Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

  • About
    • Speaking
    • Contact
    • Home
  • Books
    • Love Your Bible
    • Christmas Play
    • Kneeling with Giants
    • Review Crew
  • Library
    • Join
    • Login
  • Blog
  • Lenten Prayer Class log in
    • Lenten Prayer Class Info
    • Class Info: Your First Sermon
      • Your 1st Sermon — Course Login
    • “Pray Like a Reformer” Class Info
      • Pray Like a Reformer Login
    • Advent Lectio Divina Class Info!
      • Lectio Divina Class Log In
  • Christmas Play
  • Love Your Bible
  • Kneeling with Giants

Vocabulary Lesson: “Trinity,” “Council”

January 15, 2014 by Gary Neal Hansen 4 Comments

450px-Nikea-arius (1st Council of Nicaea, showing the condemned Arius) used under cc license
450px-Nikea-arius (1st Council of Nicaea, showing the condemned Arius) used under cc license

A couple of weeks ago when I wrote about Gregory of Nazianzus I noted that his approach to the Trinity was radically different from most of what is said on the topic today. “I could say more — just ask me!” I quipped. My dear friend Jack Craft said he’d like to hear more. Here we go.

It may take me a couple posts to get there, but that’s okay with me.

Most Protestants don’t give it much attention but the Trinity is a really big deal. This is not just words about God, a matter of opinion and speculation. We are talking about who God actually is.

  • If Christianity is a relationship with God, then we had better get this one right.
  • Miss the boat on the Trinity and we are in relationship with the wrong deity.

Today I’m going to give a little background; a vocabulary lesson for those learning Christianity as a second language. In my next post I’ll talk more about Gregory’s helpful approach.

“Trinity”

In the church people know the word “Trinity” from the cradle. We just assume it is straightforward biblical teaching.

It wasn’t always so. The whole Church had to learn this word, just like those new to the faith do today. Actually Christians had to invent the word, since it doesn’t occur in Scripture.

There have always been those who say “If it isn’t in the Bible we shouldn’t use it about God!” So let me say that the word Trinity is actually very biblical. It is the word that best expresses what the Bible teaches about God.

Old Testament and New teach that God is One — there is but one living and true God, no matter how many different deities are offered in the culture around us.

But Christians also had to make sense of biblical passages where the Word is said to be with God and to be God; where Jesus says that he is one with the Father; and all kinds of references to the Holy Spirit.

We believe and teach that there is One God, and that this One God is eternally three distinct Persons.

Christians use the word Trinity for this and always, to some degree, say it is a mystery beyond human understanding. How do you make sense of one God when the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God?

“Council”

Clarity came in the fourth century when Christianity was legalized and emperors could settle nasty divisive arguments by gathering bishops from around the world. Seven such conferences have special place and lasting authority in Christianity. These were

meetings of bishops from around the Christian world, called Ecumenical Councils starting with Nicaea I in 325 and ending with Nicaea II in 787. They dealt with crucial issues including the Trinity and our understanding of Jesus Christ.

The first such council, Nicaea I, took on one big piece of the Trinity puzzle: the Christian world was in an uproar over the question of how “the Father” is to be understood in relation to “the Son” whom we know as Jesus Christ. Conclusion: the Father and the Son are “of one substance,” and each of them is just as much God as the other.

But what about the Holy Spirit? That question was dealt with at the second Council, Constantinople I, in 381, with the help of the writings of St. Basil of Caesarea and the leadership of St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Conclusion: the same affirmation was made about the Spirit as had been made about the Son.

That’s the short version of how we came to talk and sing about “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.”

More on the approach Gregory and other early theologians took to the question soon. And maybe also some thoughts on why it is so very important.

How do you think about the Trinity?

What kinds of issues do you wish we could call a Council to settle for global Christianity today?

————

Sharing the post using the buttons below won’t make you orthodox, but it will sure make me grateful!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Gregory of Nazianzus, Theology, Vocabulary Tagged With: Bible, Ecumenical Councils, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, theology, Trinity

Hungry for a way to go deeper with God?

A richer engagement with Scripture helps you as a Christian. It also helps you as you relate to grown ups and kids in ministry.

Subscribe to my (almost) weekly newsletter and I'll send you a free ebook copy of Love Your Bible: Finding Your Way to the Presence of God with a 12th Century Monk.

Comments

  1. Deborah Wise says

    January 15, 2014 at 3:12 PM

    Gary, thank you for your definitions – I think it is very important – because even cradle Christians often don’t understand the whole Trinity thing….I did not realize that Jesus was God until my mid-20s! Do you think the loss of ‘Father’ language plays into the loss of the fullness of the Trinity?

    Phyllis Tickle says that unless we get a clearer understanding of the Trinity we will have a hard time moving forward as the Church universal. (She also says we need to get a better understanding/definition of personhood and the atonement…many younger folks have issues with penal substitution/bloody cross – perhaps a future topic?)

    Reply
    • Gary Neal Hansen says

      January 15, 2014 at 3:40 PM

      Thanks, Deborah.

      Yes, I think people’s hesitation about “Father” language is very much involved — both cause and result actually. More on this in the next post.

      I think Phyllis Tickle is right on all of the above! Yes, lots of good future post topics.

      Reply
  2. Myra Scouten says

    January 15, 2014 at 4:06 PM

    Working with the Trinity on the reservation it was difficult to get the concept across until one of our members read the Shack. I have had “white people” tell me that the trinity depicted in the Shack wasn’t their kind of God and they didn’t like the book. My friend on the rez had a son in prison and The Shack was being passed around there with great reviews. She read it also as she wanted to know what was exciting her son and she got it. I think that she had a good understanding of the 3 in 1 from that experience. Most people refer to God or Jesus as though that is the only way.

    I would like to see a council today that talked about the major idea of what it means to be a Christian so that all those who call themselves Christian could agree on the basic thought of scripture. If they could see that we all come together with that basis then we could truly be the church universal. Christians need to come together and be in unity the way Christ taught or we will continue to fail. While I believe the Church is the Bride of Christ that will help usher in the kingdom I don’t believe that the church was called by various names to indicate difference of believe.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AWESOME children’s sermons? Absolutely! Here’s how.

I'd love to send you my free Children's Sermon Cheat Sheet! You'll learn eight solid strategies to engage with kids on the Gospel.

Subscribe and I'll send it to you -- plus all my new children's sermons will come to you in my almost-weekly newsletter.

Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

Recent Posts

  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 10:38-42 — Mary and Martha
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 10:25-37 — The Good Samaritan
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 — The Second Mission Trip
  • A Children’s Sermon on John 14:23-29 — Four Gifts
  • A Children’s Sermon on John 13:31-35 — A New Commandment

Search the site

Need a new way to engage with the Bible?

Subscribe to my newsletter and I'll send you a free ebook copy of Love Your Bible: Finding Your Way to the Presence of God with a 12th Century Monk. It's a modern introduction to a classic spiritual discipline that brings prayer and Bible study together.

It's manageable. It's fun. And it's free, along with my (almost)weekly newsletter that brings you every new article and announcement.

Archives

Let’s connect on social media…

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Search the site

  • Community for Mission
  • Letters to a Young Pastor
  • Christianity as a Second Language
  • Role Models for Discipleship

© 2025 garynealhansen.com · Rainmaker Platform