The Trinity
The Trinity
“In our time, and for ordinary Christians, the Triune nature of the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, does not seem understandable or relevant.”1 Many Christians today, while professing a belief in the Trinity, have little to no knowledge of the actual meaning behind worshipping a Triune God. “For the very concept of numbers like one and three can never be capable of grasping the ineffable reality of God...they are at best only human verbal constructions...beyond comprehension by anyone but the Infinite One.”2
The modern-day Christian, even to some extent, the educated theologian, sees God as one
Person merely playing three roles. This common misunderstanding is almost as old as the
Church itself, and its name is modalism. When the human mind cannot ascribe an image to an abstract concept, such as the Trinity, the mind begins to wander, and will eventually imagine a solution to the problem at hand; such is the case in the outcome of modalism.
Throughout the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, there are countless passages stating that God is one, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one”3 and even moving into the New Testament realm, numerous verses reiterating that fact. However, with the arrival of Jesus, and Jesus’ later promise of the Counselor or Advocate to guide and assist the disciples, how else could one explain (at surface-level) the behavior of God still being only one
God, yet having three distinct modes? Sabellius, around AD 215, was the first to give rise to this
1
Michael Kinnamon. The Ecumenical Vision, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1997), 62
2Michael
Kinnamon. The Ecumenical Vision, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1997), 63
3
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV).
argument of modalism. He taught, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one; they are of one substance...and can be distinguished from one another only by name (emphasis added).”4
His
“In our time, and for ordinary Christians, the Triune nature of the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, does not seem understandable or relevant.”1 Many Christians today, while professing a belief in the Trinity, have little to no knowledge of the actual meaning behind worshipping a Triune God. “For the very concept of numbers like one and three can never be capable of grasping the ineffable reality of God...they are at best only human verbal constructions...beyond comprehension by anyone but the Infinite One.”2
The modern-day Christian, even to some extent, the educated theologian, sees God as one
Person merely playing three roles. This common misunderstanding is almost as old as the
Church itself, and its name is modalism. When the human mind cannot ascribe an image to an abstract concept, such as the Trinity, the mind begins to wander, and will eventually imagine a solution to the problem at hand; such is the case in the outcome of modalism.
Throughout the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, there are countless passages stating that God is one, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one”3 and even moving into the New Testament realm, numerous verses reiterating that fact. However, with the arrival of Jesus, and Jesus’ later promise of the Counselor or Advocate to guide and assist the disciples, how else could one explain (at surface-level) the behavior of God still being only one
God, yet having three distinct modes? Sabellius, around AD 215, was the first to give rise to this
1
Michael Kinnamon. The Ecumenical Vision, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1997), 62
2Michael
Kinnamon. The Ecumenical Vision, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1997), 63
3
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV).
argument of modalism. He taught, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one; they are of one substance...and can be distinguished from one another only by name (emphasis added).”4
His