The Roots of Trinitarian thinking in the Old Testament
My mind has been expanded by a couple authors as I read the Old Testament. I am still processing some of this, but they are helping me to see some things I wasn't seeing.
The first author is Stephen De Young, an Orthodox Priest, and a Biblical Scholar. I find pretty much everything he writes to be helpful. For this sermon I found chapter 2 "The Spirit, Presence, and Name of God" of his book Religion of the Apostles: Orthodox Christianity in the First Century Particularly helpful.
There is also an Evangelical Old Testament scholar named Michael Heiser, who is remarkably similar in his thinking. Chapter 6 "The Word, the Name, and the Angel" of his book Supernatural has much of the information as the above mentioned book.
Supernatural is a more accessible version of his book The Unseen Realm. Chapters 16, 17, and 18 are helpful for anyone wanting to look deeper into what I talk about in this sermon. Now to our topic.
Today is Trinity Sunday. Of all the teachings of the Church Christians have a hard with, the Trinity is the one we are most likely to struggle with understanding.
I find the easiest way to explain the Trinity is this: When talking about God, when we ask,
I find the easiest way to explain the Trinity is this: When talking about God, when we ask,
“what is it?” The answer is “God”.
When we ask,
“who is it?” The answer is “Father, Son, Spirit”.
God has one nature, and three persons. Really that is just setting some boundaries for when we are talking about the Christian God and when we have left that God behind.
Reality is complex. We can look into a cell, or DNA, or at sub-atomic particles and we find complexity that can be tricky to wrap our heads around. So, if that’s true of the natural world, then why wouldn’t we expect God to be complex to understand as well.
We sometimes think about the idea of the Trinity as a theory that evolved over time. The Jewish people in the Old Testament were strict monotheists- they only believed in one God, then things got complicated with Jesus and the Christians had to come up with a way of explaining Jesus and the Holy Spirit, so they came up with the idea of the Trinity.
Reality is complex. We can look into a cell, or DNA, or at sub-atomic particles and we find complexity that can be tricky to wrap our heads around. So, if that’s true of the natural world, then why wouldn’t we expect God to be complex to understand as well.
We sometimes think about the idea of the Trinity as a theory that evolved over time. The Jewish people in the Old Testament were strict monotheists- they only believed in one God, then things got complicated with Jesus and the Christians had to come up with a way of explaining Jesus and the Holy Spirit, so they came up with the idea of the Trinity.
Sometimes Christians are even accused of inventing the Trinity to appease the Roman Emperor Constantine, as a kind of middle ground between paganism and Jewish monotheism. It's a silly accusation that doesn't really have any historical validity.
The more I learn about Judaism at the time of Jesus, the more I realize how their view of God was actually quite complex. And that’s what I want to look at today. On past Trinity Sundays we have looked at what the church Fathers thought, and how Trinitarian ideas were a part of the Early Church’s thinking about God. And on other Trinity Sundays we have looked at the Theology and the Biblical basis for these idea. Today, I would like to look at some images of God from the Old Testament, and show how their idea of God isn’t as simple as we sometimes think. And this way of thinking about God naturally flowed into a Trinitarian conception of God.
For example, in the Old Testament we read about the “Angel of the Lord”. In Exodus 3 we read,
The more I learn about Judaism at the time of Jesus, the more I realize how their view of God was actually quite complex. And that’s what I want to look at today. On past Trinity Sundays we have looked at what the church Fathers thought, and how Trinitarian ideas were a part of the Early Church’s thinking about God. And on other Trinity Sundays we have looked at the Theology and the Biblical basis for these idea. Today, I would like to look at some images of God from the Old Testament, and show how their idea of God isn’t as simple as we sometimes think. And this way of thinking about God naturally flowed into a Trinitarian conception of God.
For example, in the Old Testament we read about the “Angel of the Lord”. In Exodus 3 we read,
“the angel of the Lord appeared to [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (3:2).
A couple verses later we read,
“God called to him out of the bush” (3:4).
So, who was speaking to Moses from the bush? The “Angel of the Lord” or “God”?
If we look at the story of Gideon in Judges 6 we read,
If we look at the story of Gideon in Judges 6 we read,
“Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah… And the angel of the Lord appeared to [Gideon] and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’” (6:11,12).
