2 of 2

Dionysius, bishop of Rome from 259 to 268, attacked modalism as heretical. Modalism twists Jesus' words and makes him out to be deceptive or even a liar. After all, the Gospels, especially seen from John's perspective, recount the relationship Jesus shares with the Father. If God is not three at once, then how could Jesus pray to the Father? And what about Jesus' baptism, when the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove and the Father says, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:16-17). Furthermore, modalism erred in teaching that the Father suffered with Christ as one and the same person. It also ran afoul of the leading Greek philosophies of the age, especially divine impassibility, the idea that God cannot suffer.

Given the doctrine's complexity, it's no surprise that we turn to analogies for help. But every analogy breaks down. "Most analogies drawn from the physical realm tend to be either tritheistic or modalistic in their implications," Millard Erickson writes in Christian Theology. Following Augustine's lead, Erickson therefore opts for analogies drawn from human relationships, though he admits that they, too, fail to convey the deep beauty of this central Christian confession. 

"We do not hold the doctrine of the Trinity because it is self-evident or logically cogent," Erickson writes. "We hold it because God has revealed that this is what he is like."

This should be enough to answer our "So what?" question. We care about the Trinity because this is how God has shown himself to us in the Bible, even if we have to put the puzzle pieces together.

But we should also carefully study the Trinity in order to learn from this dynamic relationship. Modalism and Arianism misrepresent the wonderful fellowship within the Godhead from all eternity. The Trinity reminds us that God did not create us because he was lonely. God even draws believers into fellowship with himself through the work of Christ and the agency of the Holy Spirit.

The Trinity is no mere abstraction. It is God's plan of salvation in action. God the Father, desiring to restore fellowship between himself and his Creation, sent his incarnate Son, who willingly gave his life as a substitute for sins. After defeating evil by raising his Son from the dead, God sent his Holy Spirit as the seal of salvation for all who believe. So what? Nothing less than fellowship with God is at stake.

"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"
–Matthew 3:16-17

Collin Hansen is a CT editor at large and author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists.

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

USA Today reported on criticisms of The Shack's theology.

The Shack is available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

Previous Theology in the News columns are available on our site.

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

May (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52