The Trinity

One of my favorite stories from church history is the tale of how “Santa punched a heretic”.

What?

Here’s what actually happened: According to tradition, St. Nicholas (the inspiration for Santa Claus), upon arrival at the Council of Nicea, struck Arius in the face to demonstrate his disdain for his false teachings. (You’ll read more about Arius and Nicea later)

Now that's some zeal for truth!

What would cause “St. Nick” to get so angry? St. Nicholas realized what was at stake with the heresy that Arius was proclaiming. Arius’ teachings struck at the heart of Christianity -- the very nature of who Jesus is.

The result of this clash of ideas was the formation of what is now called The Trinity.

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most well-known, and least-understood doctrines in all of Christianity. I say least-understood partially because it is man’s finite attempt to explain an infinite God. Quite simply, it's difficult to comprehend. There are not many doctrines that require such careful precision because of how intricate and nuanced many of its’ aspects are.

The Trinity is central to so many questions within the Christian faith. What is the relationship between the Father and the Son? Is Jesus subordinate to the Father? Did Jesus become God or was He eternally part of the Godhead?

A recent poll conducted by Ligionier Ministries found that 73% of evangelicals believe that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” What many of these respondents likely don’t realize is that this is the ancient heresy of Arianism. Can you spot what’s wrong with this statement about Jesus? This staggering statistic is why a robust understanding of the Trinity is needed.

This level of precision, which leads so easily to error, is also what makes the Trinity so fascinating. How can God be one God and yet three persons? What does it mean for the three persons of the Godhead to be of the same “essence”? Many of these things are difficult for us to wrap our heads around as finite creatures, and yet we can catch a glimpse of the very nature of our great God through this doctrine.

Nicea

While the truth of the Trinity is obviously rooted in the Scriptures, the doctrine wasn’t formally laid out until the 4th century A.D. By this time, Emperor Constantine had declared the once-persecuted religion of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. During this time, a church leader named Arius began to teach that Jesus was “more than human, but less than God”, and that God created Jesus who in turn created the universe.

Arius began to gain a following, but also drew sharp criticism from those who believed Jesus to be fully God. Constantine, hoping to prevent his empire from being torn apart by this controversy, called for an ecumenical, or worldwide council, to discuss the claims made by Arius and his followers.

This council, known as the Council of Nicea, began in the year 325 A.D. and lasted approximately two months. Church father Athanasius was the key leader in opposition to Arius, and the Council overwhelmingly rebuked the teachings of Arius, condemning them as heresy.

The Council developed the famous Nicene Creed, which according to Pastor Earl M. Blackburn, established three essential truths:

1) Christ was the same substance and essence as the Father
2) Christ was not of a similar substance as the Father
3) Christ was not of a different substance as the Father

The Council of Nicea made clear once and for all that Jesus is eternally God and uncreated. It also established the fact that the Godhead consists of three distinct, yet equal and united persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Why It Matters

The Trinity is so vitally important to us as Christians because it gets at the core of who God is. As worshipers of God, it is appropriate for us to know Him and understand His nature as fully as we can.

God is Holy

One way that the Trinity can fuel our worship is by its constant reminder that God is very different from us. Regardless of your level of understanding of the Trinity, you’ll find yourself perplexed and confused at many junctures, and that’s okay. This is because God is unlike anything we’ve ever encountered. This shouldn’t lead us to feel distant from God, but reminds us that God is holy and should be worshiped reverently.

The most mind-boggling statement of Scripture, in my opinion, is found in Revelation 21:3: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” When I sit and think about God and the doctrine of the Trinity, I think about God’s holiness, His perfect love and unity among all three persons, and I wonder at the fact that His “dwelling place is with man”. How can such a mighty, holy, and beautiful God make His dwelling with lowly, sinful man? It leads me to worship.

The Trinity’s Effect on our Prayer Life

Understanding the Trinity will be especially helpful in marveling at the incarnate life of Christ written about in the Gospels. We see throughout the gospels Jesus’ unceasing times of prayer to the Father. If Jesus, who we know through Trinitarian doctrine is of the very same essence as the Father, depends so heavily on prayer, how much more so should we depend on it?

One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture is Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17. Here we’re getting a direct look at the relationship between the three persons of the Godhead -- a divine “meeting of the minds” so-to-speak. Jesus the Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit, praying to the Father. All three making up one God, co-equal to one another, with different roles, in perfect love and harmony. Isn’t that such a mysterious thing of beauty?

