Chapter 6
Trinity
227. Does the light of nature teach us anything of the mode of the divine existence?
It does not, because the works of nature are not capable of being the medium of such a
communication.
228. Is the doctrine of a Trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence inconsistent with
reason?
It is not contrary to reason, though beyond its reach. A doctrine is properly said to be
contrary to reason when it contradicts some first principle of reason or some conclusion
derived by demonstration from first principles. But the doctrine of the Trinity does not
contradict any such principle or conclusion, because we do not say that three persons in
the Godhead are one person, or that one divine being is three divine beings.
The argument drawn from reason against this article of our faith rests on this
principle, that because among angels and men every distinct person is also a distinct
being, therefore if we say there are three distinct persons in the Godhead, we must admit
there are three distinct beings in the deity, which is Tritheism. But this is evidently
arguing from finite to infinite, which must from its nature be an inconclusive argument.1
229. Has the doctrine of a Trinity in deity been prevalent among ancient nations?
Yes. Evident traces of the doctrine can be discovered in the mythology of almost every
1 Waterland against Claude, Question 22. [Daniel C. Waterland (1683–1740) was an Anglican theologian who was anti-latitituinarian and defended the Trinity in numerous works.]
nation in the world; And it should be remarked that the nearer we ascended to the
fountain of traditionary knowledge, the more correct has been the opinion of the ancients
on this subject.
230. Does this doctrine invoke any contradiction in terms?
No, as seen before.
230. Can it be comprehended by man?
No, and that both because it is but partially revealed and because of the impossibility of
finite creatures embracing completely what relates to infinite God.
230. Is the word Trinity to be found in sacred Scripture, and is it proper to use?
The word itself is not found in sacred Scripture, but it still should be used because of its
utility, in defining the precise meaning of those who receive the doctrine it contains. It is
absolutely necessary in expounding Scripture that words not found in the Bible should
often be employed.
231. Is this doctrine revealed in the Old Testament?
Yes, though like other parts of the plan of divine truth, with much less clearness than
under the gospel dispensation. That it was revealed is proved
1. From Genesis 1:26 where God says, "Let us make man in our image."
2. From the Spirit being said, "to brood upon the waters," and from such
expressions as these, "I will save them by Jehovah their God" [Hos. 1:7].
3. From the history of the creation, which is attributed to each of the three persons
of the Trinity.
4. From the liberation from Egypt, which is also ascribed to each of the divine
persons: "I am the Lord your God which brought you out of the land of
Egypt." Yet in Exodus 3:2; 23:20; 32:34, the Angel of the Lord is said to have
done it. That this Angel was also God, appears from his being called the "God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Ex. 3:6). See also Exodus 14:19 and 13:21;
23:20, and so on. This work is ascribed to the Spirit (Isa. 63:7–9);
5. From the descriptions of the Messiah
6. From the threefold benediction of the high priest (Num. 6:23–24) and from the
Trisagion (Isa. 6:3)
7. All those passages asserting the deity of the Son and Spirit
8. The same being is God both of the Old and New Testament. This doctrine is
found explained with wonderful clearness in Jewish writers before the
Advent.2
232. Is it a fundamental doctrine in the Christian system?
Yes, so far as to believe there is but one God, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit having
the divine perfections ascribed to them are that God, though distinguished from each
other by those acts and relations we are accustomed to call personal. This is proved
1. From John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they might know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
2 [See, for instance, Peter Allix, The Judgment of the Ancient Jewish Church against the Unitarians in the Controversy upon the Holy Trinity and the Divinity of Our Blessed Savior (Oxford, 1821).]
2. Because it contains the great object of faith and worship, "He that denies the
Son, the same has not the Father" (1 John 2:23).
3. Because on this depends the doctrines of the incarnation, atonement, the
mission of the Spirit, regeneration, and so on.
4. Because it is the great distinguishing doctrine between Christianity and
Judaism, Mahometanism, and so on.
233. How does it appear that there are three distinct persons in the divine essence?
1. From the baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:16), where the Father spake from heaven, the Son
ascended from the Jordan, and the Spirit descended from above in the form of a dove
and rested upon Him.
2. From our baptism: "Teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28:19).
3. From the apostolic benediction: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:13).
4. Those places in which mention is made of three to whom divine works are equally
attributed, as John 15:26; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6.
