Chapter 04: The Trinity Disaster – Three Gods Instead of One

Imagine if someone told you that when the Bible says “God is one,” it doesn’t really mean one. What if they said it actually means three different Gods who just work together really well? You’d probably think they were confused, right? Well, that’s exactly what Finis Jennings Dake taught in his Bible notes and books. This teaching isn’t just a little mistake – it’s a huge problem that changes everything about what Christians believe. When we mess up our understanding of who God is, we mess up everything else too. Let’s look carefully at what Dake actually taught, why it’s so wrong, and why it matters so much for our faith.

Dake, Finis Jennings. Dake Annotated Reference Bible. Lawrenceville, GA: Dake Bible Sales, 1963. Note on Deuteronomy 6:4. [All citations to the Dake Bible refer to this edition unless otherwise noted.]

What Dake Actually Taught About the Trinity

Before we can understand why Dake’s teaching is so dangerous, we need to see exactly what he said. It’s important to use his own words so nobody can say we’re making this up or being unfair. When you read what Dake actually wrote, you’ll be shocked at how different it is from what Christians have always believed.

In his note on Deuteronomy 6:4 in the Dake Annotated Reference Bible, Dake makes this amazing claim about the Trinity:

Did you catch that? Dake says the Trinity is NOT one in number. He says there are three completely separate persons with three completely separate bodies. This isn’t what Christians mean when we talk about the Trinity at all! In his section titled “89 Proofs of A Divine Trinity,” Dake explains even more clearly: “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 each human being, angel, or any other being has his own body, soul, and spirit.”²

Dake gets even clearer about what he means in his book “God’s Plan for Man” (page 51). He writes:

And again on page 74 of the same book, Dake insists: “That God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct persons, each with a personal body, soul, and spirit? They are three persons…Two and three of these have been seen with separate bodies with the same eyes at the same time.”³

In another place in God’s Plan for Man, Dake becomes even more explicit about how each member of the Trinity has their own separate existence: “If the fact is revealed that there are three separate distinct beings in the Deity or Godhead, this would be sufficient to warrant the conclusion that each of them have separate bodies, souls, and spirits, like all other separate and distinct beings.”¹⁰

Let’s make sure we understand what Dake is saying here. He’s teaching that:

• The Father is a separate being with His own body
• The Son is a separate being with His own body
• The Holy Spirit is a separate being with His own body
• Each one is completely separate from the others
• They are three different Gods who work together

This is not the Trinity – this is three Gods! Christians have a special word for believing in three Gods: tritheism (try-THEE-izm). And tritheism is not Christianity at all. It’s the same as believing in multiple gods like the ancient Greeks and Romans did.

How Dake Tried to Make This Sound Biblical

Now, Dake knew that saying “we believe in three Gods” would sound wrong to most Christians. So he tried to make his teaching sound biblical by playing word games. He kept using the word “Trinity” but gave it a completely new meaning. This is really sneaky because people would hear him say “Trinity” and think he meant what Christians have always meant by that word.

Throughout his books, Dake keeps saying things like “the Trinity” and “the Godhead,” but then he defines these words in ways that no Christian has ever defined them before. In “Revelation Expounded,” he writes about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

See what he’s doing? He takes Bible verses that mention the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and then adds his own ideas about them being “separate and distinct persons” with separate bodies. The Bible never says they have separate bodies or that they’re three different Gods!

Dake even directly contradicts traditional Christian teaching when he writes: “The old idea that God exists as three persons in one person is not only unscriptural, but it is ridiculous to say the least. If there are THREE SEPARATE AND DISTINCT PERSONS as plainly stated in 1 John 5:7-8, then let this fact be settled once and forever.”¹¹

“One” Doesn’t Mean One? Dake’s Word Game

One of the most important verses in the whole Bible is Deuteronomy 6:4, called the Shema (sheh-MAH). Jewish people have recited this verse every day for thousands of years. It says:

This seems pretty clear, right? God is one. Not two, not three – ONE. But Dake had to find a way around this verse because it completely destroys his idea of three separate Gods. So what did he do? He redefined the word “one.”

