The Trinity Part One: The Triune God of the Old Testament

                                                                       

                                                                      Introduction: 

The ''Trinity'' is a word we Christians use to describe many of the characteristics of God. Certain aspects of the Trinity are harder to understand than others. However, Christians can understand aspects of the Trinity as God has revealed such knowledge in the Holy Scriptures. 

One of the first testaments against the Christian faith in history was the denial of the Trinity by various heretics in the early days of the church's existence. Today, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses still deny the Trinitarian doctrines, as do various Adventists and Pentecostals. Without question, one of the first evidences of any cult is its rejection of the Trinity. 

Every Sunday, Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, and some Presbyterians recite the words of either the Apostles' or Nicene Creed while professing belief in the Trinitarian doctrines, especially the divinity of Christ. For many Christians, rejecting the Trinity casts one outside the Christian faith. Throughout history, especially in the ancient church, many theologians have lived and died for the proclamation of the Trinity. Athanasius of Alexandria was a fervent defender of the Triune God in the fourth century but was expelled from Niceae for disagreeing with Emperor Constantine about the emperor's desire to see Christian unity among both those for and against belief in the Trinity. Augustine of Hippo, likewise, spent fifteen years writing books defending the doctrines of the Trinity. Additionally, John Calvin also believed that it was the right of the state to sentence those who denied the Trinity to death. 

Sometimes, within Calvinist settings, Christians are persuaded to believe that the doctrines of predestination and justification are the most essential doctrines of Christianity. While they are indeed important, it is not them but Trinatiran theology, which is the most important essential of the Christian faith. 

Occasionally, many in Reformed churches preach about the importance of having a low view of man and a high view of God. While this is also true, much of their theology still emphasizes man as the center of all Christianity, emphasizing man's redemption through Christ. For example, focusing on man's relationship to God through the so-called doctrines of grace or predestination still makes man the center of theology. But theology does not begin with man. It does not begin with sin. It does not even start with salvation. No, indeed, it begins with who God is, for unless this is known, all else will be misunderstood. All the doctrines concerning the Trinity, such as the Divinity of Christ, the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, and how the Son is begotten of the Father, though also being eternal, are among the most important doctrines of the Christian faith that any will ever hear. Even the incarnation itself cannot be understood without also understanding the Trinity. Likewise, the debate over the filioque, whether or not the Spirit proceeds only from the Father or also from the Father and the Son, is of utmost importance, as discussed elsewhere. 

A person saying the doctrines of the Trinity don't concern me and just knowing how to preach the gospel demonstrates that this person not only knows nothing about theology but has a dangerous view of it.

When Augustine of Hippo lived, he wrote On the Trinity during a time in which the Trinity had been questioned by various heretics. Spending fifteen years defending the Christian truths of God's oneness in Three Persons, the renowned theologian knew that various heretics tried extreme measures to justify their views according to Scripture. Because of this, he, too, turned to the Scriptures while frequently refuting them both philosophically and Biblically. Why did Augustine do this? Because he knew that the denial of the Trinity was a denial of the entire Christian faith. In fact, it is not possible to preach the gospel without professing and having some understanding of the Trinity, for unless God's characteristics of Three Persons in one Essence are understood, then the incarnation is also misunderstood, and in turn, so is the power of Christ to save men from their sins. So, likewise, will others not comprehend what it means that Christ is king over all creation. 

To have a high view of God means to have a high view of the Trinity. If the Trinity is not preached about, then the preacher does not have a high view of God. And if people do not have a high view of God, they will not only have a high view of man but also find themselves endorsing nonbiblical theology (no matter how Biblical they think it be). 

Salvation, itself, is a gift of the Trinity. So is marriage, the church, the sacraments, and everything good in the universe. Therefore, to deny the Trinity is to deny God. 

                                                                  II. The Trinity in the Old Testament

One of the first ''proof texts'' of the Trinity in the Old Testament is Genesis 1: 26. In this passage, God, speaking in a plural pronoun of Himself, describes His creation. Although it has been suggested that this verse describes God's dialogue with the angels, nothing in Genesis implies God either needed or desired their council as He made creation and man in partitur. Secondly, while some have suggested this passage teaches that there is more than one God, this cannot be the case as Scripture teaches that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6: 4). Could it be that God, though one, is more than one Person? Are the origins of the Christian belief in the Trinity actually founded in Old Testament thought? 

At various points in the Old Testament, God revealed aspects of His Personhoods. There is debate among theologians if Melchizedek was God the Son, as there also is concerning the Angel of the Lord and the men who witnessed Sarah's laugh concerning her giving birth. Augustine, who spent many years philosophically and Biblically backing his claims, believed all of the above examples to be God's revelation of Himself to mortal man throughout the world of the Old Testament. 

