New Testament Basis for
the Trinitarian Doctrine II
Triadic Formulas in the New Testament
& Re-reading the Old Testament
Narrative of Salvation: Triadic character
of God's saving action
 The Christian message is essentially a
narration. There is an understanding of
God which this narrative of God's saving
action presents.
 This action involves not only God, Ho
Theos/ the Father, but also the Son of
God and the Holy Spirit. This triadic
character of God's action is evident in key
pivotal moments of the narrative.
 At the beginning of the
story: Infancy narrative
(Luke 1,35)
The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and
the power of the Most
High will overshadow
you; therefore the child
to be born will be
called holy, the Son of
God.
During the beginning of Jesus'
ministry: baptism in the Jordan
(Mt 3:16-17; Mk 1:10-11; Lk
3:21-22)
The heavens open - the Holy
Spirit descends upon Jesus in
the form of a dove - the voice
of God (the Father) is heard as
saying: "This is my beloved
Son".
At the last Supper in
John's gospel
Jesus promises his
disciples that on the
achievement of his own
work the Father will
send the Holy Spirit
upon them
 The understanding of God which the
narrative of salvation present and witnesses
to: God here means Yahweh, the one, true,
God of Israel. But this one God has now in
these final events of salvation disclosed
himself as the Father of the Son, Jesus
Christ, and the Sender of the Spirit.
 For Christian faith this triadic reference is
essential to the understanding of God
whose saving action in Christ and in the
Spirit is the foundation of that faith.
Triadic Formulas
 There is evidence of a slow
development of understanding that
Jesus Christ, the Father and the Spirit
are equally God. Indications of this
understanding appear here and there in
"triadic formulas."
Mt 28: 19
“Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations…
baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. “
 This baptismal formula is explicitly Trinitarian. This is
not an ipsisimma verba Jesu. It represents the
doctrinal crystallization of the community of the
evangelist which had reflected deeply on the meaning
of the most important rite in the early Church, baptism.
 The name represents the person, so being baptized in
the name of the Father, the So nand the Holy Spirit
means introducing those who are baptized into the
communion of these three Persons and entrusting
them to their special protection.
2 Cor 13:13
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of
God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be
with you all.”
 This triadic formula, still widely used in the
liturgy, undoubtedly had its place in the
celebrations of the early Church.
 This formula looks forward to the doctrine of
the Trinity, and its frequent use in the liturgy
undoubtedly hastened the formulation of that
doctrine.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
“But we feel that we must be continually thanking
God for you, brothers from who the Lord loves,
because God chose you from the beginning to be
saved by the sanctifying Spirit and by faith in the
Truth. Through the Good News that we brought
he called you to this so that we should share the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
 In Paul’s mind everything in built around the three
sources of grace & salvation: the Father, the Son
& the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor 12:4-6
There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit;
there are all sorts of services to be done, but
always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of
different ways in different people, it is the same
God who is working in all of them.

The context is ecclesial. It is impossible to speak
of the life of the community without invoking the
three living principles behind all Christian
innovations: The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
 This is not an overt Trinitarian doctrine, but paves
the way for its emergence in the future.
There are other significant Pauline texts
which, while not directly trinitarian in
themselves, yet indicate trinitarian thought
that was later to be developed. (Gal 3:1114, Gal 4:6, 2 Cor 1:21-22, 2 Cor 3:3. Rom
14:17-18, Rom 15:16, Rom 15:30, Phil
3:3, Eph 2:18, Ep 2:20-22, Eph 3:14-17).
Other Pauline Triadic Texts
 Galatians 3:11-14: “The Law will not justify anyone in
the sight of God … Christ redeemed us from the curse of
the law… so that through faith we might receive the
promised Spirit.”
 Galatians 4:6 : “The proof that you are sons is that God
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: The Spirit cries
”Abba, Father.”
 2 Corinthians 1:21-22: “It is God himself who assures
us all, and you, of our standing in Christ, and has
annointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the
pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.”
 Romans 14:17-18 “The kingdom of God does
not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means
righteousness and peace and joy brought by the
Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you
will please God and be respected by them.”
 Ephesians 2:18 “Through him [Christ] both of
us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the
Father.”
 Ephesians 2:20-22 “You are part of a building
that has the apostles and prophets for its
foundations, and Jesus Christ himself for its
main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned
on him, all grow into the one holy temple in the
Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a
house where God lives, in the Spirit.”
 Ephesians 3:14-17 “This, then, is what I
pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom
every family, whether spiritual or natural,
takes its name: Out of his infinite glory, may
he give you the power through his Spirit for
your hidden self to grow strong, so that
Christ may live in our hearts.”
Christian Re-reading of the Old Testament
 Presupposition: if the one true God is the
Trinity of Persons, then any historical
revelation of God implies a revelation of the
Trinity.
 In the OT there are intimations or vestiges of
the tri-personal nature of the mystery of
God.
Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity
 The three men who
appeared to Abraham
at the Oak of Mamre
can be regarded as a
foreshadowing the
Trinity
Personification of Yahweh as
foreshadowing Trinitarian Revelation in NT
 Divine wisdom (Prov 1:20-23, 8; 9:1-6) (In
the NT wisdom =Jesus)
 Associated with Wisdom is the
personification of the word of God -- Dabar
Yahweh. (Dabar = Jesus)
 The spirit of God (Ruah Yahweh). God’s
presence in creation and history. (Ruah =
Holy Spirit)
Next meeting: Early Efforts at understanding
the Truth about the Trinity: Heresies
Leonardo Boff, Trinity & Society, 4350