Patristic Wisdom: Looking to Holy Trinity Sunday

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Mt 28:16–20)

There is then one God and Father, and not two or three; One who is; and there is no other besides Him, the only true [God]. For “the Lord your God is one Lord.”* And again, “Has not one God created us? Have we not all one Father?”† And there is also one Son, God the Word. For “the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father.”‡ And again, “One Lord Jesus Christ.”§ And in another place, “What is His name, or what His Son’s name, that we may know?”‖ And there is also one Paraclete. For “there is also one Spirit,”¶ since “we have been called in one hope of our calling.”** And again, “We have drunk of one Spirit,”†† with what follows. And it is manifest that all these gifts [possessed by believers] “works one and the self-same Spirit.”‡‡ There are not then either three Fathers, or three Sons, or three Paracletes, but one Father, and one Son, and one Paraclete. Therefore also the Lord, when He sent forth the apostles to make disciples of all nations, commanded them to “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” not unto one having three names, nor into three who became incarnate, but into three possessed of equal honor.

Pseudo-Ignatius, Epistle to the Philippians 2

*  Deuteronomy 6:4
†  Malachi 2:10
‡  John 1:18
§  1 Corinthians 8:6
‖  Proverbs 30:4
¶  Ephesians 4:4
** 1 Corinthians 12:13
†† Ephesians 4:4
‡‡ 1 Corinthians 12:11

God in Three Persons

Trinity Sunday marks a time in the church year when specific attention is turned to God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  As part of this, many church groups will recite the Athanasian Creed, which was written to help explain the difference, yet sameness, of each Person in the Godhead.  Its length and repetitive language can dissuade the reader, and one wonders if something else could not have been constructed with fewer words.  Shorter creedal statements about God have been made, but somehow they are incomplete: they simply do not convey the same depth of understanding and clarity.  After all, how does one condense and describe the omnipresent and indescribable in fewer than the 44 lines linked above?  We should praise the author(s) of that ancient document for accuracy and thoroughness—and brevity.

Consider for a moment the opening three verses of the Bible:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  (Gen 1:1-3)

How would one describe God from these verses?  You might mention that there was an all-powerful being, God, who existed before the heavens and earth, that He or She created everything, that the original state of things was somewhat chaotic needing form and structure, and God spoke things into existence.  Then you go a bit deeper: What is the Spirit of God?  Is this someone different than the God mentioned in verse one or an extension of the same?  These last two questions are actually more interesting than the first.  God is presented as the creator of all things, but His Spirit seems to be working somewhat independently yet in concert with God.

If the above is not sufficiently confusing, we must add another level of mystery—the God’s speech.  We assume that the Creator is the one speaking, rather than the Spirit hovering over the waters, but how does He communicate and able to enact great and mighty works through that communication?  What mode is used to transport the words?  What or Whom initiates the declarative act?  Scripture sheds light on this in an unexpected place:

The Lord created me in the beginning of His ways for His works;
He established me in the beginning before time,
Before He made the earth, and before He made the abysses,
Before the going forth of the fountains of the waters,
Before the mountains were created;
And He begot me before all hills.
The Lord made the fields and the uninhabited places
And the inhabited heights under heaven.
When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him,
And when He set apart His throne upon the winds.
When He made strong the things above the clouds,
And made sure the fountains under heaven,
And made strong the fountains of the earth,
I was working beside Him;
I was He in whom He rejoiced;
Daily and continually I was gladdened by His face.
When He completed the world, He rejoiced,
And He rejoiced in the sons of men.  (Prov 8:22-31 LXX*)

Here we have a recounting of creation from a different perspective—a heavenly one.  In this passage, Wisdom is personified and actively involved in creation.  Though personified elsewhere in Proverbs as an attribute to be pursued, the interworking here suggests a relationship more as one of Creator and Co-creator working together toward a result.  God is shown establishing Wisdom over His works and making all things through Wisdom.  And it is not that Wisdom is created, as we would imagine it, but rather established over all in the beginning before time having been begotten by the Lord.

