trinity in the old testament

In light of this revelation, can we expect to see traces of the Trinity revealed in the Old Testament as well? Instructor: Although the truth of the Trinity is materially present within Scripture, it requires a sort of discourse that proceeds according to different — and largely extra-scriptural — principles of investigation for that truth to come into crisp doctrinal focus. and The Trinity Chart on … The New Testament writers follow the lead of Jesus himself in creatively rereading their Scriptures in the light of who he is and what he has done. Contrary to the claims of some, the Old Testament teaches both the oneness and plurality of God. But we discover Jesus and the Holy Spirit as distinct persons who are also God. This gives you an enriched understanding of the document as a whole. While they were concerned faithfully and fully to articulate the material truth of the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, the philosophical vantage points from which they did so were not, for the most part, native to — or at least typical of — the Scriptures themselves. Throughout the Old Testament we catch glimpses of an agent of Yahweh who sometimes behaves as if he were the presence of the Lord, and at other times he appears to be an emissary. We do not need to sort out all the layers of these questions here. Some of them provide a good demonstration of the elements of trinitarianism in the Old Testament. While the word Elohim has the distinct im ending that marks it as plural, Elohim seems to be an agent of singular verb actions. The mysterious way in which the Angel of YHWH can speak of God in both the first and third person invites reflection. In the next verse the Son is more clearly identified as God. “When Christians see Christ and the Trinity in the Old Testament, we are following the New Testament’s own lead.” The later philosophical discourse that played midwife to a Christian doctrine of the Trinity is by no means either illegitimate or … The clearest allusion to the mystery of the Blessed Trinity in the Old Testament is probably the so-called Trisagion [“thrice holy”] of Isaias (VI, 3): “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of Hosts, all the earth is full of his glory,” which is rightly made much of by many Fathers and not a few theologians. I pronounce you husband and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It is often assumed that the doctrine of the Trinity – the idea that there is one being of God that is comprised of three eternal and co-equal divine persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) – is something that is revealed only in the incarnation of the Son, between the penning of … It is in re-reading that some magic may lie.”. A fuller understanding of the identity of Christ and the Trinity emerges only gradually out of reflection upon the more complex portrait of the realm and operations of heaven and its beings, something that was already well underway by the time of the New Testament, exciting intense speculation within apocryphal, deuterocanonical, and other Jewish literature around figures or personifications such as the Son of Man, the Archangel Michael, Enoch, Logos, and Wisdom. A piece of mine reflecting upon the doctrine of the Trinity within the Old Testament has just been posted over on the Desiring God website:. Like a dog with a particularly juicy bone, he returns to his chosen text again and again, worrying at it and aiming to get all the goodness out of it for the benefit of his readers.”. Northrop Frye argues that “the critical operation begins with reading a work straight through, as many times as may be necessary to possess it in totality. It’s easy to turn doctrinal discussions into strictly intellectual affairs, but as... Get expert commentary on biblical languages, fresh explorations in theology, hand-picked book excerpts, author videos, and info on limited-time sales. There is a perennial danger of retrojecting a developed philosophical doctrine of the Trinity into texts operating within a very different horizon. Engaging them with a trinitarian understanding sheds new light on their possible implications. 2:7; Isa. Learn more about the doctrine of the Trinity. ‘Do not do anything to him. Whether they are spoken in a small, intimate ceremony or at the very large wedding of important personages like Prince Charles and Lady Diana a few years ago, all who personally attend the ceremon… Perhaps one of the most distinctive features of such passages is their careful use of prepositional rather than substantial distinctions between the persons of the Trinity — “from” the Father, “through” or “by” the Son, “in” the Holy Spirit — presenting us with a single yet internally differentiated act of one God in three persons. Question: Is the Trinity taught in the Old Testament? Rereading is a mode of the New Testament’s use of the Old. Or again, a reader who continues through to the end of the New Testament learns a great many surprising things about this God, and a rereading of Genesis 1 in this case is enriched by the knowledge that the God who raised Jesus from the dead created the heavens and the earth. In Images of the Spirit, Meredith Kline observes the diverse forms of theophanies, where the Angel can appear with or without the Glory phenomena of the Spirit. How do we read these passages in a way that will preserve their mystery and shed some light on what we learn about the godhead from the New Testament? It is here that, as we follow the New Testament’s guidance, we can see the fullest revelations of the Trinity in the Old Testament. Sign up for Fred Sanders’ Triune God online course. Those words of the Anglican marriage ceremony will be heard often during the month of June, the traditional wedding season. He speaks as God in the first person (Genesis 16:10; 22:11–18; 31:11) and is addressed as God by human beings (Genesis 16:13; Judges 13:22) and by the Scriptures themselves (Exodus 3:2–4). As all created powers retreat from view, rather than merely seeing the divinity of three detached agents, we see the unity of the one triune God in his indivisible activity. These are passages where the Lord speaks of himself or the Messiah in a repetitive, reduplicative way: The repetitive expressions of God in some Old Testament passages may point to various persons in the Trinity. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214 USA) providing information about products and services of HCCP and its affiliates. This, it must be observed, continues a work of demythologization that distinguishes the Old Testament itself from the ancient Near Eastern literature contemporary with it, the gods of whose polytheistic pantheons were typically fickle, flawed, and limited sexual beings with origin stories, conceptually and metaphysically imprisoned within the changeable material realm of creation itself. At different times, God speaks about himself using singular pronouns and at others, he opts for plural ones: Outside of the the New Testament’s revelation of the Trinity, it’s hard to make sense of the singular/plural dichotomy in these passages. This is especially true of the Old Testament, but also of the New, and must be remembered when we seek to discover the Trinity in the Old Testament. The Trinity In The Old Testament BY HENRY M. MORRIS, PH.D. | SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2005 "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and His Spirit, hath sent me" (Isaiah 48:16). Is the Trinity taught in the Old Testament. The doctrine of the Trinity is … When Christians see Christ and the Trinity in the Old Testament, we are following the New Testament’s own lead. Successful novelists from Jane Austen to J. K. Rowling prove themselves to their fans not by how good their books are for reading but for rereading. A lot of older theologies ask, “What is the ultimate reason why two names are given to us right at the beginning of Scripture?” Within that question is an analysis—one that relies on an assumption. The revelation of the Trinity comes with the revelation of the gospel. Basil the Blessed on Moscow’s Red Square. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. She lost her son, her health, and her marriage, and still believes so. When Christians see Christ and the Trinity in the Old Testament, we are following the New Testament’s own lead. The Gospels present Christ in the mold of a pre-existent heavenly being, one who has “come” — as angels might — on an earthly mission. Bonaventure observed that “no one can appreciate the beauty of a poem unless his vision embraces it as a whole.”, Rereading delivers an “awareness of the totality of the text” and allows for “intercommunication” of textual features by correcting against “inherently linear models of reading.”. For Instructors and School Administrators. Genesis 1:27 is complimented by Genesis 2:18 (LXX), 3:22, 11:7, 20:30; Isaiah 6:8, and 41:21-24, Deuteronomy 4:7, and many more. What is required for doctrinal interpretation of the Old Testament is a hermeneutical framework that acknowledges the complex structure of revelation, and an approach to reading the documents that precede and follow the revelation. But normative first reading could be a side effect of romanticism, which expects textual love at first sight, or of scientism, which expects self-evident meaning to be transferred at a single reading that does not need to be savored for its literary quality. Nonetheless, even in such demythologization, the biblical witness to God overwhelmingly operates within the frame of the creation and history. A rereading of Genesis 1 is in this case enriched by the knowledge that the God of the Exodus created the heavens and the earth. It is these verses, in part, that lay down the foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity. Here are five quotes from the … For more information on the Trinity, please see What is the Trinity? Critics argue that since the Trinity isn’t overtly mentioned ... To contemplate the Trinity is to lift up your heart and to “set your mind on the things above” (Col. 3:2). I. Watchtower Hypocrisy: When the Watchtower says, "the concept of trinity as revealed in the New Testament, is not taught in the Old Testament".They are right, but many concepts that are taught in the New Testament like the Trinity, were merely alluded to in the Old Testament. Pursue a deeper knowledge of God through self-paced college- and seminary-level online courses in Old and New Testament studies, theology, biblical Greek, and more. For example, in Genesis 1:26 God … Similar to the personification of wisdom in the Old Testament, many things said about the Spirit “going forth” or “being with” seem to indicate agency. Not until the NT era did the Son become incarnate and the Holy Spirit descend to permanently indwell believers, which allowed God’s triune nature to become clear. The eye of the mind can scan the whole, ranging backward and forward in it. Genesis 1:26 "Let US make man in OUR image": Three plural pronouns, (We, Us, Our) used 6 different times in four different passages: Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8. 