Of God and of the Holy Trinity, II:3

In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

The Confession concludes this second chapter with a remarkably brief description of the doctrine of the Trinity but manages to say a great deal in a short space.

The oneness of God has already been established. Yet it is also unmistakable that the Scriptures speak of three discernable divine personalities: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully God, not merely a part of him, co-equal and co-eternal. It is frequently charged that the doctrine is unbiblical, for nowhere in Scripture may we find the word "trinity." Aside from the obvious fallacy in that argument it is abundantly clear that the doctrine is entirely biblical. While not taught explicitly in either the Old or New Testament it is implicit in many scriptural statements that, expecially when taken in aggregate (the whole counsel of God), uphold this central teaching of Christianity.

Another common accusation is that the doctrine is contradictory. How can 1+1+1=1, is the way the objection is typically put. But this confuses categories. Trinitarian Christians maintain that God is one in essence and three in person. One in one category and three in another category. This may be mysterious but it is not contradictory. A true contradiction would occur if we were to insist that God is simultaneously one in essence and three in essence, or one in person and three in person.

The Confession speaks of God the Son as "eternally begotten of the Father," borrowing the language of John 1 among other passages. The Son had no beginning, contrary to the ideas of Arius. He always has been. In being he is equal with the Father. In role he voluntarily submits to the will of the Father (e.g., John 5:30).

The Holy Spirit proceeds (or is sent) eternally from both Father and Son. Here the Confession takes the Western view of the filioque controversy, which only makes sense given the Puritan heritage from Latin Christianity. As it happens, the Western view is also the biblical view.

Concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, the three principles that must always be kept in mind are strict monotheism, tri-personality, and the eternal co-equality of the persons. When any of these truths are denied, heresy results. A failure to uphold monotheism leads to polytheism; failure to maintain tri-personality leads to modalism; failure to keep eternal equality leads to subordinationism.

A good resource for Trinitiarian Christians seeking more understanding of this doctrine is The Forgotten Trinity by James White. The book is intentionally not apologetic in nature, although anyone who reads it and comes to a more complete understanding of the Bible's teaching on this subject will be better prepared to meet objections.

Tomorrow: The Confession on God summarized.