by Theology Proper is the study of the character of God and His divine attributes. Within Theology Proper, the doctrine of the Trinity proclaims that there is one God as Three Persons. The Trinity has been well defended over many centuries and encompasses the revelations of God. Because of incomprehensibility, there is opportunity for continued refinement and changes, but only if new revelations of God are presented or identified.
The Bible does not specifically state the doctrine of the Trinity, which causes various theological errors, but there is a lot of evidence to support the doctrine when the Bible is researched holistically. Putting together complementary themes, drawing inferences from Biblical teachings, having a conceptual vehicle for understanding, and evaluating past constructs support the doctrine in a way to be understood in today’s world.[1] This research will be supported with Bible passages starting with an overview of the Trinity, then common confusions with Tritheism, the correct interpretation of the Trinity, the different aspects of the Trinity, and a conclusion to summarize the main points and arguments. When researched properly, there is a Biblical basis for the Doctrine of the Trinity as one God as three persons.
Overview of the Doctrine of the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity has six essential elements that define the Trinity. They are: 1) the unity of God is basic and considered one essence or being, 2) each person is qualitatively similar and equally divine, 3) there is no contradiction between the threeness and the oneness of God, 4) the Trinity is eternal as each person has always been in existence and divine, 5) while there are different roles for each Person around salvation and redemption, none of the Three Persons are inferior to another, and 6) the Trinity is incomprehensible. This does not mean people cannot understand God, it simply means that people cannot fully understand God as people are humans and have limitations on the comprehension of God.[2] “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deut. 29:29, New International Version).
Confusion of the Trinity with Tritheism
Tritheism is the belief of three gods and not one God. It can happen if the Three Persons are regarded as substantial beings by themselves. Tritheism has never been accepted, but some Christians may have fallen into Tritheism in their attempts to explain the Trinity.[3] A common analogy that is falsely used for the Trinity is a sports team and the players. The Baltimore Orioles baseball team and each player are “Orioles.” In this example, the individual Orioles only form the “single team” because of certain agreements they have made to act cooperatively on the baseball team. This lacks genuine, organic unity.[4] Other bad illustrations include an egg, clover, and chain links.
Trinity’s Correct Interpretation
The Unity of God (God as One)
Monotheism is the doctrine that there is only one God.[5] There are many supporting passages within the Bible that state there is one God and He reveals Himself in several places. When God spoke to Moses as a burning bush, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ ‘This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.” (Exod. 3:15).
When delivering the Ten Commandments, God said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me [or besides me]” (Exod. 20:2–3). This passage makes it clear that there is one God to be worshipped, devoted to, and obeyed. The second commandment is similar where God will not tolerate the worshipping of any other Gods as they are false Gods. One of the first commands Moses gave to his people was, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:4-5). This is to be passed down through the generations so they will not be forgotten.
The book of Isaiah, chapter 40 gives comfort to the people of Israel who were in exile in Babylon and explains how there is one God over all things. Then in chapter 44, “This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.” (Isa. 44:6). All these passages show that God is repudiating pagan polytheism.[6] The General Epistle of James states, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (James 2:19)
The Triunity of the Persons
There is one God, but He is plural, some examples are, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,’” (Gen. 1:26), “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.’” (Gen. 3:22), “Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Gen 11:7), and “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’” (Isa. 6:8).
Some people claim that these are forms of “plurals of majesty” as they are touching the Divinity as indicative, or the passages denote angels representing God on earth or the entire heavenly court surrounding God.[7] Heiser states, “Technical research in Hebrew grammar and exegesis has shown that the Trinity is not a coherent explanation.”[8] Many scholars state that these are indicative of the progressive revelation of the Trinity. Hodge Explains, “But when it becomes plain, from the progress of the revelation, that there are three persons in the Godhead, then such forms of expression can hardly fail to be recognized as having their foundation in that great truth.”[9]
With an understanding that there is one divine Being, God, there needs to be an explanation of the three different persons which are the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Kombo explains, “God in the Christian faith is viewed within the perplexity of unity and plurality: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet not three gods nor a monad in the sense of the Greek philosophers’ description of God, but one God worshiped in the Trinity.”[10]
The Three Persons is a unity of differentiation where each divine Person accepts His role in proper relation to the others, and each works with the others for a unified, common purpose.[11] Baptism is an important part of Christianity as it is a public proclamation of one’s belief and submission to Jesus Christ. Every Christian is baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The personality, divinity, and the equality of these Three Persons are taken for granted as common knowledge.[12] In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matt. 28:19) Note each “name” is singular, although Three Persons are included.[13] Another example is, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Cor 12:4-6).
