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Doctrine of the Trinity about the Nature of the Church

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Introduction

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is important in understanding the nature of God as well the human-God relationship. However, based on the nature of the church, the doctrine is marked by some ambiguities. For instance, many Christians and Bible scholars tend to be confused on the subject of God being one and at the same time existing as three. In addition, some Christians view the Trinity as a contradiction. Such inconsistencies are illustrated by the fact Jesus himself prayed to God yet the principle of Trinity refers to him as God the Son. As the illustrations indicate, it is clear that no individual can have a full understanding of everything about the Trinity. Therefore, it is crucial to eliminate confusions about the Trinity a clear conception of the ideas pertaining to God’s existence.

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is grounded on the existence and knowledge of the personality of God. Specifically, the belief of the Trinity means that there is one eternal God who exists as three distinct People, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. From the creed, there are three different truths that can be fathomed. Firstly, it is understood that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinguishable persons. Secondly, the three Persons that form the Trinity are all fully God. To add on, the lesson that is critical is that there exists one God. Evidently, the three truths about the Trinity have shaped the Christian’s view about the Triune God.

In removing contradictions about Trinity, its definitions should be critically analysed to remove any ambiguities. Therefore, from the belief itself, it can be clearly seen that God is one in essence, but existing in three persons. As a matter of fact, the doctrine shows that there are no three Gods, and this is the reason why the Trinity cannot be classified as a contradiction. The main reason for the said conclusion is that the doctrine does not violate the law of non-contradiction. In essence, the belief on Trinity is not what it is and what it is not, because if that is the case then the doctrine of Trinity would have been a contradiction.

To understand the doctrine of Trinity, certain aspects of the Church are discussed within the context of the Triune God. Therefore, this research paper seeks to explain the relationship that exists between the Trinity and Communism in the Church. Trinity and correlation with communism is explored in order to establish their convergence in ideas. This research is going to address the Church as a body of Christ, union of believers, as well as certain practices such as baptism, sacraments and worship. All these aspects are discussed to ascertain the extent to which the doctrine of Trinity has impacted them.

Trinity and Communism in Church

Conceptually, the doctrine of the Trinity forms the basis of the communion which the Church is based. God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a correlative communion. All coexist from eternity and neither is before or after another, and nor is one is neither superior nor inferior to the other.1 Indeed, each Person of the Trinity enwraps and permeates the others. The divine Three are united in forming one sole God which in essence is the reality of Trinitarian communion.2 Additionally, this relationship is characterised by infinite and deep coexistence. The deific unity is communitarian as each Person is in communion with the other two.3 As such, the unity which is shown in Trinitarian relationship is the basis for the Christian unity.

It is important to establish the nature of the relationship of communion which is represented by God the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit. Due to the complexity of the relationship, an analogy of human communion is used in understanding the Trinity. Human communion means that an individual is in the presence of one another, different from the others but open in a complete mutuality.4 Immediate relationships such as eye-to-eye, face-to-face, and heart-to heart-to-heart characterises true communion. Community then results from mutual surrender and reciprocal communion associations among parties5. Therefore, to say that God is a communion means that there are three Eternal Ones, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in a communion relationship that is based on coexistence with one another. Apart from getting out of oneself and surrendering to the other two, each Person gives life, wisdom, goodness and its possession.6 The Persons in the Trinity are distinct not in the order to be separated, but to unite for the reason of surrendering themselves to one another. As a result, the divine relationship of the Persons of the Trinity has characterised Christian prayers which acknowledge existence of the three Persons.

Trinity in Relation to Understanding Church Leadership

Over the years, the nature of church relationships has been centred around an individual who wields much power on matters of religion such as church ministers and pastors, bishops and Pope. Nonetheless, the principle of the Trinity has changed Church leaderships in a great way.7 Sticking only with faith in one sole God has presented a dangerous situation for the Church leadership. The belief that God is always a communion of the three divine Persons makes it possible to foster collaboration, good relationships, and unity among different members or factions of the Church.8 There is a greater risk of disunity and rebellion in Church that is associated with rigid monotheism when God is not understood as Trinity. There are those people who believe that there exists one God and one Christ and as such, there should be one religion and one religious head.9 In keeping with the understanding, some churches have been organized around a single centre of power that cannot be challenged on anything. For some churches, the believers are expected to abide by the head’s directives. In consequence, this kind of attitude has caused split in the Church today.

