You won’t find the word “trinity” in your Bible—so is the idea of a three-in-one God even biblical?

I’ve been working through the Bible book by book, and every once in a while I’ll come across a clause that mentions all three members of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.

Not one God in three phases. Not three different gods coexisting. One divine being, three offices.

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Credit: Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008. (Logos Bible Software edition)

Here’s a list of single Bible verses that explicitly reference all three members of the Trinity.

Oh, and I better give some credit to Logos Bible Software on this. That tool makes it easy to find verses that refer to some of the Trinity members via pronouns. For example, Matthew 12:28 refers to all three members of the Trinity, but since Jesus is speaking, he is only referred to with the pronoun “I.” Good luck trying to figure this out with a regular concordance!

1. Matthew 3:16

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.”

2. Matthew 12:28

“But if I [Jesus] cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

3. Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . . .”

4. Luke 3:22

“And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him [Jesus] in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My [the Father’s] beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

5. John 14:26

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My [Jesus’] name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

6. John 15:26

“When the Helper comes, whom I [Jesus] will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me . . .”

7. Acts 1:4

 “Gathering them together, He [Jesus] commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me . . .”

8. Acts 2:33

“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Jesus] has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”

9. Acts 10:38

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

10. Romans 1:4

“Who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord . . .”

11. Romans 8:9

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

12. 1 Corinthians 6:11

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

13. 2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

14. Galatians 4:6

Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

15. Ephesians 1:17

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

16. Ephesians 2:18

For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

17. Ephesians 2:22

In whom [Jesus] you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

18. Titus 3:6

Whom [the Holy Spirit] He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

19. Hebrews 9:14

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

20. 1 Peter 1:2

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

(Thanks to Logos Bible Software’s Clause Search, making this list was a lot easier than it looks.)

Of course, there are more passages that mention all three Trinity members (1 Co 12:4–6; Eph 1:13–14; 4:4–6; Jude 20–21), and many more that describe the relationships between the three persons of the Trinity.

You’ll also find a few passages in the Old Testament that mention all members of the Trinity (depending on your interpretation). One example is Isaiah 48:16, in which many believe it is Jesus who says, “and now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.” Many scholars also suggest that the enigmatic “angel of the Lord” we see in the Old Testament is actually Jesus.

Do you wish you knew the Bible better?

The Beginner's Guide to the Bible coverThe Beginner’s Guide to the Bible gives you an overview of what the Bible is, what it’s for, and what it’s all about. You’ll walk away from it with enough knowledge to have a thoughtful conversation about the Bible with a pastor, an atheist, or anyone else.

More about the Trinity

The Trinity is so mysterious and intriguing, you’ll probably never feel like you know enough about it—I certainly won’t. Here are a few places to study more:

Still want more? Good news! Friend, former boss, and meticulous theologian Phil Gons has put together the master reading list on the Trinity.