The Trinity In The Old Testament

You are going to see the Trinity in the Old Testament today. Many people attack Christianity for our belief in the Trinity. They claim it was an invention hundreds of years after Jesus, or that it’s not found in the Bible.It is true that the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible. But many words are not found in the Bible, yet we still believe them. For example, “omniscient” isn’t in the Bible, but we know and believe that God is all-knowing.

Though the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, the teaching is present.

Today, I’m going to explain the Trinity and show you where it is in the Bible, using only the Old Testament. If you’d like me to do a New Testament version, let me know.

Understanding the Trinity

The Trinity is the belief in one God, who is Father, Son (but more commonly seen in the Old Testament as the Angel of The Lord), and the Holy Spirit.

I know I’ve already said a lot, and there’s much to unpack.

I’m going to start first with what the Trinity is. Then I’ll focus on passages about the Holy Spirit. And finally, I will cover passages about the Angel of the Lord.

Both the Spirit and the Angel are God, yet distinct from God. The Father is never disputed, so I don’t need to focus much on Him, but when teaching on this topic, you can’t leave Him out.

What is the Trinity?

As Christians, we believe there is one God. This may seem contradictory at first glance, but I’m speaking to God’s nature—what makes Him God. The attributes and actions that only God can have, such as being all-powerful, all-wise, and eternal, are what make God, God.

God is one. For example, Isaiah 43:10-11 says:

“Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. [11] I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and beside me [there is] no saviour.”

God makes it clear there is no other God before, with, or after Him. He is God alone. God is the saviour, and there is none else.

In the next chapter, Isaiah 44:6, God says again,

“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.”

And again in Isaiah 45, God repeats this point. Several times in Isaiah, God drives this point home. God also says twice in Isaiah, in chapters 42 and 49, that He will share His glory with no one.

The Problem for Anti-Trinitarians

As you look at the Bible with the verses I’ve shown you in mind, a problem arises for those against the Trinity. The Trinity is the closest interpretation of scripture that explains these passages.

God is one, but we find the Holy Spirit and the Angel of the Lord called God and doing things only God does. I’ve mentioned the Angel several times now.

The Hebrew and Greek words for “angel” don’t speak to the being of a thing by default. This word simply means “messenger” and is used for humans, angels, and also God.

When you hear the word “angel,” don’t assume it means a creature with wings. Context determines the nature of the messenger. Once you understand this, it’s easy to see.

The problem for Anti-Trinitarians is this: If God is one and shares His glory with no one, what do you do with the Angel of The Lord and the Spirit of the Lord sharing glory, but also saying and doing what only God does?

You either come up with unbiblical, weak interpretations that reduce the Bible to contradiction and folly, or you are led to a teaching like the Trinity, which is true and Biblical.

One God, Three Persons

So belief in the Trinity is not belief in three Gods. There is one “What,” but three “Who’s.” The Trinity doesn’t divide God’s being into three parts. Otherwise, you would have God divided into thirds. But there are three persons who share the Divine nature.

It’s not like taking an orange and cutting it into three pieces. The orange is the thing. All three persons have the full nature.

Persons speak to who you are. Persons think, feel, and so forth. The fact that we say Father, Son, and Spirit identifies persons.

The Spirit of God in the Old Testament

Let’s begin with the Spirit of God. In Genesis 1:1-2 it says:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth [was] without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

In the first lines of the Bible, we see a clear distinction between God and the Spirit of God. This passage tells us God is the creator, but also that the Spirit was present. But there are Old Testament passages teaching that the Spirit is God and the creator.

Listen to what Job 33:4 says:

“The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”

This matches Genesis 1, which tells us the Spirit was there. So, the Spirit gets linked with God. The Spirit is called the creator here in Job. But Genesis 2:7 says:

“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”

These passages are clear. The Spirit is the creator. God is the creator. The Spirit is thus God.

In 2 Samuel 23:2-3, it says:

“The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word [was] in my tongue. [3] The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men [must be] just, ruling in the fear of God.”

This way of speaking is common in Hebrew, where you repeat yourself but use different words. David says the Spirit spoke through him, then says the God of Israel spoke. David calls the Holy Spirit God, but the Spirit is distinct in person.

The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament

Now, let’s turn to the Angel of the Lord, also sometimes called the Angel of the Presence. There are many passages, but I will use Genesis 16 as an example.

At this point, Abram, whose name will change to Abraham, has married Hagar. Abraham’s married to Sarah. Hagar was Sarah’s servant. Sarah treats her harshly, so she runs away.

Picking up at verse 7 in chapter 16, it says:

“And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.”

Notice how many times it says “the angel of the Lord” in this short passage. This unique, special messenger meets Hagar as she runs away. In the next verse, he says:

“And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.”

She says to the angel that she’s running away as if he didn’t know. Think back to Genesis chapter 3 in the Garden of Eden. God says to Adam, “Where art thou?”

Then in verse 9, the angel speaks again:

“And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”

He tells her to go back and submit to her, but what he says next is powerful:

“And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.”

