A Dangerous Theology Of The Trinity

C. Peter Wagner’s book 7 Power Principles I Learned After Seminary lends itself to a very scary, but accepted, doctrine of the Trinity. I believe this belief in the Trinity is not compatible with Scripture and I briefly hope to make my case here. Wagner writes,

"The pragmatic question, then, becomes, What does it take to reach the lost? The answer, of course, is that it takes the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not simply a theologically correct statement. It has been borne out of empirical research. The churches that are growing most vigorously in the world, are with few exceptions, the churches that are permeated by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, supernatural power becomes a determining operational force. It is derived from the premise that the Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity most directly involved in effective evangelism. This does not mean that the emphasis on the Father and the Son is reduced in apostolic churches, but rather that the emphasis on the Holy Spirit is increased.

This is not only a pragmatic conclusion based on the premise that the more we have the operational power of the Holy Spirit the more we'll evangelize, but it is also understood as a clear biblical principle. While I was in seminary, I was taught that the Cross was an indispensable lens through which I should interpret the Bible. Before coming to a conclusion on any doctrine or important idea for ministry, I was taught to ask the test question, How does this relate to the Cross? The assumption behind this was that our focus should constantly be on the work of the Second Person of the Trinity - Christ. As I look back on this assumption years later, I regrettable feel that it ingrained in my mind an exaggerated Christology. The slogan 'Christ is all!' has its positive connotations, but it can also become and obstacle to biblical evangelism (pg. 20-21)."

And later,

"What Jesus was telling His disciples is the point I am trying to make now, namely for the purpose of evangelization, the immediate presence of the Third Person of the Trinity is more important than the immediate presence of the Second Person of the Trinity (pg. 22)!"

Wagner here is very close to saying that Jesus is no longer needed because His work is done. The work is now done by the Holy Spirit and Him alone. Also notice that there is no mention of the Father anywhere. This is because I believe Wagner is leaning towards a Trinitarian theology called modalism (which is accepted by the United Pentecostal Church which I believe Wagner uses for many of his examples in the book. For an eye opening look at their doctrine on the subject visit http://www.upci.org/doctrine/60Questions.asp).

Modalism, as defined by theologian Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology, is "God is not really three distinct persons, but only one person who appears to people in different 'modes' at different times (pg. 242)." This means that God was the Father in the OT, the Son in the NT, and the Holy Spirit today (technically after Jesus ascended). This theology is nothing new. It was introduced in the third century by a teacher in Rome named Sabellius and is sometimes known as Sabellianism.

There are big problems with this. First, God reveals Himself as plural in the OT. This does not tell us exactly that He is one God in three Persons, but it points to the fact that there is more than one person that makes up this one God. A great example is Isaiah 6:8, "Who should I send? Who will go for us?" God speaks of Himself in the singular and the plural. If that is not enough, the biggest hurdle in my mind to get past would be Jesus' baptism in the Gospels of the NT. Here we see Jesus, hear the voice of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit rests on Jesus like a dove (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-10; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34) If this is not true, then either Jesus or someone nearby was an awesome ventriloquist!

Plus, this theology denies relational aspects of the Trinity which is the core of Trinitarian theology. Human beings are relational begins by nature and this comes from the relational nature of the Trinune God.

Next, let me interact with a few words from the above quotation that jumped out at me. First is the use of the word "empirical." As we will see as we flesh out more of the ideas in this book, the focus is on an experience or feelings. While feelings and emotions are important, it is not how we judge or base our relationship with God. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is important to know what God is like. To know His character and to trust Him - even if we don't have the emotional experience we are hoping for. It does not diminish God's work.

Also, the word "force" is used. Now, thanks to Jonathan and my own doing, I have been watching Star Wars way too much. As you know, the focus of the movie involves a New Age-ish philosophy focusing on a force around us. We have to be careful to turn the Holy Spirit into a force or focus on the force of His power. If that is the case, the Holy Spirit is diminished to a weapon. The Bible is our weapon (Eph. 6:17). The Holy Spirit does have power - all power - because He is God, but He is not the only source of power. God the Father has power and God the Son has power. Our desire is to seek the will of the Father, live like Jesus Christ, and be guided by the Holy Spirit. Every person of the Trinity plays an important role in our sanctification.

Lastly, there seems to be an emphasis on the number of the Trinity. Remember that those numbers are just placed there for human understanding. Every person of the Trinity is equal - no One is more important. It does not matter that three comes after two and that the Holy Spirit is now more useful or powerful. They are all equal because they are three persons as ONE God. Hard to understand - yes! What the Bible teaches - yes! Accept it by faith - we're gonna have to!

So this leads us to ask, what is the difference in the three Persons of the Trinity? Well, I'm glad you asked! Join us on Sunday nights at 6pm as we look more carefully at the Trinity starting with God the Father in two weeks (no PM Sunday due to Father's day). See you then!