Charismatics do not have apostolic succession from where the gifts come from. Apostolic Succession Lists of Local Churches Established by the Apostles
Priest Oleg Davydenkov
From lectures on dogmatic theology at the Orthodox St. Tikhon Theological Institute
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity - the foundation of the Christian religion
God is one in essence, but threefold in persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, consubstantial and indivisible.
The very word "Trinity" of non-biblical origin, was introduced into the Christian lexicon in the second half of the 2nd century by St. Theophilus of Antioch. The doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity is given in Christian Revelation.
The dogma of the Holy Trinity is incomprehensible, it is a mysterious dogma, incomprehensible at the level of reason. For the human mind, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is contradictory, because it is a mystery that cannot be rationally expressed.
It is no coincidence that Fr. Pavel Florensky called the dogma of the Holy Trinity "a cross for human thought." In order to accept the dogma of the Most Holy Trinity, the sinful human reason must reject its claims to the ability to cognize and explain everything rationally, that is, to comprehend the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, it is necessary to reject one's understanding.
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is comprehended, and only in part, in the experience of spiritual life. This comprehension is always associated with an ascetic deed. VN Lossky says: "The apophatic ascent is the ascent to Golgotha, therefore no speculative philosophy could ever rise to the mystery of the Holy Trinity."
Belief in the Trinity distinguishes Christianity from all other monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam. The doctrine of the Trinity is the basis of all Christian doctrine and morality, for example, the doctrine of God the Savior, God the Sanctifier, etc. V. N. Lossky said that the Doctrine of the Trinity "is not only the basis, but also the highest goal of theology, for ... to cognize the mystery of the Holy Trinity in its fullness means to enter the Divine life, into the very life of the Most Holy Trinity. "
The doctrine of the Triune God is reduced to three provisions:
1) God is trinity and trinity consists in the fact that in God there are Three Persons (hypostases): Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
2) Each Person of the Most Holy Trinity is God, but They are not three Gods, but a single Divine being.
3) All three Persons are distinguished by personal, or hypostatic properties.
Analogies of the Holy Trinity in the world
The Holy Fathers, in order to somehow bring the doctrine of the Holy Trinity closer to the perception of man, used various kinds of analogies borrowed from the created world.
For example, the sun and the light and heat emanating from it. A source of water, a spring coming from it, and, in fact, a stream or river. Some see an analogy in the constitution of the human mind (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. Ascetic Experiments): "Our mind, word and spirit, by the simultaneity of their beginning and by their mutual relations, serve as the image of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
However, all these analogies are very imperfect. If we take the first analogy - the sun, outgoing rays and heat - then this analogy presupposes a certain temporal process. If we take the second analogy - a source of water, a key and a stream, then they differ only in our understanding, but in reality it is a single water element. As for the analogy associated with the abilities of the human mind, it can only be an analogy of the image of the Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity in the world, but in no way of intra-Trinity being. Moreover, all these analogies place unity above trinity.
Saint Basil the Great considered the rainbow to be the most perfect analogy borrowed from the created world, because "one and the same light is continuous in itself and is multicolored." "And in multicolor a single face opens - there is no middle and transition between colors. It is not visible where the rays are delimited. We clearly see the difference, but we cannot measure the distances. And in aggregate, the multicolored rays form a single white. A single essence opens in a multicolored radiance."
The disadvantage of this analogy is that the colors of the spectrum are not independent individuals. On the whole, patristic theology is characterized by a very wary attitude towards analogies.
An example of such an attitude is the 31st Word of St. Gregory the Theologian: "Finally, I concluded that it is best to abandon all images and shadows, as deceitful and far from reaching the truth, and to stick to the mindset of a more pious one, dwelling on a few sayings." ...
In other words, there are no images to represent this dogma in our mind; all images borrowed from the created world are very imperfect.
A Brief History of the Dogma of the Most Holy Trinity
Christians have always believed that God is one in essence, but threefold in persons, but the very dogmatic doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity was created gradually, usually in connection with the emergence of various kinds of heretical delusions. The doctrine of the Trinity in Christianity has always been associated with the doctrine of Christ, with the doctrine of the Incarnation. Trinitarian heresies, Trinitarian disputes had a Christological basis.
Indeed, the doctrine of the Trinity was made possible by the Incarnation. As they say in the troparion of the Epiphany, in Christ "Trinity is worship". The teaching about Christ "is a temptation for the Jews, but folly for the Greeks" (1 Cor. 1:23). Likewise, the doctrine of the Trinity is a stumbling block for both "strict" Jewish monotheism and Hellenic polytheism. Therefore, all attempts to rationally comprehend the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity led to delusions of either Jewish or Hellenic nature. The first dissolved the Persons of the Trinity in a single nature, for example, the Sabellians, while others reduced the Trinity to three unequal beings (Arians).
The condemnation of Arianism took place in 325 at the First Ecumenical Council with Nicaea. The main act of this Council was the compilation of the Nicene Creed, in which non-biblical terms were introduced, among which the term "homousios" - "consubstantial" played a special role in the Trinitarian disputes of the 4th century.
It took great efforts of the great Cappadocians: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa to reveal the true meaning of the term "homousios".
The great Cappadocians, first of all, Basil the Great, strictly distinguished the concepts of "essence" and "hypostasis". Basil the Great defined the difference between "essence" and "hypostasis" as between the general and the particular.
According to the teachings of the Cappadocians, the essence of the Divine and its distinctive properties, that is, the originality of being and Divine dignity, belong equally to all three hypostases. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the essence of its manifestation in Persons, of which each possesses the fullness of the divine essence and is in indissoluble unity with it. The Hypostases differ from each other only in personal (hypostatic) properties.
In addition, the Cappadocians actually identified (primarily two Gregories: Nazianzen and Nyssa) the concept of "hypostasis" and "person". "Face" in theology and philosophy of that time was a term that belonged not to the ontological, but to the descriptive plane, that is, a person could be called an actor's mask or a legal role played by a person.
Having identified "person" and "hypostasis" in Trinitarian theology, the Cappadocians thereby transferred this term from the descriptive plane to the ontological plane. The consequence of this identification was, in essence, the emergence of a new concept, which the ancient world did not know: this term is "personality". The Cappadocians succeeded in reconciling the abstractness of Greek philosophical thought with the biblical idea of a personal Deity.
The main thing in this teaching is that personality is not part of nature and cannot be thought of in terms of nature. The Cappadocians and their immediate disciple St. Amphilochius of Iconian called the Divine hypostases “ways of being” of the Divine nature. According to their teaching, personality is the hypostasis of being, which freely hypostases its nature. Thus, a personal being in its specific manifestations is not predetermined by an essence that is attached to it from the outside, therefore God is not an essence that would precede Persons. When we call God an absolute Person, we thereby want to express the idea that God is not determined by any external or internal necessity, that He is absolutely free in relation to His own being, is always what he wants to be and always acts in this way, as he wants, that is, he freely hypostatizes His triune nature.
Indications of the Trinity (Plurality) of Persons in God in the Old and New Testaments
In the Old Testament there is a sufficient number of indications of the trinity of Persons, as well as veiled indications of the plurality of persons in God without specifying a specific number.
This plurality is already mentioned in the first verse of the Bible (Gen. 1, 1): "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The verb "bara" (created) is in the singular, and the noun "elohim" is in the plural, which literally means "gods."
Life. 1:26: "And God said: Let us make man in our image and in our likeness." The word "make" is plural. The same Gen. 3:22: "And God said: Behold, Adam became like one of Us, knowing good and evil." “Of Us” is also plural.
Life. 11, 6 - 7, where it is about the Babylonian pandemonium: "And the Lord said: ... let us go down and confuse their language there," the word "come down" is in the plural. Saint Basil the Great in Six Days (Conversation 9) comments on these words as follows: “It is truly strange idle talk to assert that someone is sitting on his own, orders, supervises himself, compels himself imperiously and persistently. The second is an instruction. actually into three Persons, but without the names of persons and without distinguishing them. "
Chapter XVIII of the book "Genesis", the appearance of three Angels to Abraham. At the beginning of the chapter it is said that God appeared to Abraham, in the Hebrew text it is said "Jehovah". Abraham, having gone out to meet the three pilgrims, bows to them and addresses them with the word "Adonai", literally "Lord", in the singular.
In patristic egzeges, there are two interpretations of this place. First: the Son of God appeared, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, accompanied by two angels. We meet this interpretation from the martyr. Justin the Philosopher, with Saint Hilarius of Pictavia, with Saint John Chrysostom, with Blessed Theodoret of Kirr.
However, most of the fathers - Saints Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Ambrose of Mediolan, Blessed Augustine - believe that this is the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity, the first revelation to man about the Trinity of the Divine.
It was the second opinion that was accepted by the Orthodox Tradition and found its embodiment, firstly, in hymnography, which speaks of this event precisely as a manifestation of the Triune God, and in iconography (the well-known icon "Old Testament Trinity").
Blessed Augustine ("On the City of God", Book 26) writes: "Abraham meets three, worships one. Seeing three, he understood the mystery of the Trinity, and having bowed down to one, he confessed the One God in Three Persons."
The indication of the Trinity of God in the New Testament is, first of all, the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan from John, which in the Church Tradition received the name Theophany. This event was the first explicit Revelation to mankind about the Trinity of the Godhead.
Further, the commandment about baptism, which the Lord gives to His disciples after the Resurrection (Matthew 28, 19): "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Here the word "name" is in the singular, although it refers not only to the Father, but also to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit together. Saint Ambrose of Mediolana comments on this verse as follows: "The Lord said" in the name "and not" in the names, "because there is one God, not many names, because there are not two Gods and not three Gods."
2 Cor. 13, 13: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all." With this expression, the Apostle Paul emphasizes the personality of the Son and the Spirit, who bestow gifts on an equal basis with the Father.
1, John. 5, 7: "Three testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." This passage from the Epistle of the Apostle and Evangelist John is controversial, since this verse is absent in the ancient Greek manuscripts.
Prologue of the Gospel of John (John 1: 1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Here God is understood as the Father, and the Son is called the Word, that is, the Son was eternally with the Father and was eternally God.
