This article continues our series about what is stated concerning God, Jesus and the holy Spirit, and whether they comprise a Trinity, in the various books of the New Testament. This article examines whether the Trinity was taught or preached the book of Acts of the Apostles.

Jesus had foretold that, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit which the Father will send in my place, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you (John 14:26 AAT). “The Helper, the Holy Spirit” would “guide [them] into all the truth” (John 16:13 NIV). Acts records for us how this was done, by documenting the spread of Christianity during its first three decades, including its beginning, when the holy Spirit was “poured out” (Acts 2:33). If the Trinity doctrine is true, then it should be evident in the book of Acts.

Acts 1:4 – “Wait for the Father’s promise.” – The Father is in control.

Acts 1:7 – “Not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” – Jesus said his Father is in control, who operates entirely “by his own authority,” without the involvement of a Trinity ‘godhead.’.

Acts 1:8 – “You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you” (NAB). The language “comes upon you” is not appropriate when referring to a person, so this gives evidence the holy Spirit is not a person.

Acts 2:17 – “I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh” (NAB). This verse provides very strong evidence that the holy Spirit is not a person, because “a portion” of a person cannot be ‘poured out.’

Acts 2:22 – “This Jesus… was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him.” – Jesus was used by God, who is the superior one. Notice that “God” is not “Jesus,” who is “accredited by God to you” (NIV), and that “God did” the miracles “through” Jesus.

Acts 2:23 – “He was delivered up according to God’s determined plan.” – God decided what Jesus would do.

Acts 2:24 – “God raised him up.” – Jesus died; God didn’t. “Yahweh . . . God never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), whereas Jesus was “dead” (Revelation 1:18).

Acts 2:30 – “God had sworn to seat one of his descendants  on his throne.” – God controlled.

Acts 2:31 – “The resurrection of the Messiah” – by God, who did not die.

Acts 2:32 – “God has resurrected this Jesus.” – Jesus was dead, God is always alive, “never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB)..

Acts 2:33 – “Exalted to the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you both see and hear” (NAB).  Jesus is shown to be subservient to God, his Father, by being at God’s right hand. Additionally, the holy Spirit is called “it,” which proves it is no a person.

Acts 2:34 – “The Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand.” – Jesus is at God’s right hand of favor; God is in control.

Acts 2:36 – “God has made this Jesus both Lord and Messiah.” – God the Father decided and granted Jesus Lordship and Messiahship. Jesus had neither “from eternity,” as Trinitarians like to claim.

Acts 3:13 – “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob . . . has glorified his servant Jesus.” (NIV) – God gave glory to His servant, Jesus. Jesus cannot be God because he is GOD’S “SERVANT.” God’s “servant” cannot be God! What is interesting about this is that in Exodus 3:15, “God further said to Moses, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:15 NJB). Almighty God has “his servant Jesus”. As Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I am” (John 14:28 GWT; ISV; NET). Thus, there is no equality between Jesus and his Father, so Jesus cannot be Almighty God, as Trinitarians claim.

Acts 3:15 – “You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead.” – Jesus died, but God had the power to bring him back to life.

Acts 3:18 – “What God predicted through all his prophets – that his Messiah would suffer.” – God’s Messiah for people.

Acts 3:20 – “He may send Jesus , who has been appointed Messiah.” – CSB – God decided to send Jesus.

Acts 3:21 – “Whom heaven must keep till the universal restoration comes which God proclaimed.” – NJB – God controlled.

Acts 3:22 – “The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me.” – Jesus is called a prophet. God is not a prophet.

Acts 3:26 – “God raised up his servant and sent him . . . ” (NAB) – God did not die, Jesus did (Revelation 1:18). God cannot die (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV). Jesus is God’s “servant”, so he cannot be God.

Acts 4:1,2 – “The priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees. They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus” (NJB) – Jesus had been “dead” (Revelation 1:18). In contrast, “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). Jesus could not be God. Notice, too, what these staunchly non-Trinitarian Jews were so upset about – ‘teaching the resurrection from the dead.’ Nothing is ever said about the early Christian disciples teaching the Trinity. Why? – Because they never believed or taught any Trinity.