Trinity in Relation to the Church as a Union of Believers

Through the Trinity doctrine, the Church is currently viewed as a union of believers. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are always working together in creation, salvation, and bringing the believers to their communion of life and love.10 Without the communion of the three Persons, nothing is done in the Blessed Trinity. A manifestation of the knowledge about Triune God is reflected by the devotion of many believers.11 Relationship of the Persons in the Trinity is further demonstrated through Christians’ actions of unity sharing both the material possessions and gospel.

By and large, God the Father is important and a central figure in the Trinity as well as the lives of the Christians in the Church. By directing, deciding and knowing of everything, God the Father plays a central role in the Church.12 Moreover, He is regarded as the ultimate judge over life and death, and the creator of sons and daughters. However, this does not diminish the fact that God the Father is the father to the Son, who together with the Holy Spirit, live in communion and equality.13 The Spirit of the Son is related to the Father through Jesus the Son, thereby presenting the triad association between the Holy Spirit and the Father. In fact, this reason informs the practice of baptism in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ, by virtue of being the Son in the Trinity, plays an important role in redemption of the Church. As the companion, master and a leader, Christ acts as a representation of brother of all, and fiery leader of men and women.14 This is the Son who has associations only with those who believe in him and abide in the living word the Father. It means that the belief in Christ as the Son of God does not negate the fact that through Him, God sought redemption of mankind.

Trinity lives within the believers as Holy Spirit is known to be a provider of different gifts. Through the Holy Spirit, the Church believers are endowed with the spirit of prayers, speaking in tongues, and giving vents to their internal and personal emotions.15 However, the Spirit is always the Spirit of the Son, sent by God the Father to advance the liberating work of Jesus Christ. The most important thing for a Christian is to have a vertical relationship given by the Father, and the internal relationship provided by the Son, Jesus Christ.16 The Holy Spirit reveals the truth about how the Church relates with both the Father and the Son. The three associations are integrated together for an effective and fruitful life of a Christian in the Church. Accordingly, a complete faith is an exhaustive experience of the total image of God as Trinity of Persons.

Trinitarian Explanation of the Church as a Body of Christ

Much of the modern confusion on the nature of the Church as a body of Christ can be removed by conception of the Trinity from scriptural perspective. Through the relationships of the Persons in the Trinity, a believer can easily understand the Church as a body of Christ.17 Though there is an extensive agreement among evangelic scholars that the church is God’s work, rather than an institution of men, a believer can be confused in the relationship between the Church and Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, divine mysteries are revealed to the Church not only about the scriptures but also about Jesus as the foundation of the Church.18 Definitely, the Church is able to distinguish itself as a communion of believers who are associated with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In the New Testament, the body of Christ is depicted as the one that is joined to the Christ, God the Son, in a living union. The union is effected by baptism of the Holy Spirit who is part of the Trinity.19 As evident, salvation is dependent on the Trinity because at every stage a believer interacts with either the Father, or the Son or the Holy Spirit. More explicitly, the starting point of the Church is the creation of a new believer who gets initiated into Christianity through baptism.20 For instance, belief in God the Father and acknowledging that Jesus died for the sins of humanity is the beginning of salvation. Later, the new converts are baptised in the name of the Trinity, thereby contributing to the growth of the God’s Kingdom.21 An analogous comparison of the Church as body of Christ shows that it is not a superficial unity affected by geographical association or an organizational fellowship but a union of life that enjoins members together. Clearly, the church as a body of Christ is grounded on relationship among the Trinity Persons.