Wisdom exists outside creation, and therefore cannot be considered part of the creation sequence, but rather is over it as a Workman.  The words indicate the relation of Wisdom to the Creator as as offspring, (i.e., the Son of the Father), begotten before and outside all time and ages.  Wisdom, being the Son of the Father, was present with the Father when He made the world, therefore, the Son exists with the Father outside creation.  And since the Father is not a creature, neither is His Son.

Were there, then, multiple Gods who created the world?  No.  The Son also created the world, for He was working beside the Father.  The Father is the Creator, and the Son is the Creator.  How so?  Because the working is one working.  They are distinct Persons, but the work of creation is one work.  Is the Son the same as the Spirit who hovered over the waters, as mentioned above.  Again, no.  The creation work of Wisdom, the Son, was more “hands on” during construction, while the Spirit’s work was primarily enlivening—preparing and giving life.  Three distinct Persons created the world, therefore the Holy Trinity, our one God, made the world with one working, and when completed, They rejoiced in one another.

Some will wonder why this concerns us, offering up a retort like: “So what if that group doesn't teach the Trinity.  They believe in Jesus, and that should be good enough.”  Except that is not good enough.  Look at the beginning and end of the Athanasian Creed:

•   1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith;
•   2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
• 44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.

The doctrine of the Trinity is important, because without a correct understanding, we believe and worship another god, not the God of the Bible.  There are many groups who mention Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in their doctrinal documents, but deny the God who is both one in essence yet three in persons: among these are Oneness Pentecostals, Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses.  These groups are not Christian.  Though they give ascent to God and to three entities somehow working together, they deny either the full deity or the unique personage of each member.  Without a proper understanding of God, His Person, and His redeeming work, what is believed cannot save, because the individual divine work needed to complete our redemption cannot be accomplished.  Therefore, if we choose to trust in such a god and inadequate work, we are left in our sins.

Only by believing, teaching, and confessing the almighty, Triune God as revealed in Scripture do we have a true basis for our assurance of salvation, hope of a resurrection, and promise of an eternal destiny with our Lord.


*  I used the Septuagint because it seemed to have a better reading for the active work of Wisdom.

A Declaration of Faith

There is one God, the Father of the living Word, who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image: perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son.  There is one Lord, Only of the Only, God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word, Wisdom comprehensive of the constitution of all things, and Power formative of the whole creation, true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal and Eternal of Eternal.  And there is One Holy Spirit, having His subsistence from God, and being made manifest by the Son, to wit to men: Image of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect; Life, the Cause of the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of Sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all.  There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged.  Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude in the Trinity; nor anything super-induced, as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced.  And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abides ever.

A Declaration of Faith, Gregory Thaumaturgus

Worshiping the Lamb on Equal Terms with God

If we go through the entire book of Revelation and examine all of its doxological material, we find an almost complete overlap in the honorific language directed to God and that directed to the Lamb (see table).  The overlap is not artificially perfect—“wealth” is directed to the Lamb and not to God, “thanksgiving” to God and not to the Lamb—but these differences seem inconsequential in light of the big picture.  Matthias Hoffmann, in his dissertation on the Lamb in the book of Revelation, rightly concludes, “Most of the predicates within the doxologies do not seem to distinguish God and the Lamb from each other, but rather express an equal status of both of them in general.”

By constructing such doxologies to God and Christ together, or even to Christ alone, the New Testament writers were exalting Jesus Christ to the very level of God.