There was confusion in the early centuries between the “Spirit” and the “Word” (Son). Kärkkäinen explains, “as evident, for example, in the famous apologist Justin Martyr’s claim that ‘it is wrong, therefore, to understand the Spirit and the power of God as anything else than the Word, who is also the first- born of God.’”[14]
There are two passages by Paul where he states there is one God and Paul also clarifies that Jesus is the mediator between God and humans. “There is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” (1 Cor. 8:6). “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Tim. 2:5-6) Erickson explains, “While on the surface these verses seem to distinguish Jesus from the only God, the Father, the primary thrust of the former reference is that God alone is truly God (idols are nothing); and the primary thrust of the latter is that there is but one God, and that there is only one mediator between God and humans.”[15]
Unfortunately, it is hard to maintain an equal view on all three and sometimes people will find themselves to be unitarians, emphasizing one of the Three Persons more than the others. Ricardo de Sousa feels that those who emphasize the Father are more often of the Reformed tradition, Pietists relate more to the Son, and Pentecostals and charismatics lean on the Holy Spirit.[16]
The Father
The Father is normally not in dispute as one of the Three Persons of the Trinity. There are numerous passages from many authors within the Bible that refer to the Father by name including the Son, Jesus Christ. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” (Matt. 6:26). “your heavenly Father knows” (Matt. 6:32). It is apparent that “God” and “your heavenly Father” are interchangeable.
The Son
The Gospel of John proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Son, the Word, the true light, the truth, and that through Him, all things were created (John 1:1-3). This explains that the Son was and is the Word and has been from the beginning. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:4). “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9). Here it states that He is the true light. “The Word became flesh. . .the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:18).
The Word of God has Three Senses: 1) the eternal Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, 2) the proclaimed Word, which comes in and through human words, and 3) the written Word, Scripture, or the Bible.[17] Jesus was named Son before His incarnation as it was the Word that was sent, and the Word was the Son. “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Gal. 4:4-5)[18]
Jesus Christ is declared to be the Son of David, Son of man, stating that He is fully man, and the Son of God stating that He is fully God. “Regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 1:3-4). Christ is asserted as God over everything (Rom. 9:5). Kärkkäinen and Robert state, “Paul’s pervasive name for Jesus Christ is ‘Lord’ (kyrios), the Greek word used to transliterate YHWH, the covenant name of God in the Old Testament.”[19]
While Jesus never self-proclaimed directly His deity, there is evidence to suggest that He did understand Himself to be God. He claimed He possess and sends the angels of God (Luke 12:8-9; Matt. 13:41). He stated that the kingdom of God was His own (Matt. 12:28) and that He could forgive sins (Mark 2:8-10) which the Jews recognized as something only God can do.[20] Regarding the Jews wanting Jesus crucified for claiming to be God and Jesus remaining silent (John 19:7; Matt. 26:63-65), Erickson states, “Either he desired to be put to death on a false charge, or he did understand himself to be the Son of God. Moreover, when Thomas addressed Jesus as ‘My Lord and my God!’ (John 20:28), Jesus did not disavow the appellation.”[21]
The Spirit
The Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. Some people struggle with understanding that the Spirit is a person. A person has personality. Personality has intelligence, will, and individual subsistence which the Spirit has proven to have all three of these traits in Scripture.[22] The Spirit was part of creation, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . .and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Gen. 1:1-2). The Spirit has intelligence and understanding, “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? . . .What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” (1 Cor. 2:10-12)
The Spirit is God, “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? . . .You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4). The Spirit elects and sanctifies, “To God’s elect, . . .who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:1-2). Hodge states, “This Spirit is not an agency, but an agent, who teaches and selects; who can be sinned against and grieved; and who, in the New Testament, is unmistakably revealed as a distinct person.”[23]
The Spirit is Wisdom and controls revelation, “we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. . .these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:7-10), “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Eph. 1:17). The Spirit convicts’ people of sin, righteousness, and judgement, “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. . .But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:8-13).
The Spirit rejuvenates or gives new life and lives in the believer’s body like staying in a temple. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:6). “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor. 6:19). The Spirit is the breath of new life, “And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:22), “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4).
The Spirit is the source of all spiritual gifts and blessings to the people and to the church. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.” (1 Cor. 12:4). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23).