Understanding Christianity Faith through the Trinity Doctrine

Faith is an important aspect that connects the Church to the Trinity. The objectives and the process of the act of faith are indistinguishably intertwined with the church community. The act of faith incorporates Christians into the Church community while making the faith itself to be sustainable.22 Christian faith is the belief in Triune God that actually means co-faith in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In illustration, the God in whom the Church believes is the Triune God and therefore not a self-enclosed entity, but a community of divine persons.23 Entering into the divine community with the Trinity means that one believes in the Triune God through surrendering their existence to God. The Church cannot therefore create a private fellowship with God as the Triune God is not a private deity.24 For that reason, fellowship with the Trinity is also fellowship with other human beings who have submitted their existences to the same God. Trinitarian faith accordingly means becoming initiated to the membership of the Church community by submitting fully to God.25 Consequently, the Church community is a vital result of the counterpart who is confessed in faith who ceases to be a mere counterpart.

Christians commune with Jesus Christ through faith, thereby initiated into the Trinitarian community. In essence, the Church creates a private partnership with Christ as long as it can establish a personal relationship with the Triune God.26 For the Son Jesus Christ is not at all a person, a self-enclosed individual. As the impeccable God in human flesh, he is the embodiment of God’s love to the whole mankind.27 To believe in the Son therefore means to enter into the collective personality and for that reason also into communion with Trinity Persons.

Drawing from certain scriptures, the Christological grounding of the essential ecclesiality of salvation can be explicated. From Galatians 2:20, Paul writes that it is no longer he himself that lives but the Christ who lives in him. By this statement, Paul means that the self of the believer stops being “a self-contained subject” but “immersed into a new subject” at the moment of salvation. As one might expect from the reading of the Pauline verse stated, the new subject is not merely the Christ. An interpretation of the above verse is interpreted from the perspective of ecclesiological passages such as Galatians 3:16 and 3:28 which speak of the “seed” and the “one”. More critically, the “one” that is mentioned in the verse is a new single subject with Christ. Ostensibly, salvation through faith is a process that marks communism with the Triune God.

Trinitarian Explanation of the Sacramental Nature of the Church

Religious rituals such as the Sacraments are a manifestation of the communality of the Christian life. One does not receive the sacraments from oneself but exclusively from others. Therefore, a person does not believe as an isolated being.28 Hence, believers receive faiths from a community of those people who have believed before and bring God to them as a given reality of their history. Emphatically, faith has an essential personal dimension attached to it.29 The simple actions of undergoing sacraments are not sufficient since conversion to Christianity cannot simply be decreed by the Triune God but a believer must appropriate it as an individual.

Sacrament has an inner perspective that needs to be addressed conclusively when analysing the understanding of the Triune God. Union with Christ through the sacramental body is not merely referring to the mysterious interior of the Church but rather the visible communion of those celebrating Lord’s Supper together.30 For example, someone who partakes in the celebration of the Eucharist not only stands through Christ in communion with the Triune God and all other participants, but such an individual is visibly identified as such. In as much as the church is conceived as the body of Christ, the latter acquires a concretely noticeable, virtually legally identifiable point of departure.30 The Eucharist then takes the Church into the divine realm by connecting it into the physical commune with the Triune God. This is why the Eucharist is commonly referred to by the Catholics as the Holy Communion.30 The communion that is alluded to in this case is usually the sharing between a believer and the Triune God.

Trinity and Baptismal Nature of the Church

In the context of Catholicism, Baptism is a subject that can be discussed within sacraments. Nevertheless, in the Pentecostal and Orthodox churches, Baptism is a wide topic that is best understood from the perspectives of the Triune God’s relationship to the Church. There are two differences in the administration of baptism with regards to the nature of the Church, the adult baptism and the infant baptism. The practice of baptising infants has been defended by many theologians.31 The baptism of the spirit is a Trinitarian event because as Jesus the son of God, rises after being immersed in River Jordan by John the Baptist, the voice of God the Father is heard. The Holy Spirit is manifested through the appearance of the dove that descends upon Jesus. It is not that Jesus did not have the Spirit in him already, but the baptism was the wonder of the fullness of God within him. Clearly, this was a manifestation of the Holy Trinity in the human history.