The Transfiguration of the Lord is also the Revelation of the Holy Trinity. Here is how VN Lossky comments on this event in the Gospel history: “That is why the Epiphany and Transfiguration are celebrated so solemnly. We celebrate the Revelation of the Most Holy Trinity, for the voice of the Father was heard and the Holy Spirit was present. a shining cloud that overshadowed the apostles. "
Difference of Divine Persons by hypostatic properties
According to church teaching, the Hypostases are the essence of the Person, and not the impersonal forces. At the same time, the Hypostases have a single nature. The question naturally arises, how to distinguish between them?
All divine properties relate to the general nature, they are inherent in all three Hypostases and therefore cannot express the differences of Divine Persons by themselves. It is impossible to give an absolute definition of each Hypostasis using one of the Divine names.
One of the features of personal being is that personality is unique and inimitable, and therefore, it defies definition, it cannot be subsumed under a certain concept, since the concept always generalizes; cannot be brought to a common denominator. Therefore, a person can be perceived only through his relationship to other persons.
This is what we see in Holy Scripture, where the concept of Divine Persons is based on the relationship that exists between them.
Approximately starting from the end of the 4th century, we can talk about the generally accepted terminology, according to which the hypostatic properties are expressed in the following terms: with the Father - unborn, with the Son - being born (from the Father), and procession (from the Father) with the Holy Spirit. Personal properties are the essence of incommunicable properties, eternally unchanged, exclusively belonging to one or another of the Divine Persons. Thanks to these properties, Persons differ from each other, and we cognize them as special Hypostases.
At the same time, distinguishing three Hypostases in God, we confess the Trinity as consubstantial and indivisible. Consubstantial means that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three independent Divine Persons possessing all divine perfections, but they are not three special separate beings, not three Gods, but the One God. They have a single and indivisible divine nature. Each of the Persons of the Trinity possesses the divine nature perfectly and completely.
The main idea of the doctrine of the Trinity lies in the concept of the Trinity of God, that is, the existence of three Persons with the same nature. God is one, but in three Persons.
Each Person has always been and is God in its entirety. Each individual Person in its entirety is equal to two other Persons and they all participate in the consubstantial Deity. No Person is greater or less than the other two Faces.
The human mind cannot comprehend God, but out of love for his creation, God reveals Himself and reveals Himself to man in three Persons. The three divine Persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These three Persons have a single Divine nature, but at the same time they have a special personality of their own. The doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one, but in three persons, is not specifically stated in the Holy Scriptures. In the Bible, we do not find the word "Trinity" at all. Nevertheless, for Christianity this is one of the most important teachings and it is based on the testimonies from the Holy Scriptures.
The doctrine of the Trinity allows you to more clearly reveal and understand the essence of God, relationships, what they can be and what should be between God and man. The doctrine of the Trinity is generally the hallmark of Christianity. Not a single world religion, except Christianity, teaches that God is one, but in three persons and each person is Divine. This is a very important part of our Christian faith. The doctrine of the Trinity helps to better reveal the essence of God; who is God, what is He like, what is His relation to man, how can a man approach God?
The next factor in the relevance and importance of the doctrine of the Trinity is the issue of Jesus Christ; who is he? Is He Really God? Is He really the bearer of the Divine nature? At all times, there have been and are disputes around the personality of Jesus Christ and His nature. History knows many statements that Christ is not God, He is just a man. Others believed that He became God at the time of baptism or even after the resurrection. And before that, He was an ordinary person, although very intelligent and virtuous.
Holy Scripture tells us about several Divine mysteries. This is the secret of the Incarnation. “And unquestioningly is the great mystery of piety: God appeared in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). The Apostle Paul speaks of yet another mystery: “Therefore, a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two will be one flesh. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church ”(Eph. 5: 31-32). The question of the trinity of God or God in three persons is one of the greatest mysteries of God. This issue causes a lot of controversy among theologians, and different understandings and views on the issue of the Trinity of God continue to live in our time.
Dr. Aiden Tozer has remarked on this point: “Some people who reject everything they cannot explain, deny that God is triune. Looking intently at the Almighty with their cold and calm gaze, they think that it cannot be that He was both One and Three at the same time. These people forget that their whole life is shrouded in mystery. They do not think that any real explanation, even the simplest phenomenon of nature, is hidden in darkness, and explaining this phenomenon is no easier than the mystery of the Divine. " But, despite the fact that there is no clear and specific teaching about the Trinity in the Bible, we affirm that there is a Biblical basis for understanding God as one God, but in three persons.
The Bible teaches quite clearly and definitely that God is indivisible. The biblical God is one: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6: 4). With these words Monotheism is affirmed. There is only one God, who created everything and gave life to every living being. No one will ever be able to stand next to and compare with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God told Moses, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). In other words, I was, is and will be. The apostle Paul affirms the truth that there is only one God. He writes in a letter to Timothy: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2: 5-6). The Ten Commandments, which were transmitted by God to Moses, began with the words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. May you have no other Gods before Me ”(Ex. 20: 2-3). Jealous God is true God. He alone is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The history of Israel is full of examples when God - Jehovah, showed His absolute superiority over everything that other nations considered their gods. The unique difference between the God of Israel and our God from all other so-called gods is shown by the Apostle Paul. He simply says that all other gods are idols and they are nothing for us, but we have one God! He writes: “So, regarding the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but One. For although there are so-called gods, either in heaven or on earth, since there are many gods and many lords, but we have one God the Father, of whom we are all, and we are for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, with whom everything is and we are by Him ”(1 Cor. 8: 4-6).
Along with this, there are many Biblical texts that show us the three faces of God. This is the face of God the Father, the face of God the Son and the face of God the Holy Spirit. For example, when Jesus was baptized, we clearly see the participation of all three persons of the Godhead in this act. Jesus Christ is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove, and the Father testifies from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3: 16-17). This is clearly seen in the same way in the command, Jesus Christ, given to his disciples: “So, go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This text, it seems to me, is especially important and significant due to the fact that it sounded from the mouth of the Lord himself. This is not the command of the Apostle Paul, not the decree of the Church Council, this is the instruction of the Lord, where all three persons of the Divine are mentioned. So, we have considered this issue in the light of the New Testament. Meanwhile, in the Old Testament there are texts on the basis of which we can draw a conclusion about God as about God in three persons or about God in the plural. For example, in the book of Genesis it is said: “And God said: let us make man in our image, and in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). And Isaiah says that one day he heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom should I send, and who will go for Us?" (Is 6: 8). The words “Let us create, ours and us” are plural words. This is a clear indication of several Persons.
What evidence do we have in Scripture that all three persons are one? What evidence is there in Scripture that we are dealing with a triune God?
At first, it should be noted that all three hypostases carry the Divine nature. No one doubts the divinity of the Father. All Scripture speaks of Him as the Heavenly Father, thereby emphasizing His Divinity. “Your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 6:26). We have “one God the Father” (1 Cor. 8: 6). The Father's divinity is also emphasized by His properties: Omnipotence. “I am God Almighty” (Gen. 17: 1). The Lord, addressing Jeremiah, says: “I am the Lord of all flesh. If something is impossible for Me? " (Jer. 32:27).
He is omniscient and omnipresent. Omniscient means knowing everything and aware of everything. Omnipresent - who has time to visit everywhere, takes part in everything. “Oh, the abyss of the wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments and past tracing His ways ”(Rom. 11:33). David exclaims, "Where will I go from Thy Spirit, and where will I flee from Thy presence?" (Psalm 138: 7). “Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly” (Matthew 6: 4). These Scriptures speak of God, who knows and knows everything at all times and in every place.
It is unlimited. This means that there are no limits that limit God. He is a God who cannot be measured, He is immeasurable. “Truly, does God live on earth? The heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain You ”(1 Kings 8:27).
Our God is an incorruptible God. Imperishable, in the sense of eternal, never disappearing. “And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like a corruptible man, and birds, and four-legged, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:23). These are just a few of the qualities of God the Father that speak of His Divinity.
B O W E S T V E N N O S T I S U S A
X R I S T A.
There have always been different opinions on the divinity of Jesus Christ. Some affirmed His divinity, others categorically denied. So the well-known teaching of Gnosticism asserted that the Lord Jesus Christ had only an appearance of the flesh. He did not have a real human body, but a ghostly, illusory one. But this statement is absolutely inconsistent with the Biblical teaching about the incarnation. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ was material and real. Jesus Christ, like all people, experienced fatigue, weariness, thirst and hunger. This is clearly stated in the Holy Scriptures: The Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness (Matt. Ch. 4). Conversation of Christ with the Samaritan woman at the well (John Ch. 4).
So, the body of Jesus Christ was not ghostly or illusory. That is, the incarnation of God in man was genuine. John writes, “The Word was made flesh” (John 1:14). He does not write that the word became to some extent similar to flesh, It became flesh.
In contrast to Gnosticism, it was believed that Jesus Christ did not have a divine nature. Arianism became the highest form of denial of the divinity of Christ; this heresy was condemned at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople in 325 and 381.
Arianism is a heretical teaching that denies the divinity of Jesus. Supporters of this heresy taught that the Son is not eternal, did not exist before birth, and was not without beginning. The founder was Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria.
In the 17th century, the so-called doctrine of Socinianism / Socialism /, named Faust Sotsina, arose. Supporters of this doctrine rejected the dogma of the Holy Trinity. They taught that if Christ were not “just a man,” He could not be an example for people. At present, such religious movements as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only God the Father is the true God, and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit do not possess divinity. However, the divinity of Christ is emphasized many times in the New Testament. The Gospel of John begins with a wonderful story: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father ”(John 1: 1). In this text, the truth is clearly traced, which is that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is the same Word that was in the beginning and was the Word of God. It was It that became Flesh. “God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim.3: 16). At the same time, the birth of Christ is not the appearance of a new person, or a new God. This is a manifestation of an already existing God.
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones writes in his book, “God the Father, God the Son” p. 232. “Pay attention, I did not say that with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem, a new person appeared. This is not true. This statement is clearly heresy. According to the doctrine of incarnation, the eternal, second, personality of the Trinity entered the time and space of this world, clothed itself in human nature, being born an infant, having lived a human life, appearing in the likeness of sinful flesh ”(Rom. 8: 3).
