Chapter 14: Gd in three persns: The Trinity Hw can Gd be three persns, yet ne Gd? Frm Systematic Thelgy by Wayne Grudem Explanatin and Scriptural Basis Gd eternally exists as three persns, Father, Sn, and Hly Spirit, and each persn is fully Gd, and there is ne Gd. I. The Dctrine f the Trinity Is Prgressively Revealed in Scripture a. Partial Revelatin in the Old Testament Gen 1:26a: Then Gd said, Let us make man in ur image, after ur likeness. (ESV) Isa 6:8a: And I heard the vice f the Lrd saying, Whm shall I send, and wh will g fr us? (ESV) Ps 110:1: The Lrd says t my Lrd: Sit at my right hand, until I make yur enemies yur ftstl. (ESV) Isa 63:10: But they rebelled and grieved his Hly Spirit; therefre, he turned t be their enemy, and himself fught against them. (ESV) Isa 48:16b: And nw the Lrd Gd has sent me, and his Spirit. (ESV) b. Mre Cmplete Revelatin f the Trinity in the New Testament Mk 1:10-11: And when he came up ut f the water, immediately he saw the heavens being trn pen and the Spirit descending n him like a dve. And a vice came frm heaven, Yu are my belved Sn; with yu I am well pleased. (ESV)
Matt 28:19: G therefre and make disciples f all natins, baptizing them in the name f the Father and f the Sn and f the Hly Spirit, (ESV) 2 Cr 13:14: The grace f the Lrd Jesus Christ and the lve f Gd and the fellwship f the Hly Spirit be with yu all. (ESV) II. Three Statements Summarize the Biblical Teaching 1. Gd Is Three Persns 2. Each Persn Is Fully Gd 3. There Is One Gd a. Gd is three persns They are distinct frm ne anther (Jn 1:1-2; 16:7; 17:24) They are each persns i. The Hly Spirit is nt simply a frce r pwer. ii. He teaches, prays, knws, etc. (Jn 14:26; Rm 8:26-27; 1 Cr 2:11) b. Each Persn Is Fully Gd The Father is Gd. (cf. The Bible) The Sn is Gd. (Jn 1:1-18; 20:28-31; Cl 2:9; Heb 1:3) The Hly Spirit is Gd. (Matt 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Pet 1:2) c. There Is One Gd Deut 6:4: Hear, O Israel: The Lrd ur Gd, the Lrd is ne. (ESV) Isa 45:5-6: I am the Lrd, and there is n ther, besides me there is n Gd; I equip yu, thugh yu d nt knw me, that peple may knw, frm the rising f the sun and frm the west, that there is nne besides me; I am the Lrd, and there is n ther. (ESV) 1 Cr 8:6: Yet fr us there is ne Gd, the Father, frm whm are all things and fr whm we exist, and ne Lrd, Jesus Christ, thrugh whm are all things and thrugh whm we d. Simplistic Slutins Must All Deny One Strand f Biblical Teaching
Mdalism denies the first. Arianism denies the secnd. Tritheism denies the third. e. All Analgies Have Shrtcmings An egg? Yet the ylk, the white, and the shell are all shrt f being a full egg, and each persn f the Trinity is fully Gd. Water (steam, water, ice)? Yet each has differing prperties which never cexist in ne quantity f water, and each persn f the Trinity c-exists eternally. A man wh is a father, a sn, and a husband? Yet this is nly ne man in three rles, and the persns f the Trinity interact with ne anther as distinct persns. Scripture never uses analgy t explain the Trinity. III. Errrs Have Cme By Denying Any f the Three Statements Summarizing the Biblical Teaching a. Mdalism Claims That There Is One Persn Wh Appears t Us in Three Different Frms (r Mdes ) Seeks t emphasize the ne-ness f Gd. Fails t accunt fr the bvius persnal relatinships between the persns f the Trinity. Lses the heart f the dctrine f the atnement the Sn did nt satisfy the hly demands f the Father. Denies the independence f Gd and the eternal manifestatin f his lve between the persns f the Trinity. b. Arianism Denies the Full Deity f the Sn and the Hly Spirit i. The Arian Cntrversy: Arians affirmed that Christ was begtten that there was a time when Christ was nt. (Jn 3:16; Cl 1:15)