Robert Bowman; J. Ed Komoszewski,

Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ

DOXOLOGIES TO GOD AND THE LAMB IN REVELATION

	God/One on the Throne	The Lamb	1 Chr 29:11-12
Worthy (axios)	4:11	5:9, 12
Blessing/Praise (eulogia)	5:13; 7:12	5:12,13
Honor (timē)	4:9, 11; 5:13; 7:12	5:12, 13	1 Chr 29:12
Glory (doxa)	4:9, 11; 5:13; 7:12; 19:1b	1:6; 5:12, 13
Dominion (kratos)	5:13	1:6; 5:13
Power (dunamis)	4:11; 7:12; 19:1b	5:12	1 Chr 29:11
Might (ischus)	7:12	5:12	1 Chr 29:11-12
Wealth (ploutus)		5:12	1 Chr 29:12
Wisdom (sophia)	7:12	5:12
Thanksgiving (eucharista)	4:9; 7:12	5:12
Salvation (sōtēria)	7:10; 19:1b	7:10

The Trinity in Isaiah's Vision

I have been reading the Bible regularly for almost 40 years, and the surprises keep coming.  While reading a book this past Monday, an author pointed out a fact of scripture I had read before but never connected on my own: the Trinity is found in Isaiah’s vision.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him stood the seraphim.  Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called to another and said:
    “Holy, holy, holy is the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts;
    the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts!”  (Isa 6:1-5)

Adonai is sitting on the throne in grand splendor and majesty above whom seraphim are ascribing holiness and glory and identifying as YHWH.  He is the Lord God—ruler of heaven and earth and redeemer of Israel.  Isaiah recognized that he could not behold God and live (Ex 33:20), so he fears for his very existence, but the Lord upholds and cleanses him.  After being consecrated, Isaiah receives a message to deliver to the people of Israel:

Go, and say to this people:
    “Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
    keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”
Make the heart of this people dull,
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.  (Isa 6:9-10)

The question to ask at this point is: Who or what did Isaiah see?  From his point of view, he saw YHWH in resplendent glory.  God the Father, first member of the Trinity, can rightly be said to be the source of the Trinity, in that he is the one who begets the Son and sends the Holy Spirit, but not so that the Son and Holy Spirit have a beginning, since they are all three co-equal and co-eternal.  Of this one we can rightfully say he is the “one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist” (1 Cor 8:6) and “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 1:3).

In the gospel bearing his name, The apostle John recounts additional information of Isaiah’s vision as he comments on the unbelief that Jesus met during his ministry:

Though [Jesus] had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe.  For again Isaiah said,
“He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart, and turn,
    and I would heal them.”
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.  (John 12:37-41)

We see that the one Isaiah saw seated on the throne in the temple was none other than Jesus, the Son of God and second member of the Trinity, in a theophany (i.e., pre-incarnate form).  His is the form seen seated on the throne.

What of the message itself?  Who delivered it?  Again, according to Isaiah the message to deliver came from YWHW, however the apostle Paul directs us more specifically:

And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
‘Go to this people, and say,
You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
        and their eyes they have closed;
        lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’
Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”  (Acts 28:25-28)

Notice that the message was authored and actively communicated by the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, and whose glory can also be said to be seen by the prophet as Ambrose states in his treatise On the Holy Spirit: “It is, then, the Spirit Who sent Isaiah.  If the Spirit sent him, it is certainly the Spirit Whom, after Uzziah’s death, Isaiah saw” (III.21.160).

We can see from Isaiah's vision both the distinctiveness and interconnectedness of the three persons of the divine Trinity.  When interacting with one, the interaction is with all.  To say that Isaiah saw and heard one member of the Trinity does not contradict another writer of scripture testifying that a different member was involved, for all three were present in the call of Isaiah and the delivery of the judgement message.  When one acts, all act.  Thus the three persons of the Godhead worked (and work) in unity as Gregory of Nyssa summarized:

