CH101 - The Third Century

The Issue of the Trinity (a brief overview)
The belief in what would ultimately be called "the trinity" begins in the middle of the first century, first with the Apostle Paul and most clearly articulated by John in his gospel and in the Revelation at the end of the first century.

[There will be a paper for download soon on the development of the trinity - you can request this paper to be sent directly to you - just give me your name and e-mail address.]

Until the first part of the third century and Origen of Alexandria, there really had not been any significant theological writing on this issue. Until Origen there was a simple acknowledgment of NT references, mainly John 1:1. By "simple" I mean a simple belief of what was written without trying to figure it out and explain it. What takes place, from this point forward, is that church councils and various writers try to define a theological point that almost all adherents admited was a "mystery."

Selections from the New Testament
There are numerous examples from the New Testament - for our purpose we will look at only a few. Paul’s creedal formula in 1 Cor. 8:6 is interesting - Paul uses the same Greek construction in this text to describe God and Christ. In English,

"...there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord (kurios) Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Larry Hurtado deals extensively with the early usage of kurios in his comprehensive work, LORD JESUS CHRIST, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Eerdmans 2003) listing in Amazon. Hurtado gives a good account of how Paul uses "Lord" as a designation for Jesus to clearly identify him with YHWH in the Old Testament (see pages 108-118 where he specifically deals with this text and the Philippians 2 text mentioned below). Hurtado reminds us that in the LXX (the OT version cited by all the NT writers) YHWH is translated as kurios,

Then the Philippians 2 text:
"...Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus..."

While I have doubts that most of the NT writers knew the Hebrew text, Paul probably did, yet he makes no effort to guard the sacred Name of Yahweh (YHWH). Here he refers to Yahweh with the traditional Greek ho theos (the God). He uses Hebrew terms at other times (as do other NT writers) but nowhere does he make reference to the sacred name - except that for Paul kurios IS a reference for YHWH.

In this Philippians 2 text, “every knee will bow and every tongue confess” Paul is citing Isaiah 45:23, a clear OT “one God” text. Yet Paul is using it in reference to Jesus. He does this in Rom 14:11 as well. Paul has just said that God has “exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name.” Paul intentionally says every name. Being a first century Jew, would he think Jesus would be above YHWH? No, Paul is saying Jesus IS YHWH.

The Gospel of John
John's gospel is the most deity-oriented of the gospels and it is dated late in the first century. John is the only NT writer to clearly refer to Jesus as the “word,” or logos. While there are similarities to Philo's logos here, John certainly kicks open the door with respect to the divinity of Jesus, and the centrality of that message:

[Notice the graphic in the upper right section of the header above - the archway entrance into St Mary's divinity school in St Andrews, Scotland. John 1:1 in Latin - In Principio Erat Verbum]

The famous “I AM” text of Exodus is rendered ego eimi in the LXX. It is important to remember that Jesus almost certainly did not speak these words in Greek, but rather in Aramaic. This, of course, would put more emphasis on the declaration than even ego eimi can convey. The fact that John records this pericope with ego eimi in Greek indicates his intention of showing the claim of Jesus (or at the very least the view the church had of Jesus at the end of the first century).

Against the suggestion that we insert the personal pronoun "he" after “I am,” it also needs to be pointed out that the construction of the John 8:58 text is unusual. Either the statement ends as most translations render it, “I am,” or it must read “I am before Abraham was born.” Either reading is unusual and points to the intentionality of John to make a point of showing a claim of Jesus to divine equality.

Early Christianity
Ignatius (circa 112-114AD) affirms Jesus as God in the flesh, using the Logos theology of John's gospel, the Word – and to keep anyone from misunderstanding that he might be speaking of Jesus in a docetic or ebionitic way, “both made and not made,”

While it is true that we have two versions of Ignatius (a short and a longer, more “orthodox” version), one can see a strong pre-existence Christology even in the shorter version.

Irenaeus (cir. 175 AD) wrote against Gnostics and is fairly consistent with Ignatius, but also further elaborates the divinity of Jesus,

Through the second century most of the discussion that relates to the concept of trinity focused on the nature of Jesus. First the church battled against ebionitic christology, insisting on the divinity of Jesus. Then some of the fathers battled against docetic christology that existed in many gnostic groups. There is very little discussion on the Holy Spirit. You can see that Irenaeus affirms the Holy Spirit, but there is no divinity language. There is evidence in Clement and Origen that teaching on the Holy Spirit was reserved for teaching catechumens (young believers preparing for baptism) and was guarded, kind of secret.

