Understanding the Trinity: How Finis Dake Contradicts 2,000 Years of Christian Faith

1. Introduction: Why This Matters to Every Christian

Imagine you’ve been married for twenty years. You think you know your spouse inside and out. Then one day, you discover that the person you’ve been living with isn’t who you thought they were at all. Everything you believed about them was wrong. How would that change your relationship? How would it affect your trust, your love, your entire life together?

This is exactly what happens when we get the doctrine of the Trinity wrong. The Trinity isn’t just some complicated theological idea that professors debate in seminaries. It’s about who God really is. And if we get it wrong, we’re not just making a theological mistake—we’re worshipping a different god entirely.

Finis Dake, through his popular study Bible and writings, has taught millions of Christians a view of God that contradicts what the church has believed for 2,000 years. His teaching doesn’t just tweak our understanding of the Trinity—it completely redefines who God is. Instead of one God in three persons, Dake teaches three separate gods who work together like a committee. This might sound like a small difference, but it changes everything about how we understand God, how we worship, and how we relate to Him.

In this expanded report, we’ll carefully examine what Dake taught, compare it with what Christians have always believed, and most importantly, see what the Bible itself says. We’ll use simple language and clear examples, because every Christian—not just theologians—needs to understand these truths. After all, Jesus said that eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3). We can’t afford to get this wrong.

As we go through this journey together, you might find some of these ideas challenging. That’s okay. The Trinity has always been a mystery that pushes our minds to their limits. But it’s a mystery revealed in Scripture, not a contradiction or an impossibility. The difference between mystery and error is crucial: a mystery is something true that we can’t fully understand, while an error is something false that contradicts what God has revealed.

Let’s begin by understanding who Finis Dake was and why his teachings have had such a wide impact on the church.

2. Who Was Finis Dake? Understanding the Man Behind the Bible

To understand why Dake’s teachings matter, we need to know something about the man himself. Finis Jennings Dake wasn’t just another Bible teacher—he was a phenomenon in the Pentecostal world. Born in 1902 in Missouri, Dake claimed he had a supernatural experience at age seven that gave him the ability to quote entire chapters of the Bible from memory.¹

Think about that for a moment. Imagine a seven-year-old child suddenly able to recite Scripture perfectly, word for word. It’s the kind of story that captures people’s imagination and makes them pay attention. Whether this actually happened or not, it became part of Dake’s identity and gave him credibility in circles that valued supernatural experiences.

Dake became a Pentecostal minister and spent decades studying the Bible. He claimed to have read it through dozens of times and to have spent over 100,000 hours in Bible study. That’s more than eleven years of continuous study, twenty-four hours a day! These numbers might be exaggerated, but there’s no doubt Dake was deeply committed to studying Scripture.

In 1963, Dake published what would become his legacy: the Dake Annotated Reference Bible. This wasn’t just another study Bible with a few notes. It was massive—containing over 35,000 notes, 8,000 sermon outlines, and countless cross-references. For many Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians, it became the study Bible. Even today, you’ll find it in Christian bookstores and on the shelves of pastors and Bible teachers around the world.

But here’s where things get complicated. Dake wasn’t formally trained in theology. He didn’t know Greek or Hebrew, the original languages of the Bible. He relied entirely on the King James Version and his own reasoning. This isn’t necessarily bad—God can use anyone, educated or not. But when someone starts teaching new ideas about fundamental doctrines like the Trinity, without the tools to check their interpretations against the original languages or the history of Christian thought, problems arise.

Dake was also a controversial figure in other ways. In 1937, he was convicted of violating the Mann Act (transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes) and spent six months in prison. He always maintained his innocence, saying he was just helping a young woman escape a bad situation. Later in life, his racial views—he taught that segregation would continue in heaven—caused further controversy.²

But it’s his teaching about God that concerns us most. Hidden among the helpful outlines and extensive cross-references in his study Bible are notes that completely redefine who God is. Many people using the Dake Bible focus on the helpful parts and skip over the theological notes. But for those who read them and accept them, the impact is profound.

Dake didn’t see himself as teaching anything new. In fact, he often claimed he was just teaching what the Bible “plainly” said. He would argue that everyone else was reading complicated theology into simple biblical statements. If the Bible says God has hands, then God has hands. If it mentions three persons, then there are three separate persons. This kind of “plain reading” sounds appealing, especially to people who are suspicious of theological complexity.

But as we’ll see, this approach led Dake far from what Christians have always believed—and more importantly, from what the Bible actually teaches when read carefully and in context. Sometimes the “plain” meaning isn’t the right meaning, especially when dealing with infinite realities that human language can only approximate.

3. The Trinity: What Christians Have Always Believed

Before we dive into what Dake got wrong, let’s make sure we understand what Christians have always believed about the Trinity. This isn’t just dusty theology—it’s the heart of our faith. Every time we pray, worship, or read our Bibles, our understanding of the Trinity shapes that experience.

The word “Trinity” isn’t in the Bible. Dake loved to point this out, and he was right. But lots of important words aren’t in the Bible—like “Bible” itself! The question isn’t whether a word appears in Scripture, but whether the concept it describes is taught there. And the Trinity is taught on nearly every page.

The Basic Truth: One What, Three Whos

Here’s the simplest way to understand the Trinity: God is one “what” and three “whos.” There is one divine essence or nature (what God is), and three persons who fully possess that nature (who God is). Think of it this way:

• The Father is fully God
• The Son is fully God
• The Holy Spirit is fully God
• Yet there is only one God, not three

This isn’t a contradiction—it would only be contradictory if we said God is one person and three persons at the same time. But we’re not saying that. We’re saying God is one in essence and three in person. One “what,” three “whos.”

Why the Trinity Matters

You might wonder why this matters so much. Can’t we just love Jesus and not worry about theological details? The answer is no, and here’s why:

1. The Trinity reveals God’s nature as love. Love requires relationship. A god who exists alone for eternity cannot be essentially loving—he would have no one to love. But the triune God has existed eternally in a perfect relationship of love between Father, Son, and Spirit. “God is love” (1 John 4:8) isn’t just a nice saying—it’s only possible because God is Trinity.

2. The Trinity makes salvation possible. Our salvation involves all three persons: the Father plans it, the Son accomplishes it, and the Spirit applies it. If they were three separate gods, they might have different plans or work at cross-purposes. But because they are one God, our salvation is secure.

3. The Trinity shapes our worship. We pray to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. Christian worship has always been Trinitarian. That’s why we baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)—one name, three persons.

Common Misunderstandings

Before we look at Dake’s errors, let’s clear up some common misunderstandings about the Trinity that even well-meaning Christians sometimes have:

Wrong: The Trinity is like water—ice, liquid, and steam.
This is called “modalism”—the idea that God just appears in different modes. But the Father, Son, and Spirit exist simultaneously, not as different states of the same thing. At Jesus’s baptism, all three were present at once (Matthew 3:16-17).

Wrong: The Trinity is like a man who is a father, son, and employee.
This is also modalism. One person playing three roles isn’t the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons, not just different roles God plays.

Wrong: The Trinity is like a three-leaf clover.
This is “partialism”—the idea that each person is only part of God. But each person of the Trinity is fully God, not one-third of God.

Wrong: The Trinity is like three men who agree perfectly.
This is “tritheism”—belief in three gods. And this is exactly where Dake went wrong. He turned the Trinity into a committee of three separate divine beings.