And that “in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead,” the mighty Paul attests: yes, moreover, through the prophet Isaiah it is attested, as to the manifestation of the Divine appearance entrusted to him, when he saw Him that sat “on the throne high and lifted up;” the older tradition, it is true, says that it was the Father Who appeared to him, but the evangelist John refers the prophecy to our Lord, saying, touching those of the Jews who did not believe the words uttered by the prophet concerning the Lord, “These things said Isaiah, when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.”  But the mighty Paul attributes the same passage to the Holy Spirit in his speech made to the Jews at Rome, when he says, “Well spoke the Holy Spirit by Isaiah the prophet concerning you, saying, Hearing you shall hear and shall not understand,” showing, in my opinion, by Holy Scripture itself, that every specially divine vision, every theophany, every word uttered in the Person of God, is to be understood to refer to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Against Eunomius, II.14

While researching this post, I quickly noticed how many over the centuries had made the same connections.  No new thought materialized, but the exhilaration of the truth coming to light in my head made my day.  The lesson to be learned: continue reading your Bible, and let the Holy Spirit bring these to light, not by virtue of placing yourself in the Bible but allowing God to speak for himself through his Word.

Glory Be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.  (1 Tim 1:17)

Since [Paul] had presented Christ the Lord as source of those good things, he wanted to make clear that they were made with the good pleasure of God the Father and the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, so he moved from the one person to the commonality of nature, and offered the hymn to the Trinity, not mentioning the persons but celebrating the divine nature.  You see, the fact that the words apply not only to the God and Father but also to the Son and the Holy Spirit is easy to grasp.  It is not only the Father but also the only-begotten Son who is king of the ages, being maker of the ages.  And of course, the all-holy Spirit, whom the divine apostle also called eternal, “Who through the eternal Spirit.” [Heb 9:14]  And immortality and invisibility are proper both to the Son and to the Spirit.  With these matters clarified in this way, the term God is a term truly applied to the Trinity alone: beyond it no one else is God by nature.

Theodoret of Cyrus, “The First Epistle to Timothy”

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.  Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et saecula saeculorum.  Amen.

Have Phillips, Craig, and Dean Turned Trinitarian?

On January 10, or shortly thereafter, I briefly read a post by Matt Privett at The Mattrix that the members of the singing group Phillips, Craig, and Dean had signed a statement rejecting modalism (Sabellianism).*  Attached to the post is an image of the signed statement affirming the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) statement of faith.  This seemed rather odd, since the members of the trio are active pastors of Oneness Pentecostal (UPCI) congregations and have been involved with actively teaching the modalism heresy.  I also wondered why they chose the Baptist Faith and Message (BFM) to affirm rather than another faith statement.

Here is the BFM summary section on God:

II. God
There is one and only one living and true God.  He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe.  God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.  God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures.  To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.  The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

The section goes on to clarify the roles of the individual roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all with scriptural attestation.

Everybody holding to the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity as handed down through creeds and confessions could affirm this.  The problem is that so could a modalist.  This can be accomplished by adjusting the definition of the word triune from “three persons in one God” to “three manifestations in one God.”  Heretics, cults, and sects constantly use this maneuver to fool both their adherents and critics.  I do not want to fault the SBC for this: a great deal of effort went into its preparation.  They attempted to use a familiar Trinitarian term to develop this section, but in making the language accessible to their denomination, the crafters did not make this robust enough to prevent being coöpted.

If the members of Phillips, Craig, and Dean are seriously denying their previous involvement with modalism, I recommend they confess the Athanasian Creed.  After that happens, we can talk.  Until then, I remain skeptical.


*  Modalism denies the historic, catholic teaching that there are three co-equal and eternal persons in the Godhead.  Instead they affirm there is only one God, but that he manifests himself as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit as he sees fit.  This was originally propagated by Sabellius, a third century theologian, thus the attachment of his name.

