Trinity #4 (Peter and Paul)

June 4, 2021 (Friday)

 

The next study on the Trinity is how the early church understood the Trinity. Let’s start with Peter on the day of Pentecost. Preaching to the assembled crowd, Peter declared, “You killed the author of life, the very one whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” [Acts 3:15 CEB]

 

This verse raises several serious problems for Christian theology. The first, in order of the verse, is the charge that the Jews killed Jesus. I don’t have time or room to get into this, but there are no polite words to describe this misinterpretation. Peter was speaking directly to people personally involved in Jesus crucifixion. Peter follows this up in verse 17, “Brothers and sisters, I know you acted in ignorance. So did your rulers.” [CEB]

 

The next problem in the verse in Acts is the question, if Jesus is God, then who is “God” who raised Jesus from the dead. When we read the Bible we need to figure out if “God” refers to the Trinity or “God the Father.” Here is an example of that puzzle. If Peter is referring to “God the Father” then the verse fits the doctrine of the Trinity. If Peter is referring to “God” in the singular sense, then he did not believe that Jesus is God. Which interpretation makes the most sense?

 

Typically, in the New Testament the term “God” refers to “the Father,” while the term “Lord” is associated with Jesus. Keep in mind that the Old Testament used “Elohim” (generally translate “God”) around 4,000 times and “YHWH” (most likely pronounced “Yahweh”) about 6,000 times. “YHWH” is translated “LORD” in English texts following the Jewish tradition of substituting “Lord” for the sacred name of God. Basically, every time Jesus is mentioned as “Lord” the New Testament writers are saying He is YHWH.

 

Let’s keep moving. Paul is Christianity’s core theologian. He is the one who fleshes out the connections between Jesus and the Old Testament. In Romans 1:4, concerning the resurrection, Paul states, “He was publicly identified as God’s Son with power through his resurrection from the dead, which was based on the Spirit of holiness. This Son is Jesus Christ our Lord.” [CEB]

 

From Peter we learn that “God the Father” raised Jesus from the dead. From Paul we learn that Jesus is “God the son” and “God the Holy Spirit” was involved in the resurrection. Keep in mind, this is all so we can understand someone beyond our ability to understand. From God’s perspective, He is speaking “baby-talk” to us.

 

I promised I would circle back to the baptism formula in Matthew 28:19 (“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”). The early church did not always get it right. One example is found in believers in Ephesus. This event demonstrates an evolving, if not faulty, practice and faith.

 

Acts 19:2 describes this problem, “And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” [ESV] How could there be believers who had never heard of the Holy Spirit? Wasn’t that part of the baptismal formula? This fault came from Apollos. We read in Acts 18:25, “He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and spoke as one stirred up by the Spirit. He taught accurately the things about Jesus, even though he was aware only of the baptism John proclaimed and practiced.” [CEB] Here was an evangelist (in our sense of the word) who did not know of the Holy Spirt, but was used by the Holy Spirit.

 

Wow. I haven’t even scratched the surface of the iceberg. Running out of room for today’s blog. Let me set you up to prepare for Sunday’s service with this thought, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” [1 Corinthians 13:14 ESV]