If you would like to know what the doctrine of the trinity entails, another dedicated question may be. From their childhood, catholics learn to pray the sign of the cross. Understanding the biblical doctrine of the trinity godhead. The doctrine of the trinity is usually summed up as a belief in one god existing in three distinct but equal persons. Could any human reason, however, can 2 not fathom the trinity, nor can the son, who was called the logic nor can explaining it al word of god. God has one nature, but three centers of consciousness. Chong 4 in conclusion, i submit that it is a simple matter of misrepresentation that underlies the watchtowers objections to the doctrine of the trinity.
Hence the churchs constant concern to safeguard the revealed truth that god is one in nature and three in persons. In fact, the god of the bible is never described as. The doctrine of the trinity is foundational to the christian faith. The central elements of the doctrine are neatly summarized in a passage of the athanasian creed, one of the most widely respected summaries of the christian faith. The reason for this is that catholics believe that god is not merely unity as all monotheists believe, but also trinity. This supplementary document discusses the history of trinity theories. Pdf this paper contends that origens christology which presented jesus.
Jan 23, 2006 matt perman is the director of career navigation at the kings college nyc, a blogger, and an author. The doctrine of the trinity is perhaps the most mysterious and difficult doctrine that is presented to us in the entire range of scripture. The apologists doctrine was anything but orthodox trinitarianism. The core of the trinity doctrine is the reality of a triune godhead god lives in fellowship and relationship with himself. Understanding the biblical doctrine of the trinity. Jan 02, 2020 the origin of the doctrine of the trinity is the bible, although the word trinity is not used in the bible. It is the doctrine that there is only one god, not three, and that the one god exists in three persons. Box 8500, charlotte, nc 28271 phone 704 8878200 and fax 704 8878299 1 statement dt160 the biblical basis of the doctrine of the trinity i. The third person in the trinity is called both the spirit of the father matt 10. There is no reason to obfuscate the doctrine of the trinity because it has been explained clearly by the church fathers and many many christians for many many years. Those personalities are the father, the sonand the holy spirit, acting in unison as one. The biblical doctrine of the logos was explained in terms of greek philosophical thought rather than that of scripture, which lead to a false understanding of christ and his relationship to the father. In order to do some justice to this sublime subject, we shall look only briefly at the.
It is rooted in the fact that god came to meet christians in a threefold figure. The doctrine of the trinity correctly teaches that jesus is not the father. Ravis explanation of the triunity of god is amazing. In their attempt to define in words the nature and meaning of their encounter with the galilean, the inspired writers or the nt point to him as the son of the living. The mystery of the holy trinity is the most fundamental of our faith. The trinity doctrine is far more involved far more complex. Doctrine of the trinity biblical research institute. In our material existence, the concept that god is one god, yet exists as three distinct persons, is foreign to us. Is god a mysterious unity of three coequal and coeternal persons as most christians believe.
What does the bible reveal about the nature of god. A distinction must be made between them to avoid the false doctrine of modalism where one god wears different masks and sometimes appears as jesus. This is why this author, in this study, has sought to explain this teaching in an easy to understand manner. It aptly describes the actions of japan in its march to dominate the world. The trinity is a doctrine that god has revealed to humankind through the scriptures. The roman emperor constantine the great, while himself not really a christian, convened and played a major role in the council of nicaea, which laid the groundwork for acceptance of the trinity doctrine. The doctrine of the holy trinity is a revealed truth. The trinity doctrine destroys the central message of the gospel. A pregnant mother contains another person within her, which is similar to how the divine persons cannot be separated from each other. The problem of the trinity in historical context the doctrine of the trinity says that god exists in three personsfather, son, and holy spirit. The trinity is an unfathomable, and yet unmistakable doctrine in scripture. The family is united in love, and the three persons of the trinity live in a relationship of love with one another. It is crucial for properly understanding what god is like, how he relates to us, and.
As jonathan edwards noted, after studying the topic extensively, i think the doctrine of the trinity to be the highest and deepest of all divine mysteries an unpublished treatise on the trinity. Is the trinity true or false is the trinity biblical. The doctrine of the trinity, simply stated, is as follows. To a large number of christians, however, it is a doctrine fundamental to christianity since it deals with a correct knowledge of god. The word trinity was introduced by tertullian 160225 ad who was a pagan turned catholic theologian and one of the early church fathers who wrote in the early third century to define the teaching concerning the godhead. Related to the divine being, his nature and mode of being. Each is distinct from the others but never acts independently. This mystery is called the doctrine of the trinity, though that term is not used in the bible. Representing god as one, the scriptures also ascribe divinity to father, son and holy spirit. The doctrine of the trinity poses a deep and difficult problem. The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries and through many controversies. The trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the christian religionthe truth that in the unity of the godhead there are three persons, the father, the son, and the holy spirit, these three persons being truly distinct one from another. The definition of the trinity the doctrine of the trinity, simply stated, is as follows.
Feb 06, 2015 ravis explanation of the triunity of god is amazing. The council of nicea and the doctrine of the trinity probe. The trinity is first of all important because god is important. You cannot be called the father unless you have a child. The bible teaches that there is one eternal god who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. The doctrine of the trinity means that there is one god who eternally exists as three distinct personsthe father, son, and holy spirit. May 27, 2003 first, the doctrine of the trinity was a widely held belief prior to the council of nicea. Many christian apologists argue that the doctrine of the trinity is biblical i. Neither the word trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the new testament. Consequently we do not presume to give a full explanation of it. And god seeks people to worship him in spirit and truth john 4. It was coined by the church to help us better understand the sacred mystery of the three divine persons in one god. By the words of the athanasian creed it is, the father is god, the son is god, and the holy spirit is god, and yet there are.
