Chapter 01: Three Gods Instead of One – Dake’s Denial of the Trinity

For nearly two thousand years, Christians have confessed with one voice: “We believe in one God.” This isn’t just a nice theological idea—it’s the bedrock of our faith. From the earliest days of the church, believers have understood that while God exists as three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—He is absolutely and undeniably one God. This beautiful mystery, which we call the Trinity, stands at the heart of Christian faith. It’s what separates Christianity from all other religions. It’s what makes the Gospel possible. And it’s precisely what Finis Dake denied.

When Dake wrote in his Bible notes that “God is not singular” and that “the Godhead is composed of three completely separate beings,” he wasn’t offering a fresh perspective or a helpful clarification. He was teaching polytheism—belief in multiple gods. This chapter will examine how Dake transformed Christianity’s central doctrine of one God in three persons into a pagan belief in three separate Gods. We’ll see how this error corrupts everything it touches, from our understanding of creation to our hope of salvation. Most importantly, we’ll return to Scripture to see what God actually says about Himself.

The Shocking Claims in Dake’s Own Words

Before we examine what the Bible actually teaches about God’s nature, we need to understand exactly what Dake taught. It’s important that we don’t misrepresent his position or create a “straw man” to attack. So let’s look at his actual words, taken directly from his Bible notes and his book “God’s Plan for Man.” What you’re about to read may shock you, especially if you’ve trusted the Dake Bible as a reliable study tool.

Read that again carefully. Dake isn’t saying that God is one being in three persons, which is what Christians have always believed. He’s saying there are three separate beings, each with their own body, soul, and spirit. That’s not the Trinity—that’s three Gods. But it gets worse. In his note on Deuteronomy 6:4, where the Bible declares “The LORD our God is one LORD,” Dake writes:

According to Dake, when the Bible says God is “one,” it doesn’t really mean one. It means three separate Gods who happen to work together. This is like saying a basketball team is “one” team, so the five players are actually one person. It’s nonsense, and it completely destroys the meaning of the Bible’s most important declaration about God’s nature.

But Dake doesn’t stop there. He goes on to give even more detail about these three separate Gods:

Dake was remarkably consistent in his teaching about three separate Gods. He wrote extensively about this doctrine, making it absolutely clear what he believed:

Dake further elaborated on this separation, writing: “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.”²⁸ This statement shows how Dake’s logic led him inevitably to polytheism—if there are three distinct beings, then there must be three Gods.

Why This Is Not Christianity But Paganism

Let’s be absolutely clear about what Dake is teaching. He’s not offering a minor variation on the Trinity doctrine. He’s not simply emphasizing the distinction between the three persons. He’s teaching that there are literally three separate Gods—three different beings who each have their own body, soul, and spirit. This isn’t Christianity; it’s polytheism, plain and simple.

Dake made this explicit in his writings, stating: “The word God is used either as a singular or a plural word, like sheep.”⁹ He argued that just as “sheep” can mean one sheep or many sheep, “God” can mean one God or many Gods. This completely contradicts the biblical teaching of absolute monotheism.

Dake even went so far as to argue: “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.”²⁹ Notice how he misrepresents orthodox Christianity as teaching “three persons in one person” (which no one believes) to make his three-Gods doctrine seem more reasonable.

Think about what this means. If the Father is one God, the Son is another God, and the Holy Spirit is a third God, then Christians worship three Gods. We become no different from the ancient pagans who worshiped multiple deities. The first of the Ten Commandments states, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). But according to Dake, we’re supposed to worship two other Gods alongside the Father!

This teaching has massive implications for every aspect of Christian faith:

The Problem of Which God to Worship

If there are three separate Gods, which one should we worship? Should we divide our worship time equally between all three? Can they be jealous of each other? What if they disagree about something? These absurd questions show how quickly Dake’s teaching falls apart.

Jesus taught us to pray “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). But if the Father is a separate God from Jesus, why should we listen to Jesus about how to pray to a different God? And when Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), was one God setting Himself up as the gatekeeper to another God? The whole thing becomes ridiculous when you actually think it through.

In fact, Dake explicitly taught: “God is the head of Christ and thus greater than He in position”¹⁰ and “Christ is the mediator between God and man, not between Himself and man.”¹¹ This creates a hierarchy of three separate Gods, not the co-equal Trinity of orthodox Christianity.

The Problem of Creation

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” If there are three Gods, which one created the universe? Did they work together like a construction crew? Did one God create the land, another the sea, and the third the sky? Or did they take turns?

The Bible is clear that one God created everything. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The “word” refers to the Son (John 1:1-3), and the “breath” or “spirit” refers to the Holy Spirit. This shows the three persons working as one God in creation, not three separate Gods collaborating on a project.

The Problem of Salvation

The Gospel message is that God became man to save us from our sins. As 2 Corinthians 5:19 says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” But if Christ is a separate God from the Father, then God didn’t become man—a different God became man. The Father didn’t give His only Son; He sent a different God to do the job.

This destroys the beauty and power of the Gospel. John 3:16 loses its meaning: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” If the Son is a separate God, then one God loved the world and convinced another God to die for it. That’s not sacrificial love; that’s delegation.

Dake’s teaching becomes even more problematic when he states: “TRINITY. This means the union of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in one (unified) Godhead or divinity, so that all three persons are one in unity and eternal substance, but three separate and distinct persons as to individuality.”³⁰ While this might sound orthodox at first glance, Dake defines “unity” merely as agreement in purpose, not unity of being.

