Rereading is a mode of the New Testament’s use of the Old. “For the word of the Lord is right and true; “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall, “And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of. Here are five quotes from the … The Trinity In The Old Testament BY HENRY M. MORRIS, PH.D. | SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2005 "Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and His Spirit, hath sent me" (Isaiah 48:16). Literary theorist E. K. Brown has said, “There is nothing magical in reading. and be gracious to you;
One way we can do this and maintain interpretive integrity is by rereading. It could be that the use of multiple names for God points to his trinitarian nature. As the theologian Anthony Rogers pointed out, the trinity is found throughout the entire warp and woof of the Old Testament. The same can be said of the Spirit of God, which is both distinguished from and identified with God, manifested in such things as the Shekinah cloud. Gen 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The following post is adapted from this course. A reader who continues through Genesis knows where the story goes from there, and learns a great deal about the character of the God of the first chapter. Discrediting the biblical description of marriage is an attack on the proper understanding of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is … Christ is not merely an exalted heavenly being, but he performed the work of creation itself as God. In the next verse the Son is more clearly identified as God. He participates in the. While two of the men — referred to as “angels” in the next chapter — proceed to Sodom, YHWH remains to speak with Abraham, presumably in a human appearance, before “going his way” after their conversation concludes (Genesis 18:33). He is recognized by demons and speaks of himself as the “Son of Man.” His true divine identity only gradually comes into clarity, most particularly as the evangelists identify Christ with previous theophanic appearances of the Old Testament: with such visions as Jacob’s ladder (John 1:51), God’s appearance to Moses on Sinai (Luke 9:28–36; John 1:14–18), the Angel that led Israel out of Egypt (Jude 5; 1 Corinthians 10:9–10), the glorious appearance to Isaiah in the temple (John 12:41), or the Son of Man seen by Daniel (Acts 7:56). “In the argument of Hebrews we see a first-century example of a Christian expositor whose instinct it was to develop his argument by focusing successively on a number of key texts, and in each case not simply to quote it and pass on, but to stay with it, exploring its wider implications, and drawing it into association with other related Old Testament ideas, so as to produce a richer and more satisfying diet of biblical theology than could be provided by a mere collection of proof-texts. Although the truth of the Trinity is materially present within Scripture, it requires a sort of discourse that proceeds according to different — and largely extra-scriptural — principles of investigation for that truth to come into crisp doctrinal focus. These are passages where the Lord speaks of himself or the Messiah in a repetitive, reduplicative way: The repetitive expressions of God in some Old Testament passages may point to various persons in the Trinity. When Christians see Christ and the Trinity in the Old Testament, we are following the New Testament’s own lead. Question: Is the Trinity taught in the Old Testament? Sign up for Fred Sanders’ Triune God online course. The Trinity in the Old Testament The concept of the Trinity is a foundational tenant of the Christian faith, yet many do not understand this doctrine and many who … In light of this revelation, can we expect to see traces of the Trinity revealed in the Old Testament as well? 11 Things to Know about the Doctrine of the Trinity, “‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he [the angel of the Lord] said. Genesis 1:26 "Let US make man in OUR image": Three plural pronouns, (We, Us, Our) used 6 different times in four different passages: Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:8. Jesus promises us the Spirit in the New Testament, and in Acts we see the Spirit’s advent at Pentecost. Rereading is, after all, one of the primary pleasures of popular reading. It seems throughout the Old Testament that the Spirit is the self-conscious immanence of God, as well as the revelation of God. Critics of the doctrine of the Trinity often claim that the theology of the Old Testament is inconsistent with orthodox Christian theology. As we have seen, the doctrine of the Trinity comes into clearer view as the Creator-creature distinction is applied to the realm of the Divine Council and figures such as the Angel of YHWH and the Holy Spirit are recognized as God himself. Does the Old Testament contradict the doctrine of the Trinity? In light of this, it’s no surprise that this would reframe our understanding of God’s Spirit in the Old Testament. For example, in Genesis 1:26 God … A fuller understanding of the identity of Christ and the Trinity emerges only gradually out of reflection upon the more complex portrait of the realm and operations of heaven and its beings, something that was already well underway by the time of the New Testament, exciting intense speculation within apocryphal, deuterocanonical, and other Jewish literature