014. CHAPTER 5 - THE HOLY TRINITY.
CHAPTER 5 - THE HOLY TRINITY. THE word Trinity is from the Latin trinitas, which is a compound word, from tres, three, and unus, one; therefore, the signification of the word is three-one, or, as it is used in theology, three in one.
Some have objected to the use of the term Trinity, merely from the fact that it is not found in our version of the Scriptures; but this objection is perfectly frivolous, if it can be shown that the Bible contains the idea which the word properly expresses. It would not require much ingenuity to embody the most heterodox sentiments by a collocation of Scripture phrases; and, on the contrary, truths the most clearly revealed may be correctly expressed without adopting the precise language of Scripture. The paramount object of the student of divinity is, to gain a correct knowledge of the sentiments of revelation. On the important subject of the Trinity, we will first present an illustration of the orthodox view; secondly, show that it is scriptural; and, thirdly, answer some objections.
I. According to the general sentiment of orthodox Christians, the mode of the divine existence, as well as the essence of the divine nature, is one of the sublime mysteries of God, which is too profound for human wisdom to fathom. Upon this subject it becomes us meekly to receive the information with which revelation has favored us, neither doubting the truth of what has been revealed, nor permitting our speculations to travel beyond the bounds of the inspired record. By the Trinity, according to our understanding of the Scriptures, we are not to suppose that there are three Gods, and that these three Gods are one God; nor are we to understand that the three persons in the Godhead are one person: either position would not only be unscriptural, but would imply in itself a manifest contradiction. Nor are we to suppose that in the divine nature there are three distinct intelligent beings, and that these three are so mysteriously and intimately united as to constitute but one being, This, also, would be both unscriptural and self-contradictory. And we may remark, that Socinians, Arians, and others who have written in opposition to the Trinity, have, very generally, represented the doctrine of Trinitarians according to one or the other of the views already presented. That some advocates of the Trinity have expressed themselves in so ambiguous or unguarded a manner as, in some degree, to furnish a pretext for this presentation of the orthodox sentiment, must be admitted; but that neither of the views yet presented contains a fair statement of the doctrine, as held by the intelligent Trinitarians generally, may easily be seen by a reference to the creeds of the different orthodox denominations, as well as to the writings of their principal divines. The correct view of the subject, according to the representation of the most eminent orthodox divines, and the view which appears conformable to Scripture, is, that the Godhead exists under three distinct personalities, at the same time, constituting but one God. Although God the Father is all intelligent being, God the Son an intelligent being, and God the Holy Spirit an intelligent being, yet that they are not three distinct intelligent beings; but that the three persons in the Godhead are one and the same being, so far as their nature is concerned, yet subsisting in three different persons-the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It may not be unacceptable here to exhibit the opinion of several eminent orthodox divines on this subject, as presented by Dr. Doddridge, in the following words:
“Dr. Waterland, Dr. A. Taylor, with the rest of the Athanasians, assert three proper distinct persons, entirely equal to, and independent upon, each other, yet making up one and the same being; and that though there may appear many things inexplicable in the scheme, it is to be charged to the weakness of our understanding, and not the absurdity of the doctrine itself.
“Bishop Pearson, with whom Bishop Bull also agrees, is of opinion, that though God the Father is the fountain of the Deity, the whole divine nature is communicated from the Father to the Son, and from both to the Spirit, yet so as that the Father and the Son are not separate nor separable from the divinity, but do still exist in it, and are most intimately united to it. This was also Dr. Owen’s scheme.”
Thus it may be seen that, while it is not pretended that we can comprehend the manner of the existence of three persons in one God, any more than we can fathom the mysterious depths of the divine essence, yet such is the plain statement of the facts in the case, as learned from inspiration, that they involve in themselves no contradiction or absurdity. If we speak of the essential essence of the Divine Being, we say there is but one undivided essence, but one being, but one God; but if we speak of personal distinction, such as is properly expressed by the pronoun I, thou, or he, we say there are three persons in one and the same God, or one and the same God in three persons. But if we are called upon to explain how three persons can exist in one God, we reply that the subject is neither more nor less difficult than the comprehension of any of the divine attributes. Our faith embraces the fact as a matter of revelation; the manner of the fact, which involves the stupendous mystery, not being revealed, we leave beyond the veil, as a theme which may be presented for contemplation when we “shall know even as also we are known.” All attempts, therefore, to explain the mystery of the Trinity, or the manner in which three persons constitute one God, we would repudiate as vain and futile, while we would plant our faith firm and immovable in the truth of the fact as revealed in the Bible.
