Posted by Richard Smit on September 22, 2005 at 05:46:13:
The Christian Church has always focused its attention on those doctrines which were under attack at any given time.
When the New Testament was being written, the Apostles were answering the heresies of their day. The book of Galatians was written to answer the Judaizers who denied salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.
Colossians, 1 John and 2 John were written to answer the Gnostics who denied the humanity of Jesus Christ and the Incarnation.
The authors of the New Testament responded to those who challenged the Gospel in their day. As time went on, new heresies arose which required the Christian Church to be more precise in its definitions.
Even today the Christian Church has to respond to the heresy of process theology by giving more precise definitions of the omni-attributes of God.
But let it not be forgotten that, when the Christian Church is forced by heretics to be more precise in its understanding and definitions of a particular doctrine, this does not mean that the doctrine was not part of her beliefs from the very beginning.
So for instance, when we turn to the New Testament to see whether the Trinity is present, we do not expect or demand that it be present in its final doctrinal form worked out by theologians at Nicea and Chalcedon in response to the heresies of their day.
The doctrine of the Trinity was not under attack while the New Testament was being written. The deity of the Messiah and the Spirit were not challenged. There was no need to defend the Trinity because it was not under attack. Therefore we do not expect to find the authors responding to the heresies which later plagued the Christian Church.
What then do Christians expect to find in the New Testament.
We expect to find the bud of the flower which bloomed in Nicea. We expect to find the authors indicating that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. We expect to find the multi-personal nature of God in which The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are viewed as constituting one God. This is exactly what we find in the New Testament.
We also expect to find the authors describing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in ways which reveal that they assumed that the Three were One in nature.
Lastly, we expect to find the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit described as working together as One, to accomplish different goals.
A good example of this is in Ephesians
Ephesians 1:3-6 The Father is praised for choosing us
Ephesians 1:7-12 The Son is praised for dying for us
Ephesians 1:13-14 The Spirit is praised for sealing us
The relationship between the Father and Son is clearly stated in John 10:30
“I and the Father are one”
The unity of the Trinity is clearly stated in 2 Corinthians 13:14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit, be with you all”
The Apostle Paul states that through Jesus Christ we gain access by the Holy Spirit to the Father
Ephesians 2:18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit
to the Father.
The authors of the New Testament believed that God was Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
They appealed to Them in prayer and worshipped Them.
So should we, in truth and in love.
All of the above:
Extracted from one of the 29 books written by Robert Morey
“The Trinity – Evidence and Issues” (587pages)
World Publishing Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
A highly recommendable author to read with some books titled:
Satan’s Devices
Islamic Invasion
How To Keep Your Kids Drug Free
Is Allah Just Another Name for God
Death And The Afterlife