The baby in the womb and in the manger of Bethlehem was a helpless baby, like any newborn, but He, at the same time, was the second person of the Holy Trinity. This is in no way incomprehensible to the human mind. Jesus Himself testifies of His existence before being born in the manger of Bethlehem. He says: “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). This Word, which became Flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, John sees as the beginning of everything in general, he sees Him as the source of life. “Through Him all things began to be” (John 1: 3). “He is the one who was born first of all creation” (Col. 1:15). Moreover, Christ testifies of his one essence to the Father. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Many times He says: “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me, and the Father who abides in Me does the works” (John 14:10). The divinity of Christ, and His one essence to the Father, is remarkably confirmed in the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. “God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim.3: 16). God cannot lose his Divine nature, but at the same time, He appeared in human flesh and took on the image of a man. If God cannot lose His Divine nature, then, having appeared to us in Christ, He retains His Divinity.
Possessing the fullness of the Godhead, Jesus Christ performs divine activity in his earthly ministry: “He forgives sins” (Luke 5:21). “He saves sinners” (John 10: 9). Jesus Christ “gives eternal life” (John 10: 27-28). “He judges” (Matthew 25: 31-36). Jesus Christ also possesses all the properties and qualities that God the Father possesses. He is omnipresent. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). He is omnipotent. “This, being the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis, and holding everything by the word of His power, having performed the cleansing of our sins with Himself, sat down at the right hand (of the throne) of majesty on high” (Heb. 1: 3). Jesus Christ Himself said to John on the island of Patmos: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end ... The First and the Last ... Who is, and was, and is coming, the Almighty” (Rev. 1: 817), etc. So, Christ is the Son of God and the eternal image of the invisible God. Heb. 1.3. “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2: 9). Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones writes: “The Son did not begin His existence in Bethlehem. He came from eternity, from the bosom of God Himself and, having assumed a special form, entered earthly life, in time, in history ”(God the Father, God the Son p. 232).
B O W E S T V E N N O S T D U X A
S V Y T O G O.
Now consider the question of the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a divine person. This is the person with whom we have the most direct relationship. For this reason, we should study more closely His nature, actions and work in us and with us. In principle, the Divinity of the third hypostasis of the Divine - the Holy Spirit, follows from the recognition of the consubstantiation of the Son and the Father. But, nevertheless, this requires a logical and, moreover, a Biblical justification.
Some people see the difference between the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, the Bible teaches that there is only one Spirit. “One body and one Spirit” (Eph. 4: 4). The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit. He is one and the same. We find confirmation of this in the words of the Apostle Paul. “But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His ”(Romans 8: 9). “He who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord, and your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you” (1 Cor. 6: 17-19). While pursuing the same thought, the apostle Paul nevertheless uses different expressions. Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Lord, Holy Spirit. This clearly indicates that they are one and the same Spirit. There can be no mistake here, for the author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit, who inspired various writers. The Holy Spirit guided them so that they did not make a single mistake, there are no contradictions in the entire Bible, although all 66 books of the Bible were written by different people and at different times. It is amazing. So: the Father is God, the Son is God, then the Spirit of the Father and the Son is also God.
Scripture speaks clearly and definitely about the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has divine properties. He is omnipresent: "Where will I go from Thy Spirit." (Psalm 139: 7). He is omnipotent: “Send Thy Spirit, they are created” (Psalm 103: 30). Omniscience is also a property of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit permeates everything, and the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). This is evidence of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. For He possesses the same qualities or attributes as God the Father. Further, the Holy Spirit, as the Power of the Most High, participated in the birth of Jesus Christ through the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:35). In the same way, the Holy Spirit manifests great divine power, for He changes human hearts, reviving them to a new and holy life. And one more confirmation of this truth. The Apostle Peter, denouncing Ananias, said: “Why did you allow Satan to put your thought into your heart, lie to the Holy Spirit, and hide it from the price of the earth? You didn’t lie to people, but to God! ” (D. Ap. 5: 3-4). In these words, the Apostle Peter identifies God the Father with the Holy Spirit, thereby showing and confirming the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures cited clearly refute the views of Arians, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit (Arius is an Alexandrian presbyter who lived in the 4th century).
Speaking about the divinity of the Holy Spirit, it should be emphasized that the Holy Spirit is a person. Not only at the dawn of Christianity, but also in our time, there is a conviction that the Holy Spirit is simply a force, or a certain influence that can manifest itself in the form of a blow of wind, etc. For example, the previously mentioned Socinians, followers of Socinus, taught that the Holy Spirit is simply a divine power, but not a person. This misunderstanding leads to the fact that today there are many of those, mainly in the charismatic movement, who teach that we need more of this “power” in order to perform miracles and all kinds of signs. Scripture teaches that more humility is needed so that the Holy Spirit can guide us, use and accomplish his work through us. That is, we do not use Him, but He uses us as He pleases. The proof that the Holy Spirit is a person is also the fact that He has a will, for “He gives gifts as He pleases” (1 Cor. 12:11). He can talk. “The Spirit spoke to Philip” (D. Ap. 8:29). He intercedes for us. “He intercedes for the Saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8: 26-27). You can lie to the Holy Spirit (D.Ap.5: 3). He can be resisted (D.Ap. 7:51). He can be insulted and blasphemed (Matt. 12: 31,32). Moreover, the Holy Spirit is directly involved in the salvation of sinners. He convicts of sin, points to Christ as the Savior, to His sacrifice and blood. He leads to repentance and gives strength to repent. He performs in the future the greatest work of building a spiritual home in every person who has received Jesus Christ by faith. Charles Spurgeon said: “It is a blessed work to preach the salvation of Jesus Christ. But not to mention the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation is evil. A ransom has been paid for us, but it is only through the Spirit that we learn of the atonement. We have been given precious blood, but without the Holy Spirit we could never have been cleansed by it through faith and repentance ”(12 Sermons on the Holy Spirit, p. 124). Based on the above, it is quite obvious that in the Holy Scriptures the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of God are one and the same Spirit, which is a Divine Person.
So, this is an amazing and incomprehensible human mind, the truth. Three Divine Persons: God - Father, God - Son and God - Holy Spirit, in essence, this is one indivisible God! Moreover, it should always be borne in mind that this trinity is based on the equal unity of all three persons. One might get the impression that all three persons, although they are one, are not equal. For example, Jesus himself once said: “My Father is greater than Me” (John 14:28). Also, Jesus repeatedly emphasized that He does only what the Father tells Him, that He does only His will (John 8: 28-29). However, the word of God teaches us that “Christ did not consider it a robbery to be equal to God” (Phil. 2: 6). The Apostle Paul also writes: that “in Christ, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily” (Col. 29).
However, there is an explanation for this seeming contradiction. During the Ecumenical Councils, when there was debate about the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Church Fathers wrote: “Equal to the Father in His Divine Essence; less than the Father in his human essence ”God incarnated in the image of a man, He became the son of man, but this does not mean at all that He has lost the Divine nature. He did not manifest it, but He could not lose or renounce the Divine essence. Of course, this is the greatest secret to the end, incomprehensible.
EQUAL UNITY OF THREE.
So, in what way is the trinity or equal unity of the three expressed? The issue of equal unity of the three has always been the subject of discussion and even division. Thomas Watson, in his Foundations of Practical Theology, writes: “The Trinity is one in essence. Three Hypostases have the same Divine nature and it cannot be said that one Hypostasis is God more than the other. The unity of the Persons of the Trinity consists in Their mutual existence in each other, or in the existence of all together in one. All three persons are so inseparable that each is in the other and together with the other ”“ You are the Father in Me, and I in You ”(John 17:21).
There are two directions today. One recognizes that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son. Another trend believes that the Holy Spirit comes only from the Father. We adhere to the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. We do this on the basis that the Holy Spirit is as much a Divine Person as God the Father and God the Son.
Starting from the moment of the creation of the Universe, we find this equal trinity. The first chapter of Genesis tells us about the creation of heaven and earth. God the Father, God the Son and the Spirit of God participated in this creation, i.e. God the Holy Spirit. (We previously said that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit are one and the same Spirit) (Genesis 1: 1-2). In the Epistle to the Colossians, we read: “Who (we are talking about Christ) is the image of the invisible God, born before all creation, for he created everything that is in heaven and that on earth, visible and invisible: whether the thrones of dominions, or rulers, whether power - everything was created by Him and for Him ”(Col. 1: 15-16). This is a blessed unity - all three persons participate in creation: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!
Let's pay attention to the Incarnation and carefully read about it in the Gospel of Luke. The Angel of God says to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, even that which is born holy will be called the Son of God ”(Luke 1:35). In this word, it is quite obvious that the entire Holy Trinity participates in the Incarnation: the Most High Himself or God the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son of God - Jesus Christ. We find remarkable testimony of trinity in the baptism of Jesus. The Evangelist Luke writes that when Christ was baptized, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven: “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Luke 3: 21-22 ). Again we meet with a trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The resurrection of Christ and our resurrection takes place with the direct participation of the Holy Trinity. “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also revive your mortal bodies by His Spirit who lives in you” (Rom. 8: 9-11). This is, although not direct, but well-grounded Biblical teaching about the Trinity. Otherwise it can not be. After all, the essence lies in the fact that, performing certain functions, this or that person of the Divine, in the end, do the same thing, have the same goal - the salvation of sinful humanity. “God the Father gave His Son” (John 3:16). The Son of God died for the sins of people, like the Lamb of God (John 1: 36). The Holy Spirit today “denounces the world about sin, about righteousness and about judgment”, prompting people to repentance (John 16: 8-9). The Trinity's involvement in the salvation of man is also clearly reflected in other verses of the Gospel of John. John writes that when Christ leaves, he will beg the Father, Who will send another Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. He will come to you and will always be with you and teach you everything (John 14: 15-18). He will not glorify Himself and will not speak of Himself, but will remind everything that Christ said (John 16:14).
Equal Trinity is beautifully expressed in the Lord's command to be baptized. “So, go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). There is no hint here that any person of the Divine has an advantage over another person or that there is some kind of subordination. All three are equally one. The apostolic blessing contains the confirmation of the doctrine of the Trinity of God. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit with you all” (2 Cor. 13:13). Here we see an equal and equal blessing, one, indivisible God in three Persons. Thomas Watson said in this truth: “If one God exists in three Persons, let us, with equal respect, treat all persons of the Trinity. The Trinity has no more or less. The divinity of the Father does not exceed the divinity of the Son or the Holy Spirit. The Trinity has order, but not ranks. None of the Persons bears the title of His Eminence, which exalts her above others, therefore, we must worship all Hypostases with equal zeal ”.
“That all may honor the Son, as they honor the Father” (John 5:23).
From all the reasoning, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- God is one, but in three persons.
- He is one, but does not consist of three different creatures.