Worship: Where the Trinity Is Confessed in Word and Song

But in the church I only know of one image, that is the image of the unseen God, of which God has said: “Let us make man in our image and our likeness;” that image of which it is written, that Christ is the brightness of his glory and the image of his person.  In that image I perceive the Father, as the Lord Jesus himself has said: “He that sees me sees the Father.”  For this image is not separated from the Father, which indeed has taught me the unity of the Trinity, saying: “I and my Father are one,” and again: “All things that the Father has are mine.”  Also of the Holy Spirit, saying that the Spirit is Christ’s, and has received of Christ, as it is written: “He shall receive of mine, and shall declare it unto you.”

They declare also that the people have been led astray by the strains of my hymns.  I certainly do not deny it.  That is a lofty strain, and there is nothing more powerful than it.  For what has more power than the confession of the Trinity which is daily celebrated by the mouth of the whole people?  All eagerly vie one with the other in confessing the faith, and know how to praise in verse the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  So they all have become teachers, who scarcely could be disciples.

Ambrose, On the Giving Up of the Basilicas 32, 34

Worship the Fullness of the Trinity

In reality and by nature it is the God of all, and His only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit which are God.  This is distinctly taught us by the admirable Paul in the words “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” … [F]or the Father and His only begotten Son and His Holy Spirit are one God by nature; and the divine Word made man, our Lord Jesus Christ, is by nature one Son, only begotten of the Father; and the Comforter who completes the number of the Trinity is one Holy Spirit.  Thus though many are named fathers, we worship one Father, the Father before the ages, who Himself gave this title to men, as the Apostle says, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every fatherhood* in heaven and on earth is named.”  Let us not then, because others are called christs, rob ourselves of the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For just as though many are called gods and fathers, there is one God and Father over all and before the ages; and though many are called sons, there is one real and natural Son; and though many are styled spirits there is one Holy Spirit; just so though many are called christs there is one Lord Jesus Christ by Whom are all things.  And very properly does the Church cling to this name.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Letter 146 to John Oeconomus, NPNF, Series 2

*  Theodoret's usage.

Apostles' Creed: God's Work of Redemption Summarized

Behold, here you have the entire divine essence, will, and work depicted most exquisitely in quite short and yet rich words. In these consists all our wisdom, which surpasses and exceeds the wisdom, mind, and reason of all men.[1]  For although the whole world with all diligence has endeavored to ascertain what God is, what he has in mind and does, yet has never been able to attain to [the knowledge and understanding of] any of these things.  But here we have everything in richest measure. For here in all three articles he has himself revealed and opened the deepest abyss of his paternal heart and of his pure, inexpressible love.[2]  For he has created us for this very reason, that he might redeem and sanctify us.  And in addition to giving and imparting to us everything in heaven and upon earth, he has given to us even his Son and the Holy Spirit, by whom to bring us to himself.[3]  For (as explained above) we could never grasp the knowledge of the grace and favor of the Father except through the Lord Christ, who is a mirror of the paternal heart,[4] outside of whom we see nothing but an angry and terrible judge.  But of Christ we could know nothing either, unless it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther, Large Catechism: Apostles' Creed, II.63-65

[1]  1 Corinthians 1:18-25
[2]  Ephesians 3:18-19
[3]  Romans 8:14, 32
[4]  John 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3

God: Trinity in Person, Unity in Substance

What follows Philip’s question, and the Lord’s whole treatment of it, to the end of John’s Gospel, continues to furnish us with statements of the same kind, distinguishing the Father and the Son, with the properties of each.  Then there is the Paraclete or Comforter, also, which He promises to pray for to the Father, and to send from heaven after He had ascended to the Father.  He is called “another Comforter,” indeed;* but in what way He is another we have already shown, “He shall receive of mine,” says Christ,† just as Christ Himself received of the Father’s.  Thus the connection of the Father in the Son, and of the Son in the Paraclete, produces three coherent Persons, who are yet distinct One from Another.  These Three are one essence, not one Person, as it is said, “I and my Father are One,”‡ in respect of unity of substance not singularity of number.

Tertullian, Against Praxeas, 25.