II. Our second position is, to show that the doctrine of the Trinity, as already exhibited, is in accordance with the Scriptures.
1. It is necessarily implied in several positions which we have already seen established, in the preceding chapters.
(1)Unity of God.-In the second chapter, we showed, by various and express declarations of Scripture, that there is but one God. Indeed, this great principle-the unity of the Godhead-is the very foundation upon which the true worship is established. It is the denial of this which constitutes the greatest error and absurdity of paganism. And we may say that, if the unity of God be not established in the Bible, it is in vain for us to appeal to that volume for testimony on any point whatever. The very first of the ten commandments is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me;” and the constant language of God throughout the Bible is, “Hear, O Israel, Jehovah, our God, is one Jehovah.” This great truth, then, so essential for the prevention of idolatry, is thus strongly stamped upon the page of inspiration, and, we may add, abundantly confirmed by the harmony displayed in the works of God around us.
(2)Deity of Christ.-In the third chapter, we saw the Scripture evidence plainly establishing the real and proper divinity of Jesus Christ. So pointed and direct was this testimony, as seen from the titles, attributes, works, and honors, ascribed to Christ, that, if we reject the doctrine of the Godhead of Christ, we flatly deny the word of God, nor can we appeal again to that volume for the establishment of any truth whatever.
(3)Deity of the Holy Spirit.-In the fourth chapter, we saw, with equal clearness and force, and by proofs of a similar character, the real Deity of the Holy Spirit established beyond the possibility of a doubt, unless we discard the Bible itself, and explain away, by a resort to strained and far-fetched criticism, the plainest declarations of the inspired record.
We now ask attention to the foregoing points, universally admitted or clearly established, and demand it at the hands of all who reject the Trinity, to explain and reconcile these points, if they can, without admitting all that is meant by the Trinity.
(1) That God the Father is properly God, all admit.
(2) That the Son is God, has been already proved.
(3) That the Holy Spirit is God, has been already proved.
(4) That there is but one God, has been already proved.
Here, then, we say, is a Trinity clearly established. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three, in one sense of the word at least. The first all admit to be God, and the second and third have been proved to be God. Then it follows that there are three that are God; but it has also been proved that there is but one God. Then we have clearly established a three-one God which is the same as a Trinity. But it is clear that three cannot be one in the same sense in which they are three. This would be self-contradictory; but for there to be three in one sense, and one in another sense, would involve no contradiction. Then it must be obvious that there are not three and one in the same sense. In what sense, then, shall we understand that there is one? Certainly in reference to the Godhead, There is but one God. But in what sense shall we understand that there are three? Certainly not in reference to the Godhead; for this, as we have seen, would be self-contradictory. But it must be understood in reference to some other distinction. This we denominate a personal distinction; first, because it is expressed in the Scriptures by the personal pronouns, I, thou, he, etc.; and these, in all languages, are proper appellatives of persons: secondly, the expression of this distinction by the term person is scriptural; for we find the word used to distinguish the person of the Father from that of the Son: “Who being the brightness of his (the Father’s) glory, and the express image of his person.”
Thus have we seen that there is but one God, and that in the unity of this Godhead there are three distinctions-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these distinctions are scripturally expressed by the term person. Then the sore of the whole matter is this: That there are three persons in one God; or, in other words, the doctrine of the Trinity is a Bible truth.
2. The doctrine of the Trinity is confirmed, by frequent allusions to a plurality and threefold distinction in the Deity, more or less direct, in almost all parts of the Scriptures.
(1) In the beginning of Genesis, the name by which God first reveals himself to us is Elohim, a plural noun, the singular form of which is Eloah. Now, if there be no plurality of persons in the Godhead, it is difficult to account for the use of the plural, instead of the singular noun; especially as the verb connected therewith is in the singular number. Hence, there seems to be a strong probability that there is here a plain allusion to the doctrine of the Trinity, which was afterward more clearly revealed.
