The Economic Trinity
The Trinity is the Christian teaching that God consists of three simultaneous, eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of the three persons are equal in their attributes and nature, but differ in how they relate to the world and to each other. When we say they are equal in nature and attributes, we are speaking of what is called the Ontological Trinity (ontology - study of being and essence). When we speak of how they relate to the world and to each other, we are speaking of the Economic Trinity (economic - from the Greek oikonomikos which means relating to arrangement of a activities). To be overly simplistic, we could say that the Ontological Trinity deals with what God is and the Economic Trinity deals with what God does.
The Economic Trinity in contrast to subordinationism
Definitions are incredibly important when discussing theology. This is no exception. Throughout the Christian church there has been an error called subordinationism and, unfortunately, some have confused it with the Economic Trinity. Subordinationism is a heresy concerning the Father and Son -- though sometimes the Holy Spirit is included. It has different forms, but it is primarily the error that the Son is eternal and divine, but he is not equal to the Father in being and attributes. This is, of course, wrong and it is in contrast to the Economic Trinity which does not deny the equality of nature and attributes.
The misunderstanding often arises from failing to understand that different roles does not mean different nature. A husband and a wife have different roles in the family (she bears children, he does not, etc.), but the fact that they have different roles does not mean they are different in nature. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have different eternal roles, but it does not mean they are not all equal in nature and attributes.
The Roles within the Trinity
There are different roles within the Trinity. For example, the Father foreknows. The Son became man and sacrificed himself. The Holy Spirit sanctifies the church. "According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood," (1 Pet. 1:2).
There are many verses that elaborate on the differences of roles within the three persons of the Trinity. Let's take a look.
- The Father sent the Son. The Son did not send the Father.
- John 5:37, “And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form." See also John 6:44; 8:18; 10:36; 1 John 4:14.
- Jesus came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of the Father.
- John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
- Jesus performed the redemptive work. The Father did not.
- 2 Cor. 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
- 1 Pet. 2:24, "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
- Jesus is the only begotten. The Father is not.
- John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
- The Father gave the Son. The Son did not give the Father or the Holy Spirit.
- John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
- The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not send the Father and the Son.
- John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things..."
- John 15:26, "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father..."
- The Father has given the elect to the Son. This is not said of the Holy Spirit.
- John 6:39, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day."
- The Father chose us before the foundation of the world. No indication that the Son or the Holy Spirit chose us.
- Eph. 1:4, "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him..."
- The Father predestined us to adoption according tot he intention of his will
- Eph. 1:5, "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will."
- We have redemption through Jesus' blood, not the blood of the Father
- Eph. 1:7, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."
So we can see that the Father sent the Son (John 6:44; 8:18). The Son came down from heaven not to do his own will (John 6:38). The Father gave the Son (John 3:16), who is the only begotten (John 3:16), to perform the redemptive work (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24). The Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit. The Father, who chose us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), predestined us (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:29), and gave the elect to the Son (John 6:39). This was not the work of the Son or the Holy Spirit.
It was not the Son who sent the Father. The Father was not sent to do the will of the Son. The Son did not give the Father, nor was the Father called the only begotten. The Father did not perform the redemptive work. The Holy Spirit did not send the Father and Son. It is not said that the Son or the Holy Spirit chose us, predestined us, and gave us to the Father.
Furthermore, the Father calls Jesus the Son (Luke 9:35), not the other way around. Jesus is called the Son of Man (Matt. 24:27); the Father is not. Jesus is called the Son of God (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35), not the Father. Jesus will sit on the right hand of God (Mark 14:62; Acts 7:56); the Father does sit on the right hand of the Son. The Father appointed the Son as heir of all things (Heb. 1:1), not the other way around. The Father has fixed the time of the restoring of the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:7), the Son didn't.
So, clearly we see differences in function and roles. The Father sends, directs, and predestines. The Son does the will of the Father, becomes flesh, and accomplishes redemption. The Holy Spirit indwells and sanctifies the Church.
Without these distinctions there can't be any distinctions between the persons of the Trinity and if there are no distinctions, there is no Trinity.
