The doctrine of the Trinity has been the topic of much debate among evangelicals in recent years. And this year is no different.

A full room of students, faculty, and staff gathered on Sept. 9 at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to hear Bruce Ware and Gregg Allison discuss the recent book by Millard Erickson, Who's Tampering With The Trinity? An Assessment of the Subordination Debate. In the book, Erickson interacts with a number theologians regarding the doctrine of the Trinity, including Ware and Wayne Grudem. In interacting with Ware and Grudem, Erickson argues for an incarnational-only understanding of the Son's submission to the Father.

The event was co-sponsored by The School of Church Ministries at Southern Seminary and The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Randy Stinson, dean of the School of Church Ministries at Southern Seminary and president of CBMW, moderated the discussion.

Ware began the event by providing a brief overview regarding the two views on the Trinity. Both Ware and Allison serve as professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary.

"The question is whether or not the relationship of authority and submission is one that characterizes the relationship of the Father and the Son eternally, or was it just missional or incarnational," Ware said.

He added, "What we see in the incarnation is an instance of what is true eternally. The Son was always the Son of the Father. This reflects the broader eternal pattern of authority and submission."

Erickson's view, according to Ware, argues that "the submission of the Son to the Father is only incarnational. In eternity past there was no authority and submission relationship and in eternity future there will be no authority and submission relationship."

Both sides make serious claims against the other. "There are claims of implicit heresy on both sides," said Ware, highlighting the importance of the issue. Erickson's charges Ware with a form of Arianism, which says that the Son is not of the same essence as the Father. This is a charge that Ware said he takes very seriously. But the charges against Erickson, and others, are just as severe.

Erickson asserts, Ware said, "that if you can distinguish the property of the Son, that is distinct from the property of the Father, then you have to say the essence of the Son is different than the essence of the Father.  (Egalitarians) argue that we can't hold to homoousios."

But Ware said the view of Erickson, whom he called a good friend, is equally dangerous. "This reduces to Unitarianism, and at best Modalism," Ware said. "God is simply three names, not three beings or person specific properties."

"There have to be distinguishing properties; otherwise we just have three names. Something has to distinguish the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Holy Spirit," Ware said.

Historical Evidence for Orthodox View of the Trinity

Within the debate, both sides claim church history as proof for their particular view. Allison, who is writing a massive volume on historical theology, said the complementarian position on the Trinity has been overwhelmingly held by orthodox theologians and ministers throughout the history of the church. 

"Overwhelmingly the church has affirmed what we affirm. God is three persons, equal in essence, nature, and attributes," Allison said.

He described the historically orthodox rendering of the Trinity using the illustration of three columns. Each column contains attributes that are the same, while each column also contains realities about the persons of the Godhead that distinguish one from the other.

Stinson asked Allison to explain the discrepancy in the debate if both sides are claiming church history as their ally. Because the early church did not specifically discuss authority and submission in their teaching on the Trinity, Erickson takes this as the early church fathers not holding to authority and submission. Allison said that the church fathers saw authority and submission as so natural that they did not have to make it explicit in their writings.

Biblical Evidence

Stinson asked Ware and Allison to explain how these views play out in a biblical discussion. Ware said to consider eternity past in Ephesians 1:9, stating that the "he purposed in him" is saying something about the Trinity. "Erickson wants to say the whole Trinity decides this," Ware said, "but this is not reversible. It is not collective of the Trinity. The Father chose us in Christ. We see the role of the Father as the architect and designer who wills what will come to pass."

Creation also reveals something that is done in eternity past. Genesis 1 and John 1 reveal that God creates through the agency of the Son, Ware said.

We also see Christ's submission in eternity future, Ware added. "Revelation 1:1 indicates there is an ongoing relationship of authority that the Father has over the Son."

"There is not a single instance in the Bible where the Father carries out the will of the Son. It is not reciprocal. If we say it is not really this way, then we don't really know God's revelation," said Ware.

