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CTF 2025: What Are the Modern Day Issues With the Trinity?

Unknown · 2025-01-09 · 788 words · 6 min

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Summary

Other

The classical Trinitarian orthodoxy confessed in the 1689 LBCF — one God eternally existing as three co-equal persons with one will and one operation — must be defended against recurring modern errors including eternal subordinationism, social trinitarianism, Arianism, and Sabellianism.

Two ministers survey the modern doctrinal errors threatening a right understanding of the Trinity, contrasting them with the robust trinitarianism of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689 LBCF) Chapter 2. The discussion identifies the eternal subordination of the Son controversy, Arianism, Sabellianism, and social trinitarianism as recurring and contemporary departures from orthodox Trinitarian confession. Particular attention is given to the Confession's insistence on the one will and one operation of God, against models that fracture the divine unity by assigning separate wills or discrete percentages of action to each person.

Key quotes

There is no degradation in the Trinity, there is no hierarchy in the Trinity.
All the outward acts of God are the acts of the one and only living and true God who eternally exists as Father Son and Holy Spirit.
All the social trinitarian models produce leftism and communism — so practically it's a bad way to go.

Applications

  1. Educate church members in the positive content of classical Trinitarian orthodoxy so they are inoculated against modern errors.
  2. Do not adopt models of the Trinity — such as social trinitarianism — that distribute the divine will or operations among the persons as if each contributes a separate percentage.
  3. Use confessional resources, especially 1689 LBCF Chapter 2, to ground Trinitarian understanding in a formulation that is more robust than earlier confessional statements.

Questions this sermon answers

What is the eternal subordination of the Son controversy?

Around 2016 a debate arose over whether the Son is eternally subordinate in function and authority to the Father; the orthodox position affirmed here is that the Son is fully co-equal with the Father, with no hierarchy or degradation within the Trinity.

What are Arianism and Sabellianism?

Arianism denies the full unity of the divine essence by subordinating or separating the Son, while Sabellianism denies the distinct tri-unity of persons by collapsing them into one; both are identified as perennial heresies that re-emerge in every generation.

What is social trinitarianism and why is it problematic?

Social trinitarianism treats the Trinity more as a community of persons than as the one God who exists as three persons, leading to tritheism and the false notion that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have separate wills and separate operations.

Does the 1689 London Baptist Confession address these Trinitarian errors?

Yes — Chapter 2, paragraph 3 is described as unusually robust in articulating both the oneness of God and the threeness of persons, and in affirming the one undivided will and operation of God against models like social trinitarianism.

[Music] I think we're good with that okay um

Introduction to Modern Trinitarian Errors

in terms of the positive that we're teaching about classical theism great as per confession what are a couple sort of modern issues that we will see come up contract in Chapter 2 where current guys have gone away from the Orthodox understanding mhm well I think I think

Eternal Subordination of the Son

one of the big ones is going to be the equality of the son with the father um you know going back to 2016 when there seemed to be a little bit of an explosion with regards to the Eternal subordination of the Sun or the Eternal functional subordination of the Sun or eternal relationships of authority and submission uh I think that will be one of the the modern departures from historic truth that that will be treated uh simply and we sing it in the hymn l in honor to the father l in honor to the son l in honor to the spirit ever three and Ever One um and the old hymn used to have the lyrics consubstantial co-eternal while unending ages run and the the simple truth and the Glorious truth is that the Eternal son the eternally begotten son of the father is equal with the father that there is no degration in the Trinity there is no hierarchy in the Trinity um and so that that will certainly come up because it's that error has always been with us and uh it seems that it will continue to be with us until Christ comes again and so it's important that we educate our people in the churches and these conferences again these conferences don't replace church but they're a good Avenue to bring up the the the truths of the Bible and to to Target and inoculate ourselves against these modern errors and and arm us with the Blessed truth um against such departures from it yeah and I would say that that historically I mean there's a lot of erors and a lot of heresies involved in the Trinity and in Chris ology I would say two of the primary ones or the overarching ones would be aryanism which has a problem with the unity of the Divine Essence and then sabellianism which has a a problem with the tri-unity of persons so those always raise their heads in every generation it seems and again you could fill you know a book with the various departures but those seem to be kind of you know recurring challenges to the doctrine of the Trinity as espoused in scripture and formulated in the Creeds and confessions mhm yeah and I think when when paragraph 3 of chapter 2 is treated as well will there

Social Trinitarianism and Tritheism

there will probably be something of a discussion on social trinitarianism uh which seems to be uh closer to tritheism than than actual biblical trinitarianism because it does separate the persons uh in in a particular sense you know saying that they're more of a that the Trinity is more of a community uh than it is the one God who eternally exists as father son and and holy spirit there the connected error to that is the the the assertion that the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit have separate wills and separate operations um and um our our confession very uh very carefully and and actually our second London Baptist confession the paragraph 3 is is is much more robust than we have the advantage of time mind you mind you because we came after the congregationalists and before them the Presbyterians but it's a very robust chapter that articulates in fact in a very trinitarian way the Oneness of God the threeness of persons the Oneness of God the threeness the Oneness and the the thus it it reiterates it and it establishes against such modern errors like social trinitarianism or uh tritheism which we we probably don't see as much as the aryanism and the sabellianism that that Jim talked about but but certainly the upholding of the one will and the one operation of God that the persons aren't you know acting in such a manner where the the father does 33 and 13% the son the same the spirit the same but much rather that all the the the outward acts of God are the the acts of the one and only living and true God who eternally exists as Father Son and Holy Spirit and as we seen in our Saturday morning studies I think it was Barrett's book simply Trinity all the social trinitarian models produce leftism and communism so practically it's a bad way to go yeah very you're good

Study notes

Confessions & catechisms

  • 1689 LBCF 2.3

Theological terms

  • Arianism×2
  • Co-eternal
  • Consubstantial
  • Eternal Functional Subordination
  • Eternal Generation
  • Eternal Relations of Authority and Submission
  • Eternal Subordination of the Son×3
  • One Will of God×2
  • Opera Ad Extra
  • Sabellianism×2
  • Social Trinitarianism×3
  • Tritheism×2

People cited

  • Matthew Barrett