REGENT UNIVERSITY

The Holy Trinity

A treatise on the triunity of God and a refutation of subordinationist heresies

John Yelland

THEO 500 – Christian Theology

Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, Ph.D., D.Min

03 May 2018
 INTRODUCTION

The Holy Trinity is a topic many modern Christians find confusing, yet it is absolutely

integral to the essence of Christianity. An uncomfortable aura seems to permeate discussion

about the topic, and when discussion about the Trinity does occur, it is often done in a manner

that suggests a lack of confidence in the subject. The doctrine of the Trinity has been referred to

as a mystery or simply as beyond human comprehension.

However, as of late, many Christian communities have been experiencing a renewal in

interest toward the Trinity. According to Stephen R. Holmes, Senior Lecturer in Systematic

Theology at University of St. Andrews’ School of Divinity, this revival began in the second half

of the twentieth century.1 Holmes postulates that the over the centuries, the doctrine of the

Trinity had become something perceived as antiquated, unimportant for salvation or worse –

simply wrong.2

In light of these concerns, it therefore stands to reason that modern Christians should

decide if the doctrine of the Trinity is worth defending. Why was the triunity of God so

important that early Church fathers fought stridently in its defense? Why does it matter that

multiple ecumenical councils were organized to defend and solidify the triunity of God? Does

the Trinity affect our salvation?

In the course of this treatise I will provide an answer for these questions, as well as a

thorough defense and explanation of the Holy Trinity. Furthermore, various anti-Trinitarian

movements will be identified, and their rationalizations dismantled.

1 Stephen R. Holmes, The Holy Trinity: Understanding God’s Life (Croydon, UK: CPI Group Ltd.,
1988), 4.
2 Ibid., 5.
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHURCH’S FIGHT

AGAINST SUBORDINATIONIST HERESIES

After Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit descended upon the

apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2-4). On that day, St. Peter converted and baptized three

thousand men and women. This established the first community of Christians, in Jerusalem. For

the next three hundred years, Christians would live in fear of persecution from religious and state

authorities in the Roman Empire. Martyrdom was a stark reality to early Christians, and many

early Church fathers were martyred.

Saint Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 6:8-8:1) after rebuking Jews for killing the

innocent Jesus Christ. Saint Ignatius was famously fed to the lions in 117 AD at the Colosseum

under Trajan, who hoped to make an example out of the bishop. Saint Justin Martyr was

beheaded in Rome in 167 AD after sending a letter to Emperor Augustus Caesar saying, “You

can kill us. But you cannot hurt us.”

The early Church struggled not only against outside threats, but also internal threats. The

early Church was plagued by many heresies. Those most vociferously fought against were

Christological in nature. Two considerable ideologies arose in the first two centuries to challenge

the Trinitarian viewpoint – Modalism and Gnosticism, both of which were challenged by Saint

Irenaeus.

Gnosticism teaches the belief of gnosis, which is a Koine Greek word meaning “secret

knowledge.” What we know about Gnosticism comes from the writings of Irenaeus, who studied

and criticized their beliefs. Our understanding of Gnosticism grew broader after a cache of

Gnostic writings were discovered in the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945.
 Gnostics believe that God did not create the material universe. Rather, they assert that

everything was created by an evil or lesser God, usually referred to as a “demiurge.” This frees

the Gnostic from having to deal with the problem of evil’s existence in the world, for the Gnostic

sees God as being too pure, too perfect to be so involved with the evil of the material world.

According to Gnostics, Jesus Christ was a created being, a messenger, but not the incarnate God.

Whatever entered Jesus upon His baptism, Gnostics say, left him before he died on the cross.

The second major Christological heresy that predates the first ecumenical council was

Modalism, which has also been called Sabellianism. Modalists believe that God is not triune in

nature, but rather a singular God who reveals Himself in three distinct forms, or modes. To a

Modalist, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are simply God acting in unique, specific roles.

