Troubles with the Trinity
As I touched on the subject of the Trinity in the last blog, I thought it important to note that in misunderstanding the nature of God results in misguided worship. Error begets error.
I often hear fellow Christians say, “I got this great analogy for the Trinity, it’s like water, ice, and steam; they are all the same stuff (H2O) but different forms.” The sameness of the molecular structure of water/steam/ice may account for the unity of God, but it misses the clear biblical passages on the interactions between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For example, “The Father loves the Son” (cf. John 3:35; 5:20) but neither water, nor ice, nor steam express acts of love to one another. The same can be said about the egg analogy, there is not interpersonal love between the shell, yoke, and egg whites.
The modes or manifestations expressed in the H2O and egg analogies are actually more akin to the ancient theological heresy of modalistic monarchianism (also called Sabellianism). The modalists sought to maintain Christ’s deity; however, in doing so, they blurred the biblical distinctions between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This error is also called Patripassianism, because it understood that the Father incarnated Himself in Christ, and experienced the sufferings of Christ. Yet, the Scriptures teach, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him [the beloved Son], and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Col 1:19).
Modern groups like the United Pentecostals or Oneness Pentecostals recapitulate the same heresy. (Oneness Pentecostals are not to be mistaken with the many Trinitarian Pentecostals out there.) Complicating matters is the fact that many professing Christians often welcome Oneness Pentecostal with open arms as fellow believers, without ever thinking twice about their cultic understanding to the Trinity. Even popular teachers like T.D. Jakes and Tommy Tenney (The God Chaser) with roots in Oneness Pentecostalism are given huge platforms; yet, raising questions on their view of the essential doctrine of the Trinity is brushed off as being too anal.
To the other extreme is heresy of Arianism, which for the most part sought to uphold the unity of God but considered the Son or Logos a divine energy that became incarnate and a creation of God. So instead of blurring the distinctions between the Father and the Son, this error makes the Son subordinate or inferior to the Father. Similar to the ancient heresy is the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view of Jesus, whom they believe is the first and only being created by Jehovah God, and make the mistake of thinking that Christ is inferior to God. They, moreover, go to great lengths in twisting the Scriptures to prove their point. The Jehovah’s Witness belief, however, denies the biblical teaching that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both co-eternal and co-equal with God the Father (cf. John 1:1; Col. 1:15-17).
Error begets error, and what we believe about God influences how we worship our God. For example, Oneness Pentecostals hold to the legalistic prescription that unless one is baptized by their formula there is no genuine salvation. Jehovah’s Witnesses legalistically prohibit celebrating holidays, receiving blood transfusions, and many other regulations, which are to be kept under the threat of excommunication. If there is no Trinity, then Jesus Christ could not have offered Himself upon the cross as a pleasing sacrifice to God the Father to make atonement for sinners. If there is no Trinity, then neither the Son nor the Father sends the Spirit to empower believers for new spiritual life, and to intercede in behalf of believers particularly in the most troubling times when a frazzled people are unable to pray as they should. If there is no Trinity, then there is simply no Good News. Error begets error; however, orthodoxy begets orthopraxy.
I often hear fellow Christians say, “I got this great analogy for the Trinity, it’s like water, ice, and steam; they are all the same stuff (H2O) but different forms.” The sameness of the molecular structure of water/steam/ice may account for the unity of God, but it misses the clear biblical passages on the interactions between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For example, “The Father loves the Son” (cf. John 3:35; 5:20) but neither water, nor ice, nor steam express acts of love to one another. The same can be said about the egg analogy, there is not interpersonal love between the shell, yoke, and egg whites.
The modes or manifestations expressed in the H2O and egg analogies are actually more akin to the ancient theological heresy of modalistic monarchianism (also called Sabellianism). The modalists sought to maintain Christ’s deity; however, in doing so, they blurred the biblical distinctions between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This error is also called Patripassianism, because it understood that the Father incarnated Himself in Christ, and experienced the sufferings of Christ. Yet, the Scriptures teach, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him [the beloved Son], and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Col 1:19).
Modern groups like the United Pentecostals or Oneness Pentecostals recapitulate the same heresy. (Oneness Pentecostals are not to be mistaken with the many Trinitarian Pentecostals out there.) Complicating matters is the fact that many professing Christians often welcome Oneness Pentecostal with open arms as fellow believers, without ever thinking twice about their cultic understanding to the Trinity. Even popular teachers like T.D. Jakes and Tommy Tenney (The God Chaser) with roots in Oneness Pentecostalism are given huge platforms; yet, raising questions on their view of the essential doctrine of the Trinity is brushed off as being too anal.
To the other extreme is heresy of Arianism, which for the most part sought to uphold the unity of God but considered the Son or Logos a divine energy that became incarnate and a creation of God. So instead of blurring the distinctions between the Father and the Son, this error makes the Son subordinate or inferior to the Father. Similar to the ancient heresy is the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view of Jesus, whom they believe is the first and only being created by Jehovah God, and make the mistake of thinking that Christ is inferior to God. They, moreover, go to great lengths in twisting the Scriptures to prove their point. The Jehovah’s Witness belief, however, denies the biblical teaching that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both co-eternal and co-equal with God the Father (cf. John 1:1; Col. 1:15-17).
Error begets error, and what we believe about God influences how we worship our God. For example, Oneness Pentecostals hold to the legalistic prescription that unless one is baptized by their formula there is no genuine salvation. Jehovah’s Witnesses legalistically prohibit celebrating holidays, receiving blood transfusions, and many other regulations, which are to be kept under the threat of excommunication. If there is no Trinity, then Jesus Christ could not have offered Himself upon the cross as a pleasing sacrifice to God the Father to make atonement for sinners. If there is no Trinity, then neither the Son nor the Father sends the Spirit to empower believers for new spiritual life, and to intercede in behalf of believers particularly in the most troubling times when a frazzled people are unable to pray as they should. If there is no Trinity, then there is simply no Good News. Error begets error; however, orthodoxy begets orthopraxy.
Praise the Father; Praise the Son; Praise the Spirit; Three in One…
Comments
Post a Comment