Introduction to the theme of the Trinity

As we have seen, it is impossible for Christians to reflect on God, even in a general way, without taking into account their belief that God has an inner life, shared by three persons. This is known as the doctrine of the Trinity.

Scripture does not talk about three persons in one God. But it does talk about Father, Son and Spirit in such a way that the development of some sort of trinitarian view of God was inevitable. By a ‘trinitarian view of God’ I mean a way of thinking that regards not only the Father but also the Son and the Spirit as being in some way or other part of the divine side of things and as having distinct roles to play in humanity's creation and salvation.

The first section of our study of the Trinity will therefore be historical. In it we will devote most of our attention to the development of a trinitarian view of God as well as the main theoretical ideas and models that Christians developed to try and understand God’s trinitarian structure. As will be seen, the historical development of the doctrine of the Trinity was also one in which it became so abstracted from Christian life that it ceased to have any relevance for the way in which Christians understood and practised their faith.

The second section of our study will therefore focus on the relevance of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Let us begin then with the historical overview of the doctrine's development.

Historical overview of the doctrine's development

It is crystal clear from the biblical documents that the God of the Judaeo-Christian tradition is anything but a philosophical abstraction. On the contrary, in that tradition God is presented as a God primarily of personal relationships. In the scriptures many images were used to convey this conviction, three of which were to play a decisive role in the development of the doctrine of the Trinity. They are ‘father’, ‘son’ and ‘spirit’.