* John 14:16

† John 16:14

‡ John 5:30

Splendor of the Trinity

I received a comment last week concerning my post on God's essence and being which pointed to a section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that dealt with the subject.  Part of the reading was a wonderful quote from the Cappadocian father Gregory Nazianzen.  The commenter was kind enough to pass along the reference, and I share a more full version than given in the catechism.

Besides all this and before all, keep I pray you the good deposit, by which I live and work, and which I desire to have as the companion of my departure; with which I endure all that is so distressful, and despise all delights; the confession of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.  This I commit unto you today; with this I will baptize you and make you grow.  This I give you to share, and to defend all your life, the One Godhead and Power, found in the Three in Unity, and comprising the Three separately, not unequal, in substances or natures, neither increased nor diminished by superiorities or inferiorities; in every respect equal, in every respect the same; just as the beauty and the greatness of the heavens is one; the infinite conjunction of Three Infinite Ones, Each God when considered in Himself; as the Father so the Son, as the Son so the Holy Ghost; the Three One God when contemplated together; Each God because Consubstantial; One God because of the Monarchia.  No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendor of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish Them than I am carried back to the One.  When I think of any One of the Three I think of Him as the Whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking of escapes me.  I cannot grasp the greatness of That One so as to attribute a greater greatness to the Rest.  When I contemplate the Three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the Undivided Light.

Oration 40.41*

* Translated by Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow.  From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 7.  Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace.  (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894.)  Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.  Found at http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310240.htm.

Essence and Being

I have recently finished reading Evangelicals and Nicene Faith: Reclaiming the Apostolic Witness, edited by Timothy George.* This book and some things I have been hearing in podcasts have gotten me thinking on the the Trinity as a concept.  As much as anyone, I have had trouble trying to get my brain wrapped around a God that is one yet three.  How does one explain the Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth, in correct terms without falling of the rails into tri-theism on one side and modalism on the other.  There must be a constant tension that holds to what is conceptualized in the diagram at right.

One pretty good explanation I have heard points out that there are three persons with one being.  One problem that arises with this explanation stems from misconstruing the concept of being.  When we think of a human being, we conceive of one independent person.  In reality, being is not the individual but the class that defines characteristics of an essence that defines what a life form is.  For a being to be human, it must be bipedal, upright, reasoning, communicative, and many other attributes distinguishing men and women from other animal or plant life.  Person subdivides this class and tells us which particular being is described or discussed sufficiently to demonstrate uniqueness.

This is not without its problems.  When we think of three of any being group (human, bovine, canine, feline, etc.), we are still stuck because though the three operate with the same attributes, they are independent of each other.  God is not this way.  Each person in the godhead acts in perfect accord in an incomprehensible interdependence and interrelation.  The closest human example possible would be for a person to be cloned into three, all having the same characteristics, knowledge, and outside influences, so that one might expect react in the same ways to like experiences.  Even here there are insurmountable difficulties, as the experiment presupposes a purely mechanical or animalistic response to stimuli, denying the spiritual component.  Even if cloning of the physical body was possible, how could the spirit be perfectly replicated in another?

God is spirit by nature: it is his essence (John 4:24).  We do not operate on this level and cannot fully understand how three spiritual persons can be of the same essence, yet this is what we learn when bringing together the evidence in divine revelation.  When taken to its logical conclusion, we should marvel that one person of that spiritual being took on a nature foreign to himself, so that the two natures are not confused in any way, but each are kept perfectly in their fullness and for eternity.


* Most of the essays were well done, especially so the first three, which gave the historical background of the Nicene Creed.