In his Bible note on this verse, Dake claims:

In his extensive note on Deuteronomy 6:4, Dake goes even further: “The Heb. for one here (Dt. 6:4) is echad which means united as o., as well as o. in number; and certainly its use in this passage means composite unity and not absolute unity…Since there are 3 persons or beings, then the only way they can be one is in the sense of unity, as prayed for in Jn. 17:21-23.”⁴

Dake expands on this teaching in God’s Plan for Man, where he writes: “Cannot any number of persons retain their individuality and still be one in unity? Could not this be true of the Godhead? Could not God exist as three separate persons with three separate bodies, souls, and spirits, and still be one in unity?”¹² He goes on to say: “There are three persons in the divine unity and three separate persons in the divine individuality. It is not proper to say ‘one person’ in speaking of the whole Godhead any more than it would be proper to speak of the whole body of Christ as one person when we know it is made up of millions of individuals.”¹³

This is really tricky and dishonest. Yes, the Hebrew word “echad” can sometimes mean a united one (like when a husband and wife become “one flesh”). But that doesn’t mean it ALWAYS means that! In fact, most of the time “echad” just means the number one – plain and simple.

Think about it this way: If I say “I have one apple,” I don’t mean I have three apples that work together really well. I mean I have ONE apple. When the Bible says Abraham offered his “one” son Isaac, it doesn’t mean three sons working together – it means ONE son. The word “one” usually just means one!

Why Context Matters

The really important thing is to look at what Deuteronomy 6:4 meant to the people who first heard it. The Israelites were surrounded by nations that worshiped many gods. The Egyptians had hundreds of gods. The Canaanites had lots of gods. The Babylonians had multiple gods. But God told Israel: “I am ONE Lord – not many gods like the nations around you believe in.”

If Moses had meant to say “We worship three Gods who work together,” the Israelites would have been totally confused. That would have sounded just like the pagan religions around them! The whole point of the Shema was to say that Israel’s God was different – He is ONE God, not many.

For over 3,000 years, Jewish people have understood this verse to mean that God is absolutely one. They would be horrified at Dake’s interpretation. In fact, one of the main reasons many Jewish people reject Christianity is because they think Christians believe in three Gods. Dake’s teaching would confirm their worst fears!

Three Separate Beings vs. One God in Three Persons

Now we need to understand the huge difference between what Dake taught and what Christians have always believed about the Trinity. This difference is so important that it determines whether someone is really a Christian or not.

What Christians Have Always Believed

For 2,000 years, Christians have believed something amazing and mysterious about God. We believe that:

This is a mystery that our human minds can’t fully understand, and that’s okay! God is so much bigger and greater than we are. We shouldn’t expect to understand everything about Him. But even though it’s mysterious, it’s what the Bible teaches, and Christians have believed it from the very beginning.

Think of it this way (though no illustration is perfect): Imagine water. Water can exist as liquid, ice, or steam. It’s still H2O in each form – the same substance appearing in three different ways. Now, this illustration isn’t perfect because God is much more complex than water, but it helps us see how one thing can exist in different forms while still being one thing.

What Dake Taught Instead

Dake completely rejected this Christian teaching. Instead of one God in three persons, he taught three separate Gods. Let me show you more of what he actually said so you can see how different it is.

In his book “God’s Plan for Man” (page 51), Dake explains his view of the Trinity:

Do you see what he’s saying? According to Dake, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are just like angels and humans – separate beings with separate bodies. They’re not one God at all! They’re three different beings who happen to work together.