- Each individual person of the Triune God bears the Divine nature.
- Each person of the Divine at a certain time performed a certain function, outwardly one could notice some kind of subordination, in fact, all three Persons were always in complete harmony and absolute unity, performing one common task - the salvation of the human race.
- All three Persons of the Divine have always been, are and will be, for They are eternal.
The Apostle Paul tells us another amazing truth: God the Father will submit everything to His Son, and then the Son himself will submit himself to the Father, and “There will be GOD ALL IN ALL”.(1 Cor. 15:28).
Scripture teaches us that there is a division of labor and subordination between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. The Father is the fullness of the Godhead and “No man has seen Him, and cannot see” (1 Tim. 6:16). It has no boundaries. The Son is the fullness of the Godhead, manifested in a visible way, “for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2: 9). And then comes the startling statement! The Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead; He acts directly on creation. Can you see the difference? There is the invisible fullness of the Divine, the visible fullness of the Divine and the fullness of the Divine acting directly and directly in us. Thus, we can say that the Spirit by His power reveals the Father in the form of the Son! (Martin Lloyd-Jones, God the Holy Spirit. Page 25).
How to illustrate the Trinity of God by example?
Second part our question - how to depict the Trinity of God by example?
This is a very difficult task. If it were easy and simple, it probably would not have been such a long and fierce discussion. When explaining this issue, I use the example of water. It comes in three states: water, ice and steam. But using this analogy, I always make a reservation that this is also a very weak example, which does not fully explain this Divine mystery of the Trinity.
Tertullian once said: “The doctrine of the Trinity is revealed by God, and not built by man. From a human point of view, it is so absurd that no one could invent it. We do not adhere to the doctrine of the Trinity because it is obvious or logically irreproachable. We stick to it because in it God revealed who He is. ”
The doctrine of the Trinity or the oneness of God, in which there are three Persons, is a supernatural doctrine. This is one of the greatest mysteries of God. This is a wonderful revelation from God that must be believed with deep humility and reverence. Therefore, all human attempts to explain this greatest mystery are doomed. This truth can only be judged by a spiritual person, whose mind is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Let us be very careful in our desires to penetrate into the greatest mystery of the Divine. Let us always maintain a special reverence for the Face of the invisible, but manifested in the flesh, God!
Primary pastor of the church SLAVIC CHURCH ECB "ON THE MOUNTAIN"
Born in the small Siberian town of Tara, Omsk region.
The family had twelve children.
Today they are all adults, have their own families, they all came to know the Lord in their time.
Three of them are pastors.
Alexander Kirillovich has an incomplete higher education: "Omsk Medical Institute".
At the age of 21, Alexander Kirillovich received Holy water baptism in the church of Alma-Ata.
There he began his ministry among the youth and his activity as a preacher.
In 1972 he married a sister in faith, Olga Khivrenko. They have five children and several grandchildren.
All children are believers, church members, serve in churches.
Since 1973, Alexander served as secretary of the Council under the senior presbyter in Kyrgyzstan.
Then, for 15 years, until 1993, he served as a pastor in the ECB church in Frunze.
Alexander took an active part in many Evangelistic events in the former Soviet Union.
Currently he lives in the USA, Spokane.
Carries out pastoral ministry in the ECB church and is the Chairman of the North-West Union
Slavic churches of North America.
In 2009 he received his Master of Theology degree from the International Theological Seminary (Florida).
Over the past 18 years, has been doing missionary trips to different countries of the world,
together with a male choir from Germany.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
IS GOD ONE OR TRIUNE?
Today, in the matter of the Trinity of God, Christians are divided into two camps - those who believe in the Trinity, and those who do not believe in the Triune God.
But does this somehow affect our salvation? Does my salvation depend on whether I believe in the Triune God or the One? I think not. My salvation depends on whether I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, and whether I follow Him, taking up my cross, or follow Him without taking up the cross. This is the most important issue that needs our attention. But, nevertheless, let's see what Scripture has to say about this. Let's look at those passages from Scripture that show that God is Triune, as well as those that say that God is one, and we will try to come to some conclusion.
In the Bible, we do not find such a word "Triune" or "Trinity", but this concept did not arise from scratch. The essence of the Trinity of God did not arise in someone's mind simply because someone wanted to invent three Gods for himself, since one was not enough for him. Understanding the Trinity of God arises from a careful study of the numerous biblical texts, which we will consider.
Let's look first at the very first book of the Bible, Genesis: "AND said The God: create human in our image in our likeness…» (Genesis 1:26). We see that it is written: "And God said," and not "Gods said." We also see that God did not say that He will create(singular) human in image To his... No. He said "let us create" (plural) in "Our image in our likeness." From this text we can clearly see that God is one God, not several, and we can clearly see that He speaks of Himself in the plural. In the original, in the Hebrew language, the verb "let's create" is in the plural, therefore the word is translated into Russian in the same way.
The next verse says: "AND said Lord God: behold, Adam became like one of US knowing good and evil; and now, no matter how he stretched out his hand, and did not take it from the tree of life, and did not taste it, and did not begin to live forever "(Genesis 3:22). We see again that the words "the Lord God said" are written in the singular, and immediately He says about Himself in the plural: "as one of Us." I wonder why God did NOT say: “behold, Adam became like me”, but said: “like one of us”? These words of God also suggest that He is, on the one hand, one God, and on the other, that He Himself in Himself has a conversation with Someone else.
Another verse from the book of Genesis: "AND said Lord: behold, there is one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they began to do, and they will not lag behind what they decided to do; let's get off and mix there is their language, so that one does not understand the speech of the other "(Genesis 11: 7). In this verse we see the same thing as in the previous ones. The words “And the Lord said” are written in the singular, and “let us go down and mix” in the plural. Only in the book of Genesis do we see three cases when God speaks of Himself in the plural.
Now let's turn to Isaiah's words: “And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: whom to me send? and who will go for US? And I said: here I am, send me "(Is 6: 8). First we see that God says, "Whom should I send?" and immediately says: "and who will go for us?" The essence is the same as in the previous verses we examined.
Why do you think God made sure these verses were recorded in the Bible? Did He want to tell us something by this? So far, we have seen only one fact, which is that God is one God, Who in Himself has a conversation with Someone and speaks of Himself in the plural. Now let's see, with Whom did He conduct a dialogue in Himself?
God through the prophet Isaiah reveals what will happen in the future - the birth of Jesus Christ: “For a baby was born to us - a Son was given to us; dominion on His shoulders, and they will call His name: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace "(Is 9: 6). It is clear from this verse that the Son (Jesus Christ) has dominion, is a mighty God, and the Father of eternity. These are the attributes of God. From this verse we see a second Person, who is called God by the Scriptures. Here is another text that speaks about Jesus Christ: “And you, Bethlehem-Ephrath, are you small among the thousands of Judas? out of you will come to me the one who should be the ruler in Israel and Which originated from the beginning, from eternal days» (Micah 5: 2). From this text it is clear that “the One who should be the Lord in Israel” is the Lord Jesus Christ, “whose origin is from the beginning, from eternal days,” that is, He is eternal God. These verses tell us that Christ is the eternal God, therefore, based on the texts we have examined, we can conclude that God is, saying: "In the image To our in the likeness To our..., Adam became like one of US…, let's get off and mix there is their language ... and who will go for US?» speaks of Himself and Himself in Himself, with at least one more Personality - the Son (Jesus Christ). I think that there is no need to cite all the texts that clearly show the Divine Essence of Jesus Christ, since this article is intended not for Jehovah's Witnesses, but for Christians. Jehovah's Witnesses belong to the category of people who, if you give even all the indisputable evidence of the divinity of Christ, they will still not believe and say that this is an incorrect translation of the Bible :)
During the baptism of Jesus Christ, we clearly see how God reveals himself: “And being baptized, Jesus Immediately he went out of the water, - and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God, who descended like a dove, and descended upon Him. And behold, a voice from heaven verb"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."(Matthew 3: 16,17). In this verse we clearly see
1). Jesus Christ came out of the water,
2). The Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove, and
So we see Three Persons Who are One God.
We repeatedly read in the Gospels various texts where Jesus Christ communicated with His Heavenly Father; when he taught his disciples to pray to the Heavenly Father; taught to ask in His name from the Heavenly Father and where He spoke about the Holy Spirit. I think that there is no need to list all these numerous texts, since every Christian knows them perfectly. I just want to cite three of these many texts: “And if you ask for anything from Father in the name of My, then I will, yes it will be glorified The Father in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it "(John 14:13, 14). Jesus Christ did NOT teach to ask disciples from “Jesus in the name of Jesus”, but taught to ask the Father in His name. And further He says that the Father will be glorified in the Son. Here He speaks of two Divine Persons - the Father and Himself. The following text speaks already of three Persons: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. AND I will plead with the Father and give you another Comforter, may the Spirit of truth be with you forever, which the world cannot receive ... "(John 14: 15-17). In this text we see that Jesus Christ (God) promises His disciples that he will ask His Father (God) to give them another Comforter (Holy Spirit - God). It seems to me that in order not to see these numerous Bible verses that show God in Three Persons, you need to try very hard. And here's another text: "When will it come The Comforter I will send you from the Father, The Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me "(John 15:26). Here we also see that Jesus Christ will send the disciples of the Holy Spirit from the Heavenly Father.
Just before His ascension, Jesus Christ gave a command to His disciples: “So go, teach all the nations, baptizing them in the name Father and Son and Holy Spirit» (Matthew 28:19). Some Christians begin to cite the other two passages from Scripture, which say that the Apostles commanded people to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, trying to refute the Trinity of God. Here is one of them: “Peter said to them: Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit "(Acts 2:38). But does this text refute the words of Jesus Christ Himself when He showed that there are Three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Maybe Jesus Christ was wrong about this? Or maybe Peter believed that if a person is baptized into Jesus Christ, then there is no Father and the Holy Spirit? Or maybe this text says that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one person? If the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one Person (and not three), then with whom did Jesus Christ constantly communicate when he retired for prayer? With myself? Read the prayer of Jesus Christ, which is recorded in the Gospel of John in chapter 17, which is completely devoted to the prayer of Jesus Christ to His Heavenly Father. Therefore, no matter how you are baptized - into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, or simply into Jesus Christ, this does not negate the numerous facts that Jesus (God in the Body) communicated with the Heavenly Father (God sitting on the throne) through the Holy Spirit (Omnipresent God). Here is another text where the Apostle commands to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ: “Who can forbid those who, like us, have received the Holy Spirit from being baptized with water? And he told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay with them for several days "(Acts 10: 47.48). Some believers use this text to prove that God is only one Person (and not one God in three Persons), but this text itself already speaks of a third Divine Person - the Holy Spirit. Therefore, these verses cannot in any way refute the Triune Essence of God.