How Dake Twisted Scripture to Support His Error

You might wonder how anyone could read the Bible and conclude there are three Gods instead of one. The answer lies in Dake’s flawed method of interpreting Scripture. Instead of letting clear passages explain unclear ones, he did the opposite. Instead of understanding Hebrew and Greek words in their context, he imposed his own meanings. Let’s examine some of his key misinterpretations.

The Misuse of the Hebrew Word “Echad”

Dake’s primary argument rests on his claim that the Hebrew word “echad” (one) in Deuteronomy 6:4 doesn’t mean absolute oneness but only unity of purpose. He points out that the same word is used in Genesis 2:24, where a man and woman become “one flesh.” Since two people remain two people even when united in marriage, Dake argues that God can be three separate beings who are “one” only in purpose.

Dake wrote extensively about this, claiming: “The Heb. for one here (Dt. 6:4) is echad which means united as one, as well as one in number; and certainly its use in this passage means composite unity and not absolute unity.”¹² He further argued: “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.”¹³

Dake expanded on this in his book, writing: “The Hebrew word for one in such Scriptures as ‘one Lord’ (Deut. 6:4-6) and ‘one God’ (Mal. 2:10) is achad, to unify, collect, be united in one, one in number. It is used as one in unity many times: ‘they shall be one flesh’ (Gen. 2:24); ‘the people is one’ (Gen. 11:6).”³¹ He used these examples to support his claim that God could be three beings united only in purpose.

This argument sounds clever, but it’s completely wrong. Here’s why:

First, context determines meaning. Yes, “echad” can sometimes indicate a compound unity, but its basic meaning is simply “one.” The same word is used in verses like “Abraham was one [echad] man” (Ezekiel 33:24) and “one [echad] day” (Genesis 1:5). No one argues that Abraham was multiple people or that one day is actually several days!

Second, the context of Deuteronomy 6:4 makes the meaning crystal clear. This verse, called the Shema, was Israel’s fundamental declaration distinguishing their faith from the polytheism of surrounding nations. The Egyptians had many gods. The Canaanites had many gods. But Israel proclaimed, “Our God is ONE!” To interpret this as “Our Gods are united” would have been nonsensical to ancient Israelites and would have defeated the entire purpose of the declaration.

Dake even admitted in his notes: “Literally, Jehovah our Elohim is a unified Jehovah.”¹⁴ He then argued that this meant: “There is more than one Jehovah and more than one God as individuals, but they are one Jehovah and one God in unity, thus expressing the truth of 3 separate and distinct persons, beings, or individuals in the Divine Trinity.”¹⁵ This is a clear admission that he believed in multiple Gods.

Third, the rest of Scripture confirms absolute monotheism. Over and over, the Bible declares there is only one God:

• “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)
• “The LORD is God; there is no other besides him” (Deuteronomy 4:35)
• “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isaiah 46:9)

These verses can’t mean “no other gods except the other two Gods in the Trinity.” They mean exactly what they say: there is only one God, period.

The Misunderstanding of “Let Us Make Man”

Another passage Dake uses to support his three-Gods theory is Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'” Dake argues that the plural pronouns “us” and “our” prove there are multiple Gods speaking to each other.

But notice what Dake does here. The text says “Let us make man in our image.” Dake adds ideas nowhere found in the text: that each person has a separate body, soul, and spirit, and that they are separate Gods rather than one God in multiple persons. He’s reading his preconceived ideas into the text rather than letting the text speak for itself.

Dake further argued: “Man is become as one of us proves plurality of persons (Gen. 3:22).”¹⁶ He used this to support his view that each person in the Godhead is “as each separate person in the Godhead—proving plurality of persons in the one God.”¹⁷ But plurality of persons doesn’t mean plurality of Gods!

In his book, Dake elaborated: “ELOHIM. This is the Hebrew word for ‘God’ in Gen. 1:1 and 2,700 other places in the Old Testament. It is a uni-plural noun meaning ‘Gods’ and is so translated 239 times.”³² While it’s true that Elohim is plural in form, Dake ignores that it’s consistently used with singular verbs when referring to the one true God, indicating unity of being, not multiple Gods.

Orthodox Christianity has always understood Genesis 1:26 as an early hint of the Trinity—one God who exists as multiple persons. Notice that while God says “Let us make” (plural), the very next verse says, “So God created man in his own image” (singular). The plural persons perform a singular act of creation because they are one God.

The Abuse of Anthropomorphic Language

Throughout the Old Testament, God is described using human characteristics—He has hands, eyes, ears, and so forth. This literary device, called anthropomorphism, helps us understand God’s actions and character in terms we can grasp. When the Bible says God’s “eyes” see everything, it means He knows everything. When it mentions His “mighty hand,” it refers to His power.

But Dake takes these descriptions literally, arguing that they prove God has an actual body with literal hands, eyes, and ears. This leads him to conclude that each person of the Trinity must have a separate body. In his system, the Father has one body, the Son has another body, and the Spirit has a third body—making three bodied beings, hence three Gods.