Dake makes this even clearer when he states: “The members of the Godhead are exactly the same in every sense and have been from all eternity, so if one of them had a body by nature then all of them had spirit bodies exactly the same until one of them took a human body to redeem.”¹⁴

This becomes even clearer when Dake talks about where these three Gods are located. Since he believes each one has a body, he has to put them in different places! He writes that God the Father lives in heaven in one location, while the Holy Spirit has to travel around to be in different places, and Jesus is somewhere else with His own body. Dake explicitly denies God’s omnipresence, stating: “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all present where there are beings with whom they have dealings; but they are not omnibody, that is, their bodies are not omnipresent. All three go from place to place bodily as other beings in the universe do.”⁵

Why This Is Polytheism, Not Christianity

Polytheism (pol-ee-THEE-izm) is the belief in many gods. It’s what the ancient Greeks believed with Zeus, Apollo, and Athena. It’s what Hindus believe with Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. And sadly, it’s what Dake taught about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You might ask, “But doesn’t Dake still call them the Trinity? Doesn’t he still talk about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?” Yes, he uses Christian words, but he gives them non-Christian meanings. It’s like if someone said, “I believe in Jesus,” but then explained that by “Jesus” they meant their pet hamster. Using the name “Jesus” doesn’t make it Christian if you’ve completely changed what the name means!

Dake even states explicitly that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are called “Gods” in Scripture: “Elohim, the Heb. word for God in 2,700 places, is a uni-plural noun, meaning Gods and is so translated 239 times.”¹⁵ He uses this to support his view that there are multiple Gods in the Trinity.

Christianity is monotheistic (mon-oh-thee-IS-tic) – meaning we believe in ONE God. This is absolutely essential to our faith. We’re not polytheists who believe in multiple gods. We’re not henotheists (HEN-oh-theists) who worship one god while believing others exist. We are monotheists who worship the ONE true God who exists in three persons.

When Dake teaches three separate Gods, he’s not teaching Christianity anymore. He’s created a new religion that just uses Christian words. This is incredibly serious because it means people following Dake’s teaching aren’t actually worshiping the true God revealed in the Bible.

Key Passages Dake Mangles

Let’s look at some important Bible verses about God’s oneness and see how Dake twists them to fit his false teaching. It’s important to see exactly how he mishandles Scripture so you can recognize this kind of error when you see it.

The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4)

We already talked about this verse, but let’s dig deeper into how badly Dake misunderstands it. The Shema says: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”

Dake writes in his Bible note:

But then he completely contradicts himself by saying THIS verse doesn’t mean numerical unity, even though the context makes it absolutely clear that it does! The whole point of the verse is to distinguish Israel’s ONE God from the MANY gods of pagan nations.

Think about how the Israelites would have understood this. They had just come out of Egypt, where people worshiped Ra, Osiris, Isis, and dozens of other gods. God is telling them, “I’m not like those gods – I am ONE.” If God meant “I am three gods working together,” He would have said something completely different!

John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”)

Jesus said something amazing in John 10:30: “I and my Father are one.” This is one of the clearest statements of Jesus’ deity in the Bible. The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant – they tried to stone Him for blasphemy because He was claiming to be God!

But look what Dake does with this verse. He claims it only means Jesus and the Father are one in purpose and agreement, not one in nature or being. But if that’s all Jesus meant, why did the Jews try to kill Him? People can be one in purpose without claiming to be God!

The Greek word used here for “one” is “hen,” which means one in essence or nature. Jesus is claiming to share the same divine nature as the Father. They are not two separate Gods who agree with each other – they are one God!

In fact, just a few verses later (John 10:33), the Jews explain why they’re trying to stone Jesus: “Because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” They understood Jesus was claiming to be God, not just someone who agreed with God!

The Baptismal Formula (Matthew 28:19)

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He gave His disciples an important command about baptism:

Notice that Jesus said “name” (singular), not “names” (plural). We baptize in THE NAME – one name – of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This shows they share one divine name because they are one God.

If the Father, Son, and Spirit were three separate Gods, Jesus would have said “baptizing them in the nameS” (plural). The singular “name” shows the unity of the three persons in one God.

Dake tries to get around this by saying the “name” just refers to their authority or reputation. But that doesn’t make sense. When we do something in someone’s name, we’re representing that person. Christians are baptized into the one name of the one God who exists as three persons.

John 1:1 (“The Word was God”)

The Gospel of John starts with an amazing statement about Jesus:

This verse teaches two important truths: (1) The Word (Jesus) was WITH God, showing distinction between persons, and (2) The Word WAS God, showing they share the same divine nature. This is exactly what the doctrine of the Trinity teaches – distinction of persons but unity of essence.