Saint Irenaeus wrote a well-respected book called Against Heresies, in which the bishop

accuses Gnostics of inventing gospels. “They really have no gospel which is not full of

blasphemy,” St. Irenaeus writes. “For what they have published … is totally unlike what has

been handed down to us from the apostles.”3 Until the discovery of the Gnostic gospels at Nag

Hammadi, St. Irenaeus’ book against Gnostics was the best surviving source of information

about the faction.

While the early Church played whack-a-mole with heresies, they also faced intermittent

persecution. However, this persecution was not to last. In the year 312, Emperor Constantine was

embroiled in a war against the usurper Maxentius for control of the Roman empire. While

traveling with his army, the emperor looked to the sky and beheld a cross in the sky in front of

the sun. Inscribed on the cross were the words, “In this sign, conquer.”

3 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 3.11.9.

 Constantine ordered his soldiers to adorn their shields with the Chi-Rho, a Christian

symbol, and were victorious at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. This omen caused Constantine to

embrace Christianity – the very first Roman emperor to do so. One year later the Christians were

granted tolerance by the Edict of Milan, which announced that “it was proper that the Christians

and all others should have liberty to follow that mode of religion which to each of them appeared

best.”4

Christianity soon enjoyed not just tolerance, but a position of privilege in the empire. Yet

despite this comfortable position, the Church still struggled to maintain doctrinal unity, and its

greatest threat yet was on the horizon.

Church unity was a significant concern of the early Church fathers. Soon Constantine

himself would come to realize this. In the time spanning the first and sixth ecumenical councils,

the five patriarchates of Christendom crystalized – Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria

and Jerusalem. It was in the city of Alexandria that a priest named Arius began to preach another

view of Christ’s nature. This teaching would come to be called Arianism. Arius taught that the

Son was inferior to the Father. To Arius, Christ was a created creature – a superior creature, to be

sure, but a creature nonetheless. His motive was no doubt to protect the transcendence and

uniqueness of God the Father.

Arius was popular, and so Arianism quickly spread through the area. The threat posed by

Arianism grew to such an extent that the bishop of Alexandria had to call a synod, which decided

that Arianism was heresy. Arius’ priesthood was stripped, and his followers were

excommunicated. But by this time Arianism had spread into the eastern realms of the empire.

The damage was already done.

4 Lactantius. De Mortibus Persecutorum (“On the Deaths of the Persecutors”), ch. 48.
 Emperor Constantine ultimately had to step in and call a universal council, inviting

representatives from all corners of the empire to hash out the true nature of God. In 325, some

318 bishops traveled to Nicaea for this first ecumenical council.

However impassioned, the council was conducted with civility, aside from one incident.

At one point, Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra, became so deeply offended by Arius’

argumentation that he crossed the room and slapped him. Nicholas was punished and almost

stripped entirely of his priesthood. Such behavior was not only illegal in the presence of the

Emperor, but also highly frowned upon by his fellow Christians.

As the council drew out, one figure in particular became prominent against Arius, a then-

deacon and protégé of the Bishop of Alexandria, a man named Athanasius. Prior to the Council

of Nicaea, Athanasius had already written Against the Heathen – On the Incarnation, a renowned

work that refutes heresies and teachings of the Jews and gentiles.

During the council, Athanasius would introduce the term “homoousian” (which means of

the same substance) to describe the essence of Christ. Arius refused to adopt this term, but

offered to compromise on the term “homoiousian” (which means of similar substance). This

would allow wiggle room for Arians and the Orthodox to coexist. But unfortunately for Arius,

those who had by that time already warmed up to the idea of “homoousian” would not bend to

accept “homoiousian.”

Over time, Athanasius was able to convince enough attendees to join his side, which

caused a snowball effect. Many Arians even defected to the side of Orthodoxy, seeing that to

remain firm with Arius was a losing battle that would only end in anathema. Thus, a majority

was assembled and “homoousian” became the agreed upon nature of Christ. In the end only

Arius, two bishops and one deacon refused to sign the document that would become The Nicene
Creed. Arianism was declared heresy; its preaching became an exilable offense and its teaching

anathema.

The Nicene Creed was expanded upon and solidified in the second ecumenical council at

Constantinople in 381. This council affirmed that not just Christ, but also the Holy Spirit were

consubstantial with God the Father.

