Created in the Image of God: The Trichotomy of Man, Compared and Contrasted to the Trinity of God

By Otis Lee Gaston

We are told in the Scriptures that God desires that we know Him more than He desires sacrifices (Hosea 6:6). The way to know God is through the study of His word, the Bible, and a personal relationship with Him through our acceptance of the salvation offered through His Son, Jesus. The primary goal of Created in the Image of God is for us to know God through studying the Trinity, the three-part structure of God, as presented in the Bible and comparing and contrasting the Trinity with the three-part structure of mankind, who is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26).

Created in the Image of God attempts to bring forth relevant Scriptures as pertaining to the Trinity and the creation of mankind, as well as applicable thoughts of theological scholars as they pertain to this topic. Through the study of the trichotomic structure of mankind, we will see how mankind is able to relate to God, the meaning of regeneration at salvation, the distinction between the indwelling and the filling of the Holy Spirit, the root cause of addictive behaviors, the reason that mankind is above and different from the rest of the animal kingdom, and the purpose and cause of prevenient grace. Above all, the hope of Created in the Image of God is that it leads readers to know God more fully, so that we can love him more wholly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886443165

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Overview of the Doctrine of the Trinity of God

Chapter 2: God the Father

Chapter 3: God the Son

Chapter 4: God the Spirit

Chapter 5: Overview of the Doctrine of Man

Chapter 6: The Material Man—The Body

Chapter 7: The Immaterial Man—The Soul and the Spirit

Chapter 8: Discussion and Conclusions

Bibliography

About the Author

Notes

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Created in the Image of God

The Trichotomy of Man, Compared and Contrasted to the Trinity of God

Otis Lee Gaston, Jr.

ISBN 979-8-88644-315-8 (Paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88644-316-5 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Otis Lee Gaston, Jr.

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Acknowledgments

My daughter, Andrea, I owe great thanks for her prayers and encouragement to continue in the furthering of my knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

Reverend Jim Chatfield patiently answered my questions in choir practice and whose mentorship encouraged me to pursue formal studies in theology.

Dr. Luther Price, a man truly filled with the Holy Spirit and who, by his example, encouraged me greatly during and after his tutelage of me at the Aiken, South Carolina, Extension of Covington Theological Seminary.

Dr. William Owens was a great encourager and adviser as one of my professors at the Aiken, South Carolina, Extension of Covington Theological Seminary.

Reverend Larry Hickey, I am greatly indebted for his constant prayers, encouragement, and friendship during and since my first pastorate.

Introduction

It is the purpose of this book to show that, when the biblical doctrine of man as expressed through the trichotomous model for the essence of mankind is compared and contrasted with the biblical doctrine of the Trinity of God, we will see more fully that mankind is truly created in the image of God and thereby gain a deeper understanding of God.

The doctrine of the Trinity teaches that the Godhead of the Christian faith consists of three persons, yet only one essence. Put in another way, God is an undivided unity expressed in the threefold nature of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.¹ Throughout the Scriptures, God tells us numerous times that He desires that we know Him.² Compared to God, mankind is extremely limited in intellect and is therefore limited in his ability to fully comprehend an incomprehensible God. The doctrine of total depravity teaches us that, since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, mankind is without the ability to know God without God's intervention.³ By God's grace, He has revealed Himself to mankind through the Bible, His written Word; Jesus, His Son, the living Word; and through His creation. If mankind is to understand an incomprehensible God, he must begin with the Bible and then look at the creation through the filter of the Bible for hints into God's nature and being. One of those hints is given to us in the first chapter of Genesis where we are told that man is created in the image of God.

The biblical doctrine of man gives several models as to the essence of man. This book will focus primarily on the model that man's essence is of three parts: body, soul, and spirit. This is otherwise known as the trichotomous theory of the doctrine of man.

By examining the biblical doctrine of the Trinity of God, exploring the various anthropological theories of the essence of mankind through the lens of the Bible, and investigating the meaning behind the statement that man is created in the image of God, we should gain insight into the nature and being of God as well as insight into the nature and being of man. By comparing and contrasting the trichotomous model of man with the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, we will gain knowledge and understanding of God, as well as gain in our understanding of the biblical statement that man is created in the image of God.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Online Bible,⁴ English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted in the text or endnote.

