Is the Trinity doctrine in the book of Colossians? Let’s examine all the verses in this Bible book where God and Jesus are mentioned in relation to each other. Also. let’s look for any references to the holy Spirit, which is said to be the third person of the Trinity. Then, let’s see whether what Bible says agrees with Trinitarianism, or proves it to be false. Notice all the references in this letter to the superior position of Almighty God toward his Son, Jesus Christ, and the subordinate position of Jesus Christ in relation to his heavenly Father.

Colossians 1:1  – “An apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God”  (NIV). Christ is clearly subordinate to God and his will.

Colossians 1:2   – “To the holy ones and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father” (NAB). “God” is clearly stated to be “the Father,” not Christ. Notice the relationship that Christians have—the scripture says they are “brothers in Christ,” but the New Testament also makes clear that they are “sons of God” (Galatians 3:26 ESV). Christ has “brothers” (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11), but no “sons”, whereas God has “sons” (Romans 8:14), but no “brothers”. This clearly places Almighty God in a distinctively superior, and higher, position in relation to Jesus Christ, which eliminates the equality aspect the of Trinity doctrine.

Colossians 1:3 – “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ“. This is a verse that Trinitarians glide right over, because it so plainly contradicts their dogma.The Father is separate and distinct from, and superior to, the Son. “The Lord Jesus Christ” is here clearly presented as having “God the Father” over him. Anyone who has a “God” cannot be God himself. Thus, two major Trinitarian assertions about Jesus are eliminated – the claim that he’s “God”, and the claim he’s equal to the Father. 

Colossians 1:8 – “Epaphras . . . has made known to us your love in the Spirit” (NRSV). This is the only mention in the book of Colossians of the holy Spirit, but it does not provide any evidence that the holy Spirit is not a person, as Trinitarians claim it is. The expression, “love in the Spirit” is actually a clue that the holy Spirit is not a person. The name of a person is not described by the article “the”. We notice in these opening introductory verses of Colossians very clear references to “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” but no references to the holy Spirit being a person, or to the Trinity. If the holy Spirit was actually a person, one who is equal to the Father and Jesus, and the third person of the Trinity, we would expect evidence, but there is none.

Colossians 1:12,13 – “Giving thanks to the Father, who . . . transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (NAB). The Father is obviously the one who is in control, and is the one who effects this transference, because he is “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Anyone who has a “God” cannot be God himself. Thus, two major Trinitarian assertions about Jesus are eliminated – the claim that he’s “God”, and the claim he’s equal to the Father. 

Colossians 1:13,15 – “the Son . . . is the image of the invisible God . . . ” (ESV; NRSV; LSB; NAB). The “image”, by definition, is never the same as, or equal to, the original. If Jesus was God, the text would say so, but instead, it says Jesus is ‘the image of God. To defend their dogma, Trinitarians claim: “In this case, the “image” is visable, the “original” is invisable, otherwise they’re identical.”  The Father is plainly called God many times in the Bible, but he’s never called ‘the image of God’. In contrast, Jesus is called ‘the image of God’ precisely because he’s not God. However, the Greek word “eikon”, translated “image” is used 23 times in the NT, and proves their claim false. A few examples here will illustrate this:

“They handed him a Roman coin. He said to them, ‘Whose image is this . .  .?” (Matthew 22:19, 20 NAB).

“We ought not to think the divinity is like an image” (Acts 17:29 NAB).

“because whom He foreknew, He also foreordained, conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29 Literal Standard Version).

“All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NAB).

An image is obviously never the same as the original.

“Put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10 NAB).

Colossians 1:13,15 – “the Son . . . is . . . the firstborn of all creation” (ESV; NRSV; LSB; NAB). Jesus was “firstborn”, which can never be said of Almighty God, since “Yahweh” has been “God” “from eternity” (Psalm 90:2,13 LSB;NAB). Jesus is referred to as part of creation by being “the firstborn of every creature” (KJV). Therefore, Jesus is a “creature”, which is something that can never be said of Almighty God. Jesus is clearly shown throughout the Bible to have a beginning to his existence. His “origin is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2 NRSV). The Trinity doctrine asserts that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is eternal, but Colossians, and the entire scriptures, both the Old and the New Testaments, prove that idea to be false.

