Yet another thread that only I and perhaps @Historyprof will find interesting …
Many Christians think early Christianity was basically today’s orthodoxy, interrupted from time to time by some pesky heresy that had to be stamped out by the keepers of orthodoxy, Uh, not exactly.
Scholars are agreed that the divinity of Jesus was a very early Christian belief. The late Larry Hurtado wrote extensively on this. Larry Hurtado - Wikipedia
The big question was, “What does this mean and how does it work?”
Some of the answers that became heresies were actually more popular than what became orthodoxy and were a genuine threat to it. They are more realistically viewed as “early Christianities” than heresies.
Relevant to the Problem of Evil we just discussed on another thread, one huge concern was how to reconcile the divine Jesus with the God of the OT and all the evil we see around us.
The Gnostics, Valentinians, Marcionites and others had a straightforward answer: Reconciliation is impossible.
They concluded that either there were actually two Gods, one good and one evil, with a genuine war between them, or that the creator God of the OT was a flawed (either incompetent or malevolent) and lesser emanation of the one true God. Jesus represented the good and true God.
These heresies were obviously incompatible with the Jewish roots of Christianity, but they do show how the Problem of Evil has puzzled believers since the dawn of Christianity.
The doctrine of the Trinity (Modern Orthodoxy) as it was later formulated would not align with the theological framework or language used by first-century Jewish believers (TRUE Orthodoxy). The original Jewish-Christian community held firmly to monotheism, a belief deeply rooted in Old Testament teachings that emphasize God’s absolute oneness. First-century Jewish believers, including the apostles, would have approached the nature of God within this strict monotheistic worldview, without conceptualizing distinct “persons” within the Godhead.
In the New Testament, Jesus is indeed depicted as divine, and the Holy Spirit is described as active and present in the life of believers, but these descriptions remain within a framework that upholds God’s undivided nature. The apostles spoke of Jesus as the manifestation of God in flesh (John 1:14, 1 Timothy 3:16) and the Holy Spirit as God’s empowering presence (Acts 1:8), yet they did not introduce a three-person understanding of God. Their focus was more on the practical experience of God’s redemptive work through Jesus Christ and the indwelling Spirit than on theological speculation(Not Inspired Scripture) about God’s internal structure.
The doctrine of the Trinity developed in response to theological debates that arose in the centuries following the apostles. By the time of the Nicene Creed in 325 AD, Gentile converts with philosophical backgrounds sought to articulate the relationship between Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit in terms that resonated with Greek and Roman philosophical categories (Not Scripture). This led to the formalization of the Trinity doctrine, a framework foreign to the first-century Jewish apostles, who emphasized God’s oneness and saw Jesus as the incarnation of that one God rather than a second person in a divine trio.
Therefore, while the later Trinitarian doctrine was an attempt to explain and defend the divinity of Jesus and the role of the Holy Spirit, it diverged from the original theological understanding that first-century Jewish Christians would have held. The apostles would likely have viewed God’s nature as a mystery, revealed through Jesus Christ, without dividing God into separate persons or adopting a triune framework.
Well, OK, but I would hope every thread doesn’t get hijacked into a “There ain’t no Trinity” vein. I’m not anti-Trinitarian - for some, it’s a useful way to think and talk about God and for all I know it could be true. Some of the early Christianities were so fantastically complicated that the doctrine of the Trinity would have been a huge simplification. The “aeons” of Gnosticism ranged from 12 to 365 to “infinity.”
My guess is that the very earliest Jewish Christians would have simply described Jesus as “the divine son of God,” probably in the same way the son of a king is “royal,” and let it go at that. Theories involved him becoming divine at conception, at baptism or at the Resurrection, with the notion of preexistence generally being a later development as far as I know.
I believe God is a Trinity of Titles or Roles simultaneously: God the Father in Creation, God the Father revealed and veiled in the Son, and God the Father’s Spirit in regeneration, sanctification and ultimately glorification. Not three separate centers of consciousness or persons. God is One which means he cannot be divided either externally or internally.
