The word Trinity is not in the Bible, but Christians use it to sum up what Scripture teaches: there is one God, "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 12:29), and the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are each God. All three appear together at Jesus' baptism, when the Holy Ghost descended upon Him and the Father said, "Thou art my beloved Son" (Luke 3:22).
The Trinity is one of the central beliefs of the Christian faith and one of the hardest to put into words. Historic Christian churches, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, do not believe in three gods, and they do not believe that one God simply wears three masks. They believe in one God who exists eternally as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word Trinity does not appear in Scripture; early church teachers such as Tertullian, writing around AD 200, used it to summarize what the Bible shows. These twelve King James verses gather some of that evidence: verses on God's oneness, scenes where Father, Son and Spirit act together, and passages that show the Trinity at work in salvation and prayer. For more on Jesus' divinity, see Bible verses that say Jesus is God, and for God's character, see Bible verses about God.
One God
1. Mark 12:29
"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:"
Asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted the Shema, the confession of faith from Deuteronomy 6:4 that devout Jews pray every day: Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord. Any teaching about the Trinity starts here. Christians are not polytheists; they worship the one God of Israel. The doctrine of the Trinity is an attempt to be faithful both to this verse and to everything the New Testament says about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
2. 1 Corinthians 8:6
"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
Paul, a devout Jew, takes the Shema and expands it: one God, the Father... and one Lord Jesus Christ. He places Jesus inside Israel's confession of the one God, as the one by whom are all things, the agent of creation. Many scholars see this verse as one of the earliest Christian statements that honor Jesus alongside the Father without giving up belief in one God.
3. Genesis 3:22
"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"
In the Old Testament God sometimes speaks in the plural: the man is become as one of us, and also "Let us make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26) and "let us go down" (Genesis 11:7). Jewish readers have explained these plurals in other ways, for example as God speaking with His heavenly court. Many Christians since the early church have seen in them a hint of the fuller revelation of Father, Son and Spirit in the New Testament. They are hints, not proofs.
4. 1 John 5:7
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
This verse names all three: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. It is worth knowing that these words, often called the Johannine Comma, are not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts, so most modern translations leave them out or put them in a footnote. The King James Version includes them. Christian belief in the Trinity does not depend on this verse; it rests on the teaching of the New Testament as a whole.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit together
5. Luke 3:22
"And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."
At Jesus' baptism all three persons appear at once: the Son standing in the Jordan, the Holy Ghost descending in a bodily shape like a dove, and the Father's voice from heaven: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. Matthew and Mark record the same scene (Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11). It is one of the clearest pictures of the Trinity in the Gospels: three distinct persons acting together in one moment.
6. Luke 1:35
"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
The angel's announcement to Mary involves all three: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, and the child will be called the Son of God. The Christmas story is Trinitarian from its opening chapter. The Father sends, the Spirit overshadows, and the eternal Son takes on human flesh. See Christmas.
7. John 14:26
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
On the night before the cross, Jesus promised another helper: the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. In one sentence we meet the Father who sends, the Son in whose name the Spirit comes, and the Spirit who teaches. Jesus speaks of the Spirit as a person who teaches and reminds, not just as a force. Comforter translates the Greek word parakletos, one called alongside to help.
8. John 15:26
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"
Here Jesus says that He will send the Comforter from the Father, and that the Spirit proceedeth from the Father. This verse lies behind the line in the Nicene Creed (in its AD 381 form) that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Eastern and Western churches later disagreed about adding the words and the Son, but all agree on what this verse affirms: the Spirit comes from God to testify of Jesus.
The Trinity in salvation and prayer
9. Ephesians 2:18
"For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."
This short verse holds the whole Trinity in the life of prayer: through him (Christ) we have access by one Spirit unto the Father. A classic pattern of Christian prayer is to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. You do not need to understand the Trinity fully to experience it. Every time you pray in Jesus' name and sense the Spirit helping you, you are living it. See prayer.
10. 1 Peter 1:2
"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
Peter opens his letter by describing salvation as the work of all three: chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, set apart through sanctification of the Spirit, and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. The persons of the Trinity are not competing or working separately. They act together in love for the same people, and Peter's greeting flows from that: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
11. Hebrews 9:14
"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Even the cross involves the whole Trinity: Christ through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God. The Son offers Himself, by the Spirit, to the Father. Notice the result for us: a conscience made clean, free to serve the living God. The Trinity is not only a doctrine to believe but a love that sets people free from guilt and dead religion.
12. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."
Paul describes what God does for every believer: God stablisheth us with you in Christ, anoints and seals us, and gives the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. An earnest was a deposit, a first payment that guarantees the rest. The Spirit in your heart is God's down payment on everything He has promised in Christ.
A short prayer
Father, thank You for loving me and choosing me. Lord Jesus, thank You for giving Yourself for me and opening the way to the Father. Holy Spirit, thank You for living in my heart, teaching me and helping me pray. One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I cannot fully understand You, but I can worship You and trust You. Draw me deeper into Your love, and let my life reflect Your unity and love to others. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
New to this method? See our Bible study guide or pick a Bible reading plan.
Study these passages slowly with the SOAP Bible Study Journal · Download the free names of God printable · Memorize key verses with the Scripture Memory Cards
Frequently asked questions
Is the word Trinity in the Bible?
No. The word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. Christians use it as a one-word summary of what the Bible teaches about God: one God, "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 12:29), who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Other theological words, such as incarnation, are not found in the King James Version either, but they summarize biblical teaching.
Where is the Trinity in the Bible?
No single verse lays out the whole doctrine, but many passages show Father, Son and Spirit together. Key examples are Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:16-17), the Great Commission, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19), and Paul's blessing, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14). John 1:1 and Jesus' teaching in John 14-16 are also central.
How can I explain the Trinity simply, or to a child?
Many illustrations fall short. Water as ice, liquid and steam can suggest one God changing forms, and an egg's shell, white and yolk can suggest three parts of God. A simple, safe way to say it is: there is one God, and He is three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; each is fully God, and they love one another perfectly. It is fine to admit that God is greater than our explanations. See Bible verses for kids.
Do all Christians believe in the Trinity?
The Catholic Church, the Orthodox churches and nearly all Protestant churches confess the Trinity, as summarized in the Nicene Creed. Some groups that use the name Christian, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints and Oneness Pentecostals, understand God differently. Believing in the Trinity is not believing in three gods: Christians affirm with Jesus that God is one (Mark 12:29).
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: God · Jesus is God · Baptism · Worship · Prayer · Salvation · God's love · Hebrew names of God
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