Dake wrote extensively about this, claiming: “God is a person who is Spirit, infinite, eternal, immutable, self-existent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, invisible, perfect, impartial, immortal, absolutely holy and just, full of knowledge and wisdom… He is described as being like any other person as to having a body, soul, and spirit.”¹⁸ He listed dozens of supposed body parts that God has, including: “back parts (Exodus 33:23)… heart (Gen. 6:6; 8:21)… hands (Ps. 102:25-26; Heb. 1:10)… fingers (Ps. 8:3-6; Ex. 31:18)… mouth (Num. 12:8; Isa. 1:20)… lips and tongue (Isa. 30:27)… feet (Ezek. 1:27; Exodus 24:10)… eyes, eyelids, sight (Ps. 11:4; 18:24; 33:18)… voice (Ps. 29; Rev. 10:3-4; Gen. 1)… breath (Gen. 2:7)… ears (Ps. 18:6)… countenance (Ps. 11:7)… hair, head, face, arms (Dan. 7:9-14; 10:5-19; Rev. 5:1, 6-7; 22:4-6)… loins (Ezek. 1:26-28; 8:1-4)… bodily presence (Gen. 3:8; 18:1-22; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Ex. 24:10-11)”¹⁹

Dake even made the remarkable claim: “No person can exist without a body or a shape. Even demons, who are classed as disembodied spirits, have shapes and forms.”³³ He then used this to argue that God must have a body too.

This interpretation is absurd for several reasons:

First, the Bible explicitly says “God is spirit” (John 4:24). A spirit doesn’t have a physical body. When Jesus said this, He was explaining to the Samaritan woman that God isn’t confined to any physical location because He doesn’t have a physical body.

Second, if we take anthropomorphisms literally, we run into contradictions. The Bible speaks of God’s “wings” (Psalm 91:4) and describes Him as a “rock” (Psalm 18:2) and a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). Does God have wings like a bird, the composition of a rock, and consist of flame all at the same time? Obviously not. These are metaphors helping us understand different aspects of God’s character.

Third, a physical body would limit God. Bodies exist in one location at a time. But God is omnipresent—everywhere at once. As Psalm 139:7-10 says, there’s nowhere we can go to escape God’s presence. If God had a body in heaven, He couldn’t also be present on earth, under the earth, and throughout the universe simultaneously.

Dake actually addressed this by denying true omnipresence! He wrote: “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.”²⁰ He further stated: “Omnipresence then, is different from omnibody, and is governed by relationship and knowledge of God. Like the presence of someone being felt by another who is thousands of miles away, so it is with the presence of God among men.”²¹ This reduces God’s omnipresence to merely His influence being felt, not His actual presence everywhere.

Dake provided an extended explanation of his redefinition: “God dwells in Heaven and persons on Earth that know Him and are in union with Him in spirit can feel His presence in their lives regardless of where they are on the Earth or under the Earth. This is what is meant by statements men use to prove that God personally fills the whole of all space and matter.”³⁴ This completely redefines the classical doctrine of omnipresence.

The Historical Orthodox Position: One God in Three Persons

Before we continue examining Dake’s errors, we need to understand what Christians have actually believed about God for the past two thousand years. The doctrine of the Trinity wasn’t invented by theologians—it arose from carefully studying everything the Bible says about God. Let’s trace this doctrine from Scripture through church history.

The Biblical Foundation

The Bible presents three fundamental truths that seem paradoxical but are all absolutely true:

1. There is only one God. We’ve already seen numerous verses teaching this.
2. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully God.
   • The Father is called God (1 Corinthians 8:6)
   • The Son is called God (John 1:1, Romans 9:5, Hebrews 1:8)
   • The Holy Spirit is called God (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Corinthians 3:16)
3. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons.
   • 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)

How can these three truths all be true simultaneously? There’s only one possible answer: God is one being who exists as three distinct persons. This is the Trinity—not three Gods, not one person wearing three masks, but one God in three persons. It’s a mystery our finite minds can’t fully comprehend, but it’s what Scripture clearly teaches.

Dake rejected this biblical balance. He wrote: “The Bible does not say that God is one person constituted of three persons. This could never be, but God can be three distinct persons as separate and distinct as any three persons we know of in this life.”³⁵ Notice how he creates a false choice—either God is one person made of three persons (which no one teaches) or three separate Gods (his position).

The Early Church’s Understanding

From the very beginning, Christians have wrestled with understanding God’s nature as revealed in Scripture. The early church fathers didn’t invent the Trinity doctrine—they defended and clarified what the apostles had taught.

The Apostolic Fathers (AD 70-150): The earliest Christian writers after the apostles consistently affirmed both monotheism and the deity of Father, Son, and Spirit. Ignatius of Antioch (died c. 110) wrote about “Jesus Christ our God” while maintaining Jewish monotheism. Polycarp (c. 69-155) used the baptismal formula “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” from Matthew 28:19, recognizing three persons in one name (singular).

The Second Century Defenders: As the church encountered various heresies, theologians like Irenaeus (c. 130-202) and Tertullian (c. 155-240) articulated the Trinity doctrine more precisely. Tertullian actually coined the term “Trinity” (Latin: Trinitas) and explained that God is “one substance in three persons.” He wrote: “All are of One, by unity of substance, while the mystery of the dispensation distributes the Unity into a Trinity.”

The Great Councils

When false teachers like Arius began claiming that Jesus was a created being rather than eternal God, the church had to respond. This led to the great councils where bishops from across the Christian world gathered to affirm biblical truth.

The Council of Nicaea (AD 325): This council affirmed that the Son is “of the same substance” (homoousios) as the Father—not a similar substance, not a created being, but the exact same divine essence. The Nicene Creed declares: “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.”