Acts 4:10 – “by the name of Jesus Christ… whom God raised from the dead.” – God was alive, Jesus was dead. “God” brought “Jesus” back to life.” So, who is more powerful?

Acts 4:26 – “against the Lord and against His Messiah.” – CSB – Jesus is referred to as God’s Messiah to the world.

Acts 4:27 – “your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.” – Jesus served God and still does. As noted above, Jesus is God’s “servant,” not God.

Acts 4:30 – “You stretch out your hand . . . through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” – A servant is inferior to his Master.

Acts 5:3,4 – “Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you lied to the holy Spirit . . . ? ‘ . . . you have lied not to human beings, but to God'” (NAB). Trinitarians present these verses as “proof” that the holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity. But they do no such thing. These scriptures equate lying to the holy Spirit with lying to God. Here the holy Spirit means the power and authority that God invested in Peter. Those who lie to the Apostles are lying to God and the holy Spirit, which represents God. This point is emphasized by Paul’s comment: “Whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:8 NAB). This is also similar to Matthew 1:18,20 where it is mentioned by God’s angel that Mary would conceive Jesus “through the holy Spirit” (NAB). God operates “through the holy Spirit” but that doesn’t make the holy Spirit God.

Acts 5:30 – “God raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.” – CSB – Jesus did not resurrect himself, God did. In fact, “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB).

Acts 5:31 – “God exalted this man to His right hand as ruler and Savior.” – CSB – Jesus’ exaltation came from God, not himself.

Acts 5:32 – “We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (NIV). Many translations render this verse in a biased way (“whom”) to make it appear that the holy Spirit is a person. Accurately translated, the verse reads, “We are witnesses of this things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him” (NAB). In any case, as mentioned above, God operates through the holy Spirit.

Acts 5:42 – “Proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (NIV) – not proclaiming Jesus is God. If Jesus is God or part of a Trinity, why did the early Christians not preach it? — Because there is no Trinity doctrine in the Acts of the Apostles.

Acts 7:37 – “God will raise up for you a prophet like me.” – God used Jesus as His prophet. God uses prophets.

Acts 7:55 – “He saw God’s glory with Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” – God and Jesus are separate and distinct.

Acts 7:56 – “I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” – Son of Man is obviously not God. Also, being, “at the right hand of God,” means he can’t be God.

Acts 8:12 – “He proclaimed the good news about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” – Separate and distinct.

Acts 8:29 – “The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go and join up with that chariot'” (NAB). Trinitarians claim that here, when the scripture refers to the Spirit speaking, that means the holy Spirit is a person. We notice, however, that three verses earlier, it is reported that “the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip” (Acts 8:26), but that doesn’t mean the angels is God. In fact, the Bible is replete with examples of God speaking through angels (Genesis 16:7,9,11). The angel, representing God, apparently spoke by means of the holy Spirit.

Acts 9:20 – “He began preaching in the synagogues, Jesus is the Son of God.” – Not preaching the Trinitarian “God the Son,” an expression never used in the Bible.

Acts 9:22 – “by proving that Jesus was the Christ.” – CSB; NJB – Jesus was Christ, not God.

Acts 10:19,20 – “As Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said [to him], ‘There are three men here looking for you. So get up, go downstairs, and accompany the without hesitation, because I have sent them” (NAB). Because the Spirit is said to speak, Trinitarians claim that makes it a person. However, Jesus had foretold that, “the Helper, the holy Spirit which the Father will send in my place, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you” (John 14:26 AAT). The Father used his holy Spirit to teach Peter about the new covenant and the change of how God was dealing with people. The Spirit was used as God’s instrument, but that doesn’t make it a person. God spoke to Peter through it.

Acts 10:38 – “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and with power” (NAB).  – God anointed and empowered Jesus. The holy Spirit is qualified by the definite article “the,” which indicates that it is not a person. The holy Spirit is God’s way of empowering his people to do his will. The fact that the holy Spirit is not a person, but is God’s power, provides us with strong proof that the Trinity is a ‘false doctrine,’ and that the Trinity doctrine is not found in Acts.