Now let's see what the Apostles say when they mention the three Divine Persons: “And hope does not shame, because love of god poured out into our hearts By the Holy Spirit given to us. For Christ when we were still weak, at a certain time he died for the wicked "(Rom. 5: 5,6). The Apostle Paul also shows us that the love of God is given to Christians by the Holy Spirit, because Jesus Christ died for sinners. All three Divine Personalities of one God are listed here.
Here are some more words of the Apostle Paul: "If Spirit of the One Who Raised Jesus from the Dead, lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also revive your mortal bodies by His Spirit who lives in you. This very Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of god, joint heirs with Christ if only we suffer with Him, so that we may be glorified with Him "(Rom. 8: 11,16,17). Paul says that the Holy Spirit, i.e. The Spirit of the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Similarly, Paul says that 1) The Holy Spirit bears witness to us. 2). We are the heirs of God. 3). Son-heirs to Christ. We clearly see that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three Persons who are God.
The problem with why people find it difficult to accept this fact that God is one God in Three Persons, which we clearly see throughout the Bible, is that they are trying to understand God with their limited mind. According to many people, this cannot be, because, as it seems to them, it is impossible. But it is also impossible for God to dwell in a human body, according to human reasoning, and even more so, it is also impossible for God to become a Man, but, nevertheless, it is a fact. We must understand that if something is incomprehensible to us, this does not mean that it is wrong. We should not judge the Perfect, Almighty, Omniscient, Holy and Omnipresent God with our limited mind, with which we are not even able to understand what it means: God has always been, or what it means: the universe has no end. If you start thinking about it, you will realize that your mind is very, very limited. What then can we say about the One Who created the universe and everything that fills it, about the One Who was never born and always was and always will be? I recommend that you read the article: "So is God's predestination, or free will", which shows our limited mind.
See how the Apostle Paul ends his letter to the Corinthians: "The grace of our Lord Jesus christ, and love God the Father, and communication Holy Spirit with all of you "(2 Cor. 13:13). How much clearer can we say that we see the three Divine Persons of one God? We see that there is the grace of Jesus Christ, there is the love of God the Father, and there is the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Paul writes: “But when the fullness of time came, the God sent His Son (Only Begotten) Who was born of a wife, obeyed the law in order to redeem those under the law, in order for us to receive adoption. And as you are sons, then God sent to your hearts Spirit His Son, crying: "Abba, Father!"(Gal. 4: 4-6). Who sent His Son? The God. The Son did not come from Himself. Who sent the Spirit of His Son? The God. It is difficult for people to understand: “How can this be? Did God send the Son and God sent the Spirit of the Son? " The fact of the matter is that with your human, limited mind, it is difficult to understand how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are one God and at the same time three Persons. And it is difficult for people to understand why the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of the Son, why the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of the Father. Many people believe that there should be either one God, or there should be three Gods, but there can be no one God in three Persons. Therefore, opponents of this truth draw some kind of creature with three faces, and say: “Here is the God of Christians who believe in the Trinity! How could such a God be? " As such I want to say: “Do you decide what kind of God to be? Are you capable of comprehending the incomprehensible God with your limited human mind? Do you determine whether God can be one and at the same time in three Persons, or not? Wouldn't it be better for you to abandon your human efforts to understand God, whose thoughts are as far from our understanding as the earth is far from heaven? Wouldn't it be better for you to accept, simply by faith, a fact that Scripture speaks so clearly and repeatedly? "
There are a lot of similar texts, therefore, I will not list them all. Here are a couple more texts: "By foreknowledge of God the Father, at sanctification by the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "(1 Pet. 1: 2). “But you, beloved, building yourself up on your most holy faith, praying by the holy ghost, save yourself in the love of God waiting for mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ, for eternal life "(Jude 20:21). I think that these texts are enough to see that there are three Divine Persons who are one God.
Those who reject the truth about the Trinity of God base their reasoning on some of the verses that say that there is one God. Here are some of these texts: “Hear Israel: Lord our God, Lord there is one» (Deut. 6: 4). “Declare and say, having consulted among themselves: who proclaimed this from ancient times, said this in advance? Am I not, Lord? and there is no other god besides me, There is no righteous and saving God besides Me "(Is.45: 21). « One god and the Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all of us "(Eph. 4: 6). “Do you believe that God is One: you are doing well; and demons believe and tremble "(James 2:19). Some believers believe these verses contain proof that there is no way God can be in three persons. But I don't see any evidence here. The words: "The Lord is one ... there is no other God besides Me ... One God and the Father of all ... You believe that God is one ..." do not prove at all that God does not have three Persons in Himself. We are not talking about three separate Gods, we are talking about one God, one God, Who reveals himself to us in three Persons. This fact is called: Trinity, that is, three in one. God is one (only), and there is no one like Him, and no one argues with this. No one argues that He is the only one who has no like in the whole universe. No one argues that He is one God. It is truth. But Scripture shows us this one God in three Persons. That is why God says about Himself: "AND said The God:(singular) create human in Our image in Our likeness ... (in plural). AND said God:(unit h.) behold, Adam became like one of US (plural). AND said Lord: (unit h.) behold, one people, and one language for all; and this is what they began to do, and they will not lag behind what they decided to do; let's get off and mix (plural) there is their language. "
Once again, I want to say that the problem lies not in God, but in the too limited human mind, which cannot contain this truth about the Triune God. But, nevertheless, from this it does not cease to be the truth. It is for this reason that at the dawn of Christianity, the Arian movement appeared, the founder of which was a certain Arius. He could not understand the logic of the Trinity of God in any way, as a result of which, he began to completely deny it. In our time, there are also many people similar to Arius, although many of them are sincere and God-loving people. I do not believe that if a person does not believe in the Trinity of God, then this can somehow affect his salvation. After all, those who believe in the Trinity of God still do not fully understand what it is, since we have nothing to compare it with. We simply do not have such components to understand the truth about the Triune God, in the same way, to understand the truth that God is Self-existent, that God is outside of time, that God is not limited by space, etc. I recommend that you read all the articles on our website about God and His Essence in order to understand at least a little how great the difference between God and His creation - man.
Those who reject the Trinity of God base their reasoning on verses like this: "Hear, Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one"(Deut. 6: 4). They believe that the word "one" means "one Person." But in fact, the word "one" means: "one and only". Throughout the Bible, God has spoken and told people that He is the only one Who cannot be compared with His creation, Who has no equal in the entire universe. Based on the previous verses, we saw that God is one, not three, but He is revealed to us in three Divine Persons.
The word "one" also comes from the word "unity", and implies the unity of several Personalities. When Jesus Christ said about husband and wife that they are one flesh, does that mean that they have become one person? Of course not. They are two persons, but they are so one (at least they should be) that they become one flesh. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are in absolute unity, between Them there is absolute love and absolute dedication to each other, which makes Them one. And although the Scripture does not contain the very term "Trinity", but this word reflects the very essence of God, and shows that one God has three Persons in Himself.
And let us not forget what the Lord said: "The hidden belongs to the Lord our God, and the revealed belongs to us"(Deut. 29:29). There are many things that are hidden by the Lord from our understanding, therefore, if we do not understand something, then this does not mean that this cannot be. We are able to understand only that little that the Lord allows us to understand, but which is already sufficient to see His Greatness, Domination, Omnipotence and bow before Him in deep humility, realizing how Great He is and inexplicable by our limited mind.
And I would like to end this article with a wonderful statement by Dr. Aiden Tozer: “Some people who reject everything that they cannot explain, deny that God is Triune. Looking intently at the Almighty with their cold and calm gaze, they think that it cannot be that He was both one and three at the same time. These people forget that their whole life is shrouded in mystery. They do not think that any real explanation, even the simplest phenomenon of nature, is hidden in darkness, and explaining this phenomenon is no easier than the mystery of the Divine. "
Igor
No one knows the Father except the Son and the Son to whom he wants to reveal. How then can you vote without having a revelation from the Son?
emmanuil
You don't need to have a lot of intelligence to answer this question. It is enough to look at His creation. created in His Image and likeness .. If we tell someone that he has three faces, or even worse - is two-faced ... then we run the risk of offending the person. Even if we argue such an appeal to him by the fact that he consists of body, soul and spirit, this argument will in no way convince any of the sane people ... and even himself ... but in relation to his Creator, some of of His children, allow such insults, following the majority of votes - for evil ... and grieving their Father ...
Igor
It’s not my business who is who, but the conclusion suggests itself that some do not know the Father and were born from some church doctrine and not from the Word, for the Word was, is and will be God! And we have no right to add or subtract to the Word, and It is not subject to private interpretation. I write in hopethat we will all compare with the Word. Blessings to all!
Igor
Whoever had a personal experience with the Lord knows His presence and knows that the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But in order to reconcile us with Himself, He became a man. personality is more.
Alexey
1 Cor 12, 4-6, Here is a representation of this picture, and 2 Cor 4, 21-22 also 2 Cor 13,13, Eph 1,17. Eph 3: 14-17, and here Titus 3: 4-6. and here is 1 Pet 1, 2. Heb.9.14 and last Jude 1.20-21. Something like this, I do not intend to argue, I just show the clarity of the scriptures in these verses. Grace and peace be with us. Amen.
Victor
No one knows if he exists at all
Gelena
There is Victor, and we are witnesses of this, God forbid you to meet with Him and feel the fullness of God's love!
Dshedoo
Looks like this Victor is a very tough guy.
Sergey
God is not one - and it is not triune, this is a lie and the teaching of antichrist. But God is one and we must be and become, having penetrated into the perfect law of freedom - the Word of the Living God with the Father and His Son in one Spirit, who knows this, he will say that he was not upset but became a fellowship one nature of God.
teolog
St. Patrick used a leaf of clover while preaching in Ireland to show God's Trinity. Three in one.
