The biblical Trinity and some other specifics of the biblical Christian faith.
The Trinity and the separation of powers in democracy.
In the recent past I have frequently had questions put to me about the Trinity -
that is to say, the threefold unity of God. The Evangelical Free Church congregation of Tulpengasse
in Vienna ("TUGA"): https://www.tuga.or.at/
includes in its formulation of the fundamentals of Christian belief a treatment of this topic, one
that is very clear and appealing both in terms of the form and of the content. With the permission
of the brothers and sisters who direct that congregation, I would therefore like to reproduce their
formulations here without adding any further commentary of my own.
(See also Discourse 107: "The denial of the Trinity, the false Catholic Trinity and the
true Biblical Trinity")
(See also Discourse 82: "Is belief in the Trinity necessary for
salvation?")
The Father We believe in God the Father, who dwells in inaccessible light; he may be recognized to the extent that he has revealed himself in word and in deed. In his mercy and grace he accepts all as his children who turn away from their sin and have confidence in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. The Son We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who was sent by the Father to reconcile us to himself and to redeem us from sin and eternal death. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary. Thus he is true God, and truly man as well, in accordance with Scripture. He led a perfect, holy and sinless life. In keeping with God’s plan of redemption he suffered crucifixion and death for the sake of our sins. He rose from the dead and seated himself at the right hand of God, where he now intercedes for all who believe. He will come again in visible form to judge the living and the dead and to set up his eternal kingdom. The Holy Spirit We believe in the Holy Spirit as a Person who is one with the Father and with the Son, and who is sent by them to accomplish the work of redemption in humanity. He leads people out of sin, causing them to be reborn, directs, teaches, reproves, authorizes, comforts, dwells in the faithful, unites them in one body and gives glory to Christ. |
John 1,1-3.14.18
John 4,24
John 14,6-11.16.17.26
John 16,8-14
Acts 2,23
Romans 8,1-17.26-27.32-34
2 Corinthians 3,17
2 Corinthians 5,19
Philippians 2,6-11
1 Timothy 3,16
1 Timothy 6,15-16
Hebrews 1,6-8
Jude 25
• When I read the first point of the fundamental principles of
faith above, it strikes me that the expression "Trinity" does not occur. Are we to take it that
it is nonetheless a significant term?
This word was not introduced to Christian theology until the 2nd century after Christ: it does not
form a part of standard biblical discourse. At the same time, it is not wrong to use it, so long as
one is aware what kind of biblical conception is behind it and what is not.
• How is the Trinity not to be understood?
Well, for example, as a belief in three gods – by denying the unity of the essence of God and
introducing distinctions between three different gods...
• ... Similarly to the way in which some Hindu sects speak of the
"Trinity" of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer – while the
ancient Babylonians also reverenced a divine triad, or even several of them! But may this not also
be an indication that early Christianity absorbed such conceptions in a modified, christianized
form?
By no means. There is no such connection to be found, any more than we can show that the mystery
religions (those that have to do with a dying god who rises from the dead) had any influence on the
proclamation of faith by the early Christians. These apparent formal parallels, when we examine them
more closely, cannot blind us to the vast difference in terms of content: they are poles
apart. C. S. Lewis discusses this question in depth in his book "Miracles". These imagined
groupings of three gods might also be partially surviving but thoroughly mangled remains of an
original revelation of God to humanity.
• Must we then see the triune God of the Bible as a Trinity of
revelation, but not of the person?
Not at all. That would be going to the opposite extreme! In the 3rd century Sabellius taught that
Father, Son and Holy Spirit were just three different appellations for one and the same divine
Person, just as one and the same human individual can be at the same time an artist, a teacher and a
friend, or for that matter a father, a son and a brother. God ("God the Father", the
"Son-Father" etc.) in Sabellius’ view had three different phenomenal forms: as the
Father he is creator and preserver, as the Son he became flesh, and as the Holy Spirit he completes
the work of rebirth and sanctification. But this contradicts Holy Scripture, as we can see if we
look at what it has to say about the triune God! Already in the Old Testament Jesus is quite often
clearly distinguished from the Father and the Holy Spirit. The formulation that goes by the name of
the Athanasian creed, drafted by Christian apologists between the 4th and the 6th century, is one of
the clearest corrective statements on this point.
