The following is a response I wrote to a text from the Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha, which was written in refutation to the Christian idea that God is a Trinity (this text can be found at http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/EN/TAB/TAB-557.html). Abdu'l-Baha was the son of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i faith. A Baha'i friend sent me this text after we had discussed (or argued about) it for some time, and I found it needful thereafter to give a more detailed reply; hence, this little paper. May it be found useful!

I would like to here explain why none of what the text by Abdul-Baha regarding the Trinity says actually disproves this concept of God, and show that what the Bible teaches concerning this subject, which is what Christians believe, is true. I will quote portions of the Baha'i text, and then give my points in refutation to them.

“... to the present time all the learned among them (the Christians) are perplexed and confounded (regarding the Trinity)”

Most Christians would concede, or rather assert, that the doctrine of the Trinity is a perplexing (mind-stretching) belief; however, this doesn't in any way show that it is untrue. Simply because something is hard to understand certainly does not mean that it is therefore false. As for Christians being confounded (confused) on this issue, I am convinced of the opposite! The clear teaching of the Trinity in the Bible serves to make us certain of this belief. If perplexed, we are still sure and certain of this Biblical teaching, and also of it's philosophical tenability; we are not confounded. God's wonderful Word gives us great reasons to believe that which we can't necessarily understand fully.

“All (learned Christians) have confessed that the question (of the Trinity) is beyond the grasp of reason, for three cannot become one, nor one three.”

Here, confusion is cast upon the issue by an oversimplifying of terms. The author states, “...three cannot become one, nor one three.” Three whats become one what? One what become three whats? Objects? Beings? Persons? Many would misconstrue our argument for the “Three in One” by not distinguishing between what the Three are, and what the One is.

Now, I would certainly agree that if someone were to propose that three objects are one object, or three beings are one being, or that three persons are one person, it would seem a very illogical and unbelievable proposition to accept. However, this is not what Christians believe; rather, we believe in One True God (one Being), who is existent or manifest in three Persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost), who have different functions within the One. I don't believe there to be any logical contradiction here. Notice that the definition of being is different from the definition of person, with being being more basic. All persons are beings, but not all beings are persons. Each human being (I think we can agree) is also one person; but where is the law that says that each being must be one person, and only one? Clearly, there is no such law, for there are many beings in existence which are not persons (trees, the moon, etc.). Therefore, there appears to be no logical contradiction in the concept of the Trinity, which thus stands the philosophical test.

Was God¹ divided into three at some point in time?

No; the Scriptures (the Bible) teach that God is eternal in His nature:

• Deut. 33:27 “The eternal God is thy refuge...”
• Rom. 1:20 “For the invisible things of Him (God)...are clearly seen...even His eternal power and Godhead:”
• -1 Tim. 1:17 “Now unto the King eternal...”

Also, in Eph. 3:11 we are told that the wisdom of God is known “ According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:”. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity (the Son) is thus eternal, as is the third Person (The Holy Ghost, or Spirit, as seen in Heb 9:14). The Bible teaches that God was not divided at any point in time, but that his whole Being (one Being, three Persons) is eternal.

“But there are, in the Gospels, clear expressions indicative of Trinity; among them: “The Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father.” As Christians did not understand the meaning of this expression, their thoughts were scattered.”

Indeed, the Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Bible) contain many statements similar to the one quoted² (e. g., Jn. 1:18), and the Father and the Son are spoken of many times (esp. in the Gospel of John) as working together. However, my whole proposition is that they, far more than just working together, are two Persons of one Being, and I would like to now show why this is what the Scriptures truly teach.

The Deity of Christ

First of all, Jesus Christ claims to be one with God the Father in John 10:30: “I and my Father are One.” In fact, it was for this very same reason that the Jews wanted to kill Him! They recognized that equating Himself with the Father was “making Himself God.”

1 Timothy 3:16 explains itself well, revealing rather explicitly the deity of Christ:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

John 1 is a classic defence of Christ's deity. Here are the first 3 verses:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Who is “The Word”, who was in the beginning with God, while at the same time being God Himself? We are given the answer in the following verses (14-18), which tell us that the Word is the One who was made flesh, and came and dwelt among us; Jesus Christ. John 1 also states that all things were made by Him (the Word, Jesus Christ), as does Col. 1:16-17, which says that “...all things were created by Him, and for Him: 17 and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Christ is declared to be the Creator of all things; who could the Creator be other than God Himself?

Furthermore, it is very clear from Revelation 1 that Jesus Christ is God. Of course, I recommend a reading of the whole chapter (or book), but here is verse 8, and the first part of 11:

“8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

“11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:”

It is made clear in the verses that follow that verse 11 is a quotation of Christ! He therefore bears the same name as the One quoted in verse 8, “The Alpha and Omega,” who is God Almighty Himself!

Next, let us look at the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 9. In verse 6 we are given some of the names of the Messiah (Christ), who the Jewish people were and are still expecting to come, and who we Christians believe has already come in the Person of Jesus Christ: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful (Jdg. 13:18), Counsellor, The mighty God (Jer. 32:18), The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (In Heb. 7, the relation of Christ to Melchisedec, the “King of Peace” is shown). Again, we see that Christ shares names with God the Father! Also, notice how the terms in the first part of this verse differentiate with the different verbs used: “...a child is born...”, but “...a son is given”! This is the Incarnation of Christ: the eternal Son (given), becoming flesh (child born). The Son was not born; as we have already seen, He was in existence before the time of His Incarnation. This Old Testament passage confirms this.