Arians als affirmed that Christ was f a similar substance (hmiusis) t the Father, but nt the same substance (hmusis). These beliefs were rejected at the Cuncils f Nicea and Cnstantinple (ad 325 and 381) ii. Subrdinatinism: Similar t Arianism, this view held that the Sn was eternal but inferir t the Father in being and attributes. Origen held that the Sn eternally derives his being frm the Father. iii. Adptinism: Als, similar, this view hlds that at Jesus baptism, Gd adpted him as his Sn and cnferred n him supernatural pwers. iv. The Filique Clause: Filique And the Sn This phrase was inserted int the Nicene Creed at the Tled Cuncil in ad 525: The Spirit eternally prceeds frm the Father and the Sn. (Jn 15:26; 16:7) This phrase was fficially endrsed in ad1017 and was the main dctrinal issue in the split between eastern and western Christianity. v. The Imprtance f the Dctrine f the Trinity: First, the atnement is at stake. Culd any creature, n matter hw great, really save us? Secnd, justificatin by faith alne is threatened if we deny the full deity f the Sn. Culd we really depend n any creature fully fr ur salvatin? Third, if Jesus is nt infinite Gd, shuld we pray t him r wrship him? Wh but an infinite, mniscient Gd culd hear and respnd t all the prayers f all Gd s peple? And wh but Gd himself is wrthy f wrship? Indeed, if Jesus is merely a creature, n matter hw great, it wuld be idlatry t wrship him yet the NT cmmands it! (Phil 2:9-11; Rev 5:12-14) Furth, if Christ was a created being but nnetheless saved us, then this attributes credit fr salvatin t a creature and wrngfully exalts the
creature rather than the Creatr, smething Scripture never allws us t d. Fifth, the independence and persnal nature f Gd are at stake: If there is n Trinity, then there were n interpersnal relatinships within the being f Gd befre creatin. Hw culd such a Gd be genuinely persnal r be withut the need fr relatinships? Sixth, the unity f the universe is at stake: If there is nt perfect plurality and perfect unity in Gd himself, then we have n basis fr thinking there can be any ultimate unity amng the diverse elements f the universe either. c. Tritheism Denies That There Is Only One Gd A very rare view in the histry f the church. Yet, many evangelicals may unintentinally lean twards a tritheistic view as they recgnize the distinct persns f the Trinity but fail t remain aware f the unity f Gd as ne, undivided being. IV. What Are the Distinctins Between the Father, the Sn, and the Hly Spirit? a. The Persns f the Trinity Have Different Primary Functins in Relating t the Wrld The persns f the Trinity are equal in attributes, but distinct in their relatinships t creatin. The Sn and the Spirit are equal in deity t the Father, but subrdinate in their rles. In creatin: The Father spke the universe int being, the Sn carried ut these decrees, and the Spirit manifested Gd s immediate presence. (Gen 1; Jn 1:3) In redemptin: The Father planned it and sent the Sn, the Sn beyed and accmplished redemptin, and the Spirit regenerates and brings redemptin t cmpletin. (Gal 4:4; Jn 6:38; Jn 3:5-8; Rm 8:13) d. The Persns f the Trinity Eternally Existed as Father, Sn, and Hly Spirit. The nly distinctins between the members f the Trinity are in the ways they relate t each ther and t the creatin.
Ontlgical equality but ecnmic subrdinatin Several verses speak f such relatinships befre the creatin f the wrld. (Eph 1:3-4; Rm 8:29) d. What Is the Relatinship Between the Three Persns and the Being f Gd? Gd s being is nt divided int three equal parts belnging t the three members f the Trinity. The persnal distinctins in the Trinity are nt smething added n t Gd s real being. The persns f the Trinity are nt just three different ways f lking at Gd. There are three distinct persns, and the being f each persn is equal t the whle being f Gd. d. Can We Understand the Dctrine f the Trinity? Truly but nt fully It is a mystery, but nt a cntradictin V. Applicatin a. Gd in himself has bth unity and diversity, hence these als appear in human relatinships. Marriage (Gen 1:27) The church bdy (1 Cr 12:12-31; Eph 2:11-16) And many mre human rganizatins and activities. We can wrship Gd fr wh he is in ur wrds and actins as they reflect smething f his character.