the Savior’s baptism

In Matthew 3:16-17 it says,

“And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him.  And behold, a voice out of the heavens [the Father], saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.”

Footnote 1 on verse 17 in the Recovery Version points out,

“The Spirit’s descending was the anointing of Christ, whereas the Father’s speaking was a testimony to Him as the beloved Son. This is a picture of the Divine Trinity: the Son rose up from the water, the Spirit descended upon the Son, and the Father spoke concerning the Son. This proves that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit exist simultaneously. This is for the accomplishing of God’s economy.”

4. The entire Trinity carrying out the work of redemption

Hebrews 9:14, showing how all three of the Trinity worked together for our redemption, says,

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

• Christ shed His blood on the cross.
• The eternal Spirit carried out the offering, giving eternal effectiveness to the work of redemption.
• God the Father received the offering as the full payment for our redemption.

5. The Trinity working as one to save us

First Peter 1:2 declares that we were,

“Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”

• The Father chose us unto salvation.
• The Spirit carried out this choosing by sanctifying us, setting us apart.
• Then the blood of Jesus Christ sprinkled us, cleansing us from our sins as the result of our obedience to the Spirit’s sanctifying work.

6. The Trinity becoming the sphere into which we as believers are  immersed in baptism

Matthew 28:19 says,

“Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Footnote 5 on this verse says,

“There is one name for the Divine Trinity. The name is the sum total of the Divine Being, equivalent to His person. To baptize someone into the name of the Triune God is to immerse him into all that the Triune God is.”

So when a person is baptized, they are immersed  into all the Triune God is!

7.  The Trinity reaching us as the Spirit to dispense God into us

John 14:26a says,

“But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [the Son]…”

Footnote 1  on this verse says, “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was to be sent by the Father in the Son’s name. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and also by the Son. Thus, the Holy Spirit comes not only from the Father but also from the Son, and He is the reality not only of the Father but also of the Son. Hence, when we call on the name of the Son, we get the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).”

So whenever we call on the name of the Son, we get the Spirit. They are truly one. Just try it! Declare,

“Lord Jesus!  Lord Jesus! O Lord, I open to you, Fill me right now.”

8. The Trinity coexisting and coinhering within us as Christ’s believers

To coexist is to exist at the same time, but to coinhere is to exist within each other. Only the divine Trinity is able to do such a thing. But what is awesome is that His coinhering is within us. Read what the Lord Jesus said,

“Believe Me that I am in My Father and the Father is in Me… And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you also shall live. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:11a, 16-20)

So the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. The Son (with the Father in Him) is in us and the Spirit is also in us. So how many are in us? Three? One? We can humbly say that the Three-One is in us.

Eventually, we can only praise and declare that the one Triune God, the divine Trinity dwells in us to be our life!

9. The Trinity becoming our access to enjoy God

Ephesians 2:18  says,

“For through Him [Christ] we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.”

This is like the three parables in Luke 15. In the first parable,  the Son comes as the Shepherd to save us–the one lost sheep. In the second parable, His Spirit, as a fine woman, lights a lamp (God’s Word)  and sweeps the house (our inner being) to cause us to return to God. In the third parable the Father runs to meet us and receive us to Himself.

This is the Divine Trinity working together in love to save lost sinners and bring them back to the enjoyment of the Father in the Father’s house.

10. The Trinity being for our daily experience in our Christian life 

Ephesians 3:16-17a  says,

“That He [the Father] would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit into the inner man. that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith…”

• The Father answers the prayer for the believers to experience the Trinity.
• Through the Spirit we’re strengthened into our inner man.
• Then Christ makes His home in our hearts through faith.

Every day we can cooperate with the Trinity by praying,

“Father, strengthen me with power through Your Spirit into my inner man so that Christ may make His home in all my heart.”

11. The Trinity being the constitution of the Body of Christ, the church

Ephesians 4:4-6 says,

“One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Footnote 1 on verse 4 points out that it is the Spirit who is the essence, the life supply and Executor of the Body.  The Son, as the Lord, is the Creator of the Body (see Eph. 2:15). And the Father is the Originator of the Body.

So if we want to be the Body of Christ practically, we must daily experience and enjoy such a divine Trinity.

12. The Trinity being the ultimate blessing for all God’s redeemed to enjoy for eternity

Finally, 2 Corinthians 13:14 says,

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.”

This is the flowing out of the divine Trinity as love, grace, and fellowship reaching us and entering into us as the Spirit. I highly recommend reading the footnote on this verse in the Recovery Version. It is the most complete presentation of the Trinity for our experience that I’ve ever read.

In the last chapter of the Bible, this flowing divine Trinity ultimately reaches us as the river of water of life (signifying the Spirit–John 7:37-39)  flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb (the Son). Revelation 22:1 says,

“And He showed me a river of water of life [the Spirit], bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb…”

May we enjoy such a divine Trinity as revealed in these Bible verses and may we learn to share the reality of such a Trinity to the thirsty people we know so that they also can enjoy the Trinity as their eternal salvation and supply.

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References and Further Reading:

• For more appreciation for the points in this post, read the referenced Bible verses with the related Recovery Version footnotes on the Trinity.
• Here are some related hymns that strengthen the point of this post:
  • What mystery, the Father, Son and Spirit and View Lyrics
  • O God Thou art the Source of Life and View Lyrics
• Photo credit: Kevin Wasilin (Creative Commons)