(2) This conclusion is still farther confirmed by what we read in the 26th verse of the chapter: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Here the personal pronoun is used three times in the plural form. To account for this upon any other hypothesis than that there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead, is impossible. But on the supposition that there are three persons in the unity of the Godhead, the matter becomes plain and easy. That the Word, or Son of God, was the active agent in the work of creation, is declared in the first chapter of John; and it is remarkable that the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis introduces the agency of the Spirit also in this great work-”And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Thus we have the agency of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all connected in the great work of creation, and yet “he that built (or made) all things is God.” Again, in the 22d verse of the third chapter of Genesis, we have this plural form of the pronoun repeated: “And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.” How difficult must it be for the anti-Trinitarian to find a consistent interpretation!
(3)The use of the three sacred names in baptism has already been mentioned in proof of the divinity of the Son and Holy Spirit-to which we may now add that we here see a direct acknowledgment of all the persons of the Trinity. Upon the formula of baptism we remark, that if there be no personal distinction between Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, why the necessity for the three names? and if each person named be not God, why the propriety of connecting the name of a creature, in terms of apparent perfect equality, with the name of the Supreme God, in a solemn act of worship?
(4) In the conclusion of the last chapter of 2 Corinthians, we have this solemn form of benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.” This benediction is virtually the offering up of a prayer to the three personages here specified; and from any thing that appears, they are all petitioned with equal solemnity and reverence. If they be not all divine, how could the apostle ever again admonish the Corinthians against idolatry? Surely he had presented them an example of direct homage and supreme worship to a creature!
Thus have we seen the doctrine of the Trinity, or three persons in one God, abundantly established from the Scriptures; first, as necessarily implied in the admitted or established facts, that there is but one God, that God the Father is God, that God the Son is God, and that God the Holy Spirit is God; secondly, we have seen it confirmed by frequent allusions, more or less explicit, in different parts of the Scriptures, to the several persons of the Godhead. We now close our argument with a single quotation from 1 John 5:7, which embodies in one verse the whole doctrine of the Trinity: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.”
III. In the last place, we notice the principal objection which has been urged against this doctrine. It is this: that “the doctrine of the Trinity is incomprehensible, and requires us to believe in mysteries.” To which we reply, that the question with us ought not to be whether we can comprehend the doctrine or not, but whether it is a doctrine declared in the Scriptures or not. If the latter can be established, then the circumstance of its being plain or mysterious to our understanding cannot affect our obligations to believe it in the least. It should be enough for us to know that God has spoken; and what he has declared we are bound to believe, or discard the whole Bible. That the plain, common-sense interpretation of Scripture teaches the doctrine, we might almost infer from the strong disposition of Socinians to twist from their plain import many passages of Scripture, to expunge others entirely from the sacred canon, and even to undervalue inspiration itself. But the objection is based upon a false premise. It assumes that we ought not to believe any thing till we can comprehend it. If this be true, then we must hang up our flag of high-toned and universal skepticism; for what is there that we can comprehend? From the smallest insect, up through every link “of being’s endless chain,” there are mysteries- inexplicable mysteries-in every object that we contemplate. But yet we believe firmly in the existence of things. But, after all that has been said by way of objection about the mystery of the Trinity, the difficulty is equally great upon any subject connected with the Divine Being; for what attribute of God is it that we can comprehend? But let it be remembered that the great mystery about which the objection is started, relates not to the fact that there are three persons in one God, but to the manner of the fact. We cannot conceive how it can be; and yet the manner of the fact we are not required to embrace in our faith-that is something not revealed. We are simply required to believe the fact as declared in Scripture. In conclusion, we might ask, What could we gain, even in respect to exemption from difficulty, by renouncing the Trinity? We reply, that we would involve ourselves in difficulties far more numerous and perplexing. To instance only one: How could we reconcile it to the general tenor of Scripture and the plan of salvation, that the great work of changing the heart, and preparing the soul for heaven, is repeatedly attributed to the ‘“power of Christ,” and the “sanctification of the Spirit?” This is a work proper to God alone-a work which none but the divine power can effect; and yet, if we deny the Trinity, we must attribute it, in the supreme sense, to a creature. We must look to the power of a creature to renew our souls, and lean upon a finite arm as the source of our eternal salvation. The difficulties involved in the anti-Trinitarian scheme might be multiplied, but enough has been said to show that the only consistent and scriptural scheme, and that which involves the least difficulty of all, is this: that there is “one only living and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons-the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-of equal power and glory forever.” To him be ascribed eternal praise!
