The Trinity is God’s mutual joy and extraverted communion.

Justin Holcomb:
The Trinity is God’s mutual joy and extroverted communion. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life. We’re here to let you know that because of what Jesus has done, God will never be angry at you again. Justin Holcomb has been teaching us all this week. Justin is an Episcopal priest, an author, and he teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Justin Holcomb:
Thank you Matthew. My name is Justin Holcomb and I have had the joy of teaching this week. Each day this week we have focused on an important creed or council of the early church. We conclude our study of the creeds and councils today with the Athanasian Creed. And if you’d like to learn more about this, I have written an accessible book on the creeds and councils called Know the Creeds and Councils is meant to be a Sunday school resource and for just any Christian anywhere. It’s not a nerd fest or anything. So, and we’re doing this because Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would lead the church into truth. And that means that church history and theology matters. Why should we explore the creeds? In our individualistic culture, we’re tempted to pick and choose what religion and what dimensions of religion we like. For the early Christian, creeds were meant to be used by groups, not just a summary of what everyone in the room agrees upon, but a promise made and kept as a group. Creeds were initially used in baptism, during which the baptismal candidate recited a formula or responded to questions, thereby publicly confessing belief in Jesus Christ, his person and work of what he’s done, life, death, and resurrection. The creeds also were used to teach new converts the basic elements of the Christian faith. And since the creeds were relatively short summaries of Christian doctrine, they were easy to learn. Far from being a device of the ivory tower, creeds were the way that ordinary tradesmen and farmers could learn about Jesus Christ and their pledge to live their lives to the God of the Bible. Nowadays, we have a largely literate population and an ample supply of Bibles and Bible studies and resources, and so it’s easy to wonder whether creeds are necessary. Some may even think that the creeds stand in opposition, or at least in tension with the authority of the Holy Scripture. And by no means are we intending that at all. The Scripture is the authority, the magisterial authority. The creeds are tools that are helpful, that summarize the teaching of Scripture, not put at odds with each other at all. Scripture is always the final authority. Creeds aren’t dogmas that are imposed on Scripture, but they are themselves drawn from the Bible and provide a touchstone to the faith for Christians of all times and all places. So, let’s turn our attention to the Athanasian Creed. Like the Apostles’ Creed, the origin of the Athanasian Creed is unknown. As the name suggests, the creed was originally ascribed to Athanasius, the great father of Nicene Orthodoxy and defender of the divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity. Athanasius was a pastor, a preacher, a bishop, a theologian, and most especially, a leader in the defense of the faith of the Nicene Council, the the Council of Niacea and the Nicene Creed, but he probably had nothing to do with the Creed that has his name on it. Like the Apostles’ Creed, the statement of faith associated with Athanasius derives its power, not from the name ascribed to it, but from the truth that it expresses, it seems Athanasian. Even if it was not written by Athanasius himself, it emerged out of the time of the church fathers and the ecumenical councils. It was likely written in the late 400s or early 500s. But by A.D. 1090, the great medieval theologian Anselm of Canterbury counted the Athanasian Creed on equal par with the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed as part of the three creeds of the Christian faith. According to Martin Luther, the Athanasian Creed was, quote.

The most important and glorious composition since the days of the apostles.

Again, that’s high praise. John Calvin considered it, quote.

The three symbols that stand forever in accordance with the word of God.

So, what can we learn from the Apostles’ Creed? Sorry. What can we learn from the Athenasian Creed? The Athenasian Creed consists of 42 articles, which can be divided into three parts. The first part addresses the Trinity. The second part defends the two natures of Jesus that Chalcedon had explained, summarizing the results of the 4th and 5th century debates. And the third part of the creed asserts that any who will be saved must adhere to the teachings of the Athanasian Creed. So, here’s an excerpt of that Creed, quote.

We worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

nor dividing the essence, the divine nature of God.

And then it states. That the persons of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit are distinct that the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit is still another. It says this.

