A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Benjamin Montoya
About the Author
Donald MacLeod served as professor of systematic theology at the Free Church of Scotland College in Edinburgh for more than thirty years. He is author of The Person of Christ and most recently Christ Crucified.
Introduction
The word “Trinity” is nowhere in the Bible; nevertheless, the doctrine is taught throughout the Bible. Throughout Church History, theologians have argued for this doctrine. This doctrine has also influenced all parts of theology beginning with how we understand God, how we relate to one another, what life in the church looks like, and the relevance of the doctrine of the Trinity to the Christian life. This doctrine, however, has received its fair share of attacks from cults and other world religions like Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The doctrine, however, remains strong in the face of these challenges.
Table of Contents
Part 1 One God: Three Persons
Chapter 1 Evidence from the Bible
Chapter 2 The First Christian Thinkers
Part 2 Trinitarian Religion
Chapter 3 Our Understanding of God
Chapter 4 Our Attitude to Human Beings
Chapter 5 Our Life as the Church
Chapter 6 The Trinity and the Christian Life
Part 3 Under Attack
Chapter 7 Judaism and Islam
Chapter 8 Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses
Part 1: One God: Three Persons
Chapter 1: Evidence from the Bible
Although the word “Trinity” is nowhere in the Bible, the concept is. The doctrine can be defined as follows: God is one; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons. These concepts are taught throughout the Bible. The word “Trinity” is our way of summarizing the teaching of the Bible.
The Old Testament teaches us first, that God is one. Perhaps the most commonly cited verse for this point is Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Most of the other world religions at the time of the writing of this book were polytheistic, believing in many gods. The God of the Bible reveals himself as monotheistic. Second, the OT teaches that God is more than one. For example, the very Hebrew word used most often for God’s name is a plural term, Elohim. This does not mean that the grammar itself teaches the Trinity; rather, the grammar points to it. Repeatedly God will use plural pronouns to refer to Himself when we would expect singular pronouns, e.g., “Let us make man in our image” (Gen 1:26). Similarly, there is a character in the OT known as “the angel of the Lord” who is distinguished from the Lord in the OT (Gen 16:11) but is also identified with the Lord in the OT (Gen 31:11–13). The OT itself does not flesh out the doctrine of the Trinity clearly for us; rather, it hints at it. The NT, however, tells us more.
In the NT, the Trinity is revealed in several ways. First, it is seen in salvation: each person contributes to it. Second, the Trinity is presupposed. It is in the background without ever being explained fully. They also do not use the theologically specific terms that we use like Trinity, person, essence, nature, and substance; those developed throughout Church History to clarify what was meant and to distinguish the doctrine and the meanings of those terms from what was not meant in response to heresy. Third, the unity of God is re-emphasized in the NT (James 2:19). Some examples of texts will help illustrate these points. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus explains that Christians should be baptized in the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (three persons). The plural “names” would have been expected, but Jesus carefully presents the doctrine of the Trinity. Also, in John’s Gospel, he explains, “the Word was God,” meaning that Jesus himself is God. Similarly, Paul also refers to the Trinity in his letters as he writes texts that show that Jesus is God (Phil 2:6). . . .
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