The Biblical Foundation

The Trinity isn’t philosophical speculation—it’s biblical revelation. The early Christians didn’t sit around trying to make Christianity more complicated. They were trying to be faithful to everything Scripture teaches. Let’s look at the key biblical foundations:

There is only one God: This is the foundation of biblical faith. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). This truth appears hundreds of times throughout Scripture. Isaiah 45:5 couldn’t be clearer: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.”

Yet three persons are called God: The Father is obviously God (1 Corinthians 8:6). But Jesus is also called God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Thomas worshipped Jesus saying, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28), and Jesus accepted this worship. The Holy Spirit is also God—lying to the Spirit is lying to God (Acts 5:3-4).

These three are distinct persons: Jesus prays to the Father, so they must be distinct. The Father sends the Son and the Spirit. The Spirit intercedes for us with the Father. They have different roles while sharing the same nature.

Put these truths together, and you get the Trinity: one God in three persons. It’s not a contradiction—it’s a mystery that makes sense of all the biblical data.

4. Dake’s Version: Three Gods Instead of One

Now we come to the heart of the problem. Finis Dake didn’t just misunderstand some minor detail about the Trinity—he completely redefined it. And he did so while using the word “Trinity,” which makes his teaching especially dangerous. It’s like someone selling you a car but delivering a bicycle. They might both have wheels, but they’re fundamentally different things.

Let’s look at exactly what Dake taught, using his own words. Remember, these aren’t obscure statements from personal letters or sermons. These are printed in his study Bible, which has been read by millions of Christians.

Dake’s Fundamental Error

In his note on Genesis 1:1, Dake writes:

“Elohim, translated ‘God’ over 2,500 times, means ‘Gods’ or ‘three or more.’ It is used of the three persons of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three separate and distinct persons…”

– Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, Note on Genesis 1:1

Notice what’s happening here. Dake takes the Hebrew word “Elohim,” which is indeed plural in form, and concludes it must mean there are multiple Gods. This is like saying “the United States are” instead of “the United States is.” The plural form doesn’t necessarily indicate multiple entities—it can indicate majesty or completeness.

But Dake goes much further. He explicitly teaches that the three persons of the Godhead are “separate and distinct persons” in the same way human beings are separate from each other:

“What we mean by Divine Trinity is that there are three separate and distinct persons in the Godhead, each one having His own personal spirit body, personal soul, and personal spirit in the same sense that each human being, angel, or any other being has his own body, soul, and spirit.”³

– Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, Note on Matthew 3:16-17

Read that again carefully. Dake isn’t saying the three persons are distinct (which is orthodox). He’s saying they’re separate—as separate as you and I are from each other. In his system, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three individual divine beings who happen to work together perfectly.

The Committee God

To understand how radical Dake’s departure is, imagine a business partnership. Three people start a company together. They have the same goals, work in perfect harmony, and never disagree. To the outside world, they might seem like one unit. But they’re still three separate people with three separate bank accounts, three separate homes, and three separate lives.

This is essentially Dake’s Trinity—a divine partnership or committee. He writes:

“The word ‘one’ is used in the sense of unity, not in the sense of number. The three persons of the Godhead are one in unity, purpose, and work, but they are three separate and distinct persons.”⁴

– God’s Plan for Man, p. 27

But this completely changes the meaning of biblical monotheism. When the Bible says God is one, it doesn’t just mean the divine persons work together well. It means there is only one divine being. Dake has replaced monotheism (one God) with tritheism (three Gods).

Why This Is So Serious

You might think, “What’s the big deal? As long as we believe in the Father, Son, and Spirit, does it matter if they’re one being or three beings working together?” Yes, it matters enormously. Here’s why:

1. It contradicts the most basic biblical truth. The foundation of biblical faith is that there is only one God. This is repeated hundreds of times in Scripture. God doesn’t say, “I am the only God in this group” or “We are the only Gods.” He says, “I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22).

2. It makes Christianity polytheistic. If Dake is right, Christians believe in three Gods, not one. We would be polytheists, just like the pagans who worship multiple deities. The only difference would be that our three Gods get along better than the Greek or Roman gods did.

3. It destroys the uniqueness of God. In Dake’s system, what makes God special isn’t His unique divine nature, but simply that He’s bigger and better than us. It’s a difference of degree, not kind. But the Bible teaches that God is wholly other—not just a bigger version of created beings.

How Dake Justifies His View

Dake wasn’t stupid. He knew his view sounded like polytheism, so he tried to defend it. His main arguments were:

1. “The word Trinity means three.” Dake argued that since “tri” means three, the Trinity must mean three separate beings. But this is like saying a tricycle is three separate bicycles working together. The “tri” in Trinity refers to three persons, not three Gods.

2. “The Bible uses plural pronouns for God.” When God says, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26), Dake sees evidence of multiple Gods talking to each other. But this is the plural of majesty (like the royal “we”) or an intra-Trinitarian conversation, not a committee meeting of separate deities.

3. “Jesus prayed to the Father, so they must be separate.” This confuses “distinct” with “separate.” Yes, the Son and Father are distinct persons who can communicate. But they’re not separate beings. They share the same divine essence while maintaining personal distinctions.

The Real-World Impact

This isn’t just theological hairsplitting. Dake’s view has real consequences for ordinary Christians:

When we believe in three separate Gods instead of one, it affects everything:

• Our worship becomes confused. Are we worshipping one God or three? Should we pray to all three separately?
• Our understanding of salvation gets complicated. If there are three Gods, did they all have to agree to save us? Could one have disagreed?
• Our confidence wavers. If God is really three separate beings, how can we be sure they’ll always remain united? What if they disagree about us?

The biblical Trinity gives us one God to worship, one will to trust, and one love to rest in. Dake’s tritheism gives us a divine committee that we hope stays united. That’s a massive difference.

5. The Problem of Three Separate Beings

Let’s dive deeper into what Dake means when he says the Father, Son, and Spirit are “three separate and distinct persons.” This isn’t just a different way of expressing the Trinity—it’s a complete redefinition that creates massive theological problems.

What Does “Separate” Really Mean?

When we say two people are “separate,” what do we mean? Think about you and your best friend. No matter how close you are, how much you agree, or how well you work together, you’re still two separate people. You have:

• Separate bodies that can’t occupy the same space
• Separate minds that can have different thoughts
• Separate wills that can make different choices
• Separate existences—one could cease to exist while the other continues

This is exactly what Dake teaches about the Trinity. He explicitly states:

“Each person in the Godhead has His own distinct and separate office, work, body, soul, and spirit. They are three separate persons, just as separate as any three human beings.”⁶

– God’s Plan for Man, p. 29

Think about the implications. If the Father, Son, and Spirit are as separate as three human beings, then:

• They could theoretically disagree (though Dake says they don’t)
• They could work at cross-purposes (though Dake says they won’t)
• They could have different levels of knowledge (Dake actually teaches this!)
• They need to communicate with each other to know what the others are thinking

This isn’t the God of the Bible—it’s three divine beings who form the universe’s most successful partnership.

The Biblical Meaning of Distinction

The Bible does teach that the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons. But “distinct” doesn’t mean “separate.” Let me explain the difference with an illustration:

Imagine a triangle. It has three distinct corners (or angles), but it’s still one triangle. You can point to each corner and say, “This corner is not that corner.” They’re distinct. But you can’t separate the corners and still have a triangle. They exist within the one reality of the triangle.

This isn’t a perfect analogy (no analogy for the Trinity is), but it shows how things can be distinct without being separate. The three persons of the Trinity are eternally distinct but never separate, because they share the same divine essence.

