God in Christianity
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In
The
Although the
Background
Development of the conception of God
Overview
...for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
Apart from asserting that there is one God, Paul's statement (which is likely based on pre-Pauline confessions) includes a number of other significant elements: he distinguishes Christian belief from the Jewish background of the time by referring to Jesus and the Father almost in the same breath, and by conferring on Jesus the title of divine honor "Lord", as well as calling him Christ.[4][16][12]
In the Book of Acts (Acts 17:24–27),[38] during the Areopagus sermon given by Paul, he further characterizes the early Christian understanding:[39]
The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth
Paul also reflects on the relationship between God and Christians:[39]
...that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us for in him we live.
The
By the end of the 1st century, Clement of Rome had repeatedly referred to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and linked the Father to creation in 1 Clement 19.2,[44] stating: "let us look steadfastly to the Father and creator of the universe".[45] By the middle of the 2nd century, in Against Heresies, Irenaeus had emphasized (in Book 4, chapter 5)[46] that the Creator is the "one and only God" and the "maker of heaven and earth".[45] These preceded the formal presentation of the concept of Trinity by Tertullian early in the 3rd century.[45]
The period from the late 2nd century to the beginning of the 4th century (approximately 180–313) is generally called the "epoch of the
From the 2nd century onward,
Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and other Christian theologians have described God with the Latin term ipsum esse, a phrase that translates roughly to "being itself".[49][50] God's aseity makes the Christian God not "a being" but rather "being itself", and can be explained by phrases such as "that which is with no reliance on anything external for its being" or "the necessary condition for anything to exist at all".
As time passed, theologians and philosophers developed more precise understandings of the nature of God and began to produce systematic lists of his attributes. These varied in detail, but traditionally the attributes fell into two groups: those based on negation (that God is impassible) and those positively based on eminence (that God is infinitely good).[24] Ian Ramsey suggested that there are three groups, and that some attributes, such as simplicity and perfection, have a different logical dynamic which from such attributes as infinite goodness since there are relative forms of the latter but not of the former.[51]
Name
In Christian theology, the name of God has always held deeper significance than purely being a label, considered instead to have divine origin and be based upon divine revelation.[52][53] The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g., Exodus 20:7[54] or Psalms 8:1),[55] generally using the terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God.[56] However, general references to the name of God may branch to other special forms which express his multifaceted attributes.[56] The Old Testament reveals YHWH (often vocalized with vowels as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah") as the personal name of God, along with certain titles including El Elyon and El Shaddai.[57][58] Jah or Yah is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh/Jehovah; it is often used by Christians in the interjection Hallelujah, meaning "Praise Jah", which is used to give God glory.[59] In the New Testament, Theos, Kyrios, and Pater (πατήρ, "father" in Greek) are additional words used to reference God.[60][56]
Respect for the name of God is one of the Ten Commandments, which is viewed not only as an avoidance of the improper use of the name of God, but also a commandment to exalt it, through both pious deeds and praise.[61] This is reflected in the first petition in the Lord's Prayer addressed to God the Father: "Hallowed be thy Name".[62]
In the theology of the
John 12:27[69] presents the sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of God, and the ensuing salvation delivered through it as the glorification of the name of God, with the voice from Heaven confirming Jesus' petition ("Father, glorify thy name") by saying: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again", referring to the Baptism and crucifixion of Jesus.[70]
Attributes and nature
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The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of God have been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity. In the 2nd century, Irenaeus addressed the issue and expounded on some attributes; for example, Book IV, chapter 19 of Against Heresies[71] states: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things".[21] Irenaeus based his attributes on three sources: Scripture, prevailing mysticism and popular piety.[21] Today, some of the attributes associated with God continue to be based on statements in the Bible, such as the Lord's Prayer, which states that the Father is in Heaven, while other attributes are derived from theological reasoning.[23]: 111, 100
In the 8th century,
Two attributes of God that place him above the world, yet acknowledge his involvement in the world, are transcendence and immanence.[1][2][3] Transcendence means that God is eternal and infinite, not controlled by the created world and beyond human events.[1] Immanence means that God is involved in the world, and Christian teachings have long acknowledged his attention to human affairs.[1] However, unlike pantheistic religions, in Christianity, God's being is not of the substance of the created universe.[1]