Compared to the baptism of Jesus Christ by John, the modern baptism is characterised by the invocation of Holy Trinity Persons. During baptism, an individual receives the Holy Spirit and this does not mean that the person receives a third of the Holy Trinity but rather all of God, all of the three Persons.32 This is clearly depicted in the teachings of Jesus in the gospel of John. Jesus promised sending of the Holy Spirit so that he and his Father would come and live within the believers. In addition, the Lord’s Prayer establishes the principle that in the work of any one Person of the Trinity a believer will always get all the three Persons in the mode of that individual.33 It is for this reason that baptism is an important Christian initiation process as it involves invoking the names of all the Persons in the Holy Trinity.

Importance of Trinity in Understanding the Church Mission

An important mission of the Church is to draw people to the Kingdom of Heaven through constant teachings from the Bible. In fact, mission is the core importance of the Church, early or the contemporary Christianity. Nonetheless, the Church has witnessed a change in its mission over the years. Notably, the shift has gone to the Trinitarian foundation for the mission.34 Among the implications of the shift to a Trinitarian foundation is the refocus of the point of Christian mission away from the Church to the aspects of Triune God. As recently as few years ago, what used to be widely known as missions was understood as being about the Church’s extensions.35 The overall goal was to build more churches that would in turn lead to more following of specific denominations. Strikingly, the conversation about the Church’s mission has shifted to understanding nature of God, or rather the Trinity.

In the current church age, the expansion of the church is no longer viewed in high regards as before. Increasingly, the Church’s mission is being seen as the nature of the Triune God and the overflow of His nature to the world.36 This shift clarifies the motivation and direction of the modern Church. Currently, the nature of Church’s mission is based on the glorification of God and not the aggrandisement of Church.37 Moreover the Church’s purpose in mission becomes the purposes of God. The Church’s current mission is aligned with God’s broader intentions that are not always as the interests of the local congregants in the Church. Besides all that, the catalyst for the change from human strategies to mystical stratagems is the Holy Spirit.38 Incontestably, the work of preaching the gospel and understanding the mission of God in the lives of the Christians has been promoted by the Holy Trinity.

Mission is currently purposed on not having many churches on the face of the earth but on God’s holistic mission to the sinful world. In that respect, the Church is only an important tool towards the fulfilment of that specific objective and not the end of the mission.39 As a matter of fact, theological assumption in the current missional conversations is not primarily about the Church, or ultimately about the Church, or the study of the Church. In simple terms, the mission is no longer “ecclesiocentric” as it is now correctly viewed as dependent on the person and nature of the Triune God.40 Understanding of the Trinity has shaped the mission of the Church towards realizing God’s purpose for the Church.

The Trinity and Christian Worship

Having explored the fundamentals of the doctrine of Trinity, it is important to understand how the concept has shaped important nature of the Church, the worship. This vital aspect of the Church is based on, and is the actual expression of, the character and nature of the one true living God and the work of one God who exists in three.41 By way of explanation, both the ground of worship and the correct expression of worship are tied on the oneness and threeness of God, both to God’s character, and God’s work. Simply put, the Triune nature of God is well elaborated through Christian worship in two distinct ways.

Firstly, worship finds its prerequisite grounding in God Himself, in His nature, essence, or essential attributes and work which reflect God’s inward character. Because of the infinite worth of His character and the matchless magnificence of His work, God is worthy of all praise, honour, devotion, love, and obedience.42 Acknowledging the character and work of God is incorporated in the grounding of worship hence oneness and threeness of God are necessary and rightly entangled. The nature of God is unitary and undivided divine essence that constitutes the oneness of God.43 On the other hand, the work of God is an unimaginable phenomenon apart from the consideration of the visible relations, roles, and activities of the three Trinity. Simply put, Christian worship is grounded on the character of God who is one and the work of God who is three.

Secondly, worship finds its only rightful expression, then, as a feedback to the revelation of one God who is three. Christian worship is based on the character of God who is one and the work of God is three, so does the expression of worship.44 Expression of worship is rightly expressed when given in response to the nature of God and to the distinctive but unified work of the three divine Persons. To express worship only of and in response to the oneness of God fails to be fully Christian worship as it fails to recognize that God is only one yet He is also three.45 The generic monotheistic worship is not automatically a Christian worship. Such a prayer can be described as a truncated, reductionist prayer which can also be termed as an idolatrous prayer.46 Similarly, to the express the worship only of and in response to the threeness of God may fail to acknowledge the underlying unity of character, intention that the three Persons exhibit. Otherwise stated, Christian worship is the appropriate expression of God’s character who is one, and the work of God who is three.

