Condensed Theology, Lecture 15: Theology, God As Trinity: One True God God in Three Persons

Condensed Theology
A Primer in Systematic Theology

Theology Proper:
The Doctrine of God
What does the Bible teach about
God?
Where We’re Going
• Ten (or more) lectures covering four
subjects:
– The existence of God
– The attributes of God
– God as Trinity
– God’s works of creation & providence
God as Trinity
God as Trinity: Preliminaries
• The Bible nowhere uses the word “Trinity.”
• So there is no way that anyone can cite a
singular text of Scripture to prove the
Trinity;
• Rather, to speak about the doctrine of the
Trinity is to speak summarily about three
interrelating, inextricable doctrines that
may be set forth in the following
propositions:
1. There is only one true and living God.
2. God exists in three persons.
3. The three persons are each fully God.
• Each of the propositions may be
demonstrated from Scripture.
• Taken together, these three propositions
have come to be known as the doctrine of
the Trinity:
• The one God exists in three fully divine
persons.
• One final note on the relationship between
the doctrine of the Trinity and the
attributes of God:
• Since the one God exists in three, fully
divine persons, all of the attributes apply
equally and fully to each member of the
Godhead.
Proposition 1
There is only one true and living

God
Proposition 1: Only One God
• Deut 4:35: To you it was shown that you might
know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other
besides Him.
• Deut 6:4: Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the
LORD is one!
• 1 Kgs 8:59-60: And may these words of mine, with
which I have made supplication before the LORD,
be near to the LORD our God day and night, that He
may maintain the cause of His servant and the
cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, so
that all the peoples of the earth may know that the
LORD is God; there is no one else.
• Isa 45:5-7: I am the LORD, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you
have not known Me; That men may know from the
rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one
besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,
The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing
well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who
does all these.
• Isa 45:21: Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let
them consult together. Who has announced this from
of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the
LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A
righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.
• Mark 12:29: Jesus answered, “The
foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE
LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD…’”
• Rom 3:29-30: Or is God the God of Jews
only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?
Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God
who will justify the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith is
one.
• 1 Cor 8:4: Therefore concerning the eating of
things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is
no such thing as an idol in the world, and that
there is no God but one.
• 1 Tim 2:5: For there is one God, and one
mediator also between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus…
• Jas 2:19: You believe that God is one. You do
well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
• Is it really necessary
in a discussion of the
Trinity to say that
there is only one true
and living God?
• You bet!
• There are two reasons to say that there is
only one true and living God in a
discussion of the Trinity:
– First, the Bible teaches that God exists in
three persons (Prop. 2).
– Second, the Bible teaches that the three
persons are each fully God (Prop. 3).
• From these two propositions alone we
may conclude that there are three
Christian gods; thus denying monotheism.
Proposition 2
God exists in three persons