The Council of Constantinople (AD 381): This council affirmed the same about the Holy Spirit, declaring Him to be “the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified.” The expanded Nicene Creed from this council remains the most widely accepted statement of Christian faith across all denominations.

The Council of Chalcedon (AD 451): This council clarified how Jesus can be both God and man, affirming He has two natures (divine and human) in one person. This prevented the Trinity from being confused with the idea that Jesus was part God and part man, or that His divinity was diminished by His humanity.

The Athanasian Creed

One of the clearest statements of orthodox Trinity doctrine is the Athanasian Creed (written between AD 400-500). Though we don’t know exactly who wrote it, this creed has been accepted by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants as an accurate summary of biblical teaching. Here’s what it says:

“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 co-eternal… 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.”

Notice how carefully this creed maintains both truths: there are three distinct persons (not confounding the persons), yet only one God (not dividing the substance). This is exactly what Dake denies. He divides the substance into three separate beings, creating three Gods.

Why “Unity of Purpose” Doesn’t Equal “One God”

Dake tries to escape the charge of polytheism by claiming his three Gods are “one” in purpose and unity, just not in being. He argues this is what the Bible means when it calls God “one.” But this explanation completely falls apart under examination.

Dake provided numerous examples trying to support this view, writing: “The disciples, as in Jn. 17:11, 21-23, for instance, were not to become one person, one individual, or one being with only one human body, one soul, and one spirit. They were to become one in unity, consecrated to the same end to which God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are consecrated—the highest good of all.”²² He further stated: “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, yet they are one in perfect unity.”²³

Dake also explained his view of how this unity works: “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?”³⁶ This reveals his fundamental misunderstanding—unity of purpose among separate beings is not the same as unity of being.

The Basketball Team Analogy Problem

Imagine a basketball team with perfect unity. The five players work together flawlessly, think as one unit, and share the same goal. Would anyone say this team is literally one person? Of course not! They’re five persons united in purpose, but they remain five distinct beings.

This is exactly what Dake is teaching about God—three separate beings who work together like a team. But the Bible doesn’t say God is a united team; it says God is ONE. Not one team, not one committee, not one council, but ONE GOD.

The Problem with Multiple Omnipotent Beings

Think about what it means for a being to be omnipotent (all-powerful). By definition, an omnipotent being can do anything that’s logically possible. But can there be three omnipotent beings?

What if they disagree? Could omnipotent God #1 override omnipotent God #2? If yes, then God #2 isn’t really omnipotent. If no, then God #1 isn’t really omnipotent. The very concept of multiple omnipotent beings is self-contradictory. There can only be one omnipotent being, which means there can only be one God.

The Biblical Use of “One”

When the Bible wants to describe unity of purpose among multiple beings, it uses different language than when describing God’s oneness. For example:

Unity among believers: Jesus prayed “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” (John 17:21). But no one thinks Christians become one being! The context makes clear this refers to unity of purpose and fellowship.

Unity in marriage: “The two shall become one flesh” (Matthew 19:5). The Bible specifies “one flesh”—a unity in physical and spiritual intimacy, but the couple remains two persons.

Unity in the church: “We, though many, are one body in Christ” (Romans 12:5). Paul explicitly says we are “many” who form “one body”—a metaphorical unity, not a literal single being.

But when speaking of God, the Bible uses absolute language:

• “The LORD alone is God” (Deuteronomy 4:35)
• “I alone am God” (Isaiah 46:9)
• “There is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4)
• “One God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:6)

This isn’t team language or unity language—it’s singularity language. God isn’t a united committee of three; He is one single being.

Dake tried to address this by saying: “To be literally honest with all Scripture, the rule to follow is the same as when we speak of any three men we might have in mind. Where only ONE person of the Godhead is plainly referred to in a particular passage… only ONE person should be understood; where TWO persons are referred to… then TWO persons should be understood; and where THREE persons are clearly spoken about… then THREE distinct persons should be understood.”³⁷ But this ignores that these three persons share one divine essence.

The Connection Between Body and Tritheism

One of the key ways Dake arrives at his three-Gods doctrine is through his teaching that God has a physical body. Once you believe God has a body, it becomes almost impossible to maintain true monotheism. Let’s examine this connection.

Bodies Separate Beings

A body, by definition, has boundaries. It ends where space begins. Your body separates you from me—we can’t be the same being because we have different bodies. If the Father has one body, the Son has another body, and the Spirit has a third body (as Dake teaches), then by necessity they are three separate beings.

Dake emphasized this repeatedly: “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.”³⁸ He used these visions to argue for separate bodied Gods.

But the Bible clearly teaches that “God is spirit” (John 4:24), not physical. A spirit doesn’t have a body with parts and boundaries. This is why God can be omnipresent—everywhere at once. As Jeremiah 23:24 says, “‘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.”

If God had a body located in heaven, He couldn’t “fill heaven and earth.” He’d be stuck in one location like every other bodied being. Dake actually admits this, teaching that God the Father is only omnipresent “in Spirit through the Holy Spirit”—meaning the Father Himself isn’t everywhere, but sends the Spirit to be in places where His body isn’t.

This creates a divided Godhead where different persons have different capabilities and limitations. The Father is limited to His body’s location, while the Spirit does the work of being everywhere. That’s not one God; it’s a divine corporation with different departments handling different tasks.