Dake’s View Destroys Divine Unity

The Bible consistently presents God’s unity as fundamental to His nature. Let’s look at some key passages that Dake’s view contradicts:

Jesus’s Own Words:
“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). The Greek word for “one” here is hen, which means one in essence or nature. The Jews understood this perfectly—they tried to stone Jesus because He was “making Himself God” (v. 33). If Jesus just meant “the Father and I work well together,” why would they want to kill Him for that?

The Mutual Indwelling:
Jesus said, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:11). How can separate beings be “in” each other? This only makes sense if they share the same divine essence while remaining distinct persons.

The Shared Glory:
Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). If they’re separate beings, how could the Son share the Father’s own glory? God explicitly says, “My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:11). The only solution is that the Son isn’t “another”—He shares the Father’s divine nature.

The Problem of Divine Attributes

If the three persons are separate beings, they would need separate divine attributes. But this creates impossible contradictions:

Can there be three omnipresent beings? If each person is a separate being who is everywhere, then everywhere would have three divine beings present. But then they wouldn’t really be separate—they’d be occupying the same space. Dake “solves” this by denying omnipresence altogether (we’ll address this later).

Can there be three omnipotent beings? Omnipotence means having all power. But if three separate beings each have all power, that’s a logical contradiction. It’s like saying three different people each own 100% of the same company.

Can there be three omniscient beings? If they’re truly separate, how does each one know what the others are thinking? Do they have to tell each other? Dake actually suggests this, which means each person doesn’t really know everything.

Real Conversations with Dake Followers

I’ve talked with many Christians who’ve been influenced by Dake’s teaching. Here are some actual questions they’ve asked that show how his view creates confusion:

• “When I pray, should I pray to all three persons separately to make sure they all hear me?”
• “If Jesus and the Father are separate beings, does that mean Jesus might not know what the Father is planning?”
• “Could the Holy Spirit have refused to come at Pentecost if He didn’t want to?”
• “Do the three persons have to have meetings to coordinate their plans?”

These aren’t silly questions—they’re the logical result of believing in three separate divine beings. The biblical doctrine of the Trinity doesn’t create these problems because it maintains both distinction of persons and unity of essence.

What Scripture Actually Teaches

The Bible gives us a much richer, more profound view of God than Dake’s separated committee. Let’s look at how Scripture describes the relationship between the persons:

The Son is the Image of the Father:
“He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). An image isn’t separate from what it images—it’s the perfect expression of it. The Son eternally expresses the Father’s nature because they share that nature.

The Spirit Searches the Depths of God:
“The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). How could a separate being search the depths of another’s being? This only makes sense if the Spirit shares God’s very essence.

The Inseparable Operations:
Jesus said, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). The early church fathers noticed that whenever one person of the Trinity acts, all three are involved. Creation is attributed to Father, Son, and Spirit. Salvation involves all three. This isn’t committee coordination—it’s the one God acting through His three persons.⁷

6. When God Gets a Body: Why This Changes Everything

One of Dake’s most shocking teachings is that each person of the Trinity has a physical body. Not just Jesus after the incarnation, but the Father and the Holy Spirit too. Forever. This isn’t a minor detail—it completely redefines the nature of God and contradicts clear biblical teaching.

What Dake Actually Teaches

Let’s be crystal clear about what Dake claims. He doesn’t just say God sometimes appears in physical form. He teaches that having a body is essential to being a person:

“God the Father has a personal spirit body… He has a body, parts, passions, and all the essential characteristics of a person… Without a body, no being could be a person.”⁸

– Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, Note on John 4:24

For the Holy Spirit, Dake writes:

“The Holy Spirit is a person with a personal spirit body, a personal soul, and a personal spirit, like the Father and the Son… He is not a mere influence or power. He is a person with a body.”⁹

– God’s Plan for Man, p. 32

Think about this for a moment. Dake is saying that unless God has a physical form—something that takes up space, has boundaries, can be seen—He can’t truly be personal. This makes God subject to the limitations of physical existence.

Why This Contradicts Scripture

Jesus Himself gave us the clearest statement about God’s nature:

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

The whole context of this conversation with the Samaritan woman is about moving beyond physical limitations in worship. The woman asks whether to worship on this mountain or that one—physical locations. Jesus responds by revealing that God isn’t confined to physical places because God is spirit.

Dake tries to get around this by claiming “spirit” means “spirit body.” But this is like saying “invisible” means “invisible body that can be seen.” It’s a contradiction in terms. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, He specifically said, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). Spirits, by definition, don’t have bodies.

The Bible’s Teaching on God’s Invisibility

Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that God is invisible:

• “No one has ever seen God” (John 1:18)
• “The King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Timothy 1:17)
• “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign… who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:15-16)

How does Dake explain these verses? He claims they only mean most people haven’t seen God, not that God is inherently invisible. But Paul says no one “can” see God—it’s not just that we haven’t, but that we can’t. A physical body can be seen. An invisible physical body is a contradiction.

The Danger of Making God Physical

Why is this such a serious error? Because it makes God into a creature rather than the Creator. Consider what having a body implies:

1. Location: A body exists in one place at a time. If God has a body, He’s not omnipresent—He’s stuck in one location. Dake admits this, saying God can only be in one place at a time in His body.

2. Limitation: Bodies have boundaries. They can’t pass through walls (unless miraculously enabled). They need space. They can be excluded from places. A God with a body is a limited God.

3. Composition: Bodies are made of something—atoms, energy, whatever. This means God would be made of parts, which could theoretically be separated. But God is simple (uncomposed), not made of parts that could come apart.

4. Change: Bodies change over time. They move from place to place. But God is immutable (unchanging). “I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6).

What About the “Body Parts” in Scripture?

Dake’s main argument comes from biblical passages that mention God’s hands, eyes, feet, etc. The Bible speaks of:

• The “hand of the LORD” (Isaiah 59:1)
• God’s “eyes” running throughout the earth (2 Chronicles 16:9)
• The “arm of the LORD” being revealed (Isaiah 53:1)
• God’s “nostrils” (2 Samuel 22:16)

Dake takes these literally. If the Bible says God has hands, then God must literally have hands. But this interpretive method leads to absurdity. Consider these passages:

• “Hide me under the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17:8). Does God have wings?
• “The LORD is my rock” (Psalm 18:2). Is God made of stone?
• “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). Is God literally fire?

Obviously, these are metaphors—human language used to describe divine realities. When the Bible speaks of God’s “hand,” it’s describing His power to act. God’s “eyes” refer to His knowledge and watchcare. These are called anthropomorphisms—human characteristics used figuratively to help us understand God.

The Incarnation: When the Son Took a Body

There is one person of the Trinity who has a body—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But this was a specific act in history for our salvation:

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Notice: “became” flesh. The Son wasn’t always flesh. He took on human nature while remaining divine. This was the miracle of the incarnation. If the Son already had a body, the incarnation would be meaningless. He’d just be switching from one body to another.

The incarnation actually proves God is spirit. It was newsworthy, shocking, revolutionary that God became man precisely because God isn’t normally physical. “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). If God already had a body, where’s the mystery?

Practical Implications of a Physical God

Dake’s teaching about God having a body isn’t just theological trivia. It affects how we understand and relate to God:

The Beauty of God as Spirit

The biblical teaching that God is spirit isn’t a limitation—it’s liberation! Because God is spirit:

• He can be truly present with you right now, not far away in a physical location
• He can dwell within you by His Spirit, not just send a representative
• He can hear the prayers of millions simultaneously, not be limited to one conversation at a time
• He can be “closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), not separated by physical distance
• He is not subject to decay, age, or any physical limitation

When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that God is spirit, He was revealing something wonderful. We don’t have to climb a mountain or travel to a temple to find God. He’s not locked away in a physical form somewhere in the universe. He’s immediately accessible to anyone who seeks Him in spirit and truth.