Sabellius
Up to this point the discussion tended to focus on "logos theology," trying to explain John 1:1. With Sabellius hypostasis was introduced, the idea of "substance" or "personality." Around 220 AD a Libyan leader named Sabellius rejected the idea of three personalities, wanting to hold tightly to a monotheistic position. Sabellius promoted a type of modalism, that each part of the trinity was revealed through energies but did not have a separate personality.

In the late 250's this theological discussion was taken up by Dionysius, the bishop of Rome and the bishop of Alexandria (and a student of Origen), also named Dionysius. To make things more confusing these two church leaders were not fluent with each other's language which caused what Frend calls "a comedy of errors." Dionysius of Rome understood the Greek word hypostasis to mean "substance" when his counterpart in Alexandria was actually talking about "personality." This linguistic struggle only made a delicate and technical discussion more difficult. In addition, the Greek word homoousias (same substance) had also been introduced in the discussion to reference whether the Father and the Son were of the "same substance." The Alexandrian Dionysius used the term "same substance," but refused to rely on it theologically because the word was not used in any biblical text. The Roman Dionysius was fully prepared for this usage.

In the end this discussion showed the willingness of regional bishops to work together for a common faith, but it also opened the door for the future problems that would follow. The concept of homoousias would resurface and the bishops at Nicea would act in a definitive fashion.

Paul of Samosata
In around 260 AD Paul of Samosata became the bishop of Antioch. Paul was a charismatic man - described by Eusebius as "loud-mouthed" and "brash." He had a lofty bishop's throne built for himself; he shouted and waved his hands while preaching; he smacked his thighs and stomped his feet to bring emphasis in his sermons; he called for people to wave hankerchiefs when he said anything that demanded a rowdy response. All of these things only made his theological abberations stand out.

With Paul of Samosata the difference between Antioch and Alexandria clearly comes to the surface. A strong Jewish influence had continued in the church of Antioch and is manifested in the theology of Samosata by an ebionitic slant, a focus on the humanity of Jesus. Paul of Samosata, who held a very dim view of Origen, believed that Jesus had not been eternally united with the Logos, but had been infused with Logos at his baptism.

In 264/265 Dionysius of Alexandria attacked bishop Paul's theology headon, calling a council - there were actually 2-3 different councils, each being used to sway enough leadership to act against Paul. At a council (cir. 265 AD) the Alexandrian bishops won the day and pronounced that in order to be in the catholic church one must affirm the preexistence of Christ. In 268 AD, after failed attempts to defrock him, a group of bishops called on the help of the Roman government (Aurelian) to deal with Paul for his lack of orthodoxy. He was able secure support from Zenobia, the Palmyrene empress which protected him from the bishops actions. This represented the first time Christian bishops petitioned a Roman official for help. Aurelian deferred the case to the bishop of Rome which is the precedent followed later by Constantine.

The Coming Controversy
These third century struggles merely foreshadow the coming controversy of the fourth century. What are now known as the Donatist and Arian controversies will ignite some of the worst strife to date within the Christian Church. These will, in part, lead to the first major Church Councils, Arles in 314 and the famous Council of Nicea in 325. This council is famous partly because the bishops were summoned by the Roman Emperor, Constantine who hoped it would be the crowning achievement of the age of peace in the Roman Empire.

Related Articles:
The Donatist and Arian controversies
The Council of Nicea

Questions, Comments or Criticisms:
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3rd Century Fathers - Christianity Clement of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria Decian Persecutions Cyprian on The Lapsed Bishop Cyprian - Novatians Cyprian - Lapsed Christians Clement of Alexandria and Prayer Clement of Alexandria and Prayer

Third Century Christian History The Trinity in the 3rd Century Paidagogus - Stromateis - Miscellanies Origen - De Principii - Principles Paul of Samosata - Trinity New Testament Canon, Canonized Questions regarding Christian Issues Clement of Alexandria and The Trinity Clement of Alexandria and Contemplation

Third Century Christian Issues Diocletian Persecution of Christians Diocletian Persecutes Early Church Novatian Baptism - Cyprian of Carthage Early Christianity New Testament Early Christianity Constantine and War Important Issues in Early Christianity Clement of Alexandria and Stromateis Stromata, Miscellanies or Stromateis