Traditionally, some theologians such as Louis Berkhof distinguish between the communicable attributes (those that human beings can also have) and the incommunicable attributes (those that belong to God alone).[56] However, others such as Donald Macleod hold that all the suggested classifications are artificial and without basis.[73]
There is a general agreement among theologians that it would be a mistake to conceive of the essence of God existing by itself and independently of the attributes or of the attributes being an additional characteristic of the Divine Being. They are essential qualities which exist permanently in his very Being and are co-existent with it. Any alteration in them would imply an alteration in the essential being of God.[56]
Hick suggests that when listing the attributes of God, the starting point should be his self-existence ("aseity") which implies his eternal and unconditioned nature. Hick goes on to consider the following additional attributes: Creator being the source of all that composes his creation ("creatio ex nihilo") and the sustainer of what he has brought into being; personal; loving, good; and holy.[74] Berkhof also starts with self-existence but moves on to immutability; infinity, which implies perfection eternity and omnipresence; unity. He then analyses a series of intellectual attributes: knowledge-omniscience; wisdom; veracity and then, the moral attributes of goodness (including love, grace, mercy and patience); holiness and righteousness before dealing finally with his sovereignty.[75]
Gregory of Nyssa was one of the first theologians to argue, in opposition to Origen, that God is infinite. His main argument for the infinity of God, which can be found in Against Eunomius, is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is essential, God is also limitless.[76]
Depiction
Many early Christians believed that a number of verses within the Bible,
The Hand of God was common in
The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming the throne,
The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the
The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general.[84] However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God the Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as John of Damascus, drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ.
In his treatise On the Divine Images, John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see".[85] The implication is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible images and portrait icons would be inaccurate, and that what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit, but not for the Word.[further explanation needed] John of Damascus wrote:[86]
If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who is without body: invisible, uncircumscribed and without form.
Around 790,
The
We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of the words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them.
Images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them.[88] However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God the Father could be symbolized.
Prior to the 10th century, no attempt was made to use a human figure to symbolize
It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human figure. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[89]
By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French
In the 14th century the
In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini, (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and a beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days.[91]
- ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)
In the Annunciation by
In Renaissance paintings of the adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular
Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the
Traditional artistic depictions of God the Father which followed the conventions of the church were relatively uncontroversial in Catholic art thereafter, but less common, unusual depictions of the
God the Father is symbolized in several Genesis scenes in
In several of his painting, such as the
In 1667 the 43rd chapter of the Great Moscow Council specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a whole range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[103][104] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The Council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, as Logos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox Christian-majority countries.
Kingdom of God and eschatology
Kingship and Kingdom
The Christian characterization of the relationship between God and humanity involves the notion of the "Kingship of God", whose origins go back to the Old Testament, and may be seen as a consequence of the creation of the world by God.[25][105] The "enthronement psalms" (Psalms 45, 93, 96, 97–99) provide a background for this view with the exclamation "The Lord is King".[25] However, in later Judaism a more "national" view was assigned to God's Kingship in which the awaited Messiah may be seen as a liberator and the founder of a new state of Israel.[106]
