The teaching of the Holy Trinity in the New Testament.

The Trinity of Persons in God was revealed in the New Testament in the coming of the Son

of God and in the sending down of the Holy Spirit. The sending to earth by the Father of God the

Word and the Holy Spirit constitutes the content of all the New Testament writings. Of course,

this manifestation to the world of the Triune God is given here not in a dogmatic formula, but in

an account of the manifestations and deeds of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The manifestation of God in Trinity was accomplished at the Baptism of the Lord Jesus

Christ, which is why this Baptism itself is called the “Theophany” or “manifestation of God.”

The Son of God, having become man, accepted baptism by water; the Father testified of Him;

and the Holy Spirit confirmed the truth spoken by the voice of God by His manifestation in the

form of a dove, as is expressed in the troparion of this Feast: “When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized

in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness

unto Thee, calling Thee the beloved Son; and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed Hisword as sure and steadfast. O Christ our God who hast appeared and enlightened the world, glory

to Thee.”

In the New Testament Scriptures there are expressions concerning the Triune God; and

these in a most condensed but at the same time precise form express the truth of the Trinity:

Matthew 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Of this, St. Ambrose of Milan notes: “The Lord

said, `In the name' and not `in the names,' because God is One. There are not many names; therefore

there are not two gods, and not three gods.”

2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the

communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.”

John 15:26: “But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father,

even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.”

1 John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the

Holy Spirit: and these three are one.” (This verse is missing in the ancient Greek manuscripts

that have been preserved and is present only in Western, Latin manuscripts).

In addition, St. Athanasius the Great interprets as a reference to the Trinity the following

text of the epistle to the Ephesians (4:6): “One God and Father of all, Who is above all (God the

Father), and through all (God the Son), and in you all (God the Holy Spirit).” Indeed, the whole

epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians — especially the first three dogmatical chapters — is

a revelation of the truth of the “Trinitarian economy” of our salvation.