234. Is the word person to be taken in its common and definite sense?
No. The word person, when applied to the deity, is distinguished from the term as applied
to men:
1. Divine persons are in substance perfectly one and the same with and in one
another, but all created persons are separable.
2. Divine persons are the same individual substance, but created persons can only
have the same kind of substance.
3. All divine persons are and must be one and the same being, but every created
person is a distinct being. Brown3 defines a person, "A thinking substance,
which can act by itself." Calvin's4 definition is a "Subsistentia in the essence
of the Deity, by which it is related to others, yet distinguished by
incommunicable properties." Melanchthon's:5 "An individual subsistence,
living, intelligent, incommunicable, not sustained by any other and not a part
of any other."
235. Is the distinction of persons real or modal?
The divine persons are said to differ from the divine essence ut modus a re [according to
the mode of the thing], being the thing itself with personal properties. It is also real and
essential.
236. Does not the doctrine of three distinct persons lead to Tritheism?
No, for the three persons are the same essence.
237. By what properties are the persons of the Trinity distinguished?
They are distinguished:
3 [John Brown of Haddington (1722–1787) was a divine of the Scottish Secession Church. A Compendious View of Natural and Revealed Religion, book 2, ch. 2.]
4 [John Calvin (1509–1564) was an influential French/Swiss theologian, pastor, and reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Institutes of the Christian Religion, book 1, ch. 13, section 6.]
5 [Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems.]
1. By what relates to themselves, in regard to each other
2. By their external operations
First, the Father is said to be unbegotten, the Son begotten, the Holy Ghost to have
proceeded. Secondly, the Father is said to work of Himself, the Son to work from the
Father, the Spirit from both.
238. Are the personal properties communicable?
They are not.
239. Do the terms Father and Son express the eternal relation of the first and second persons?
This was universally the opinion of Christians during the early ages of the church. Roell6
was the first, who, admitting the Godhead of the second person, denied His eternal
filiation. Turretin argues for the doctrine against the Socinians:7
1. From Psalm 2:7: "You are my Son, this day have I begotten You."
2. From Proverbs 8:22–23, and so on, "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning
of his ways."
3. From Micah 5:2: "His goings forth were of old even from everlasting."
4. From the nature of His sonship.
5. From His being called the "image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15 and Heb.
1:3).
It is further urged in favor of this doctrine that the Son is represented as sent (1 John 4:9–
6 [Hermann Alexander Roell (1653–1718) was a Dutch Reformed professor at Franeker.] 7 [Named after Fausto Sozzini (1539–1604). Socinianism denied the pre-existence of Christ, limited the foreknowledge of God, denied original sin, rejected the propitiatory view of the atonement, did not hold to infant baptism, and replaced hell with annihilationism.]
10; Gal. 4:4).
2. "God was manifested in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). "The Son was manifested"
(1 John 3:8). Hence the Son must have existed as God and as the Son previous
to His advent.
3. In Hebrews 1:2 God is said to have made all things by His Son, which implies
His preexistence as the Son.
4. In Hebrews 7:3 we are told that Melchizedek was made like the Son of God,
without beginning of days.
240. Is Christ called the Son of God in reference to His incarnation?
Those who answer the preceding question in the negative, answer this affirmatively and
vice versa.
241. Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Son as well as the Father?
This question was long and warmly debated between the Greek and Latin churches; the
Greeks contended that the procession was from the Father only. The Latins, that it was
both from the Father and the Son. The opinion of the Latins appears to be best supported
by the sense of Scripture, because
1. The Spirit is said to be sent by the Son as well as by the Father
2. The Spirit of the Son, not less than the Spirit of the Father, is said to be given
(Gal. 4:6)
3. What the Spirit has is said to be of the Son (John 16:13–15)
4. Christ breathed the Spirit upon His disciples (John 20:22)
242. From what sources is the evidence of Christ's divinity derived?
From the names, attributes, offices, and works ascribed to Him in the sacred Scriptures.
243. By what names and titles of the true God is He called?
"Jehovah," "God," "The Lord of Hosts," "The Almighty," "The Most High" (Mark 5:7;
Luke 8:28), "The Everlasting Father," "Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6; John 14:11, Luke
1:79), and so on.
