Lecture 18: Theological Crisis and Council—The Trinity
• In the 4th century, Christianity was divided particularly over
the understanding of God and, in the course of these disputes,
developed a more coherent understanding of the divine as triune
rather than singular.
o Like Jews, the first believers confessed that “God is One,” and
they considered themselves monotheists, but they regarded
Jesus as sharing in the divine life and power because of his
Resurrection. How is monotheism compatible with the
confession of Jesus as Lord?o When they confessed “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3),
early believers complicated monotheism, making, in the eyes
of Jews, “two powers in heaven”—in a word, polytheism,
or idolatry!o The language of the New Testament is religious rather than
theological and maintains a rich ambiguity; the closest thing to
a clear statement is 1 Corinthians 8:4–6, where Paul declares,
“We know that there is no God but one. Even though there are
so-called gods in the heavens and on the earth—there are, to
be sure, many such gods and lords—for us there is one God,
the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live;
and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and
through whom we exist.”o Already in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the impulse toward a
rational explanation led to positions that suppressed the
distinctive character of the Son in order to protect monotheism.
Adoptionists considered the Son divine only through a moral
participation in the life of the Father. Monarchians (Sabellians)
saw the Son only as a “mode” of the Father, rather than distinct.
But the issue waited until the 4th century, within imperial
Christianity, to be well and truly joined.• It’s important to note that in all the doctrinal controversies raging
across the empire, the concern of the emperors was for the unity of
the Christian religion as the new glue of the Roman order.