The Godhead: Development of Theology 33-381

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: (Mark 12:29 KJV)

The Trinity In Art

Edmund Fortman in his Book, Triune God, writes:

There is no evidence that any sacred writer even suspected the existence of a divine paternity and filiation within the Godhead.

They write of the word of God and regard it as revelatory and creative, as instructive and illuminative. If at times they seem to show a slight tendency to hypostatize the word of God, nowhere do they present the word of God as a personal divine being distinct from Yahweh……

…. The spirit of Yahweh is a creative force, a saving power, a spirit of judgment, a charismatic spirit, a spirit of life and of inward renewal, a prophetic spirit. Although this spirit is often described in personal terms, it seems quite clear that the sacred writers never conceived or presented this spirit as a distinct person.

Finding the Trinity in the Bible

"Of a doctrine of the Trinity in the strict sense there is of course no sign, - although the Church's triadic formula left its mark everywhere." (Early Christian Doctrines, J.N.D. Kelly, p. 95)

The doctrine of the Trinity did not form part of the apostles' preaching, as this is reported in the New Testament." (Encyclopedia International, Ian Henderson, University of Glasgow, 1969, page 226)

"The word Trinity is not found in the Bible, and, though used by Tertullian in the last decade of the 2nd century, it did not find a place formally in the theology of the Church till the 4th century. (New Bible Dictionary, J. D. Douglas & F. F. Bruce, Trinity, p 1298)

(T)heologians today are in agreement that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a doctrine of the Trinity ... theologians agree that the New Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity. In the immediate post New Testament period of the Apostolic Fathers no attempt was made to work out the God-Christ (Father-Son) relationship in ontological terms.(The Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade, Trinity, Vol 15, p53-57)

From what has been seen thus far, the impression could arise that the Trinitarian dogma is in the last analysis a late 4th-century invention. In a sense, this is true; but it implies an extremely strict interpretation of the key words Trinitarian and dogma.

The formulation "one God in three Persons" was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century.

But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective; among the 2d-century Apologists, little more than a focusing of the problem as that of plurality within the unique Godhead. ... From the vocabulary and grammar of the Greek original, the intention of the hagiographer to communicate singleness of essence in three distinct Persons was easily derived. ... If it is clear on one side that the dogma of the Trinity in the stricter sense of the word was a late arrival, product of 3 centuries' reflection and debate, it is just as clear on the opposite side that confession of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-and hence an elemental Trinitarianism-went back to the period of Christian origins. (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1965, Trinity, p299-300)

Clark Carlton, an Orthodox church defender, admits that as late as 325 AD, that the church placed scripture at the forefront of any theological issue. We maintain that the introduction of non-Biblical words [Homoousios] in the Arian controversies is the very area they went wrong. They went beyond what was recorded in scripture: "According to Pelikan, the Fathers of Nicea would have preferred to stay exclusively with the words of Scripture, but the very use of Scripture in the Arian controversy forced them to introduce a non-biblical word [Homoousios means of the same essence or substance.] in order to preserve the correct interpretation of Scripture." (THE WAY: What Every Protestant Should Know About the Orthodox Church, Clark Carlton, 1997, p 106)

Church LanguageΕλληνιστική Κοινή

initium evangelii Iesu Christi Filii Dei

The Pauline Doctrine on DoctrineAnd these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. (1 Corinthians 4:6 KJV)

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13 KJV)

Dating the New Testament Books James 44-49A.D. James

Galatians 49-50 A.D. PaulMatthew 50-60 A.D. MatthewMark 50-60A.D. Mark1 Thessalonians 51 A.D. Paul2 Thessalonians 51-52 A.D. Paul1 Corinthians 55 A.D. Paul2 Corinthians 55-56 A.D. PaulRomans 56 A.D. PaulLuke 60-62 A.D. LukeEphesians 60-61 A.D. PaulPhilippians 60-62A.D. Paul

Colossians 60-62 A.D. PaulPhilemon 60-62 A.D. PaulActs 62 A.D. Luke 1 Timothy 62-64 A.D. PaulTitus 62-64 A.D. Paul

1 Peter 64-65 A.D. Peter2 Timothy 66-67 A.D. Paul2 Peter 67-68 A.D. PeterHebrews 67-69 A.D. AnonJude 68-70 A.D. JudeJohn 80-90 A.D. John1 John 90-95 A.D. John2 John 90-95 A.D. John3 John 90-95 A.D. JohnRevelation 94-96 A.D. John

Canon List• The Muratorian Fragment (c. 170). • Melito (c. 170). (Excluded all OT books not in Hebrew)• Origen (c. 240). • Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 324). • Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 350). • Hilary of Poitiers (c. 360). • The Cheltenham List (c. 360). • Council of Laodicea (c. 363). • Letter of Athanasius (367). • Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 380). • Amphilocius of Iconium (c. 380). • The "Apostolic Canons" (c. 380).

Important Cities

Heresies of the First Century

•Ebionites – Denied the deity of Christ, but accepted Him as the Messiah; followed the Torah

•Mandaeans – Denied the deity of Christ, worshiped John the Baptist

•Gnosticism

Logos (λόγος) Logos is usually translated as "the Word" in English Bibles. The Gospel of John identifies Jesus Christ as the incarnation of the Logos, through which all things are made. The gospel further identifies the Logos as divine. Second-century Apologists, such as Justin Martyr, identified Jesus Christ as the Logos or Word of God, a distinct intermediary between God and the world. (John 1.1)

Hypostasis ((ὑπόστᾰσις) In Christian usage, the Greek word hypostasis has a complicated and sometimes confusing history, but its literal meaning is "that which stands beneath". (Hebrews 1.3)

Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a creature (generally a human) who is the material manifestation of an entity or force whose original nature is immaterial. (From the Latin, 1st John 4.2)

Theological Terms

Apostolic was invented by Ignatius of Antioch in 110. It originally mean to have the character or style of the Apostles

Catholic was applied to the Church by the Bishop of Antioch in 110 to mean universal, as opposed to local congregation. It could also apply to the Jew-Gentile debate as well.

Apostolic Succession is a term used to denote that congregations were founded by the Apostles themselves. Later, it would be used to claim doctrinal authority.

Ousia (Οὐσία) This Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of εἶναι (to be); it is analogous to the English participle being, and the Greek ontic. Ousia is often translated (sometimes incorrectly) to Latin as substantia and essentia, and to English as substance and essence; and (loosely) also as (contextually) the Latin word accident — which conflicts with the denotation of sumbebekos, given that Aristotle uses sumbebekos in showing that inhuman things (objects) also are substantive. (Luke 15.12 – property, estate)

Homoousian (ὁμός, homós, "same" and οὐσία, ousía, "essence, being“) is a technical theological term used in discussion of the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. The Nicene Creed describes Jesus as being homooúsios with God the Father— that is, they are of the "same substance" and are equally God.

End of the 1st Century•Death of the Apostles•Apostolic Succession on the verge of ending •Core Canon in use•Rome and Antioch are centers of power•Heresies are generally divided into two groups:• Denied the Deity of Christ• Denied the Flesh of Jesus

•Gnosticism on the rise•No Schisms