Why did the early Church fathers fight so fiercely to defend the Trinitarian doctrine? Did

it really matter so much? Now that we have enough context to understand the gravity of the

issue, we shall in the next section expound upon why this holy doctrine is so crucial to Christian

belief, which will explain why these early Church father were so dogged in their fight against

such subordinationist heresies.

WHY DOES THE HOLY TRINITY MATTER?

Defining the Holy Trinity

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity teaches that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy

Spirit are of the same essence. The three figures of the Trinity are not separate beings, but rather

separate persons. Essentially – there is one God, who is three persons, each of which are fully

God.

A pagan interpretation of this doctrine would be tritheistic, which is to say that each

figure of the Godhead is a separate being. Modalists believe that God the Father takes on the

manifestation (or modes) of the Son and the Holy Spirit. And Arians believe that God the Father

created both the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 In the doctrine of the Trinity, the Father is the source of all things, including the Godhead

(Ephesians 4:6, 1 Corinthians 8:6, John 6:46). He is uncaused, transcendent and beyond

existence. The second person of the Trinity is the Son, Jesus Christ, who is eternally begotten of

the Father (John 3:16, John 16:28, John 17:5), uncreated (John 8:58) and unmade (Revelation

22:13). The Son’s source is in the Father, and we humans can only approach the Father through

the Son (John 5:19, John 14:6). The third and final person of the Holy Trinity is the Holy Spirit,

who is the active agent of God in the world (John 14:16-17, Acts 15:28), He is neither begotten

nor created (Hebrews 9:14) and eternally proceeds from the Father (John 15:26).

Each person of the Trinity interacts with one another in the world. Some examples

include God sending the Holy Spirit onto the Son “like a dove” when he was baptized, the Son

sending the Holy Spirit to the apostles at Pentecost, and the Father creating the world through the

Son and Holy Spirit.

While God the Father is the source, each person of the Trinity is coeternal and equally

powerful and divine as the Father. The Trinity functions as one God, yet separate persons of an

undivided essence. The love shared between the persons of the Trinity is perfect, so there is no

division or disagreement between them, because they share the same unified, good nature.

Why Does the Holy Trinity Matter?

Now we approach the heart of the matter and explore why it really is that the doctrine of

the Trinity has been defended for over two thousand years, and why the Church fathers risked

their lives and wellbeing in order to preserve it.

 In the gospel of St. John, Christ teaches that He gave His disciples a share in the divine

glory, and prayed that they could receive union with God. In John 17:22-23, it written, “I have

given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in

me.”

This idea became prevalent among Greek theologians, who spoke of humanity’s

“deification,” or theosis. They argued that in order for people to become deified, they must

become by grace what God is by nature. According to St. Athanasius, “He, indeed, assumed

humanity that we might become God.”5 In modern day, this has been adapted to “God became

man so that man might become God.”

Saint Athanasius viewed this process of deification in a nuanced way, describing the

process as not just the culmination of a long process, but as essentially becoming a new creation,

which would not have been possible without sin.6

In order for deification to be possible, Christ must be both fully God and fully human. No

one but God can save humankind, and so if Christ the Savior is to save, He must be God. And

yet it is only if He is also fully human that we can participate in what God has done for us. Christ

formed a bridge between God and humankind by the Incarnate Christ, who is both fully human

and fully God.

“I tell you the truth,” Christ promised in John 1:51, “you shall see heaven open, and the

angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Not only angels use this ladder,

but humans as well.

5Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation (San Bernandino: Pantianos Classics, 2018), 54.
6Basil Studer, Trinity and Incrnation: The Faith of the Early Church (New York: T&T Clark, 1993),
117.
 Each heresy explored in the previous section undermine a part of this vital affirmation.

Each and every ecumenical council defended the divinity of Christ for this reason, to ensure

Christians correctly interpreted and lived out the plan of salvation. The first two councils focused

on the divinity of Christ and solidified the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The next four addressed

Christ’s humanity and explained how the Godhead and humanity could be unified in one person.