Different Aspects of the Trinity
When researching the Trinity, there are several aspects that need to be viewed to get the best understanding of the Trinity. There are two different contrasts to view the Trinity: 1) before the creation of anything and how the Trinity has revealed Themselves to creation, 2) the roles of each of the Three Persons and the basic nature of God’s substance. Berkhof states, “God has entered into relations with us in His revelations of Himself, and supremely in Jesus Christ; and we Christians humbly claim that through this Self-revelation we do know God to be the true God, and have real acquaintance with His character and will.”[24]
Trinity Ad Intra and Trinity Ad Extra
Trinity Ad Intra and Trinity Ad Extra show two inseparable aspects of the Trinity where Trinity Ad Intra explains the eternal relationship between the Three Persons before creation and Trinity Ad Extra refers to the way the Three Persons revealed Themselves to Their creation. God only reveals what He wants known and these two aspects provide what is known based off what God has revealed through Scripture. Helmer explains, “When the Creator encounters creation through the unity of the essence, the revelation of the inner side becomes significant as the only way by which the Creator is known to be constituted by three persons. The symmetry between the inner and outer sides is established by the Christological center.”[25]
Trinity Ad Intra
God was before creation, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John 17:24). Even at the start of creation, the Son, the Word, is with the Father, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2). Jesus states that He was loved by the Father before the creation of the world (John 17:24). God never changes, He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow (Heb. 13:8).
There are Three Persons that are distinct, not the same. The Father is not the Son, the Father is not the Spirit, the Son is not the Spirit.[26] An example is where all Three Persons were present at Jesus Christ’s baptism, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” (Matt. 3:16-17).
Yarnell states, “God reveals himself to be Trinity because he is Trinity. The Trinity is the idiom of Scripture because he inspired his Word as such, and the Spirit illumines him as prominently and inextricably woven into the warp and woof of the text.”[27]
Trinity Ad Extra
God reveals Himself in different ways, but the doctrine of the Trinity has Christology as the foundation and is what makes the knowledge and concept of the Trinity necessary.[28] There is evidence for the Trinity in the Old Testament but like a detective novel or watching a movie for the second time, there are many clues that are originally missed the first time and some people would not understand them until they know the outcome. The Trinity is similar as evidence is scattered and opaque before the New Testament and its cumulative pointers.[29]
God reveals Himself through nature testifying to His glory revealing His works to those that are observant. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Ps. 19:1). The book of Hebrews states that God revealed himself to different prophets, and through His Son, who is the Creator of the universe, is the heir of all things. (Heb. 1:1-2)
The Three Persons show themselves in diverse ways, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Cor 13:14). This shows the grace of the Son, love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit are shown daily to believers. Each of these are distinct and meaningful to humanity.
In prayer, each of the Three Persons are addressed differently. Prayer is to the Father, in the Son’s name, and in the Spirit. “‘This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven,’” (Matt. 6:9). “Christ Jesus who died. . .is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Rom. 8:34). “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions” (Eph. 6:18). The Spirit intercedes in prayer and people’s hearts in accordance with God’s will, “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Rom. 8:26-27).
Economic Trinity and Ontological Trinity
Wolfhart Pannenberg states that the differences between the economic and ontological Trinity can be traced to eighteenth century theologian Johann Augustus Urlsperger (1728-1806).[30] Economy means the ordering of activities; Ontological means being. The Economic Trinity allocates how each of the Three Persons interact as They relate to the world.[31] With the ontological Trinity, all Three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal outside of time, space, and matter. The phrase, “ontological equality but economic subordination” means that each of the Three Persons are equal, none are inferior to another, in being, but subordinate in role. Each Person has an equally significant role. Lee explains, “The economic Trinity is the ground of cognition for the ontological Trinity, and the ontological Trinity is the ground of being for the economic Trinity.” [32]
These two aspects are inseparable because if there was no equality, then not all Three Persons would be fully God; if there was no economic subordination, then there are no distinct Three Persons for all eternity. It is important not to confuse subordination with inferiority as all Three Persons are co-equal to each other.