Erickson would say that these texts don't prove what we think they do. He sees the Father's choosing in Ephesians 1 as having no particular significance. Rather, he implies that there is a mutual authority throughout. For example, Erickson points to the Spirit's proceeding from the Father and the Son. Ware, however, cautioned that such texts must be read carefully. While the Spirit does indeed proceed from the Father and the Son, Ware also noted that Acts records that the Son received from the Father the gift of the Spirit.

Ware added that Erickson's most convincing use of Scripture is his interpretation of Philippians 2. Erickson claims that Christ took on a role of servitude and obedience that he had not exercised before, thereby proving that his submission to the Father was incarnational only. Ware, however, responded by saying, "Paul is not merely referring to servitude per se. It is servitude as a man."

The audio for the Trinity and Gender panel discussion, held Wednesday on the campus of Southern Seminary, is available for download here.

The panel discussion is a helpful dialogue between Drs. Randy Stinson, Bruce A. Ware, and Gregg Allison. If you are unfamiliar with the debate concerning the Trinity and gender issues, this discussion would be a good place to start. The participants are clear with their position, as well as fair to those with whom they disagree.

For more information on this topic, check out these resources below:

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Bruce A. Ware

Kevin Giles' Trinity and Subordinationism: A Review Article by Peter R. Schemm, Jr.

Equal in Essence, Distinct in Roles by Bruce A. Ware

A Review of Jesus and the Father: Modern Evangelicals Reinvent the Doctrine of the Trinity by Kevin Giles by Jason Hall

JBMW Forum: Q & A on the Trinity with Bruce A. Ware and Wayne Grudem

[The following is excerpted from Wayne Grudem's Countering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism: Biblical Responses to the Key Questions, 298-300.]

As egalitarians attempt to gain influence in Christian organizations, they have two significant allies. The first is secular culture, which in its more prominent expressions is strongly opposed to the authority of the Word of God, strongly opposed to the idea that any positions in society should be restricted to men, strongly opposed to the family as God created it to function, and (in many quarters) strongly opposed to authority in general. I recognize that not all people in our secular culture hold these positions, but a very influential part of our culture does, especially in highly influential areas of the media, the entertainment industry, and secular universities.

The second ally of egalitarianism is a large group of Christian leaders who believe that the Bible teaches a complementarian position but who lack the courage to teach about it or take a stand in favor of it. They are silent, "passive complementarians" who, in the face of relentless egalitarian pressure to change their organizations, simply give in more and more to appease a viewpoint that they privately believe the Bible does not teach.

How different was the ministry of the apostle Paul! He did not lack courage to stand up for unpopular teachings of God's Word....If the apostle Paul were alive today, planting churches and overseeing leaders in those churches, would he counsel them to shrink back from speaking and teaching clearly about biblical roles for men and women? Would he counsel them to shrink back from giving a clear testimony of God's will concerning one of the most disputed and yet most urgent topics in our entire society? Would he tell pastors simply to be silent about this topic so that there could be "peace in our time" in our churches and so that the resolution of the controversy would be left for others at another time and another place?

Update: The Trinity and Gender panel was a success. Stay tuned to Gender Blog over the next week as we will be posting some audio from the event. For now, here are some of the notable tweets from the discussion:

• Stinson - we are talking about weighty subjects ; who God is and who we are.
• Allison - overwhelmingly, the church has historically held [the position that] Ware, Grudem, and I hold to.
• Allison -if you paint Ware with the broad paintbrush of heresy, then you paint almost everyone in church history with that same brush.
• Ware - if no distinct properties between the [persons], then you have Unitarianism or Modalism.

Again, stayed tuned to Gender Blog for the audio of the entire discussion.

The Spring 2009 issue of JBMW is now available online in its entirety. It can be accessed here.

Here's a sampling of what you can expect to find in the issue:

• Jani Ortlund, "Sweet Sacrifices: The Challenges of a Woman in Ministry."
• James MacDonald, "Order in the Court: God's Plan for Marriage."
• Steven B. Cowan, "The Metaphysics of Subordination: A Response to Rebecca Merrill Groothuis."
• Various reviews, including Tom Schreiner's review of Scot McKnight's The Blue Parakeet and Chris Cowan's review of Rob Bell's "She."

Also, be sure to check out the past issues of JBMW in the Archives.