In answer to a request from a member, I post Grant Thorp’s summary of biblical data on ten propositions that lead to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity. If you have never read and pondered, read and ponder. We start with Uncle Karl….Barth, that is, not Marx.
The NT does not contain the developed doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible lacks the express declaration that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of equal essence.
But that doesn’t mean the doctrine of the Trinity is not true. Karl Barth himself was thoroughly Trinitarian as are most Bible scholars. So how do we get our heads around this doctrine of the trinity?
The doctrine of the trinity is formulated from 10 considerations, all of which are shown in scripture and all of which point in the direction of the trinity. I’m not going to go through them all in detail but rather list them and leave it for you to look up the verses later:
i. There is only one God [Mark 12 : 29]
ii. The Father is God [John 6: 27; Matthew 11: 25]
iii. The Son is God [John 1:1; John 20: 28]
iv. The Holy Spirit is God [Mark 3: 29 ; Acts 5: 3, 4]
v. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct, that is they are not three terms for one person [John 14: 16]
vi. The Father is personal [John 15: 9]
vii. The Son is personal [Mark 14: 33ff]
viii. The Holy Spirit is personal [Romans 8: 26]
ix. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not separate but one [Matthew 28:19]
x. The three persons co-inhere closely [John 1: 18 ; 10: 30 ; 14: 10, 11]