The term "Kingdom of God" does not appear in the Old Testament, although "his Kingdom" and "your Kingdom" are used in some cases when referring to God.[107] However, the Kingdom of God (the Matthean equivalent being "Kingdom of Heaven") is a prominent phrase in the Synoptic Gospels (appearing 75 times), and there is near unanimous agreement among scholars that it represents a key element of the teachings of Jesus.[25][26] Yet, R. T. France points out that while the concept of "Kingdom of God" has an intuitive meaning to lay Christians, there is hardly any agreement among scholars about its meaning in the New Testament.[26] Some scholars see it as a Christian lifestyle, some as a method of world evangelization, some as the rediscovery of charismatic gifts, others relate it to no present or future situation, but the world to come.[26] France states that the phrase Kingdom of God is often interpreted in many ways to fit the theological agenda of those interpreting it.[26]
End times
Interpretations of the term Kingdom of God have given rise to wide-ranging
By the middle of the 20th century, realized eschatology, which in contrast viewed the Kingdom as non-apocalyptic but as the manifestation of divine sovereignty over the world (realized by the ministry of Jesus), had gathered a scholarly following.[108] In this view the Kingdom is held to be available in the present.[109] The competing approach of Inaugurated eschatology was later introduced as the "already and not yet" interpretation.[108] In this view the Kingdom has already started, but awaits full disclosure at a future point.[109] These diverging interpretations have since given rise to a good number of variants, with various scholars proposing new eschatological models that borrow elements from these.[108][109]
Judgement
A number of gospel passages warn against sin and suggest a path of righteousness to avoid the judgement of God.[115] For instance, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:22–26 teaches the avoidance of sin and the Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:49) state that at the moment of judgement the angels will "sever the wicked from among the righteous and shall cast them into the furnace of fire".[115] Christians can thus enjoy forgiveness that lifts them from the judgement of God by following the teachings of Jesus and through a personal fellowship with him.[115]
Trinitarianism
History and foundation
In early Christianity, the concept of salvation was closely related to the invocation of the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit".[116][117] Since the 1st century, Christians have called upon God with the name "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" in prayer, baptism, communion, exorcism, hymn-singing, preaching, confession, absolution and benediction.[116][117] This is reflected in the saying: "Before there was a 'doctrine' of the Trinity, Christian prayer invoked the Holy Trinity".[116]
The term "Trinity" does not explicitly appear in the Bible, but Trinitarians believe the concept as later developed is consistent with biblical teachings.
The general concept was expressed in early writings from the beginning of the 2nd century forward, with Irenaeus writing in his Against Heresies (Book I Chapter X):[116]
- "The Church ... believes in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit".
Around AD 213 in Adversus Praxeas (chapter 3) Tertullian provided a formal representation of the concept of the Trinity, i.e., that God exists as one "substance" but three "Persons": The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.[120][121] In defense of the coherence of the Trinity Tertullian wrote (Adversus Praxeas 3): "The Unity which derives the Trinity out of its own self is so far from being destroyed, that it is actually supported by it." Tertullian also discussed how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.[120]
The
Bernhard Lohse (1928–1997) states that the doctrine of the Trinity does not go back to non-Christian sources such as Plato or Hinduism and that all attempts at suggesting such connections have floundered.[124] The majority of Christians are now Trinitarian and regard belief in the Trinity as a test of true orthodoxy of belief.[116]
The doctrine
The doctrine of the Trinity is considered by most Christians to be a core tenet of their faith.[30][31] It can be summed up as:[30]
- "The One God exists in Three Persons and One Substance."
Strictly speaking, the doctrine is a mystery that can "neither be known by unaided human reason", nor "cogently demonstrated by reason after it has been revealed"; even so "it is not contrary to reason" being "not incompatible with the principles of rational thought".[123]
The doctrine was expressed at length in the 4th-century Athanasian Creed of which the following is an extract:[31][32]
We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
To
While "Father" and "Son" implicitly invoke masculine sex, the gender of God in Christianity has historically been treated as metaphorical, and not as representing the real nature of God.[126][127]
The 20th century witnessed an increased theological focus on the doctrine of the Trinity, partly due to the efforts of Karl Barth in his four volume Church Dogmatics.[128] This theological focus relates the revelation of the Word of God to the Trinity, and argues that the doctrine of Trinity is what distinguishes the "Christian concept of God" from all other religions.[128][129]
The Father
The emergence of Trinitarian theology of God the Father in early Christianity was based on two key ideas: first the shared identity of the Yahweh of the Old Testament and the God of Jesus in the New Testament, and then the self-distinction and yet the unity between Jesus and his Father.[130][131] An example of the unity of Son and Father is Matthew 11:27: "No one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son", asserting the mutual knowledge of Father and Son.[132]
The concept of fatherhood of God does appear in the Old Testament, but is not a major theme.