Chapter 1

Overview of the Doctrine of the Trinity of God

The doctrine of the Trinity of God is one of the most distinctive doctrines of Christianity. This doctrine is one of the more important, if not the most important, doctrine of the Christian faith.⁵ Many ancient religions recognize a triad of gods, such as Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Buddhism also recognizes a similar triad of gods. Additionally, Charles Hodge tells us that Platonism also recognizes a notional trinity. Hodge points out that these early trinitarian formulas have nothing in common with the biblical doctrine of the Trinity nor do they help explain it or confirm it. Although these and other ancient religions recognize a triad of gods, the doctrine of the Trinity is peculiar to the truth of the Bible.⁶

The Trinity, as used in the Christian faith, defines God as an undivided unity expressed in a threefold nature of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is considered by theologians to be a mystery beyond the ability of humans to fully comprehend.⁷ Theological mysteries are matters that God, in His wisdom and for His divine purposes, has kept secret until He chooses to reveal them through His progressive revelation of Himself.⁸

The doctrine of the Trinity is of major importance to the Christian faith. By gaining further understanding of the Trinity and comparing and contrasting it to the trichotomous theory of man, we should gain a deeper understanding of both God and man. Wayne Grudem points out several reasons that the doctrine of the Trinity is of such importance. The atonement we gain through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is null and void if Jesus is not truly God. Without Jesus's deity, He could not have borne the full wrath of God for all the sins of all humankind from the creation until the final destruction of the world. The imputed righteousness promised to us by Jesus would be in question if He is not truly and fully God because only God could keep a promise of such magnitude. If the deity of Jesus is not a fact, it is idolatry to worship Him. The Trinity provides for interpersonal relationships within the Godhead prior to creation. Without this relationship, God would be dependent upon the creation to fill this need, and if God has needs then He would not be God.⁹

The doctrine of the Trinity is of practical value to the Christian faith. Hodge tells us: It is a great mistake to regard that doctrine [of the Trinity] as a mere speculative or abstract truth, concerning the constitution of the Godhead, with which we have no practical concern, or which we are required to believe simply because it is revealed. On the contrary, it underlies the whole plan of salvation, and determines the character of the religion (in the subjective sense of that word) of all true Christians.¹⁰

There are six essential elements of the Trinity as pointed out by Millard Erickson: (1) the unity of God; (2) the deity of the three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that each are qualitatively the same¹¹ (Grudem refers to this as ontological equality but economic subordination, in other words, equal in being but subordinate in role¹²); (3) the threeness and the oneness of God are not in the same respect; (4) God has always been three; the Trinity is eternal; (5) the temporary subordination of the members of the Trinity in no way implies or infers inferiority of essence; and (6) the Trinity is a mystery beyond our human capability to fully comprehend.¹³

Another way to stress the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity is that denial of the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the traits that identify non-Christian cults. Cults tend to redefine the doctrine of the Trinity because of their denial of the deity of Christ. In discussions, those who belong to a non-Christian cult tend to carefully avoid the topic of the Trinity or the doctrine of the deity of Christ unless they can interject their own definitions of the terms.¹⁴

The Trinity is a scriptural concept expressing the dynamic character of God. It is not a Greek philosophical or religious concept forced into the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. The word Trinity is not found in the Scriptures; nevertheless, it is a crucial element of our faith. Not only is the word Trinity not used in the Bible, but the doctrine of the Trinity is not specifically taught in the Scriptures.¹⁵ The concept of the Trinity, the Greek form trias was probably first used by Theophilus of Antioch who died about AD 181. The Latin form trinitas appeared in the writings of Tertullian, who died around AD 220.¹⁶ From this it can be seen that by, or near, the end of the second century AD the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early stages of formation. Erickson credits Tertullian with stating that the doctrine of the Trinity must be divinely revealed, not humanly constructed.¹⁷ The early church felt that it was essential to the life of the church to maintain that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not three Gods, but one God in three persons. Historically, the doctrine of the Trinity was the first doctrine that the early church felt necessary to formalize into a definitive doctrine.¹⁸

