Doctrine of the Trinity
Why didn’t the apostles plainly state doctrine such as the Trinity? In epistles, we only get a snapshot of doctrine. The apostles spent most of their energy planting and building churches and discipling leaders. Their primary method of teaching doctrine was personal instruction. If you look at the epistles of the New Testament, you see that their primary purpose was to address issues that arise in the church and to affirm doctrine that was challenged. Epistles were written when something needed to be addressed and the church planter could not be there in person. The epistles and the entire Bible affirm the Trinity as we will see, but we must keep in mind that the doctrinal foundation was laid by the apostles in person. Therefore, the issues addressed are not intended to re-lay the foundation, but to affirm and remind the churches what has already been taught. We can also tell a lot about the doctrine the apostles taught in the church by the beliefs of those who were been taught by them. Most of these quotes were used earlier in ‘What the Early Church Believed’, but I feel the need to repeat these quotes along with scripture.
In this last part, I will break it up into three main sections: the Deity of Christ, the three Persons of the Trinity and the doctrine of the Trinity from both the Old and New Testaments.
Deity of Christ
The Bible testifies to the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh. Many critics argue that the 3rd century church added this doctrine. It is also argued that scripture was altered to reflect this doctrine as well. Because of this, I am going to finish this study in a slightly different fashion. I will present the biblical evidence and include pre-3rd century writings that confirm that what we see today is what was accepted as scripture from the beginning. These writers are all respected church leaders and have never been classified as teachers of heresy.
Jesus the Creator
The early church affirmed Jesus Christ’s active role in creation. To review, look again at these two quotes from Barnabas who served with the apostle Paul and Iranaeus who was taught by the disciples of the Apostle John:
74 AD in The Letter of Barnabas, he says,
“And further, my brethren, if the Lord [Jesus] endured to suffer for our soul, he being the Lord of all the world, to whom God said at the foundation of the world, ’Let us make man after our image, and after our likeness,’ understand how it was that he endured to suffer at the hand of men” (Letter of Barnabas 5).
Iranaeus 190 AD
"For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, ’Let us make man after our image and likeness’".( Against Heresies, 4:10)
The Church fathers affirmed the deity of Christ, the personhood of Christ, His being of the same substance as the Father and also His active role in creation. The Bible also affirms Jesus’ active role in creation. There are so many scriptures that testify to the deity of Christ that I had difficulty deciding which to exclude. Let’s begin with Hebrews 1.
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
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5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"?
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8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."
10 And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;
This is a powerful testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ. ‘To the Son’ God says, “Your throne, O God is forever and ever…”. Still speaking to the Son, God says in verse 9, “Therefore God, Your God has anointed You…”. The Son is called LORD by God and credited with the creation as the works of His hands. This agrees with John 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
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10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
This also agrees with Colossians 1:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Critics of the Trinity argue that the term ‘firstborn over all creation’ proves that Jesus was created. Just the opposite is true. First, if we look at the passage in its complete context, this phrase follows up by saying that Jesus created all things, in heaven and on earth. Then the Bible makes sure that we do not miss the point; all things, visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities and powers – they were all created through the Son and for Him. Through Him all things consists and He was before everything. How can the Creator of all things be himself created? All power and dominion was established by the Son. This would include His own dominion.
The only confusion in this passage comes from a misunderstanding of the term ‘firstborn’. Firstborn is a position of authority; it does not mean that he was the first created thing. In the Old Testament, God said, “For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9). Israel was not the first nation, nor was Ephraim the first born son of Jacob. He was the second born son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob (or Israel). However, God appointed him to have the honor of rights of being the firstborn son. This is a position of authority and leadership. Jacob was credited as firstborn when God rejected Esau who should have been firstborn. Jesus is counted as the firstborn over the first man, Adam. 1 Corinthians 15 explains:
21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
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47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
It is important to note that the word ‘Lord’ used in verse 47 comes from the Greek word ‘Kurios’. This is the same word used to refer to the Lord God elsewhere in scripture. One example is Matthew 22:
37 Jesus said to him, " ’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
In the context of scripture, Jesus is called the firstborn and the Man who satisfied the penalty of the first man Adam. To avoid causing confusion about the word ‘man’, the Bible explains that the second Man was the Lord from heaven.