The paternal view of God as the Father extends beyond Jesus to his disciples, and the entire church, as reflected in the petitions Jesus submitted to the Father for his followers at the end of the Farewell Discourse, the night before his crucifixion.[134] Instances of this in the Farewell Discourse are John 14:20 as Jesus addresses the disciples: "I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you" and in John 17:22 as he prays to the Father: "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one."[135]
In Trinitarian theology, God the Father is the "arche" or "principium" (beginning), the "source" or "origin" of both the Son and the Holy Spirit, and is considered the eternal source of the Godhead.[136] The Father is the one who eternally begets the Son, and the Father eternally breathes the Holy Spirit. The Son is eternally born from God the Father, and the Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father,[45][136] and, in the Western tradition, also from the Son.
Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, Father is one with, co-equal to, co-eternal, and con-substantial with the Son and the Holy Spirit, each Person being the one eternal God and in no way separated, who is the creator: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent.[45] Thus, the Divine Unity consists of God the Father, with his Son and his Spirit distinct from God the Father and yet perfectly united together in him.[45] Because of this, the Trinity is beyond reason and can only be known by revelation.[137][138]
Trinitarians believe that God the Father is not pantheistic, in that he is not viewed as identical to the universe, but exists outside of creation, as its Creator.[139][140] He is viewed as a loving and caring God, a Heavenly Father who is active both in the world and in people's lives.[139][140] He created all things visible and invisible in love and wisdom, and man for his own sake.[139][140][141]
The Son
Since early Christianity, a number of titles have been attributed to Jesus, including, Messiah (Christ) and the Son of God.[142][143] Theologically, these are different attributions: Messiah refers to his fulfilling the expected Old Testament prophecies, while Son of God refers to a paternal relationship.[142][143] God the Son is distinct from both Messiah and Son of God and its theology as part of the doctrine of the Trinity was formalized well over a century after those.[143][144][145]
According to the
The two Christological concerns as to how Jesus could be truly God while preserving faith in the existence of one God and how the human and the divine could be combined in one person were fundamental concerns from well before the First Council of Nicaea (325).[150] However, the theology of "God the Son" was eventually reflected in the statement of the Nicene Creed of the 4th century.[151]
The Chalcedonian Definition of 451, accepted by the majority of Christians, holds that Jesus is God incarnate and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin. As fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again.[152] The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 then held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will.[153]
In mainstream Christianity, Jesus Christ as
More recently, discussions of the theological issues related to God the Son and its role in the Trinity were addressed in the 20th century in the context of a "Trinity-based" perspective on divine revelation.[157][158]
The Holy Spirit
In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit is one of the three divine persons of the Trinity who make up the single substance of God; that is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus).[159][160] The New Testament has much to say about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's presence was especially felt following the ascension of Christ, although not to the exclusion of an early presence as attested by the Old Testament and throughout the New Testament.[27]: p.39 The Christian theology of the Holy Spirit, or pneumatology (from Greek pneuma or "spirit"), was the last piece of Trinitarian theology to be fully explored and developed, and there is thus greater theological diversity among Christian understandings of the Spirit than there is among understandings of the Son and the Father.[159][160] Within Trinitarian theology, the Holy Spirit is usually referred to as the "Third Person" of the triune God—with the Father being the First Person and the Son the Second Person.[159]
Reflecting the Annunciation in Luke 1:35, the early Apostles' Creed states that Jesus was "conceived by the Holy Spirit".[161] The Nicene Creed refers to the Holy Spirit as "the Lord and Giver of Life" who with the Father and the Son together is "worshiped and glorified".[162] While in the act of the Incarnation, God the Son became manifest as the Son of God, the same did not take place for God the Holy Spirit which remained unrevealed.[163] Yet, as in 1 Corinthians 6:19 God the Spirit continues to dwell in bodies of the faithful.[163][164]
In Christian theology Holy Spirit is believed to perform specific divine functions in the life of the Christian or the church. The action of the Holy Spirit is seen as an essential part of the bringing of the person to the Christian faith.[165] The new believer is "born again of the Spirit".[166]