“Only if Christ is truly God,” writes Kallistos Ware, an Eastern Orthodox bishop and

theologian, “can He unite us to God, for none but God Himself can open to humans the way of

union.”7

Christ is of the same essence (homoousios) as God the Father. He is not a creature or

demigod, but God in the sense that God the Father is God, “true God of true God,” as the Nicene

Creed states, “begotten, not made, one in essence with the Father.”

The Problem Subordinationists Face

Unorthodox sects face several issues in denying the Holy Trinity. If Jesus is not God,

then should we pray to Him? The Bible clearly does tell us we should pray to Jesus (John 14:14,

Revelation 22:20, 1 John 5:11-15), but if he is not the omniscient, infinite God then can He really

answer our prayers?

If we are to pray to Jesus Christ, but Christ is not God, then are we disobeying Paul’s

teaching to only worship the creator, and not the created? As it is written in Romans, 1:25, “They

exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the

Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.” The subordinationist is put into a very difficult position

7Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity (Westminster:

Penguin Books, 1963), 21.
by denying the divinity of Christ. For how can we pray to Jesus if we are instructed not to

worship the created?

Whoever attributes salvation to a created being must also grapple with whether a created

being who is limited in power, knowledge and even love can save us from our sins. This

becomes an issue when reading passages such as Jonah 2:9, Psalm 3:8 and Revelation 7:10,

which clearly indicate that salvation can only come from the Lord.

It was Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was sacrificed and atoned for our sins, thus

giving us salvation. So, in light of the aforementioned verses, whoever died on the cross also had

to be God.

The aforementioned topic of perfect love also comes into question when viewing Jesus as

a creature. For why would God send a created being to do a job that He said only He could

accomplish? One could interpret such an act as apathetic toward humankind, being that He

would have sent a creature to do something that Christians believe is the most significant and

loving act in the history of humankind.

The Holy Trinity answers all of these issues. Only God can offer salvation, thus Christ is

God, as he clearly taught (John 8:58, Mark 14:62, Revelation 1:17-18). Beyond Christ, however,

is the godhood of the Holy Spirit.

If the Holy Spirit is not God, then the subordinationist must decide whether He is a

created being or an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit renews our minds, sanctifies us and leads

us, as the Bible teaches (John 16:7-11, 1 Peter 1:2, Romans 15:16). Jesus Christ said that only

God is good, so the subordinationist must then answer how a created being or impersonal force

can sanctify and perfect us. Denying the Trinity is a risky misstep.
 Jesus and the Holy Spirit did things only God can do, so to deny that they are

ontologically God is unbiblical. Subordinationists may not realize that their views place salvation

in the hands of a created being. The Church fathers’ struggle against these differing

Christological ideologies was more than a struggle for doctrinal control – it was an effort to

preserve the message of Christ and His plan of salvation.

If the fates of Trinitarianism and Arianism were switched, this would have resulted in an

incorrect, incomplete way of living a Christian life. But as it turns out, Christ appears to have

been correct in predicting that His Church would never be overcome – not even by the gates of

Hell itself (Matthew 16:18).

THE TRINITY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The concept of the Trinity is present all throughout the New Testament, showing up in

both direct and indirect ways. It is revealed by attributing traits exclusive to God to the other

persons. Other evidences include Jesus’ own words. I will explore the former first. While it may

be possible explain away one or two passages, the sheer volume of such verses make the overall

message undeniable.

The Holy Spirit as God

In Acts 5:3, Paul criticizes Ananias for essentially lying to the Holy Spirit. In the

following verse he repeats the sentiment, but then points out he is lying to God. In Hebrews 9:14,

the Holy Spirit is described as being eternal, and 1 Corinthians 2:10 describes the Holy Spirit as

omniscient, saying, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches
all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Therefore, the Holy Spirit is both omniscient and eternal

– both traits exclusive to God.

Some skeptics believe the Holy Spirit is simply the force of God, but this is not supported

by the Bible, as there is a multitude of verses in which the Holy Spirit does more than a mere

force is capable of doing, such as speaking (Acts 13:2), having a mind (Romans 8:27).