In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. A brief declaration and vindication of the doctrine of the. First we need to understand what the trinity doctrine is and what it is not. If you try to explain the trinity, you will lose your mind. There is no reason to obfuscate the doctrine of the trinity because it has been explained clearly by the church fathers and.
The development and meaning of trinitarian doctrine grand. On it everything else depends and from it everything else derives. Trinity history of trinitarian doctrines stanford encyclopedia of. First, at the baptism of jesus, the father, the son. The best concise definition of the doctrine of the trinity, so far as we are aware. That one, individual god fills the role of the father, son, and holy spirit in much the same way that one actor can play three roles in the same movie. The doctrine of the trinity recognizes that god is one god, coexisting in three distinct persons of the father, son and holy spirit. At this point i think we should acknowledge the chief objection to the doctrine of the trinity, which is that it is absurd. The doctrine of the trinity as taught by most churches states that there are three coequal equal in every respect, coeternal the same age, omniscient all knowing, omnipotent all powerful gods, who are not three gods, but one god. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free john 8. Trinity doctrine, the meaning of the word person in latin persona, in greek. The trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the christian religion the truth that in the unity of the godhead there are three persons, the father, the son, and the holy spirit, these three persons being truly distinct one from another.
The teaching, however, is present in seed form in the old testament and is revealed explicitly in the new testament. Indeed, the communication of the spirit is not possible without the incarnation of the son. The word trinity is derived from the latin word trinitas, which came from the platonic term trias meaning three. Chapter 26 how and why the trinity is false and unbiblical. The trinitythe trinity t he complex doctrine of the trinity is so sim ply wonderful and wonderfully simple as to demand a divine origin. Today it would be called oneness or jesus only, and its the view of. The origin of the doctrine of the trinity is the bible, although the word trinity is not used in the bible. Stated differently, god is one in essence and three in person. This is the view that there is only one person in the godhead. The surprising origins of the trinity doctrine united.
Karl rahners doctrine of the trinity source of the trinity. The historical origin of the doctrine of the trinity is the bible. The doctrine of the trinity in the writings of the early church fathers nathan busenitz instructor of theology the masters seminary opponents of the doctrine of the trinity often claim that it was an invention of emperor constantine at the council of nicaea. You cannot be called the son unless you have a father.
Although early christian theologians speculated in many ways on the father, son, and holy spirit, no one clearly and fully asserted the doctrine of the trinity as explained at the top of the main entry until around the end of the socalled arian controversy. In the nature of the case we can know only as much concerning the inner nature of the godhead as has been revealed to us in the scriptures. Without gods direct revelation, we could not know that the one god is a trinity of persons, cf. Explanation of the christian doctrine of the trinity. Trinitarians teach that there are three persons, but one essenceall equal. Trinity explained the explanation of the trinity by trinitarians is extremely confusing. However, within the nature of this one god are three persons, or three centers of consciousness the father, the son, and the holy spirit. The most distinctive doctrine of the trinity is that of the personality and deity of the holy spirit. This doctrine comes from the new testament with hints from the old testament. Further, we should allow the fact that god is triune to deepen our worship. Learn more about the history and evolution of the doctrine. Since baptism is a universal act of obedience for new believers, it is significant that jesus uses trinitarian language in matthew 28.
Many christian denominations teach that god is a trinity. The doctrine of the trinity is derived from the bible using logical, mathematical, and deductive reasoning. To understand more fully what god is like is a way of honoring god. Pdf the historical development of the doctrine of trinity. The doctrine of the trinity is founded on two fundamental theological realities. This goes against much evidence that the early church fathers affirmed the trinity.
A brief declaration and vindication of the doctrine of the trinity by john owen. This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source. Any analogy used to explain the trinity will fail to represent it with complete accuracy true false 33. On the one hand, it says that there are three distinct personsfather, son, and holy spiritand that. May 02, 2014 what does the bible reveal about the nature of god. It is crucial for properly understanding what god is like, how he relates to us, and how we should relate to him. Trinity doctrine, too, the son derives his being from the father. At mass, the priests prayers frequently mention the father, the son, and the spirit as well. Is the trinity true or false is the trinity doctrine true. Therefore, the doctrine of the trinity is arrived at by looking at the whole of scripture, not in a single verse. The doctrine of the trinity was used to oppose alternative views of how the three are related and to defend the church against charges of worshiping two or three gods. But lets put a godsized doctrine into perspective god is beyond our comprehension. Trinity, in christian doctrine, the unity of father, son, and holy spirit as three persons in one godhead. In fact, in the second clause, john made a distinction between jesus and his father and the word was with god.
Tertullians concern was a doctrine known as modalism. As all orthodox christians agree, the doctrine of the trinity holds that god is one essence but three persons. So the human analogy fails to describe the trinity and would in fact confuse this doctrine if we took the example seriously. By the trinity is meant the unity of three persons in one godhead. The trinity is a doctrine that all christians believe but no one really understands. Many people assume that god the father, jesus christ the son, and the holy spirit form what is commonly known as the trinity. The biblical basis of the doctrine of the trinity by robert. Pdf the doctrine of the trinity paigepatric j d samuels.
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