I am currently working on an essay on the external works of the Trinity. Below is an excerpt, which focuses on the “oneness” of those external works. Scripture repeatedly draws our attention to the connection between the oneness of God and the oneness of God’s agency in his external works. In response to God’s wonderful […]
Divine agency in Nicene perspective
God acts. God is known by his acts. Few theological propositions are more foundational to Christian theology and theological method than these two. The modern “revival” of trinitarian theology relied on a version of these two propositions in its quest to discover the so-called “immanent Trinity” by means of the “economic Trinity.” That quest has […]
Ten theses on the externally directed works of the Trinity
I posted the following theses last week on Twitter. I am reposting them here for the sake of ease in reading them. (1) Because the divine nature is one, there is one divine agency. (2) However, only persons, not natures act. (This is missing in some post-2016 discussions.) (3) In order to appreciate how divine […]
“Idiocy” in trinitarian theology
We sometimes miss significant aspects of biblical teaching on the Trinity because we are unfamiliar with philosophical terms and concepts common in the ancient world. One such example is the Greek term ἴδιος and the philosophical concept of a “natural property” to which the term sometimes refers. The semantic range of ἴδιος is fairly broad. […]
Matthew Barrett’s Simply Trinity
Matthew Barrett’s latest book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit, releases today. I’m delighted to see it in print and consider it a nice complement to my recent introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. I had the privilege of writing the foreword to Matthew’s book, which I’ve posted below. Matthew Barrett wants […]
5 Truths about God’s Unity of Simplicity
The Oneness of God Christian praise of the Trinity is praise of the one God. The oneness of God is intrinsic to the first and greatest commandment of the Old and New Testaments. Moses proclaims God’s oneness and calls Israel to acknowledge God’s singular worth by loving him with all their heart, soul, and might […]