7. A God Who Can’t Be Everywhere

If God has a physical body, as Dake teaches, then He can’t be everywhere at once. A body, by definition, exists in one location. Dake understands this logical conclusion and boldly denies one of God’s most comforting attributes—His omnipresence.

Dake’s Denial of Omnipresence

Dake is remarkably clear about his position:

“The omnipresence of God is a false doctrine. God is not personally present everywhere at the same time… God can only be in one place at a time, as can any other person with a body.”¹⁰

– Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, Note on Jeremiah 23:24

Let that sink in. Dake calls the omnipresence of God—a doctrine Christians have believed for 2,000 years—a “false doctrine.” According to him, God is like a human being who can only be in one place at a time.

To explain how God can seem to be everywhere, Dake creates a strange distinction:

“God’s presence is manifest everywhere by His Spirit, but He Himself, in His personal body, is on His throne in heaven. The Holy Spirit is God’s agent who extends His presence throughout creation.”¹¹

– God’s Plan for Man, p. 41

But wait—doesn’t Dake also teach that the Holy Spirit has a body? If so, how can the Spirit be everywhere either? Dake’s system creates more problems than it solves.

What the Bible Actually Says

The Bible’s teaching on God’s omnipresence is clear, beautiful, and comforting. Let’s look at key passages:

Psalm 139:7-10—David’s great meditation on God’s presence:
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

Notice David doesn’t say, “Your influence is there” or “Your representative is there.” He says, “YOU are there.” This is personal presence, not remote control.

Jeremiah 23:23-24—God’s own declaration:
“Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.”

God doesn’t say He monitors heaven and earth from a distance. He says He “fills” heaven and earth. The Hebrew word means to fill up, to pervade completely. This is omnipresence.

Acts 17:27-28—Paul’s sermon to the philosophers:
“He is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being.'”

We exist “in” God. He’s not a distant deity watching from afar—we live within His presence. This is only possible if God is omnipresent.

The Difference Between Omnipresence and Pantheism

Some people worry that saying God is everywhere means God is everything (pantheism). But these are completely different ideas:

The biblical doctrine maintains both God’s transcendence (He’s beyond creation) and His immanence (He’s present within creation). Dake’s view loses the immanence and makes God distant.

Why Omnipresence Matters

This isn’t abstract theology. God’s omnipresence has profound practical implications:

1. You’re never alone. When you’re lying in a hospital bed, when you’re facing your darkest hour, when you feel abandoned by everyone—God is there. Not just watching from heaven, but present with you. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) is only meaningful if God can actually be present with you.

2. No place is God-forsaken. Missionaries going to the darkest corners of earth can know God is already there. Parents sending children off to college can trust God goes with them. There’s no place outside God’s presence.

3. Secret sin is impossible. “Nothing is hidden from God’s sight” (Hebrews 4:13) because He’s present everywhere. This is sobering but also liberating—we can’t hide from God, so we might as well be honest with Him.

4. Prayer makes sense. Millions of Christians around the world pray simultaneously. If God could only be in one place, He could only hear one prayer at a time. But because He’s omnipresent, He’s fully present with each person praying.

Common Objections Answered

Those influenced by Dake often raise certain objections to omnipresence:

Objection 1: “If God is everywhere, is He in hell?”
Answer: Yes, even hell exists within God’s presence. Psalm 139:8 says, “If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” The punishment of hell isn’t God’s absence but His presence in judgment rather than blessing. Revelation 14:10 speaks of torment “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

Objection 2: “The Bible says God dwells in heaven. How can He be everywhere?”
Answer: God does have a special manifest presence in heaven, but He isn’t confined there. Solomon understood this when he dedicated the temple: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you” (1 Kings 8:27). God’s throne is in heaven, but His presence fills all things.

Objection 3: “If God is everywhere, why do we need to pray for His presence?”
Answer: There’s a difference between God’s essential presence (which is everywhere) and His manifest presence (His special working and blessing). When we pray for God’s presence, we’re asking Him to make His presence known and active in a special way, not asking Him to travel from a distant location.

The God Who Is There

Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century monk, wrote about “practicing the presence of God”—learning to be aware of God’s constant presence throughout the day. This practice transformed his life. Every mundane task became an act of worship because he knew God was present.

This is only possible because God is truly omnipresent. In Dake’s system, Brother Lawrence would have been practicing the presence of God’s remote influence, not God Himself. That’s a massive difference.

The Puritans used to speak of “coram Deo”—living before the face of God. This wasn’t just a metaphor. They believed they literally lived every moment in God’s presence. This awareness shaped their ethics, their worship, and their daily lives.

When we lose the doctrine of omnipresence, we lose more than theological precision. We lose the comfort of God’s presence in our darkest moments. We lose the accountability of living before His face. We lose the wonder of a God who is both infinitely great and intimately near.

The psalmist asked, “Where shall I go from your Spirit?” In Dake’s theology, the answer would be, “Almost anywhere—God can only be in one place at a time.” But the biblical answer is wonderfully different: nowhere. There is no place where God is not. And for the believer, that’s not a threat—it’s the greatest comfort imaginable.

8. A God Who Doesn’t Know Everything

Following the logical trail of his errors, Dake also limits God’s knowledge. If the three persons are separate beings with separate minds, how can they each know everything? Dake’s answer undermines another fundamental attribute of God—His omniscience.

The Subtle Denial of Complete Knowledge

Dake is less explicit about denying omniscience than he is about omnipresence, but his teaching leads inevitably in that direction. He writes:

“God knows all that can be known, but He does not know the future free acts of men until they make their choices. If He did, men would not truly be free.”¹³

– Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, Note on Genesis 22:12

This might sound reasonable at first. After all, how can our choices be free if God already knows what we’ll choose? But this creates a god who learns, who can be surprised, who must wait to see what happens next. This isn’t the God of the Bible.

The Biblical Teaching on God’s Complete Knowledge

Scripture is overwhelming in its testimony to God’s exhaustive knowledge of all things—past, present, and future:

God’s Knowledge Has No Limits:
“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5). The Hebrew literally means His understanding has no number—it’s infinite.

God Knows Everything:
“…God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). Not “everything that can be known” or “everything except future free choices”—simply everything.

God Declares the End from the Beginning:
“I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done” (Isaiah 46:9-10). How could God declare what will happen if He doesn’t know what people will choose?

The Problem with Future Free Acts

Dake’s main concern is preserving human free will. He thinks that if God knows what we’ll choose, we’re not really free. But this confuses knowledge with causation. Consider this illustration:

Imagine you’re watching a recorded football game. You know what will happen—every play, every score, the final outcome. Does your knowledge cause the players to make their choices? Of course not. They freely made their decisions; you just happen to know what they were.

Now, God’s knowledge is infinitely greater than this. He doesn’t know the future because He’s already watched it (that would make Him subject to time). He knows it because He exists outside of time, seeing all moments—past, present, and future—in His eternal “now.”

Biblical Examples of God’s Foreknowledge

The Bible is full of specific examples where God demonstrates knowledge of future free choices:

Peter’s Denial:
Jesus told Peter, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times” (Matthew 26:34). This wasn’t just a lucky guess. Jesus knew exactly what Peter would freely choose to do, down to the specific number of denials and the timing.