The Holy Spirit enables Christian life by dwelling in the individual believers and enables them to live a righteous and faithful life.[165] He acts as Comforter or Paraclete, one who intercedes, or supports or acts as an advocate, particularly in times of trial. He acts to convince unredeemed persons both of the sinfulness of their actions and thoughts, and of their moral standing as sinners before God.[167] The Holy Spirit both inspired the writing of the scriptures and now interprets them to the Christian and church.[168]
Trinitarian differences
In
Most
Nontrinitarianism
Some Christian traditions reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and are called nontrinitarian.[175] These groups differ from one another in their views, variously depicting Jesus as a divine being second only to God the Father, Yahweh of the Old Testament in human form, God (but not eternally God), prophet, or simply a holy man.[175] Some broad definitions of Protestantism categorise these nontrinitarian traditions as Protestant, but most definitions do not.[176]
Nontrinitarianism goes back to the early centuries of Christian history and groups such as the Arians, Ebionites, Gnostics, and others.[34] These nontrinatarian views were rejected by many bishops such as Irenaeus and subsequently by the Ecumenical councils. The Nicene Creed raised the issue of the relationship between Jesus' divine and human natures.[34] After it was rejected by the Council of Nicea, nontrinitarianism was rare among Christians for many centuries, and those rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity faced hostility from other Christians, but the 19th century saw the establishment of a number of groups in North America and elsewhere.[176]
In Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs, only God the Father is the one almighty God, even over his Son Jesus Christ. While the Witnesses acknowledge Christ's pre-existence, perfection, and unique "Sonship" with God the Father, and believe that Christ had an essential role in creation and redemption, and is the Messiah, they believe that only the Father is without beginning.[177]
Oneness Pentecostals advance a form of Modalistic Monarchianism that states that there is one God, a singular divine Spirit, who manifests himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[181]
See also
- Attributes of God in Christianity
- Catholic Church § Nature of God
- Conceptions of God
- Diversity in early Christian theology
- Ethical monotheism
- Existence of God
- God in Abrahamic religions
Notes
- 1 Corinthians 8:5-6:[14] "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."
- ^ One example is John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time".[77]
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The Old Testament contains various titles and surrogates for God, such as El Shaddai, El Elyon, Haqqadosh (The Holy One), and Adonai. In chapter three, consideration will be given to names ascribed to God in the patriarchal period. Gerhard von Rad reminds us that these names became secondary after the name YHWH had been known to Israel, for "these rudimentary names which derive from old traditions, and from the oldest of them, never had the function of extending the name so as to stand alongside the name Jahweh to serve as fuller forms of address; rather, they were occasionally made use of in place of the name Jahweh." In this respect YHWH stands in contrast to the principal deities of the Babylonians and the Egyptians. "Jahweh had only one name; Marduk had fifty with which his praises as victor over Tiamat were sung in hymns. Similarly, the Egyptian god Re is the god with many names.
- ^ "The Name of God in the Liturgy". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2008.
…pronouncing the God of Israel's proper name," known as the holy or divine tetragrammaton, written with four consonants, YHWH, in the Hebrew alphabet. In order to vocalize it, it is necessary to introduce vowels that alter the written and spoken forms of the name (i.e. "Yahweh" or "Jehovah").
- ISBN 978-1-64508-304-7.
Shorter forms of Yahweh: The name Yahweh also appears in a shortened form, transliterated Jah (pronounced Yah) in the Revised Version and the American Standard Version, either in the text or footnote: "my song is Jah" (Ex 15:2); "by Jah, his name" (Ps 68:4); "I shall not see Jah in Jah's land (Is 38:11). It is common also in such often untranslated compounds as hallelujah 'praise Jah' (Ps 135:3; 146:10, 148:14), and in proper names like Elijah, 'my God is Jah,' Adonijah, 'my Lord is Jah,' Isaiah, 'Jah has saved.'
- ISBN 978-0-8308-1777-1.
Many of the uses of kyrios for God are in citations of the OT and in expressions derived from the OT (e.g., "angel of the Lord"), and in these passages the term functions as the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT name for God, Yahweh. For example, twenty-five of the uses of kyrios for God in Luke are in the first two chapters, where the phrasing is so heavily influenced by the OT. The third frequently used term for God is "Father" (patēr), doubtless the most familiar term for God in Christian tradition and also perhaps the most theologically significant title for God in the NT. Unlike the other terms for God already mentioned—without exception in the Synoptics, and with only a few exceptions in John--"Father" as a title for God appears only in the sayings attributed to Jesus (the Johannine exceptions are in editorial remarks by the Evangelist in 1:14, 18, a saying of Philip in 14:8 and the crowd's claim in 8:41).
