Doctrine of the Trinity: the bare bones

I've found that most Christians have not been taught in church or school who God is, according to the Christian faith. So here is a one page handout I use in class to explain the basics of the two most fundamental Christian doctrines, which are both about who God is. I stole the seven statements from Augustine, by the way. The next post will add some commentary.

The Two Basic Christian Doctrines

The two most important Christian teachings are about who God is and who Jesus is: the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the Incarnation.

A. The Doctrine of the Trinity can be summed up in 7 statements:

1. The Father is God

2. The Son of God (i.e. Jesus Christ) is God

3. The Holy Spirit is God

4. The Father is not the Son

5. The Son is not the Holy Spirit

6. The Holy Spirit is not the Father

7. But there is only one God.

The logical paradox here is simply that the arithmetic doesn't work out right. After confessing these Three as God (1-3) and distinguishing each one from the others (4-6), we conclude by saying they do not add up to 3 Gods.

But notice that aside from the strange arithmetic, the doctrine of the Trinity is stated above in very simple terms. This statement is based on the way the Bible talks about God the Father, about Christ, and about the Holy Spirit. You only have to use fancy philosophical language (like "essence," "substance," and so on) in order to argue against certain complicated heresies. Using that language, the Church traditionally teaches that in God there is only one essence (or substance or nature) but three persons. This language goes back to the Nicene Creed's homo-ousios clause, which says that Christ is of one substance or essence with the Father. This clause is basically a comment on statement number two: it means that when we say Christ is God, we mean he is God in exactly the same sense that the Father is.

B. The Doctrine of the Incarnation or "Christology" is the basic Christian teaching about who Jesus is. After saying that he is God (in the doctrine of the Trinity, above) we go on to say that he is a human being as well, just like us. Thus in a nutshell, the doctrine of the Incarnation teaches:

Jesus Christ is both true God and true man.

Using philosophical language again, the Church traditionally says that Christ is one person having two natures (i.e. both divine nature and human nature).

By the way, the doctrine of the Incarnation does not explain how this is possible; it just says that's how it is. But in saying so, it does rule out certain common mistakes. For instance, many people will say, "Jesus can't really be God; he's too human." But according to the doctrine of the Incarnation, that's a mistake: since Christ is both true God and true man, the fact that he is truly human doesn't make him any less truly God.

Likewise, his being truly God does not make him any less human. He is not simply God looking human. Nor is he simply God taking over a human body: being true man, he has everything that belongs to human nature, including a human soul as well as a human body. Of course he has no sin, but his lack of sin is not inhuman but rather makes humanity what it was always meant to be.