"What is social trinitarianism?"

Question: "What is social trinitarianism?"

Answer:

The concept of the Triune God is hinted at in the Old Testament and better developed in the New Testament. The doctrine of trinitarianism is based on what is commonly referred to as the Nicene Creed (originally adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and amended at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381). The Nicene Creed states as follows:

We 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, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, consubstantial 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 Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and 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; from there he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Some groups disagree with parts of this statement on the Trinity, and so the Nicene formulation is now called classical trinitarianism. Opponents of trinitarianism are known as antitrinitarians or nontrinitarians and include belief systems such as Unitarianism, binitarianism, and modalism. Others believe in the Trinity but disagree with the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as described in the Nicene Creed. They may hold doctrines such as social trinitarianism, also called relational trinitarianism.

Generally speaking, social trinitarianism is the belief that each Person of the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is a distinct “center of consciousness.” These three independent consciousnesses work together in a loving, unified relationship, forming a divine communion of minds and wills.

The biggest problem with social trinitarianism is that it works against the simplicity, or “oneness,” of God (see Exodus 9:14; Deuteronomy 4:35; 33:26; 2 Samuel 7:22; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 46:9; Jeremiah 10:6). Social trinitarianism tends to consider God as a group of three entities when Scriptures is clear that God is only One. If God is comprised of three distinct “centers of consciousness,” then each Person of the Godhead, instead of being fully God, is only one third of the group. This comes close to polytheism or tritheism, as opposed to the scripturally accurate monotheism.

Another issue with social trinitarianism is that the idea of three separate centers of consciousness implies separate minds and separate wills. Biblically, God has one nature, one mind, and one will that all Persons of the Godhead share. God is one Being; He is not three divine centers of consciousness and not a community.

The Persons of the Trinity are indeed distinct from each other, but the distinctions are not based on differing natures, minds, or wills but by their eternal relationships as Father, Son, and Spirit. “What distinguishes each person of the Godhead . . . is his particular role in relation to the other persons and the relationships that each has with . . . the other persons” (Ware, B., “The Trinity of Persons,” 1/31/05, www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-trinity-of-persons, accessed 2/4/26).

Trinitarianism is a complex doctrine, and no human can fully comprehend it; however, a basic understanding is within reach of most people. We reject social trinitarianism because it counters some basic biblical concepts about God.