Hi,
I have used this as an example before. Let’s see if we can plug it in here:
Trinity is a word used to express the doctrine of the oneness of God as existing within the three distinct Persons (or personalities) of the one God. It is originates from the Greek word “trias.” The first time “trias” was used was by Theophilus around 168-183 A D. The first time for the Latin term “trinitas” was by Tertullian in 220A.D. to express the Trinity doctrine. We can break down the doctrine to these four points:
There is only one God (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29, 32).
The Father is God and is a divine Person or Personality distinguishablly different from the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Exo. 4:22-24, Isa. 44:6. 1Cor.8:6)
Jesus Christ is equally God, and is a Person distinguishablly different from the Father and the Holy Spirit. (Deut. 18:15, Dan. 3:23-24, John 1.1; 14, John 5:18)
The Holy Spirit is equally God and a divine person distinguishally different from the Father and the Son. ( Genesis 1.2, Isa. 63:14, Matthew 28:19, Acts 5:3-4)
The doctrine of the Trinity was developed to help people understand the relationship between God as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Remember that, at this time 168-183 A.D., believers did not have access to a completed Bible as we do. They received their teaching through oral communication. So doctrines were introduced to help believers retain critical information.
So how can three distinct persons be one distinct person? This doesn’t seem possible. How can three ones be one in total?
1 • One • I = 1 or One or I.
I can multiply any form of one in any order. Each of the ones are separate, distinct unto itself, yet they all equal to each other to the point that any form may be used as the answer. That is probably as close as I can get to explaining the doctrine of the Trinity.
Have I fully explained the Trinity? Qf course not. How can the finite (me) fully describe the infinite (God)? I hope this helps a little in the discussion.
There are concepts, like a Conceptual Bible Study, that may be derived from the Bible. Given someone can understand certain concepts, they may be able to see good theology from bad with God.
We read the New Testament from an Old Testament understanding. Jesus came fulfilling the words of the Prophets. God spoke through someone like Prophet Ezekiel or Prophet Jeremiah. The Prophets of the Bible do not contradict each other. This gets us into an understanding of “The Power of The Tongue.” The Power of the Tongue is something developed through God’s Holy Spirit.
The New Testament tends to be very interpersonal, that is, how should men get along in a society. The Old Testament tends to get into God as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and how God judges nations. Given someone was a “New Testament Christian,” that would be an old heresy where someone was losing context.
When it comes to the Trinity, Early Christians were fighting against particular heresies, such as Arianism. I have found it helpful to talk about the Trinity in terms of Authority.
Authority works in particular ways. Authority in The US Military, it starts with the President, the Commander in Chief. Authority is delegated down a chain of command. Authority started with the Commander and Chief and was delegated to generals, delegated from generals down to Colonels, delegated to Captains and so on. A 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army was wielding delegated authority from the Commander and Chief. In Great Britain authority starts with the King. Authority was delegated to the Prime Minister.
Jesus Christ, he received delegated authority from The Father.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)
Jesus’ WILL was aligned with the Father’s WILL. Jesus did the will of the father even unto death. The Lord is a shepherd. (Psalms 23) Jesus’ will had to be aligned with The Father’s will.
In Arianism, Jesus may have been more of a demi-god like a Perseus with his will outside of The Father’s.
Given a Prime Minister, a Vizier, a someone with delegated authority from a King, given he had a will that was not aligned well, historically said Administer probably would have been executed.
The Father, the Son and The Holy Ghost are of one Will. One mind. Christians should give their will over to The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is a shepherd. (Psalms 23) Christians should work to be of one mind. (Philippians 2:2)
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.(James 1:12)
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. (Revelations 2:10)
The only way to the father is through the son. Christians should bear their cross, and follow Jesus.
One way to understand the Trinity is in an understanding of authority.