The Doctrine of the Trinity

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The Doctrine of the Trinity
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The Athanasian Creed, named after Athanasius,
Bishop of Alexandria in the fourth century, who
fought for the views it expresses, said this in
regard to the Trinity

• The Father incomprehensible, the Son
  incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost
  incomprehensible. Not three incomprehensibles but
  one incomprehensible.

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Guess who said this When we shall have done
away with the incomprehensible jargon of the
Trinitarian arithmetic, that three are one, and
one is three when we shall have knocked down the
artificial scaffolding, reared to mask from view
the very simple structure of Jesus when, in
short, we shall have unlearned everything which
has been taught since his day, and got back to
the pure and simple doctrines he inculcated, we
shall then be truly and worthily his disciples.

• - Thomas Jefferson

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In the preface to Edward Gibbon's History of
Christianity, we read

• "If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is
  equally true that Christianity was corrupted by
  Paganism. The pure Deism of the first Christians
  . . . was changed, by the Church of Rome, into
  the incomprehensible dogma of the trinity. Many
  of the pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians
  and idealized by Plato, were retained as being
  worthy of belief."

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So go ahead.

• Explain
• and
• Defend
• the
• Trinity!

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• To those outside the Christian faith, the
  doctrine of the Trinity seems a very strange
  teaching indeed. It seems to violate logic, for
  it claims that God is three and yet that he is
  one. How can this be? And why would the church
  propound such a doctrine? It does not appear to
  be taught in Scripture, which is the Christians
  supreme authority in matters of faith and
  practice. And it presents an obstacle to faith
  for those who otherwise might be inclined to
  accept the Christian faith. Is it a teaching
  that perhaps was a mistake in the first place,
  and certainly is a hindrance and an embarrassment
  to Christianity?

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• Could it be omitted from Christian faith and
  theology, without any loss and even with
  considerable gain? I submit that the doctrine of
  the Trinity is of great importance in our time,
  and therefore needs to be examined carefully, for
  several reasons.
• Millard J. Erickson, Making Sense of the Trinity

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• Historically, the first doctrine the church felt
  needed to be elaborated.
• Numerous cults and sects, as well as some liberal
  Christians in traditional denominations, deny
  this doctrine.
• Major distinguishing feature of Christianity.
• If not true, our understanding of salvation must
  be modified. (e.g. Christs voluntary sacrifice)

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Three Guiding Questions

• Is the doctrine of the Trinity biblical?
• 2) Does the doctrine of the Trinity make sense?
• 3) Does the doctrine of the Trinity make any
  difference?

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1) Is the doctrine of the Trinity biblical?

• The unity of God
• The Deity of each person of the Godhead
• The Three-in-oneness of God

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2) Does the doctrine of the Trinity make sense?

• Its logical implications
• Inadequate Historical Explanations
• Helpful and Not-so-helpful analogies

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3) Does the doctrine of the Trinity make any
difference?

• Addressing objections to Gods aloofness
• Distinguishing Christianity as unique
• Implications for Prayer and Worship
• Believers relationships to each other

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It the doctrine of the trinity does not appear
to be taught in scripture.

• Kerygma vs. Dogma
• (Proclamation) (Doctrine)
• Keryx Herald Axiomatic Truth
• The doctrine of the trinity emerges as we work
  through the logical implications of the truths
  that scripture proclaims.

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Westminster Confession of Faith(Chap.2,
Paragraph 3)

• In the unity of the Godhead there be three
  Persons of one substance, power, and eternity
  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
  Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten
  nor proceeding the Son is eternally begotten of
  the Father the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding
  from the Father and the Son.

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The Athanasian Creed(Excerpt)

• Whosoever will be saved, before all
  things it is necessary that he hold the catholic
  faith Which faith except every one do keep whole
  and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish
  everlastingly. 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. Such as
  the Father is, such is the Son and such is the
  Holy Spirit. The Father uncreate, the Son
  uncreate, and the Holy Spirit uncreate. The
  Father incomprehensible, the Son
  incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit
  incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son
  eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet
  they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As
  also there are not three uncreated nor three
  incomprehensibles, but one uncreated and one
  incomprehensible.

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The Belgic Confession (1618)

• In keeping with this truth and Word of God we
  believe in one God, who is one single essence, in
  whom there are three persons, really, truly, and
  eternally distinct according to their
  incommunicable properties-- namely, Father, Son,
  and Holy Spirit. The Father is the cause, origin,
  and source of all things, visible as well as
  invisible. The Son is the Word, the Wisdom, and
  the image of the Father.
• The Holy Spirit is the eternal power and might,
  proceeding from the Father and the Son.
• Nevertheless, this distinction does not divide
  God into three, since Scripture teaches us that
  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each has
  his own subsistence distinguished by
  characteristics-- yet in such a way that these
  three persons are only one God.

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The Belgic Confession (Contd)

• It is evident then that the Father is not the Son
  and that the Son is not the Father, and that
  likewise the Holy Spirit is neither the Father
  nor the Son.
• Nevertheless, these persons, thus distinct, are
  neither divided nor fused or mixed together.
• For the Father did not take on flesh, nor did the
  Spirit, but only the Son.
• The Father was never without his Son, nor without
  his Holy Spirit, since all these are equal from
  eternity, in one and the same essence.
• There is neither a first nor a last, for all
  three are one in truth and power, in goodness and
  mercy.

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(1 Peter 113) Wherefore gird up the loins of
your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ.
Feel ready for the task ahead?
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The TRINITY.think about it.