The Trinity Flashcards
(30 cards)
What does the doctrine of the Trinity teach us?
- One God (monotheism)
- Three distinct persons (father, son, Holy Spirit)
- Equal status of each person as fully God
Why was there a need for the doctrine of the Trinity?
Because the early church was faced with addressing problems of heresy
Christianity’s identity was being threatened
Idea of God was being diluted
Which five heresies threatened to split the Church?
Arianism
Sabellianism
Adoptionism
Nestorianism
Doecetism
Arianism
Christ is not the same as God
The incarnation is impossible
Christ is subordinate to God
Sabellianism
God played three roles in history
The father, then the son, then the Holy Spirit
Adoptionism
God chose Jesus (an ordinary man)
Adopted him after his baptism
Nestortorianism
Christ has a dual personality
Sometimes divine, sometimes human
Docetism
Jesus was a phantom
God was acting a role to inspire humanity
What is the Chalcedon definition of ‘Jesus as divine’?
“We confess one as the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in Godhead, perfect in manhood, truly God and truly Man”
How is Jesus’ divinity described in Philippians 2:6?
“Who, though he was in the form of God, did no regard equality with of God as something to be exploited.”
What is the Chalcedon definition if Jesus’ pre-existence?
“…begotten of the Father before the ages according to His Godhead.”
What is the Nicene Creed’s definition of Jesus’ pre-existence?
“…Being of one with the substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.”
How does John (1:2-3) describe Jesus’ pre-existence?
“He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
What is the Chalcedon definition of Jesus as co-equal with God?
“… of one substance with the Father with respect to the Godhead.”
What is the Nicene Creed’s definition of Jesus as co-equal with God?
“Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance of the Father”
How does John (14:9) describe Jesus as co-equal with God?
“Jesus said to him: ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” -
How does the Nicene Creed describe Jesus as co-eternal with God?
“Begotten of the Father before all worlds…”
How is Jesus described as co-eternal with God in Colossians (1:17)?
“He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
What is the Filioque Controversy?
A debate concerning the relationship of the Holy Spirit with God the Father and God the Son.
What three things did Christians agree on?
- The ceaseless activity of God
- The terms ‘Spirit of God’ and ‘Spirit of Jesus’ are interchangeable
- The Holy Spirit is God in action
Christians did not agree on where the Holy Spirit came from. What do we learn from Genesis (1:2)?
“The Earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the spirit of God swept over the face of the waters.”
According to Acts 2:2-4 where does the Holy Spirit come from?
“and suddenly from heaven there came a sound lish the rush of a violent wind… All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages…”
Who added the Latin word filioque?
The third council of Toledo (not ecumenical, 5 patriarchs not present, they did not consent to this addition)
What caused the Great Schism (the divide of East and West)
In 1054 Rome accused the Eastern Church of heresy for not accepting filioque. The East sees the Father as the source of divinity, the Son as begotten of the Father and the Spirit proceeding from the father.
