The Doctrine of Trinity
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The Doctrine of the Trinity
The Doctrine of the Trinity
God’s three in oneness
Judaism and Christianity are both monotheistic. (There is only one God)
Monotheism - the belief there is only one God.
bi-theism - two gods
tri-theism - three gods
Is the Trinity Tri-theism?
I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by Himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to man. I adhere to the principles of the first age; and consider all subsequent innovations as corruptions of His religion, having no foundation in what came from Him. the metaphysical insanities of Athanasius of Loyola, and of Calvin, are, to my understanding, mere relapses into polytheism, differing from paganism only by being more unintelligible.”
This doctrine is taken from Special Revelation alone. This is not revealed through general revelation.
This doctrine is taken from Special Revelation alone. This is not revealed through general revelation.
Is the doctrine of the Trinity a relapse into paganism and polytheism?
If we reject the doctrine of the Trinity we will be rejecting the very text we derive our doctrine from.
We must approach this subject carefully as Augustine says,
There is no subject where error is more dangerous, research more laborious, and discovery more fruitful than the oneness of the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To answer this we must turn to God’s self revelation of Himself. What does God tell about himself?
This doctrine is taken from Special Revelation alone (Scripture). This is not revealed through general revelation.
If you remember we can deduce that God exists from Natural Revelation but thats about it. the Trinity comes directly from scripture.
God is One
God is One
Scriptural Support for God’s Oneness
Old Testament
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
Isaiah
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
New Testament
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.
For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
,
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
1 timothy
The Deity of the Three
The Deity of the Three
God the Father (see Above verses)
The Deity of Jesus
The Deity of Jesus
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Php 2:5-11
“form/nature” = morphe = the genuine nature; “the expression of something that reflects of manifests fully and truly (and permanently) the essence of what something is.”
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
But of the Son He says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.
This is a quote from
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Other Verses: 1. ; ; ; ; ; ;
Scripture shows that Jesus is deity but he also performs acts that only God can do.
Scripture shows that Jesus is deity but he also performs acts that only God can do.
Jesus has a self-awareness that he was God
a. Angels – ; (Angels belong to God); (Jesus has control over angels)
b. The Kingdom of God was His own – ; , ; ,
c. The Elect of God was his –
d. Jesus forgave sins –
e. Power to judge the world –
f. Reign over the world – ;
f. Reign over the world – ;
g. Jesus allowed followers to worship him.
The Deity of the Holy Spirit
The Deity of the Holy Spirit
Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God.
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Acts 5:
The Holy Spirit plays a primary role in Redemption
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit receives honor and glory
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
The Holy Spirit is on equal footing with God.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
Your body is the temple of God and the Holy Spirit
but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
1 Cor
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
:
The 3 in 1ness
The 3 in 1ness
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
For there are three that testify:
For there are three that testify:
the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
Scriptural Support
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 28:
This formula is also found in the Didache 7:1-4
Justin Martyr quotes this formula in Apology 1:61
“Name” is singular but there are 3 names
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
2 Cor
“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Mt 1
“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Baptism of Jesus
Mark 1:
and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Mark 1
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.
The structure of Romans
The Judgment of God - 1:18-3:20
Justification through Faith in Christ - 3:21-8:1
Life in the Spirit - 8:2-30
How are we to understand this paradox?
How are we to understand this paradox?
With a doctrine so important we must press forward ever so carefully so we don’t fall into the same mistakes others have made before us.
This is the importance of Historical Theology, we can see how the early church handled this touchy subject.
There was a theological war raged over the doctrine of the Trinity. how are we to know if we are Orthodox or not?
Modalism
Modalism
Most trinitarian debates revolved around the relationship of the Son to the Father, you don’t see the Holy Spirit brought up much until after Christs relationship is figured out. Once you understood the Sons relationship then the Spirit’s relationship logically followed.
There were not actually a plurality in the Godhead. It appeared that God was 3 persons but in reality he was only one. He appeared at different times throughout history. OT - YHWH, Gospels, Jesus Christ and then came as the Holy Spirit.
They overemphasized the oneness of God and eliminated the personhood of each member of the trinity. Tertullian
Tertullian was the 2nd Century defender of the Faith.
He invented many theological words (over 700) and one very important one was the word trinitos or trinity. He was the first we know of to use this word in relation to God.
the major problem for Tertullian is seen in his response to Praxeas, who was a modalist.
