The Listen Series (Part 1): The Trinity and the God of the Bible

"He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him." — Proverbs 18:13

Before we dismiss, debate, or defend—we must first listen. Not to tradition. Not to assumption. But to the voice of Scripture itself.

This study is not an attack on anyone's faith. It is a call to return to the Bible and examine what it actually says about God. Let us lay aside inherited conclusions and allow the Word to speak for itself.

1. Defining Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief that there is only one God—not merely one supreme God among lesser gods, but one and only one divine Being who is the Creator and Sustainer of all.

This is the consistent testimony of the Hebrew Scriptures:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." — Deuteronomy 6:4

"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God." — Isaiah 45:5

The question we must ask is: Does the New Testament affirm or revise this understanding?

2. What Does the Bible Say?

The Testimony of the Old Testament

The Old Testament speaks with a singular voice: YHWH alone is God.

"You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other." — Deuteronomy 4:35

"See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me." — Deuteronomy 32:39

"Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior." — Isaiah 43:10–11

This is not poetry to be spiritualized—it is divine self-revelation. God is not one of three. He is one.

The Testimony of Jesus

Did Jesus ever claim to be the one God of Israel? Let us listen to His own words.

When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4:

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.'" — Mark 12:29

He affirmed that the Father alone is God:

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." — John 17:3

He acknowledged that the Father was greater than He:

"The Father is greater than I." — John 14:28

Jesus never confused His identity with that of the Father. He called the Father "my God" even after His resurrection:

"I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." — John 20:17

If Jesus is the one true God, why did He worship, pray to, and call another "my God"?

The Testimony of Paul

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, makes the distinction even clearer:

"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." — 1 Corinthians 8:6

Notice the distinction:

• One God — the Father
• One Lord — Jesus Christ

Paul does not say "one God in three persons." He says the one God is the Father.

He repeats this in his letter to Timothy:

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus." — 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus is not identified as God here—He is the mediator between God and humanity.

3. The Divine Pattern: Source and Channel

Scripture presents a consistent divine order: God the Father is the Source of all things, and Jesus Christ is the Channel through whom all things come.

• The Father creates through the Son (1 Corinthians 8:6)
• The Father sends the Son (John 17:3)
• The Son does the will of the Father (John 6:38)
• The Son returns the kingdom to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:28)

This is not a relationship of equals playing different roles. This is an eternal reality of origin and derivation. The Father is unbegotten. The Son is begotten of the Father—not created, but eternally generated from the Father's own being.

"The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing." — John 5:19

The Son is divine—but His divinity comes from the Father. He is the "only begotten" (John 3:16), the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15), the "radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (Hebrews 1:3).

A reflection is not the source. An image is not the original. The Son is glorious, divine, and exalted—but He is not the one God. The one God is His Father.

4. The Call to Decision

We are not asking you to abandon faith in Jesus. We are asking you to see Him as Scripture presents Him:

• The Son of God
• The Messiah
• The Image of the Father
• The One through whom God created and redeemed the world

But not the Father. Not the one God.

We are asking the same question Jesus once asked:

"Who do you say I am?" — Matthew 16:15

May your answer be shaped not by councils or creeds, but by the Word of God alone.

In Part 2, we will examine the historical development of the Trinity doctrine and how it diverged from the faith of the early church.