But in Dake’s system, this verse becomes nonsense. If the Father and Son are two separate Gods, then John is teaching polytheism right from the start of his Gospel. The verse would mean there are at least two Gods, which contradicts everything the Bible teaches about God being one.

1 Timothy 2:5 (“One God”)

Paul makes it crystal clear in 1 Timothy 2:5:

Paul doesn’t say “there are three Gods working together.” He doesn’t say “there is one group of Gods.” He says there is ONE GOD. Period. This is as clear as language can possibly be.

How does Dake deal with this verse? He simply ignores what it plainly says and insists that “one” means “unified” rather than numerically one. But Paul is writing to people living in a polytheistic culture. If he meant “three Gods acting as one,” he would have made that clear. Instead, he emphasizes there is ONE God, distinguishing Christianity from the many-gods religions around them.

1 John 5:7 and Unity

In his commentary on 1 John 5:7, Dake makes his position absolutely clear: “These three (individuals—the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Ghost) are o. (1 Jn. 5:7). The only sense in which three can be one is in unity—never in number of persons.”⁶ He goes on to compare this to the disciples in John 17:11, 21-23, saying they “were not to become o. person, o. individual, or o. being with only o. human body, o. soul, and o. spirit. They were to become o. in unity…So it is with the three Divine Members of the Divine Trinity—the separate persons in Elohim always retain their own personal body, soul, and spirit.”⁷

Dake further elaborates on this when discussing 1 John 5:7-8: “AND THERE ARE THREE that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and THESE THREE agree in ONE, He definitely said there were THREE SEPARATE PERSONS and TWO SEPARATE THINGS that bear witness in both Heaven and Earth.”¹⁶ He insists that “The phrases ‘THESE THREE ARE ONE’ and ‘THESE THREE AGREE IN ONE’ mean the same thing as seen by like expressions in Scripture. In both cases the ‘THREE’ are ‘ONE’ in unity, or to one point; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, not the Father or the Holy Ghost.”¹⁷

What the Church Has Always Believed

It’s important to understand that Dake’s teaching isn’t just different from what some Christians believe – it’s different from what ALL Christians have believed for 2,000 years. Every branch of Christianity – Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant – has always affirmed that God is one in essence, three in persons.

The Early Church Creeds

From the very beginning, Christians have had to explain what they believe about God. They wrote creeds (statements of faith) to make it clear. Let’s look at what some of these say:

The Apostles’ Creed (from the early church) begins: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord…” Notice it doesn’t say “I believe in Gods” (plural) but “God” (singular).

The Nicene Creed (325 AD) says: “We believe in ONE God, the Father Almighty… And in ONE Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of ONE substance with the Father…”

Do you see how careful they were to emphasize ONE God while affirming the deity of Christ? They said Jesus is “of one substance with the Father” – not a separate God, but sharing the same divine essence.

The Athanasian Creed (5th century) is even more explicit:

This creed specifically warns against “dividing the substance” – which is exactly what Dake does when he teaches three separate Gods!

Why the Church Fought This Battle

You might wonder why Christians made such a big deal about this. Why does it matter so much whether God is one or three? The early church understood that getting this wrong changes everything about Christianity.

In the 4th century, a teacher named Arius started saying that Jesus was a created being, not truly God. The church leaders realized this destroyed the gospel. If Jesus isn’t truly God, He can’t save us. Only God can forgive sins. Only God can give eternal life. Only God deserves our worship.

So the church met at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Over 300 church leaders from all over the Christian world came together. They carefully studied Scripture and overwhelmingly rejected Arius’s teaching. They affirmed that Jesus is “true God from true God,” sharing the same essence as the Father.

Later, at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, they affirmed the same about the Holy Spirit. The church was clear: there is ONE God who exists in three persons. Not three Gods, not one person wearing three masks, but one God in three persons.

Why Trinity Matters for Salvation

This isn’t just some complicated theological debate that doesn’t affect regular Christians. What we believe about the Trinity affects everything about our salvation and our relationship with God. Let me explain why this matters so much.