An extensive theology of worship requires listing of not less than four fundamental aspects of worship as had been aforementioned. Firstly, grounding worship in the oneness of God who is uniformly one in character or essence.47 Secondly, worship should be based in the threeness of God who is distinguishably three in Persons and the interrelated work. Thirdly, worship should be expressed in response to the oneness of God who is uniformly one in character or essence.48 Moreover, a Christian prayer should be expressed in response to the threeness God who is distinctively three in persons and the corresponding work. The theological evaluation of a Christian worship should therefore determine at least four of the aforesaid aspects of a prayer.

In spite of the fact that much could be said about all four of the components of worship, one of the four is difficult to understand. Notably, the component has also a particular importance, specifically for the public worship of the church. The two grounding aspects of worship are more elaborate as they bring an intuitive biblical understanding of the fact that worship is owing God both for His character and for His magnificent works.49 With the expression features, it is directly straightforward to think in terms of expressing worship to God as one single entity, since one subject of worship is easily conceivable. Biblically, believers are instructed to worship only one God and swear by His name (Deut 6:13). One component of worship that raises problem for Christian worship is the fourth aspect. Difficulty arises on the basis of how worship can be expressed specifically to the Father, Son, or the Spirit; given that all the three are equally God50. With the problems that the components of worship are associated with, they are indeed the basis for perfect Christian worship.

Inherent Order of Trinitarian Persons in Christian Worship

While a lot of things can be said about the distinctions of divine Persons, one aspect of Trinitarian life seems to be predominant when one critically looks at the distinguishable relationships among the Trinity persons. This noticeable biblical characteristic is the presence of order or even a structure among the Trinitarian persons that elucidates on why each person carries out a particular responsibility.49 The founding fathers of the early church used “taxis” as a word for order and they did so cognisant of the fact that the Trinitarian taxis does not admit alteration. For example, the “Father” could not be alternatively used to become the “Son” and or the “Spirit” to exchange His work for the “Son”. The order that is observed from the scriptures shows an inviolability and fixity that does not or will not permit such exchanges in “Personalities” or “responsibilities”.51 The Father is the eternal Father of the Son, and accordingly the relationships that have been revealed as true of them are likewise everlasting associations. This order is applicable to all of them and that is why their roles are also differentiable.

Ordering of the Trinity is quite stubborn and it is what it is eternally. More specifically, it does not accommodate reversibility or reciprocal exchanges of positions. Clearly, God is immutable not only in His infinitely perfect and unified nature but also in the ordering of the Trinitarian Persons each of whom possesses fully and eternally that specific undivided characteristic.52 A further exploration of the ordering among the Trinitarian Persons indicates that the taxis is marked with unequivocal eternal inherent authority and submission relationship that defines what constitutes the distinctiveness of the Trinity Persons. However some contemporary theologians have waged a fierce resistance to the concept of eternal-authority submission structure of the Trinitarian relations.

Some of the attestable Biblical themes rotate around the relationship among the Persons in the Trinitarian relations. Unquestionably, one of the widely attested Biblical topics is that in which the Son relates to the Father as a subordinate. By way of receiving commands and directives from the Father, the Son does not know anything of self-initiative but rather seeks to do the Father’s will. This argument is indeed a contradiction of the fact that the Persons of the Trinity are all God who operate independently and coexist as a single entity but doing different roles.53 The Spirit in all of this supports, upholds, and honours the Son in His mission and work, seeking to fulfil the will of the Son. Similarly, the argument shows that there is a hierarchy in which the Spirit holds the low position, a contradiction to the equality of the Trinity Beings.