A proper perspective must be maintained in the study of the doctrine of the Trinity. A balance must be found and kept between the concepts of distinctiveness and of unity in the Godhead. Overemphasizing the distinctiveness of the persons within the Godhead can lead to the point that the Trinity is seen as three separate Gods, better known as tritheism, or Christian polytheism. The other extreme, excluding the distinctiveness of the three persons of the Godhead, leads to unitarianism focusing only on the aspect of God the Father.¹⁹

Deuteronomy 6:4 tells us, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. This verse is the most emphatic biblical statement declaring the oneness of God. This statement is foundational in the beliefs of both the Jewish and Christian faiths. The fact that the Bible declares God to be one, and the tension of progressive revelation of the biblical text revealing three persons all ascribed as God, led to the need for the development of a formal doctrine of the Trinity.

As mentioned earlier, the doctrine of the Trinity was being formulated by the early church near the end of the second-century AD. During the early development of the doctrine of the Trinity, several heresies developed that needed to be addressed. One such heresy, in trying to define the relationship between God and Christ, is dynamic monarchianism. Monarchianism literally means sole sovereignty. This heresy taught that, prior to His baptism, Jesus was a completely virtuous, normal man. Although monarchianism had a rationalistic appeal, it was not a widespread or popular movement. As a heresy, monarchianism needed to be dealt with.²⁰

Another heresy that was popular, and fairly widespread, during this time is modalistic monarchianism. The principle idea of this teaching is that, although there is one Godhead, at various times God may be designated as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. The terms do not imply three persons but are merely names that are appropriate and applicable at different times based on the actions being performed at that particular time. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are identical—they are only successive revelations of the same person. Modalism taught that the Trinity was not three persons in one essence, but one person with three different modes (names and functions as dictated by the actions being performed).²¹ Also during this time, a presbyter from Alexandria named Arius began teaching that Jesus, the Son of God, had been created by God at some point in time; prior to that, the Son did not exist. This heresy, known as Arianism, taught that God the Father at some point created God the Son and also God the Spirit and that, before their creation by the Father, they did not exist. This heresy was condemned at the Council of Nicea in AD 325 and also later condemned at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381.²²

Hodge points out that these speculations about the Trinity were primarily confined in the realm of the theologians of the day and that the majority of the average people tended to rely on the Scriptures and from the teachings from their worship services. They did not make any specific distinctions with God and worshipped and trusted each person of the Trinity the same as they did the others. Even so, there existed a state of confusion as to the understanding of the Trinity. In order to bring some manner of agreement to the fundamental doctrine of the Trinity, Emperor Constantine called for the First Ecumenical Council to meet in Nicea in AD 325.²³ The result of the Council of Nicea was the declaration that Christ was begotten, not made. The original Nicene Creed states: "We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousion) with the Father…"²⁴

Although the Nicene Creed defined the Son as equal with the Father, Arianism, a heresy that denies the full deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit,²⁵ still continued to be taught in several different forms. This heretical teaching was finally ended by the Council of Constantine in AD 381. The Council of Constantine not only reaffirmed the creedal statements brought about by the Council of Nicea, but also affirmed the deity of the Holy Spirit. Grudem points out that what is normally thought of as the Nicene Creed today is actually the conclusions of the Council of Nicea (AD 325) as modified by the conclusions of the Council of Constantine (AD 381).²⁶ Ericson states that The Council of Constantine (381) formulated a definition statement in which the church made explicit the beliefs held implicitly.²⁷

As pointed out earlier in this chapter, the word Trinity is not found in Scripture, although it is alluded to throughout the Old Testament and more specifically defined in the New Testament. As to the person of God, the primary teaching of the Old Testament is centered on the unity of God.²⁸ Deuteronomy 6:4, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one, is one of the best examples of the Jewish thoughts and teachings on this concept. As direct and specific as this teaching of God being one is, the doctrine of the Trinity is intimated and alluded to throughout the Old Testament. In the New Testament the doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught.²⁹

The first intimation of the Trinity in the Old Testament is in the very first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Old Testament. Genesis 1:1 tells us, "In the beginning, God created the