Tertullian free essay sample

Whether you are reformed, Armenian, or somewhere in between, the way you view predestination determines the way you live as a disciple of Jesus Christ. This doctrine effects the way someone reads and interprets the word of God, does ministry, prays, and ultimately worships God. Predestination is difficult to understand, in all honesty there may not be an answer that is completely perfect to how God would define predestination. Though the doctrine does create a lot of controversy it is important because a persons theology is important to their spiritual growth and ministry. This paper will examine how predestination is biblical and determines the way someone approaches and lives out their faith and ultimately how they worship God. Historical Background of Predestination Before the paper can explore and unpack the doctrine of predestination and its credibility within the scriptures there needs to be a foundation established as to how predestination originated. We will write a custom essay sample on Tertullian or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The historical background of predestination is important because through its history the doctrine of predestination is revealed in the process. This section of the paper will cover predestinations history from Augustine till the reformation. The section will unpack how the controversy of predestination became more and more complex by elaborating on recurring issues. Origination(fifth century) The complex and very intriguing story of predestination begins with one of the most foreknown theologians in history. Aurelius Augustine, also known as St. Augustine of Hippo in the fifth century became and still is one of the key and central figures in the predestination controversy. Augustine whos personal testimony was no walk in the park as far as his journey from classical philosophy to the intellectual sect of Christianity ,Manichaeism, and finally his enlightening conversion to Christianity also progressed in his thought process from free will to predestination. Everett Ferguson who wrote Church History: Volume one From Christ to Pre-reformation explains that Augustines process to predestination was a three step process in which Augustine discovered through his growing knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. When Augustine was a proponent of free will he would refer to his conversion from Manichaeism as he, without Gods divine intervention overcoming that train of thought. Augustine defered to Joshua 24:15 I will choose this day whom I will serve to prove and explain his point. Manicheans believed that they were predetermined elect to see the truth1 which Augustine had a problem with. Augustine would use the older Christian view, free will in respect to faith1. In other words the individual was able to make a conscious decision and effort to decide their destiny and salvation. Augustine also used Neo-Platonism as an example that individuals could overcome their doubts because they would be moved by the attractiveness of the higher good1. Next in his train of thought Augustine used 1 Corinthians 12:6 It is the same God who works all things in all. The problem with this is that the word does not affirm God to believe all in all1. Just because someone believes that their deeds are good does not necessarily mean that they have faith in God or that God is working in them. This argument by Augustine would have to conclude that faith is a gift from humans to God but the Holy Spirit is what sanctifies. Finally in 396 A. D. Augustine completely moved to a predestination thought process in stating Faith too is given by God. God is at work in you enabling you to will and to work (Philippians 2:13)1. Augustines statement meant that in order for someone to truly and genuinely believe in God there must be a supernatural intervention by God to call them to himself. By affirming this Augustine takes all of the power from the individual and gives it all to God. At first Augustine did not meet much opposition over his new doctrine, but that would soon change with the fourth century coming to a close and the fifth century just beginning. Tertullian free essay sample Tertullian was the first to use the word persona for the persons of the Trinity. Those who share the one substance of the Godhead exist in three persona. While substantia refers to what joins and unifies the inner life of the Godhead, persona points to what characterizes and distinguishes it. The Son acknowledges the Father â€Å"speaking in his own person under the name of Wisdom. † When God said, â€Å"Let us make man in our own image,† He spoke in this way because â€Å"He had already His Son close at His side, as a second person, His own Word, and a third person also, the Spirit in the Word’. The contemporary usage of ‘persona’ implied legal ownership or a ‘mask’ used in theatre. Tertullian probably used the term with reference to these theatrical masks that were worn by Roman and Greek actors to indicate the various parts they were playing within a specific play and to amplify their voices. We will write a custom essay sample on Tertullian or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thus Tertullian possibly meant to indicate that the expression â€Å"three persons in one substance† meant that the one God played three distinct yet related roles in the great drama of human redemption. However, behind the plurality of roles there was only a single reality. While Tertullian wanted to stress the â€Å"personal† character of God, the selection of the term persona in English â€Å"person† was to become problematic over time. As time went on, person came to be defined as â€Å"an individual human being†, thus creating the problem of defining God as â€Å"a being†, rather than â€Å"Being itself†, the. And, of course, the modern understanding of person is that of a â€Å"center of consciousness† has similar implications. The Holy Spirit Due to his apologetical task, Tertullian is primarily interested in the relationship between the Father and the Son, but he does not leave the Holy Spirit out of the discussion. Jesus promises to pray to the Father so that the Father will send the Holy Spirit who is â€Å"another Comforter . . . even the Spirit of Truth,† thus making the Paraclete distinct from Himself. The Son is a second decree from God, the Paraclete, a third degree. 45 The Holy Spirit is the â€Å"Third Name in the Godhead,† the â€Å"Third Degree of the Divine Majesty,† the â€Å"Declarer of the One Monarchy of God,† â€Å"the Leader into all truth,† and the â€Å"Interpreter of the Economy. †46 One of Tertullian’s most interesting concepts is his idea of the Son as the revealer of the Conclusion The tract â€Å"Against Praxeas,† it must be borne in mind from the outset, is not an extended treatise. It is a brief document filling but some fifty pages. Nor is it a calm constructive work in which the author sets himself to develop in its completeness a doctrinal elaboration. It is a vigorous and lively polemic designed to meet an immediate crisis. In other words, it is distinctly an occasional writing, devoted to the refutation of a heresy which was at the moment troubling the churches. Substance The meaning of substance is of course, not explicit. It could refer to the three persons being the same material, or of similar existence or being. Adolf von Harnack argued that the term was used in the sense of legal terminology, referring to the idea of equality of substance rather than unity. However, it seems that it makes more sense if its meaning is taken to be existence, and Hall argues that it is more likely to be logical or philosophical terminology. While it was the person of the Son who acted on earth, it was â€Å"uniformly one God† who at all times acted through the agency of the Son. Divine names, such as Almighty God and Lord of Hosts, are equally applicable to both the Father and the Son. The three persons are â€Å"susceptible of number without division† because the Son is undivided and inseparable from the Father. The Son is distinct in degree, not in state. He is entitled to be called God from His union with the Father. The Son shares a unity with the Father in Creation of all things. The Word is God, but He is â€Å"God regarded as the Son of God, not as the Father. The pre-existence of the son which Tertullian also implies with this passage will not be discussed here since this notion does not appear explicitly in any of the creeds. Although the Son is referred to in the Athanasian Creed s eternal, this idea does not appear fundamental to the official doctrine of the Trinity. Tertullian also uses an argument from the relational language of Scripture to show the distinction between the Father and the Son. When God says, â€Å"My heart hath emitted my most excellent Word† (Ps 45:1), â€Å"Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee† (Ps 2:7), â€Å"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way† (Ps 8:22), to say the one speaking and the one spoken of are one in the same person makes linguistic and logical nonsense of the text of Scripture. Tertullian argues that throughout the prophetic Psalms, one can find evidence of one person of the Trinity conversing with another. When Psalm 45:7 says, â€Å"Therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee,† the psalmist affirms that â€Å"God is anointed by God. † He is either teaching polytheism or multiple persons in the Godhead.

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