244. Are these names never applied to mere creatures?
The epithet god is sometimes figuratively ascribed to angels and magistrates, but not so
with the rest.
245. Is the name Jehovah ever ascribed to Christ, and is it communicable?
This name as it expresses the incommunicable essence of the deity and implies necessary,
independent, and eternal existence, is most clearly peculiar to the only true God. It is
applied to Christ as Redeemer (Isa. 60:16 and 63:7–9). Jeremiah prophesied that a
righteous Branch should be raised to David, a king in whose days Judah should be saved,
whose name should be called "Jehovah our Righteousness" (Jer. 23:6). Zechariah 12:10:
"They shall look on Me whom they have pierced." Here the name Jehovah is used, and
this passage is by John referred to Christ [John 19:37]. See also Isaiah 47:4; 54:5, 8;
Jeremiah 33:15–16; see App., p. 8.
246. What divine attributes are ascribed to Christ?
Eternity: Proverbs 8:22–23 and Micah 5:2: "his going forth were of old even from
everlasting." Revelation 1:8, "The First and the Last." John 1:1 and 8:58.
Omnipresence: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name" (Matt. 18:20).
John 3:13; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3.
Omnipotence: Revelation 1:8: "The Almighty"; Philippians 3:21; Revelation 11:17–18;
22:12–13, 20.
Omniscience: John 21:17 "Lord, You know all things." John 1:18; 2:25; Matthew 9:23;
Revelation 2:13; Hebrews 4:13.
Immutability: Hebrews 1:11, 12: "The heavens shall perish, but You remain.... You are
the same, and your years shall not fail." Hebrews 13:8; Psalm 102:24–27.
247. What works is He said to have wrought that prove His divinity?
The creation, preservation, and redemption of the world.
248. By what passages of the sacred Scriptures do you prove that Christ created the world?
John 1:3: "By Him were all things made, and without Him was not anything made that
was made." Hebrews 1:2; 3:4; Colossians 1:16–17.
249. Is Jesus Christ declared in the sacred Scriptures to be the preserver of all things?
Yes. Hebrews 1:3: "Upholding all things by the word of his power." Also John 5:17, 19;
Colossians 1:17–18.
250. How do you prove that the new creation is His proper work?
Because redeeming, calling, justifying, sanctifying, preserving, and, at last, raising
sinners are all ascribed to Him in sacred Scripture: Matthew 20:28; Acts 20:28; John
5:21, 25; 10:16; Matthew 9:6; Isaiah 53:11; Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 5:28, 29;
Hebrews 13:12; 9:14; John 10:10, 28; Jude 1; John 5:28; 1 Peter 3:18.
251. Do the miracles of Christ prove His divinity?
Yes, because some of these required almighty, and hence incommunicable, power, yet
they were performed by His own inherent virtue, and thus the apostles declare that they
act in the name and through the power of Christ (Acts 9:34).
252. What worship is ascribed to the Son in the sacred Scriptures?
Divine, as Hebrews 1:6: "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Psalm 2:12: "Kiss the
Son." John 5:22: "The Father has given all judgment to the Son, that all men might honor
the Son even as they honor the Father." Revelation 5:13, Every creature in heaven, earth,
and sea are represented as saying, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him
that sits on the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever."
253. Did He permit divine worship to be paid Him when on earth?
Matthew 2:11, The wise men of the east "fell down and worshiped him"; so did Nathaniel
and Thomas and His disciples when He ascended. He required this worship in
commanding His disciples to believe in Him as they believed in God (John 14:1), in
requiring supreme love (John 21:15–17; Mark 12:30, and so on), also obedience and
subjection of soul (Matt. 17:5), in instituting baptism, and so on. See App., p. 9.
254. Does He receive divine honor in heaven?
Yes, as seen above.
255. Is the famous text 1 John 5:78 a part of authentic Scripture?
This question has been very much disputed. The text has been defended by Bengelius,9
Mills,10 Horseley11 and others, and opposed by Father Simon,12 Wetstein,13 Griesbach,14
and the majority of modern commentators. The testimony as it stands at present is
decidedly against the text: it is not found in any of the Greek codices now extant, nor in
any of the ancient versions, nor in the Russian copies of the Bible before the fourteenth
century, nor is it quoted by any of the early fathers.