“He says [Praxeas] that the Father Himself came down into the Virgin, was Himself born of her, Himself suffered, indeed was Himself Jesus Christ.”
He says that the Father Himself came down into the Virgin, was Himself born of her, Himself suffered, indeed was Himself Jesus Christ.
Tertullian. (1885). Against Praxeas. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), P. Holmes (Trans.), Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian (Vol. 3, p. 597). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.
The Failure of Modalism
The Failure of Modalism
Modalism failed to hold together the essential eternal unity of the three persons (by making them successive stages), the distinction between the three persons (by making them nominal), and the equality of the three persons (by losing the distinctiveness of Son and Spirit).
Modalism failed to hold together the essential eternal unity of the three persons (by making them successive stages), the distinction between the three persons (by making them nominal), and the equality of the three persons (by losing the distinctiveness of Son and Spirit).
Oden, T. C. (1992). The living God: systematic theology, vol. I (p. 213). San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco.
What are some Scriptural Issues?
The Baptism of Jesus, all three members are there. Modalism doesn’t do justice to the scriptural data we have.
Arianism
Arianism
Modalism failed to distinguish between the persons of the Trinity
Arianism failed to grasp the same deity the Father and the Son shared.
Arius (256-336)
Arius was a presbyter of Alexandria Who saw the Son as created by the Father. This creation was therefore a different “substance” (heterouisios).
Arius had a basic argument about the creatureliness of Jesus. (Taken from McGrath, Heresy 143)
The Son and the Father do not have the same substance (ousia)
The Son is a created being, even though he is to be recognized as first and foremost among created beings in terms of origination and rank.
Although the Son was the creator of the worlds, and must therefore have existed before them and before all time, there was nevertheless a time when the Son did not exist.
Arius saw certain passages referring to Christ being “begotten” (monogenos) from the Father.
“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
“From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Arius is a great example of someone who just sits down with a concordance and prooftexts. Theology is doing more than prooftexting, it is learning to see the patterns throughout scriptures. Scripture is something that must be wrestled with.
The Greek monotheistic philosophers didn’t like the idea of the incarnation (taking on flesh) of Jesus because it messed with the attribute of immutability.
How are we to understand “begotten”?
The early church fathers understood begotten, not in terms of physical creation such as a mom and a dad produce a child (chronologically) but rather as showing how Christ is of the Same substance. They used it to show how Christ always existed in the same substance as the Father into eternity past but that Christ is eternally begotten, not in time but in substance. Just as a child is of the same nature as the parents.
The early church fathers like Athanasius wanted to fight against the idea that Christ was created. As scripture reveals that Christ is eternal, so also his begetting is eternal.
An early church example was how the sun emits rays. As long as the sun exists or has existed so has the rays, yet the Sun begets the rays. The two cannot exist independently of each other yet one begets the other. In the same way the Father begets the Son. They called it “Eternal Generation” of the Son.
Athanasius was the greatest critic of Arius because he saw two fundamental flaws with his teachings.
When Athanasius died the phrase Athanasius contra mundum “Athanasius against the World.”
Only God can save.
If God is the only one who can save then how can scripture also attribute it to Jesus. In fact beyond this how can a creature save a creature. Only the creator can redeem the creation, in fact doesn’t this make Jesus a part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
Only God can be worshipped
Worship of Christ was a fundamental practice for the early church and carried on into Athanasius’ day. If Jesus was a creature then he is deserving of honor not worship.
Remember
Remember our orthodoxy produces our orthopraxi (Belief directs our practice and behavior)
Athanasius and other church fathers used the term homoousios (Same substance) to define the similar nature between the members of the Godhead.
There was a third party who didn’t quite understand the debate called, semi-arians who used the term “homoiousios” (Similar Substance)
Nicea had 6 Arians, 35 orthodox theologians and over 200 bishops who were semi-arians.
Constantine ruled in favor of Athanasius and eventually the Cappadocian Fathers in the Constantinople Counsel of 381.
The Nicene Creed (325)
The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes, Volume II: The Greek and Latin Creeds, with Translations (b) Forma Recepta Ecclesiæ Occidentalis
I believe in one GOD THE FATHER Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes, Volume II: The Greek and Latin Creeds, with Translations (b) Forma Recepta Ecclesiæ Occidentalis
And in one Lord JESUS CHRIST, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds [God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance [essence] with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man
The Athanasian Creed
For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
7. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
9. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.
14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;