The document provides a historical overview of the development of the doctrine of the Trinity in the early Christian church. It discusses how the Old Testament affirms monotheism and how the New Testament presents God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It then describes how the early church councils at Nicaea in 325 AD and Constantinople in 381 AD formulated the doctrine of the Trinity, affirming the full deity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as three persons in one God.

1. Welcome to “Learning and Living the God-centered life” Carmel Baptist Church www.learningandlivingtheword.com May 31, 2009

11. How did the early church develop its Trinitarian understanding given that it was committed to monotheism? In early church there was no question that the Father was full deity Who did Jesus seek to honor with his life if not God the Father? To whom did Jesus pray if not God the Father There was a tendency in the early Church to something called “monarchianism” the thinking about the Father in such a way that would render less the Son and the Spirit The Scripture talks about the Father’s monarchy or his rule over all things that could not be jeopardized

13. Important passages that affirm the deity of Christ John 1:1 the Word was with God ( distinction ) you are with someone only if they are distinct from you The Word was God ( identity ) We need to see the Father and Son as distinct from one another while identifying as the same God So what language can we borrow to express such great truth? This is written in the context of Genesis 1:1 “in the beginning…” John 1:3 - the Son created the heavens and the earth that is declared in Genesis 1 he is God

14. John 8:58 Before Abraham was “I AM” Look at the response and this was not because they thought Jesus was indicating he was 2000 years old. But with this statement Jesus was claiming to be God (Exodus 3:14) the Lamb of the God of Israel is what Jesus is declaring to be. Mark 2:5-11 An account where Jesus forgives sin and of course only God can forgive sin.

15. Hebrews Chapter 1 - 6 argument for the deity of Christ Point #1 - Hebrews 1:2-Christ is creator of everything Point #2 - Hebrews 1:3 (a)-he is the exact representation of the nature of his Father Point #3 - Hebrews 1:3(b) - he upholds the universe by the word of his power Point #4 - Hebrews 1:6-the angels worship him do you think God knows that only the angels should worship God? God commands the angels to worship Jesus the Son Point #5 - Hebrews 1:8-the Greek word for God is used as the title for the Son Point #6 - Hebrews 1:11-12 applied these verses to Jesus the Son

17. Well what about the Holy Spirit? And indeed the early church had to wrestle through this issue of the Holy Spirit is God But finally as usual the words of scripture provided the evidence

20. So how did the early church put together all this data? At the Council of Nicaea 325 A.D. Leading up to the Council at Nicaea there had to be much dispute especially as it related to the Son. And at this point the Holy Spirit is not much on the radar screen Because the issue of the Son had not yet been settled in order to move into the issue of the Spirit. One proposal that was put on the table was that of “modalism”this was done so by a gentleman named Sabellius

21. He argued for one God, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God This sounds pretty good to us doesn’t it? So what’s the problem? Sabellius held to a monarchian in view of the Father Therefore in the incarnation the Father is now manifesting Himself as the Son. So during the life of Christ we have God the Father present as the Son but not as Father, and not Spirit At Pentecost the Father comes again in Spirit but not as Son or the Father. So yes we have God the Father God the Son God the Father

26. In 325 A.D. at Nicaea here is what stated regarding the Holy Spirit “and we believe in the Holy Spirit” This represents the attention those days given the Holy Spirit. In 381 A.D. an extension of the Nicene Creed is made for the church in which the third article proclaiming the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the life giver, the one who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is to be worshiped and glorified. There was much dispute between Gregory of Narziances and the other two over pushing the term homousios, this means the same nature as, which had been done with Athanasius in his argument over the deity of Christ Gregory wanted this badly but the other two men voted against him. And he got so upset that he got up and left in mid-Council and actually wrote some nasty notes back to the other two gentlemen.

27. But they became convinced this approach needed to be different than before in order for this article to pass. Instead they orchestrated language that amounted to the same thing but deeply rooted in biblical teaching so others can not complain against them unless you complained with Scripture period The third article of the Nicene Creed indicates the deity of the Spirit with spiritual language indicating he is Lord (2Corinthians 3:18), creator (Genesis 1:2) and is to be worshiped and glorified as God (2Corinthians 13:14) At the Counsel at Nicaea 325 A.D. and Constantinople 381 A.D. then the Church affirms the deity of the God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit

28. How to put that together with one God, well for that we need St. Augustine. Saint Augustine put together our Orthodox understanding of the Trinity Here is an Augustinian definition of the Trinity: God’s whole and undivided essence belongs equally, eternally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three persons of the Godhead. So that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each is fully God while each in his own personal expression in role and activity of the one eternal and undivided divine essence.