Modalism

Modalism

Introduction

            The Trinity is a tough subject. One can err on many sides when approaching this delicate topic, but it is critically important to our faith. Anyone who has a false view of the Trinity completely undermines the Gospel. This is important stuff!

History

          Modalism was first propagated in the third century by a guy named Sabellius. The roots of Modalism came from Sabellianism. Obviously the third century was a long, long time ago. So, none of Sabellius writing still exists ( Also most, if not all of it, was burned when it was deemed heresy). All we know of Sabellius we have from his critics. Rightfully, no matter what kind of fruitful things this man did in his life, none of it will be remembered because of the heresy he spread. This is a secondary but good reason not to be a heretic. Nineteen year old punks will be writing about how bad a dude you are seventeen centuries after you die.

            Dionysius officially named Modalism a heresy in 263 A.D. All of this information is eerily similar to Arianism because it is really just the opposite extreme on the spectrum of Trinitarian theology. The Orthodox theologians reacted in the same way and did their best to remove the ideas of Modalism from the church like they did Arianism. The difference between the two systems is that Modalism has stuck.

Theology   

Modalism teaches that…

·         God is one person

·         God has three modes or masks

·         God does not exist as the three persons at the same time

Orthodoxy teaches that…

·         There is one God and only one God

·         The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God

·         God eternally exists in three persons

Application

The differences might seem like small nuances, but these differences are anything but small. Consider…who was Jesus praying to in the Garden (Mark 14:32-42)?  What descended on Jesus as he was being baptized (Luke 3:22)? Who died on the cross (John 3:16)? (the Father?) Who is Jesus mediating too (1 Timothy 2:5)? All of these questions are paradoxical for the Modalistic person. Belief in Modalism leaves the Gospel completely out of whack and distorts the Bible.

The biggest concern I have with modalism is that it is the most common error concerning the Trinity. Oneness_Pentecostalism, "The Shack", T.D. Jakes…to name a few of the recent big name items propagating Modalism.  Also the amount of practical Modalists is staggering. It does not take long to remember the last time you heard someone say “God died on the cross.” In our Biblically illiterate day in age, people do not understand the Trinity. The Trinity is important. So, get it right!  

Arianism

Arianism

Wrong Trinity

History

          In AD 313 the Diocletian persecution had just ended and Constantine rose to the throne. He proclaimed Christianity to be legal and there was joy in all the land. Slowly evil began to creep back up (honestly evil was there the whole time, but I’m trying to paint a nice word picture). Arius, a Libyan preacher, began teaching a view of the trinity which would eventually be named after him and be called Arianism. Arius spread his teaching by writing songs about Arianism and disseminating them all across Christendom.

            The trinity was the hot topic in the early church. Arianism stood in opposition to an orthodox view of the trinity. The champion for orthodoxy at the time was a man named St. Athanasius. Athanasius’ mentor Alexander presided over the council of Nicea the first Ecumenical council (basically a meeting of a bunch of awesome dudes who know a lot about the Bible). The council of Nicea declared Arianism a heresy, but unfortunately it took till around the 7^th century for Arianism to finally die out.

Theology

            Arianism teaches…

·         God is separate from the lesser being Jesus

·         Jesus was created

·         Jesus was made from nothing

Orthodoxy was defined at the Council of Nicea as believing…

·         “that is from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God,

·         begotten not made

·         consubstantial”

In English…

·         God and Jesus are the same in essence and equal

·         Jesus is eternal and was never created

·         God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all consist in the same substance (John 1:1)

How does Arianism affect us today?

          Today Arians exist, but no one really holds to historic Arianism. The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses both have a view of the Trinity which is similar to Arianism. Also many liberal protestant seminaries and preachers are teaching varied strains of Arianism. The important thing to remember is that Jesus is fully God, fully man and eternal. If Jesus is not entirely God then He wouldn’t have had power over death. If Jesus isn’t eternal then he couldn’t bear the wrath the eternal offense committed against God incurred to our account. If Jesus is not fully man then he couldn’t have correctly represented human kind. Arianism (or any deviant view of the trinity) completely skews the Gospel.

Random Fact       

And if you are wondering if Aryanism has anything to do with this…it doesn’t. They are just homonyms.