around figures or personifications such as the Son of Man, the Archangel Michael, Enoch, Logos, and Wisdom. Evidence of the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament. In Gen .1:26 God (elohim) said “let us make man in our image, according to our likeness…” those engaged in this conversation were all the same in nature and image. Or again, a reader who continues through to the end of the New Testament learns a great many surprising things about this God, and a rereading of Genesis 1 in this case is enriched by the knowledge that the God who raised Jesus from the dead created the heavens and the earth. The later philosophical discourse that played midwife to a Christian doctrine of the Trinity is by no means either illegitimate or inappropriate, as some more biblicist thinkers have suggested. Immersive mastery of a text opens up new interpretive possibilities in negotiating the whole dialogue, which is one of the main engines in discerning the meaning for the reader. Scripture, religiously experienced, is obviously another key site of rereading. It’s easy to understand how a trinitarian theologian, informed by the New Testament, would recognize the angel of the Lord—a figure who seems to be with God and to be God— as a christological figure. Not until the NT era did the Son become incarnate and the Holy Spirit descend to permanently indwell believers, which allowed God’s triune nature to become clear. Although not explicitly mentioned, the basis of the doctrine can be detected when exploring the Old Testament. Or again, a reader who continues through to Deuteronomy learns even more about his character and his ways. The mysterious way in which the Angel of YHWH can speak of God in both the first and third person invites reflection. Quite the opposite! While they were concerned faithfully and fully to articulate the material truth of the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, the philosophical vantage points from which they did so were not, for the most part, native to — or at least typical of — the Scriptures themselves. Similar to the personification of wisdom in the Old Testament, many things said about the Spirit “going forth” or “being with” seem to indicate agency. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”—Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (emphasis added). For Instructors and School Administrators. It has served more fully and consistently to disclose the eternal, uncreated, living God who exists independent of all created things. A lot of older theologies ask, “What is the ultimate reason why two names are given to us right at the beginning of Scripture?” Within that question is an analysis—one that relies on an assumption. and keep you;
A rereading of Genesis 1 is in this case enriched by the knowledge that the God of the Exodus created the heavens and the earth. Throughout the Old Testament we catch glimpses of an agent of Yahweh who sometimes behaves as if he were the presence of the Lord, and at other times he appears to be an emissary. In Images of the Spirit, Meredith Kline observes the diverse forms of theophanies, where the Angel can appear with or without the Glory phenomena of the Spirit. Basil the Blessed on Moscow’s Red Square. and The Trinity Chart on … There’s a whole set of traditional ways to find the Trinity in the Old Testament—and it’s kind of a mixed bag. 6:4; Job 33:4; Psa. Pursue a deeper knowledge of God through self-paced college- and seminary-level online courses in Old and New Testament studies, theology, biblical Greek, and more. Even in the book of Revelation, this remains the chief context in which God is revealed: not in his eternal, invisible, uncreated transcendence, but in variegated theophanic manifestations in the created realm of a heavenly throne room and assembly — the throne, the Lamb, and the sevenfold Spirit, surrounded by four living creatures, twenty-four elders, seraphim, cherubim, various angelic ministers, and redeemed human beings. While the word Elohim has the distinct im ending that marks it as plural, Elohim seems to be an agent of singular verb actions. Please consider this request from John Piper and become a monthly partner by December 31. How do we read these passages in a way that will preserve their mystery and shed some light on what we learn about the godhead from the New Testament? Francis Watson, in Text, Church and World, remarks upon three inseparably interwoven models of creation that we encounter in Genesis 1, each revealing something both of God himself and of his relation with his creation. It is not only an interpretive practice to be embraced by the consumers of the Bible, but because of the cumulative character of the biblical canon, rereading is a crucial element in the production of Scripture. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Engaging them with a trinitarian understanding sheds new light on their possible implications. The Angel and the Spirit are not merely individually associated with YHWH, but are intimately connected with each other. This sheds new light on the on many of the Old Testament references to God’s Word. This personification is a speaking agent who is difficult to distinguish. Trinitarian theology is rereading of the Bible for the identity of God, comprehending the total meaning of the text without erasing or replacing the linear meaning from the first reading. In fact, there are many places in the Old Testament where we can see little seeds of faith that would later bear fruit. Matin Calinescu situates rereading as a counter-practice against the regime of normative first reading. The most referenced example of this is Numbers 6:24–26: “The Lord bless you
