| Why did the doctrine of the Trinity arise? | The early church was faced with addressing the problem of heresy |
| What are some of the heresies put out? | Arianism, Sabellianism, adoptionism, Nestorianism, Docetism |
| What is Arianism? | Christ is no the same as God since he is impassible, unknowable and unchangeable. The incarnation is impossible. Christ is a creature subordinate to God |
| What is Sabellianism? | there is one divine personality, God, but he played three roles in history. The father suffered in the form of Jesus but they are not different existences |
| What is adoptionism? | God did not take the initiative in salvation but chose jesus, an ordinary but good man, and adopted him as God's divine son at his baptism |
| What is Nestorianism? | Christ has a dual personality, one divine and one human. These are interchangeable in the gospels |
| What is Docetism? | the human Jesus was a phantom. God was acting in a role designed to inspire humanity. God cannot feel or have emotions, so Jesus' emotions cannot be real |
| What did these ideas around the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit show? | the need for a creed that outlined accurate doctrine regarding the triune Godhead |
| What does Triune Godhead mean? | God consisting of three in one |
| What was the trinity needed to confirm? | That Jesus was fully God because he is believed to have existed from the beginning with God and was God |
| What does the trinity say about Jesus' humanity? | Jesus is fully human because he was a man of flesh and blood, born as any other person is born, experiencing all emotions and journeys humans do |
| What does incarnation theology elaborate on? | the nature of Jesus as fully God and also expresses the belief that Jesus Christ was God in human form |
| What scripture confirms that although Jesus lived on earth people were in the presence of God in the flesh? | John 1:14 |
| John 1:14 | "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us..." |
| What are the four ways Jesus' relationship with God can be defined? | Jesus as divine, Jesus' pre-existence, Jesus as co-equal with God and Jesus as co-eternal with God |
| How is Jesus seen as divine in the Chalcedon creed? | "We confess one and the same son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in Godhead, perfect in Manhood, truly God and truly man" |
| How do we see Jesus' pre existence in the Chalcedon creed? | "...begotten of the father before the ages according to his Godhead..." |
| How is Jesus co-equal with God? | N/A |
| How is Jesus co-eternal with God? | N/A |