- ISBN 0664230555page 111
- ISBN 0664223362page 282
- ^ John 1:12
- ^ Micah 4:5
- ^ ISBN 1589603753pages 23–24
- ISBN 0830810994page 237
- ^ Revelation 3:12
- ^ John 17:6
- ^ John 12:27
- ISBN 0781445396, page 274.
- ^ (Book IV, Chapter 19
- ^ Book 1, Chapter 8
- ^ Donald Macleod, Behold Your God (Christian Focus Publications, 1995), pages 20–21.
- ^ John H. Hick, Philosophy of Religion Prentice-Hall 1973, pp. 7–14
- ^ Berkhof, Louis Systematic Theology, Banner of Truth 1963, pp. 57–81 & p. 46 respectively.
- ^ The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa. (Lucas Francisco Mateo-Seco and Giulio Maspero, eds.) 2010. Leiden: Brill, p. 424
- ^ John 1:18
- ^ ISBN 0-8192-2345-Xpage 2
- ISBN 978-90-04-10878-3. pp. 144–145.
- ISBN 0-540-01085-5
- ISBN 1-879038-15-3page 27
- ^ According to accounts by Patriarch Nikephoros and the chronicler Theophanes.
- ^ Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press, 1997
- ISBN 0-679-60148-1page 1693
- ISBN 0-88141-245-7
- ISBN 1-879038-15-3page 29
- ISBN 0-8028-2888-4page 65
- ISBN 1-879038-15-3page 41
- ISBN 0-7661-4075-Xpages 169
- Arena Chapel, at the top of the triumphal arch, God sending out the angel of the Annunciation. See Schiller, I, fig 15
- ^ Bigham Chapter 7
- ISBN 1-4179-0870-Xpage 32
- ^ Bourlier, Cyriil. "Introduction to Medieval Iconography", Artnet News, October 28, 2013
- ISBN 0-313-24658-0pages 8 and 283
- ^ "CT25". Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ^ Bigham, 73–76
- ISBN 0-8262-0796-0page 222
- ISBN 0-8020-3721-6page 233
- doi:10.18352/emlc.70.
- ISBN 1-103-66622-3, (2009) page 229
- ISBN 0559376871, 2006 page 156
- ISBN 1-103-66622-3, (2009) page 230
- ISBN 1-86189-118-0page 185
- ^ "Council of Moscow – 1666–1667". Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ISBN 0865543739page 490
- ISBN 0860120066page 1351
- ISBN 0801026946page 420
- ^ ISBN 0802826806pages 77–79
- ^ ISBN 9004111425pages 255–257
- ^ ISBN 0521007208page 246
- ISBN 0802806805pages 55–57
- ^ ISBN 0801022509pages 391–392
- ISBN 0567084663pages 390–391
- ^ a b The Oxford Companion to the Bible by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael David Coogan (14 October 1993) ISBN page 157
- ^ ISBN 0802822452pages 936
- ^ ISBN 0-8028-6269-1pages 2–5
- ^ ISBN 0521701139pages 3–4
- ^ Elizabeth Lev, "Dimming the Pauline Spotlight; Jubilee Fruits" Zenit 2009-06-25
- ^ a b c Richardson, Alan. An Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament SCM: 1961, p122f,158
- ^ ISBN 0802848273pages 29–31
- ISBN 0521524954pages 116–117
- ^ ISBN 0802838200page 83
- ^ a b Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1974), Cross & Livingstone (eds), art "Trinity, Doctrine of"
- ISBN 0800613414page 37
- ^ Critical Terms for Religious Studies. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998. Credo Reference.27 July 2009
- ^ Dennis O'Neill, Passionate Holiness: Marginalized Christian Devotions for Distinctive Peoples (2010), p. 8.
