Theologians’ Favorite Words

The three men most responsible for shifting Christian theology from the Truth of One God and Father to the Trinitarian formula of "three Persons in One God" were the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus). Each of them was born around 330 AD, close on the heels of the 325 AD Council of Nicaea and the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity.

In what seems to have been an attempt to impress the Greek-educated philosophers of their day, and to prove to their secular peers that Christianity was just as logical as Greek philosophy, these three put great importance on the terms ousia (substance) and hypostasis (person), a decision that would transform the Christian understanding of God from One God and Father to the Trinity. Theology would never be the same.

Ousia and hypostasis were two terms common to the writings of Plato and Aristotle, so the Cappadocian Fathers, in an attempt to use terminology the intellectuals of their day would respect, spoke according to the Greek philosophical framework. In other words, they ceased to speak like preachers of the Word of God, likely because they feared being rejected and scoffed at by their secular audience.

Let’s look at these two words and how the Cappadocian Fathers used them to formulate their doctrine of God. They were the first to define the One God as “one substance (ousia) in three Persons (hypostaseis),” Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--the Trinity.

Substance (ousia)

The first of the Cappadocian Fathers’ two favorite words was ousia, a Greek word meaning substance or estate. It is used in only one passage of the Bible:

The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate [substance] that is coming to me.’ And so he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his estate [substance] in wild living (Luke 15:12-13).

The problem with using this word to define God's nature is that there were at least three other words in the Bible used to define the divine nature (we'll look at those words in a forthcoming lesson). In other words, if they wanted to define deity or godhood with a Biblical foundation, they could have done that easily with three other words. Why did they choose the word ousia, then? To please their secular counterparts. They wanted to shine as theologians in the academic arena.

Not only did the Cappadocian Fathers misuse a word that should normally be translated as "goods" or "estate" (things that a person owns, the possessions found in his house); but they made it into a compound word: homo-ousia (meaning of the same substance). They invented this new word to help them to argue that Jesus and the Holy Spirit had the same nature as the Father. In other words, they bent over backwards to manipulate the word ousia, a favorite of the philosophers of their day.

Person (hypostasis)

Their second favorite word was hypostasis (often translated person)—and you can see it used in Hebrews 1:3 used in precisely that way. The best translations of hypostasis as per Hebrews 1:3 are being [NIV], essence [LEB], or person [NKJV].

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3; NIV).

... who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence (Hebrews 1:3; LEB)

... who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person... (Hebrews 1:3; NKJV)

The Cappadocian Fathers did, in fact, use the word hypostasis well. It does mean person, and that's how they presented it. However, what they failed to do was to expound clearly upon Hebrews 1:3. What does it mean for Jesus to be the exact representation or the express image of God's person? They didn't explain this clearly enough.

For Jesus to be the exact representation or the express image of God's person certainly doesn't mean that Jesus is the One God. He couldn't be the same Supreme Being (One God) who he represents, could he? That's incongruent and illogical. It doesn't mean that he is the image of himself. It means that, like a son is the spitting image of his father, so Jesus is the image of his Father, God.

Ousia and hypostasis were the two key terms in the Cappadocian Fathers’ reformulation of Christian doctrine during the times immediately following the Council of Nicaea. As a result, the Truth that the One God is actually One was shaken at the roots. They began to define God as "Three Persons."

Conform or Transform

Those were the times when the idea that the One God is not the Father, but a "Trinity" of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit began to influence pastors around Europe and Africa. The definition of God had shifted, and theologians had stolen an essential Truth from the people to whom it belonged, the Church.

The "Shield of the Trinity" would become one of the symbols of Christianity after another 700 years, in the 1100s, but creeds stating that anyone who would not affirm their faith in the Trinity will be condemned to Hell became popular starting around 480 AD.

Today, what remains of this major movement away from the Truth that the One God is the Father? For one thing, the majority of Evangelical churches, schools, and universities start their statements of faith "...there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons... God is one in essence and three in person" (found at Desiring God, January 27, 2024).

The doctrine of the Trinity contradicts the essential Truth that there is One God, the Father. It goes against dozens of Bible verses. It doesn't agree with the vocabulary of the Bible, but evolved out of the twisting of Bible terminology. To contradict an essential Truth of Christianity is heresy. This is serious!

You must choose to either stand against the doctrine of the Trinity, or to agree with it. You must decide whether you will conform to it or whether you'll speak out and help others be freed from it. The solution is to let God's Word be heard in his Church. If we speak up, hopefully the Church will once again glorify the name of its One God and Father!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

'Father, glorify your name!' Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.' The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, 'This voice was for your benefit, not mine' (John 12:28-30).