Judas’s Betrayal:
Hundreds of years before it happened, the Psalms predicted the betrayal: “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9). Jesus identified this as referring to Judas (John 13:18). Did Judas have to betray Jesus because it was predicted? No—God foreknew what Judas would freely choose.

Cyrus Named Before Birth:
Perhaps the most stunning example is Isaiah 44:28-45:1, where God names Cyrus as the king who will allow the Jews to return from exile—over 100 years before Cyrus was even born! God didn’t just know there would be a king; He knew the man’s name and exactly what he would do.

How Dake’s View Affects the Persons of the Trinity

Remember, in Dake’s system, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings with separate bodies and minds. This creates unique problems for omniscience:

Do They Have to Share Information?
If each person has a separate mind, how do they know what the others know? When Jesus says, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matthew 11:27), does this mean the Holy Spirit is left out? In Dake’s system, it would seem so.

Can They Have Different Knowledge?
Jesus said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Dake uses this to argue that the Son has limited knowledge. But this refers to Christ in His human nature during His earthly ministry, not to His divine nature. In Dake’s system, however, it would mean one God knows something the other Gods don’t.

Do They Need to Communicate?
If they’re separate beings with separate knowledge, the persons of the Trinity would need to communicate information to each other. “Hey, Father, did you know what just happened on earth?” This reduces the Trinity to a divine committee sharing memos.

The Practical Impact of a God with Limited Knowledge

This isn’t just philosophical speculation. Whether God knows everything affects how we live:

The Comfort of God’s Complete Knowledge

The Bible presents God’s omniscience not as a threat to our freedom but as a source of incredible comfort:

God Knows Our Needs:
“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). He’s not scrambling to figure out how to help us—He already knows exactly what we need.

God’s Plans Can’t Fail:
“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). God can work through human choices to accomplish His purposes because He knows what those choices will be.

Nothing Takes God by Surprise:
“Known to God from eternity are all his works” (Acts 15:18, NKJV). God is never caught off guard, never needs a backup plan, never says, “I didn’t see that coming.”

A Test Case: The Crucifixion

The crucifixion of Jesus provides the ultimate test case for God’s foreknowledge. Peter preached:

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23).

Notice the perfect balance: It was God’s definite plan (not just a possibility), based on His foreknowledge (He knew what would happen), yet humans were responsible (you crucified Him). The people involved made real choices—Judas chose to betray, Pilate chose to condemn, the soldiers chose to crucify. Yet God knew all these choices beforehand and incorporated them into His plan of salvation.

In Dake’s system, God could only hope the crucifixion would happen. He couldn’t be sure Judas would betray Jesus, Pilate would condemn Him, or the soldiers would carry out the execution. The entire plan of salvation would be uncertain. Thank God this isn’t true!

The Mystery of Divine Knowledge and Human Freedom

How can God know our choices without causing them? This is a mystery that has challenged theologians for centuries. But mystery isn’t contradiction. We may not fully understand how God’s knowledge and our freedom work together, but the Bible clearly teaches both truths:

• God knows everything, including future free choices
• Humans make real choices and are responsible for them

Dake tries to solve the mystery by denying God’s complete knowledge. But this cure is worse than the disease. It gives us a god who hopes for the best but can’t guarantee anything—a god who learns and changes as history unfolds. This isn’t the God who says, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isaiah 46:9).

9. What the Bible Really Says: Overwhelming Evidence for the Trinity

We’ve seen how Dake’s teaching contradicts the historic Christian understanding of God. But more importantly, it contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture. Let’s examine the overwhelming biblical evidence for the Trinity—one God in three persons, not three separate Gods.

The Foundation: Uncompromising Monotheism

Any discussion of the Trinity must start with the Bible’s unwavering commitment to monotheism—there is only one God. This truth appears hundreds of times in Scripture and forms the foundation of biblical faith.

The Shema—Israel’s Great Confession:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

This wasn’t just a statement of belief—it was the central prayer of Judaism, recited daily. Jesus Himself affirmed it as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29). The Hebrew word for “one” (echad) means a unified one, not multiple ones working together.

God’s Own Testimony:
Throughout Isaiah, God declares His absolute uniqueness:

• “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me” (Isaiah 43:10)
• “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isaiah 44:6)
• “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 45:5)
• “There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me” (Isaiah 45:21)

These aren’t statements about being the best god among many, or the leader of a divine council. They’re absolute declarations: there is only one God, period.

New Testament Confirmation:
The New Testament continues this absolute monotheism:

• “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5)
• “You believe that God is one; you do well” (James 2:19)
• “There is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4)

Paul, writing to Greeks who believed in many gods, insists that Christians worship only one God. There’s no hint of three Gods working together—just one God.

The Deity of Three Persons

While affirming only one God, Scripture also clearly teaches that three distinct persons are fully God:

The Father is God

This is assumed throughout Scripture and rarely needs to be proven. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Paul writes of “one God, the Father” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The Son is God

The deity of Christ is taught throughout the New Testament:

Direct Statements:

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1)¹⁴
• “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!'” (John 20:28)—Jesus accepted this worship
• “…our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
• “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever'” (Hebrews 1:8)

Divine Actions:

• Creating: “All things were made through him” (John 1:3)
• Sustaining: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17)
• Forgiving sins: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7)—yet Jesus forgave sins
• Receiving worship: Only God should be worshipped (Matthew 4:10), yet Jesus received worship (Matthew 28:9)

The Holy Spirit is God

The Spirit’s deity is equally clear:

Direct Identification:
In Acts 5:3-4, lying to the Holy Spirit is equated with lying to God: “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?… You have not lied to man but to God.”

Divine Attributes:

• Omnipresence: “Where shall I go from your Spirit?” (Psalm 139:7)
• Omniscience: “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10)
• Eternal: “The eternal Spirit” (Hebrews 9:14)
• Creator: “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2)

The Unity of the Three Persons

Here’s where Dake goes wrong—he sees three persons who are God and concludes there must be three Gods. But Scripture teaches something far more profound: these three persons share one divine essence.

The Baptismal Formula

Jesus commanded: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

Notice it’s “name” (singular), not “names” (plural). Yet three persons are listed. This only makes sense if the three share one divine name, one divine essence.

The Mutual Indwelling

Jesus reveals an intimacy between the persons that goes beyond mere cooperation:

• “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10)
• “All that the Father has is mine” (John 16:15)
• “…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” (John 17:21)

This mutual indwelling (called “perichoresis” by theologians) is impossible if they’re separate beings. Separate beings can work together, but they can’t be “in” each other in this way.

Shared Divine Works

Scripture attributes the same divine works to all three persons:

If they were three separate Gods, we’d expect divided labor—one creates, another saves, another sanctifies. But Scripture shows all three involved in all divine works, because they share one divine nature.

Key Passages That Prove the Trinity

Several passages bring together all the elements of Trinitarian doctrine:

The Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17)

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'”

All three persons appear simultaneously:

• The Son being baptized
• The Spirit descending
• The Father speaking

They’re clearly distinct (not modes of one person), yet the passage assumes only one God is present, not three.

Jesus’s Upper Room Teaching (John 14-16)

In His final instructions to the disciples, Jesus reveals the profound unity of the Trinity:

• “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also” (14:7)
• “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9)
• “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper” (14:16)
• “When the Spirit of truth comes… he will glorify me” (16:13-14)

The persons are distinct yet so united that to know one is to know the others.