The New Testament did not invent the Trinity, nor did the fourth-century Catholic Church. In several instances, Scripture separates the personality of the Spirit of God from that of God the Father (Nehemiah 9: 20-30, Isaiah 48: 16, Isaiah 63: 10). The fact that ''holy, holy, holy,'' is said, having emphasized the same word three times Isaiah 6: 3, is itself, evidence of the Trinity, as the words are symbolic of God's Personhoods. 

Returning to Genesis 1: 26, Christians have good reasons for believing the Trinity was first taught in the Old Testament, though certainly less explicitly than the later church councils would define. In the same chapter of Genesis, though in the first verse, God creates the heavens and earth (Genesis 1: 1). The Hebrew word for God here is Elohim. Though being a plural noun, in this case for God, it is accompanied by a singular pronoun, bara, and every plural verb mentioned toward God throughout the Hebrew Bible is always accompanied by a singular verb. In other words, God is both singular and plural, which One Pentecostals deny, but Trinitarian Christians affirm. 

Exodus 13-14 also provides strong evidence that God, though being one God, is more than one Person. In these passages, God looks upon creation both through the Angel of the Lord), Who is defined as God in Exodus 13: 21. 

And in the Book of Isaiah, a hint of Jesus is revealed. The Lord is released to sit on the heavenly throne (6: 1). Later, the suffering servant sits upon the throne (Isaiah 52: 13). Since only God can sit upon the holy heavenly throne, the suffering servant is also God, yet in Isaiah 53: 6, God releases the iniquity of many upon the suffering servant. Of course, it is not my intention here to prove that Jesus is the suffering servant, as that will take another post. Instead, I hope this post will illuminate many of the origins of God's Trinity of Three Persons, as firmly established in the Old Testament Scriptures. 

Sometimes, Christians make the mistake of pointing to the New Testament as their only source in attempting to convert the Jews. In reality, Jesus quoted the Old Testament, which the early church used long before a New Testament canon was finalized. Christianity is Jewish, and its Jewish roots have been tragically forgotten by many in the West. Indeed, Christians must appeal to the Old Testament in showing the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and who Jesus is. 

Finally, while Christians should be careful not to read New Testament presuppositions into the Old Testament, Jews should be careful not to read post-Old Testament Jewish writings into the Old Testament. Both can benefit each other by studying the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. 

                                                                III. Conclusion

It is sometimes wrongly claimed by Christians that God did not reveal Himself as the Trinity until the New Testament. However, as already demonstrated in Scripture, the one God of three Persons revealed Himself to creation long before the incarnation of Jesus Christ. 

This post has not set out to defend all the doctrines of the Trinity. Christians still have many engaging battles with heretics, who, though the latter know the Scriptures, twist them as Satan, their father. As a resource, Christians should consult Augustine's On the Trinity, which appeals to Scripture and logically connects various passages to one another in their proper context. Rather, I have only provided a simple post here to briefly elaborate on evidence of the Trinity in the Old Testament. Many of the arguments used against the Trinity today were used against the church in Augustine's time and this source remains invauble as ever. 

Many analogies from creation have been used to explain the Trinity, including the clover, water, ice, mist, etc. While no analogy in creation can perfectly capture the Trinity, one of the closest is how man and woman become one despite being two persons (Genesis 2: 24). Indeed, the mirror of the Trinity in the marriage of one man and one woman, shows how crucial holy matrimony is to God. When some redefine marriage as not being between a man and woman, intentionally or intentionally, they openly blaspheme God. The Creator, however, has made man and woman as a picture of Himself, and this is never more evendial than in marriage (Ephesians 5). 

Tragically, although many Christians today profess belief in the Trinity, they remain ignorant of the scriptures concerning God's three Persons and one Essence. By not confessing belief in the Trinity in the creeds, many Evangelicals, especially, have forgotten how to defend their faith---which has contributed to the growing cults that deny this essential Christian doctrine. Suppose Calvinists preach more about predestination than the Trinity or Baptists preach more about their views on baptism. In that case, it shows their properties ---that the characteristics of God and who He is are not central to their theology. 

Philosophically and logically, the Trinity is arguably the most complex doctrine of the Christian faith to understand. In the coming posts, I will explain why we should not only become familiar with the doctrines of the Trinity as understood in the Scriptures but also love the characteristics of God Himself. How can we claim to love One whom we know nothing about? How can we reject His revelation to us of who He is, for all else, which, compared to His beauty and majesty, is insignificant. Truly, nothing in creation matters more than our relationship to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the one Godhood.