The triune God - II Corinthians 13:14.

The triunity of God is perhaps the most difficult theological concept to grasp. Having said that, this concept is closest to the very heart of the mystery of God.

Christianity stands alone in stating that God is one in three persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The commonly understood word 'trinity' is found nowhere in the Bible. Furthermore, the Bible never once attempts to delineate the concept.

Only the A.V. offers what appears to be an explicit reference to God as triune (I John 5:7).

The Doctrine of the Trinity, as it has become known, was not taught by the original New Testament community. However, the Church, during the patristic period, correctly began to realize that the formulation of this doctrine was necessary as a non-negotiable dimension of the Gospel. Why? The concept of tri-unity lies at the very heart of the Christian understanding of God and is therefore necessary in order to maintain the central message of the Bible.

The doctrine itself is the result of a lengthy process arising from the experience of the community of faith.

The journey towards a doctrine of tri-unity lies rooted in the Old Testament. However, the need only came into view when the first Christians needed to bring together three seemingly separate strands of belief:

1) Monotheism and the issue of the deity of the Father.

The early Church claimed, correctly, that their new movement was a continuation of what God had been doing in the Old Testament era, as the prophets had foretold. At the centre was the belief that God was one and the necessary rejection of the polytheism of the surrounding nations (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:18; cf. James 2:19).

The deity of the Father was accepted by the Church (I Corinthians 8:4, 6; I Timothy 2:5;6). This belief was, at least in part, based on Jesus’ teaching, both spoken and implied (Matthew 6:26-32). Therefore, as far as Jesus was concerned, ‘God’ and ‘Father’ were interchangeable expressions (cf. Matthew 19:23-26; 27:46; Mark 12:17, 24-27).

2) The confession of Jesus' Lordship.

Evidentially the early Church continued the worship of the 'one' God (Acts 3:1ff). However, this 'one' God had revealed Himself in Jesus, the head of the Church and the Lord of all creation (Colossians 1:15ff). The Church thus set forth the belief, that is the assertion of the Divinity and Lordship of Christ (John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13).

In keeping with the pattern set by Jesus, His Church differentiated between Him as Son, and the One whom He claimed to be His Father (Romans 15:5&6). It was these distinctions that led to the use of the terms Father and Son.

The idea of God as Father is not totally foreign to the Old Testament (II Samuel 7:14; Jeremiah 31:20; Isaiah 63:16 & 64:8&9). In so doing, the Old Testament saints were not implying a solely masculine deity, for they also spoke of God's motherly care.

Jesus not only spoke of the Father's parental care of creation, but something more filial in that He called His Father, "Abba". Jesus thus invited His Body into a ‘sonship’ participation. It is for this reason that the terms 'Father' and 'Son' became embedded in the language of the Church. To that end, the early Church developed a hymn that proclaimed the deity of Jesus. Paul uses this hymn to underpin his teaching of Christ to the Philippian believers (Philippians 2:5-11). N.B. One who is equal with God, must be God (cf. Hebrews 1:1-5; John 20:28).

3) The experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In addition to all of the above, the early Church also asserted that God was now present among them in the Person of the Holy Spirit. This came about because of an ongoing experience of a personal, divine reality within the Church that was neither the Father nor the Son.

a) The writers spoke of the Spirit in personal terms.

b) They employed masculine pronouns for what in the Greek language was actually neuter.

c) They attributed aspects of personality to the Spirit: intellect, will, and emotion (I Corinthians 2:10; 12:11; Romans 8:26&27).

d) In addition to seeing the Spirit as personal, they also accepted the Spirit as divine (Acts 5:3&4).

e) While the early Church closely linked the Holy Spirit with Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 3:17&18), they also made a definite distinction between the Spirit and both the Father and the Son (II Corinthians 13:14; I Peter 1:2). This distinction was also evident in the baptismal formula (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus Himself made it clear that the Holy Spirit was God and that would become evident in His role after Jesus’ ascension (John 3:8; 16:8-11). Paul wrote of the role of the Holy Spirit with regard to the gifts (I Corinthians 12:4-11).

So, the early Church began to integrate into a composite understanding of these three dimensions of their experience. Therefore, the early Church confessed the one true God of the Old Testament. They proclaimed the Lordship of Jesus Christ who differentiated Himself from the Father. And they knew the reality of the ongoing presence of God through the Holy Spirit who is distinct from both Father and Son.

In spite of all the evidence and discussion above, we would be wise to heed the following:

“It appears that Tertullian was right in affirming that the doctrine of the Trinity must be divinely revealed, nut humanly constructed. It is so absurd from a human standpoint that no one would have invented it. We do not hold the doctrine of the Trinity because it is self-evident or logically cogent. We hold it because God has revealed that this is what He is like. As someone has said of this doctrine:

Try to explain it, and you’ll lose your mind. But try to deny it, and you’ll lose your soul.” [Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids. Baker. 2003. Pg.367].

The Apostles' Creed

The basic creed of Reformed churches, as most familiarly known, is called the Apostles' Creed. It has received this title because of its great antiquity; it dates from very early times in the Church, a half century or so from the last writings of the New Testament.

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I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
    the Maker of heaven and earth,
    and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
    born of the virgin Mary,
    suffered under Pontius Pilate,
    was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,
    and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
    from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
    the holy catholic church;
    the communion of saints;
    the forgiveness of sins;
    the resurrection of the body;
    and the life everlasting.

Amen.