The Angel says, “I will multiply your seed greatly; you won’t be able to count them.” God is the one who says that in Genesis over and over again, but the angel says, “I.”

Then in the next two verses, the angel speaks about the child Ishmael that Hagar is carrying:

“And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou [art] with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

[12] And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

So the angel tells her the future, but speaks personally, saying, “I will create a multitude of descendants for you.” He speaks exactly the same way only God speaks. But verse 13 is mind-blowing when you think about this being the first book in the Bible.

Four times in this small piece of scripture, Moses tells us she’s speaking to the angel of the Lord. Now he shares Hagar’s response to this conversation:

Verse 13 says:

“And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”

She called the name of the LORD that spoke to her. That’s the name of God there—YHWH. The name Jews today rarely say. They say HaShem instead.

That’s Hebrew for “The Name.”

Moses calls the angel, The Lord. And Hagar says the angel is the God who sees her. He’s God, but distinct from the God.

Because she said, I also here in this place, looked after him that sees me.

In simple terms…Hagar says, God sees me, and I saw God.

The angel’s called God, speaks in a way only God speaks. But is clearly distinct as the messenger who’s sent.

But this happens so early in Genesis, it prepares you for everything else that happens like it after.

The Blessing of Jacob: The God Who Redeemed

I want to highlight something that happens near the end of Genesis in chapter 48. Jacob, whose name gets changed by God to Israel, is blessing two of his grandsons.

Listen to what he says in Chapter 48:15-16…

“And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

[16] The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

He’s invoking blessings on his grandsons from, the God of his fathers, the God which fed him, and the angel which saved him from all evil.

It’s like how we say in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Or in 2nd Corinthians 13:14, where we get our famous prayer from,

May the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us, now and forever more. Amen.

That would be blasphemy to invoke a blessing from God, but attach someone else with Him as if they are equal.

Notice with Hagar or Jacob, there is no correction. There is no, this was wrong. It’s taken for granted.

These three persons, the Father, the Angel, (also called Son, Wisdom, Power and other things), and the Holy Spirit, show up time and time again.

There is no fourth or fifth person. Only three persons share this nature, and show it repeatedly.

Isaiah’s Revelation of the Trinity

We started in Isaiah. I want to take you back to Isaiah and look at a chapter that links all three together as the saviour of the people.

In Isaiah 63, Isaiah mentions all three together, in a way that shows each as God. But as the Trinity teaches, distinct in person, not being.

I’ll start with verse 7, it says,

“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.”

He’s praising God for all that He’s done for the people.

The Father: Saviour and Protector

Then he quotes God and shows us the person of the Father.

“For he said, Surely they [are] my people, children [that] will not lie: so he was their Saviour.”

God said they were His people, His children, because God is Father. God was their saviour. In this context there is no other saviour but God.

Isaiah has already made this clear in previous chapters, like I showed you earlier.

So we have the Father. Then in the next verse it mentions the Special angel Moses and Hagar called God in Genesis 16.

The same angel Israel invoked alongside God, to send blessings on his grandchildren in Genesis 48.

The Angel: Redeemer and Saviour

Listen to what Isaiah says,

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”

He said in the verse before God saved them, then now he says, the angel of His presence saved them. He redeemed them and took care of them all their days. This is exactly what Israel said in Genesis 48 about this same angel.

And this is the angel, who appeared at the burning Bush to Moses and gets called HaShem, YHWH.

Father, and The Angel, that’s two.

The Holy Spirit: Grieved Yet Powerful

Then the next verse mentions the third person in the Trinity.

“But they rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] he fought against them.”

They vexed his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a force or power. The verse shows this in two ways.

By saying “His” Spirit, it shows distinction between the Father and the Spirit.

And this also shows the Holy Spirit is personal because, it says they vexed, or grieved the Spirit.

You don’t grieve rocks, or paper. You grieve something personal. Every other time this Hebrew word gets used, something personal is grieved.

There’s only one time you can argue this word gets used for something not personal, and it’s not in Isaiah.

The Arm of the Lord: Salvation Personified

As you keep reading, it talks about the Spirit and God’s Arm, being the means by which salvation comes to God’s people. God’s Arm is a term used often in Isaiah for the saviour. It’s swapped out for the Angel here and in other places like that.

The glorious passage of Isaiah 53 for example, where the Arm of the Lord dies for the people and saves them.

In Isaiah 52:10, it says God’s Holy Arm gets made bare before all the people, and the whole earth will see the salvation of God.

That is what leads us into Isaiah 53.

The Trinity in the Old Testament: A Consistent Revelation

The Arm of the Lord is even in the passage we’re talking about now. Isaiah 63 begins with God looking for a Saviour, but He sees no-one.

So God’s Arm brings salvation.

These are only a few passages that show all through the Old Testament, God is one being, but distinct. And only three persons keep showing up, Father, Angel or Son, and Holy Spirit.

They’re called God, do things only God does, and receive worship and praise, in a way only God does too. And this is one reason the Trinity is true. God bless. If you like this, you’ll definitely like my breakdown of John’s vision in Revelation 1.

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