• In this connection I have a problem that causes me some
difficulty. I can admit that there are many statements in the Bible from which we can recognize the
divinity of Jesus as plainly revealed – whether in direct form, in that Jesus is addressed as Lord
and God, or indirect, in that he is worshiped and prayed to and has divine properties attributed to
him, like eternity or power of forgiveness of sins. On the other hand, there are also verses, like
Mark 13,32 , 6,6 or 11,13, which appear to indicate the opposite, namely that he is subject to
limitation. How can I make sense of this?
Well, we just have to recognize the fact that in the days of his self-abasement Jesus surrendered
the independent exercise of his divine properties, and gave himself over to a voluntary limitation
and dependence on the Father. So in the passages referred to above, for instance, the Father did not
grant the Son the power to exercise his divine omniscience. Undoubtedly the Lord Jesus now
knows the date of the Second Coming – now that he has returned to the heavenly world! Moreover,
there only a very few such passages, and significantly they occur above all in the Gospel of Mark -
in the Gospel, that is, in which Jesus is specially presented as the servant, the obedient slave who
humbles himself (c.f. 10,45).
• You mentioned Jesus as appearing in the Old Testament. In what
ways do we find an expression of his divinity there as well?
Above all in the theophanies, the Old Testament appearances of God. On the one hand Holy Scripture
tells us that no one has ever seen God (John 1,18), but on the other we must see these appearances,
of which we are told that they are divine appearances, as appearances of the Son. This becomes
particularly clear in the expression that occurs frequently in the Old Testament, "the angel of
the Lord" (the angel, not an angel). The latter is identified with the Lord (Yahweh), and
yet at the same time distinguished from him, e.g. in Judges 13.
Another interesting indication is that in some passages God uses the pronouns with which he refers
to himself in the plural rather than the singular, and even the term Elohim (=God) is a plural noun.
• Some sects have criticized Christians at times on the grounds
that they make it easy for themselves by saying that we here have to do with a mystery that in the
last resort cannot be explained – so making the Trinity finally inexplicable in logical terms.
First of all we must see that the nature of God as consisting of three Persons, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, is not a product of natural human understanding, but rather results from God’s revelation
of himself. At the same time, the Bible does not give us any patent dogmatic formulae, such as would
be obvious to every superficial or even prejudiced reader – we rather find a kind of demonstration
on the basis of indices, built up on the basis of countless and sometimes even obscure references.
To find these out calls for certain preconditions to be met, and it is going to cost us something
(1Cor 2,10-16; Acts 17,11).
God has not given us any guarantee that he would tell us everything. But we should hold onto
what he actually has revealed to us of himself. And that is the fact that he is one God, and the
fact that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are at the same time three different and distinct divine
Persons. What he does not reveal to us indeed remains a mystery (Deut 29,28-29), and is not an
occasion for speculation – speculation, in our case, as to how this can be rationally
grasped.
I must honestly say to you as well, if we are just concerned with understanding here, that it seems
to me completely illogical that God, of whom we are told not just that he loves, but that he
actually is love, should have a nature consisting of one sole person – seeing that New
Testament love, agape, calls for an object, otherwise it cannot be agape, but becomes
self-love instead.
Love, though, existed before anything was created! – love that is only possible in a dialog
with a conscious Thou. For all eternity love has been flowing and continues to flow between the
Persons of the Trinity.
It is just as hard to imagine personality without community. The Persons of the Godhead stand in a
relationship of perfect harmony to one another, in complete community.
• Now you have shown how there is great practical value in the
biblical doctrine of the three Persons in one God. The fact that only this doctrine makes it
possible for us to imagine eternal love in a credible way does actually demonstrate that we are not
concerned here just with an academic question. Does this doctrine have any further importance for
salvation?
Oh yes, indeed. Even decisive importance for salvation!
With reference to the revelation of God: only God can reveal God. Only through the fact that God the
Father sent God the Son could the fullness of God really be revealed.
And with reference to the atonement for sin: this could only be accomplished through God the Son’s
becoming man. No creature, but only an infinite, an eternal being was able to do away with the
infinite and eternal separation between God and humanity. If a person does not believe in Jesus as
the infinite and eternal Son of God, he remains cut off from the certainty of redemption.
Let us conclude by quoting a remark by Boettner:
"If there were no Trinity, it would not be possible for God to become man, there could be no
objective restitution and so no salvation; because in that case there would have been no one capable
of functioning as a perfect Mediator between God and humanity."