6:4; Job 33:4; Psa. Please check errors and resubmit. This allows you to understand the sense that individual parts make on their own, but help you also grasp the higher meaning that is generated by understanding them in relation to each other. We’re left wondering if this is just a way of talking about God or if it’s an agent sent from God. The doctrine of the Trinity is interwoven throughout the entire warp and woof of the Old Testament; it is not merely found in a discrete passage or proof-text here and there. God the Son is speaking in this verse. Genesis 1 says that God created the heavens and the earth. One way we can do this and maintain interpretive integrity is by rereading. The Old Testament gave glimpses of the Trinity, and no passage of Scripture contradicts the doctrine. Whole new vistas of insight and enjoyment open up to the reader who returns to certain well-structured books, where there is a palpable frisson between intuiting the whole text at once and reclaiming the linear experience of another trip through it. A rereading of Genesis 1 is enriched by the knowledge that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob created the heavens and the earth. If you have any questions, please review our, Fred Sanders is Professor of Theology at Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute. ): In the Beginning, The Triune God Creates the Universe. Arising out of the crucible of christological and theological debates in the early centuries of the church, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity expresses the mystery of God that is the heart of all revelation. In Russia: The Muscovite period …Dionisy and Andrey Rublyov (whose Old Testament Trinity, now in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, is among the most revered icons ever painted).Russian architects continued to design and build impressive churches, including the celebrated Cathedral of St. Copyright © 2020 HarperCollins Publishers. the Lord turn his face toward you For instance, from the early church, Christian thinkers have seen a shadowy witness to the Trinity in the “let us” of Genesis 1:26. There are points in the Old Testament where God’s very word is personified as it would be if God’s Word referenced Jesus. Many theologians would suggest it does. the Lord make his face shine on you And the New Testament authors invite us to reread the creation narrative in a way that perceives his agency. Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity —the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence (from the Greek ousia). It has served more fully and consistently to disclose the eternal, uncreated, living God who exists independent of all created things. As we have seen, the doctrine of the Trinity comes into clearer view as the Creator-creature distinction is applied to the realm of the Divine Council and figures such as the Angel of YHWH and the Holy Spirit are recognized as God himself. In recent years, we’ve seen a resurgence of arguments against Christian theology using the doctrine of the Trinity as a proof. Probably the clearest statement on the Trinity in the Old Testament is Isaiah 48:16, because it demonstrates an Old Testament belief in the three Persons of the Trinity. Literary theorist E. K. Brown has said, “There is nothing magical in reading. Many think that the angel of the Lord is a Christophany—a manifestation that, while distinct from God, is also God. However, it is considerably more likely that the plurality seen in this text relates, first and foremost, to the Divine Council — a monotheist form of the assembly of the gods one encounters in various ancient Near Eastern cosmologies. As the theologian Anthony Rogers pointed out, the trinity is found throughout the entire warp and woof of the Old Testament. We know it includes, “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”. Arising out of the crucible of christological and theological debates in the early centuries of the church, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity expresses the mystery of God that is the heart of all revelation. In fact, there are many places in the Old Testament where we can see little seeds of faith that would later bear fruit. Critics of the doctrine of the Trinity often claim that the theology of the Old Testament is inconsistent with orthodox Christian theology. This sheds new light on the on many of the Old Testament references to God’s Word. online course on the doctrine of the Trinity. The same can be said of the Spirit of God, which is both distinguished from and identified with God, manifested in such things as the Shekinah cloud. Third, God creates as he gives life, breath, and strength by his indwelling power. Though there are numerous examples of the Trinity, many found in the New Testament, below are a few examples of the Trinity in the Old Testament. Come listen to Mary and Elizabeth marvel at the miracles being birthed within them. The following post is adapted from this course. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from, “On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them.”—. Scripture, religiously experienced, is obviously another key site of rereading. It captures the ambiguity and concealment of the original writings, but also accounts for the progressive revelation and the attendant growth in understanding of the earlier material. Or again, a reader who continues through to Deuteronomy learns even more about his character and his ways. The later philosophical discourse that played midwife to a Christian doctrine of the Trinity is by no means either illegitimate or inappropriate, as some more biblicist thinkers have suggested. Enhance your school’s traditional and online education programs by easily integrating online courses developed from the scholars and textbooks you trust. A reader who continues through Genesis knows where the story goes from there, and learns a great deal about the character of the God of the first chapter. While the truths of the Trinity are found in the Old Testament, it is only in the New Testament