Pannenberg on the Triune God

a reliable guide Taylor is to be commended for uncovering the trinitarian logic behind Pannenberg's theology, and I am confident future studies of Pannenberg .
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It evaluates it by answering two questions: What does Pannenberg mean by his theology being thoroughly Trinitarian? How far has his subsequent work, especially Systematic Theology, been successful in realizing his stated goal? Hardcover , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Pannenberg on the Triune God , please sign up.

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Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Oct 25, Patrick Oden rated it it was amazing Shelves: One of the better discussions of Pannenberg's theology out there. Ian Packer added it Oct 13, Derek marked it as to-read Feb 08, Chet Duke marked it as to-read Mar 10, Alo marked it as to-read Jul 08, It is not based on an event, as are Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, but rather on a doctrine: This doctrine is not yet formulated in our sermon text, as the later church would have us believe.

Pannenberg Trinity Sermon: Transcendence in the Midst of Our Lives

The confession of the triunity of God was established through the first two general councils of the church in the fourth century; Nicea in and Constantinople in The second of the two councils, Constantinople in , assigned divinity to the Spirit also, so that God himself is present to us once again, through his Spirit, in the life of the church, so that by sharing in the tradition and life of the church, we can achieve participation in God himself.

The council of Constantinople, with its teaching on the full divinity of the Spirit, brought the doctrine of the Trinity to completion. For this reason the feast of the Trinity is celebrated in close proximity to Pentecost. The confession of faith in the Triune God is expressed in the solemn words of the creed that we have already recited, the creed which is recited in our churches at the greatest festivals.

It is the creed of the council of Constantinople in With these words the bishops of this council intended to repeat, strengthen, and fulfill the faith of Nicea, and for this reason it is commonly referred to as the Nicene creed. Although the confession of faith in the trinitarian God was formulated relatively late, it was nevertheless this doctrine which for the first time brought the specifically christian understanding of God to expression. It is an understanding of God which was contained from the beginning in the essential content of christian faith and proclamation, even though it only found express formulation rather late.

Its concern, as I have already mentioned, is the intimate connection and unity with God himself that is enjoyed by Jesus and the proceeding Spirit. Its import is that in Jesus and his Spirit we have to do with nobody else but God. The true meaning of the doctrine of the triune God is not easy to understand. We are accustomed to think of God as Father and Creator, as if that exhaustively signified the reality of God. From this point of view, faith in the divinity of Jesus and the Spirit appears to be an appendix, like an addendum to a simpler idea of God.

Because of this, the proper understanding of the doctrine of the triune God has been obstructed. This doctrine teaches that the idea of God is not exhausted by the notion of God as Father and Creator of the world; that it belongs much more to the divinity of God, to be in the form of the Son and the Spirit.

Pannenberg on the Triune God by Iain Taylor

Today, however, it has become quite questionable, and is subject to doubt and criticism. Perhaps such criticism of the traditional picture of God help us to understand the specifically Christian thought of the triune God better. Jesus himself did not speak of God and his kingdom only in the sense of a reality localized in the hiddenness of the heavens, far away from us.

Rather, in the speech and actions of Jesus, God became a present reality. Of course on closer examination we find that already for the God of Israel, his relation to the world and to humanity belonged inseparably to his being as God. I will be for you.

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The kingdom of God is not yet here for us, either. The reality of God the Father is not established already in itself.


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Only when we recognize this do we understand the christian idea of the triunity of God. The reality of God the Father, which remains contested in a history which is as yet unfinished, is for the present only accessible through the Son.

John G Lake

Is it so with us? We must probably admit that it is so only in a very broken way. This was confirmed through the resurrection of Jesus, and in the Christian proclamation of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus God remains present in this world of ours through the Spirit of life, who was manifested in the resurrection of Jesus and who works through the Easter message of the church.

Already with Jesus himself, the God of the coming kingdom was present through the Spirit, which came upon Jesus at his baptism by John. Because the Spirit was completely associated with Jesus, he imparts himself also to those who hear and accept the message of the crucified and resurrected Jesus. The presence of God in our world is now not merely history, but a reality that we ourselves can experience in the power that comes from the message of Christ, a power that penetrates our entire lives and illumines them.

As the creator of all life, he is able to open up to us the depths of our existence. It is this Spirit who will not let us be satisfied with sateity and smug complacency. It is the Spirit of freedom in the midst of the sorrows and unrighteousness of this world, and also in the midst of our own failures. It is the Spirit of peace in a world riddled with war and death, with meaninglessness and despair. It is the Spirit of hope and confidence in life triumphing over sorrow and death, however unworthy of confidence life may often appear to us.

It is the Spirit of joy in life in spite of transience, pain, and sorrow, and in spite of all the inadequacy of our own behavior.