Trinity

The Trinity Shield

The Trinity is a term used to describe the nature of the Godhead as one being in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This doctrine is foundational to orthodox Christianity and affirms that these three persons are co-equal and co-eternal, sharing the same divine essence while maintaining distinct roles and relationships within the Godhead.

God the Father is often associated with creation and providence, the source and sustainer of all things. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is the incarnate Word, through whom salvation is accomplished by his life, death, and resurrection. God the Holy Spirit is the presence of God active in the world, dwelling in believers to empower, sanctify, and guide them.

Though the term "Trinity" does not appear explicitly in Scripture, the concept is derived from passages that present the three persons together in unity, such as the Great Commission in , which instructs believers to baptise "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This mystery of three-in-one remains a profound and defining truth of the Christian faith.

History of the term

The word "Trinity" comes from the Latin word "Trinitas", which is first used by the African Christian writer, Tertullian of Carthage in the 3rd century. Despite this, Theophilus of Antioch uses the Greek word "Oikonomia", meaning "Economy", in the same way to refer to the nature of the Trinity in the year 181 CE. These terms, while distinct in origin and emphasis, contributed to the broader theological framework that would later be formalized at the Councils of Nicaea (325 CE) and Constantinople (381 CE), where the doctrine of the Trinity was defined as a core tenet of orthodox Christianity.

References to the Trinity

In the Old Testament

• - "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness"
• - "Then the Lord God said, 'See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."
• - "The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground."
• - "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is the name of the person? And what is the name of the person's child? Surely you know!"
• - "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me!"
• - "Draw near to me, hear this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there. And now the Lord God has sent me and his spirit."
• - "But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen."
• - "Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you."
• - "He said to me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
• - "And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn."
• - "See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts."

In the New Testament

• - "But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
• - "And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
• - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
• - "The angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God."
• - "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
• - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."
• - "And John testified, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."
• - "He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands."
• - "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you."
• - "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you."
• - "This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear."
• - "But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you."
• - "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone."
• - "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."
• - "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!"
• - "For through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father."
• - "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world."
• - "This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree."
• - "Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth."
• - "Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne."

From the Ante-Nicene Church Fathers

• Clement of Rome (died c.100 CE): Clement's epistle highlights the cooperative relationship within the Godhead. He references the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as jointly working in the process of creation and salvation, aligning with early Trinitarian understanding. While not explicitly using "Trinity," his references to all three Persons show their unity in divine purpose
• Ignatius of Antioch (died c.108 CE): In his writings, Ignatius often speaks of the Father, Son, and Spirit. He emphasizes the unity of believers through the "will of the Father, and of Jesus Christ our God," and the Spirit who sanctifies the church, reflecting a clear Trinitarian belief
• Polycarp of Smyrna (died c.155 CE): In his prayer before martyrdom, Polycarp blesses "the Father of your beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ" and gives glory to the "Holy Spirit," showing his acknowledgment of the Trinity in his worship
• Justin Martyr (died c.165 CE): Justin explicitly describes the Trinity in his "First Apology," where he defends the worship of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as distinct but unified in the divine essence. He also discusses their roles in creation and redemption
• Irenaeus of Lyons (died c.202 CE): In "Against Heresies," Irenaeus emphasizes the roles of the Father, Son, and Spirit in salvation, describing them as "the hands of God" working in harmony to bring about redemption and creation

The Nicene Creed

Nicholas of Myra at the council in Nicaea in the year 325 stops the great lie of the heretic Arius, who deceived people into believing that Jesus Christ is not God

The Nicene Creed, formalised at the Council of Nicaea, is the best explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity. The text is as follows:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds;
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation,
came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,
and it was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures;
and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life;
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;

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