- ^ "Deum humanam sexuum transcendere distinctionem. Ille nec vir est nec femina, Ille est Deus." From "Pater per Filium revelatus", Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae. (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993): 1-2-1-1-2 ¶ 239. (Official English translation Archived 3 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ ISBN 0521701139pages 173–174
- ISBN 0664228909page 8
- ^ ISBN 0664228909pages 10–13
- ISBN 0830824545pages 169–171
- ISBN 0-8028-3785-9page 571-572
- ^ ISBN 0801027527pages 37–41
- ISBN 0521003539pages 26–27
- ISBN 0802848656page 46
- ^ ISBN 0664227481page 36
- ISBN 0199557810page 263
- ^ a b Paragraphs 242 245 237. Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Edition). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0802440681page 68
- ^ ISBN 0802837824pages 515–516
- ^ Paragraphs 356 and 295. Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Edition). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0664227481page 101
- ^ ISBN 0567223574pages 128–129
- ISBN 8183240070page 307
- ISBN 0814653766pages 19–22
- ^ ISBN 0825423740pages 149–151
- ISBN 0-8010-2684-9page 613
- ^ ISBN 1902210220pages 12–15
- ISBN 0802831672pages 130–133
- ISBN 0567223574pages 50–51
- ISBN 0674511735page 605
- ISBN 0800613414pages 90–93
- ISBN 0664227481page 169
- ^ ISBN 0801022509pages 237–238
- ^ Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum Mundi by Karl Rahner (28 December 2004) ISBN pages 692-694
- ^ For Biblical passages see: Rom 1:3,4Galatians 4:4; John 1:1–14;5:18–25;10:30–38
- ISBN 0567290549page 19
- ISBN 0830828893page 31
- ^ a b c Kärkkäinen 2002, p. 120-121.
- ^ ISBN 0567081788page 332
- ISBN 0830815627pages 60 and 134–135
- ISBN 0830815627page 193
- ^ ISBN 0-7220-5760-1page 75
- ISBN 978-0-7814-4539-9page 471
- ^ a b Millard J. Erickson (1992). Introducing Christian Doctrine. Baker Book House. pp. 265–270.
- born again" is most frequently used by evangelical Christians, most denominations do consider that the new Christian is a "new creation" and "born again". See for example the Catholic Encyclopedia [1]
- J. Oswald Sanders. Inter-Varsity Press. chapter 5.
- ^ T C Hammond (1968). Wright, David F (ed.). In Understanding be Men: A Handbook of Christian Doctrine (sixth ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. p. 134.
- ^ The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church by Vladimir Lossky ISBN page 77
- ISBN 0800662911pages 193–194
- ISBN 978-0-8018-9911-9.
The classical doctrine of the Trinity—God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—has been generally accepted by Anabaptist groups but not highly developed.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article Trinity, doctrine of the
- ISBN 978-1-61097-901-6.
The Moravian side's trinitarian emphasis in ecumenically-oriented ecclesiology can be generally concluded as follows: first, it deals with the ontological foundation of the church's unity and structure. As chapter 4 elucidates, the first aspect, that is, the church's ontological foundation, is stated in Following Our Shepherd to Full Communion. The Moravians emphasize that the Holy Trinity has called the church into being and that the triune God is the source of the church's being and mission. In addition, the idea of the church's and its member's ontological participation in the Trinity is clearly presented by the Moravians: the church is linked "in an intimate union with the Triune God."
- ISBN 978-1-4832-9599-2.
- ^ ISBN 0567084108.
- ^ ISBN 978-0816077465.
- ^ Insight on the Scriptures. Vol. 2. 1988. p. 1019.
- ^ a b Holland, Jeffrey R. "The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sentrist". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants. "130:22–23". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- .
- ISSN 0966-7393.
Bibliography
- JSTOR j.ctt32bxpm.6.
- Jenkins, David. Guide to the Debate about God. London: Lutterworth Press, 1966.
- Jinkins, Michael (2001). Invitation to Theology: A Guide to Study, Conversation & Practice. Westmont, Illinois: ISBN 9780830815623.
- ISBN 9780664231361.
- Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti (2002). Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective. Ada, Michigan: ISBN 9780801024481.
- S2CID 169456327.
- Reeves, Michael (2022), Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith ISBN 978-0-8308-4707-5
External links
- Augustine On the Holy Trinity
- The Blessed Trinity Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia