The idea of the Triune God is rarely explained well. Most people try to explain the concept by utilizing analogies like "The Trinity is like an egg..." which always fall woefully short of capturing the mystery and nature of "three in one."
For nearly 2,000 years, several "heretical" ways in which to think about the trinity have arisen, many of which are still utilized today in attempts to explain this difficult concept.
Inaccurate Understandings of the Holy Trinity
The following are some of the most frequently encountered misconceptions concerning of the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Modalism - Modalism defines the trinity as the different "modes" of God. For instance, it's stated that the "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" are all the same God, but just wear different "masks." The problem with this analogy is that a mask is worn to hide one's identity, rather than to reveal. Christ, the Son, reveals the heart and nature of God. Another form suggests that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit just as people are able to be a mother, daughter and sister all at the same time. The problem with this is that there is no distinction between the three, which Christ makes clear while he and the Father are one, the Father is still residing in heaven while Christ has come to earth.
- Arianism - This misconception declares that Christ was "created" or "made" by God as the first of all creation, but that the two did not exist eternally together. This flies in the face of John 1, which states that, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." This "Word," according to John 1, is Christ. (In Jewish thought, the "Word" was Torah. So Christ is also "Torah," God's instruction, made flesh.) It also ignores such statements by Christ like, "The Father and I are one."
- Adoptionism - The belief that Christ was born as a "mere" human, but was adopted by God later in life and thus became "infused" with the divine Spirit, probably at the time of his baptism when the Holy Spirit descended. This is problematic again because of statements that speak of the "Word" being eternally one with the Father, as well as the fact that Luke already has Jesus understanding who his "true" father is at the age of 12.
These are but a small sampling of the different misunderstandings that continue to creep into definitions of the trinity.
Who Are the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
The Son and the Holy Spirit are both "of" the Father – not created by the Father, but the same in "essence" or parts of the whole God-hood. One cannot exist without the other, all three are necessary to make up the whole of who and what "God" is.
Each part of the trinity serves a different function within the God-hood. Equal in importance and divine authority, but different in how they function. They are interdependent and eternally co-existing, yet separate in "person."
The three parts of the Triune God function as follows:
- The Father – The creator.
- The Son/Christ – This is the one through whom all creation was made. The Word (another term used to refer to Christ, according to John 1) proceeds from the Father and actually does something as it proceeds from the Father. So while it is of the Father, it is also separate from the Father. This Word eventually "became flesh" and broke into human history as flesh and blood.
- The Holy Spirit - This is the part of God that points to Christ and the Father. It's function both condemns us of our sin while it also gives life. Therefore, it both "kills" and "makes alive." The Spirit's "alien" work (as Martin Luther put it) is to condemn sin. It's proper work is to give life and give it abundantly – by pointing to Christ, God's eternal Word.
This is the "divine communion" — equal and one in essence, but separate in person and function.
The Divine Made Flesh
For many, the concept of God becoming human is one of the most difficult and inexplicable events for people to grasp.
In ancient Greek philosophy, Plato theorized that the predominate understanding of the difference between body and spirit at the time of Christ, had difficulty melding the body and spirit into the same "space." Spirit was good, holy and pure. The body was something one sought to escape in order to achieve the spiritual.
Yet, the fully human nature of God in Christ is a necessity if one is to ever fully understand grace. God's Word "became flesh" in order to fully enter into the human experience, to be able to fully take on the suffering of humanity.
If Jesus only "pretended" to suffer and die, then God still does not fully understand and has not experienced the human predicament and there was no actual "resurrection" of the dead. Jesus becoming human validates the "goodness" of God's creation in humanity, that he would become human for humanity's sake.
The cry of dereliction from the cross removes all doubt that Jesus became "fully" human, experiencing the one thing every human has felt since the fall – separation and abandonment by God. The concept of God abandoning God definitely makes one's head spin. Yet that is precisely what happened.
The divine "communion" between the Father and Son was severed, and the fully human, yet fully divine, Son of God died - just as all humans die - as God withdrew from the sin that was heaped upon the Son.
As Paul puts it, he "emptied himself" of his god-hood, choosing instead to become a fully human servant. (Phil. 2:7) When the Son was resurrected, full and complete communion with the God-hood was restored, and the promise that believers shall all share in a resurrection like the Son's has been granted to those who have faith in the resurrected Christ.
Sources:
- Martin Luther, "Concerning the Letter and the Spirit," Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy F. Lull, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005) p. 76.
 |