Trinitarians, referring to Colossians 1:15, claim: “The term “firstborn” here is not about chronological birth order but rather signifies preeminence and authority . . . Biblically, this term is used to denote supremacy and priority . . . it underscores Christ’s authority over all creation” (Bible Hub Study Bible). However, if that is true, and the Trinity doctrine is true, why aren’t the Father and the holy Spirit also referred to as “firstborn of all creation”? Biblically, the term “the firstborn of all creation”, is exclusively applied to “the Son”, Jesus Christ. Jesus as wisdom personified, says he was created first. Next we see Biblical examples of how “firstborn” is used in the scriptures.

“Yahweh created me, first-fruits of his fashioning, before the oldest of his works” (Proverbs 8:22 NJB). 

“She gave birth to her firstborn son”—Luke 2:7 LSB

“as it is written in the Law of Yahweh, ‘EVERY FIRSTBORN SON THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO YAHWEH'”—Luke 2:23 LSB margin

“I am Esau your firstborn”—Genesis 27:19

“Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh . . . to the firstborn son of the female slave . .  . and all the firstborn of the cattle”—Exodus 11:5 NIV

“At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundations, at the cost of his youngest, he will put up its gates”—Joshua 6:26 NIV

We do well to stay within the confines of the scriptures themselves, without resorting to “man-made ideas” (Mark 7:7 NLT).

Colossians 1:16 – “Through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth . . . Everything was created through him and for him” (NLT). “God” is presented as being someone other than Christ in this verse. Trinitarians assert that Colossians 1:16 has Jesus as being the Creator. However, by “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 LSB), we can see that is not the case. Jesus is neither the originator, nor the Creator, according to the scriptures. “Yahweh God, the Almighty . . . created all things” (Revelation 4:8,11 LSB margin). The scriptures make clear that “God created everything . . . through him,” that is, Jesus Christ. “Christ . . . is preeminent and supreme as God’s agent in the creation of all things” (NAB note on Colossians 1:16).

Colossians 1:18 – “The firstborn from the dead”. Jesus was the very first one to receive a permanent resurrection, that is, to heaven. The fact that “God has resurrected this Jesus” “from the dead” (Acts 2:32 HCSB; 13:34), in, and of, itself, proves his superiority to Jesus (John 14:28). Additionally, since “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), whereas “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Jesus Christ cannot be Yahweh God.

Colossians 1:19 – “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (NIV). Since “God” put “all his fullness in” Christ, Christ cannot be God.  This verse shows that God the Father, not Jesus, not the holy Spirit, or the Trinity, is the one who is in total control, by putting “all his fullness in” Christ. Jesus is shown to be an entirely separate person. If Jesus was God from eternity, God would not need to put all his fullness in him, because he would already have it. If God was a Trinity, as Trinitarians claim, then their Trinity God (who is 3) puts his fullness in Christ (who is 1), and therefore, in this scenario, we would have 3 + 1 =4, which makes no sense.

Colossians 1:20,21,23,27,28 – “Through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made with everything . . . by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God . . . now he has reconciled you to  himself through the death of Christ . . . As a result, he has brought you into his own presence. God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too . . . So we tell others about Christ . . . we want to present them to God” (NLT). God, the one who is in control, uses Christ to ‘reconcile’, or bring to himself “everything”. How? God, the one in charge, uses his agent “representative”, Christ (John 5:43 WNT), to ‘make peace’ by ‘using Christ’s sacrifice’ as the basis for “peace”. These scriptures emphasize for us the fact that “God” is not only not ‘Christ’, but is “greater than” Christ (John 14:28), and that he and Christ are entirely separate and distinct individuals, not of the same “being”, “essence”, or “substance”. Additionally, since “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), whereas “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), Jesus Christ cannot be Yahweh God.