Believers Receive Blessings from All Three Persons of Godhead

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

It was not by way of division that he expressed it this way, nor did he apportion some things to Christ, some to the Father, and some to the Holy Spirit.  Frequently, in fact, he spoke of love in connection with the Spirit, fellowship with the Son, and grace with the God and Father.  Thus also in the first letter he spoke of operation in connection with the Father, and shortly spoke of operation in connection with the Father, and shortly after spoke of it in connection with the Son.  Now, he also cited the order of persons in a different fashion, not to overturn the order cited by the Lord but to bring out that the order of the names does not indicate diversity of nature or power or difference in status.  Let us also pray to be accorded the apostolic blessing and attain the promised goods, thanks to the grace and lovingkindness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the all-holy Spirit be glory and magnificence, now and forever, for ages and ages.  Amen.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Second Letter to the Corinthians" on 2 Corinthians 13:14

God's Providence Points to Himself

For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever.  Amen.

He made everything personally, as controller he personally brings to completion all things that have been made.  It behooves everyone to look to him, giving thanks for what they have, and asking for providence in the future.  They ought also offer him due praise.  Through these expressions the divine apostle showed that he did not acknowledge a difference in purpose between from whom and through whom, the former (as though indicating something greater) belonging to the Father, and the latter (as conveying something less) referring to the Son: he applied both to each person.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Letter to the Romans" on Romans 11:36

Unity of the Trinity in Our Resurrection

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

He invigorates them by hope of the future, and inspires them with willing readiness sufficient for present contests.  Before long your bodies will be immortal and superior to the passions that now molest them.  And this the God of all will do, who now so liberally bestows on us the pledge of the Spirit.  And he has given us all a pledge of this resurrection in the resurrection of Christ.  And he teaches by all this the unity of nature in the Godhead, for he calls the thrice-holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, not that, as the infamous heretics say, He was created of the Father by the Son, but that He is one substance with the Father and the Son and proceeds from the Father according to the teaching of the gospels.  His grace it is, that is extended to such as are worthy.

Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Letter to the Romans" on Romans 8:11

Trinitarian Doctrine in Ignatius of Antioch (3)

This is the third and last of a series on Trinitarian doctrine in Ignatius' writing.  Based on what was in the first two epistles, I assumed the others would also be filled with references, but such was not the case.  The remainder are listed here.

Epistle to the Trallians.

as Polybius your bishop has shown me, who has come to Smyrna by the will of God and Jesus Christ - chap 1 (God [the Father] and Jesus both exercised their wills showing equality between the persons.)

 

continue in intimate union with Jesus Christ our God - chap 7

 

God promises unity, which he himself is. - chap 11 [translation from Michael Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 3rd ed.] (God is a unity, not a singularity, therefore requiring more than one member or person within the Godhead.)

Epistle to the Romans

in accordance with faith in and love for Jesus Christ our God … heartiest greetings blamelessly, in Jesus Christ our God - preface [Holmes ed.]

 

For our God, Jesus Christ, now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed - chap 3

Epistle to the Philadelphians

For though some would have deceived me according to the flesh, yet the Spirit, as being from God, is not deceived.  For it knows both whence it comes and whither it goes, and detects the secrets. - chap 7 (The Holy Spirit is from God and acts as God)

Epistle to the Smyrnaeans

I glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who has given you such wisdom. - chap 1 (Equating God and Jesus Christ)

 

if by any means they may be brought to repentance, which, however, will be very difficult. Yet Jesus Christ, who is our true life, has the power of this. - chap 4 (Jesus has God's power of bringing men to repentance.)

 

You have done well in receiving Philo and Rheus Agathopus as servants of Christ our God - chap 10

Epistle to Polycarp

I pray for your happiness forever in our God, Jesus Christ, by whom you continue in the unity and under the protection of God - chap 8

Trinitarian Doctrine in Ignatius of Antioch (2)

This is part two of a series on Trinitarian doctrine in Ignatius' writing.  Given below are extracts from Epistle to the Magnesians.

I pray for a union both of the flesh and spirit of Jesus Christ, the constant source of our life, and of faith and love, to which nothing is to be preferred, but especially of Jesus and the Father, in whom,… we shall enjoy God - chap 1 (Jesus is the source of life, which can only be ascribed to God. Jesus and the Father are co-equal in our ultimate salvation.)

