As part of our series about what is stated in the Bible concerning whether God, Jesus and the holy Spirit are a Trinity in the various books of the New Testament, this article examines the book of Galatians.

Galatians was possibly the earliest book of the New Testament that was written, and focuses on correct Christian doctrine. Was the Trinity part of Christian doctrine discussed in Galatians? Is any aspect of the Trinity doctrine mentioned in the book?

Galatians 1:1 – “Through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead” (NAB). – God is shown to be the Father. Jesus is not referred to as God. God and Jesus are revealed to be two separate and distinct individuals – the superior, God, resurrects the lesser one, Jesus, from the dead. “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). Therefore, Jesus cannot be Almighty God.

Galatians 1:3 – “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (NAB).  – Two separate and distinct individuals, namely “God our Father” and “Jesus Christ,” are mentioned, but there is no mention of the holy Spirit. Why not? If the holy Spirit is the third part of a Trinity “Godhead,” as Trinitarians assert, it should have been mentioned here in these greetings. Why are there no greetings from the Trinity?

Galatians 1:4 – “…who gave himself for our sins… according to the will of our God and Father.” – Jesus’ willing sacrificial death was according to his Father’s “will,” which shows Jesus to be the subordinate to his “Father” who “is greater” (John 1:14).

Galatians 1:6 – “You are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ” (NIV). – God and Christ are presented as two different people, with God, the superior, doing the calling. God is clearly shown to be someone other than Christ.

Galatians 1:15-16 – “God… set me apart… was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles.” (NAB) – God reveals his Son Jesus to Paul, and uses Paul to “proclaim him to the Gentiles”. God, not Christ is shown to be the one who is in control.

Galatians 3:16-18 – “To your seed, who is Christ… God granted it to Abraham through the promise.” – God gave Abraham the promise that through his seed (Christ), all nations will be blessed. God is shown to be someone other than “your seed, who is Christ.”

Galatians 3:21-22 – “God’s promises… the promise by faith in Jesus Christ.” – God’s promises are available to people who have faith in Jesus Christ. God is the giver; Jesus is the object. Obviously, Jesus, the object, is not equal to God, the giver of the promise, and is cannot be God.

Galatians 3:26 – “You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” – Christians become “sons of God” by faith in Jesus Christ. They are never referred to anywhere in the Bible as “sons of Jesus”. God has “sons” (Revelation 21:5-7), but has  no “brothers.” Jesus has “brothers” (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11), but has no “sons.” Thus, there is no equality between God and Jesus, and Jesus is cannot be God.

Galatians 4:4 – “God sent his Son.” – The greater one, God, sends the lesser one, his Son. According to this verse, “God” is someone other than his Son. Without Jesus being God, and without equality, two vital pillars of the doctrine, the Trinity doctrine collapses.

Galatians 4:6 – “As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!'” (NAB). This statement confirms the chain of command and action, namely, that God sends the holy Spirit through his Son, Jesus. It provides no evidence that the holy Spirit is a person, as Trinitarians like to assert. Some other scriptural evidence indicating the holy Spirit is not a person, by its being sent or given:  “The holy Spirit that God gives to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32 NAB). Jesus “received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth” (Acts 2:33 NAB). “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5 NAB). Without the holy Spirit being a person, which is another vital pillar of the doctrine, the Trinity doctrine collapses.

Since the book of Galatians reveals the holy Spirit is not a person, there can be no ‘Trinity of persons’ in the so-called “Godhead.” Galatians also shows that God is someone other than his Son, and that there is no equality between God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, which debunks the Trinitarian claim of equality. Galatians thus removes three of the main “pillars” of the Trinity doctrine.