God is Triune. Old Testament Testimonies
The rabbi of the reformist Temple of Sinai of Philadelphia, Stanley Greenberg, wrote that, of course, Christians have the right to believe the doctrine of the Trinity. But their efforts to confirm this teaching with the help of the Hebrew Bible collapse under the overarching arguments of the Bible itself ... Scripture clearly and clearly tells about one God ... The Hebrew Bible unequivocally confirms the unity of the Godhead. He emphasized that it is precisely monotheism, an uncompromising faith in one God that is the hallmark of the Hebrew Bible, the inviolable basis for Judaism and the unshakable faith of every Jew.
If we consider Christianity as polytheism or tritheism, argued Rabbi Greenberg, or consider the Christian concept of trinity as one of the varieties of monotheism, only one conclusion always suggests itself: trinity and Judaism are incompatible. Even if one considers the Christian faith as monotheistic, one can see that it does not seem monotheistic enough to qualify itself on a par with Judaism. It is these thoughts that he continues to express further, saying that under no circumstances can the concept of God's plurality or trinity be based on the Hebrew Bible.
Perhaps the best thing to do is to start with the only testimony and source of Jewish theology - the Bible. If so much depends on the Hebrew Scriptures, then let's turn to them and turn to them.
GOD IS MANY
Name Elohim
Usually, the Hebrew noun Elohim (God), which ends in "them", does not cause controversy. which is masculine plural. The word Elohim is used as referring to the God of Israel Gen. 1: 1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, and in relation to false gods, as, for example, in Exodus 20: 3: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” and in the Book of Deuteronomy 13: 2: "... let's go after other gods ...". Even if this example is not yet a sign of the trinity of God, at least it helps to understand His plurality.
Plural Verbs Used with Elohim
Almost all Jewish spiritual schools recognize that the word Elohim is a plural noun. However, they also reject it as an argument about the plurality of God: "when the word Elohim is used in relation to the true God, it must be followed by a verb in the singular, and when to false gods, in the plural." Rabbi Greenberg explains it:
“… The verb bara (created), used in the first verse of Genesis, is used in the singular. You don't need to be a great specialist to understand - the very first verse of the Book of Genesis clearly testifies to the singularity of God. "
This statement is mostly true. The Bible teaches that "the Lord God is one God" and, indeed, when it comes to the true God, the verbs are used in the singular. However, there are exceptions when the word characterizing the true God is followed by a plural verb:
Genesis 20:13: "... when God led (literally led) me to wander from my father's house ..."
Genesis 35: 7: "... for here God appeared to him (literally appeared), when he fled from the face of his brother ..."
2 Kings 7:23: "And who is like your people, Israel, the only people on earth for whom God came (literally came) ..."
Psalm 57:12: "... so there is a God who judges (literally judges) on earth ..."
Name Eloah
If the plural noun Elohim were the only way to describe the true God, one might assume that the Hebrew writers had no other alternative to using the word to refer to both God and false deities. However, in the texts we also find it in the singular Eloah, for example, in Deuteronomy 32: 15-17 or in Habakkuk 3: 3. In fact, such a word could be used constantly, however, it occurs in the texts only 250 times, while the word Elohim - 2500 times. This testifies to the plurality rather than the absolute singularity of God.
Pronoun WE
Familiarity with Hebrew grammar helps us to notice that God uses the pronoun We in relation to Himself.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ..." Genesis 1:26
It is unlikely that He spoke to the angels, since man was created in the image of God, and not angels. Midrash Rabbah (commentary of the Talmud - approx. Transl.) On the Book of Genesis, recognizing that this passage is not easy, offers the following explanation: Rabbi Shmuel Bar-Hanman, on behalf of Rabbi Jonathan, said that Moses, writing down the Torah little by little every day, reached of the place where it is said: "And Elohim said, Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness ..." And Moses said: "The Lord of the universe! Why do you give the heretics (believers in the trinity) a reason for justification? " God answered Moses: "You write, and let the erring one be deluded ..." (Midrash Bereishit Rabba 8: 8, about Genesis 1:26). It is clear that Midrash Rabbah does not give a clear and convincing answer and simply tries to bypass the question: "Why does God call Himself in the plural?"
A few more examples:
Genesis 3:22: "And the Lord God said: Behold, Adam also became like one of Us in the knowledge of good and evil ..."
Genesis 11: 7: "Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they do not understand each other's speech ..."
Plurality in God's designations
The next feature that emerged from Hebrew is the indisputable fact that when it comes to God, the nouns and adjectives are often used in the plural. For example:
Ecclesiastes 12: 1: "And Remember your Creator ..." (literally the Creators)
Psalm 149: 2: "Let Israel rejoice in her Creator ..." (literally about the Creators)
Joshua 24:19: "... for He is a holy God" (literally holy Gods)
Isaiah 54: 5: “For your Creator is your husband” (literally, Creators, spouses)
All these arguments are based on the peculiarities of Hebrew - the language of the Holy Scriptures. And if our theology is based solely on the authority of the Word of God, then we must admit that, on the one hand, it determines the unity of God, on the other hand, it speaks of His plurality.
Prayer SH'MA
Deuteronomy 6: 4: "Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."
The text from Deuteronomy 6: 4, known as SH'MA, has always served as a symbol of Israel's faith. More than any other verse, this verse emphasizes the oneness of God. Most often, it is he who is used to prove the singularity of God. But is this text always interpreted correctly?
First, the words "Our God" in the Jewish text are also used in the plural, that is, literally "Our Gods."
Secondly, the main argument is the expression "The Lord is one" (hashem echad). One look at the Hebrew texts using this word clearly reveals that Echad not only means “one single, singular,” but must be translated as “One Lord,” indicating a complex unity.
It is known that in Genesis 1: 5 the combination of evening and morning is called “one day” (echad). Further, in Genesis 2:24, the man and woman in marriage are one flesh (echad). Ezra 2:64 says that the whole society, consisting of separate individuals, was together (literally as one - echad). An even more telling example is the verse from Ezekiel 37:17, where two rods make one (echad). So, the word echad is used to denote a complex (i.e. not absolute) unity. There is a special Hebrew word for "monolithic" unity - yahid, and it can be found in many passages where uniqueness is emphasized (Genesis 22: 2,12; Judges 11:34, Proverbs 4: 3; Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10). If Moses taught that God is absolutely singular, it would be difficult for him to find a more suitable word than yahid. By the way, Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Rambam, Jewish theologian of the 12th century - approx. Transl.) Noticed the power of this word and used it in the "Thirteen Principles of Faith" instead of echad. However, in Deuteronomy 6: 4, it simply does not exist.
GOD IS AT LEAST BINARY
Elohim and YHVE - two persons?
Additional arguments for “many in one” are found in the Hebrew Scriptures in which the word Elohim refers to two persons mentioned in the same passage.
Psalm 44: 7,8:
“Thy throne, O God, is forever; the rod of righteousness is the rod of your kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, O God, Thy God, Anointed Thee with the oil of joy more than Thy partners. "
It should be noted that here we are talking about the conversion of the second Elohim to the first Elohim, and the second Elohim is the God of the first Elohim.
Hosea 1: 7 "And I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them in the Lord their God; I will save them neither by bow, nor sword, nor by war, nor by horses and horsemen." The speaker is Elohim himself. He assures that he will show his mercy to the house of Judah, and together with YHVE, your Elohim, will save you. Once again: Elohim # 1 will save Israel through Elohim # 2.
Not only is the name Elohim used in one verse to refer to two persons. We see the same duality in God's own name. An example is found in Genesis 19:24:
"And the Lord rained sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah and fire from the Lord from heaven"
Obviously, here YHVE No. 1 (located in the earthly sphere) will shed fire and brimstone from YHVE No. 2, located in heaven.
Zechariah 2: 8,9: “For thus says the Lord of hosts: for glory He sent Me to the nations that plundered you, for he that touches you touches the apple of His eye. And now, I will raise My hand against them, and they will become a prey for their servants, and then you will know that the Lord of hosts sent Me. "
Again, we see here one YHVE sending another YHVE to carry out a certain task.
The author of the book of Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah - approx. Transl.) Zohar found confirmation of plurality in the Tetragrammatron - the personal name of the God of Israel, indicated in the Hebrew Bible by the four consonants YHVH (YHVE). 300 years before Jesus, the personal name of God stopped being pronounced. As a replacement, they began to use the word Adonai (my Lord), which was later replaced by the word haShem (name). The name Jehovah, (often found in translations of the Bible - approx. Transl.) Is just a literary form of a possible reading of four consonants with vowels from the word Adonai (encyclopedic dictionary of Judaica, 593).
The author of the Zohar writes: come and investigate the secret of the word EXVC: there are three stages, each of which exists separately: however, they are one and are united so that they are inseparable from each other. They are so harmonious with each other that they cannot be separated from each other. The Ancient of Days is revealed in three persons united in one, and over which He rules. The Ancient of Days is described here as triune, so that the light that emanates from Him is in all three. But how can three names be one? Are they one because we call them that? How three can be one can only be known from the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (Zohar, 3 volume, p. 288, volume 2, p. 43 Jewish edition, cf. Soncino Press Edition, volume 3, p. 134)
GOD TRIEDIN
How many persons are there in the trinity?
If the Hebrew Scripture clearly speaks of plurality, then the question arises: how many are there in all the persons of the Godhead? We have already seen the word God used in relation to at least two persons. As we examine Scripture, we realize that three and only three persons have ever been recognized as divine.
1. The name HASHEM occurs so often that we will not give examples to prove it.
2. The second person is referred to as the Angel of HASHEM. He is unique and different from the rest of the angels. In almost every case, it is said that He is an Angel of EHVH or HASHEM himself. For example, in Genesis 16: 7 it is about the Angel of HASHEM, but already at 16:13 about HASHEM itself; at 22:11 He is the Angel of EXVH, but at 22:12 He is HASHEM.
Here are some more examples:
In Genesis 31:11 He is the Angel of God, and then in verse 13 it is God who appeared in Bethel.
In Exodus 3: 2 it is the Angel of the Lord, and in verse 4 it is the Lord.
In Judges 6: 11,12,20 and 21, it is the Angel of the Lord, but it is EHVC Himself in verses 14, 16, 22 and 23.
In Judges 13: 3 and 21 it is the Angel of God, but verse 22 speaks of God.
We find an extremely important passage in Exodus 23: 20-23. This Angel has the power to forgive sins, because the name EHVH is in Him, and therefore you do not need to persist against Him, but you need to listen to Him unquestioningly. It is unlikely that this could refer to some ordinary angel. Even the mere fact that God's Name was on this Angel testifies to His Divine origin and gives Him the status of God.