By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214 USA) providing information about products and services of HCCP and its affiliates. The revelation of the Trinity comes with the revelation of the gospel. The New Testament writers follow the lead of Jesus himself in creatively rereading their Scriptures in the light of who he is and what he has done. The Bible teaches a plurality within the Godhead in both the Old and New Testaments. “When Christians see Christ and the Trinity in the Old Testament, we are following the New Testament’s own lead.” The later philosophical discourse that played midwife to a Christian doctrine of the Trinity is by no means either illegitimate or … The Old Testament gave glimpses of the Trinity, and no passage of Scripture contradicts the doctrine. He has an MDiv from Asbury Theological Seminary and PhD from Graduate Theological Union. However, it is considerably more likely that the plurality seen in this text relates, first and foremost, to the Divine Council — a monotheist form of the assembly of the gods one encounters in various ancient Near Eastern cosmologies. The Gospels present Christ in the mold of a pre-existent heavenly being, one who has “come” — as angels might — on an earthly mission. Northrop Frye argues that “the critical operation begins with reading a work straight through, as many times as may be necessary to possess it in totality. Does the personification of wisdom in Proverbs allude to a trinitarian reality? Many think that the angel of the Lord is a Christophany—a manifestation that, while distinct from God, is also God. Though there are numerous examples of the Trinity, many found in the New Testament, below are a few examples of the Trinity in the Old Testament. Angels in the Bible: What Do We Actually Know About Them? Arising out of the crucible of christological and theological debates in the early centuries of the church, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity expresses the mystery of God that is the heart of all revelation. The doctrine of the Trinity is not plainly revealed in the Old Testament. Some of them provide a good demonstration of the elements of trinitarianism in the Old Testament. Dr. Fred Sanders, Associate Professor of Theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University, answers this question in his online course, The Triune God. Whole new vistas of insight and enjoyment open up to the reader who returns to certain well-structured books, where there is a palpable frisson between intuiting the whole text at once and reclaiming the linear experience of another trip through it. ‘Do not do anything to him. Dr. Fred Sanders. In the Triune God course, you will explore the main contours of the central and mysterious Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from, “On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them.”—. While the truths of the Trinity are found in the Old Testament, it is only in the New Testament that we find the doctrine fully revealed. That assumption can be summarized in this question: “Why is the one God called both Elohim and Yahweh?” These older theologies keep working at that question until getting to a trinitarian distinction. In Colossians 1:15–20, Paul meditates on various senses of the term bereshith (“in the beginning”) with which Genesis — and the entire Scriptures — begin: Christ is the firstborn, supreme, the head, the beginning. 2:7; Isa. In Genesis 18, for example, Abraham and Sarah are visited by three men, one of whom seems to be YHWH himself (Genesis 18:1, 9–22). Genesis 1:27 is complimented by Genesis 2:18 (LXX), 3:22, 11:7, 20:30; Isaiah 6:8, and 41:21-24, Deuteronomy 4:7, and many more. The Holy Trinity is an important subject of iconographic representation in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and has a rather different treatment from depictions in the Western Churches.There are two different types of Holy Trinity icons: the Old Testament Trinity and the New Testament Trinity (Троица Ветхозаветная and Троица Новозаветная in Russian). The unanimous opinion of the apostolic Fathers was that the Father was talking to Jesus. Arising out of the crucible of christological and theological debates in the early centuries of the church, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity expresses the mystery of God that is the heart of all revelation. It concludes that the Trinity in the Old Testament is not an invitation to search for threesomes in the scriptures of Israel, but instead is tied up with a proper understanding and confession about how the literal sense speaks of its divine referent. In his gospel, John describes Jesus as the Word of God. Spirit of the Lord The mysterious way in which the Angel of YHWH can speak of God in both the first and third-person invites reflection. Rereading is a crucial exegetical practice. Successful novelists from Jane Austen to J. K. Rowling prove themselves to their fans not by how good their books are for reading but for rereading. Right at the very beginning of Genesis, you have two different ways