It is urged in favor of it that it is found in the Complutensian polyglot published
[in] AD 1520, and in the Latin codices, which reach as high up as the ninth century, that
it is quoted by Vigelius Tapsensis15 about the sixth century, and that it is now so common
in all editions of the Bible.16
8 [1 John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."]
9 [Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687–1752) was a Lutheran pietist clergyman and Greek-language scholar known for his edition of the Greek New Testament and his commentaries on it.]
10 [John Mill (1645–1707) was an English theologian. Mill is noted for his critical edition of the Greek New Testament, which included notes on many variant readings.]
11 [Samuel Horsley (1733–1806) was the bishop of Rochester from 1793.] 12 [Richard Simon (1638–1712) was a French priest who was an influential biblical critic, orientalist, and controversialist.]
13 [Johann Jakob Wettstein (1693–1754) was a Swiss theologian best known as a New Testament critic.] 14 [Johann Jakob Griesbach (1745–1812) was a German biblical textual critic whose fame rests on his work in New Testament criticism.]
15 [Vigilio, bishop of Tapso (Tunisia), an ecclesiastical writer.] 16 See App., p. 10.
256. Are the texts Acts 20:2817 and 1 Timothy 3:1618 authentic as contained in our Bible?
With respect to the last mentioned, it is objected that it is not found in all the Greek
codices, nor in the Syriac, Arabic, or Latin versions as it is in our copies, but is written
"he was manifested" [as opposed to "God was manifested"]. But as there are only two
codices with this reading, they should not be opposed to all the rest.
It can also easily be accounted for that this diversity should exist, since the
ancient M.S.S. [manuscripts] were written in capitals, and words that occur frequently are
often contracted, thus πρ for πατερ [father] and ΘC for ΘEOC [God], which shows that
OC, "who," might easily be mistaken for ΘC, "God." And there is a dispute whether it is
OC or ΘC in the Codex Alexandrinus even among those who have inspected the M.S.
[manuscript]. The sense of the passage appears to require the reading adopted in our
Bibles.
With respect to the text in Acts 20:28, there are three different readings:
εκκλησιαν του θεου [church of God], του κυριου [of the Lord], του κυριου και θεου [of
the Lord and God]. For the first there are a few M.S.S. with the Vulgate, and latter
Syriac; for the second [there are] some M.S.S., and these the most ancient: the Coptic,
Armenian, [and] Ethiopic versions; for the third there is a great majority of M.S.S.
257. Have any important texts been made to support the divinity of Jesus Christ by attending to
the Greek article?
Yes. It has been ascertained that και19 is often exegetical as well as copulative and that
17 [Acts 20:28: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with his own blood."]
18 [1 Tim. 3:16: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."]
this is the case when it is placed between nouns, the first of which has an article and the
latter has none: 2 Corinthians 1:3, "Blessed be God and" ([or] "even" as it should be
rendered) "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."20 ο θεος και πατερ. See also Ephesians
1:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 Peter 1:3; Romans 15:6; Philippians 4:20; Colossians 2:2.
Upon this principle the following passages strongly teach the deity of Christ:
Titus 2:13, "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God
και even our Savior Jesus Christ." So 1 Timothy 5:21, "I charge you before God και even
the Lord Jesus Christ." Also Ephesians 5:5, "Kingdom of Christ even και of God," and
2 Thessalonians 1:12, "The grace του θεου ημων και κυριυ Ιησου Κριστου [of our God
and Lord Jesus Christ]." See 1 Timothy 6:13; 2 Peter 1:2; Sharpe;21 and Middleton.22
258. What light arises on this subject by comparing the texts of the Old and New Testament?
It is found that the names, works, and titles which in the Old Testament are ascribed to
the true God are in the New Testament applied to Jesus Christ. Compare Isaiah 7:14 with
Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 63:11 with Luke 2:11; Isaiah 3:8 with 2 Corinthians 3:18; Psalm
77:15 with Luke 1:51; Psalm 104:24, Matthew 11:19; [and] 1 Samuel 15:29 with
2 Corinthians 12:9; Isaiah 54:5 with 2 Corinthians 11:2; Isaiah 8:14 with Romans 9:33.
19 [Commonly translated "and," but it has other grammatical uses as well. The "exegetical" use of this article between two nouns means that the latter noun explains the former noun.]
