 | The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26. |
Religion
1969-12-31 18:00:00
About the Trinity...
Question: My questions deal with the Trinity. Jesus would say certain things that seemingly paved the way for the concept of the Trinity and the fact that Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit were equally divine and one God, but He never actually said the Trinity existed. Why not? Was anyone cognizant of the concept of the Trinity in the time of Jesus? Did the apostles believe Jesus to be a separate person from God the Father? What role did they think the Holy Spirit played?
Answer: You ask a number of questions about the Trinity, but no one can answer with certainty what people thought or knew about the Trinity during Jesus’ time. With regard to Jesus specifically, what he knew as God and what he knew as man, we cannot say. Further, the point of his revelation and ministry was not to set forth doctrine; it was to reveal to humanity who God is, and to live and teach, die on the cross for our sins, and be raised so that we might have eternal life.
I can only answer your questions, then, historically and theologically. Noted Presbyterian scholar Dr. John Leith writes in his book Basic Christian Doctrine that the doctrine of the Trinity received its classic formulation in the fourth and fifth centuries. Presbyterians believe it was present from the beginning, however, as Leith puts it, “in the acts of God in creation and redemption, in the language of Christian piety, and in the liturgy of the church, especially the baptismal formula.” Leith goes on to say that the doctrine arose out of the experience of the Christian community. They asserted that their God was one God, as Deuteronomy 6:4-5 states, but they were drawn together as a community by Jesus, whom they acknowledged as their Lord and God. They also knew the power of the Holy Spirit.
Out of these experiences came some sense of the Trinity, and then discussions and even arguments about it. Finally, the doctrine was developed as the “attempt to clarify the nature of God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ.” This doctrine receives its clearest formulation in the Nicene Creed, still affirmed by Presbyterians today.
