IN discussing the doctrine of the Trinity, we must distinguish between what is
technically known as the immanent1 and the economic2 Trinity. By the immanent
Trinity, we mean the Trinity as it has subsisted in the Godhead from all
eternity. In their essential, innate3 life, we say that the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit are the same in substance,4 possessing identical attributes and powers, and
therefore equal in glory. This relates to God’s essential existence apart from the
creation. By the economic Trinity, we mean the Trinity as manifested in the world,
particularly in the redemption of sinful men. There are three opera ad extra5
—
additional works, if we may so describe them—that are ascribed to the Trinity,
namely, Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification. These are works that are outside
of the necessary activities of the Trinity, works that God was under no obligation
or compulsion to perform.
In the Scriptures, we find that the plan of redemption takes the form of a covenant,
not merely between God and His people, but between the different persons
within the Trinity, so that there is, as it were, a division of labor, [with] each person
voluntarily assuming a particular part of the work. 1st—To the Father is ascribed
primarily the work of Creation, together with the election of a certain
number of individuals whom He has given to the Son. The Father is in general
the “Author” of the plan of redemption. 2nd—To the Son is ascribed the work of
redemption, which to accomplish He became incarnate, assuming human nature
in order that, as the federal head and representative of His people, He might, as
their substitute,6 assume the guilt of their sin and suffer a full equivalent for the
penalty of eternal death that rested upon them. He thus made full satisfaction to
the demands of justice, which demands are expressed in the words, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Eze 18:4, 20), and, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).
Also, in His capacity as the federal head and representative of His people, He covenanted
to keep the law of perfect obedience that was originally given to their
forefather, Adam, in his representative capacity, which law Adam had broken and
had thereby plunged the race into a state of guilt and ruin. Identifying Himself
thus with His people, He paid the penalty that rested on them and earned their
salvation. Acting as their King and Savior, and also as Head of the Church that
He thus forms, He directs the advancing kingdom and is ever present with His
people. 3rd—To the Holy Spirit is ascribed the works of regeneration and sanctification,
or the application to the hearts of individuals of the objective atonement
that has been wrought out by Christ. This He does by spiritually renewing their
hearts, working in them faith and repentance, cleansing them of every taint7 of
sin, and eventually glorifying them in heaven. Redemption, in the broad sense, is
thus a matter of pure grace, being planned by the Father, purchased by the Son,
and applied by the Holy Spirit…
Yet while particular works are ascribed pre-eminently to each of the persons, so
intimate is the unity that exists within the Trinity, there being but one substance
and “one God,” that each of the persons participates to some extent in the work of
the others.8 “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (Joh 14:11), said Jesus.
“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (Joh 14:9). “God was in Christ reconciling
the world to himself” (2Co 5:19). “I will not leave you comfortless: I will
come to you” [through the Holy Spirit] (Joh 14:18). As Dr. Charles Hodge9 says,
“According to the Scriptures, the Father created the world, the Son created the
world, and the Spirit created the world. The Father preserves all things; the Son
upholds all things; and the Spirit is the source of all life. These facts are expressed
by saying that the persons of the Trinity concur in all acts ad extra. Nevertheless,
there are some acts which are predominantly referred to the Father, others to the
Son, and others to the Spirit. The Father creates, elects, and calls; the Son redeems;
and the Spirit sanctifies.”10
Hence, we say that while the spheres and functions of the three persons of the
Trinity are different, they are not exclusive. That which is done by one is participated
in by the others with varying degrees of prominence.11 The fact of the matter
is that there have been three great epochs or dispensations in the history of redemption,
corresponding to and successively manifesting the three persons of the
Godhead. That of the Father began at the creation and continued until the beginning
of the public ministry of Jesus; that of the Son, embracing a comparatively
short period of time, but the important period in which redemption was worked
out objectively, began with the public ministry of Jesus and continued until the
day of Pentecost; and that of the Holy Spirit began with the descent of the Holy
Spirit on the disciples on the day of Pentecost and continues until the end of the
age.
In regard to the work of the economic Trinity, we find there is a definite procedure
in the work of redemption and also in the government of the world in general:
the work of the Father in creation and in the general plan for the world being
primary, that of the Son in redeeming the world being subordinate to and dependent
on that of the Father, and that of the Holy Spirit in applying redemption
coming later in time and being subordinate to and dependent on that of the Father
and of the Son. Hence, in regard to the work of redemption particularly,
which is the great and all-important work that God does for man in this world,
there is a logical order—that of the Father being first, that of the Son second, and
that of the Spirit third. And when the persons of the Trinity are mentioned in our
theological statements, it is always in this order.
The Father sends the Son and works through Him (Joh 17:8; Rom 8:3; 1Th 5:9;
Rom 5:1), and the Father and Son work through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5; Gal
5:22-23; Ti 3:5; Act 15:8-9). In Christ’s own words, He that is sent is not greater
than He that hath sent Him (Joh 13:16); and in His state of humiliation, speaking
from the standpoint of His human nature, He could say, “The Father is greater
than I” (Joh 14:28). Paul tells us that we are Christ’s and that Christ is God’s (1Co
3:23); also, that as Christ is the head of every man, so God is the head of Christ
(1Co 11:3). Numerous things are predicated12 of the incarnate Son that cannot be
predicated of the Second Person of the Trinity as such—Jesus in His human nature
advanced in wisdom (Luk 2:52), and even late in His public ministry did not
know when the end of the world was to come (Mat 24:36). In the work of redemption,
which we may term a work of supererogation13 since it is undertaken through
pure grace and love and not through obligation, the Son Who is equal with the
Father becomes, as it were, officially subject to Him. And in turn, the Spirit is sent by, acts for, and reveals both the Father and the Son, glorifies not Himself
but Christ, and works in the hearts of His people faith, love, holiness, and spiritual
enlightenment. This subordination of the Son to the Father, and of the Spirit to
the Father and the Son, relates not to their essential life within the Godhead, but
only to their modes of operation or their division of labor in creation and redemption.