Dake was remarkably explicit about this limitation, stating: “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.”²⁴ He argued that God has “a spirit body with bodily parts like man”²⁵ and that “only rebels and unbelievers will reject such obviously literal manifestations and revelations of Deity.”²⁶

The Incarnation Confusion

If God the Father already has a body, what was special about the incarnation? Christians have always marveled that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14)—that God took on human nature and a human body. This was unprecedented, amazing, the mystery of all mysteries.

But in Dake’s system, God already had a body. So did the Son trade His spirit body for a human body? Did He have two bodies at once? The incarnation loses its unique significance if God already has a body. It becomes merely a change of uniform rather than the infinite God entering finite creation.

Dake tried to address this with his definition: “INCARNATION means a person assuming a body which he takes as his very own, dwelling inside that body and not existing in any sense outside the body which he has taken to dwell in.”³⁹ But if the Son already had a spirit body, what happened to it during the incarnation?

How Dake’s Trinity Destroys the Gospel

The errors we’ve examined aren’t just abstract theological problems. They strike at the heart of the Gospel message itself. If Dake is right about God, then the good news of Jesus Christ falls apart. Let’s see why.

The Atonement Becomes a Transaction Between Different Gods

The Bible teaches that God Himself bore our sins on the cross. As Paul writes, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). The amazing truth of the Gospel is that God didn’t send someone else to die for us—He came Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

But if the Father and Son are two different Gods, then one God sent another God to die. The Father didn’t sacrifice Himself; He sacrificed someone else. This turns the beautiful truth of divine self-sacrifice into a business transaction between separate deities.

Imagine a judge who sentences his own son to death for someone else’s crime. We’d call that judge unjust and cruel. But that’s exactly what Dake’s system makes God the Father—a deity who punishes a different deity (the Son) for humanity’s sins. This isn’t love; it’s cosmic child abuse.

The Gospel only makes sense if the Judge Himself takes the penalty He requires. God’s justice demands payment for sin, and God’s love provides that payment Himself. As Isaiah prophesied, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Who is the “He”? Isaiah tells us: “the mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). Not a different God, but the one true God in the person of the Son.

Jesus’ Claims Become Blasphemous

Throughout His ministry, Jesus made statements that only make sense if He and the Father are one God:

• “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30)
• “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9)
• “All that the Father has is mine” (John 16:15)
• “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58)

If Jesus is a separate God from the Father, these statements are lies. How could seeing one God be the same as seeing a different God? How could one God claim to own everything that belongs to another God? And most seriously, how could Jesus use the divine name “I AM” (Exodus 3:14) if He’s not the same God who spoke to Moses?

The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was claiming. That’s why they picked up stones to kill Him (John 8:59, 10:31). They recognized He was claiming to be the one God of Israel, not announcing Himself as a second God alongside Yahweh.

Worship Becomes Idolatry

The first commandment is crystal clear: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). If Jesus is a different God from the Father, then worshiping Jesus violates this commandment. We become idolaters, worshiping someone other than the one true God.

Yet the New Testament commands us to worship Jesus:

• The wise men “worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11)
• The disciples “worshiped him” (Matthew 14:33)
• Thomas called Him “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)
• “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:10)
• “Let all God’s angels worship him” (Hebrews 1:6)

Either the New Testament is commanding idolatry, or Jesus is the same God as the Father. There’s no middle ground. Dake’s three-Gods doctrine forces us into an impossible position: either disobey the first commandment by worshiping multiple Gods, or disobey the New Testament by not worshiping Jesus.

Dake’s redefinition of the Trinity becomes clearer when he lists “over 500 plain scriptures that refer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as being THREE SEPARATE AND DISTINCT PERSONS, each with His own personal body, soul, and spirit in the sense that all other persons have them.”⁴⁰ He consistently emphasizes separation rather than unity.

The Mathematical Impossibility of Three Infinite Gods

Let’s think about this from another angle. The Bible teaches that God is infinite—unlimited in power, knowledge, and presence. But can there be three infinite beings? This creates logical contradictions that even a child can understand.

The Space Problem

If God is infinite, He fills all of reality. There’s no place where God is not. As Psalm 139:7-10 beautifully expresses: “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.”

But if there are three infinite Gods, where does one God end and another begin? If the Father fills all reality, where is there room for the Son? If the Son is everywhere, where does the Spirit fit? Three infinite beings would need three infinite realities to inhabit—but there’s only one reality.

Dake tries to solve this by denying that God is infinite. He teaches that God has a body located in heaven and is only present everywhere through the Holy Spirit. But this solution creates more problems than it solves. Now God isn’t infinite or omnipresent—He’s limited and located, making Him less than God.

Dake explicitly stated: “While I write I feel the presence of my wife and children who are hundreds of miles away at this time. They are in my thoughts, my plans, my life, and all that I do… This presence is constant, though distance separates bodily at times… Thus, presence is governed by relationship, not bodily contact only. Man has the same faculty that God has to make his presence felt by others, only it is on a finite scale.”⁴¹ This reduces God’s omnipresence to something merely psychological.

The Knowledge Problem

The Bible teaches that God knows everything—He is omniscient. As 1 John 3:20 says, “God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” But if there are three omniscient Gods, do they each know everything independently, or do they share knowledge?

If they each know everything independently, then they’re redundant—three separate databases with identical information. Why would there need to be three all-knowing beings?

If they share knowledge—one knows some things, another knows other things—then none of them is truly omniscient. Each would be ignorant of what the others know, making them less than God.

The Power Problem

God is omnipotent—all-powerful. As Jesus said, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). But can there be three omnipotent beings?