See also Discourse 26: "The Trinity: an
unbiblical conceptual model?" with the following interpretation:
The Biblical Trinity and some other specifics of the biblical Christian faithUnlike all other religions in the world, biblical Christianity is not
a religion. It is a relation. A relationship with – or
connection to – God, as our Father in Heaven. That is why our Lord
Jesus Christ told us: Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Mt 23,9 9 "Do not call anyone on earth your
father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Mt 23,9; So, in biblical Christianity, we do not call anyone on earth
our Father – the one and only Almighty God in heaven is our Father. In fact
God created not only us but all human beings, with Adam and Eve, our archaic parents, and is
therefore the father of us all. But very few people want to know anything
about this. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Jn 4,23 "But an hour is coming, and now
is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 4,24 "God is
spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Jn 4,23-24; And as Paul also confirms to us in his first letter to the
Corinthians, God’s Spirit dwells in us if we are God’s children. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1Cor 3,16 Do you not know that you
are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
3,17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the
temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 1Cor 3,16-17; So this is a very similar connection to the one the Son of
God had with the Father during his mission on earth: Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? Jn 14,10 Do you not believe that I am in the
Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to
you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding
in Me does His works. 14,11 Believe Me that I
am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of
the works themselves. Jn 14,10-11; Finally, the Lord Jesus himself also tells us that the one
who loves him will be recognized by the fact that he will keep the word of
his Lord. And therefore the Father will love him, and both Father and Son
will come and make their abode with him (in his spirit). If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. Jn 14,22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him,
"Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to
us and not to the world?" 14,23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We
will come to him and make Our abode with him. 14,24 "He who does not
love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine,
but the Father’s who sent Me. 14,25 "These things I have spoken to you
while abiding with you. 14,26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to
your remembrance all that I said to you. Jn 14,22-26; So, let us summarize: Paul tells us above, in 1Cor 3,16,
that the Holy Spirit dwells in us if we are children of God. The Lord Jesus
tells us above, in Jn 14,23, that the Father and the Son will come to us and
abide with us if we love the Son. Thus we have united Father, Son and Holy
Spirit in our spirit! It is therefore obvious that it is in the nature of spiritual beings to integrate
themselves both in the spirit of a human being, as well as in other spiritual beings. In their spiritual
form, they are non-material and can merge into each other, as when we empty one glass of
water into another on the material plane, and the two both waters become one (trinity). However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; Acts 7,48 "However, the Most High does not
dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says (Isa 66,1-2):
7,49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet; what
kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord;Or what place
is there for my repose? 7,50 Was it not my hand which made all these
things?’ Acts 7,48-50; In the biblical Christian faith, therefore, there is no rite, no liturgy, no
"masses", no priests, bishops, cardinals, popes or anything else like that.
Biblical Christian believers themselves are God’s temple and in their spirit
have immediate and direct connection with their heavenly Father. For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2Cor 6,14 Do not be bound together
with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
or what fellowship has light with darkness? 6,15 Or what harmony has
Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
6,16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? And it is also this spirit of the children of God who will
live after the resurrection as a spiritual being in the eternal dimension
with our Father in heaven, after he has walked the path that our Lord Jesus
Christ has already gone before us as the first fruits (1Cor 15:20-28). But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and pray to your Father who is in secret. Mt 6,5 "When you pray, you are not to be
like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and
on the street corners (or on the "Wailing Wall"! / FH) so that they
may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6,6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door
and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you. 6,7 "And when you are praying, do
not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that
they will be heard for their many words. 6,8 "So do not be like them;
for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Mt 6,5-8; |
The biblical Trinity –the divine power as a model of state power in democracy.Similar to divine power, state power in democracy is divided into three instances: • Legislative, the law‒making authority (parliament), corresponds in the Trinity to God himself, as the author of laws and commandments (Ex 24:12). • Executive, the executing authority (police), corresponds in the Trinity to the Holy Spirit, who watches worldwide to see that people obey God's laws. However, He intervenes only when human action might otherwise run counter to God's plan (2The 2:7). • Jurisdiction, the law-speaking authority (justice), is comparable to the Son of God as the third person of the Trinity. The judgment is handed over to him and he will judge every single human being at the Last Judgment (Jn 5:22). In democracy this separation of powers serves to control the individual Authorities mutually and to limit the power of the state. God has made this threefold division in order to prove his justice for man. |