Acts 10:39 – “They killed him (Jesus).” – Jesus died, God remained alive. “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB). The fact that Jesus died proves the Trinity doctrine is not in Acts.

Acts 10:40 – “God raised this man on the third day.” – God brought the “dead” (Revelation 1:18) Jesus back to life. “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), so Jesus cannot be God. Jesus was “a man” (John 8:40), whereas, “God is not a man” (Numbers 23:19), so Jesus cannot be God. The facts that Jesus was not eternal, and was a man, prove that he is not God, and that the Trinity is contradicted by the book of Acts.

Acts 10:41 – “Witnesses appointed by God ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” – God was in control.

Acts 10:42 – “to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.” – God decided what Jesus would do.

Acts 11:17 – “If God gave them the same gift he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.” – The holy Spirit originated with God, and was given by God.

Acts 13:2 – “The holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabus and Saul for the work in which I have called them'” (NAB). Trinitarians claim this proves the holy Spirit is a person. However, God speaks “through the holy Spirit,” just as he had the virgin Mary to conceive, “through the holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18,20 NAB). “The impulse for the first missionary effort in Asia Minor is ascribed to the prophets of the Antiochene community, under the inspiration of the holy Spirit” (NAB footnote on Acts 13:1-3).

Acts 13:23 – “From this man’s descendants… God brought forth the Savior, Jesus.” – God brings Jesus into the human realm.

Acts 13:30 – “God raised him from the dead.” – God is shown to be superior by resurrecting Jesus from the dead. “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), so Jesus cannot be God.

Acts 13:33 – “God has fulfilled this by raising up Jesus.” – God, the decider and controller. “You are my Son – today I have become your Father.”

Acts 13:34 – “Since he raised him from the dead.” – the greater resurrected the lesser.

Acts 13:35 – “You will not allow your Holy One to decay.” – They knew God was in control, not Jesus.

Acts 13:37 – “The One whom God raised up did not decay.” – God is obviously more powerful. Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18). 

Acts 16:6,7 – “They had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on in to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (NAB). Trinitarians claim that this gives evidence the holy Spirit is a person. This is similar to Acts 5:32, which says, “We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him” (NAB). God operates through the holy Spirit and Jesus. By saying “that God has given,” it is evident the holy Spirit is not a person.

Acts 17:3 – “showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. This is the Messiah, Jesus.” – Obviously not God, or even God the Son.

Acts 17:31 – “He will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” – NIV – God APPOINTED Jesus to judge the world. God will judge through Jesus – two people. God resurrected the dead Jesus. This indicates that God and Jesus are two entirely separate and distinct people.

Acts 18:28 – “Proving from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah,” – The Messiah is not God.

Acts 20:21 – “must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” – God and Jesus are shown to be entirely two separate and distinct people.

Acts 20:24 – “Complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” – God and Jesus are both mentioned, with no reference to the Trinity, here or anywhere in Acts, because the Trinity doctrine is not in Acts..

Acts 20:28 – “Shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son” (NRSV). Many translations render the Greek as, “he bought with his own blood,” as though Jesus is God and shed his blood. Of course, “God is spirit” (John 4:24 NIV), and spirits do not have blood (1 Corinthians 15:50).

Acts 22:14 – “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.” – God and Jesus are different, separate and distinct.

Acts 25:19 – “A dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.” – Obviously not Jesus is not God, because “Yahweh . . . God . . . never dies” (Habakkuk 1:12 NJB), whereas Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18).

Acts 26:9 – “Jesus the Nazarene.” – Why is he not called God? – Because he is not God.

Acts 28:23 – “He tried to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.” – Why did he only try to persuade them about Jesus and not God? – Because they already believed in God, but not Jesus as anyone special.

We have examined the entire book of Acts and found that the Trinity doctrine is not only not in Acts, it is contradicted by the Acts of the Apostles.