20 [The King James Version translates it correctly, per the point Alexander is making: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."]
21 [Granville Sharp (1735–1813) was a social activist, biblical scholar, classicist, and a talented musician. In Greek classical literature he stumbled on what is now known as the Granville Sharp Rule, which very much applies to key passages regarding Christ's divinity, some of which Alexander quoted: "When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case, if the article ho, or any of its cases, precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle."]
22 [Thomas Fanshawe Middleton (1769–1822) was a noted Anglican bishop who followed Sharp and wrote the book The Doctrine of the Greek Article Applied to the Criticism and Illustration of the New Testament (London, 1833).]
259. How does it appear that the Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father and the Son?
1. From personal actions being ascribed to Him, as teaching (John 14:26), witnessing
(John 15:26), revealing future things (1 Tim. 4:1), separating men for the ministry and
sending them out (Acts 13:2 and 20:28), conferring gifts on men (1 Cor. 12:11).
2. From our Savior saying, "I will ask the Father and He will send you another
comforter" (John 16:7).
3. From the distinct mention made of Him in baptism in the apostolic benediction.
4. From His appearing in a visible form at the baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:16) [and] at the
day of Pentecost (Acts 2:3).
5. Because men are said to sin, to blaspheme, to lie against the Holy Ghost (Isa. 63:10;
Matt. 12:31–32; Acts 5:3). See App., p. 10.
260. How can the divinity of the Holy Spirit be established?
From the names, works, attributes, and worship ascribed to Him in sacred Scripture.
261. What divine names and so on are given to the Holy Spirit in the sacred Scriptures?
1. The names:
A. Jehovah of Hosts: compare Isaiah 6:9 with Acts 28:25, "Well spake the Holy
Ghost by Isaiah"; 2 Samuel 23:2
B. Most High God: Psalm 78:56; Hebrews 3:17–18
C. The Lord: 2 Thessalonians 3:5; Matthew 9:38
2. Attributes:
A. Eternity: Hebrews 9:14, "Who through the eternal Spirit"
B. Omnipresence: Psalm 139:7, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?"
1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:14
C. Omniscience: 1 Corinthians 2:10–11, "For the Spirit searches all things, yea
the deep things of God." 2 Peter 1:21
D. Omnipotence: Luke 1:35, "The power of the Highest." 1 Corinthians 15;
Romans 8:11
3. Works:
A. That of creation: Psalm 104:30, "You send forth your Spirit, they are created;
You renew the face of the earth." Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13
B. Preserving all things: Psalm 104:30; Isaiah 34:16
C. Performing miracles: Matthew 12:28; 1 Corinthians 12:4
D. Convincing men of sin: John 16:9
E. Enlightening their minds: Ephesians 1:17, 18
F. Regenerating their hearts: John 3:5, 6, and so on.
4. Worship: By prayer, Revelation 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; in baptism, and so on.
262. How can it be demonstrated that these persons are one in essence?
1. Because these three persons are all comprehended under one supreme individual
appellation, as Isaiah 44:24, "I am the Lord that makes all things, that stretches forth
the heavens alone, etc." The Trinity is the God of Israel, and so on.
2. They have in common the name Jehovah: Deuteronomy 6:4, "The Lord our God is one
Jehovah." Psalm 83:18, "You whose name alone is Jehovah, are most high over all the
earth."
3. Because the authority, the council, and the power by which all things are directed are
ascribed to Christ and the Holy Spirit in common with the Father.
4. Because they participate in those divine attributes that can belong only to the divine
essence. There can be but one infinite Being.
5. Because there is a concurrence in all the acts of the Godhead: the Trinity made all
mankind, quickens the dead, instructs us, and so on.
263. How does it appear that they are equal in all respects?
This necessarily results from their respective divinity. They have the same names,
worship, works, and nature, and therefore must be equal and in essence the same. Those
passages of sacred Scripture in which any inferiority is attributed to the Son or Spirit
refer merely to the different parts they have condescended to act in the economy of
Redemption. Quare, Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto in eternum [Wherefore,
glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit forever].