1 John 5:7-8 — "The Comma Johanneum"

Churches of Christ apply rigorous textual criticism and reject the Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7–8 in the longer form: 'the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit... and these three are one') as a later Latin insertion into the Greek text. The passage does not appear in early Greek manuscripts and is recognized by scholars as a medieval addition originating in the Old Latin tradition. Churches of Christ, while affirming the doctrine of the Trinity from other biblical sources, do not appeal to the Comma as proof-text for Trinitarian theology.

This approach demonstrates the Restoration Movement's commitment to textual fidelity and manuscript evidence. Though the Comma expresses a truth that Churches of Christ affirm (the Trinity), the commitment to 'speak where the Bible speaks' means that only texts with solid manuscript attestation should be treated as authoritative Scripture. Churches of Christ therefore use other passages (Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 13:14, etc.) to support Trinitarian doctrine. The rejection of the Comma is not a denial of the Trinity itself, but rather a refusal to build doctrine on textually unreliable grounds.