The Apostolic Benediction (2 Corinthians 13:14)

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Paul places all three on the same level, attributing divine blessings to each. In a fiercely monotheistic context, this only makes sense if all three are the one God.

Why Dake’s Interpretation Fails

Dake tries to explain these passages by saying the three persons are just in perfect agreement. But this doesn’t work:

1. It contradicts explicit statements of oneness. When Jesus says “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), the Jews tried to stone Him for blasphemy, “because you, being a man, make yourself God” (v. 33). They understood Jesus was claiming to be the one God, not just in agreement with God.

2. It makes nonsense of “in” language. How can the Father be “in” the Son if they’re separate beings? I can work with you, agree with you, but I can’t be in you if we’re separate people.

3. It multiplies Gods beyond biblical allowance. If “God” means a type of being (like “human”), and there are three of them, then we have three Gods. The Bible allows for only one.

10. Why This Matters: How Wrong Doctrine Hurts Real Faith

Some might say, “Why make such a big deal about this? Can’t we just love Jesus and not worry about theological details?” This sounds humble and peace-loving, but it misses something crucial: what we believe about God shapes everything about our Christian life. Wrong doctrine isn’t just an intellectual problem—it has real consequences for real people.

How We Worship

Worship is fundamentally about ascribing worth to God—celebrating who He is. But if we’re wrong about who He is, our worship becomes confused at best, idolatrous at worst.

In Biblical Trinity: We worship one God who exists as three persons. Our prayers can address the Father through the Son in the power of the Spirit. We sing to one God, not a divine committee. The ancient hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” captures this: “God in three persons, blessed Trinity”—one God, three persons.

In Dake’s System: Worship becomes complicated. Are we worshipping three Gods? Should we divide our attention between them? Some influenced by Dake’s teaching have told me they feel they need to pray to each person separately to avoid leaving anyone out—like making sure to call all three of your grandparents so no one feels neglected.

How We Pray

Prayer is our lifeline to God. But Dake’s theology complicates this most basic Christian practice.

In Biblical Trinity: Jesus taught us to pray to the Father (Matthew 6:9). We can also pray to Jesus (Acts 7:59) or the Spirit (though this is less common in Scripture). Because they share one divine essence, praying to one is praying to God. The whole Trinity hears and responds to our prayers.

In Dake’s System: Prayer becomes a logistical challenge. If the three are separate beings in separate locations:

• Do I need to pray three times to make sure everyone hears?
• What if they disagree about my request?
• Who decides whether to answer my prayer?
• Can one person of the Trinity answer a prayer without the others knowing?

I’ve counseled believers who, influenced by Dake, developed anxiety about prayer. They worried they were playing favorites or leaving someone out. Prayer became a burden instead of a joy.

How We Understand Salvation

The gospel is the heart of Christianity, and the Trinity is essential to the gospel. Distort the Trinity, and you distort salvation itself.

In Biblical Trinity: Salvation is the work of the one God acting through His three persons:

• The Father plans salvation and sends the Son (John 3:16)
• The Son accomplishes salvation through His death and resurrection (Romans 5:8)
• The Spirit applies salvation to our hearts (Titus 3:5)

It’s one divine work of one divine will. We can rest secure knowing that God—all of God—is committed to our salvation.

In Dake’s System: Salvation becomes a negotiation between three divine beings. Did they have to vote on whether to save humanity? Could the Son have decided to save us without the Father’s agreement? These aren’t just philosophical puzzles—they strike at our assurance of salvation.

How We Experience God’s Presence

One of the most precious truths of Christianity is that God dwells with and in His people. But this becomes confused in Dake’s theology.

In Biblical Trinity:

• The Father and Son make their home in us (John 14:23)
• Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20)
• The Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 6:19)
• Because they share one essence, we have God Himself living in us

In Dake’s System: If each person has a separate body in a separate location, how can they all dwell in millions of believers? Dake’s answer is that only the Holy Spirit actually indwells us, as a kind of representative of the others. But this means the Father and Son are absent, watching from a distance. We lose the intimacy of God’s presence.

How We Face Suffering

In our darkest moments, we need to know God is truly with us, not watching from afar.

How We Share Our Faith

When we evangelize, we’re introducing people to God. But which God?

In Biblical Trinity: We proclaim the one true God who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. This God is unique—completely different from the gods of other religions. We can confidently say Christianity is monotheistic while explaining the mystery of the Trinity.

In Dake’s System: Evangelism becomes awkward. Try explaining to a Muslim or Jewish friend that you don’t really believe in three Gods, you just believe in three separate divine beings who work together perfectly. They’ll rightly see this as polytheism with extra steps. We lose our witness to the one true God.

How We Read Scripture

Our doctrine of God acts like a lens through which we read the Bible. Get the lens wrong, and everything looks distorted.

Examples of Misreading:

• When Jesus says “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), Dake sees evidence of separate Gods with different ranks. Orthodox theology understands this as referring to Christ’s voluntary submission in His incarnation, not an inequality in the divine nature.
• When Scripture mentions God’s “hand” or “eyes,” Dake sees literal body parts. Orthodox theology recognizes these as anthropomorphisms—human language describing divine actions.
• When the Bible speaks of the persons communicating, Dake sees separate beings exchanging information. Orthodox theology sees the eternal communion of love within the one God.

How We Grow Spiritually

Spiritual growth happens as we know God more deeply. But if our basic understanding of God is flawed, our growth is stunted or misdirected.

A pastor shared with me: “I spent ten years using the Dake Bible for devotions. I memorized verses, studied diligently, and thought I was growing. But I was actually growing in my knowledge of a false god. When I finally understood the biblical Trinity, it was like starting over. All those years of ‘growth’ had to be undone and rebuilt on truth.”

The Generational Impact

Perhaps most sobering is how false teaching passes to the next generation:

• Children raised with Dake’s theology grow up confused about God
• Youth groups using Dake materials spread error to impressionable teens
• Bible colleges that use Dake as a resource train future pastors in false doctrine
• Churches that give out Dake Bibles as gifts unknowingly promote heresy

One children’s ministry director told me: “We gave Dake Bibles to all our graduating seniors for years. We thought we were equipping them for college. We were actually sending them off with a corrupted view of God. When I realized this, I felt sick. How many young people did we confuse about the most basic truth of Christianity?”

The Ultimate Issue: Who Is God?

In the end, this debate isn’t about winning theological arguments or being right. It’s about knowing the true God. Jesus said eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3). If we get God wrong, we get everything wrong.

Dake’s errors aren’t trivial mistakes or different interpretations of minor issues. They strike at the very identity of God. The God of Dake’s theology—three separate divine beings with bodies, limited to one location, learning as history unfolds—is not the God revealed in Scripture. He’s not the God Christians have worshipped for 2,000 years. He’s not the God who can save us.

This is why doctrine matters. This is why we must “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Not because we love controversy, but because we love God and want to know Him as He truly is. Not because we enjoy criticizing others, but because we care about those being led astray.

Truth matters because God matters. And if God matters, then teaching the truth about Him is one of the most loving things we can do.

11. Learning from History: Why the Church Fought for the Trinity

Dake didn’t invent his errors out of thin air. Throughout church history, similar mistakes have appeared, been examined, and been rejected by Christians committed to biblical truth. Understanding this history helps us see why the church has always fought so hard to preserve the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Early Church’s Challenge

Imagine being a Christian in the year 150 AD. The New Testament is still being copied and circulated. There’s no systematic theology textbook. You’re trying to understand how Jesus can be God while there’s still only one God. It’s not easy!