3. Another person is the Spirit of God Ruach HaKodesh. The Spirit of God is mentioned frequently in the Bible, including Genesis 1: 2; 6: 3, Job 33: 4, Psalm 50:13, Psalm 139: 7, Isaiah 11: 2; 63: 10.14. The Holy Spirit is not just God's radiation or action. Everything that characterizes any personality (i.e. intellect, emotions and will) is inherent in it. He is also seen as God.
In various passages of Hebrew texts there is clear evidence that all three persons have a divine essence and on this basis are God: the Lord (YHVH (YHVE)), the Angel of the Lord and the Spirit of God.
Mention of all Three Personalities of God in one passage
Scripture does not avoid the opportunity to mention all three persons of the Godhead in one passage. Two examples of this are Isaiah 48: 12-16, and 63: 7-14.
Isaiah 48: 12-16
Hear Me, Jacob and Israel, My called: I am the same, I am the first and I am the last. My hand founded the earth and My right hand stretched out the heavens; I will call them, and they will appear together. Get together, everyone, and listen: who between them predicted this? The Lord loved him, and he will do His will over Babylon, and will reveal His arm over the Chaldeans. I, I said, and called him; I have brought him, and his path will be successful. Come to Me and listen to this: I did not speak secretly at first; from the time this happens, I have been there; and now the Lord God and his Spirit have sent me
It should be noted that the speaker here recognizes Himself as the Creator of heaven and earth. It is clear that He is none other than God himself. But in verse 16 He again uses the pronouns "I" and "I" and further considers himself separate from the other two persons - the Lord God and the Spirit of God. Here the trinity is expressed much more clearly than anywhere else in Scripture.
The second passage from Isaiah 63: 7-14 relates to the period of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, when God actively manifested Himself in all three persons. The Lord HASHEM is mentioned in verse 7, the Angel of His face in verse 9, and the Holy Spirit in verse 10, 11, and 14. Despite the fact that God in the Old Testament constantly mentions Himself as the Deliverer - in these passages this refers to all three personalities to whom the glory belongs for the liberation of Israel. Therefore, there is no contradiction in considering them from the point of view of "complex unity".
So, the teaching of the Old Testament tells about the plurality of God. The first person is named as ЕХВХ, the second is the Angel of God, in which the Name of God, the Servant of God. The second person is sent by the EXVX to fulfill a specific mission. The third person is the Spirit of the Lord, God's Spirit, or the Holy Spirit. He is also sent by the First Person and is strongly associated with the ministry of the Second Person. Throughout the story, guided by the First Personality, the Second Person and the Third Personality are bound together in ministry.
If, according to the assertions of modern rabbis, the concept of trinity is not Jewish, then Scripture cannot be considered Jewish. Jews who believe in the Messiah Yeshua cannot be accused of paganism, since Yeshua (Jesus) is part of the trinity of God. He is the one about whom Moses wrote: “Behold, I am sending an angel before you to keep you on the way and bring you to the place that I have prepared. Watch yourselves before Him, and listen to His voice; do not persist against Him, because He will not forgive your sin; For My Name is in Him. If you listen to His voice and do whatever I say, then I will be your enemy and your opponents' adversary. When My Angel goes before you, and leads you to the Amorites, Hittites, Queens, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will destroy them. " Exodus 23: 20-23
Light of the New Testament
Without canceling the Old Testament teaching, the New Testament uniquely recognizes the three persons of the Godhead and characterizes them in more detail.
The first person is called God - the Father, the second - God the Son. The New Testament answers the question of Proverbs 30: 4 "What is the name of his son?" His Name is Yeshua. He was sent by God as the Messiah. But this time He appeared not in the form of an Angel, but as a man. Moreover, He was sent to fulfill a specific task - to die for our sins. God became a man (but not a man - God!) In order to permanently stop the action of sin (to make atonement). The New Testament names the Third Person of God - the Holy Spirit. By combining the teachings of the two parts of the Bible, He (the Holy Spirit) is directly related to the Messiah and His redemptive work.
So, in conclusion, we can say with confidence that both the Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh - the Old Testament) and the New Testament speak very clearly of the trinity of God: the Lord HASHEM, the Angel of HASHEM and the Spirit of God.
Now, when all Orthodox divine services are held under the sign of the feast of the Trinity (Pentecost), it is appropriate to talk about what the Church generally means by this word? Perhaps, in all theology, there is nothing simpler in formulation - but immeasurably complex in essence. So, the formulation of the Trinity Dogma reads as follows: "God is one in essence, but threefold in persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity consubstantial and indivisible." However, the consequences of this statement are no less important.
Artist: Andrey Rublev
Uniform in essence (nature) Persons in God are equal and consubstantial: both the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, but not three gods, but one God. Three Persons are different from each other in personal characteristics: the Father is not born of anyone, the Son is born of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father.
It is not for nothing that the Holy Fathers say that any images of the visible world and even abstract speculative concepts are unable to adequately describe the essence of God - after all, He is immeasurably higher than all our earthly ideas. Usually, for minimal similarity, they use, say, the example of the sun - which is simultaneously perceived as a ball in the sky, heat and light. And all these things, although different, cannot exist separately from each other.
However, on the path to the albeit incomplete realization of this truth, the Church has gone through a difficult path of trial and error. The latter arose when individual theologians tried to understand with a rational mind and exhaustively formulate the mystery of the Trinity life, which the simple believers knew so intuitively, based on Holy Scripture, and who knew God not with a cold mind, but with a pure heart filled with love.
However, when more and more educated pagans began to come to the Church (and in the Church itself, in the periods between persecutions, theological schools and educational institutions developed), the issue of understanding the Trinity intensified. Some theologians preferred to focus on the unity of God - and therefore came to the point of denying the Persons of the Trinity as full-fledged Personalities. For example, representatives of the so-called "dynamic monarchianism", which originated in the 3rd century in Alexandria, believed that Persons were just divine forces (strength - in Greek "dynamis"). The one Divine essence is the Father, the Son is the "mind" ("Logos) of this essence, and the Spirit is the actions of God in our world.
Other heretics, "modalists" originating in the Roman Church, did not distinguish between Persons at all, even formally - they believed that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same God, who showed Himself in different manifestations ( "modes") in different eras. By the Father - in the Old Testament, by the Son - in the New Testament, and by the Spirit - after Pentecost and until the end of the world.
Both of these groups of heresies were condemned at Church Councils, by the way, which took place long before the adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire - which completely removes them from accusations of being involved in the opinion of certain emperors. However, with the coming to power of Constantine the Great, the controversy around the Trinity flared up with renewed vigor. The "father" of one of the most influential heresies was the Alexandrian presbyter Arius. Once it seemed to him that his patriarch Alexander thinks about God from the standpoint of strict, but non-Orthodox monotheism - that is, he does not distinguish divine Persons in Him at all. Then he came up with his own system, which was named after him - Arianism.
According to her, God is so much more perfect than the world created by Him that it is simply impossible for the Creator to enter the latter. Therefore, He imparted His power to the most perfect creature created by Him, which became the Son. Although comparable in capabilities to the Father, but different from Christ in the Orthodox sense, just as an adopted child is from his own. Well, the already "adopted" Son became the ancestor of the Spirit, whom Arius called "Grandson".
The Church's almost unified reaction was indignation against such a downgrading of the status of the Savior of the World and the Holy Spirit. At the First Ecumenical Council, Arius was condemned as a heretic, but then the believers faced another difficulty. Indeed, at that time in Christian theology there simply did not exist adequate concepts capable of at least approximately describing the Trinity in rational categories. Therefore, those bishops who were more inspired by the unity of the Being of God suspected those who asserted the equality of Persons in "polytheism" - and the latter suspected opponents of the "Old Testament deviation", with its strict monotheism of Jehovah.
It took more than 50 years of fierce disputes (often ending in bloodshed - when the emperors intervened), until the Great Cappadocians St. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa formulated adequate terminology in Christian thought that could express the correct relationship between a single and common Divine nature - and inseparable, but also non-fused self-valuable Personalities-Hypostases, by which the Trinity is understood.
You can, of course, ask: were all these disputes worth the time and effort spent? What, in fact, is the difference - is Christ consubstantial with the Father or "adopted" by Him ("similar" - as Arius said)? The usual answer to this question is based on the importance of this "detail" in the mechanism of our salvation.
In general, salvation means the return of humanity that has fallen after the Fall to the fullness and joy of life with God. That is, in fact, "deification", becoming "gods by grace" and God's Love. But the possibility of such deification appeared when the Son, incarnated in a human body, united in it the divine and human nature, won the victory over sin and death. However, if the Son was originally a "second-rate god", then salvation through Him turns into a somewhat dubious undertaking.
However, besides this, there is, perhaps, an even more important reason for the need to adhere to the Orthodox understanding of the Trinity. Although much less is said about her. The reason for this is not always a healthy predilection for monarchy (in the sense of the form of government) among many Orthodox believers. With undisguised pleasure repeating the words of St. John of Kronstadt: "Democracy is in Hell, and in Heaven is the Kingdom." At the same time, few people think that the Kingdom of Heaven differs from the kingdoms of the earth in approximately the same way as light from darkness.
Because God, "not requiring the ministry of human hands," himself serves people, up to voluntary death on the cross - and earthly rulers, some to a greater extent, some to a lesser extent, keep in power thanks to violence, acquisitiveness and banal tyranny.
But that's not the point. The main thing is that the Dogma about the Trinity as three equal and free Personalities who are among themselves outside of any subordination - but in the unity of Love - just teaches Christians this way of life as ideal. But, of course, those who are more to their hearts the "meek-humble" answers of the Son to the Father "yes, Father", "no, Father", without the slightest manifestation of their own initiative and will, would rather prefer as an ideal "obedience, which is higher than fasting and prayers. " From which, with a little effort, a banal totalitarianism arises, which has nothing to do with Christian love and freedom.
But the statement about some kind of "subordination" between the Persons of the Trinity is the heresy of subordinationism, which is precisely an important element of Arianism. The Father rises above the Son, the Son - above the Holy Spirit - well, what is not an example to follow for lovers of earthly "hierarchical ladders" who seriously hope that they will be preserved in the Kingdom of Love. And to talk about some kind of "Orthodox" character of such views is simply indecent.
