According to Reformed churches, is the trinity a finalized doctrine?

score:10

Accepted answer

Yes and no. That is, in simple terms:

  • No, the doctrine of the Trinity is not "finalized" or "completed" – Reformed theologians regularly debate the intricacies of this doctrine
  • Yes, the doctrine of the Trinity is "finalized" – anyone who rejects the fundamentals of the Trinity would generally not be considered "Reformed."

Your quote of the Westminster Confession of Faith refers to the canon of Scripture, to which nothing may be added, but Reformed thinkers regularly attempt to develop better (and sometimes new) understandings of Christian doctrines, including the doctrine of the Trinity. But a radically divergent view of God, such as the quadrinity you mention, would be rejected as not Reformed.


All Reformed confessions strongly defend the Trinity. Here's what one of them says:

In the unity of the Godhead there be three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. (Westminster Confession of Faith, II)

Other Reformed confessions go into more detail, but none of them exhaustively describe the doctrine. Thus, it's possible for two people to say "I affirm Chapter II of the Westminster Standards" but disagree on some aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity. This actually happens with great regularity. Here are two examples:

  • Karl Barth's innovations in the doctrine of the Trinity were a lightning rod in 20th century Reformed theology. Some Reformed theologians claimed that went too far, but others didn't object. See my answer to Did Karl Barth confess an orthodox doctrine of the Trinity?
  • Robert Reymond, in his New Systematic Theology, and Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, find themselves on opposites sides of an ongoing debate within Reformed circles over subordination of the Son to the Father. Some admit a "subordination of role," while others do not.

So "no," the doctrine of the Trinity is not finalized; it is something that theologians will likely continue to argue over for a long time to come, because of its central place in Reformed doctrine.

But the importance of the doctrine also means that, "yes," the doctrine of the Trinity is finalized – in Reformed circles, it isn't going anywhere. Those who reject the basics of the Trinity will generally be considered outside the bounds of Reformed theology, and, if they wish to teach their views, forced to join (or start) another branch.

Of course, "Reformed theology" is just a label, and as such it is applied differently by different people. As previously mentioned, some consider Barth Reformed, and others don't. But the Reformed confessions provide helpful guidance in this respect – people who explicitly reject confessional teachings of the Trinity, including someone arguing for a "quadrinity" as you mention, would certainly be outside the bounds of the Reformed confessions, and therefore generally considered outside Reformed theology.

More post

Search Posts

Related post