The Son of God view: The Trinity Flashcards
Question: What is the Trinity?
Answer: The Trinity is the doctrine in Christianity that there is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Question: How does the trinitarian view characterize the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Answer: According to the trinitarian view, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons (hypostases), each fully God, coexistent, coeternal, and coequal.
Question: What key points are outlined in the Nicene Creed regarding the Trinity?
Answer: The Nicene Creed affirms belief in one God, declares Christ as the Son of God eternally begotten of the Father, and emphasizes the unity of Christ’s essence with the Father. It also acknowledges the role of the Holy Spirit in Christ’s incarnation and glorification.
Question: What historical event led to the formulation of the Nicene Creed?
Answer: The Nicene Creed was formulated during the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, convened by Emperor Constantine to address theological disputes about the nature of God’s relationship to Jesus.
Question: How did the Nicene Creed settle the dispute over the nature of God’s relationship to Jesus?
Answer: The Nicene Creed affirmed the trinitarian view, asserting that Christ is the Son of God, “eternally begotten” of the Father, and of one Being with the Father.
Question: What additional theological development followed the Nicene Creed?
Answer: The Chalcedonian Definition, established by the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451, affirmed that Christ possesses two natures (divine and human) united in one being.
Question: What does the Chalcedonian Definition state about Christ’s nature?
Answer: The Chalcedonian Definition declares that Christ has two natures (divine and human) that are united without confusion, change, division, or separation.
Question: How did the Nicene Creed describe the role of the Holy Spirit?
Answer: The Nicene Creed affirms belief in the Holy Spirit as the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is worshipped and glorified with them.
Question: What key phrase in the Nicene Creed emphasizes Christ’s divine nature?
Answer: The phrase “begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father” emphasizes Christ’s divine nature and eternal relationship with the Father.
Question: What historical significance does the Nicene Creed hold in Christianity?
Answer: The Nicene Creed is considered a foundational statement of Christian doctrine, particularly regarding the nature of God and the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Question: Who convened the Council of Chalcedon, and what was its purpose?
Answer: The Council of Chalcedon was convened by Emperor Marcian in A.D. 451 to address theological controversies surrounding the nature of Christ’s being.
Question: What concept does the Nicene Creed reject regarding Christ’s nature?
Answer: The Nicene Creed rejects the notion that Christ was made or created, affirming instead his eternal begottenness from the Father.
Question: How does the Trinity doctrine affirm monotheism?
Answer: The Trinity doctrine asserts that there is one God, despite acknowledging three distinct Persons within the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Question: What role did Emperor Constantine play in the formulation of the Nicene Creed?
Answer: Emperor Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 to resolve theological disputes, resulting in the formulation of the Nicene Creed.
Question: What theological concept is emphasized in the phrase “eternally begotten” in the Nicene Creed?
Answer: The phrase “eternally begotten” underscores the eternal and uncreated nature of Christ’s relationship with the Father, affirming his divine origin and equality with God.
Question: What theological concept is affirmed in the statement: “Christ is truly God and truly Man”?
Answer: The statement affirms the doctrine of the Incarnation, which teaches that Jesus Christ possesses both divine and human natures.
Question: How does the statement describe the relationship between the two natures of Christ?
Answer: The statement emphasizes that the two natures of Christ (divine and human) are united without confusion, change, division, or separation, in what is known as the hypostatic union.
Question: What term is used to describe the unity of the two natures in Christ?
Answer: The unity of the two natures in Christ is described as the hypostatic union, where both natures coexist in one Person.