Tag: church-history

The Trinity in the Early Church

In some circles, people will point out that “The word Trinity doesn’t even appear in the Bible, so it must have been created by mankind.”

While it’s true the word Trinity does not appear in Scripture, the concept does.  The Trinity doctrine teaches that the Father is God by nature, the Son is God by nature, the Holy Spirit is God by nature, and the three divine Persons are the one being called God.

In the Bible we see this laid out pretty clearly for us: The Father is identified as God: Gal. 1:1.  The Son is identified as God: Heb. 1:8. The Holy Spirit is identified as God: Acts 5:3-4.  But, there is only one God (1 Tim. 1:17).  So, if the teaching was there in the Bible, why don’t we see the term used in the early church?

The understanding that these things were true was there, but how the concept worked was not.

Ignatias (circa. 110 a.d.), one of the Apostle John’s disciples, in his letter to the Magnesians, identifies God the Father:  Now it becomes you also not to despise the age of your bishop, but to yield him all reverence, according to the will of God the Father,

Ignatius, again, wrote this in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 18:  “For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water.”

Tertullian (circa. 210 a.d.), writes in his Against Praxeas chapter 13: “. . . That there are, however, two Gods or two Lords, is a statement which at no time proceeds out of our mouth: not as if it were untrue that the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and each is God;”

The first use of the term trinity in the writings of the early church fathers was by Theophilus of Antioch (circa 175 a.d.) “In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom.”

This didn’t settle it for everyone in the church, however.  We think the doctrine is hard to understand today after nearly 2,000 years of scholarly writing and thought.  Imagine how difficult it was to understand when they had only the truth to rely upon without an explanation.  We have the same problem in science, for instance: we know that light exists in three forms: particles, waves, and energy, but we don’t know how that works.  God did this with the doctrine of the Trinity as well: we know that it is true, but we sometimes struggle with knowing how.

The main issue in the early church in relation to the Trinity was the nature and position of Christ.  The Jews only believed in one God, the Father.  He was all that was revealed to them in the Old Testament.  There are a few hints at the Trinity in the Old Testament, but the Jews stuck with the Father only.

Once the Son comes into the picture, the Jews in the church had a difficult time grasping who Jesus was and how He could be God too.

There were lots of screwy ideas of who Jesus was early on.  The Docetists didn’t even believe He was physical, A fellow named Marcion (140 a.d.) claimed he was a god but inferior to the Father.  Sabelius (circ. 200 a.d.) taught God was just one person but showed himself as three three persons.  Paul of Samosata (260 a.d.) said he was an inspired man but not the eternal Son.  Paul of Samosata’s disciple, Arias (318) thought Jesus was created by the Father as a sort of lieutenant god,

By the beginning of the fourth century, Arias and orthodoxy were the two main competing theories of how the Son relates to the Father.  The disagreement created such a stir that the first “Christian” Roman emperor, Constantine, called a council at a city in Turkey: Nicaea.  There, more than three hundred bishops argued through the matter.  Arius was there but did not speak.  His representative, Alexander of Alexandria debated with Athanasias, a young (18 years old) deacon from the church of Alexandria.  The orthodox view of the deity of Christ and support for the Trinity doctrine, which the church had believed for nearly 300 years, was confirmed by an overwhelming majority of the bishops.

Arius refused to sign the creed which was produced by the council to reflect their agreed upon ruling.  He was condemned and exiled by the Emperor Constantine – who himself was an Arian – and his writings were ordered burned. 

Why is this important?

To those who might deny the Trinity I’d like to say, for nearly 2,000 years scholarly men and women have dedicated their lives to revealing for us what the Bible teaches in the original languages.  They know what it says.  To think they are lying to us about the Trinity doctrine being contained clearly in Scripture would mean a conspiracy of hundreds of thousands of men and women over twenty centuries who have decided to lie to us but keep the truth to themselves.  I’d ask for a motive if this were true.

So, while the Trinity teaching was revealed by God in the New Testament, its workings were not explained.  The doctrine was settled as an answer to a problem of definition: how could one be three and three be one?  The Trinity doctrine we believe in today was taught in the New Testament era, was challenged by many “alternatives” to the truth, and though put through the fire, it has survived intact as God’s truth always does.

Christian Unity

Psalm 133 (ESV) 

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

  2     It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

       on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

  3     It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

       For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

Christian unity is a blessing both for the Christian and for our Lord.  Verse 2 tells us we are anointed in that unity.  I attend two men’s groups each week: one is a prayer group of maybe 50 men.  The other is a discussion group of about 40.  Each group is obviously anointed by God to bring out truth, mutual concerns, and personal issues needing prayer.  I think we all realize these are the benefits of such groups, but verse 3 tells us that such groups are also pleasing to our God.  They are as refreshing to both him and to us as the dew of Hermon which falls on the mountains of Zion. 

A guest speaker at our church once told us one reason our church is so vibrant and successful is the Men’s Prayer Group that meets on Saturday mornings.  It brings blessings and anointing to the entire church, which otherwise might be missed.

These benefits can also be experienced in worship services, of course, but not as much interaction between individuals takes place.

A historical event came to mind when I was preparing this, so I thought I’d share it.  It is the Forty Soldiers of Christ and took place in a.d. 320.

The Roman Twelfth Legion was stationed near the city of Sebaste in the northern portion of Armenia, which is now modern-day Turkey.  The Roman governor for Armenia, Agricola, ordered all Roman soldiers to sacrifice to the emperor.  There were forty members of the Twelfth Legion who were Christians and refused to perform the sacrifice.  “We belong to Christ, and Him we serve,” they said.

Though their commander tried earnestly to persuade them to relent, they stood firm.  So, the commander put them under guard and sent a messenger to Argicola asking what discipline should be handed out.  The sentenced was to be death.

The commander then had the forty men stripped to the skin and marched out onto a nearby frozen lake to die.  He also erected a shrine where the men could come at any time.  Should they change their minds, they could sacrifice there, and a hot bath was also waiting.  All would be forgiven, and they could return to their ranks.

During the night, the men encouraged each other with Scripture and prayers for strength.  At one point a single man left the group and ran to the shrine to sacrifice, but the extreme temperature change from the freezing cold to the hot bath was too much and killed him.

From the group, it could be heard, “Now there are 39.”  At that moment, the jailer who had kept them in custody while the men awaited sentence, tore off his clothing and ran to join the group still on the ice.  He was heard to shout “No.  There are 40 Christians.”

In the morning, those still living were executed except one, a young man who had been recruited from the village.  His mother was asked if she could nurse him back to health.  She flew into a rage.  “How could I deprive my son the honor of standing before his Savior together with his fallen comrades to receive their crowns.  Let him have the privilege of dying with them.”

Why is this important?

Christians in unity can provide strength and courage to one another.  God will provide the anointing offered in Psalm 133 and loves those who stand for Him both in life and in death.

Matt. 10:32-33 (ESV)  So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.