· Theology Proper ·

Lecture Twenty Nine:  The Doctrine of the Trinity III

TH330 Systematic Theology I · Moody Bible Institute · Dr. Richard M. Weber

I. Conclusion:  A Review of Trinitarian Essentials

A. There is One God

B. There are Three Divine Persons

Thomas says that Jesus is “my Lord and my God.” Jesus Affirms.

C. The Three Persons Are Distinct

D. The Trinity is Eternal

E. There Exists a Functional Subordination, But Not an Ontological Subordination

All three persons are divine. Ontological is the study of being.

F. The Trinity is Incomprehensible

II. The Problem With Analogies

A. Analogies From Nature

Like an egg…egg yoke shell….the problem is that the three can be separated.

B. Analogies From Grammar

Some people use “category transgressions” or “logical off qualifiers”

“God are one” or “They is three”

C. Social Analogies

Proposed by Augustine in De Trinitate

This was a big move in the history of the church.

If humanity is in the image of God there must be something in creation that must be present

SOCIAL MODEL OF THE TRINITY

The only problem is that the holy spirit is less that personal…

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D. Psychological Analogies

Proposed by Augustine in the Confessions

If you could have an idea of yourself, a mirror if you will, the image may have being.

If you exist and you have an idea, than maybe your idea exists.

“Try to explain it [the doctrine of the Trinity], and you’ll lose your mind; but try to deny it, and you’ll lose your soul.”  (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 342)

III. Questions For Discussion

A. “If Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all divine, why don’t we say there are three Gods?”

B. “If there is one God, shouldn’t we understand the Father, Son, and Spirit to be different expressions of the same person?”

C. “If there is only one God, wouldn’t it be better to say that only the Father is the one supreme God, and that the Son and Spirit are lesser beings or powers?”

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3)

“For by him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”  (Col 1:16; Cf. 1 Cor 8:6; Heb 1:2)

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Gen 1:2)

“[W]hen we refer to the triune God, we are describing a God who is greater than our logic and minds.  We believe the teaching of the Trinity because this is what eternal God has taught us about himself.  We believe it because God said it, not because we understand it or because we can logically explain it.”  (Alexander Vander Pol, God in Three Persons:  Biblical Testimony to the Trinity, 45)