By Drew Castel on June 10th, 2010
Trinity. Three in One. The Godhead. Where do we get this theology from? The Bible of course. Who developed the doctrine so that three in one could be understood not as a contradiction, but as an undeniable truth? St. Ignatius of Antioch, first of the four Fathers of the Church (35 A.D. – 110 A.D.). St. Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John – John the Beloved – promulgates that the three Persons are God. St. Ignatius proceeds from John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. In this St. Ignatius unravels the sacred truth of the Trinity. What he begins to expand on is the fact that there are three Persons sharing one divine nature. St. Ignatius drew this conclusion from Matthew 28:19 which reads, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. He noticed that the baptism was done in the ‘name’, not ‘names’. This distinguishes unity in one power, one love, one authority, one nature but given to three persons; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit [originally known as Paraclete]. But from the Gospel of John, St. Ignatius sees that first was God. Read more... (1261 words, estimated 5:03 mins reading time)