Gideon explains his people’s plight and how he feels like God isn’t with them. Then we read,
“the LORD [YHWH] turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.’ He responded, ‘But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The LORD [YHWH] said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites” (v14-16).
Gideon makes a sacrificial offering, which the angel touches with the tip of his staff and fire suddenly consumes the offering. (Sacrificial offerings should really only be made to God). We read,
“Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD [YHWH]. And Gideon said, ‘Help me, Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD [YHWH] face to face.’ But the LORD [YHWH] said to him, ‘Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD [YHWH], and called it, The LORD [YHWH] is peace” (6:22-24).
So, is this God, or is this the “Angel of the Lord”?
There are other encounters in the Old Testament, for example, Abraham acts as host to three angels who come to visit him, but one of those angels seems to speak to Abraham as if He is God (Gen 18). Jacob wrestles with an angel, who also seems to be God in some mysterious way (Gen 32).
There was also the “Son of Man” which is a phrase that Jesus often used to refer to himself. In the Second Temple Period (After the first Temple was destroyed and when the People returned from Babylon to rebuild he Temple), the Son of Man was a heavenly being based on how they understood Daniel 7. For example, riding on a cloud in Middle Eastern religion is a sign of divinity. This figure started to get connected to the expected Messiah.[1]
The “glory of God” phrase also expresses the presence of God in a cloud or a pilar of cloud, but also seems to appear as a man (Ex 16:9-12; 24:9-12,15-18; Ez 1:22,26).
In the time before Jesus was born, some Jewish scholars believed that there were two powers in heaven. The Jewish people of the time didn’t see this as a violation of monotheism in the way it was understood. The way they thought about this was still considered to be in the realm of correct Jewish thinking. When Jesus was born, this was a thought that had already been floating around for a couple hundred years.[2]
We have talked about Exodus 33 before, which is one of the places in Scripture that helped to give rise to this way of thinking. … In Exodus 33:11 we read,
There are other encounters in the Old Testament, for example, Abraham acts as host to three angels who come to visit him, but one of those angels seems to speak to Abraham as if He is God (Gen 18). Jacob wrestles with an angel, who also seems to be God in some mysterious way (Gen 32).
There was also the “Son of Man” which is a phrase that Jesus often used to refer to himself. In the Second Temple Period (After the first Temple was destroyed and when the People returned from Babylon to rebuild he Temple), the Son of Man was a heavenly being based on how they understood Daniel 7. For example, riding on a cloud in Middle Eastern religion is a sign of divinity. This figure started to get connected to the expected Messiah.[1]
The “glory of God” phrase also expresses the presence of God in a cloud or a pilar of cloud, but also seems to appear as a man (Ex 16:9-12; 24:9-12,15-18; Ez 1:22,26).
In the time before Jesus was born, some Jewish scholars believed that there were two powers in heaven. The Jewish people of the time didn’t see this as a violation of monotheism in the way it was understood. The way they thought about this was still considered to be in the realm of correct Jewish thinking. When Jesus was born, this was a thought that had already been floating around for a couple hundred years.[2]
We have talked about Exodus 33 before, which is one of the places in Scripture that helped to give rise to this way of thinking. … In Exodus 33:11 we read,
“the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”
… And just a few verses later in the same chapter we read God saying,
“you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live” (33:20).
… An idea developed that there was a visible aspect of God who seemed to take human form, and an aspect of God who was invisible and who was even dangerous to try to look at.[3] In later Trinitarian language the church would talk about a “person” of God, or a “hypostases” of God.
The visible aspect of God was sometimes referred to as the “Word of God” or the “Angel of the Lord”. Those who encountered Jesus and authored the New Testament inherited this understanding of God and associated this visible aspect of God with Jesus. John says,
The visible aspect of God was sometimes referred to as the “Word of God” or the “Angel of the Lord”. Those who encountered Jesus and authored the New Testament inherited this understanding of God and associated this visible aspect of God with Jesus. John says,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:1, 14).
And in the letter to the Colossians we read, that Jesus
“is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15).
The followers of Jesus naturally connected Jesus to this visible aspect of God that they inherited.
This is similar to how the early Christians saw the Spirit. In Genesis 1 we read that
This is similar to how the early Christians saw the Spirit. In Genesis 1 we read that
“the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:2).