The Son as God

Skeptics have made the claim that Jesus never actually refers to Himself as God, but yet

again this does not stand after conducting exegesis. In fact, there are several instances in which

Jesus does claim to be God. Such skeptics are looking for a verse in which Jesus says, “I am

God,” and who could blame them? Jesus was not speaking to modern people, but rather ancient

Jews. If Christ told this audience he was God, they might think He was claiming to a god.

Rather, Jesus directly identifies Himself as YHWH, the eternal, almighty God of Heaven.

This is why the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus, not because He said he was a god, but

because He identified Himself as YHWH (John 8:58). Because He made this identification in

particular, the Jews picked up stones to kill him.

When Jesus tells them “before Abraham was, I AM,” He is alluding to Exodus 3:14 when

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” This is not to say that Jesus simply existed before

Abraham, but that Jesus is identifying Himself as the very same “I AM.”

Skeptics say because Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man, He is affirming his

humanity, but this is not the case either. In Daniel 7:13-14, the Son of Man is prophesied as

“Coming with the clouds of heaven.” When Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin in Mark 14,

He quotes this Scripture to show that He is this figure. What is relevant to our inquiry is that
throughout the Old Testament (Isaiah 19:1, Psalm 68:4, Deuteronomy 33:26), riding on the

clouds is something that is exclusive to God alone.

THE TRINITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

As surprising as it may be, there is actually a plethora of evidences for the Trinity within

the Old Testament. There are three divine persons in the New Testament, but also in the Old as

well, being YHWH, the Angel of YHWH and the Spirit of YHWH. While it can be argued that

the Angel of YHWH may refer to a literal angel, there are several passages which clearly show

this Angel is indeed YHWH.

There are many passages which show that the Angel of YHWH is a divine figure, not a

mere angel. These include Genesis 16, 22, and 31, Exodus 3 and 14, Numbers 22, Judges 2, 6,

and 13, Zechariah 3 and 12.

In Genesis 16:10, the Angel of the Lord tells Hagar that He will multiply her

descendants, which is something that only God can do. In verse 13 she “called the name of the

Lord who spoke to her, You-are-the-God-Who-Sees.” The author is clearly identifying the Angel

of the Lord as YHWH Himself.

In Exodus 3, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush, and

only two verses later God calls to Moses from the bush. Skeptics will say that God simply spoke

through the Angel, but this does not stand up to scrutiny, as verse 16 says YHWH appeared to

Moses, but verse 2 says the Angel appeared to Moses.

 The Holy Spirit is also present throughout the Old Testament, and is shown to be a

person of God. In 2 Samuel 23, “The Spirit of the Lord” spoke through Samuel, and yet in the

following verse it is written that it was the God of Israel who was speaking. This shows that

when the Spirit speaks it is in fact God who is speaking.

The most notable of all, however, is Isaiah 48:16, in which God says, “From the time that

it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent me.” In this one verse all

three persons of the Trinity are present and described as a unity.

CONCLUSION

The importance of the Trinity was evident to the early Church fathers, and their struggles

against various heresies should serve to remind us of how dangerous disunity in the Church can

be. Christological differences can appear inconsequential, but the ramifications of such heresies

distort God’s plan of salvation.

The Trinity is not simply biblical, but entirely biblical, as evidenced by the exegesis laid

out in the later sections. Both Christ and the Holy Spirit were undeniably present throughout the

Old Testament. In light of such information, the Trinity cannot be felt as unimportant to modern

Christians, nor should it be intimidating. In fact, a renewed understanding of the Trinity

conforms us more closely to the community of God.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stephen R. Holmes, The Holy Trinity: Understanding God’s Life. Croydon, UK: CPI Group Ltd.,

1988.

Lactantius. De Mortibus Persecutorum (“On the Deaths of the Persecutors”).

Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation (San Bernandino: Pantianos Classics, 2018).

Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity (Westminster:

Penguin Books, 1963), 21.

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, 3.11.9.

Basil Studer, Trinity and Incrnation: The Faith of the Early Church (New York: T&T Clark, 1993).