The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian faith that “There is One God, who is the father Son and the Holy Spirit.” The Trinity is commonly referred to as “Three-in-one.” The Trinity is a debated doctrine with many scholars disputing its origin and even existence. Though there is no reference of the word “trinity” in the bible, it is a fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. The different churches under Christianity, both Catholics, and protestants share this doctrine. St Augustine is quoted to have said about the Trinity that “in no other subject is error more dangerous, or inquiry more laborious or the discovery of truth more profitable.” (Kärkkäinen, 2017). The evolution of the doctrine over time makes its difficult and laborious to comprehend. This paper seeks to examine how the doctrine of the Trinity developed from the New Testament Church to the Nicene Creed.
Importance of the Doctrine of Trinity
The Doctrine of Trinity is worth examining because of the central role it plays among Christians. The doctrine reflects the way Christians believe God encounter them and how their experience with him should be. John Owen, a Puritan theologian, argued that the Holy Trinity was one of the most glorious mysteries brought to light in and by Jesus Christ (De Koeijer, 2019).
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Owen further noted that the revelation was meant to inform Christians of how to place their trust in God, how to obey him and live with him, how to obtain and exercise communion with him until they have come to his enjoyment. Owen held that the nature of the gospel truths such as the holy Trinity is experienced by believers (De Koeijer, 2019). That is, the doctrine is not only believed but also experienced.
The Doctrine in the New Testament Church
The New Testament Church view of the Trinity was primarily drawn from the scripture referring to the Three-in-one. For example, the baptizing formula of Mathew “Go thus and make followers of all nations, christening them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The scripture mentions the three parties of the Trinity in a way to show their equivalence and their uniqueness as persons.
The church also drew their knowledge of the Trinity from the benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:13 which states, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the unity of the Holy Spirit.” The concept was also drawn from a letters of the Pauline corpus “it is everywhere assumed that the redemptive activities of God rest on a threefold source in God, the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.” Kärkkäinen (2017) argued that references made by Peter the Apostle of saints in the various regions of Asia Minor acknowledge they have been selected and ordained by God the Father and consecrated by the spirit that they be obedient of the Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2).
Jude also wrote his brief letter to encourage his readers to stand against apostasy by praying in the holy spirit, observing their in the love of God and being patient for the mercy of Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 20-21). The Trinitarian language is particularly evident in the gospel of John. The mention of the three parties of the Trinity appears in the John 14:16, John 3:34-35, John 14:26, John 15:26; 16;7 and John 14:23.
Though the concept of the Trinity was evident in the New Testament church, they did not follow any explicit Trinitarian doctrine (Kärkkäinen, 2017). The development of the trinity concept into a doctrine is captured in the rise of the creeds. The initial doctrine of Trinity was captured in the Apostles Creed, which was primarily associated with Catholics. McDowall (1918) observed that the Apostles Creed is traced to the apostles of the day of Pentecost, and each of them had contributed one of twelve sections.
The account dates back to the 4th and 5th centuries. The connection is evidenced by the fact that the contents of the creed are in agreement with apostolic teachings. In addition, the creed was used as an acknowledgement of faith for those waiting to be baptized. It may also have been used as a dogma. That is, an instruction for the new Christians in the fundamental faith. The third purpose is that it was used as a “rule of faith” to give steadiness to the orthodox Christian doctrine.
Tertullian-One God in the Trinity
The use of the term “Trinity” in the context of trinitarian belief is attributed to Tertullian (160-225 CE) (Tuggy, 2016). At the time, two dominant and conflicting thoughts of Jesus existed. The late second century logos Christology held that Jesus was created by God as instrument of creation. The Catholics, on the other hand held that the Father was the divine element in Jesus. Other The Tertullian school of thought, argued that Jesus and the Father were the same. Tertullian uniquely developed the logos Christology. His version of the Trinity depicts God in a triad of three, with God as the dominant figure.
Tertullian theory asserts that God is a spirit, made of subtle matter (Tuggy, 2016). In the beginning, God is alone. Then when He creates his Son, He does so using but not losing a share of his spiritual matter. Then the Son creates utilizing a piece of the divine matter shared with him, the Holy Spirit. The Son and the holy spirit act in such a way that they are instruments in the formation and overseeing the cosmos. The triad is undivided as the Father shares some matter with them. The Tertullian concept of the Trinity does not argue that the three are part of any whole.
Arian Controversy
The Arian controversy as sparked by the Alexandrian presbyter Arius (256-336 CE) (Tuggy, 2016). Arius taught from a subordinationist religious perception that the Son of God was a creature prepared from nothing a determinable time ago. The bishop Alexander of Alexandria who opposed the teaching and excommunicated Alexandria.
Some churchmen adhering to subordinationist viewpoint rallied o Arius’ side while others were believing in the existence of the Son and his ontological equivalence with the Father, gathered on Alexander’s side. The issue threatening to divide the church, a series of council meetings were organized.
By the time the council of Constantinople settled on the Nicene Creed, an anti-subordinationist reading had been energetically campaigned for by the bishop Athanasius. Athanasius had championed the view that the Father and the Son were not only similar beings but one being (Tuggy, 2016). They held that the redemption of humans required the Son and the Holy Spirit to be similarly divine with the Father.
Around the time of the Nicene Creed, the Gregory of Nyssa, his older brother Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus are recognized for founding a consistent terminology of Trinity. The three bishops established the term as hypostasis and ousia (McDowall, 1918). Hypostasis in that God is one and ousia for that God is one. Their view of trinitarianism is a metaphysics of God as an exclusive being and therefore, incomprehensible and ineffable (Tuggy, 2016). Gregory used the example of color to illustrate the Trinity. He argues that just as it is though humans can distinguish different colors and fail to differentiate their separation from one another, so is the doctrine.
Nicene Creed
In A.D 325, the council in Nicaea came up with the Nicene Creed. The council had been summoned by Emperor Constantine to set straight the basic tenets of Christianity (Staats, 1981). In the council, five bishops disagreed including Arius and were exiled. The Nicene Creed confirmed the unity of God, maintained that Christ came from the Father before all time and professed that Christ is the same core as the Father (Staats, 1981). The creed has only a single brief clause on the Holy Spirit. The Council of Constantinople finalized the Nicene Greed in A.D 381.
Conclusion
The doctrine of the Trinity evolved in the period between the New Testament church and the Nicene Creed. The paper finds that the development is attributed to the misunderstanding of the position of Jesus and the Holy Spirit from the Father. One school of thought held they were subordinates while others held that were equal. These conflicting thoughts were responsible for the Arius controversy and the ultimate Nicene Creed that resulted from a consensus of the bishops. The creeds that advance the doctrine, Nicene Creed and Apostles Creed, all advance the same idea that God is three-in-one.
References
De Koeijer, R. W. (2019). Puritan Spirituality with a Dual Focus: John Owen and Meditation on Christ. John Owen between Orthodoxy and Modernity . doi:10.1163/9789004391345_011
Kärkkäinen, V. (2017). Introduction: The Doctrine of the Trinity and the Challenge of Religious Pluralism. Trinity and Religious Pluralism , 1-10. doi:10.4324/9781315235592-1
McDowall, S. A. (1918). Evolution and the doctrine of the Trinity, by Stewart A. McDowell. The Sewanee Review , 359-366. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.26506
Staats, R. (1981). The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as a Foundation for Church Unity?: Protestant Thoughts on its Centenary, 1981. Irish Theological Quarterly , 48 (3-4), 212-227. doi:10.1177/002114008104800306
Tuggy, D. (2016). Trinity: History of Trinitarian Doctrines (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/trinity-history.html#ProNicCon