“The Scriptures, while they declare the fundamental truth of natural religion, that God is one, reveal two persons, each of whom, with the Father, we are led to consider as God, and ascribe to all the three distinct personal properties. It is impossible that the three can be one in the same sense in which they are three; and therefore it follows, by necessary inference, that the unity of God is not a unity of persons; but it does not follow that it may not be a unity of a more intimate kind than any which we behold. A unity of consent and will neither corresponds to the conclusions of reason, nor is by any means adequate to a great part of the language of Scripture, for both concur in leading us to suppose a unity of nature. Whether the substance common to the three persons be specifically or numerically the same, is a question the discussion of which cannot advance our knowledge, because neither of the terms is applicable to the subject; and, after all our researches and reading, we shall find ourselves just where we began-incapable of perceiving the manner in which the three persons partake of the same divine nature. But we are very shallow philosophers indeed, if we consider this as any reason for believing that they do not partake of it; for we are by much too ignorant of the manner of the divine existence to be warranted to say that the distinction of persons is an infringement of the divine unity. ‘It is strange boldness in men,’ says Bishop Stillingfleet, ‘to talk of contradictions in things above their reach. Hath not God revealed to us that he created all things? and is it not reasonable for us to believe this, unless we are able to comprehend the manner of doing it? Hath not God plainly revealed that there shall be a resurrection of the dead? And must we think it unreasonable to believe it, till we are able to comprehend all the changes of the particles of matter from the creation to the general resurrection? If nothing is to be believed but what may be comprehended, the very being of God must be rejected, and all his unsearchable perfections. If we believe the attributes of God to be infinite, how can we comprehend them? We are strangely puzzled in plain, ordinary, finite things; but it is madness to pretend to comprehend what is infinite; and yet, if the perfections of God be not infinite, they cannot belong to him.’ Since then the Scriptures teach that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one, and since the unity of three persons who partake of the same divine nature must of necessity be a unity of the most perfect kind, we may rest assured that the more we can abstract from every idea of inequality, division, and separation, provided we preserve the distinction of persons, our conceptions approach the nearer to the truth.” (Hill’s Lectures.) The Bible doctrine of the Trinity is one of those sublime and glorious mysteries which the mind of man, at least while shrouded in clay, cannot penetrate. We may study and meditate until lost in thought, yet never can we comprehend the mode and nature of the Divine Being. A trinity of persons, in the unity of Godhead, is something of which we can form no definite idea. The fact is revealed to us, beyond contradiction, in God’s holy word. But, as to the manner of that fact, God says to reason, noble and mighty as is that faculty of the soul, “Thus far shalt thou go,” “and here shall thy proud” flight “be stayed;” and while reason lies thus humbled in the dust, shorn of her vaunted strength, and perhaps sullenly murmuring she will never essay another heavenward flight, faith meekly whispers, “I am the resurrection and the life.” “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” And when we shall have thrown off this earthly vestment for the “robe of righteousness,” and when “we shall know even as also we are known,” who can say what things may not be revealed to us? What knowledge can be so desirable to an immortal spirit as the knowledge of its Maker? Yet, hidden as are the mysteries of the Christian faith, they are not gloomy nor dark; for they concern Him who is light, and love, and life. We are bound to believe all God has graciously revealed of himself; and it is no argument against belief in the Trinity, to say it is a mystery incomprehensible. Dost thou, proud mortal, doubt or disbelieve thine own existence? and yet, canst thou tell how the coursing of the red fluid through the veins preserves thee a probationer in time? “Lord, I do believe; help thou mine unbelief. Let me know thee in the pardon of all my sins through the Son of thy love, and in the enlightening and comforting influences of thy Holy Spirit! Here let me walk by faith, till “faith is turned to sight” in a brighter world, and I shall see without the dimming veil of mortality before my raptured vision!