Living with Tozer's God

Blogpost #15

Chapter 4: The Holy Trinity

Ten years ago a book was published that took the world by storm. It also caused a storm all over the world of "religion". It was called the Da Vinci Code. Academics, pulpiteers of every stripe and anyone who acted as if they understood "the code" responded. Why the whirlwind of controversy? It appeared, under the guise of an ancient conspiracy, to attack the divinity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus isn't God, then there can, obviously, be no Trinity.

The sad reality to me was that it revealed that the vast number (majority?) of those who call themselves "Christians" really have no clue what they believe or why. Consequently, they are at the mercy of someone who really does believe something, even if it's so obviously false or grossly inaccurate.

The Da Vinci Code arrived in 2003 (it spent a year on the bestseller list and has sold over 80 million copies); the movie debuted in 2006 and continued to fan the flame ( it grossed over $750 million, putting it just ahead of "E.T." and "Shrek" on the all-time list). Since we have truly become a visual society, the movie appealed to broader classes of people (i.e., non-readers). But, there was one truly scary common denominator to all of it...multitudes of otherwise intelligent beings thought it was very possibly true!

The controversy elicited responses from all manner of "experts"...and from all varieties of religious persuasion. Almost all panned it as either inaccurate or dangerous or worse. Of course, there are lots of folks who love a conspiracy, so the lure of being one of the few who knew the secret of the scandal (were Jesus and Mary Magdalene secretly married?) kept the flame burning for at least 7-8 years. I read the book and later saw the movie. What was my opinion?

When I read the book, I thought it was okay entertainment. He wove in all manner of secrets and symbols, introduced some wild speculations and made a pretty good story out of it. Since I was raised Roman Catholic and was familiar with a lot of the secret conspiracy theory stuff (Illuminati, Holy Grail, etc.), I was comfortable with the whole context. But, it was still just entertainment, certainly not to be taken seriously.

The movie was okay, the book was better. But, it was after the movie came out that much of the furor came to the surface. It was then that I began to hear people talking like they thought the "conspiracy" might have some real truth to it. It was clear that this book was "disturbing the faith" of some people. This was very troubling to me. Why?

My reaction was immediate. If the Da Vinci Code is able to shake your faith, then you've got bigger problems than a book. You don't have much of a faith to begin with. What is clear is that, in spite of a virtual cornucopia of Bible teaching in the church today, many folks don't really know what they believe! That should concern us greatly.

If so many "sheep" can be so easily distracted by this, what's going on in the church?

This is the real question. For the last 40+ years this country has experienced a virtual tsunami of Bible teaching options, especially in the evangelical circles. Yet, when faced with a practical challenge to the truth of Scripture, the result is many (most?) folks have no answer and are thus fully vulnerable to the deception. Are we really this shallow? this gullible? I hope not, but I wouldn't risk anything on it either. Let's try to address one of the key issues in the mystery of the Trinity: the divinity of Jesus Christ. This is not the first time the issue had caused a hotbed of controversy.

The Lakeside Council

In 325 A.D., the Roman Emperor Constantine assembled over 300 of the most highly respected church dignitaries (bishops) to his lakeside summer home in Nicea (Bithynia in Paul's day, modern day Turkey). Their task was to settle an issue that had dogged the church leaders for over a century. Was Jesus divine? Was He really God?

There are large and growing modern day cults that have the same problems. They are viewed as cults primarily because of their belief that Jesus is something less than God. But, this is the central issue in a whole host of Biblical doctrines. Think about this.

If Jesus is not God, then how can His death on the cross be of sufficient value to pay for the sins of the whole world? It can't. If He is just a man, at best His life could ransom one other man's life, but it wouldn't be enough for all mankind. The whole doctrine of our salvation and redemption would get very murky, very quickly.

If Jesus is not God, then there can be no Trinity. The basis for this teaching is that all three persons are co-equal, co-existent and co-eternal. Three persons in one God, a Triune God. But, without the Son being considered equal and of the same essence, the concept of the Trinity falls apart.

Likewise, if Jesus is not God in human form, then we have to toss out the Bible because there is no question this is exactly what it teaches. Jesus clearly claimed to be God and we know that is what He said because that's exactly why the Jews wanted Him executed! He was a "blasphemer", "He made Himself out to be God". If this is not true, then the Bible is immediately reduced to a book of moral philosophy, of no more importance than the teachings of Buddha or Confucius. It's clearly what is taught in scripture.

It is crucial to understand that the deity of Christ and the resurrection of Christ are the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Take away either and Christianity falls apart. This is the challenge which faced those gathered at the bishop's council at Nicea in 325 A.D.

The Conclusion: The Nicene Creed

In the early church, one of the primary centers of ecclesiastical learning was not in Rome or even in Jerusalem, it was in Alexandria, in Northern Egypt. It was here that the theological controversy over the deity of Christ reached its tipping point and moved the Emperor to call the Council at Nicea.

The leading antagonist was an elder/bishop from the church in Alexandria named Arius. Arius believed that Jesus was special, but he also believed that he was God's creation. The idea of His "Sonship" was like that of any other son, namely, the Father existed first, then the Son was "created" later. Much of his argument was based on the Lord's words from John 14 where He said, "If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I". In another text, Paul describes the Lord as "the firstborn of all creation" (Col.1:15). The idea, according to Arius, was that the Father created Jesus/the Son and then He created everything else. In the Arian teaching, the Son is clearly an exalted being, but He was not God and not equal with God.

The protagonists in this drama were led by Alexander who was the leader of the Church in Alexandria and all of N. Africa (which was a vibrantly Christian church in those early days). His main argument for the deity of Christ also came from John's gospel. He drew his proof from the Lord's words in John 10:30 ("I and the Father are one"). Later, in John 17:21, He says, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me".

Alexander's main point, as we have outlined here, is that IF Jesus is not God, then the unity of the Godhead is destroyed. This was not just a point of theological contention, the entire future of the church rested on getting this issue right.

"And the winner is...the Truth!"

In the end, the Council determined that the deity of Christ should be confirmed. It was resolved and a formal declaration was made (which we know today as The Nicene Creed). It's a matter of debate whether or not Constantine even understood the issues or just saw that to deny the deity of Christ would lead to unending, unwanted turmoil all over his empire. To us, it doesn't really matter, the truth was preserved...and still stands.

The Council worded it this way in the Nicene Creed

Jesus Christ is described as "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God," proclaiming his divinity.

• Jesus Christ is said to be "begotten, not made", asserting that he was not a mere creature, brought in to being out of nothing, but the true Son of God, brought in to being 'from the substance of the Father'.

• He is said to be "one in being with The Father". The meaning here is that He is of the same substance or essence as the 'Fatherhood

The teaching of the church has always been and continues to be that God exists in three person (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). That they are one in essence, co-equal, co-eternal and co-existent.

How can human minds understand this truth? We have no clue. All the illustrations we dream up to help us try to understand...they all fall short at some point because they are human analogies. It is simply beyond our ability to understand. The truth is that God is God..which means He is unique. We are better served to join those who "gaze in wonder, love and praise"...and just give thanks that He is God...and that He loves us.