For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.

And then right after this, it makes a point that the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal. It says this.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one. The glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited, the Son unlimited, and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal.

That’s the end of the quote that we’ll be reading. There’s lots more, but I wanted to hone in on how deliberate the Athanasian Creed is about one nature of God, but three distinct persons that are not divided, but not the same. And then, to drive the point home, it argues that the qualities that the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has. Last quote.

And also there are not three uncreated, nor three infinities, but one uncreated and one infinite. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise, the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

How deliberate it is being on every single word is just magnificent and beautiful. Now, it’s sometimes said that you cannot describe the Trinity without committing some sort of heresy, and I agree with that. Trying to come up with an analogy is just difficult. Either you make God out to be three gods, or you make the three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, into a sham and pretense and not really distinct persons. The reason for this is that to speak about God, to speak about the Holy Trinity, is different from speaking about any other thing ever. God is categorically different and separate from all other subjects. God is God and nothing else is. That’s why it’s difficult to come up with, a mundane example, whatever it might be. So, when we discuss the Trinity, we’re peering into what theologians call the aseity, A S E I T Y, the aseity of God. God, as he is to himself. God presents himself fully only to himself. Only God knows God fully, but he reveals himself to us in Scripture and in Jesus Christ. We know about the Trinity only because God lovingly reveals aspects of his being and character to us, but God knows himself very well. Given these challenges in expressing the great mystery of the,

Godhead, who is one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity.

The Athanasian Creed is about as careful and thorough an attempt as can be found in the history of the church. It not only describes and summarizes the core doctrine of the Trinity, but it also sets boundaries to prevent potential heresies and misunderstandings from creeping in. Despite the dense language, the Creed is designed to be practical. It begins by recognizing what Christians must believe, and whom we must worship, and who is worthy of our worship. It is essentially a guide to worship. Again, it’s not ivory tower, but this is all about doxology. It means worshiping one God who is revealed to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for, quote.

Their glory is equal, their majesty is coeternal.

The Trinity is not merely one doctrine among others, this article of the faith structures all of the Christian faith and practice. It structures our theology, our liturgies, our hymns, and our lives. As theologian Herman Bavinck wrote.

In the doctrine of the Trinity beats the heart of the whole revelation of God for the redemption of humanity. As the Father, Son, and the Spirit, our God is above us, before us, and within us.

That is beautiful.

As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our God is above us, before us, and within us.

As my friend Michael Horton writes, quote.

Each person of the Trinity goes out to the other in mutual joy and fellowship, and in that complete fullness creates a non-divine world to share analogically in this extroverted communion.

End quote. In every work, every external work of the Godhead, like creation, providence, redemption, the Father speaks his word in the Son through the perfecting power of the Holy Spirit. The Father is the origin in the cause. The Son is the medium in the content. The Spirit brings about the work’s intended effect within creation. While the triune God freely chose to send the Son and the Spirit in history, the Father’s begetting of the Son and breathing out the Spirit are intrinsic to the very life of the Godhead, independently of an external world. God turned toward you to forgive you, redeem you, adopt you into his family, and that is why theology matters. Amen and God bless.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Holcomb. If you’d like to listen to any of these episodes again, or maybe you’d like to share something with a friend, just stop by keylife.org where you can stream all our shows for free. And don’t forget to join us again tomorrow for Friday Q&A. On tap for Steve and Pete, how can God listen to all our prayers? It’s a great question, tune in for their answer. Boy, did we cover some ground this week. The nature of Jesus, the Trinity, the creeds and counsels. Well, put broadly, we got into theology. We touched on that same subject recently on Steve Brown Etc. when we spoke with Jennifer and David McNutt. Tertullian, Augustine, Barth, if you don’t know those names or their work, well, you at least have a general understanding after you hear this episode. So, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE and we’ll send you that episode on CD for free. Again, that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for the free CD featuring Jennifer and David McNutt. And hey, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? Giving is easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.