In 2024, the primary feature of the Sermonator will be a line-by-line exposition of the Athanasian Creed, from Scripture. The Athanasian Creed (ca. 450 A.D.) declares the orthodox doctrines of 1) the Trinity (lines 1-26); and 2) the two natures of Christ (lines 27-40).

Lesson from the Creed

Now this is the catholic* faith: That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.

Athanasian Creed, Lines 3-4

* The word catholic here means universal. Or, what all Christians have believed in all times.

Supporting Scriptures and Explanations

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV)

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (James 2:19)

Two things are quite apparent when we read these passages in concert: First, God is one; and, Second, yet when God speaks from within Himself, He says: Let us make man in our image. These two facts must be accounted for. There is one God; yet, God speaks as an us.

Now, in Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim who attend the throne of God sing: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! There is one God; yet He is called holy, holy, holy. Three times holy.

It’s popular even for otherwise orthodox biblical scholars and theologians to argue that this thrice-holiness means that holiness is a sort of uber-attribute of God. But if they would pause and consider that, there is a problem with this logic. Divine simplicity would demand that there is no attribute of God that is greater than the others, for whatever God has, God has in perfection; and whatever God is, He is perfectly. Therefore, there can be no greater than or less than in God. There can be no uber-attribute.

But God is one, yet God is also an us. Couldn’t the cry of holy, holy, holy then be a cue that points to three personal distinctions in the one God?

The light of the New Testament confirms this. That God is both one and three is affirmed in our baptism. For Jesus commands: go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 EHV). We are baptized into the name (singular, one name) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (three persons).

Likewise, St. Paul declares: There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6). There is one God and Father of all. There is one, Lord—the Son Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6!). And there is one Spirit.

And so we have the Trinity. Tri– means three; plus unity means one. Triunity. Trinity!

And so, we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, as the Creed confesses. The one God is in Trinity; and the Trinity is one.

Now, other monotheistic faiths, like Judaism, Islam, and Unitarianism, protest that this is nonsense. Three cannot be one. And yet in our Scriptures, we read that in marriage, man and woman, though two … become one flesh (Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭31‬; cf. Genesis 2:24). Male and female are both human in their essence; but the man and wife are distinct. We must not press this analogy further than this. The point is, one essence or substance may involve more than one person.

It is just as important to note that we worship the trinity in unity. That is, worship, prayer, and faith are owed to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alike. If anyone forbids, say, prayer to the Son, or hymns sung to the Spirit, they are misguided. It would be odd indeed if Christians weren’t allowed to speak to or praise God!

Likewise, the Creed warns us against blending their persons or dividing their essence (or substance).

The error of blending their persons is called Modalism. This heresy teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three forms of one person. But this renders any passages where Christ prays to the Father schizophrenic. He would simply be talking to Himself.

Likewise, the error of dividing their substance is the error of the Arians (who denied that the Son is God) and the Pneumatomachi (who denied that the Holy Spirit is God). Dividing their substance means trying to make the Son and the Spirit something other or less than the Father. We see this heresy recycled among the Jehovah’s Witnesses today. There is also a popular form of this error being taught in many “evangelical” churches today, under the names of Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS); or Eternal Functional Subordination (EFS); or Eternal Relationships of Authority and Submission (ERAS). More will be said about this particular error in a subsequent post.

If we would find a clear scriptural warrant for the Creed’s warning against blending their persons or dividing their essence, we need look no further than the account of Christ’s baptism in Matthew 3:16-17: And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus is the Son. The Holy Spirit comes to rest on Him. And the Father speaks, testifying to Christ’s identity. All three persons of the Trinity are present together, yet distinct.

Now, this doctrine of the Trinity is highly practical to the Christian life. First, we are saved by one God in trinity and the trinity in unity. For example, we are told that Christ the Son through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, to purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). The Son offered His life to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, that we might be saved.

Likewise, Galatians 4:4-6 says when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” The Son was sent by the Father to redeem us from the curse of the law. And through faith in the Son, we receive the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it (Ephesians 1:14); and who himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭16‬).

The Father sent the Son. The Son has redeemed us. And the Spirit applies the redemption to us, with all of its blessings.

Likewise, the Triune God embraces us completely in salvation. Notice St. Paul’s benediction to the Corinthians: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). We stand continually in the grace of Christ. We are kept in the Father’s love. And by the Spirit, we enjoy communion with God and fellowship with each other.

So the doctrine of the Trinity is this practical: If God is not the Trinity, there is no gospel; there is no salvation; and there is no Church. How’s that for relevance?