What happens if two omnipotent Gods want different things? Can omnipotent God A force omnipotent God B to do something? If yes, then God B isn’t omnipotent. If no, then God A isn’t omnipotent. The concept of multiple omnipotent beings is self-defeating.

This isn’t just philosophical speculation. It has practical implications for prayer and faith. When we pray, are we petitioning three separate Gods who might disagree about whether to answer? When God makes a promise, do all three Gods have to agree to keep it? The confusion multiplies endlessly.

How Modern Word-Faith Teachers Inherited Dake’s Error

Dake’s influence didn’t end with his death in 1987. His teachings, particularly his three-Gods doctrine and related errors, have been absorbed and promoted by many popular teachers in the Word-Faith movement. Understanding this connection helps us see why this isn’t just a historical curiosity but a present danger.

Kenneth Hagin’s Direct Connection

Kenneth Hagin Sr., often called the father of the Word-Faith movement, extensively used the Dake Bible and incorporated many of Dake’s interpretations into his teaching. While Hagin didn’t explicitly teach three Gods, he adopted Dake’s view that humans are “in the God class” and that God has a physical form.

In his booklet “Man on Three Dimensions,” Hagin quotes directly from Dake’s notes about humans being “miniature gods.” This teaching that humans are little gods flows naturally from Dake’s polytheism—if there can be three Gods, why not millions?

Kenneth Copeland’s Extreme Applications

Kenneth Copeland, one of Hagin’s most famous disciples, has taken Dake’s errors even further. Copeland has taught:

• God has a body that’s approximately 6 feet tall
• Adam was an exact duplicate of God
• Humans are in the God class and can operate with the same authority as God
• The biggest failure in the Bible is God

These shocking statements flow directly from Dake’s theology. Once you believe God has a physical body and that there can be multiple Gods, it’s a small step to believing humans can become gods themselves.

Benny Hinn’s Trinity Confusion

Perhaps the most dramatic example of Dake’s influence came when Benny Hinn declared on television that there are “nine persons” in the Trinity—three persons each (body, soul, and spirit) for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This came directly from Dake’s teaching:

Dake elaborated on this teaching: “BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, each angel and man, and every separate person in the universe has a personal body, soul, and spirit, which are separate and distinct from all others.”⁴² This multiplication of divine components leads directly to the confusion Hinn expressed.

While Hinn later retracted this statement after widespread criticism, it shows how Dake’s errors continue to confuse even prominent Christian leaders. When you start with bad theology, you end up with worse theology.

The Little Gods Doctrine

One of the most dangerous teachings in the Word-Faith movement is that Christians are “little gods.” This doctrine, taught by Copeland, Dollar, Meyer, and others, comes directly from Dake’s polytheistic framework. Here’s the logical progression:

1. If there can be three Gods (Dake’s teaching)
2. And humans are made in God’s image with the same essential nature
3. And Jesus (who is God) became a man
4. Then humans can become gods

This is exactly what Satan promised Eve: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). It’s the oldest lie in history, repackaged with Bible verses taken out of context. And it all starts with denying that there is only one God.

The Practical Consequences for Everyday Christians

You might think this theological debate doesn’t affect regular Christian life. “Does it really matter if someone gets the Trinity wrong?” Yes, it matters tremendously. Dake’s errors have serious practical consequences for how people relate to God, understand salvation, and live their Christian lives.

Prayer Becomes Confused

Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). But He also said we can pray to Him: “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us in prayer (Romans 8:26). How does this work?

In orthodox Trinity doctrine, it’s simple: we’re praying to one God who exists as three persons. We can address the Father through the Son in the power of the Spirit, but we’re talking to one God.

But in Dake’s system, prayer becomes complicated. Are we praying to three different Gods? Do we need to get all three to agree? Can one God answer yes while another says no? A pastor who used to teach Dake’s doctrine told me, “My prayer life was paralyzed. I didn’t know who to address or how to make sure all three Gods heard me.”

Dake tried to address this with his concept of interpenetration: “The Bible doctrine of interpenetration means the union of two or more persons together for the same end. Thus, persons can be one with each other to a common end without literally getting inside each other or without being one single person.”⁴³ But this doesn’t solve the problem of praying to three separate Gods.

Assurance of Salvation Weakens

Our salvation security rests on God’s unified will and action. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

This promise only works if the Father and Son are one God with one will. But if they’re separate Gods, what if they disagree about our salvation? What if one God wants to save us but another doesn’t? The beautiful security of being held in God’s hand becomes uncertain if there are multiple Gods with potentially different plans.

Worship Loses Focus

Christian worship is directed to one God. We sing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” not “Lord Gods Almighty.” Our worship has a single focus, even as we acknowledge the three persons.

But if there are three Gods, worship becomes divided. Do we sing three songs, one to each God? Do we need to make sure we’re giving equal attention to all three? A worship leader shared with me, “When I believed Dake’s teaching, I was constantly worried I was neglecting one of the Gods in favor of another. Worship became a balancing act instead of wholehearted devotion.”

The Bible Becomes Contradictory

If Dake is right, the Bible contradicts itself hundreds of times. Every verse declaring there is one God must be reinterpreted to mean “one team of Gods.” Every statement about God’s infinity must be qualified. Jesus’ claims to deity must be understood as one God talking about being a different God.

