Trinity in the Early Christian Church

Published: 17 Dec 2018 · Uploaded: 17 Dec 2018 Watch on Youtube.com
2887 views · 10 mins ago 2:56

TAGS TRINITY 165 TRINITARIAN 22 EARLY CHRISTIAN 48

Video Description (from Youtube)

Many have argued that the Trinity took 100s of years to develop in the church and no one was clear on Jesus and the Spirit being God. And yet in this brief video it is obvious that Christians leaders (soon after the apostles) already believed the Son and Spirit were involved in the Genesis creation together with the Father; even creating all mankind in their image. If the Father spoke to His Son, "Let Us make man in Our image" then the Son preexisted as fully divine in distinction from the Father (see Hebrews 1:1-3, John 1:1-3, 10, 14, 18). Same with the Spirit of the LORD (cf. Genesis 1:2, Job 33:4). In distinction and yet the same God since Genesis 1 clearly taught YHWH Elohim, the one God of the universe, created the heavens and the earth alone (and never the angels as Irenaeus and Tertullian argued). The early church then believed the three subsistences were divine and coeternal. This coincides with the Scriptures when it declares that all creation is "from" the Father and "through" the Son (1 Corinthians 8:6, Hebrews 1:2).

Here are the quotes for your convenience:

Letter of Barnabas (80-150 A.D.) ch.5 p.140: “For the Scripture says concerning us, while He speaks to the Son, ‘Let us make man after Our image, and after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the beasts of the earth, the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea.’”

Irenaeus of Lyons (182-188 A.D.): “It was not angels, therefore, who made us, nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an image of God, nor any one else, except the Word of the Lord, nor any Power remotely distant from the Father of all things. For God did not stand in need of these, in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with Himself beforehand should be done, as if He did not possess His own hands. For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, ‘Let Us make man after Our image and likeness;’”, Irenaeus Against Heresies book 4, ch.20.1, p.487

Tertullian (c.213 A.D.): Nay, it was because He had already His Son close at His side, as a second Person, His own Word, and a third Person also, the Spirit in the Word, that He purposely adopted the plural phrase, ‘Let us make;’ and, ‘in our image;’ and, ‘become as one of us.’” Against Praxeas ch.12 p.606

Origen (250-254 A.D.) “For the Son of God, 'the First-born of all creation,' although He seemed recently to have become incarnate, is not by any means on that account recent. For the holy Scriptures know Him to be the most ancient of all the works of creation; for it was to Him that God said regarding the creation of man, 'Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” Origen Against Celsus book 5 ch.37 p.560

Novatian (250-257 A.D.): “For who does not acknowledge that the person of the Son is second after the Father, when he reads that it was said by the Father, consequently to the Son, ‘Let us make man in our image and our likeness;’ and that after this it was related, ‘And God made man, in the image of God made He him?’ Or when he holds in his hands: ‘The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone from the Lord from heaven?’” Concerning the Trinity ch.26. p.636

Athanasius (c.318 A.D.):“But in fact He did not do so; but He gives the command thus: “Let us make man,” and “let the green herb come forth.” By which God is proved to be speaking about them to some one at hand: it follows then that some one was with Him to Whom He spoke when He made all things. 6. Who then could it be, save His Word? For to whom could God be said to speak, except His Word? Or who was with Him when He made all created Existence, except His Wisdom, which says “When He was making the heaven and the earth I was present with Him?” But in the mention of heaven and earth, all created things in heaven and earth are included as well. 7. But being present with Him as His Wisdom and His Word, looking at the Father He fashioned the Universe, and organised it and gave it order; and, as He is the power of the Father, He gave all things strength to be, as the Saviour says “What things soever I see the Father doing, I also do in like manner.” And His holy disciples teach that all things were made “through Him and unto Him;'” Against the Heathen, ch.46 p.29

Additional quote (not used in the video):

Tertullian (198-220 A.D.) “For so did the Father previously say to the Son: ‘Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.’ And God made man, that is to say, the creature which He moulded and fashioned; after the image of God (in other words, of Christ) did He make him And the Word was God also, who being in the image of God, ‘thought it not robbery to be equal to God.’” On the Resurrection of the Flesh ch.6 p.549

Shared on: 17 Dec 2018

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