Which God Saves Us?

If Dake is right and there are three separate Gods, we have a huge problem: which one saves us? Think about what the Bible teaches about salvation:

• The Father planned our salvation before the world began (Ephesians 1:4)
• The Son died on the cross to pay for our sins (1 Peter 2:24)
• The Holy Spirit applies salvation to our hearts and lives in us (Titus 3:5)

In the true Christian understanding, this is ONE God working out ONE plan of salvation. The three persons work together perfectly because they are one God. But in Dake’s system, we have three different Gods involved. What if they disagreed? What if one God wanted to save you but another didn’t? What if they had different plans?

Even worse, if there are three separate Gods, why did only one of them (the Son) have to die for our sins? Couldn’t one of the other Gods have done it? And if they’re separate Gods, how could the death of one God satisfy the justice of another God? The whole plan of salvation falls apart!

The Problem of the Incarnation

The incarnation is when God became man in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is amazing – the infinite God took on human nature!

But Dake’s teaching creates massive problems here. According to Dake, God the Father already has a body. Dake explicitly states in God’s Plan for Man (pages 56-57): “God is a person who is Spirit…He is described as being like any other person as to having a body, soul, and spirit…He is a Spirit Being with a body…He has back parts; so must have front parts (Exodus 33:23). He has a heart (Gen. 6:6; 8:21); hands and fingers (Exodus 31:18; Ps. 8:3-6; Rev. 5:1, 6-7); nostrils (Ps. 18:8, 15); mouth (Num. 12:8); lips and tongue (Isa. 30:27); feet (Ezek. 1:27; Exodus 24:10); eyes, eyelids, sight (Ps. 11:4; 18:24; 33:18)…and many other bodily parts as is required of Him to be a person with a body.”⁸

God the Son has His own separate body. So when Jesus became human, did He get a second body? Did one God with a body take on another body? This makes no sense!

The Bible’s teaching is much clearer: The eternal Son, who is truly God, took on human nature. He didn’t have a body before the incarnation because God is spirit (John 4:24). The incarnation is special and unique – it’s when God entered His creation in a totally new way.

Who Do We Worship?

Jesus said we should worship God “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). But if there are three separate Gods, which one do we worship? Do we worship all three equally? Do we take turns? Do they compete for our worship?

The Bible is clear that we worship ONE God:

If there are three separate Gods, these verses are lies. But if there is one God in three persons, these verses make perfect sense. We worship the one true God who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Unity of God’s Work

The Bible teaches that all of God’s works are unified. Creation, providence (God’s control of history), and salvation are all the work of the one God. Look at how Scripture attributes these works:

Creation:

• The Father created (Genesis 1:1)
• The Son created (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16)
• The Spirit created (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30)

If these are three separate Gods, we have three creators. But the Bible says there is ONE Creator. This only makes sense if the three persons are one God.

Salvation:

• The Father saves (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
• The Son saves (John 3:17)
• The Spirit saves (Titus 3:5)

Again, if these are three Gods, we have three saviors. But the Bible says there is ONE Savior (Isaiah 43:11). The Trinity explains how this can be true.

The Practical Consequences of Dake’s Error

Let’s think about what happens in real life when people believe Dake’s false teaching about three separate Gods. This isn’t just about theology books – it affects how people pray, worship, and live as Christians.

Prayer Becomes Confusing

Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). But He also said we can pray to Him: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). And Paul talks about praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

If these are three separate Gods, prayer becomes very confusing:

• Do I need to pray to all three separately?
• What if one God answers yes but another says no?
• Am I being unfair if I pray to one God more than the others?
• Can the three Gods hear each other’s prayers?

But when we understand the Trinity correctly, prayer makes sense. We pray to the one God, and whether we address the Father, Son, or Spirit, we’re praying to the same God. There’s no competition or confusion.