The Trinity and Interpreting Scripture

A third way that the Trinity matters practically is how it influences the way we look at Scripture. You may have heard people make theological arguments by claiming that Jesus “never said anything about ________”. These arguments elevate the words of Christ recorded in the Gospels over the rest of the Bible, implying that they are more truthful than the rest. This stance fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

In actuality, all of Scripture is equally true, because the author of the entire text is the same God. There is no disunity between the Father and the Son, and therefore the words that God spoke in the Old Testament are just as true as the “red-letter” words of Jesus in the Gospels.

The Trinity is a doctrine that no one will ever master, or be able to fully comprehend. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite. This means that we can live a lifetime and still look upon this doctrine with wonder. The doctrine of the Trinity is as fundamental and wonderful as any -- it is imperative that we approach it with care and attention to detail, as this doctrine lays a foundation for much of our Christian belief and drives our worship when properly understood.

Why Learn About Theology?

For a long time--at least since high school, I’ve had a significant interest in “-isms” and which one I fit into. Which camp do I find myself in? Perhaps it’s innate human nature to want to belong to a group, or maybe it was just me, but this interest has guided a lot of my learning over the years. It manifested itself through an obsession with politics in high school, and as I’ve grown in my faith, an interest in theology. So, while I’m by no means a theologian or an expert, I’ve enjoyed learning a lot about theology in this pursuit of which “-isms” I adhere to.

Simply mentioning the topic of theology connotes divisiveness and controversy for many people. It can be intimidating to study ideas that seem confusing and trivial. Can't we just have a relationship with Jesus and forget about all that doctrinal stuff?

While I agree that a relationship with Christ is our primary goal as Christians, I would contend that our relationship is not as deep and intimate without a proper theological foundation. Consider your relationships with other people - do those relationships not become more meaningful as you get to know someone better? Theology is simply the study of God - we are getting to know the God that we are in a personal relationship with. This should excite us!

As I’ve learned about various theological concepts, I’ve come to understand that theology is more than just for fitting yourself into particular camps, or making sure you’ve got it all right. A.W. Tozer famously said, “The devil is a better theologian than any of us, and is a devil still.” If we neglect to learn theology at all, we fail by not caring to know God and His Word better. But if we pursue theological knowledge for the mere goal of being right, we also fail by making it about ourselves. The proper role of theology should be to lead us to worship God, and that pursuit is the goal of this site.

How precisely does theology help us in our Christian life and in our worship? I propose four primary ways that theology is important to every Christian:

1. It fuels our worship. This one is important because it extends theology beyond just an intellectual exercise. We can spend every waking hour learning about God, but if it doesn't translate into worshiping Christ as our ultimate treasure, we are wasting our time. That being said, our worship is shallow if it isn't rooted in the knowledge of who God is. Knowledge and love are the two legs upon which our worship must stand.

2. Theology stabilizes our faith and keeps us from error. In Ephesians 4, Paul warns against being "carried about by every wind of doctrine" (vs. 14). Without a proper theological foundation, we will be like a feather in the wind, following whatever doctrine sounds good. Many theological errors are dangerously similar to the actual truth, therefore a thorough understanding is necessary to discern truth from error.

3. It grounds and connects us to historical Christianity. Christianity is not exactly a new religion. Followers of Christ have scoured the Scriptures in search of the truth since the time of the apostles, and many of the most brilliant Christian thinkers have preceded us by hundreds of years. We would be foolish to not learn from their efforts. You won't get far in your studies before you see the influence of people like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and the fathers who debated crucial doctrines as part of the Ecumenical Councils. We do best to compare our beliefs to those espoused by Christians throughout history, and need the humility to reexamine our beliefs if they are in stark contrast to widely held beliefs throughout time.

4. Theology can actually build unity in the Church. Yes, you read that correctly. While it's true that many people end up being divisive when it comes to theology, it can bring unity and understanding as well. Studying doctrine allows us to prioritize which issues are primary, secondary, and tertiary. Placing doctrines into their proper category of importance will help us know which issues are a "hill to die on" and which ones are okay to disagree on. Learning theology will also help us understand the logic behind views that we disagree with, and lead us to respect the genuine convictions of those who hold those views if they're grounded in Scripture.

I pray that this short introduction will ignite a desire in your heart to pursue the study of theology as you seek to know and worship God more. The subsequent posts will cover a particular doctrine, key event, or important figure in theological history. My ultimate goal isn’t to be comprehensive in my writing, but instead hope to give a general overview of each doctrine and why it matters in the life of an everyday Christian. Consider it your “free sample” that will hopefully encourage you to dive deeper in your own research. I’m looking forward to getting started!