Conclusion

In summary, the concept of the Trinity is crucial in understanding the characteristics of the Church grounded on the biblical revelations about the nature of God. This is because the Trinity forms the idea of communion which is an important cornerstone for the Church beliefs. The nature of the communion is that one promoting coexistence among the various Persons of the Trinity. Another advantage that can be derived from the Trinity is that it has transformed the management of the Church thereby averting possible formation of splinter groups within the Church as a result of rebellion. Additionally, the unity of purpose is achieved through the realization that the Trinity exists as a one single body despite being comprised of distinct entities that operate co-exist and function harmoniously. Despite the Father existing as central figure in the ranks of Trinity, the three Persons exist in equality and none is inferior to the other. Accordingly, the concept of Trinity promotes brotherhood in the Church due to its communism and decentralisation of the powers among union of believers.

Understanding of Trinity shapes the Christians’ thinking towards viewing themselves as one body of Christ through faith and reception of the Eucharist, in the case of Catholics. The Holy Spirit thus reveals to the Church that it is joined to the body of Christ, the Son through a living union. Faith is strengthened even further by learning that it is through faith that the Church communicates and communes with the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Communing with the Trinity is enhanced by partaking in the Holy Communion which is symbolised by reception of Eucharist by a section of believers such as the Catholics. The moulding of the Christian thinking is a positive one as they see not only the importance of living in harmony but also conducting themselves in a way that shows that they are enjoined to the Christ’s body.

Furthermore, baptism, the church mission and worship are important characteristics of the Church that have been influenced by the concept of Triune God relationships. Of great interest is the baptism of the Spirit which is shown by Jesus, the Son of God whose baptism was marked by the manifestation of Trinity in the human history. The concept of Trinity is also vital with respect to the changes it has effected on the mission of the Church. Due to the Trinity notion, the Church mission has shifted from expansion of Churches to understanding of the nature of God. More critically, the relationships of the Trinity Beings are what have shaped the worship in both the early and the contemporary Church. In understanding the grounding and expression of worship a believer is able to determine key components of worship. Inarguably, the doctrine of Trinity is a concept that should not be overlooked especially when the nature of the Church is to be evaluated.

References

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Bosch, David. 2011. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. 2nd ed. MaryKnoll, New York: Orbis books.

Buckley, James and David Yeago, eds. 2001. Knowing the Triune God: The Work of the Spirit in the Practices of the Church. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Butin, Philip. 2001. The Trinity. Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press.

Chapman, Mark. 2001. “The Social Doctrine of the Trinity: Some Problems.” Anglican Theological Review 83 (2): 239-54. Web.

Chenu, Marie-Dominique. 1981. “The New Awareness of the Trinitarian Basis of the Church.” Translated by GWS Knowles. Where Does the Church Stand? Concilium 146: 14-21.

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Footnotes

  1. Bidwell, Kevin. 2011. The Church as the Image of the Trinity: A Critical Evaluation of Miroslav Volf’s Ecclesial Model. Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
  2. Doyle, Brian. (2006). “Social Doctrine of the Trinity and Communion Ecclesiology in Leonardo Boff and Gisbert Greshake.” Horizons 33 (2): 239-55. Web.
  3. Collins, Paul. 2008. “The Trinity. The Other and the Church.” In The Trinity: A guide for the Perplexed, 119-43. London: T & T Clark Publishers.
  4. Hardy, Daniel. 1989. “Created and Redeemed Sociality.” In On Being the Church: Essays on the Christian Community, edited by Daniel Hardy and Colin Gunton. Edinburgh: T & T Clark.
  5. Grenz, Stanley. 2000. “Theology for the Community of God.” Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
  6. Grenz, Stanley. 2001. The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press.
  7. Hunt, Anne. 2005b. “Trinity and Church.” In The Trinity, 116-38, MaryKnoll, New York: Orbis Books.
  8. Holmes, Peter. 2006. Trinity in Human Community: Exploring Congregational Life in the Image of the Social Trinity. Carlisle: Send the Light.
  9. Greenwood, Robin. 1994. Transforming Priesthood: A New Theology of Mission and Ministry. London: SPCK.
  10. Butin, Philip. 2001. The Trinity. Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press.
  11. Watson, Francis. 1999. “Trinity and community: A Reading of John 17.” International Journal of Systematic Theology 1 (2): 168-184. Web.
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