The Bible Becomes Contradictory

If we accept Dake’s teaching, the Bible starts contradicting itself constantly. Here are just a few examples:

Verse	What It Says	Problem if Dake is Right
Isaiah 43:10	“Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me”	But Dake says there are two other Gods!
Isaiah 45:5	“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me”	This would be a lie if the Son and Spirit are separate Gods
1 Corinthians 8:6	“But to us there is but one God”	Paul would be wrong – there would be three Gods
James 2:19	“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well”	James would be praising a false belief

The only way these verses can all be true is if there really is only ONE God who exists in three persons. Dake’s teaching makes God a liar and the Bible unreliable.

Christianity Becomes Just Another Polytheistic Religion

One of the things that made Christianity unique in the ancient world was its monotheism. While pagans worshiped many gods, Christians worshiped one God. This was part of our witness to the world.

But if Dake is right, Christianity is just another polytheistic religion. We wouldn’t be any different from:

• Hindus who worship multiple gods
• Ancient Greeks who had a pantheon of deities
• Modern pagans who believe in various gods and goddesses

We lose our distinctive message. We can’t tell people to turn from false gods to the true God if we ourselves worship three Gods!

How Dake’s Teaching Connects to His Other Errors

Dake’s false teaching about the Trinity doesn’t stand alone. It connects to his other errors and creates a whole system of false doctrine. When you get the nature of God wrong, everything else goes wrong too.

The Body Problem

Remember how Dake teaches that each person of the Trinity has a separate body? This connects to his teaching that God the Father has a physical body with hands, feet, eyes, etc. (We’ll talk more about this in Chapter 5.)

Once you say God has a body, you have to limit Him:

• He can only be in one place at a time
• He can’t be everywhere present (omnipresent)
• He becomes just a super-powerful being, not the infinite God

And if each person of the Trinity has a separate body, they must be in different places. The Father is in one location, the Son in another, the Spirit in another. They’re not just distinct persons – they’re separated beings. This reinforces the false idea that they’re three Gods. As Dake clearly states: “A spirit being can and does have real, material, and tangible spirit form, shape, and size, with bodily parts, soul passions, and spirit faculties. Their material bodies are of a spiritual substance and are just as real as human bodies.”⁹

Dake even goes so far as to claim that we can determine how many persons are in the Godhead by counting how many have been seen: “Daniel saw two of them with separate bodies at the same time and at the same place (Dan. 7:9-14). Stephen saw two of them at the same place (Acts 7:56-59). Others saw different members of the Godhead at different times and places and every time any one of them has been seen He has appeared in a real body.”¹⁸

The Knowledge Problem

If the three persons are separate Gods in separate locations, how do they know what each other is doing? Dake has to limit their knowledge (which we’ll discuss in Chapter 7). He suggests they have to communicate with each other to share information, like three humans talking on the phone.

But the Bible teaches that God knows everything instantly and completely. He doesn’t need to gather information or communicate between persons. The Father, Son, and Spirit share the same infinite knowledge because they are one God.

The Power Problem

If there are three separate Gods, do they each have unlimited power? If so, what happens when they disagree? Can one God override another? Or do they each have limited power that they have to combine?

Dake’s system creates these impossible problems. But the biblical Trinity has no such issues. The one God has unlimited power, and the three persons work in perfect harmony because they share the same will and nature.

Answering Dake’s Arguments

People who follow Dake’s teaching often bring up certain arguments to defend it. Let’s look at these arguments and see why they don’t work.

Argument 1: “The Bible Uses Plural Pronouns for God”

Dake and his followers point out that God sometimes uses plural pronouns like “us” and “our”:

• “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26)
• “The man is become as one of us” (Genesis 3:22)
• “Let us go down, and there confound their language” (Genesis 11:7)

They say this proves multiple Gods. But notice something important: While the pronouns are plural, the verbs are singular! “God said [singular], Let us [plural] make man.” This is exactly what we’d expect with the Trinity – one God (singular verb) who exists in three persons (plural pronouns).

Dake specifically points to this usage, saying: “Many times plural pronouns are used of God in referring to the different members of the Godhead, as ‘us’ (Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8; John 17:21), ‘our’ (Gen. 1:26; John 14:23), ‘we’ (John 14:23; 17:11, 22) and ‘their’ (Ps. 2:3).”¹⁹ But he fails to recognize that these plural pronouns don’t prove separate Gods – they prove distinct persons within the one God.