 

the believing have, in love, the character of God the Father by Jesus Christ, by whom, if we are not in readiness to die into His passion, His life is not in us. - chap 5 (It is Christ who secures sharing in both the nature of God and life.  2 Pet 1:3-4)

 

Therefore all of you run together as into one temple of God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from one Father, and is with and has gone to one. - chap 7 (Jesus came from the divine glory, remained in the glory while on earth, and returned again to the glory.)

 

there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word,… and who in all things pleased Him that sent Him. - chap 8 (Jesus was sent by God and is the manifestation of God.  John 17:21, 25; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3)

 

Study, therefore, to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles, that so all things, whatsoever ye do, may prosper both in the flesh and spirit; in faith and love; in the Son, and in the Father, and in the Spirit; in the beginning and in the end; with your most admirable bishop, and the well-compacted spiritual crown of your presbytery, and the deacons who are according to God.  Be subject to the bishop, and to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father, according to the flesh, and the apostles to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit; that so there may be a union both fleshly and spiritual. - chap 13 (Body life in the church is a result of a correct, trinitarian understanding of God.)

 

Farewell in the harmony of God, you who have obtained the inseparable Spirit, who is Jesus Christ. - chap 15 (Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one in being though different persons.)

Trinitarian Doctrine in Ignatius of Antioch

I was listening to a podcast lecture on the proper understanding of the Trinity and was reminded how far back it went.  Here are some excerpts from Ignatius' Epistle to the Ephesians written circa a.d. 107—well before the Council of Nicaea.

to the Church which is at Ephesus … being blessed in the greatness and fulness of God the Father,… being united and elected through the true passion by the will of the Father, and Jesus Christ, our God - preface (Jesus is different from the Father, but both are called God.)

 

Being the imitators of God [Eph 5:1], and stirring up yourselves by the blood of God - chap 1 (God can only have blood if he has a human body, as in the incarnation.)

 

Onesimus himself greatly commends your good order in God,… that no heresy has any dwelling-place among you.

 

Nor, indeed, do ye hearken to any one rather than to Jesus Christ speaking in truth - chap 6 (God and Jesus are both considered the basis for truth.)

 

There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible,—even Jesus Christ our Lord. - chap 7 (Explicit statements of God in human flesh; born of Mary and different person of Godhead)

 

being stones of the temple of the Father, prepared for the building of God the Father, and drawn up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, making use of the Holy Spirit as a rope - chap 9 (Trinitarian picture of salvation)

 

For this end did the Lord suffer the ointment to be poured upon His head, that He might breathe immortality into His Church.… And why are we not all prudent, since we have received the knowledge of God, which is Jesus Christ? - chap 17 (It is Jesus who gives life to the church; and Jesus is the embodiment of God's knowledge)

 

For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost. - chap 18 (Trinitarian view of incarnation: Jesus is God, was appointed by God, and was conceived by Holy Spirit who is God)

 

God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life - chap 19 (God put on human form to give life)

My intent in this post was to give excerpts from all the letters, but I was surprised by the number in the first of these. This looks like a short series in the making.

No Christianity Without the Trinity

Kevin DeYoung has a good post that the proper understanding of the Godhead is necessary for Christianity.  Here is a snippet:

Yet, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity, most Christians are poor in their understanding, poorer in their articulation, and poorest of all in seeing any way in which the doctrine matters in real life. One theologian said, tongue in cheek, “The trinity is a matter of five notions or properties, four relations, three persons, two processions, one substance or nature, and no understanding.” All the talk of essence and persons and co-this and co-that seem like theological gobbledy-gook reserved for philosophers and scholars-maybe for thinky bookish types, but certainly not for moms and mechanics and middle-class college students.

He then goes on to lay out in simple terms what it is, where to find it, and why I should care.