I have been trying in other forums to get anyone to answer straightly if the can work the Trinity doctrine into these passages in a truthful Biblical way:
Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD."
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me
there is no saviour.
Isaiah 44:6 "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
Isaiah 45:5 "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me."
Isaiah 45:21-22 "Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."
Deuteronomy 4:35 "Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him."
...
1 Kings 8:60 "That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else."
2 Samuel 7:22 "Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears."
1 Chronicles 17:20 "O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears."
Hosea 13:4 "Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is
no saviour beside me."
Mark 12:29 "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord."
Mark 12:32 "And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he."
John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
Romans 3:30 "Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith."
1 Corinthians 8:4 "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one."
1 Corinthians 8:6 "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
Galatians 3:20 "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one."
Ephesians 4:6 "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
It isn't about whether or not we can "work the Trinity doctrine
into these passages in a truthful Biblical way," but rather understanding what those passages are saying in relation to the Trinity. Those are all passages which speak of monotheism. If someone were to suggest that they contradict the Trinity, that would be what I was referring to--conflating passages speaking of monotheism with those of the nature of God, that is, how he exists in and of himself. Although, there are a few verses in there that need addressing since they aren't taking context into account and actually contradict unitarianism.
But, first, consider what Paul writes to Titus:
Tit 1:3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of
God our Savior;
Tit 1:4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Savior.
Tit 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of
God our Savior.
...
Tit 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Tit 3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of
God our Savior appeared,
Tit 3:5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the
Holy Spirit,
Tit 3:6 whom he poured out on us richly through
Jesus Christ our Savior,
So, as the OT states, God is the Saviour, which Paul reiterates. Yet, in the same breath he calls both God and Jesus our Saviour. Just something to think about.
In getting back to all your verses, we must look at three foundations of the doctrine of the Trinity. The first is monotheism--there was, is, and ever will be only one being that is God. The second is that there are three divine persons. The third foundation is that the persons are coequal and coeternal. There are numerous passages to support each of those foundations, which is, of course, precisely why they are foundational.
Looking at John 17:3, it must first be noted that it does not preclude Jesus from also being truly God. Jesus, as the Son incarnate, is upholding monotheism and acknowledging his submission to the Father. Second, notice that eternal life is found in knowing
both the Father
and the Son.
Third, we see just two verses later:
Joh 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with
the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (ESV)
But, what did Yahweh say?
Isa 48:11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another. (ESV)
Is Jesus contradicting what Yahweh said? Let's first look at something John said:
Joh 12:36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
Joh 12:37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,
Joh 12:38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Joh 12:39 Therefore they could not believe. For again
Isaiah said,
Joh 12:40 “
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”
Joh 12:41
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. (ESV)
Who does John say Isaiah saw in "his glory and spoke of him"? Clearly, John is meaning that Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus, or rather, the Son. Looking at the context of what Isaiah was talking about:
Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Isa 6:3 And one called to another and said: “
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Isa 6:4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isa 6:5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
…
Isa 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Isa 6:9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and
blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (ESV)
So, who did Isaiah actually see? He saw Yahweh in all his glory. Once again, John supports what he said in John 1:1--that the Word was in intimate, interpersonal relationship with God for all eternity past, meaning that the Word is also God in nature.
Throughout the entire book of John, from beginning to end, there is one consistent message about who Jesus, the Son of God, is--God in human flesh, both truly man and truly God, who, in becoming flesh subjected himself to the will of the Father for our salvation and the redemption of creation.
