When eating an apple, one must consider the complex nature of the thing. It is composed of the meat, the core, and the skin, yet it remains one apple. This can be compared to the nature of God, since God is three, yet one. The early Church faced many daunting challenges, but none as divisive as how to conceive and codify the inconceivable: the triune God. The modern concept of the Trinity as “three in one” led to many misconceptions—both recent and remote. This doctrinal issue reached its zenith in the fourth century. The concept of the Trinity brought confusion, controversy, and heretical teachings to the Church; resolution was found through the creeds and councils of Christendom.
The Trinity is essentially “God in three persons” as the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” opines. Although simplistic, the hymn supplies the basic structure for Trinitarian thinking. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each entity distinct from the others, yet there exists only one God. Cornelius Van Til, a Christian philosopher and reformed theologian of the twentieth century argued, “Unity in God is no more fundamental than diversity and diversity in God is no more fundamental than unity.” The oneness of God is not more ultimate than the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit; neither is the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit more ultimate than the oneness of God. God is also more than a unity. Wisdom acts as His companion, just as logic is an attribute of Him. The Word departed from Him to accomplish His purposes. The Christian writer C.S. Lewis discussed the complex nature of God in his Mere Christianity, “Of course we cannot fully conceive a being like that… But we can get a sort of faint notion of it.” A professor of theology, W.T. Conner, simplifies the doctrine of the Trinity into four basic facts in his Christian Doctrine. He writes that unity is fundamental, there is “diversity in God’s manifestations,” that this diversity forms the Trinity, and recognition of the deity of Christ is central to an understanding of the Trinity.
By the early fourth century, there existed several interpretations of these facts concerning the nature of God. Some sought a Unitarian solution, others assumed a modalistic view, and still others a tritheistic method. The Unitarians believed there was one God, and Jesus was perhaps supernaturally endowed, or served some other purpose. The modalists were of the opinion that God took different forms, and tritheists viewed the Trinity as three separate gods. A more specific example: The second century Ebionites observed Jewish laws and customs and viewed Jesus as a prophet. This view could be classified as Unitarian in nature. Another second century Unitarian group, the Adoptionists, attempted to ensure monotheism by describing Jesus as supernaturally endowed by the Father. Yet another Unitarian teaching was Angel Christology, which portrayed Jesus as the greatest of angels, hence the name. This teaching utilized the Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian writing of the second century. The most widespread heresy, Arianism, was led by Arius of Alexandria. The Arians preached that Jesus was the first and greatest created being. Monarchians, more specifically the Modal Monarchians, were famous for their contention that the Father suffered with the Son. By the fourth century, a huge variety of solutions to the problem of the Trinity had been offered. As Bernard Lonergan, a priest and philosopher in the Thomist tradition states, “The abundance and variety of the material, unless it be drawn together in a manner that displays pattern or order, are more likely to obfuscate than to illuminate the mind, to cloud the issue rather than clarify it.”
Before the Council of Nicea in 325, the Church tried to use the works of Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr to address heresies, spiritual issues, and doctrinal ambiguities within the concept of the Trinity. Because of the number of heresies, however, a more solid solution had to be established. At the Council of Nicea, the bishops approved a Trinitarian formula that said God is three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—united as one substance. An excerpt from the Nicene Creed illustrates this: “And in the Holy Spirit… that proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and Son is worshiped together and glorified together.” The Nicene Creed dealt with the problem of the nature of God, using key phrases such as “begotten not made” and “of one substance with the Father.” The church declared the following teachings anathema: “there was when He was not,” “before he was begotten He was not,” “He came into being from what is not,” “of another substance or essence,” “created,” “changeable” (morally), or “alterable.” Only four additions to an older baptismal creed were made at the Council of Nicea, however, these phrases diminished the voice of heretics, made clear Christian philosophy, and provided a solid theology for generations of Christians to come. The creed helped to better define and solidify the Church’s understanding of the Triune nature of God.
The concept of the Triune God proved challenging, confusing, and controversial to the early Church. Although pre-Nicene solutions had been offered, a more solid understanding was required. The Council of Nicea circumscribed the doctrinal issue through the additions to the Nicene Creed. The creeds and councils of Christendom have helped to shape modern Christian theology and supply today’s Christian with a solid belief to stand on, but who would have known that all one needs to understand the nature of God is an apple?
Note(s): This was written for one of my classes as a final (plus a powerpoint) this May. Even though I made a good grade, there's still room for improvement. By the way, I made a 95 on the paper, 97 on the final. Yessss! Oh, and I almost forgot to mention I don't exactly support this viewpoint, just for the record.