Clearly, the Bible affirms not only that the Son was present at creation, but that it was through Jesus Christ that creation appeared and continues to exist.
According to the Oneness doctrine, Jesus did not pre-exist. How then could He have been the Creator? Let’s let Bernard explain:
How could this be, seeing that the Son did not come into existence until a point in time much later than creation? To paraphrase John Miller... God used the Sonship to make the world. That is, he hinged everything on the future arrival of Christ.
So, even though God knew man would sin, he also knew that through the Son of God man could be restored and fulfill God’s original purpose. It is apparent, then, that when God created man he had the future arrival of the Son in mind. It is in this sense that God created the worlds through the Son or by using the Son, for without the Son, Gods whole purpose in creating man would have failed." (The Oneness of God, p.151) .
Bernard claims that the Son was an idea in the mind of God and the world was created with the forethought of Jesus’ redemption. Since creation would fail without redemption, this equates the Sonship with creation. This does not sound at all like scripture’s account. David’s vision of Jesus was not a thought in the mind of God. David said,
Psalm 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Psalm 16
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
David did not see the thought in the mind of God. The apostles identified both of these as Jesus. In Acts, the apostles explain that David foresaw Christ. When you compare that to the Bible’s account of creation, we see that it wasn’t a thought, but ‘He’ was actually active in creation. John said in verse 1:1 that ‘He’ was the word and was God and in verse 2 he states, ‘He was in the beginning with God’. Oneness doctrine stretches this beyond any reasonable interpretation of scripture.
Also consider that all three are given credit for creation. Genesis 1:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of God. Also in Malachi 2:10a the Bible says, “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” The Father is credited for creation. In Hebrews 1 we were also told that the Father created the world through the Son. We are not told that the Father created the world with the Son in mind. ‘Through Him He made the worlds’ is unmistakable terminology. If the early church fathers dating back to the apostles believed this doctrine of Christ and the Bible teaches it, where does this doctrine come from?
Bernard also states an argument that is frequently echoed by others. “We cannot confine God to three or any other number of specific roles and titles. Neither can we sharply divide him because he is one. Even his titles and roles overlap.” (Oneness of God page 143).
If we can’t confine God to three, why can we confine Him to one? The problem here isn’t numbers. The issue is, how has God revealed Himself? God reveals Himself in scripture as One God in three persons. In the next section we will go into the scriptural evidence for this argument. The problem with the Trinity debate is that those who oppose the Trinity also define the doctrine. Often you hear them define the Trinity as three persons = three gods. The next line of reasoning is, ‘How can God be three persons?’ Then the doctrine of the Trinity is attacked on human terms and not divine revelation. For example, Bernard states, “If the Son was present in the beginning who was his mother? If the Son be a Spirit being, who was his Spirit mother?” This is a meaningless question. Because there is no mother mentioned, there can’t be a son? What about the Father’s mother? God is not a man. God did not procreate to father the Son. Using the same line of reasoning, we should be arguing the Father’s existence at creation and the Holy Spirit’s existence. How can God be a father if there is no son?
An uncreated God does not need a beginning. Even after the incarnation of Jesus, Oneness doctrine cannot separate the difference between human terminology and scriptural doctrine. The early church believed and taught: One God, three persons of one substance. Not three persons, three substances, and three Gods. Because it is a hard doctrine to fully comprehend does not disprove the doctrine. We can’t fully comprehend a God without beginning, yet we don’t argue that it isn’t biblical. The Trinity is a biblically based doctrine that has a solid foundation. The roots of the Oneness doctrine stands on shaky ground. Basilides was a Gnostic who taught in 130 AD:
The unborn and unnamed Father sent his first begotten mind. And this they call the Christ.
