Three in One: The Trinity

Recently, Mark Driscoll, the president of the Acts 29 Network was involved in an event called the Elephant Room 2. One of the sessions included an interview with classical modalist and prosperity gospel pastor, T.D. Jakes. For a helpful review of the session, see the review written by D.A. Carson and Tim Keller here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/02/03/carson-and-keller-on-jakes-and-the-elephant-room/

It is my conviction that the doctrine of the Trinity is not to be seen as an unimportant marginalized doctrine of the church which is seen as an irrelevant mystery but is rather essential to the Christian Faith. What this event has highlighted is the importance of knowing and understanding the Trinity and the importance of getting it right. In light of that I thought it would be a good teaching opportunity to have Josh Feil, our pastoral intern here at The Resolved Church and Westminster Seminary student, write a blog for us on the doctrine of the Trinity.

I’ve read through this post and worked with Josh on it and thoroughly recommend it as being healthy for your mind and your soul.

- Pastor Duane Smets

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Three in One: The Trinity by Josh Feil

“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith.” (“Catholic” here means “universal” and is not particular to the Roman Catholic Church)

With these words begins the Athanasian Creed, a robust and heartwarming explanation of both Trinitarian theology as well as Christology: who Jesus was and what he did. A sentence like this one should immediately grab our attention:

WHOSOEVER WILL BE SAVED – You need to believe this.

That’s no small claim.

The Athanasian Creed has been used since the sixth century to defend the church against heresies that threaten the purity of Biblical teaching on matters such as the Trinity as well as the person and work of Jesus. Though not as commonly recited as the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed, it does a fantastic job of clearly and exhaustively articulating the Biblical teaching on the Trinity.

There is nothing more central to Christianity than who God is – his character and nature. As one author has said, “If any doctrine makes Christianity Christian, then surely it is the doctrine of the Trinity.” If that’s the case, then there are at least three questions that we should be enthusiastic about answering: What is the trinity? What is the trinity not? Why does it matter?

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What is the Trinity?

The term Trinity has been used by theologians for ages to explain what the Bible teaches concerning God’s existence: one God eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God, three persons. Each of them equal, uncreated, incomprehensible, eternal and almighty.

We could also lay it out this way:

There is only one God
The Father is God
The Son is God
The Holy Spirit is God
The Father is not the Son
The Son is the not the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not the Father

The Athanasian Creed says it well:

And the catholic faith is this: That 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.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are different persons, distinct from one another, but they share the same essence, or “God-ness.” The same stuff (theologians used the Latin term “ousias” to describes). One God, three persons.

Some common charges often leveled against the doctrine of the Trinity are that:

1) It can’t be found in the Bible

2) God is a mystery and we shouldn’t try to peek behind the curtain

Concerning the latter, we would mostly agree. There is much about God that man is not privileged to understand. As Moses instructed Israel, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). Instead of trying to pull back the curtain and get direct access to the throne room, we look to the things that God has revealed in his Word for answers about who He is and what He is like. There is mystery, but we must draw the line of mystery around where the Bible does. And what has revealed to us is necessary for our life and salvation.

Concerning the former, we ought to ask, “What does the Bible have to say about the Trinity?” Though the word Trinity never appears explicitly in the Bible, the idea of “three-in-one-ness” is taught consistently through the Bible.

Trinity in the Old Testament

• Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

• Genesis 3:22 “Behold the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”

• Isaiah 6:8 “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (note distinction “I” and unity “us”).

• Psalm 110:1 “The LORD says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool.” (God the Father says to God the Son)

Trinity in the New Testament

In Matthew 3:16-17, “the heavens were opened 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.”

Jesus tells the disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

Jesus shares God’s essence (was God) yet also is distinct from the Father (was with God).1 “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2).”

Jesus invokes the divine title. “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58).”
Furthermore in the epistles, the authors consistently refer to each person of the trinity together – one God, three persons.

“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).”

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6).”

