Theological Term of the Week

economic Trinity
The Trinity as the three persons relate to each other and creation, with the different roles of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in view.

• From the Nicene Creed:
  

  I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

  And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

  Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

  And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

• From the Belgic Confession, Article 8:
  

  The Father is the cause, origin and beginning of all things visible and invisible; the Son is the word, wisdom, and image of the Father; the Holy Ghost is the eternal power and might, proceeding from the Father and the Son.

• From Salvation Belongs to the Lord by John Frame, page 36:
  

  The economic Trinity….is the Trinity in relation to the creation. As we saw earlier, the three persons of the Trinity take on a sort of division of labor with regard to creation and redemption: the Father plans, the Son executes, the Spirit applies. In this great drama the Son voluntarily becomes subordinate to the Father. Jesus says he can do nothing of himself but what he sees the Father do (John 5:19). In John 5:30 he says, “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” The Father has commanded; the Son obeys. Similarly, the Holy Spirit, when Jesus and the Father send him into the world, “will not speak of his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak. and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13) See the order? The Father sends; Jesus and the Spirit are sent. The Father speaks of himself; the Son and Spirit speak the words the Father has given them to speak.
  

Learn more:

1. R. C. Sproul: What’s the Difference Between the Ontological and Economic Trinity?
2. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: Economic Trinity
3. Bruce Ware: Equal in Essence, Distinct in Roles: Eternal Functional Authority and Submission among the Essentially Equal Divine Persons of the Godhead (mp3)

Related terms:

• eternal generation of the Son
• ontological Trinity
• Trinity

Filed under Trinity.

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion, and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.

What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment, the more to enforce it?

The reason annexed to the fifth commandment, in these words, That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,[1] is an express promise of long life and prosperity, as far as it shall serve for God’s glory and their own good, to all such as keep this commandment.[2]

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It's the Gospel: October 7

The Apostles Preaching the Gospel by Gustav DoreAt Rebecca Writes, we’re celebrating the gospel during the month of October. Twice a week, at least, I’ll be posting something pertaining to the gospel, which, in a nutshell is the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sin and was raised from the dead, so that through faith, we are united with Christ and receive every blessing merited by his work.

As always, you are invited to participate with me. On Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the month, I’ll post a collection of links to gospel related posts. If you post a quote, verse, poem, story, book review, or essay, etc. on a subject connected in some way to the gospel, send me an email with your link and I’ll link back to your post (or posts) on the next Tuesday or Friday. There are no limits, really, on the form or  number of your post, just the subject.

What do we have in our first collection of gospel posts?

• Ann of Whatever Things posts a hymn that relates the gospel to what happened in the Garden of Eden.

• Kim of Hiraeth has a gospel quote from Martin Luther.

• Over at Field Stone Cottage, Dorothy knows that the best place to go for gospel quotes is scripture.

• I posted a review of Contending for Our All, a book about three historical figures who fought for truths crucial to the gospel. Here’s a bonus gospel quote from that book, a quote from John Owen, who emphasised that we must be loving in disputes, but at the same time, we must never yield on the smallest point when it comes to the truth of the gospel.

  I can freely say, that I know not that man in England who is willing to go farther in forbearance, love, and communion with all that fear God and hold the foundation, than I am; but that this is to be done upon other grounds, principles, and ways, by other means and expedients, than by a condescension from the exactness of the least apex of gospel truth, or by an accommodation of doctrines by loose and general terms, I have elsewhere sufficiently declared. Let no man deceive you with vain pretences; hold fast the truth as it is in Jesus, part not with one iota, and contend for it when called thereunto.

Why don’t you join us by posting something about the gospel sometime during the month of October? I’ll be collecting links again this coming Friday, the 10th. 

Still not sure what the gospel is? There are a few links in this post that might help.