Is the Trinity in Matthew?
“A true and accurate knowledge of the Trinity is a blessing in and of itself . . . the Trinity is the highest revelation God has made of himself to His people. It is the capstone, the summit, the brightest star in the firmament of divine truths”—The Forgotten Trinity, page 10
“The Gospel according to Matthew . . . no other was so frequently quoted in the noncanonical literature of earliest Christianity”—Preface to Matthew in the New American Bible (NAB)
In a series of similar articles, we examine what is stated concerning God, Jesus, and the holy Spirit in the various books of the New Testament. If the Trinity doctrine is true, then the first gospel, the Gospel of Matthew, should provide numerous evidences of it. Let’s go through it and carefully examine all the pertinent evidence. Is the Trinity in Matthew?
Matthew 1:1,18 – “Jesus the Messiah”. “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.” – NLT. Almighty God is not “the Messiah”.
Matthew 1:23 – Says Jesus would be called “Immanuel” – God is with us (does not mean Jesus is God). Why? The meanings of many Jewish names include “Yahweh” or “God.” The following scriptures help us get a better view of this situation:
God or Yahweh is often imbedded within many Hebrew names. It doesn’t mean any of these men were God, just as the name Immanuel doesn’t mean that Jesus is God Almighty. Yahweh is also embedded within some Biblical place-names, but the place is obviously not “Yahweh”. For example:
“Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means the LORD will provide)”—Genesis 22:14 NLT
“Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means the LORD is my banner)”—Exodus 17:15 NLT
“The perimeter of that city will be six miles, and the name of the city from that day will be: ‘Yahweh Is There'”—Ezekiel 48:35 HCSB
Rather than being named “God”, or “God the Son”, notice what name Jesus was given:
“She will give birth to a son, and YOU ARE TO GIVE HIM THE NAME JESUS”—Matthew 1:21 NIV
Therefore, when the Scriptures are used in context and in harmony with the entire Bible, Matthew 1:23, which states “they will call him Immanuel” (NIV), cannot honestly or Scripturally be used to prove Jesus is God.
Scriptures in Matthew that Show Jesus is not God
Matthew 3:16-17 – “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (NIV). Trinitarians count 1,2,3 here in this verse, and say, here is the Trinity. However, notice that Almighty God calls Jesus “my Son”. Jesus is frequently called “the Son of God”, but he is never called “God the Son,” which is the often-used Trinitarian label that is never used in the Bible. Please also notice that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are in separate locations.
- Jesus is in the water
- Holy Spirit in the form of dove is in the air
- God is in heaven and says, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Therefore, they cannot be the same. Not one aspect of the Trinity dogma is mentioned in Matthew 3:16,17—no equality, no Almightiness, nothing about being eternal.
Matthew 9:2 – “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, child, your sins are forgiven'” (NAB). Jesus forgives sins. (See Acts 5:30-31.) Trinitarians claim this makes Jesus God. Matthew 9:6 says Jesus has authority to forgive sins. “The son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (NAB). The ‘authority to forgive sins’ had been bestowed on Jesus as God’s “representative” (John 5:43 Williams New Testament), obviously. God doesn’t need anyone’s authority. In fact, Matthew 9:8 says, “The crowd . . . praised God for sending a man with such great authority” (NLT 2013 edition). Jesus said, “God sent me” (John 8:42 NIV), so he could not be God.
Matthew 8:14-17 – Healed many. Fulfilled Isaiah 53:4, which is part of the song of Yahweh’s suffering servant. The master here is God, the servant Jesus.
Matthew 8:20 – Jesus frequently calls himself “the Son of Man”. The Bible says that “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19). –
Matthew 13:37 read more