Economic Trinity
God’s interactions with humans are normally from the Father who is begetting the Son, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father (and the Son) to apply the economic relationship with humans.[33] Some examples include where the Son mentions that the Father will send the Spirit in Jesus name (John 14:26). The Son sends the Spirit from the Father. “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.” (John 15:26). The Son came from the Father as the Word and became flesh to dwell amongst humans. (John 1:14). With the salvation of humanity, the Father had a specific role where He sent His Son for salvation and redemption. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Each Person within the Trinity is a distinct Person and has a certain role within the Godhead. The Father owns generation, the Son has filiation, and the Spirit owns procession. Other parts of the Bible demonstrate where the Father preserves all things, creates, elects, and calls; the Son upholds all things and redeems; the Spirit is the source of all life and sanctifies.[34]
The Father is the architect who designed creation and redemption. The Son constructed the design and accomplished redemption. The Spirit proceeds from the Father (and the Son) to humans to apply redemption, regeneration, new spiritual life, sanctification, and empower believers for service through spiritual gifts. [35]
Ontological Trinity
None of the Three Persons are superior or inferior to another even though the terms Father, Son, and Spirit seem to be related to a hierarchy inside a chain of command. They are not, these terms are relative terms in how each person relates to the other two. The First Person is called Father because of His relation to the Second Person called Son because of his eternal relation to the First Person, not because of any relation assumed in time. The Third Person is called Spirit because of His relation to the First and Second.[36]
While there are distinct roles for each of the Three Persons in the economic Trinity, all the Three Persons are united, co-equal, and co-eternal. They are all equally divine and their attributes are inseparable from substance, and the Scriptures state that the Father, Son, and Spirit possess the same attributes which means that they are part of the same substance of power and glory.[37]
An example of unity is when the Son gives the Great Commission, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matt. 28:19). This passage shows that each Person is united, co-equally.
Berkhof states, “The whole undivided essence of God belongs equally to each of the three persons. This means that the divine essence is not divided among the three persons, but is wholly with all its perfection in each one of the persons, so that they have a numerical unity of essence.”[38] Jesus is fully God and fully man as He shares the divine nature and essence as the Father and the Spirit. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” (Col. 2:9). Jesus also lives forever (Heb. 7:24).
Conclusion
The study of the Trinity is not simply an academic exercise but a human quest to know how things look in light of the triune God. “Faith seeks understanding” is part of Christian life and is most fruitful when it is informed and renewed by our knowledge of God.[39] The doctrine of the Trinity must be divinely revealed, it is strange that no one identified it earlier. It is not held because it is self-evident or logically cogent, it is held because God has revealed that this is what He is like.”[40]
The doctrine of the Trinity defines that there is one God as Three Persons representing monotheism and not tritheism.[41] There are essential elements that define the doctrine according to how God has revealed Himself to His creation. There are different aspects to explain the Trinity and each aspect is supported with Scripture.
In conclusion, although the Trinity was not expressly stated, Scripture, particularly within the New Testament, contains so many suggestions of the Trinity that it is understandable why the church formulated the doctrine.[42] Huijgen states, “Even under the conditions of post-Enlightenment, historical-critical approaches of the Bible, traces of the Trinity show in the Old Testament, particularly in its depth structures and in the nature of God’s revelation.”[43] When researched properly, there is a Biblical basis for the Doctrine of the Trinity as one God as three persons.
** Note from Professor – An excellent job, Shawn! As your professor, I am encouraged by your quality participation in all activities of this class. My goal was to make you a better Christian thinker and writer, and I am very encouraged by your progress toward that end. It is my prayer that you will be successful in this academic endeavor and your subsequent ministry. – Dr. Jonathan Waita.
Bibliography
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. 4th rev. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949.
Davie, Martin, Tim Grass, Stephen R. Holmes, John McDowell, and Thomas A. Noble, editors. New Dictionary of Theology: Historical and Systematic. Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2016. Accessed May 5, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Erickson Millard J. Christian Theology, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.
Frame, John M. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2013. Accessed May 6, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Green, Gene L., Pardue, Stephen T., and Yeo, K. K., editors. The Trinity among the Nations: The Doctrine of God in the Majority World. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015. Accessed May 5, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2009. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=83321&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Lexham Press, 2015.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5153222.
Helmer, Christine. The Trinity and Martin Luther. Lexham Press, 2017.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5153219.
Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. vol. 1 Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.
Huijgen, Arnold. “Traces of the Trinity in the Old Testament: From Individual Texts to the Nature of Revelation.” International Journal of Systematic Theology. 19 (2017):251-270. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12222
Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction. Eerdmans, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5974993.
–––, and Letham Robert, editors, Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Kombo, James Henry Owino. Theological Models of the Doctrine of the Trinity: The Trinity, Diversity and Theological Hermeneutics. Langham Creative Projects, 2016.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5451147.