Proposition 2:
God in Three Persons
• There are three persons who make up the
Godhead:
– Father
– Son
– Holy Spirit
• Matt 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• 2 Cor 13:14: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Proposition 2:
• To say that the one God exists in three persons
does not mean
– That the one God is three human beings, or even
should be conceived of as human beings;
– That the one God can be divided into three parts;
– That the one God can exist separately or
independently of any of himself;
• Rather, to say that the one God exists in three
persons means that the one God is made up of
three distinct self-conscious egos who act in
distinct yet coordinate ways.
Proposition 2:
• To understand this proposition more clearly, we
can formulate it in this way:
– The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God;
yet…
– The Father is not the Son
– And neither the Father nor the Son is the Holy Spirit
• To say that the Father is not the Son and that
neither the Father nor the Son is the Holy Spirit
indicates that there are genuine distinctions
within the Godhead.
Proposition 2: God in Three
Persons
• Is it really necessary
to say that the Father
is not the Son and
that neither the Father
nor the Son is the
Holy Spirit?
• Absolutely!
Proposition 2:
• There are two reasons to say that the Father is
not the Son and that neither the Father nor the
Son is the Holy Spirit:
– First, as we have seen, the Bible teaches that God is
one (Prop. 1).
– Second, the Bible teaches that the Father is God, the
Son is God, and the Spirit is God (Prop. 3).
• From these two propositions alone we may
conclude that the language of Father, Son, and
Spirit are simply different modes or expressions
or behaviors of the one God; thus denying that
God exists in three distinct self-conscious egos.
Proposition 2:
• The Father is not the Son
– John 1:1-2, 14: In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God….14And the Word
became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His
glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
– John 17:1, 24: Jesus spoke these things; and lifting
up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has
come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify
You….24Father, I desire that they also, whom You
have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they
may see My glory which You have given Me, for You
loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
Proposition 2:
– Heb 7:25: Therefore He is able also to save
forever those who draw near to God through
Him, since He always lives to make
intercession for them.
– 1 John 2:1: My little children, I am writing
these things to you so that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Proposition 2:
– Gal 4:4-5: But when the fullness of the time
came, God sent forth His Son, born of a
woman, born under the Law, so that He might
redeem those who were under the Law, that
we might receive the adoption as sons.
– See Eph 1:3-12
Proposition 2:
• Neither the Father nor the Son is the Holy
Spirit
– Mark 1:9-11: In those days Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John
in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of
the water, He saw the heavens opening, and
the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
and a voice came out of the heavens: "You
are My beloved Son, in You I am well-
pleased."
Proposition 2:
• Neither the Father nor the Son is the Holy Spirit
– 1 Pet 1:2: …according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with
His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the
fullest measure.
– Acts 10:38: You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how
God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with
power, and how He went about doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for
God was with Him.
Proposition 2:
• Neither the Father nor the Son is the
Holy Spirit
– 2 Thess 2:13-14: But we should always give
thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by
the Lord, because God has chosen you from
the beginning for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the
truth. It was for this He called you through our
gospel, that you may gain the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Proposition 2:
Holy Spirit
– Titus 3:4-6: But when the kindness of God
our Savior and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of
deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out upon us richly through
Jesus Christ our Savior.
Proposition 2:
Spirit
– Rom 15:13: Now may the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will
abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
– Jude 20-21: But you, beloved, building
yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in
the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of
God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ to eternal life.
Proposition 2:
Spirit
– Eph 1:13-14: In Him, you also, after listening to the
message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—
having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the
Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's
own possession, to the praise of His glory.
– Eph 2:18: …for through Him we both have our
access in one Spirit to the Father.
Proposition 2:
Holy Spirit
– Eph 4:4-6: There is one body and one Spirit,
just as also you were called in one hope of
your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all who is over all and
through all and in all.
– Gal 4:6: Because you are sons, God has sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!"
Distinctive Persons with
Distinctive Roles
The Economic Trinity
Proposition 2:
• The distinction between the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, evident in the previous
Scriptures, indicates differences in role
and relationship.
• These differences are most apparent to us
in what has come to be known as the
economy of the Trinity, or the Economic
Trinity, where economy refers to the
activities of the different members of the
Godhead with respect to creation and
redemption.
Proposition 2:
• The Son is subordinate to the Father
in role and relationship
– 1 Cor 11:3: But I want you to understand that
Christ is the head of every man, and the man
is the head of a woman, and God is the head
of Christ.
– 1 Cor 15:28: When all things are subjected to
Him, then the Son Himself also will be
subjected to the One who subjected all things
to Him, so that God may be all in all.
Proposition 2:
– In creation
• Heb 1:1-2: God, after He spoke long ago to the
fathers in the prophets in many portions and in
many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in
His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things,
through whom also He made the world.
• What the Father spoke the Son carried out and
sustains.
Proposition 2:
– In redemption
• 1 John 4:14: We have seen and testify that the
Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the
world.
• John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Proposition 2:
– In redemption
• John 6:38: For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent
Me.
• Phil 2:8: Being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross.
• Heb 5:8: Although He was a Son, He learned
obedience from the things which He suffered.
Proposition 2:
• Like a human father and son
relationship, the Heavenly Father
directs, guides, leads, and commands
while the Eternal Son, submits,
follows, and obeys.
Proposition 2:
• The Holy Spirit is subordinate to the
Father and the Son in role and relationship
– In creation (Heb 1:2 w/Gen 1:2)
• Gen 1:2: The earth was formless and void, and
darkness was over the surface of the deep, and
the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of
the waters.
Proposition 2:
Father and the Son in role and relationship
– In redemption
• John 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.
• John 15:26: When the Helper comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father, that is the
Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
He will testify about Me.
• Implied in Eph 1:3-14.
Proposition 2:
Father and the Son in role and
relationship.
• The Holy Spirit is the Father’s and
Son’s agent in carrying out their
purposes in creation and redemption.
Proposition 2:
• Watershed texts depicting the
differences in role and relationship
between the members of the Trinity:
–John 14:16-26
–John 16:5-14
Proposition 2:
• The roles and relationships of the members of
the Godhead are depicted below.
– The Holy Spirit is subordinate in role and in
relationship to the Father and the Son.
– The Son is subordinate in role and in relationship to
the Father.
Father
Son
Holy Spirit
Distinctive Persons with
Distinctive Roles
The Ontological Trinity
Proposition 2:
• Summary:
– The distinction between the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit indicates differences in role and
relationship.
– These differences are most apparent to us in
what has come to be known as the economy
of the Trinity, or the Economic Trinity, where
economy refers to the activities of the different
members of the Godhead with respect to
creation and redemption.
Proposition 2:
• In addition, the differences in role and
relationship are not arbitrary or artificial or
even a product of the members’ activities;
• Rather, the differences in role and
relationship exemplified by the Economic
Trinity flow from the differences in role and
relationship that inhere in God as God.
Proposition 2:
• In other words, God has always
existed as three persons, eternally
before creation and redemption.
• This is what has come to be known
as the Ontological Trinity, or the
ontology of the Trinity, where
ontology refers to the being of God.
Proposition 2:
• We can say that the tri-personality of
God is an eternal, ontological reality
for the following reasons:
– God is immutable (he cannot change).
Therefore if he exists now as Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, he has always
existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Proposition 2:
• We can say that the tri-personality of God
is an eternal, ontological reality for the
following reasons:
– The Father and the Son acted together as
Father and Son before time began.
• Eph 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and
blameless before Him.
Proposition 2:
– The Father and the Son acted together
as Father and Son before time began.
• John 17:5: Now, Father, glorify Me together with
Yourself, with the glory which I had with You
before the world was.
Proposition 2:
• We can say that the tri-personality of God
is an eternal, ontological reality for the
following reasons:
– The Father and the Son acted together as
Father and Son before time began.
• John 1:18: No one has seen God at any time; the only
begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has
explained Him.
• John 3:17: For God did not send the Son into the world to
judge the world, but that the world might be saved through
Him.
• Gal 4:4: But when the fullness of the time came, God sent
forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.
Proposition 2:
– The Father and the Son acted together
as Father and Son before time began.
Conclusion
Conclusion
• Proposition 1: There is only one true and
living God.
• Proposition 2: God exists in three persons.
– The persons are self-conscious egos.
– The persons have different roles and
relationships in the very being of God (the
Ontological Trinity) that work themselves out
in the activity of God (the Economic Trinity).

Condensed Theology, Lecture 15: Theology, God As Trinity: One True God God in Three Persons

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Condensed Theology, Lecture 15: Theology, God As Trinity: One True God God in Three Persons

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Condensed Theology

A Primer in Systematic Theology

There is only one true and living

God exists in three persons

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