Why not just say that “God” was over the face of the waters? Why say that the “Spirit” of God was hovering over the waters? There seems to be something similar happening here. The Spirit is seen as an aspect of God (or, in later Trinitarian thinking, a “hypostases” or “person”). In the Old Testament, God sometimes seems to be experienced as a cloud- as a pilar of cloud guiding Israel in the wilderness, as a cloud that descends on the tent of meeting, and as a cloud that fills the temple. So, they similarly saw certain ways God was experienced and associated that aspect of God with another person of God- the Spirit. There are also many people in the Old Testament who are described as having the “Spirit of God” (Joseph Gen 41:38; The craftsmen Bezalel Ex 31:3; Moses Num 11:17,25; Gideon 6:34, etc.).
When we read about Jesus’ great commission we read,
When we read about Jesus’ great commission we read,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” (Matthew 28:19).
There is a threeness going on here that has to be accounted for. No angel or prophet is given the kind of status Jesus and the Spirit are given. And these people who are worshipping Jesus are also Jewish, and while increasing in Gentile numbers, they are still using the Hebrew Scriptures (The Old Testament). One of the marks of Jewish belief in God is that only God is to be worshipped.
So, the Early Church inherited an understanding of God with these nuances regarding the Spirit, the Word of God, The Angel of the Lord, The Son of Man, the glory of the Lord, all seeming to point to the visible aspect of God. Through their experience with Jesus, they came away with a deeper understanding of God. The experience of the Apostles with Jesus made it impossible to understand God apart from Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Church’s doctrine of the Trinity helps us to know when we are talking about the Christian God and when we have stopped talking about that God.
This is what the church concluded- In essence, it can be boiled down to this. God is one nature. If you ask what God is, the answer is “God”. (If you ask what I am, the answer is human. My nature is “human”.)
So, the Early Church inherited an understanding of God with these nuances regarding the Spirit, the Word of God, The Angel of the Lord, The Son of Man, the glory of the Lord, all seeming to point to the visible aspect of God. Through their experience with Jesus, they came away with a deeper understanding of God. The experience of the Apostles with Jesus made it impossible to understand God apart from Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Church’s doctrine of the Trinity helps us to know when we are talking about the Christian God and when we have stopped talking about that God.
This is what the church concluded- In essence, it can be boiled down to this. God is one nature. If you ask what God is, the answer is “God”. (If you ask what I am, the answer is human. My nature is “human”.)
If you ask who God is, the answer is “Father, Son, Holy Spirit”. God is three persons. (If you ask who I am, I say “Chris”. I am one person, with one nature.)
God has one nature, and three persons.
The roots of this teaching about the Trinity don’t spring out of nowhere, we see hints of it even in The Old Testament. The Early Church inherited these ways of thinking about God, which sprung from experiences with God in Scripture and worship. The idea of the Trinity became even more solidified in the 300’s they really hashed this out and came up with what we know as the Nicene Creed, which came from meetings with bishops from all over. But they weren’t making up something new. They were putting words to something that was already being experienced as they worshipped in their churches.
This teaching comes out of the church’s encounter with God. The teaching of the Trinity is the result of the church struggling to find words to describe that profound experience, so I think it is important that we honour what they have passed on to us- that we take it seriously, in trust that they (through the Spirit’s guidance) have done their best to guide us into truth. AMEN
See “The Jewish Targums and John’s Logos Theology” by John Ronning
The roots of this teaching about the Trinity don’t spring out of nowhere, we see hints of it even in The Old Testament. The Early Church inherited these ways of thinking about God, which sprung from experiences with God in Scripture and worship. The idea of the Trinity became even more solidified in the 300’s they really hashed this out and came up with what we know as the Nicene Creed, which came from meetings with bishops from all over. But they weren’t making up something new. They were putting words to something that was already being experienced as they worshipped in their churches.
This teaching comes out of the church’s encounter with God. The teaching of the Trinity is the result of the church struggling to find words to describe that profound experience, so I think it is important that we honour what they have passed on to us- that we take it seriously, in trust that they (through the Spirit’s guidance) have done their best to guide us into truth. AMEN
[1] Matt 26:64
[2] See “Two Powers in Heaven”
by Alan Segal, a Jewish scholar looking at early rabbinic Judaism.
[3] This can be seen in
the Targums (paraphrases of biblical stories).
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