Lee, Seung Goo. “The Relationship between the Ontological Trinity and the Economic Trinity.” Journal of Reformed Theology. 3, no. 1 (January 2009): 90–107. doi:10.1163/156973109X403741.
Letham, Robert. Systematic Theology. Crossway, 2019.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=6005386.
Moltmann, Jü. Trinity and the Kingdom: IV: The World of the Trinity. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cdocument%7C4746119.
Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity. BRILL, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=6319538.
Murray, Michael. “Christian Theology: Introduction.” In Philosophy of Religion: A Reader and Guide. Edinburgh University Press, 2002, 543–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctvxcrdmw.42.
Oseka, Matthew. “Safeguarding The Unity: The History of the Interpretation Of…In Genesis 35:7.” Religious Studies and Theology. 37, no. 1 (2018), https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/safeguarding-unity-history-interpretation-genesis/docview/2082462343/se-2.
Ware, Bruce A. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance, Crossway, 2005.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=285101.
Yarnell, Malcolm B., III. God the Trinity: Biblical Portraits. B&H Publishing Group, 2016.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=4458815.
[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 293.
[2] Erickson, Christian Theology, 310.
[3] Martin Davie, et al., eds. New Dictionary of Theology: Historical and Systematic (Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2016), 925. Accessed May 5, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
[4] Michael Murray, “Christian Theology: Introduction,” in Philosophy of Religion: A Reader and Guide (Edinburgh University Press, 2002), 546. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctvxcrdmw.42.
[5] Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, (BRILL, 2020), 8.ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=6319538.
[6] Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen and Letham Robert, “Trinity, Triune God,” Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2008), 902.
[7] Matthew Oseka, “Safeguarding The Unity: The History of the Interpretation…In Genesis 35:7,” Religious Studies and Theology 37, no. 1 (2018): 22-46, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/safeguarding-unity-history-interpretation-genesis/docview/2082462343/se-2.
[8] Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (Lexham Press, 2015), 31.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5153222.
[9] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 447.
[10] James Henry Owino Kombo, Theological Models of the Doctrine of the Trinity: The Trinity, Diversity and Theological Hermeneutics (Langham Creative Projects, 2016), 1.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5451147.
[11] Bruce A. Ware, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance (Crossway, 2005).ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=285101.
[12] Hodge, Systematic Theology, 447.
[13] Erickson, Christian Theology, 300.
[14] Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction (Eerdmans, 2019), 324. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5974993.
[15] Erickson, Christian Theology, 295.
[16] Ibid., 293.
[17] Winston D. Persaud, “Lutheran Theology,” Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2008), 511.
[18] Kärkkäinen and Robert, “Trinity,” 902.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Erickson, Christian Theology, 296.
[21] Ibid., 297.
[22] Hodge, Systematic Theology, 523.
[23] Hodge, Systematic Theology, 447.
[24] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology 4th rev. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), Relations of the Being and Attributes of God.
[25] Christine Helmer, The Trinity and Martin Luther (Lexham Press, 2017), 163.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5153219.
[26] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2009), 231. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=83321&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
[27] Malcolm B. Yarnell, III, God the Trinity: Biblical Portraits (B&H Publishing Group, 2016), 238.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=4458815.
[28] Jü Moltmann, Trinity and the Kingdom: IV: The World of the Trinity (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993), 114. https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cdocument%7C4746119.
[29] Robert Letham, Systematic Theology (Crossway, 2019), 54.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=6005386.
[30] Seung Goo Lee, “The Relationship between the Ontological Trinity and the Economic Trinity,” Journal of Reformed Theology 3, no. 1 (January 2009): 91. doi:10.1163/156973109X403741.
[31] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 248.
[32] Lee, “The Relationship,” 91.
[33] Lee, “The Relationship,” 91.
[34] Hodge, Systematic Theology, 445.
[35] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 249.
[36] Hodge, Systematic Theology, 472.
[37] Ibid., 444.
[38] Berkhof, Systematic Theology, God as Triunity in Unity.
[39] Gene L. Green, Pardue, Stephen T., and Yeo, K. K., eds., The Trinity among the Nations: The Doctrine of God in the Majority World (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015), 9. Accessed May 5, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
[40] Erickson, Christian Theology, 313.
[41] John M. Frame, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2013), 408. Accessed May 6, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
[42] Erickson, Christian Theology, 302.
[43] Arnold Huijgen, “Traces of the Trinity in the Old Testament: From Individual Texts to the Nature of Revelation,” International Journal of Systematic Theology 19, (2017):251-270. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12222