This destroys confidence in Scripture. If the Bible can’t clearly communicate something as basic as how many Gods there are, how can we trust it about anything else? A Bible study teacher told me, “Once I accepted Dake’s interpretation of the Trinity, I had to start explaining away so many verses. The Bible became a puzzle to solve rather than God’s clear word to us.”

Dake himself admitted the complexity of his system when he wrote about pronouns: “First, second and third personal pronouns are used hundreds of times in Scripture of one, two, or three persons in the Deity… In John 17 alone Jesus uses 162 pronouns in speaking TO and OF His Father.”⁴⁴ Rather than seeing this as evidence of personal distinction within one God, Dake saw it as proof of separate Gods.

Answering Common Objections

Those who defend Dake’s teaching often raise certain objections. Let’s address the most common ones with biblical answers.

Objection 1: “The word ‘Trinity’ isn’t in the Bible”

This is true—the word “Trinity” doesn’t appear in Scripture. But neither do words like “Bible,” “omnipotence,” or “incarnation.” We use these terms to describe biblical concepts. The word “Trinity” is simply shorthand for what the Bible teaches: one God in three persons.

What matters isn’t whether a specific word appears in Scripture, but whether the concept is biblical. The Bible clearly teaches:

• There is only one God
• The Father is God
• The Son is God
• The Holy Spirit is God
• The Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct persons

Put these biblical truths together, and you have the Trinity doctrine, whether you use that word or not.

Objection 2: “How can 1+1+1=1?”

This objection misunderstands the Trinity doctrine. We’re not saying 1 God + 1 God + 1 God = 1 God. That would be nonsense. We’re saying 1 Being × 3 Persons = 1 God. It’s not addition but complexity within unity.

Think of it this way: You are one being (a human) and one person. A dog is one being (a canine) but zero persons (dogs aren’t persons in the philosophical sense). God is one being (divine) and three persons. The relationship between being and personhood doesn’t have to be one-to-one.

Or consider a simpler analogy: A triangle has three corners but is one shape. We don’t say three corners equals one corner; we say three corners compose one triangle. Similarly, three persons compose one God.

Objection 3: “Jesus prayed to the Father, proving they’re separate Gods”

Jesus praying to the Father proves they’re distinct persons, not separate Gods. Prayer is communication, and persons communicate with each other, even when they share the same being.

Remember, Jesus had two natures—divine and human. In His humanity, He prayed to the Father. This shows the genuine distinction between the persons and the real humanity of Christ. But it doesn’t prove they’re separate Gods any more than you talking to yourself proves you’re two people.

In fact, Jesus’ prayers often emphasize His unity with the Father: “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). One God can’t share glory with a different God—Isaiah 42:8 says God doesn’t share His glory with another.

Objection 4: “The Father is greater than Jesus (John 14:28)”

Jesus did say, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). But greater in what sense? In the same conversation, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

The answer lies in understanding Jesus’ two natures and His voluntary submission. In His humanity, Jesus was less than the Father. He got tired, hungry, and didn’t know certain things. Also, in His role as Son, He voluntarily submitted to the Father’s will, though they are equal in nature.

Think of a human analogy: A wife who submits to her husband’s leadership (Ephesians 5:22) isn’t less human than her husband. They’re equal in nature but different in role. Similarly, the Son’s submission to the Father doesn’t make Him less divine.

Even Dake admitted this was about position, not nature: “God is the head of Christ and thus greater than He in position.”²⁷ But unlike orthodox Christianity, Dake used this to argue for separate beings rather than distinct persons in one being.

Objection 5: “It’s a mystery we can’t understand anyway”

While the Trinity is mysterious, it’s not contradictory or meaningless. We can understand what it is even if we can’t fully comprehend how it works. We know:

• What it is: One God in three persons
• What it isn’t: Three Gods, or one person in three modes
• Why it matters: For salvation, worship, and relationship with God

Many things are mysterious without being nonsensical. Scientists don’t fully understand how gravity works, but they can describe what it does. Similarly, we can accurately describe the Trinity from Scripture even while acknowledging mystery in how it’s possible.

Dake rejected this healthy acknowledgment of mystery, claiming his view was more comprehensible: “It is no wonder that these men cannot comprehend the Trinity of God as they declare. They make such ridiculous propositions about God that it is impossible to comprehend them. If we will take the Bible instead of these statements we can comprehend God.”⁴⁵ But Dake’s “solution” was to abandon monotheism entirely.

Returning to Biblical Truth

After examining Dake’s errors, we need to return to positive biblical truth. What does Scripture actually teach about the nature of God? Let’s look at key passages that establish orthodox Trinity doctrine.

The Great Commission: One Name, Three Persons

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 carefully: “In the NAME” (singular) “of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (three persons). Not “names” (plural) but “name” (singular). Three persons sharing one name because they are one God.

If the Father, Son, and Spirit were three separate Gods, Jesus should have said “in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The singular “name” with three persons listed is one of the clearest Trinity passages in Scripture.

The Baptism of Jesus: Three Persons, One Event

At Jesus’ baptism, we see all three persons of the Trinity simultaneously:

“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.'” (Matthew 3:16-17)

The Son is in the water, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven. Three distinct persons, yet Scripture still insists there is only one God. This is the Trinity—not Dake’s three separate Gods.

Paul’s Benediction: Three Persons, One Blessing

Paul closes 2 Corinthians with: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Three persons, each providing distinct blessings, yet Paul elsewhere insists “there is one God” (1 Timothy 2:5). The three persons are distinguished but not separated—they are one God blessing His people.