Also, if these verses proved multiple Gods, they would contradict all the verses that say God is one. The Trinity explains both the singular and plural language. Multiple Gods only explains the plural while contradicting the singular.

Argument 2: “Jesus Prayed to the Father, So They Must Be Separate”

This is a common argument: How could Jesus pray to the Father if they’re the same God? Doesn’t this prove they’re separate beings?

No, it proves they’re distinct persons, which is exactly what the Trinity teaches! The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. They are distinct persons who can have relationships with each other. But they share the same divine essence – they are one God.

Think of it this way: In a human family, a father and son are distinct persons who can talk to each other, but they share the same human nature. With God, the Father and Son are distinct persons who can communicate, but they share the same divine nature. The difference is that humans are separate beings, while the persons of the Trinity are one being.

Argument 3: “The Bible Says Jesus Sits at God’s Right Hand”

Dake argues that if Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand (Mark 16:19), they must be two separate Gods in two different locations.

But “right hand” in the Bible is a figure of speech meaning the place of honor and authority. When the Bible says God’s “eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chronicles 16:9), it doesn’t mean God has physical eyes running around. It’s figurative language describing God’s knowledge and care.

Similarly, Jesus being at the Father’s “right hand” means He has all authority and honor. It’s not describing physical positions of separate bodies. Remember, God is spirit (John 4:24) and doesn’t have a physical right hand for someone to sit beside!

Argument 4: “It’s a Mystery We Can’t Understand”

Sometimes Dake’s followers say, “Well, the Trinity is a mystery anyway, so maybe Dake is right and we just can’t understand it.”

Yes, the Trinity is mysterious, but that doesn’t mean we can believe anything we want about it! The mystery is HOW one God can exist in three persons, not WHETHER He does. The Bible is clear about what we should believe, even if we can’t fully understand how it works.

It’s like gravity – we might not fully understand how gravity works, but we know it exists and we know what it does. We can’t just make up our own ideas about gravity and say “it’s a mystery!” The same is true with the Trinity.

The Damage to Young Believers

One of the saddest things about Dake’s false teaching is how it affects young Christians who don’t know better. Imagine being a new believer, excited to learn about God, and you get a Dake Bible because someone said it would help you understand Scripture better.

You start reading, and Dake’s notes seem so confident and detailed. He quotes lots of verses. He uses biblical words. He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Without realizing it, you start absorbing his false teaching about three Gods.

Later, when you talk to other Christians, you’re confused. They talk about “one God” but you’ve learned about “three Gods in unity.” You might:

• Think other Christians don’t understand the Bible as well as Dake
• Feel confused and doubt whether you can understand Scripture
• Leave the church because of the contradiction
• Spread false teaching to others without realizing it

This is why false teaching is so dangerous. It doesn’t just affect the person who believes it – it spreads like a disease to others, especially young believers who don’t have the knowledge to recognize error.

How to Recognize This Error in Other Places

Dake isn’t the only one who has taught this error. You might encounter similar false teaching in other places. Here’s how to recognize it:

Red Flag Words and Phrases

Watch out for these warning signs:

• “Three separate beings” instead of “three persons”
• “Gods” (plural) when talking about the Trinity
• “Each with his own body” referring to Father, Son, and Spirit
• “Unity of purpose only” rather than unity of essence
• “The Godhead consists of three Gods”
• Redefining “one” to mean agreement rather than numerical oneness

Groups That Teach Similar Errors

Several groups teach things similar to Dake:

Mormons (Latter-Day Saints): They explicitly teach that Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate Gods. They believe the Father has a physical body of flesh and bones. This is almost identical to Dake’s teaching.

Jehovah’s Witnesses: While different from Dake, they also deny the Trinity, teaching that Jesus is a created being and the Spirit is God’s active force.

Some “Oneness” Groups: While they go the opposite direction (denying three persons), they still misunderstand the Trinity.

Certain Word-Faith Teachers: Some prosperity gospel teachers have adopted Dake’s views about God having a body and humans being “little gods.”

