The Bible Answers Short Questions From Our Readers - Plain Truth Staff - October 1953

Plain Truth Staff

Question: Please Explain I John 5:7, Regarding the Trinity Answer: This verse reads: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one." This verse, which we find in the King James version of the Bible, but which does not appear in most other translations, is often used to support the doctrine of the trinity in the Godhead. The major question is not the meaning of the verse but whether the verse should be in the Bible at all. Let's consider some of the well-known Bible scholars on this text. According to the Critical and Experimental Commentary this verse is not found in any of the old manuscripts of the Bible and was not found in the manuscripts of the Vulgate until the eighth century. Again, in Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, we find this statement: "It is likely this verse is not genuine.... - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library