ABSTRACT

By the end of the rst century, Jesus’ followers faced a dif cult conceptual problem. On the one hand, they af rmed one of the central teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures: that there is but one God, Yahweh (Deut. 6: 4; Mark 12: 29). On the other hand, they regarded Jesus not only as Messiah (Christ) and Son of God, but also as God. They then faced questions such as these: how could God be one if both Father and Son are God? What is the relationship between the Father and the Son? Is God’s Spirit also God? Although the New Testament includes brief glimpses into the relationship between Father and Son, as in Jesus’ prayer to the Father (John 17: 1-26), it focuses on God’s activity rather than on the nature of, or relationships among, the Father, Son, and Spirit (Wainwright 1962: 6). The New Testament frequently ascribes divine titles and functions to both the Father and the Son. Accordingly, the New Testament identi es God as one, as Father, or as God and Father: ‘one God and Father of all’ (Eph. 4: 6; cf. Rom. 3: 30; 1 Cor. 8: 4-6). Yet the New Testament also speaks of Jesus Christ as Lord (Acts 7: 59; Rom. 10: 9; 1 Cor. 8: 6; 16: 22; Phil. 2: 11) and as God (John 1: 1-2, 18; 20: 28). Since several of these and other passages are thought to echo liturgical material, it appears that early Christian worship spoke of Jesus Christ as Lord and God. The New Testament also indicates that early Christians prayed to Jesus Christ (Acts 7: 59-60; 1 Cor. 16: 22; Rev. 22: 20) and described him as executing the divine functions of creating, saving,

and judging (Col. 1: 16; John 3: 16-17; 5: 21-7). Thus the Son, like the Father, has life in himself and should be honored as the Father is honored (John 5: 23, 26). Biblical descriptions of Jesus Christ’s relationship to God the Father also raise important and complicated issues. On the one hand, the New Testament describes Jesus as having existed with the Father prior to his birth and as the ‘exact imprint’ of God’s being (John 8: 58; 17: 5; Heb. 1: 2-3). On the other hand, the Bible suggests Jesus’ subordination to the Father as the one sent by the Father and as one who will be subordinate to the Father at the eschaton (John 5: 30; 14: 28; 1 Cor. 15: 24-8). The complexity of biblical descriptions of Jesus Christ can be seen in a single passage that describes Jesus as ‘the rstborn of all creation’ (suggesting creaturely subordination), but also as the one who is ‘before all things,’ and in whom ‘all things in heaven and on earth were created’ and ‘all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell’ (Col. 1: 15-20). Early Christian theologians grappled with passages such as these in their struggle to understand and articulate Jesus Christ’s status and relationship to the Father. New Testament references to the Spirit also include important material for the doctrine of the Trinity. Despite some passages that might not suggest that the Spirit is personal, other passages seem to imply that the Spirit is a person (Wainwright 1962: 200-4, 223). Thus Jesus describes the Spirit as guiding his disciples’ speech when they are brought to trial (Mark 13: 11) and as one against whom blasphemy is not forgivable – implying personal status as one who can be blasphemed (Mark 3: 29; Matt. 12: 31; Luke 12: 10). Although the work of the Spirit is closely associated with the work of Christ, the relationship between the two is not always clear in Scripture. Jesus promises his disciples that when he leaves them, he will send the Spirit, who will be their advocate (John 16: 7). But he sometimes speaks of himself and sometimes of the Spirit as coming to his disciples after he leaves them (John 14: 18, 26). And Paul speaks of both the Spirit and of Christ dwelling in and making intercession for believers (Rom. 8: 9-11, 26-7, 34). Curiously, Paul even seems to identify Christ and the Spirit: ‘the Lord is the Spirit’ (2 Cor. 3: 17-18). Despite ambiguous biblical evidence regarding whether the Spirit is personal, as well as suggestions that the Spirit may be (rather than stand in for) the ascended Christ, Christians did not become binitarians. Some important passages led Christians to speak of a divine triad rather than a dyad. All four New Testament Gospels describe Jesus’ baptism, where Jesus is present as the one being baptized, the Spirit descends on him, and a voice from heaven speaks of Jesus as ‘my Son’ (Mark 1: 9-11 and parallels). By noting the presence and activity of all three divine gures, these baptismal passages provide important grounds for the doctrine of the Trinity. The New Testament also includes statements that suggest three who are equal. Perhaps best-known are the baptismal formula (‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Matt. 28: 19) and the closing benediction of 2 Corinthians (‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you’ (13: 14) ). Other passages also include threefold references to Father (sometimes simply called ‘God’), Son, and Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 4-6; 2 Thess. 2: 13-14;

Titus 3: 4-6; 1 Pet. 1: 2). Taken together, the descriptions of Jesus’ baptism and these triadic statements suggest that Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct in certain functions, yet equal in status. These passages do not, however, clarify the relationships among these three. In short, although the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is rooted in, and would not have been developed apart from, biblical af rmations of the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Spirit, as well as key triadic texts, Scripture does not clarify the relationships among the three. In particular, Scripture’s statements about the Son’s equality with, yet subordination to, the Father led the early Church to struggle to understand the relationship between the Father and the Son.