Questions to Ask

When you’re not sure what someone believes about God, ask these questions:

1. Is there one God or three Gods?
2. Does God the Father have a physical body?
3. Are Father, Son, and Spirit one in essence or just in purpose?
4. Can you worship Jesus as God, or is He a separate, lesser God?
5. Does the Holy Spirit share the same divine nature as the Father?

Biblical Christians will answer: One God, no physical body, one in essence, Jesus is fully God and worthy of worship, and yes, the Spirit shares the same divine nature.

The Biblical Truth: One God in Three Persons

After looking at all of Dake’s errors, let’s be clear about what the Bible really teaches. This truth has been believed by Christians for 2,000 years and is essential to our faith.

The Unity of God

The Bible couldn’t be clearer that there is only one God:

If the Father is God and says there is no God beside Him, then the Son and Spirit cannot be separate Gods. They must be the same God or they don’t exist at all. Since the Bible clearly teaches that the Son and Spirit are divine, they must be the same God as the Father.

The Deity of Each Person

The Bible also teaches that each person – Father, Son, and Spirit – is fully God:

The Father is God:

• “God the Father” (Galatians 1:1)
• “One God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:6)

The Son is God:

• “The Word was God” (John 1:1)
• “My Lord and my God” – Thomas to Jesus (John 20:28)
• “The great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
• “Who is over all, God blessed forever” – about Christ (Romans 9:5)

The Spirit is God:

• Called “God” (Acts 5:3-4 – lying to the Spirit is lying to God)
• Has divine attributes like omniscience (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)
• Does divine works like creation (Genesis 1:2)

Dake acknowledges this when he writes: “The Father is called ‘God’ (1 Cor. 8:6); the Son is called ‘God’ (Isa. 9:6; Heb. 1:8; John 20:28); and the Holy Spirit is called ‘God’ (Acts 5:3-4); so all three persons of the Godhead are divine and can be spoken of individually as ‘God’ and collectively as ‘one God’ in the sense of unity.”²⁰ But notice – he says they can be called “one God” only “in the sense of unity,” not because they actually are one God!

The Distinction of Persons

While being one God, the three persons are distinct from each other:

• The Father sends the Son (John 3:16)
• The Son prays to the Father (John 17)
• The Father and Son send the Spirit (John 14:26; 16:7)
• All three appear at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:16-17)

They have different roles in salvation:

• The Father plans and elects
• The Son accomplishes redemption
• The Spirit applies salvation

Yet they work in perfect harmony because they are one God with one will, one purpose, and one nature.

The Mystery and the Clarity

Yes, the Trinity is a mystery – we can’t fully understand how God can be one in essence and three in persons. But the Bible is clear about what we should believe:

Conclusion: The Seriousness of This Error

We’ve spent a lot of time on this topic because it’s so important. The doctrine of the Trinity isn’t just some abstract theological concept – it’s about who God is. And who God is affects everything else in Christianity.

Dake’s teaching that God is really three separate Gods is not a small error or a different opinion. It’s heresy – false teaching that puts people outside of biblical Christianity. You cannot be a Christian and believe in three Gods. You cannot worship the true God if you think He’s actually three different beings.

This is why the church has always been so careful about the Trinity. It’s why creeds and confessions spend so much time on it. It’s why pastors and teachers must guard against error. When we get God wrong, we get everything wrong.

If you’ve been influenced by Dake’s teaching, don’t despair. Many people have been deceived by his confident-sounding notes and detailed arguments. The important thing is to return to what the Bible actually teaches: There is one God who exists eternally in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This one God created you, loves you, and sent His Son to die for your sins. This one God offers you salvation by grace through faith. This one God deserves all your worship, love, and obedience. Not three Gods working together, but one God in three persons.

Remember: The God of the Bible is not three separate beings working together. He is one God – one in essence, nature, and being – who exists eternally in three distinct persons. This is the God Christians have worshiped for 2,000 years. This is the God who saves us. This is the true and living God revealed in Scripture. Don’t let anyone, no matter how confident they sound, convince you otherwise.

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