Let us now look at four seperate passages, which, when understood together, reveal that Christ can be no other than God Himself. First, Luke 4:8:

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

Here Christ is quoting the Old Testament passage of Ex. 20 (our 2^nd passage) during his temptation in refutation to Satan, which tells us that all worship belongs to the Lord alone, and forbids the worship of and service to any other god. Third, we have Hebrews 1:6b:

“...He (God) saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him” (the Son).

And last is Jn. 17:5:

“And now, O Father, glorify thou me (Christ) with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the
world was.”

In light of the teaching from the first two passages that God alone is to be worshipped, we must conclude from the second two that Christ is very God; the rightful object of worship which is due only to God Himself! (Also see Hebrews 1:8.)

Lastly, having by now established a solid basis for the Deity of Christ on the teachings of Scripture, I would like to mention one more passage. Phillipians 2:6 says that “(Christ)...being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”

So we see that, quite contrary to what Abdul-Baha would tell us, Christians do in fact have a very solid foundation for belief in the Deity of Christ which is deeply rooted in an interpretation of the Bible as one whole.

“The reality of this question is as follows: Divine Oneness is proven and He revealeth Himself in the Holy Essences. The sun is one sun but manifesteth itself in different mirrors. If thou lookest into the mirror and seest the manifestation of the sun, thou wilt way, the sun is in the mirror and this sun manifest in the mirror is the same sun of the heavens; although two suns, yet in reality they are one. The sun hath not descended from its high and lofty station, it hath not 514 taken up its abode in this mirror, but hath manifested itself therein.”

Is Christ merely a “Holy Essence” through whom God reveals Himself, and not actually God? This interpretation may sound attractive and even reasonable, but it is incompatible with the teachings of the Bible, the belief of Christians. Jesus Christ didn't ever claim to be only a “reflection” or a “mirror”; on the contrary, we have many statements of His recorded in the Gospels (esp. in John) where He declares “I am...”. Here are some of them:

• (Jn. 8:58) “...Before Abraham was, I am.” In the book of Exodus, chapter 3:14 & 15, God, in speaking with Moses, declared Himself to be “I AM”! Here Christ is claiming that He was already in existence before the time of the patriarch Abraham.
• (Jn. 10:11) “I am the good shepherd:” In Psalm 80:1a, David is praying to God: “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock:” Further on in John 10 (vs. 16), Christ tells us that “...there shall be...one shepherd.”, and then identifies Himself as being One with the Father. I see but one interpretation of these passages: The Son is One with the Father!
• (Jn. 8:12, 9:5) “I am the light of the world.”
• (Jn. 15:1) “I am the true vine...” He is the true vine, the source of life!
• (Jn. 6:35) “I am the bread of life...”
• (Jn. 14:6) “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Here Christ claims to be the truth! What a remarkable claim.
• (Jn. 11:25) “I am the resurrection, and the life...”

One thing that I would like to add here is that, if Jesus was not who He said He was (i.e., One with the Father, and thus God), He was a madman and a false prophet. Some religions (such as Islam and the Baha'i Faith) tell us that yes, Jesus was a prophet, but that He was not God, and would attribute those statements of His which ascribe to Himself the status of Deity to mistranslations, wrong interpretation, etc. However, I understand there to be very good reasons to believe that the above-quoted statements are indeed statements uttered by the historical Jesus. These statements, when taken as truth, give us only two options for what to believe regarding His identity; if we don't believe His statements regarding Himself, then how can anything else He says be regarded as true? If He is not the way, the truth, and the life, and not the true vine, the very source of life; if not actually One with the Father, then who is He? Certainly not a prophet; for what prophet could get away with so many lies? To sum it up, if He was not who He says He was, then He was mad, and should not be regarded as a source of truth.

This leads us to the most important business of this whole subject, for what if Jesus is who He said He is? In order to find the answer, let's look at a few of the texts which surround the above-quoted statements of Christ:

(Jn. 10:9-11) “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”

(Jn. 8:12) “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'”

(Jn. 6:33-35) “'For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.'
34 Then said they unto him, 'Lord, evermore give us this bread.'
35 And Jesus said unto them, 'I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.'”

(Jn. 11:25-26) “Jesus said unto her, 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?'”

If Jesus' words are true, then it is clear what we must do: believe in Him! This is what He tells us to do in the above verses. He claims here to be the Resurrection, and the Life, and says He will give His life to those who believe in Him. Further on in the Gospels, we find that He did do what He said He would; He “laid down His life” on the cross in payment for sin, and “took it up again” in rising from the dead, thus procuring salvation for all who believe in Him! What an exciting truth, a truth which is based especially on His resurrection from the dead, without which, as the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “...we are of all men (people) most miserable.” However, because Jesus did in fact rise from the dead, I am convinced that those who believe in the true Christ and His words have, of all people, the greatest cause to rejoice! Hallelujah.

1. Simply note, that the Bible uncompromisingly teaches that God is one Being (e.g., Deut. 6:4); the singular pronoun is used in reference to Him throughout the Scriptures (with a few exceptions such as Gen. 1:26-27, 3:22, and 11:7 which indicate God's plurality; Christians believe that Heb. 1 explains these passages perfectly, as it confirms that Christ was an agent in creation at the beginning of the world).

2. No reference is given in the quoted text, making verification difficult for those who would look the passage up for themselves.