The Forgotten Trinity (25 page)

The relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Song is
described by the term procession. He is said to "proceed" from the Father and the Son on the basis of such passages as John 15:26 and John
16:7.

5. There are certain personal attributes by which the three persons
are distinguished. This refers back to the preceding point. Looking internally at the Trinity, these actions are called the opera ad intra and
would be "generation" for the Father, "filiation" for the Son, and "procession" for the Holy Spirit. Because of the relationship the persons
bear to one another, we cannot confuse them. Only the Father generates; only the Son bears the relation of Son to the Father (filiation);
and only the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

6. The church confesses the Trinity to be a mystery beyond the comprehension of man. This is not a statement that the doctrine is inherently contradictory or irrational. It is not an excuse to ignore biblical
passages or believe things not taught in Scripture. It is an admission
that Deuteronomy 29:29 is true: there are certain secret things that
belong only to the Lord. He has not chosen to reveal everything there
is to know. Indeed, when it comes to the eternal relationship between
Father, Son, and Spirit, could we even begin to grasp the eternal, perfect, infinite union that is theirs, even if we tried? Are not our finite minds far too limited for such a task? The statement that the Trinity
is a mystery beyond the comprehension of man does not differ from
stating that how God exists eternally, outside the realm of time, is likewise a mystery beyond the comprehension of man. It is a statement
about our limitedness over against the greatness of God's being, nothing more.

THE GREAT TRINITARIAN PASSAGE

We close our examination of the wonderful truth of God's triune
nature with the single passage of the Bible that comes the closest to
providing a "creedal" statement:

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

The Lord is about to ascend into heaven. His words are measured
and solemn. His disciples are listening very closely. He gives the entire
church her charter, commanding believers of all ages to make disciples.
Who is a disciple? One who has been baptized and taught. Baptized in
whose name? There is only one name mentioned (the word "name" is
singular here): that of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. B.
B. Warfield again touches the very heart of the truth by saying of this
monumental passage,

He could not have been understood otherwise than as substituting for the Name of Jehovah this other Name "of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"; and this could not possibly
have meant to His disciples anything else than that Jehovah was
now to be known to them by the new Name, of the Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The only alternative would have been
that, for the community which He was founding, Jesus was supplanting Jehovah by a new God; and this alternative is no less than monstrous ... We are not witnessing here the birth of the doctrine
of the Trinity; that is presupposed. What we are witnessing is the
authoritative announcement of the Trinity as the God of Christianity by its Founder, in one of the most solemn of His recorded
declarations. Israel had worshipped the one and only true God
under the Name of Jehovah; Christians are to worship the same
one and only and true God under the Name of "the Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Ghost." This is the distinguishing characteristic of Christians; and that is as much as to say that the doctrine
of the Trinity is, according to our Lord's own apprehension of it,
the distinctive mark of the religion which He founded.'9

We see, then, why baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and
Spirit is so important: because this is baptism in the name of our God,
the triune God we worship and serve and adore, the triune God who
has saved us. The Father-source of all, eternally gracious. The SonRedeemer who left the glory of heaven to save His sheep. Spirit-indwelling Comforter who makes the truths of the Christian faith alive
in our hearts. What other name would we wish to bear than the triune
name of Father, Son, and Spirit? As the hymn writer so eloquently put
it:

History is a wonderful guide but a lousy taskmaster. As long
as we use history as a light to illumine but not an authority to obey
we can profit greatly from its study. In the same way, history can shed
much light on the doctrine of the Trinity, but only insofar as it shows
us how the people of God have struggled to safeguard and defend the
truth of God revealed to them in Christ.

There are many volumes written about the history of the doctrine
of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the person of the Holy Spirit.'
We will not even try to summarize the huge mountain of material that
exists on the subject. Instead, let's answer one simple question: can we
trace a belief in the fundamental doctrines we have examined in the
Scriptures through the earliest writers of the Christian faith? That is,
did they believe in only one true God? Did they believe in the deity of
Christ? Did they differentiate between the Father, Son, and Spirit?

It would be nice if we could find a second-century "theology book" from the early church, a series of creedal statements, or some
document or artifact that would give us a clear, exhaustive view of
the beliefs of the early Christians in the decades immediately after
the ministry of the apostles. But it is highly doubtful that we will
ever find such a treasure. The reason is very simple: when you are
running for your life, in-depth theological reflection, study, and
writing is not a high priority. Until the beginning of the fourth century, the church experienced intense persecution. Sometimes it was
localized, sometimes it spanned the Roman empire. There were a
couple of periods when the church enjoyed a decade or two of peace.
But on the flip side, there were other periods in which they experienced a decade or two of horrific persecution resulting in great
bloodshed.

Even when the church had peace her attention was not focused
upon the finer points of theology. While we can find a deep witness
to a belief in one God and in the deity of Christ, from the beginning,
the specific relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit was not the
first priority for those writers who put quill and ink to paper. A more
basic defense of the validity of the Christian faith consumed those
who wrote for "outsiders." As far as what was most important within
the church, the issue of what to do about those who apostatized during periods of persecution but then desired admission back into the
church was far more on the mind of people than anything else.

The end of persecution brought an almost immediate refocusing
of the church's attention upon the issues of the Trinity and the deity
of Christ. Indeed, the first major council of the church, called by Emperor Constantine in Nicaea in A.D. 325, addressed the issue of the
nature of Christ a scant dozen years after the persecutions ended. The
next centuries were spent working through the fine details of these
concepts.

CLEMENT OF ROME

One of the earliest Christian writings outside of the New Testament
is a lengthy letter written from the church at Rome to the church at
Corinth regarding a rebellion that had taken place within the assembly at Corinth. Some unruly people had risen up and rebelled against the
elders of the church, removing them from their positions of leadership.
The church at Rome wrote to the church at Corinth, remonstrating
with them as equals regarding this action. There is no specific name
attached to the letter. Tradition eventually credited it to Clement,
bishop of Rome. However, at the time, there was no one bishop in
either Rome or Corinth. Instead, the biblical pattern of a plurality of
elders prevailed. Clement may have been one of those elders, or even
a scribe for the group.

Clement is soaked in Scripture. That there is only one true God,
and that the Father, Son, and Spirit are separate persons, are clearly
truths fundamental to Clement's beliefs. God has all power and is the
Creator of all things:

For by His infinitely great power He established the heavens,
and by His incomprehensible understanding He set them in order.
(33)2

There is only one true God:

Surely he knew; but so that there might be no rebellion in Israel
he did this so that the name of the true and only God might be
glorified; to whom be glory for ever and ever. (43)

Clement clearly differentiates between the Father and the Son:

Therefore, all these were glorified and magnified, not because
of themselves, or through their own works, or for the righteous
deeds they performed, but by His will. And we also, being called
by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by means of ourselves,
nor by our own wisdom or understanding or godliness or works
which we have done in holiness of heart; but by that faith through
which the Almighty God has justified all those believing from the
beginning. To whom be glory for ever and ever, amen. (32)

By love all the elect of God have been perfected; without love
nothing is well-pleasing to God. In love has the Sovereign taken
us to Himself. On account of the love He had for us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God-and His flesh
for our flesh, and His soul for our souls. (49)

This blessedness comes upon those who have been chosen by
God through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen. (50)

But most significant for our study is the appearance of the very
same kind of Trinitarian passages in Clement that we have found in
the New Testament. Two such passages stand out:

For Christ is of those who are humble-minded, and not of
those who exalt themselves over His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Scepter of the majesty of God, did not come in the pomp of
pride or arrogance (though He could have!), but in a humble state,
just as the Holy Spirit had spoken concerning Him. (16)