that we find the doctrine fully revealed. These theophanic manifestations reveal God, while not being directly identified as God. Some of them provide a good demonstration of the … From the beginning God introduces himself to man as Elohim. As soon as the Trinity is revealed in the New Testament and we have a clear revelatory statement about what’s going on in regards to the godhead, it throws a light back on the things we’ve seen in the Old Testament. There … Christian readers do not have to strain their eyes to see glimpses of the Trinity here. Second, God creates as the maker of concrete reality, the one whose hands formed the dry land, who holds all things in order. Does the Old Testament contradict the doctrine of the Trinity? Two pregnancies tell the story of Christmas. Quite the opposite! Accepting the invitation to reread the creation in the light of the more developed New Testament doctrine of the Trinity, we can begin to see a fuller manifestation of the threefoldness of the Creator incipient within it. It seems throughout the Old Testament that the Spirit is the self-conscious immanence of God, as well as the revelation of God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”—Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (emphasis added). The Angel and the Spirit are not merely individually associated with YHWH, but are intimately connected with each other. The Holy Trinity is an important subject of iconographic representation in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and has a rather different treatment from depictions in the Western Churches.There are two different types of Holy Trinity icons: the Old Testament Trinity and the New Testament Trinity (Троица Ветхозаветная and Троица Новозаветная in Russian). Because of this New Testament revelation, Christian orthodoxy relies on an understanding of God as a Trinity—one living and true God who exists eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The most referenced example of this is Numbers 6:24–26: “The Lord bless you Gen 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” First, God creates as the transcendent speaker, the one who sends out his own Word to bring things into being from nothing. Your form could not be submitted. The result is a doctrine that speaks to deep realities that are often only penumbral to the revelation of Scripture itself, within which the sort of philosophical concerns regarding being that would exercise later theological minds emerge only sporadically and tangentially. Jesus promises us the Spirit in the New Testament, and in Acts we see the Spirit’s advent at Pentecost. Rereading is a crucial exegetical practice. The Bible teaches a plurality within the Godhead in both the Old and New Testaments. We’re on a mission to change that. Sophisticated trinitarians grant this, holding that thedoctrine was revealed by God only later, in New Testament times(c.50–c.100) and/or in the Patristic era (c. 100–800).They usually also add, though, that with hindsight, we can see that anumber … Here are a just a few examples of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit — in the Old Testament (there are many more! Trinity, in Christian doctrine, the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. It would irresponsible to translate Elohim as gods as in “In the beginning the gods created the heavens and the earth.” So it seems that that this name of God that is plural in nature could also point to the coming New Testament revelation of the Trinity. Dr. Fred Sanders. From such a picture, further details of the creation account may also be revealed in a new aspect: the Spirit hovering over the primeval waters, the archetypal Image of God in which humanity is created, the light that first dawns in creation, and more. Even in the book of Revelation, this remains the chief context in which God is revealed: not in his eternal, invisible, uncreated transcendence, but in variegated theophanic manifestations in the created realm of a heavenly throne room and assembly — the throne, the Lamb, and the sevenfold Spirit, surrounded by four living creatures, twenty-four elders, seraphim, cherubim, various angelic ministers, and redeemed human beings. In the book of Proverbs, we are introduced to the wisdom of God personified as a woman. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. It’s hard to summarize exactly what that distinction is because it’s never stated as simply as “the Father is Elohim and the son is Yahweh.” Instead, it’s a witness to a diversity of naming that establishes what’s going on within one God. In the New Testament, Christians are given a new lens through which they see God. Christ is not merely an exalted heavenly being, but he performed the work of creation itself as God. 63:16; Overview.Those who reject the Trinity sometimes point to the Old Testament for support insisting that the doctrine is not taught there and therefore should be rejected. Francis Watson, in Text, Church and World, remarks upon three inseparably interwoven models of creation that we encounter in Genesis 1, each revealing something both of God himself and of his relation with his creation. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: How Is One God Three Persons? In addition, the Old Testament has also been interpreted as foreshadowing the Trinity, by referring to God's word (Psalm 33:6), his spirit (Isaiah 61:1), and Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1), as well as narratives such as the appearance of the three men to Abraham. Does the personification of wisdom in Proverbs allude to a trinitarian reality? Rereading is the key hermeneutical category for this kind of interpretation. 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