Colossians 2:2 – “And grasp God’s secret, which is Christ himself” (REB). The “mystery”, or “God’s secret”, “is “Christ himself”, giving evidence of their separateness and distinctiveness. Also, notice: “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (Colossians 2:2 NIV). Contrary to Trinitarian teaching, which asserts that God remains mysterious and unknowable – even for Christians – we are told that we, as Christians, can “have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ”. Knowing what the Bible actually says protects us from false doctrines and teachings, such as the Trinity.

Colossians 2:9 – “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ” (CSB). “In him, in bodily form, lives divinity in all its fullness” (Colossians 2:9 NJB). “For the full content of divine nature lives in Christ, in his humanity” (Colossians 2:9 GNB).  However, Trinitarians often like to use a translation like this, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9 NKJV); and assert that this means that Jesus is Almighty God. But, “Godhead” is not an accurate translation of the Greek word Θεότητος (Theotētos). The word is more accurately translated as “God’s nature”, “divinity” or “divine nature”. If Jesus was actually Almighty God, why would Paul even need to make this statement? Why would someone who’s been eternally “fully God”, a term Trinitarians like to use,  need to be filled with all of God’s fullness? — Jesus, in that case, would, by definition, already have all of God’s “fullness”!!! He couldn’t get any more of it. But there’s even more to consider, as we will see next. “He has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through these you may come to share in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4 NAB). Christians also share in the “divine nature.” These facts clearly show that having God’s “fullness” and “divine nature” do not make one God.

Colossians 2:10 – “In Christ you have been brought to fullness” (NIV). If Christ’s having God’s “fullness” makes him to be God, as Trinitarians claim, then Christians, who are shown here to have God’s ‘fullness in Christ,’ would be God also! How ridiculous! This scripture illustrates the ridiculousness of Trinitarian claims.

Colossians 2:12 – “God, who raised him from the dead” (NIV). Trinitarians claim that Jesus Christ is God. How preposterous that idea is, we can see from this verse of scripture. “God” is the one who “resurrected” “this Jesus” (Acts 2:32 HCSB), which shows us that “God” is someone other than Christ. Almighty “God” who “never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), resurrected Jesus, who was “was dead” (Revelation 1:18), not the other way around. Jesus died, which means he can’t be God, because “Christ died” (1 Corinthians 15:3), whereas “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB).

Colossians 3:1 – “Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (NAB). Trinitarians claim “the Son is God”. Notice that Jesus Christ, here in this word picture, “is seated at the right hand of God“. “God” is thus shown to be someone other than Christ. Yes, he’s close to God, but he is obviously separate from God. While Jesus is honored with the highest position in existence next to his Father, he is obviously not Almighty God, since he sits next to him, at the most favored position, God’s right hand. John says his gospel account was written to prove that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). Where is the holy Spirit in this word picture, if it is the third person of the Trinity? The fact is that it’s absent, a clue that it’s not a person. Although the holy Spirit is real, in the scriptures, it’s not a person, nor is it part of any so-called Trinity.

Colossians 3:17 – “Do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (NIV). Once again, “God” is clearly stated to be the Father, and is presented as being someone other than Jesus. By going “through” Jesus, praying to the Father, shows Jesus’ important role in our relationship with the Supreme being, Almighty God the Father, but also makes it obvious that “the Lord Jesus” is not God.

Colossians 4:3 – “That God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah” (HCSB). This shows God’s complete control of all matters, which means “the Father is greater than” Christ (John 14:28). It is also notable that Jesus is referred to as “the Messiah”, whereas God never is. “Our God” has “his Messiah” (Revelation 12:10 NIV).

Is the Trinity doctrine  in the book of Colossians? Colossians eliminates the equality aspect of the Trinity doctrine, as well as the claims that Jesus Christ and the holy Spirit are Almighty God, by showing the impossibility of such assertions. Therefore, the Trinity is not in Colossians!