Docetism In Gnosticism

God the Son is revealed in the Christian Scriptures. God the Spirit is revealed in the Church. The Trinitarian doctrine states that there are three co-eternal, equal persons in God, which is the notion of unity within community. The Trinitarian doctrine was further developed and defined at the councils of Nicaea in 325 CE and Constantinople in 381 CE. God was always trinity, however gradually this reality became known through revelation. Jesus calls God and speaks of the spirit which indicates a plurality in God. The difficulty is reconciling the concept of monotheism with the notion of God existing as three persons. The divine essence is common to all three, however the three persons have attributes or properties which distinguished them eg Fatherhood, sonship and sanctifying power. Once essence means that the actions (creation, redemption, sanctification) are attributable to all. Mutual relations is the concept that the terms Father and Son are not titles but expressions of a relationship and thus all three persons are co-equal

Trinity: The Trinity was a key feature of Christianity. The Trinity symbolized the three persons of God, the father, the son, and the Holy

The Doctrine of the Trinity was the one core belief that the group expounded on the most. As a question arose on how should one explain the Trinity

The Council of Nicaea, however, rejected Arianism and affirmed that Jesus was not created like all other things were. They said that Jesus and God share the same divine substance, which means that Jesus is one with God the Father. Essentially, Jesus is God. Saint Athanasius, who was a bishop of Alexandria at the time of the Nicene council, shared a similar theology to that set out in the council. Athanasius

In 325, the Council of Nicea set out to formally characterize the relationship of the Son to the Father, in light of the dubious lessons of Arius. Driven by Bishop Athanasius, the gathering confirmed the precept of the Trinity as conventionality and censured Arius ' showing that Christ was the first making of God. The ideology received by the committee depicted Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father."

Sometime between 318 and 320, a major debate erupted between, Athanasius mentor, Alexander, and Arius, a charismatic priest in Alexandria. Arius’ views were well known with his catchy song that went somewhat along the lines of “There was a time when the Son was not”, and this explains his doctrinal stance well. Arius argued that that Christ was a created being of the father, while Alexander took that side of “homoousios” or that the father and son were of one “being”. Athanasius in his letter to Adelphius, claims that “We [Christians] do now worship a creature. Never! And that belongs to the Pagans and Arians.” In response, Alexander summoned a council of bishops to handle the issue and Arius refused to agree to their doctrine, and therefore was excommunicated by Alexander. There was a major fallout, full of divisions and conflict, until the emperor called a council, known as the first ecumenical council, or the council of Nicaea. At this council, Athanasius attended as secretary to Alexander. After this, Alexander’s views were deemed as orthodox and Arius was exiled from the church. Athanasius had been on the right side of the argument and his mentor victorious in his interpretation. This debate was far from settled, as the Emperor Constantine returned

Both Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox Church comprehended God to exist in three structures, known as the Trinity. God is three in one, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.

He gives a good history of the development of the Trinity Doctrine and shows that the Emperors of Rome force Nicene Creed and the others Creeds related to the Trinity Doctrine on the Church. Thus, the Creed of the Trinity Doctrine was more political than theological. Moreover, the ante-Nicene Fathers were not trinitarians in the sense of the Trinity Doctrine; they were unitarians.

The definition of the Trinity according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead according to Christian dogma.” The basis of the Trinity is that there is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are three separate parts, yet they make up one. While this is confusing to the naked ear, it actually makes logical sense on a deeper level. Scholars and philosophers struggled for years to give a valid explanation of the Trinity. It was not until Tertullian in the 2nd or 3rd century AD that a satisfactory explanation was given. Tertullian came up with the Trinitarian Doctrine, which basically

I will like to crave your indulgence to the fact that "Nicene concept of Trinity" is never stated in the Bible, and it is that early Christians as well as the scriptures clearly points out the fact that Jesus was fully divine and pre-existent. For the fact that, none of the early Christian theologians fully asserted the doctrine of the Trinity, not even a speculation about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. According to the father of the paganism description of Trinity "God can in no way be described." (Schindler 148).

The Trinity is a doctrine that has and will continue to bring much controversy to the Christian faith. Yet it is important to understand that a practical approach to this topic can be very important. Having a full understanding of the Trinity is vital to the life of a Christian. The distinct, yet interwoven aspects of God’s character will affect every aspect of a believer’s life.

As a Hellenistic ideal, Arianism the Word and the Holy Spirit are medial beings from the creation and divine nature. However, in Christianity, Jesus is fully human, but he is also God. Through God’s sacrifice, human sacrifice was redeemed. In addition, Apollinarianism rejects the human soul is part of Jesus; thus, Jesus is not fully human.

Trinity is one God. Each of the persons of the trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit “is God whole and entire”. I believe that the trinity of persons consists of one substance and one essence. Each of the persons is that supreme reality, the divine substance, essence or nature. Each of the three persons are distinct from one another, but known to be related to one another.

This heretical view is further fought against through Athanasius’ extensive focus on Jesus’ death and the implications that this had on humanity as told by the Bible (Young, 2010, p.55); Romans (10:9) explicitly states Jesus is the Lord and the only route to salvation. So it can be argued, if Jesus is not God, as Arius suggests, then it is not possible for humanity to reach salvation, which results in diminishment of the purpose of Christian faith. Thus, it is acceptable to assume that the Nicene Creed’s assertion of the homoousious relationship of God and Jesus, as a rejection of Arianism, was essential to early Christian theology because it provided certainty for the establishment of the faith.

The trinity of God consists of Him being described as three people in one. He is recognized in agreement by revealing Himself by, “Giving grace to you and peace from God our Father…” (Philippians 1:2)3, He grants us hope, “…appearing in the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)3, and we receive the gift of God by him, “…pouring out the Holy Spirit abundantly onto us…” (Titus 3:6)3. The Trinity is a demonstrated example o Christian for them to gain a better understanding of who God is and His relationships with humanity. Although God exposes Himself through three people, our Father is still made up of one essence; three people that share one sole.