So while the understanding of the Trinity progresses throughout the Bible and becomes clearer in the New Testament, we can see that even in the Old Testament, God was revealing himself as a Trinitarian God.

B.B. Warfield explains it this way: “The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted; the introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not in it before; but it brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before.”

If Scripture attests to God being all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere-present, majestic, uncreated and the maker of heaven and earth as one God in three persons, maybe seeing what the Trinity is not would help to clarify what it is.

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What the Trinity is NOT

Each of the following is an example of heretical, unbiblical teaching on the Trinity:

Modalism: teaches that God is not three distinct persons, but only appears in different manifestations or “modes” throughout the Bible. He sometimes manifests as the Father, sometimes he manifests as the Son and sometimes he manifests as the Spirit. According to modalism, God appeared as the Father in the Old Testament, as the Son in the gospels, and as the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. The danger of modalism is that it denies the relationships within the Godhead. God handing over the elect to his Son for redemption, Jesus praying to the Father in Gethsemane, the Son or the Spirit interceding to the Father for us and the very nature of a truly human Christ as the human substitute for sin and object of God’s wrath are all lost.

Arianism: claims that the Son and the Spirit are created beings, not eternal and not divine. They do not share the same “God-ness” or substance. It is really the opposite error of modalism. One form of Arianism says that the Son, though eternal and divine, was inferior or subordinate to the Father (subordinationism). Another form says Jesus was a normal man until his baptism when the Father showed up and bestowed supernatural power on him (adoptionism). Arianism was condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381, which reaffirmed the Nicene Creed.

I believe… 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 with the Father, by whom all things were made. (excerpt of the Nicene Creed)

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Why Does It Matter?

So what are the implications of all of this? Why does holding to Biblical Trinitarian theology matter for you and me?

Four reasons:

Good Theology – We are talking about the very core of who God is. This is not a topic on which we are allowed to waver or bend, but one on which we must stand firm and committed. The God of the Bible is a Trinitarian God, and if you don’t believe in that God, then have broken the 1st commandment and are worshipping a different god. Here’s the rub: Christianity is not less than trusting Jesus, but it is certainly more. Often the question is asked, “What is the least I must believe to be a Christian?” That is the wrong question. The better question to ask is, “what is the fullness of what I should believe as a Christian?” Part of that fullness is coming to love not only Jesus, but to love all the persons of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Redemption – Everything that God does in the Bible is from the Father, in the Son, by the Holy Spirit.3 Especially our redemption. The Father decrees or elects to choose some for salvation, he gives them to the son, who is our perfect righteousness, substitute for sin and resurrected life and the Spirit works as the regenerating agent in giving us faith, new life and sustaining us through the gospel. If you give up the Trinity, you no longer have a divine Jesus who is able to offer full substitution, or a Spirit who has the power to regenerate and sustain. Our only hope is in the Trinitarian God who saves.

Relationships – Anytime we experience love, joy, pleasure, peace, trust or satisfaction, we are only getting a taste of the perfect and pure relationships shared by the Father, Son and Spirit. The Son who did the will of the Father, even to the point of death, the Spirit who intercedes to the Father on behalf of his people and the Father who does not let a hair fall from your head without knowing; God is our example and paradigm for what true love and peace is like. Like the Psalmist says, “As for me, it is good to be near God;” Psalm 73:28. Our greatest joy is in the Trinitarian God who loves.

The Christian Life – As we grow in our sanctification, having a more full understanding of the Trinity can only aid us in our maturity and growth as Christians. Whether it’s in community, the church, our jobs, opportunities to serve, school or family, we learn to repent of sin and idolatry, turning to God because we have been so overwhelmed by His grace. What we learn about our Trinitarian God and how glorious he is changes us from prideful people seeking worship to humble servants seeking to worship their God. Our lives depend on the Trinitarian God who is faithful.

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Conclusion

The well-known hymn, Holy Holy Holy seems to be an appropriate conclusion. Give it a spin if you know the tune. Worthy is our God of all praise, for he has done great things.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,

Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,

Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;

Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,

Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;

Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!