At the end of this brief overview of the "Trinity" heresies, one could also mention the "Filioque" - the Catholic teaching on the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son. But somehow I don't want to. If only because to declare an opinion "heresy", in addition to the formal conclusions of even the most authoritative theologians, a general church conclusion is also necessary. For the condemnation of Rome - at least, at the Ecumenical Council, the last of which took place in 787, and on a completely different occasion (condemnation of iconoclasm).
And so, before the Great Schism of 1054, Rome and the Eastern Churches successfully maintained mutual communication (with the exception of short breaks) for a good five hundred years since the aforementioned "heresy" arose among Catholics. Which proves once again that the significance of the latter is not worth a damn, and not that the thousand-year separation of more than a billion believers in Christ.
And, in general, one must always remember that the main thing in life is not rational knowledge, but love, which “will cover many sins” (1 Pet. 4: 8), but without it “everything is nothing” (1 Cor. 13: 2).
Apostolic succession of the priesthood is one of the foundations for historical churches (Orthodox and Catholic).
This principle means that the true bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ is only one who can show the continuity of his ordination directly from the apostles. The principle of the effectiveness of the sacraments, the faithfulness of the teachings of the Church, and also the spiritual power to "bind and resolve" are based on it. The principle of succession appears in the Church quite early - Irenaeus of Lyons (II century) and Tertullian (III century) already appeal to it. Later, this approach is fixed in canonical documents and becomes the principle by which the true church differs from the untrue one. And yet, there is reason to believe that this principle is not the only true one. God is not obligated to follow what is established by men.
The Meaning of the Priesthood
A priest is one who stands between God and man. His task is to represent people before God, on the one hand, and to reveal God to people, on the other. Even before the conclusion of the Covenant with Israel, we see examples of priests: Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God (Genesis, chapter 14), Jethro, the priest of Midian (Exodus, chapter 2). The real revolution occurs at the moment when God leads the people out of Egypt. God addresses the people of Israel with these words:
… You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you [as it were] on eagle's wings, and brought you to Me; So, if you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My inheritance from all nations, for the whole earth is Mine, and you will be with Me a kingdom of priests and a holy people; these are the words that you will speak to the children of Israel. (Ex. 19: 4-6)
In other words, God introduces a principle later called the "principle of the universal priesthood": every Israelite is called to stand before God, and the entire nation is a priest for the rest of the peoples of the earth. The whole nation is called, therefore, to be an intercessor before God for the whole earth, for all other nations, and also - to bring them knowledge of the True God. In this way, the priestly and missionary vocation of the people of God is affirmed and linked together. After a long time, the Apostle Peter repeats this statement in relation to the Church:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as an inheritance, in order to proclaim the perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light; once not a people, but now the people of God; [once] not pardoned, but now pardoned. (1 Pet. 2: 9-10)
So, we must remember that the people of God, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, are a priest before God. We are responsible for intercession before God for the whole earth, as well as a mission to carry the gospel to others. But the principle of universal priesthood also includes the fact that every Christian comes to God directly, that there is no need for any intermediaries between man and God. This applies to both people and rituals or material objects. God calls each of us to a personal relationship with Him, to direct communication. He wants us to talk to Him, He wants to answer us! And, if in the Old Testament for this it was necessary to perform a certain rite, to make a sacrifice, etc., then in the times of the New Testament the basis for our meeting with God is the sacrifice of Christ:
So, brethren, having the boldness to enter the sanctuary by means of the Blood of Jesus Christ, a new and living way, which He again revealed to us through the veil, that is, His flesh ... (Heb. 10: 19-20)
But we see that, in both the Old and New Testaments, God sets apart a portion of God's people for special service before Him. In the Old Testament, these people are directly called priests, in the New, several names are used: deacons, elders, bishops, as well as - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers ... And when the principle of succession is discussed, we are talking about just these, especially separated, people.
Aaron and Melchizedek
Scripture tells us about two principles, two approaches to the priestly ministry. In the book of Hebrews these approaches are called "priesthood after the order of Aaron" and "priesthood after the order of Melchizedek."
So, if perfection was achieved through the Levitical priesthood, for the law of the people is associated with it, then what other need would there be for another priest to rise up according to the order of Melchizedek, and not to be named according to the order of Aaron? (Hebrews 7:11)
The Aaronic priesthood is based on hereditary principles. If the boy is a descendant of Aaron, he automatically becomes a priest. Of course, this happens at a certain age, accompanied by a certain rite in which the grace of the priesthood is transferred to him, but he is considered from the very beginning to be called to this service. This is the order God established in the Old Testament. And God worked through these priests even when they themselves were not faithful to God! A good example in this regard is Eli, who raised the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1-3 chap.), And Caiaphas, who prophesied about Christ (John 11: 49-52). Nevertheless, in the Old Testament, God acted apart from the hierarchy established by Himself! The prophet Samuel, not being not only from the descendants of Aaron, but not from the tribe of Levi, in fact, also performed priestly functions. The prophet Elijah is also. They took upon themselves the offering of sacrifices, although the Law directly stated that this was the lot of the sons of Aaron only! And all the prophets were those who represented the people before God and brought the people the knowledge of one God. Those. they actually carried out the priestly service, if we understand it broader than just the sacred service in the Temple.
Apostolic succession is the New Testament counterpart to the Aaronic priesthood. Although there is no hereditary priesthood here, there is no automatism that was in the Old Testament, but many signs remain the same. The ministry of a priest is not based on his personal relationship with God, but on the grace of the priesthood, which is transmitted through ordination. Thanks to this grace, the priest has the right to celebrate the Eucharist, in which the miracle of Christ's presence takes place, this grace gives him reason to proclaim the remission of sins, etc. At the same time, the priest himself may at this moment be far from being in the best relationship with God - God will judge him for this, but this in no way diminishes the effectiveness of the sacraments performed by this priest, since this effectiveness is based on the faithfulness of God, and not on the personality of a person. Perhaps this is the case. God can act in this way, although the history of the Church is full of examples of the terrible apostasy of hierarchs. And personally, I find it difficult to suppose that the grace of the priesthood worked through such people. Indeed, even in the Old Testament, we have examples of how God removed apostates and all their offspring from the priesthood (in fact, all priestly families, with the exception of the sons of Zadok: Ezek. 40:46; 44: 10-16).
But just as there are priests "after the order of Aaron," so there are priests "after the order of Melchizedek." The Melchizedek Priesthood was not based on the principle of succession; it came from a personal call from God:
And this can be seen even more clearly [from the fact] that in the likeness of Melchizedek a different Priest rises, Who is such not according to the law of the commandment of the flesh, but according to the power of endless life. For it is testified: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 7: 15-17)
As already mentioned, in the Old Testament, prophets played this role. In the history of the Church of the New Testament, saints, elders, mystics played the role of such "priests". Their ministry did not require official recognition and ordination, and they often deliberately avoided it. However, their authority was often higher than the authority of the hierarchy, since the action of God in their lives was associated with their personal relationship with God. They really knew God personally, and therefore could give people a much deeper understanding of the ways of God than those in whom only the external grace of the priesthood worked.
Paul's Priesthood
There is a prime example of this kind of ministry in the New Testament: the apostle Paul. He was not among the Twelve. He was not among the Lord's disciples at all when Jesus was on earth. The apostles, choosing a replacement for Judas, gave very clear principles of apostleship:
Therefore, it is necessary that one of those who were with us all the time when the Lord Jesus was and treated us, from the baptism of John until the day in which He ascended from us ... (Acts 1: 21-22)
Paul clearly does not meet these requirements! When God calls him, then, in his own words:
When God, who chose me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I would preach His gospel to the Gentiles, I did not then consult with flesh and blood, and did not go to Jerusalem to the Apostles who preceded me. but he went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. (Gal. 1: 15-17)
He is not looking for people to recognize his ministry. He is looking for another: to understand what the One who called him expects of him! Then the apostles also recognize his apostleship (not immediately), but for Paul it was obvious from the very beginning. He preaches the gospel not because he received sanction from people for this, but because he met Christ and can no longer preach the gospel!
The priesthood is based on the same principle in the evangelical churches. A person becomes a minister, a pastor, a teacher because he has experienced God's call to this ministry. Responding with faith to this call, a person receives both the grace to perform this ministry, and the gifts necessary for its fulfillment. In the ordination, the Church testifies that there really is a call from God in the life of this person, as well as his readiness to fulfill this ministry. Here's an example from the New Testament:
In Antioch, in the church there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon, called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manael, a co-foster of Herod the quarter-ruler, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said: Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, after fasting and praying and laying their hands on them, they sent them away. (Acts 13: 1-3)
Paul (then Saul) and Barnabas had already experienced a call to missionary service some time ago. But finally, the moment has come when the appropriate time has come, and the Church confirms this vocation in the ordination. Ordination is not exclusively human recognition. God works in the laying on of hands to actualize the calling, gifts, and talents needed for ministry. However, personal calling is primary. Experience shows that if a person gets up to the ministry without receiving a personal call from the Lord, his ministry will not be long.
Thus, the ministry in the evangelical communities is founded "after the order of Melchizedek." A personal vocation from the Lord, gifts through which a person fulfills his ministry, a personal relationship with God, necessary to bring people the knowledge of God, and not just knowledge about Him - all this lies at the basis of ministry in the gospel churches. This is a feature of the evangelical movement, and we do not need to look for evidence of apostolic succession. In the same way that Paul did not seek to ensure that his ministry was necessarily recognized by the Twelve.
The early Church could accommodate a variety of gifts and ministries. There was an apostolic core, but there were also charismatic ministers: prophets, evangelists, teachers. The unity of the Church was ensured not by a hierarchical structure, which did not exist yet, but by the action of the Holy Spirit among the disciples of Christ. Therefore, the Church was able to accommodate Paul's apostleship, which was radically different both in calling and in the form of service. And not only to recognize, but also to put him on the same level with Peter, about whom the Lord Himself said: "On this rock I will build My Church." The tradition of calling Peter and Paul together the "supreme apostles" thereby testifies to the importance of one priesthood principle as well as the other to the Church. And the combination of these principles just gave the Church that fullness, which allowed her to "bear witness to the resurrection of Christ with great power." The recognition of Paul's apostleship by other apostles testifies to their wisdom, which, unfortunately, is lacking in modern hierarchs. Because by denying the evangelical movement to belong to the Church, they weaken the Church as a whole. Peter, James and John at one time "gave Barnabas and Paul the hand of fellowship" without demanding that they change or accept ordination from them. Can historic churches do it today?