Bernard’s view of the Son is closer to the Gnostic belief than that of the early church fathers. Bernard also claims that Irenaeus taught this doctrine, when in fact, Irenaeus quoted this doctrine for the purpose of refuting it. He quoted this doctrine as heresy and credits its invention to Marcion, Valentinus, Carpocrates, Simon the Magician or Basilides. They each taught it.
Bernard also quotes Emanuel Swedenborg as a ‘religious writer who expressed a good understanding of the Oneness of God’. However, Swedenborg was an occultist. He was a medium who was a proclaimed clairvoyant. He used occult practices to communicate with spirits. He claimed that the Lord appeared to him and revealed, “Instead of a trinity of persons, there is understood a trinity of person. The Lord’s divine is the father, the divine human the son, and the proceeding divine is the Holy Spirit.”
The Oneness doctrine is not derived from scripture, but from Arianism, Gnosticism and spiritualists. I realize that most people would not knowingly side with these groups, however, if the foundation is unbiblical, the church and doctrine built on it cannot stand. I write this with the full knowledge that it is controversial to some people. However, the Bible tells us that open rebuke is better than secret love. Pointing out an error is usually not popular, but it is a necessity. The doctrine of Jesus Christ (His deity, atonement, and teaching) is the foundation of Christianity. Some people will choose traditionally held beliefs over historic Christianity based on truth. Some will respond. The Bible gives instructions as to how to handle rebuke:
Proverbs 13:18 Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.
15:32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.
There are many, many other modern movements that find their roots in the heresies that threatened the early church. The Mormons (or Latter Day Saints), Unitarians, New Age variants and more other doctrines than I can name here which all find roots in the heresies. This is just a brief look. We can look at what the heretics believed and see if our doctrines are related. We can also look at the early church beliefs and see if our churches are rooted in historic Christianity. Iranaeus clearly stated the church’s belief:
For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, ’Let us make man after our image and likeness’. (Against Heresies, 4:10)
Equality with God
Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus was equal to God:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
He was in the form of God before His incarnation, but humbled Himself to become a bondservant in the likeness of men. This agrees with Jesus’ statement in John 17
5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
How could Jesus have been a thought in the mind of God, as Oneness doctrine claims, if He already had glory with the Father before the world was? This passage clearly states that Jesus had prior glory before His incarnation and before creation. John 1 adds a piece to the picture:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Don’t lose sight of our previous look at John 1. Verse 10 goes on to tell us that the world was made through Christ, He came into the world He created and it did not know Him. Some claim that verse 1 does not accurately reflect the deity of Christ. This is one of those passages that the church is accused of altering in 325 AD. To validate the accuracy of this verse, we should go to the writings of the church before this time period.
Historic Christianity:
Clement of Alexandria wrote about this very passage in 190 AD:
“When [John] says: ’What was from the beginning [1 John 1:1],’ he touches upon the generation without beginning of the Son, who is co-equal with the Father. ’Was,’ therefore, is indicative of an eternity without a beginning, just as the Word Himself, that is the Son, being one with the Father in regard to equality of substance, is eternal and uncreated. That the word always existed is signified by the saying: ’In the beginning was the Word’ [John 1:1].”
Clement’s interpretation of John 1:1 is consistent with the Trinity view and it was written at least 135 years before the Council of Nicaea. Clement also is not alone in this belief. Theophilus wrote in AD 160:
For the divine writing itself teaches us that Adam said that he had heard the voice but what else is this voice but the word of God, who is also his Son.
We can see that historic Christianity agrees with our modern interpretation of scripture. They testify to the deity of Christ. He was the Word of God, the Word was God, and the He eternally existed together with God. Jesus is equal with God. This is verified in scripture and by the testimonies of those who received the scriptures directly from the apostles.
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