The Creation Account: Plural and Singular Together

Genesis 1:26-27 beautifully demonstrates the Trinity:

“Then God said, ‘Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness’… So God created man in HIS own image, in the image of God HE created him.”

Notice the switch from plural (us, our) to singular (his, he). One God who is multiple persons speaks in the plural, then acts in the singular because He is one being.

Dake tried to explain this by saying: “When singular pronouns are used of Deity it is one of the three persons of the Trinity speaking of Himself or as representing the whole Godhead, or it is one of the three divine persons speaking to another one concerning a third person of the Trinity.”⁴⁶ But this misses the point—the singular and plural pronouns indicate one being in multiple persons, not multiple beings.

Isaiah’s Vision: Holy to the Three, Lord to the One

In Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim cry: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” Three “holies” for three persons, but “LORD” (singular) because they are one God. Isaiah 6:8 continues: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for US?'” Again, singular Lord, plural “us.”

Chapter Summary: Main Points

Prayer Section: How to Pray About This Issue

Moving Forward: Action Steps for Believers

If you’ve been influenced by Dake’s teaching or similar errors, don’t despair. Many sincere Christians have been confused by these false doctrines. Here are practical steps to move forward:

1. Return to Scripture

Read the Bible without Dake’s notes or any study Bible for a while. Let Scripture speak for itself. Pay special attention to passages about God’s nature, particularly:

• Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (The Shema)
• Isaiah 43-46 (God’s uniqueness)
• John 1:1-18 (The Word became flesh)
• Colossians 1:15-20 (Christ’s deity)
• Hebrews 1 (The Son’s superiority)

2. Study Historic Christianity

Learn what Christians have believed throughout history. Read the early creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, Athanasian). These aren’t Scripture, but they show how the church has understood Scripture’s teaching about God. You’ll find that Dake’s views have been considered heresy for 2,000 years.

3. Find Sound Teaching

Look for churches and teachers who affirm the historic Christian faith. Be wary of anyone who claims to have discovered “new revelation” about God’s nature that contradicts what Christians have always believed. God’s nature doesn’t change, and neither does the truth about Him.

4. Test Everything

As 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Test everything; hold fast what is good.” When you hear teaching about God, ask:

• Does this align with the clear teaching of Scripture?
• Has the church historically recognized this as true?
• Does this exalt Christ or diminish Him?
• Does this promote unity in the body of Christ or division?

5. Share Truth in Love

If you know others influenced by Dake’s teaching, share the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Don’t attack or condemn, but gently show them what Scripture actually teaches. Remember, many people don’t realize Dake’s notes contradict biblical Christianity—they assume a “Reference Bible” must be reliable.

Conclusion: The God Who Is

We’ve spent this chapter examining what God is not—He is not three separate beings, not a cosmic committee, not a divine corporation. But more importantly, we’ve seen what/who God IS: the one eternal, infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present Creator who exists as three distinct persons sharing one divine essence.

This isn’t just theological trivia. The nature of God affects everything in the Christian life. If God is not who Scripture reveals Him to be, then:

• Our worship is misdirected
• Our prayers are confused
• Our salvation is uncertain
• Our Scripture is unreliable
• Our gospel is powerless

But because God IS who Scripture reveals—one God in three persons—we have:

• Focused worship of the one true God
• Confident prayer to our unified Lord
• Assured salvation from the God who cannot lie or change
• Trustworthy Scripture from one divine Author
• Powerful gospel of God Himself saving us

Finis Dake’s denial of the Trinity wasn’t a minor adjustment to Christian doctrine—it was an abandonment of Christianity itself. By teaching three separate Gods, he left the faith once delivered to the saints and embraced a form of polytheism that the church has always rejected.

The good news is that the true God—the Triune God of Scripture—is far more wonderful than Dake’s three limited deities. We don’t worship a divine committee that might disagree or three Gods competing for attention. We worship the one infinite, eternal, unchangeable God who loved us so much that He gave Himself for our salvation.

As we close this chapter, let the words of the ancient doxology ring in our hearts:

“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen.”

Not glory to three Gods, but glory to the three persons of the one eternal God. This is the faith we hold, the faith we defend, and the faith that saves. May we never exchange this glorious truth for the polytheistic confusion of human invention.

A Final Word of Hope

If this chapter has shaken your faith because you’ve trusted Dake’s teaching, take heart. Many believers have walked this path before you—discovering that what they thought was biblical truth was actually error, then finding their way back to solid ground. God is patient and merciful, ready to lead you into all truth.

The apostle Paul wrote, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). We don’t have perfect knowledge now, and we all make mistakes in understanding God’s Word. But the essential truths—like God’s triune nature—have been made clear in Scripture and confirmed by the Spirit through the church across centuries.

Don’t let the enemy use this discovery to make you doubt everything. Instead, let it drive you deeper into God’s Word, make you hunger for truth more earnestly, and cause you to test all teaching more carefully. The God who is—the true Triune God—is faithful to reveal Himself to those who seek Him with sincere hearts.

Remember, the goal isn’t just to reject false teaching but to embrace true teaching. It’s not enough to know what God isn’t; we must know who He is. And He has revealed Himself clearly: one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, infinitely perfect in all His attributes, creating us in love, redeeming us by grace, and sanctifying us for His glory.

This is the God we worship. This is the God we serve. This is the God who saves. Not three Gods, but one God in three persons—blessed Trinity.

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Sources and Citations

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