God does not change
God says, "For I, the Lord, do not change," (Mal. 3:6). This means that the nature of God is the same from all eternity. Since God is a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), then God has been a Trinity forever. The Father has always been the Father. The Son has always been the Son. The Holy Spirit has always been the Holy Spirit. This means that the roles expressed by the Father not the Son and have always been roles of the Father and not the Son. Likewise, the roles of the Son have always belonged to him and not the Father. And, of course, the roles of the Holy Spirit are not the same roles of the Father or the Son. Remember, we are speaking of roles and function, not nature and attributes. Since they have different roles, then and the way they relate to each other is also eternal and unchangeable.
Again, without a distinction in rolls in persons within the Trinity, there would be no Trinity.
Economic Subordination
Since we see different roles within the Trinity, do these roles signify a subordination of roles among the three persons? The clear answer is yes. But remember, this subordination is not the same as the heresy of subordinationism. If anything, any subordination of the Son and Holy Spirit to the Father would be voluntary and is clearly revealed in Scripture as sighted above. Remember, the Son came down from heaven not to do his own will (John 6:38). This isn't just speaking of Jesus while on earth, but his coming from heaven.
There must be an economic subordination because if there is no difference in roles among the three persons of the Trinity, then there can be no distinction between them. If all three persons are identical in function, incarnation, indwelling, election, etc., then there is no difference between them at all. But since we accept that there are distinctions, due to their roles and functions, we can also accept that there is a voluntary subordination as well as three persons. Still, some will object to the idea of any type of subordination within the Trinity. So, let's look at another couple of verses.
Jesus is subjected to the Father.
"For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all," (1 Cor. 15:27-28).
The word for "subjection" and "subjected" in these two verses is hupotasso. The word occurs 43 times in the New Testament and is rendered as put (5 times), subject (16 times), subjected (7 times), subjecting (1 time), subjection (9 times), submissive (3 times), and submit (2 times). I've listed out every occurrence in a grid so you can see how the word is used.
We see that 1 Cor. 15:27 speaks of creation being in subjection of
Jesus and then in verse 28, Jesus will be subjected to the Father.
The Greek word for "will be subjected" is 'hupotagasetai' which is the
future, passive, indicative. This means that it is yet to occur
(future), that Jesus will be subjected by someone else's effort (that is
what passive means) and that it is a simple statement (indicative).
- Future - It has yet to occur
- Passive - that Jesus will be subject to another
- Indicative - it is a simple statement
"When this is finally accomplished, Christ will bow the knee to God the Father so that God may be all in all. In so short a passage Paul has traced paradise lost and regained, and the recovery of the submission of all things to God as in the beginning of creation. And it is Christ’s resurrection that guarantees this. Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (1 Co 15:20). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.
"In an article in the Westminster Theological Journal, Michael Bauman discusses the different kinds of subordinationism during the Arian controversy. 13 He draws a distinction between what he calls emphatic and economic subordination. The Arian heresy taught emphatic subordination which entails inequality of nature and being. Arians asserted that "a natural inequality existed between the Persons of the Trinity by virtue of their essential differentiation and the temporal derivative character of the Second and Third."14 This is heretical because it is a subordination of essence or nature. Economic subordination, adopted by the Council of Nicea, means that while all three divine Persons are identical in essence, the Son is economically subordinate to the Father with respect to his eternal mission and function. The Son is no less than the Father, but has voluntarily submitted himself to the will of the Father." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3817/is_199909/ai_n8858703
Objections Answered
- There is only one will with God. If the father sent the son
and the son did not come to do his own will, then is the Son subordinate
in that role to the Father? If so, isn't this a resurrection of the
heresy of subordinationism?
- Doesn't the difference of role mean that the Father commands and
the Son obeys? But if this is so, how can the Trinity be of one
will?
- If the Trinity is of one will, how can there be a distinction of
wills between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- If the Son came down to do the Father's will and not his own, and
does that not implying to have different wills but how can that be since
God can only have one will?
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