This subordination of the Son to the Father, and of the Spirit to the Father and
the Son, is not in any way inconsistent with true equality. We have an analogy of
such priority and subordination, for instance, in the relationship that exists between
husband and wife in the human family. Paul tells us that that relationship
is one of equality in Christ Jesus, in Whom “there can be no male and female”
(Gal 3:28), woman’s soul being of as much value as man’s, yet one of personal priority
and subordination in which in the home and the State the husband is the
acknowledged spokesman and leader. As Dr. W. Brenton Greene says:
“In the sight of God husband and wife are, and in the eye of the law ought to be,
halves of one whole and neither better than the other. But while this is so and
cannot be emphasized too strongly, the relationship of husband and wife, nevertheless,
is such that the position of the wife is distinct from and dependent on that
of the husband. This does not imply that the wife as a person is of inferior worth
to her husband: in this respect there is neither male nor female; for they are both
‘one in Christ Jesus.’ Neither does it mean that the mission of the wife is of less
importance than that of the husband. There are certain functions, moral and intellectual
as well as physical, which she fulfills far better than her husband; and
there are certain other functions of supreme necessity that only she can fulfill at
all. What is meant, however, is that as there are some things of primary importance
that only the wife can do, so there are other indispensable functions that
only the husband ought to discharge, and chief among these is the direction of
their common life. He, therefore, should be the ‘head’ of the ‘one body’ that husband
and wife together form. Whether we can understand it or not, such a relationship
is not inconsistent with perfect equality. It is not in the case of the Trinity.
Father, Son, and Spirit are equal in power and glory. Yet the Son is second to
the Father, and the Spirit is second to both the Father and the Son, as to their
‘mode of subsistence and operation.’ Whatever, therefore, the secondary position
of the wife as regards her husband may imply, it need not imply even the least inferiority.”
14
In the work of redemption…through a covenant voluntarily entered into, the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each undertake a specific work in such a manner that, during the time this work is in progress, the Father becomes officially first,
the Son officially second, and the Spirit officially third. Yet within the essential
and inherent life of the Trinity, the full equality of the persons is preserved.
1 immanent or ontological – the Trinity as it exists necessarily and eternally, apart from creation. It is, like God’s attributes, what God necessarily is. (John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God, 706)
2 economic – the Trinity in its relation to creation, including the specific roles played by the Trinitarian persons throughout the history of creation, providence, and redemption. (John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God, 706)
3 innate – belonging to the essential nature of something.
4 substance – essence; Greek = ousia.
5 opera ad extra – outward or external works of God; “The activities and effects by which the Trinity is manifested outwardly. They are the following: (1) Creation, preservation, and government of the universe. (2) Redemption. (3) Inspiration, regeneration, and sanctification. The first belongs officially and eminently to the Father; the second to the Son; the third to the Holy Spirit.” (W. G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, 252)
6 See FGB 207, Substitution, available from CHAPEL LIBRARY.
7 taint – trace of a bad or undesirable quality.
8 Scripture presents a delicate balance between the essence (ousia) of God and the persons (hypostases) of the Godhead. Fullness of being is in the Trinity itself: each member—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—shares equally in this fullness. This unity of the Trinity is sometimes referred to as perichoresis or circumincession. John Frame explains: “Even though the three are distinct persons, they are nevertheless intimately involved with one another. This mutual involvement is called by the English terms circumincession and coinherence (by the Latin circumincessio and the Greek perichōresis). This means that, first, the Father is in the Son and the Son in Him (Joh 10:38; 14:10-11) and, second, both Father and Son are in the Spirit and the Spirit in Them (Rom 8:9). Notice: it’s not that the Father is the Son and so on but that the Father is in the Son.” (John M. Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, 34)
9 Charles Hodge (1797-1878) – American Presbyterian theologian at Princeton Seminary.
10 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, 445.
11 prominence – importance.
12 predicated – asserted or stated as a quality.
13 supererogation – performance of more than duty or circumstances require.
14 William Brenton Greene (1893-1929) – Stuart Professor, Relation of Philosophy and Science to Christian Religion, Princeton Theological Seminary; Student Course Notes: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1924-1927; Christian Sociology, 1926
From Studies in Theology, Chapter III, “The Trinity,”
used with permission of P&R Publishing Co.,
P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, N.J. 08865.
The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted; the introduction
of light brings into it nothing which was not in it before; but it brings out into
clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before. The
mystery of the Trinity is not revealed in the Old Testament; but the mystery of the Trinity
underlies the Old Testament revelation, and here and there almost comes into view. Thus
the Old Testament revelation is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows
it, but only perfected, extended and enlarged.—B. B. Warfield
Free Grace Broadcaster, "The Triune God"
https://www.chapellibrary.org/
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