June 7th Worship Service

The Trinity Continued.  Aside from and explanation of the Trinity (God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit) and how it works in our lives, there is a fascinating story of how the Trinity entered into our theology.

In scripture there is only one actual mention of the Trinity and it comes from 1John 5:7.  Scholars believe it was added to 1John by a copyist sometime in the 4th century, because it is not found in any of the earlier Greek of Latin manuscripts.

Historically what happened is Constantine claimed the title of Roman Emperor of the Western Empire on his father’s death in 306 CE when he assumed control of his fathers army.  He began moving his forces from the British Isles toward Rome with the plan to become the sole Emperor of the Empire.  In 312 he defeated Maxentius in the battle of the Melvin Bridge and assumed the role as Roman Emperor.  He attributed the victory to the support of God.  Before the battle he claimed to have seen a vision of “a cross shaped trophy formed from light” sent by the Christian God (his mother was a converted Christian).

Although Constantine never did formally convert to Christianity, although some claim he did convert just before his death, he did have an empire to run.  A very diverse empire.  The one seemingly common thread throughout the empire were all these little Christian communities.  Using Christianity as common element Constantine tried to bring all the diverse groups of people in the empire together. Constantine legalized Christianity throughout the empire through his Edict of Milan, which returned all confiscated property taken from the Christian churches, made persecution illegal and essentially turned the Roman Empire into a Christian Empire.

What Constantine did not understand is that when Christians were not being pressured or persecuted from the outside…they fought among themselves.  One of their major contentions was the humanity of Jesus.  According to Arius, a bishop in Alexandria, Jesus was the son of God, therefore Jesus was not God.  He was more than a normal human, but he was not God.  Part of Arius’ proof is that Jesus died on the cross, and how do you kill a God?  Athanasius, also a bishop in Alexandria, took the differing view of Jesus’ divinity.  Jesus had to be divine.  Jesus had to be God in human form, because in Jesus’ death the sins of all people were forgiven and all were granted eternal life in heaven.  What less than the sacrifice and death of a God could do this.  Therefore since there is only one God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit given to all believers by God, must therefore all be part of the same entity. Three God Heads, all working independently, but for one purpose.

At the Council Nicaea, after years of prayer, research and discussion the Trinity was confirmed in 325 CE.  We have the Trinity.  The Father God in Heaven, creator and sovereign ruler.  Jesus, God’s presence on earth who died as the ultimate sacrifice washing away the sins of mankind.  The Holy Spirit, sent by God to all believers as each individual’s guide to keep us on the path that God has developed for each of us to follow.

In the Trinity we have a God that is with us every moment of every hour of every day.  Join us for our June 7th Worship Service.    

Illustrations: Upper Right: Trinity Carving, Basilica of St Denis, Paris, France (cropped) depicting the dove over God, holding the Lamb (Jesus) / Lower Left: Adoration of the Trinity, 1511, Albrecht Dürer, Landauer Altar,  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria