Chapter IV On the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity
The controversy which Irenæus carried on with the Gnostics being directly and explicitly on the subject of the Divine Nature, led him to treat distinctly of the divinity and humanity of Christ and his incarnation, of the providential government of God, and his various manifestations. He is thus led, almost of necessity, to enunciate the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity in various aspects, but most especially in regard to the twofold nature of Christ.
In direct reference to the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, he describes the agency of the three Persons in the creation of man; the Father willing and commanding, the Son ministering and forming, the Spirit sustaining and nourishing him193. So again he declares that God made all things by his Word or Son, and Wisdom or Spirit, using the terms personally; and that this was the same thing as making them by himself194, because they are his hands195. And again, in explaining God’s dispensations in regard to man, he affirms196 that God was seen under the Old Testament by the Spirit of prophecy, that he was seen subsequently by means of the Son, adoptively, i. e. adopting human nature into the divine197, and that he will be seen in his character of Father in the kingdom of heaven; and that in this way the Spirit in the Son prepares man, and the Son brings him to the Father, and the Father grants to him immortality: and so again in the work of man’s redemption198, the Spirit operates, the Son supplies, the Father approves, and man is perfected to salvation. He likewise gives two statements of the substance of the Creed, in which the three Persons of the Trinity are spoken of in the same manner as in the Nicene Creed, both of which will be given in a subsequent chapter.
These are all the passages, so far as I have been able to discover, which speak of the three Persons of the most Holy Trinity together; but the doctrine is implied throughout.
On the twofold nature of Christ, and especially on his divinity, he is more full. Indeed it would take more space than I can spare to introduce all the passages which bear upon the subject.
Very near the beginning of his treatise, in rehearsing the faith of the Church, he speaks of “Christ Jesus our Lord and God and Saviour and King199;” further on he quotes many passages of Scripture to show that he was spoken of absolutely and definitely as God and Lord200, and asks the question, How would men be saved, if He who wrought out their salvation upon earth was not God201?
He asserts that the Word was with God from everlasting202, and that Jesus was the Son of God before the creation203, that no man knows the mode of his generation204, and that God made all things by his indefatigable Word, who is the Artificer of all things, and sitteth upon the cherubim, and preserves all things205. He declares that the Lord who spake to Abraham was the Son206, and that it was the Word that appeared to Moses207.
This Divine Word, then, was united with his creature208, (which union is expressed by the name Emmanuel209,) and humbled himself to take upon him the infant state of man210, and thus having become Son of man211, went through all the ages of man212, and finally hung upon the cross213. He asserts, moreover, that although the angels knew the Father solely by the revelation of the Son214, and indeed all from the beginning have known God by the Son215, so that the Father is the Son invisible, and the Son the Father visible216, yet that the Son knew not the day of judgment217; and that this was so ordered, that we may learn that the Father is above all218, and that the Son ministers to the Father219: finally, that when Jesus was tempted and suffered, the Word in him restrained his energy220. But he declares likewise that Christ remained in the bosom of the Father, even when upon earth221.
These mysteries in the nature of Christ Irenæus does not attempt to explain, fully holding the eternal and unchangeable Divinity of the Son, even when made flesh, and his strict personal union with that flesh, and at the same time asserting his subordination to the Father, even in his divine nature; feeling that when we cannot discover the reason of every thing, we should consider the immeasureable difference between us and God222; that if we cannot explain earthly things, we cannot expect to explain heavenly things, and that what we cannot explain we must leave to God223; and in short that it is much better to know nothing but Christ crucified, than by subtil inquiries to fall into impiety224.
This Jesus, then, who has been testified of by all things that he was truly God and truly man225, being related to both God and man, and thus having the indispensable qualification for his office, became the Mediator between them226; he came in every dispensation, and summed up all things in himself227. He was born about the forty-first year of the reign of Augustus228; when not full thirty he was baptized, but he did not begin to teach till past forty229. His ministry extended through three passovers230, and he suffered on the day of the passover231. He is our High Priest232; he gave his soul for our souls, and his flesh for ours 233; his righteous flesh has reconciled to God our sinful flesh 234; and he brings us into union and communion with God235. He rose again in the flesh236, and in the flesh he ascended into heaven, and will come again to judgment237; and he introduces his Church into the kingdom of heaven238.
Respecting the Holy Ghost, Irenæus declares that he was with God before all created things239, and (as we have seen) that he was the Wisdom of God, whose operation was the operation of God240; that he is rightly called Lord241; and he affirms that the bread of eternal life, which is the Word, is also the Spirit of the Father242. He speaks of him as coming with power to give entrance unto life to all nations, and to open to them the new Covenant, and as offering to the Father on the day of Pentecost the first fruits of all nations243.
He affirms that man, at his creation, had the image of God in the flesh, the likeness in the soul by the communication of the Divine Spirit244. He implies that, since the fall, man has lost the Spirit, and consequently the life of his soul; he asserts that he remains carnal until he recovers the Spirit of God245, and then he becomes again a living soul, and has in him the seed of eternal life246; that the Spirit we receive here is a pledge of a fuller portion247; and that at the resurrection the souls and bodies of the just will be quickened by the Spirit in union with them, and their bodies become spiritual bodies248, and capable of immortality.
This is the substance of the doctrine of Irenæus on the Trinity, and it will be seen that it is identical with that of the Church of England, and that his way of carrying it out throws light on important passages of Holy Writ; and if there had been nothing of interest to us in this Treatise beyond these clear and direct testimonies to the belief of the Church of that age on the fundamental doctrine of the Gospel, we might well be glad that it was written and handed down to our times.