| The doctrine of the Trinity is certainly central to Christianity; it describes the relationships among the three members of the Godhead. This doctrine is wholly consistent with the overall teaching of Scripture. At the center of this doctrine is the question of how God can be both one and three. The early Christians did not want to lose their Jewish monotheistic beliefs while worshipping and exalting their Savior Jesus Christ. Multiple heresies emerged as men tried to explain God without becoming truly "tritheists" ... and the Jews were quick to accuse many of this. Christians argued that Old Testament Jewish monotheism did not exclude the believer from embracing the Trinity. The apex of the Trinitarian formulation occurred at the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381. We owe the expression of the orthodox view of the Trinity to this council. As time allows, we will add to this portion of the Joy Ministries site more information on the development of the Doctrine of the Trinity. We will look back at the early church fathers and their attempts at wrestling this thorny issue. Throughout, it will be important to remember that the Doctrine of the Trinity was not "invented" but was developed in response to heretical ideas put forth over time by men not willing to ascertain the whole counsel of the Word of God. |
Writings were passionate about Christ. They accepted that Christ was from God and the He is preexistent but were fuzzy about their theology and the development of the Dcotrine of the Trinity made little forward movement.
There was increasing persecution toward Christians. This forced Christian writers to state more often and more precisely the teaching, clearly biblical, of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Some examples:
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