of talking about God during the act of creation. When Christ comes on the scene, he comes as a silhouetted figure who has been active in salvation and judgment throughout Israel’s history, finally stepping into the light. “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever. Alastair Roberts completed doctoral studies at the University of Durham. the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”. It would irresponsible to translate Elohim as gods as in “In the beginning the gods created the heavens and the earth.” So it seems that that this name of God that is plural in nature could also point to the coming New Testament revelation of the Trinity. I pronounce you husband and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. ): In the Beginning, The Triune God Creates the Universe. She lost her son, her health, and her marriage, and still believes so. Contrary to the claims of some, the Old Testament teaches both the oneness and plurality of God. And the New Testament authors invite us to reread the creation narrative in a way that perceives his agency. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. online course on the doctrine of the Trinity. Here are a just a few examples of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit — in the Old Testament (there are many more! There is a rich tradition of interpreting passages where God’s name is repeated three times as a trinitarian reference. the Lord make his face shine on you
It is in re-reading that some magic may lie.”. Because of this New Testament revelation, Christian orthodoxy relies on an understanding of God as a Trinity—one living and true God who exists eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Revisiting such texts, in the light of New Testament revelation and later Christian reflection on the doctrine of the Trinity, not only helps us to make sense of scriptures that were formerly dark or veiled, but enables us to see Old Testament analogies to Christ’s humiliation and glorification. From the beginning God introduces himself to man as Elohim. We’re on a mission to change that. God’s Spirit also seems to dwell with God’s followers, and seems to act as an objective personality. But we discover Jesus and the Holy Spirit as distinct persons who are also God. It is these verses, in part, that lay down the foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity. Rereading can even be made to sound subversive and transgressive, as if in the high-theory war between reader and author, rereading is a matter of taking up arms in anarchic rebellion against the author. Accepting the invitation to reread the creation in the light of the more developed New Testament doctrine of the Trinity, we can begin to see a fuller manifestation of the threefoldness of the Creator incipient within it. Is joy at Christmas possible in a year like ours? It is often assumed that the doctrine of the Trinity – the idea that there is one being of God that is comprised of three eternal and co-equal divine persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) – is something that is revealed only in the incarnation of the Son, between the penning of … The Angel of YHWH is a mysterious figure, both distinct from YHWH as his messenger yet seemingly directly identified with him at other points (Exodus 23:20–22). Many theologians would suggest it does. In recent years, we’ve seen a resurgence of arguments against Christian theology using the doctrine of the Trinity as a proof. Rereading is the key hermeneutical category for this kind of interpretation. Enhance your school’s traditional and online education programs by easily integrating online courses developed from the scholars and textbooks you trust. There is a perennial danger of retrojecting a developed philosophical doctrine of the Trinity into texts operating within a very different horizon. Some commentators make a lot out of the distinction between the name Elohim and the name Yahweh. Old Testament Trinity Proof Texts . The doctrine of the Trinity is interwoven throughout the entire warp and woof of the Old Testament; it is not merely found in a discrete passage or proof-text here and there. For more information on the Trinity, please see What is the Trinity? Come listen to Mary and Elizabeth marvel at the miracles being birthed within them. First, God creates as the transcendent speaker, the one who sends out his own Word to bring things into being from nothing. But normative first reading could be a side effect of romanticism, which expects textual love at first sight, or of scientism, which expects self-evident meaning to be transferred at a single reading that does not need to be savored for its literary quality. If you have any questions, please review our, Fred Sanders is Professor of Theology at Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute. In addition, the Old Testament has also been interpreted as foreshadowing the Trinity, by referring to God's word (Psalm 33:6), his spirit (Isaiah 61:1), and Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1), as well as narratives such as the appearance of the three men to Abraham. All Rights Reserved. It captures the ambiguity and concealment of the original writings, but also accounts for the progressive revelation and the attendant growth in understanding of the earlier material. 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