Theological Musings On The Trinity

Some say that Jesus is the eternally begotten of the Father, and site the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) as an affirmation of this. The creed states:

"We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end."

Further, this position was also later reaffirmed in the fifth century in the Athanasian Creed, which in its own convoluted way states this among other things:

“For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Essence of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Essence of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood. Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh; but by assumption of the Manhood by God.”

Whereas, I do not take umbrage of the fact that Christ is eternal, the word son connotes a beginning, as in the statements “eternally begotten of the Father” in the Nicene Creed and, “begotten before the worlds” in the Athanasian Creed, I do find the phraseology beggarly at best.

To simplify what I see as the problem, I simply ask a few basic questions. Firstly, unless we are willing to accept the Mormon position, then how can we justify embracing the words “begotten before the worlds”, as contained in the Athanasian Creed? Or, secondly, the words “eternally begotten of the Father” as contained in the Nicene Creed?

As a matter of fact, the words “eternally begotten of the Father” are illogical since ontologically this suggests a incarnational beginning in eternity. Begotten, if it suggests anything at all, suggests that before His begottenness He was at best only begotten in thought. A thought is not a person. At best it is an eternity potentiality, assured by God’s omnipotent assisted promise that will take place in a world of begottenness.[i] Thus, the time space aspect of the incarnation places God fully integrated into the ’stuff’ of His creation. In essence God chose to be part of His own creation in order to fully integrate Himself in a for creation so that eschatologically He may become all and in all (i.e., ho Theos [ta] panta en pasin).” (1 Corinthians 15:28) 

Therefore, when we speak of Jesus as God in theological terms, we must exclude an eternal begottenness except in terms of God’s intention. The Holy Trinity knew in God’s free knowledge that God the Son would be born of a virgin woman—Mary, the mother of Jesus; and only the mother of God in so much as she carried Jesus (as any normal woman does during any pregnancy) within whom the fullness of the eternal Godhead dwells bodily. Jesus of Nazareth was therefore flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone the begotten eternal Son of God in and through the ministration of the Holy Spirit functionally and in ontological essence the one Divine essence of the Godhead dwelling bodily (Colossians 2:9) for it pleased God that in Christ all the fullness should dwell. (Colossians 1:19) 

The scriptures declare, Acts 13:33 “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”[ii]

Now, on the strength of this declaration, may I suggest that Jesus was a Son prior to His begottenness—e.g., “thou art my Son” precedes “this day have I begotten thee.”

So, Christ was in Sonship relationally prior to his fleshly birth. How or why this Sonship relationship came about, I have no way of knowing, other than Scripture declares it to be so. Nor, do I find any hints in Scripture. So, my objection has nothing to do with the personhood of the Son as ontologically in the essence of God, but rather in the event of His begottenness which is clearly within the frame work of time.

On the strength of Acts 13:33 which states “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again ….”; and thereby associates His Sonship with His Resurrection it can be argued that as death and resurrection operate within the framework of time so does His begottenness. Now, ontological by intention both  His Sonship and His begottenness is assured. He is the Lamb slay from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8; however, indicates a beginningness for His incarnation. Thus, God’s creative intention included The Son’s begottenness; but not his Sonship, since His Sonship is of Godly essence, as it might be said that God’s creative intention is part of His Omniscience in the actuality of an Omnipotence willful potentiality. An assured potentiality, however, must be realized before it is expressed in its actuality.

To disallow a chronological actuality in respect to His begottenness is to deny His humanity, and to deny His eternal Sonship is to deny His Divinity.

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[i] The nature of the trinitarian relationship within the essence of God is that of subordination, communication and fellowship as to the Godhead; and toward his creation that of sustenance, revelation, and reconciliation.

God—whether we articulate it or not, or for that matter understand it—must by His very nature consist of all potentialities, including that of relationship. Since He is in His essence righteous, He can not practice evil; since by its very nature evil is the absence of goodness.

[ii] Taken from Ps. 2:7 “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”