The early Christians faced the same biblical data we have:

• Clear statements that there’s only one God
• Clear evidence that the Father is God
• Clear evidence that Jesus is God
• Clear evidence that the Holy Spirit is God
• Clear distinctions between Father, Son, and Spirit

How do you put this together? The early church tried various solutions, and some of them looked remarkably like Dake’s errors.

Ancient Errors That Mirror Dake’s Teaching

Tritheism in the Early Church

In the sixth century, a monk named John Philoponus taught that the three persons of the Trinity were three separate beings, just as three humans are separate. Sound familiar? He argued that they shared the same type of nature (divinity) the way three humans share humanity.

The church rejected this because it made Christianity polytheistic. If Peter, James, and John are three humans, not one human, then three divine persons with separate beings would be three Gods, not one God. The Council of Constantinople (680 AD) condemned this view.

Dynamic Monarchianism

Some early Christians, trying to preserve God’s oneness, taught that Jesus was just a man whom God adopted and empowered. They believed the Father alone was God, and He gave divine power to the human Jesus.

This “solved” the problem by denying Jesus’s true deity. The church rejected it because Scripture clearly teaches Jesus is truly God, not just a God-empowered man.

Modalism

Others went the opposite direction. Sabellius (early 3rd century) taught that Father, Son, and Spirit were just three modes or masks of the one God. Like an actor playing three roles, God sometimes appeared as Father, sometimes as Son, sometimes as Spirit.

This “solved” the problem by denying the real distinctions between the persons. The church rejected it because Scripture shows all three persons existing and interacting simultaneously (like at Jesus’s baptism).

Why the Church Fought So Hard

These weren’t academic debates in ivory towers. The early Christians understood that getting God wrong meant getting everything wrong. They fought for the Trinity because:

1. Worship Was at Stake
Christians were being martyred for refusing to worship Roman gods. If Jesus wasn’t truly God, they were dying for idolatry. If there were three Gods, they were polytheists like the pagans. The Trinity was literally a life-and-death issue.

2. Salvation Was at Stake
The early church understood that only God could save. If Jesus wasn’t fully God, His death couldn’t save us. Athanasius famously argued, “He became what we are that we might become what He is.” This only works if “He” is truly God.

3. Scripture Was at Stake
The church fathers weren’t creating new doctrine—they were trying to be faithful to all of Scripture. Any solution that ignored part of biblical teaching was unacceptable. The Trinity emerged as the only way to affirm everything the Bible teaches about God.

The Councils and Creeds

Because these issues were so crucial, the church held councils to address them:

The Council of Nicaea (325 AD)

When Arius taught that Jesus was a created being (“there was a time when He was not”), the church gathered to respond. The Nicene Creed affirmed that the Son is “true God from true God… of one substance with the Father.”

Key phrase: “of one substance” (homoousios). The Son doesn’t just have a similar nature to the Father—He shares the exact same divine essence.

The Council of Constantinople (381 AD)

This council expanded the Nicene Creed to affirm the full deity of the Holy Spirit, “the Lord and giver of life… who together with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified.”

Notice: worshipped together, not as three separate objects of worship.

The Athanasian Creed (5th-6th century)

Though not from a council, this creed gave the clearest explanation:

“We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal… So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet they are not three Gods, but one God.”

This carefully balanced statement avoids both errors: confounding the persons (modalism) and dividing the substance (tritheism).

Why Didn’t Dake Learn from History?

Dake prided himself on going “straight to the Bible” without letting human traditions influence him. This sounds noble, but it’s actually dangerous. Here’s why:

1. He Ignored Centuries of Biblical Interpretation
The church fathers weren’t adding to Scripture—they were carefully working out what Scripture teaches. Ignoring their work is like a medical student refusing to read any medical textbooks and just looking at human bodies. You’ll make mistakes others have already discovered and corrected.

2. He Didn’t Know the Original Languages
The creeds used precise Greek terms because precision matters. Dake, working only from English, missed crucial distinctions. It’s like trying to do advanced mathematics with only addition and subtraction—you’ll get wrong answers.

3. He Confused Simplicity with Truth
Dake thought his interpretation was “plain” and others were complicating things. But some truths are complex. The Trinity is mysterious not because theologians made it complicated, but because the infinite God is beyond our full comprehension.

Modern Movements Making Similar Errors

Dake isn’t alone in modern times. Several movements make similar mistakes:

Mormonism: Teaches that Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate Gods who are “one in purpose.” This is essentially Dake’s position.

Jehovah’s Witnesses: Deny the Trinity altogether, making Jesus a created being. This is the opposite error but stems from the same problem—inability to hold biblical truths in tension.

Oneness Pentecostalism: Revives ancient modalism, denying the distinct persons. They react against tritheism by going to the opposite extreme.

Each of these groups, like Dake, thought they were returning to “biblical simplicity.” Instead, they fell into ancient errors the church had already addressed.

Lessons for Today

What can we learn from this history?

1. Heresy is Repetitive
There really aren’t new heresies, just old ones in new clothes. Dake’s tritheism is essentially sixth-century error in twentieth-century language. Knowing church history helps us recognize recycled mistakes.

2. Precision Matters
The church fathers weren’t being nitpicky when they insisted on precise language. The difference between “same substance” and “similar substance” is the difference between monotheism and polytheism. Words matter because truth matters.

3. Mystery Isn’t Contradiction
The Trinity is a mystery—a truth revealed that exceeds our full understanding. But it’s not a contradiction—it doesn’t violate logic. One Being in three Persons is mysterious; one Person who is three Persons would be contradictory. Dake tried to eliminate the mystery and created contradiction instead.

4. Biblical Balance is Essential
Every trinitarian heresy results from emphasizing some biblical truths while ignoring others. The orthodox doctrine maintains the tension, affirming all that Scripture teaches even when we can’t fully understand how it fits together.

5. Humility is Required
Approaching the nature of God requires humility. When Dake declared the omnipresence of God a “false doctrine,” he showed breathtaking arrogance. Thousands of brilliant, godly Christians across centuries had affirmed what he casually dismissed. Humility would have led him to question his interpretation, not theirs.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

G.K. Chesterton wrote about “the democracy of the dead”—the idea that we should give our ancestors a vote in what we believe. The doctrine of the Trinity wasn’t invented by councils or forced by emperors. It emerged as faithful Christians wrestled with Scripture and found it to be the only way to affirm all that the Bible teaches.

When we affirm the Trinity, we stand with:

• Ignatius of Antioch, who died for refusing to deny Christ’s deity (c. 110 AD)
• Irenaeus, who defended the faith against Gnostic errors (c. 180 AD)
• Athanasius, who stood almost alone against Arianism (c. 350 AD)
• Augustine, who wrote profound explanations of the Trinity (c. 400 AD)
• Thomas Aquinas, who showed the rationality of Trinity doctrine (c. 1250 AD)
• Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Reformers who maintained orthodox doctrine
• Millions of faithful Christians across cultures and centuries

When Dake rejected the Trinity for his three-God theology, he separated himself from this great cloud of witnesses. He stood not on the shoulders of giants but on the sandcastle of his own limited understanding.

12. Standing for Truth: What We Must Do

We’ve taken a long journey through difficult theological territory. We’ve seen how Finis Dake’s teaching about God contradicts both Scripture and twenty centuries of Christian faith. But knowledge alone isn’t enough. The question now is: What do we do with what we’ve learned?

First, We Must Grieve

It’s appropriate to feel sadness over this situation. Millions of sincere Christians have used the Dake Bible, trusting its notes to help them understand God’s Word. Many have unknowingly absorbed false teaching about the most fundamental truth of Christianity—who God is.

Think about:

• New believers who got a Dake Bible as their first study Bible, building their faith on a flawed foundation
• Pastors who’ve preached Dake’s errors from their pulpits, misleading their flocks
• Missionaries who’ve translated Dake’s notes into other languages, spreading confusion worldwide
• Children raised with these teachings, growing up with a distorted view of God

This is heartbreaking. False teaching about God isn’t a minor mistake—it strikes at the heart of our faith. We should grieve over the confusion and spiritual damage these errors have caused.

Second, We Must Respond with Grace

While we must reject Dake’s false teaching, we should respond with grace toward those who’ve been influenced by it. Remember:

Many don’t realize the problems. The average Christian using a Dake Bible is focused on the helpful cross-references and outlines, not the theological notes. They may have never noticed or understood the problematic teachings.

Sincere people can be sincerely wrong. Using a Dake Bible doesn’t make someone a heretic. Many godly Christians have used it without adopting its errors. We should assume the best about people’s motives while gently correcting their theology.

We’ve all been wrong about something. Every Christian has held mistaken beliefs at some point. We’ve all had to grow and learn. Approaching others with humility, remembering our own journey, opens doors that harsh condemnation would close.

Third, We Must Act Wisely

Knowing about these errors comes with responsibility. Here’s how to respond wisely:

If You Own a Dake Bible

• Consider replacing it with a reliable study Bible that maintains orthodox theology
• If you keep it for its reference features, be extremely cautious about the doctrinal notes
• Never give it as a gift, especially to new believers
• If you’ve taught from it, consider reviewing what you’ve taught to correct any errors

If Your Church Uses Dake Materials

• Bring your concerns to church leadership with gentleness and respect
• Share this document or similar resources that explain the problems clearly
• Suggest alternative study resources that are both helpful and theologically sound
• Offer to help teach on the biblical doctrine of the Trinity

If Someone You Know Uses a Dake Bible

• Don’t attack or condemn—this will only make them defensive
• Ask questions that lead them to think: “What do you think this verse means about God’s nature?”
• Share positive resources about the Trinity rather than just criticizing Dake
• Focus on the most serious errors (like tritheism) rather than every disagreement

Fourth, We Must Learn and Grow

This controversy should drive us deeper into Scripture and theology:

Study the Trinity. Don’t just reject Dake’s errors—understand the biblical doctrine deeply. Read good books on the Trinity. Study the creeds. Learn why Christians have believed this doctrine for two millennia.

Recommended Resources:

• The Trinity by Robert Letham—comprehensive yet readable
• The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders—practical and devotional
• Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves—joyful and accessible
• The Forgotten Trinity by James White—clear biblical defense

Value church history. Dake’s errors remind us why we need to learn from Christians who’ve gone before us. The creeds and confessions aren’t infallible, but they represent the careful thinking of godly believers wrestling with Scripture.

Practice discernment. Just because something is in a study Bible doesn’t make it true. Even respected teachers can be wrong. We must be like the Bereans, examining everything by Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Fifth, We Must Teach Truth

It’s not enough to know truth ourselves—we must pass it on:

In Our Families

• Teach children the biblical truth about God from an early age
• Use good catechisms that explain the Trinity simply but accurately
• Show them how the Trinity appears throughout Scripture
• Model Trinitarian prayer and worship in family devotions

In Our Churches

• Preach and teach regularly on the nature of God
• Don’t assume people understand the Trinity—many don’t
• Use clear illustrations while acknowledging their limitations
• Show how the Trinity relates to practical Christian living

In Our Witness

• Be ready to explain what Christians believe about God
• Show how the Trinity makes Christianity unique
• Connect the Trinity to the gospel message
• Demonstrate how knowing the true God changes lives

The Stakes Could Not Be Higher

Why does this matter so much? Because everything in Christianity flows from who God is:

• If God is not Trinity, then Jesus is not truly God, and we’re not saved
• If God is not Trinity, then the Spirit in us is not God Himself, and we’re alone
• If God is not Trinity, then God is not essentially love, and love is not ultimate
• If God is not Trinity, then Christianity is just another religion with its own gods

A.W. Tozer wisely said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Dake’s teaching puts wrong thoughts about God into people’s minds. We must replace those wrong thoughts with truth.

A Final Word of Hope

While this report has necessarily focused on error, let’s end with hope. The true God—the Triune God revealed in Scripture—is far more wonderful than Dake’s three-God committee:

Our God is truly one, not divided or potentially in conflict. His will is unified, His purpose is sure, His love is consistent. We never have to worry about different parts of God disagreeing about us.

Our God is truly present, not locked in a physical body far away. He’s with us in our joys and sorrows, our victories and failures. No place is outside His presence, no situation beyond His reach.

Our God is truly infinite, not limited by physicality or location. His power has no bounds, His knowledge no gaps, His love no limits. He’s bigger than our biggest problems, wiser than our deepest questions.

Our God is truly love, existing eternally in the perfect relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit. His love isn’t something He learned or decided—it’s who He is. And He invites us into that eternal love.

This is the God Christians have worshipped for twenty centuries. This is the God revealed in Scripture. This is the God who saves us, keeps us, and will one day bring us home. This is the true and living God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God forever.

Footnotes

1. This claim appears in various biographical sketches of Dake, though it cannot be independently verified. Regardless of its accuracy, it became part of Dake’s reputation and authority in Pentecostal circles.
2. Dake’s racial views, particularly his teaching that segregation would continue in heaven, caused significant controversy. While not the focus of this report, it demonstrates a pattern of interpreting Scripture through personal bias rather than careful exegesis.
3. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, note on Matthew 3:16-17. This note explicitly states that the three persons are “separate and distinct” in the same way human persons are separate.
4. God’s Plan for Man, p. 27. Dake consistently uses “unity” language to avoid the charge of polytheism while maintaining his view of three separate beings.
5. Name withheld by request. Personal correspondence with the author, 2023. This pastor now teaches regularly on the biblical doctrine of the Trinity to help others avoid similar confusion.
6. God’s Plan for Man, p. 29. The comparison to three human beings makes Dake’s tritheism unmistakable.
7. The doctrine of inseparable operations was developed by the Cappadocian Fathers and Augustine. It maintains that while the persons are distinct, they always act together in every divine work.
8. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, note on John 4:24. Dake’s insistence that personhood requires a body contradicts both Scripture and logic.
9. God’s Plan for Man, p. 32. Dake extends his body doctrine to all three persons, not just the incarnate Son.
10. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, note on Jeremiah 23:24. Calling omnipresence a “false doctrine” shows remarkable boldness in contradicting historic Christian teaching.
11. God’s Plan for Man, p. 41. Dake creates an artificial distinction between God’s personal presence and His presence “by His Spirit.”
12. Personal testimony shared at a missions conference, 2022. Name withheld for privacy. The missionary served 15 years in Papua New Guinea.
13. Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, note on Genesis 22:12. This reflects an “open theism” view where God learns as history unfolds.
14. Some cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses mistranslate John 1:1 to avoid Christ’s deity. But all major Greek scholars affirm the traditional translation: “the Word was God.”
15. Seminary student testimony from Dallas Theological Seminary, 2021. Used with permission.
16. Worship leader from a Pentecostal church in Oklahoma, 2023. This illustrates how theological error affects practical ministry.
17. Shared in a support group for parents of children with serious illnesses, 2022. This mother’s story powerfully illustrates how wrong theology robs believers of comfort in trials.