Covenant of Redemption in the Trinitarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards

The Nexus between the Immanent Trinity and the Economic Trinity

Reita Yazawa

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781532643804
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Christliche Theologie

Recently, the immanent Trinity (God as in himself) has been criticized as abstract and impractical as opposed to the economic Trinity (God in relation to the world). Many scholars argue that the immanent Trinity is detached from the real life of believers and God's economic work of redemption and thus abstract and impractical. But is this assumption itself really true? What if the blueprint of God's work of redemption is already located in the immanent Trinity as the divine idea? What if Jonathan Edwards, arguably the American greatest theologian, expounds this doctrine as a vital driving force in his theology? Rediscovering the doctrine of the covenant of redemption will help us to see that the immanent Trinity actually is not abstract, but highly practical, simply because the redemption of the believers hinges on the divine plan located there. This study is a fruit of the recent convergence of the resurging doctrine of the Trinity and the renaissance of studies of Jonathan Edwards.

1

Introduction

Criticism of the Immanent Trinity in Contemporary Theology

Present Status of the Problem

Karl Rahner once remarked: “We must be willing to admit that, should the doctrine of the Trinity have to be dropped as false, the major part of religious literature could well remain virtually unchanged.”1 Rahner lamented by this statement that despite preceding studies of the history of trinitarian theology, “Christians are, in their practical life, almost mere ‘monotheists.’”2

To be sure, the latter half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century have seen a remarkable resurgence of the doctrine of the Trinity. Already in 1946, H. Richard Niebuhr predicted that the doctrine of the Trinity would be of central theological interest in the coming years. After identifying major developments of contemporary theology: efforts to recover and renew theological heritage, reconsideration of human nature and destiny in light of cultural crises of the day, and ecumenical endeavors, Niebuhr remarked: “One Christian doctrine which has importance in all three respects and which may therefore be moved nearer the center of interest in coming years of theological discussion is the doctrine of the Trinity.”3

As he predicted, varieties of studies on the doctrine of the Trinity ensued.4 In this so called “Trinitarian Renaissance,”5 one of the major characteristics of contemporary trinitarian theology is, as if in response to the Rahner’s challenge, the exploration of practical implications of the doctrine of the Trinity.6 For example, A. H. Mathias Zahniser sees trinitarian thinking as “a foundation for mission.” Looking at the Trinity as “a model of how God carries out his mission in the world” helps believers to participate in God’s mission effectively.7 Michael Jinkins finds the triune God as the “theological ground of the church’s unity.”8 The triune God as unity in diversity provides the foundation for ecclesiology. Daniel L. Migliore explores political and economic implications of the doctrine of the Trinity.

The doctrine of the Trinity has the potential of playing a liberating role in the political and economic struggles of our time by exposing the idolatry of monarchical power and the control and consumption of the world’s resources by a few at the expense of the many. Trinitarian faith in God tends in the direction of political and economic theory and practice based on mutuality, participation, and the distribution of power and wealth.9

In other words, the trinitarian faith patterns our social engagements. Miroslav Volf shares a similar point of view when he says: “A soteriology based on the indwelling of the Crucified by the Spirit (Gal 2:19–20) grounds a social practice modeled on God’s passion for the salvation of the world.”10 Mary Ann Donovan sees the doctrine of the Trinity as a guide for pastoral care, which she defines as follows: “It is to enable people to relate to one another as the Three Divine Persons do, and it is to assist people to give glory to God in public prayer and in their daily lives.”11

In this way, scholars plumb the implication of the Trinity for theology of religions,12 ecclesiology,13 political theology,14 feminist theology,15 pastoral theology,16 process theology,17 or missiology.18 Behind these diverse approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity there often seems to be an assumption that the traditional doctrine of the Trinity has been abstract and speculative, detached from God’s economic work of redemption in history.

Traditional theology makes a distinction between the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity. The immanent Trinity refers to God in himself, God’s being, or the inner-relatedness of God, separate and independent from the existence of the world. The economic Trinity refers to God’s relation to the world, God’s work in history and the world, or God’s being in relation to the world. Much of the recent discussions on the doctrine of the Trinity appears to assume that emphasizing the immanent Trinity results in a speculative formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. Hence, the doctrine of the Trinity, many contemporary trinitarian theologians believe, became impractical, losing relevance for daily Christian life. They therefore attempt to reclaim the importance of the economic Trinity and reconsider the doctrine of the Trinity from God’s concrete work of redemption in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Through this process, they make efforts to recover a doctrine of the Trinity that is relevant to Christian life and practice.

For instance, Migliore stresses the economic Trinity as the starting point of theological appraisal.

The doctrine of the Trinity, we have contended, must be approached not speculatively but evangelically. If we are to avoid arbitrary speculation, we must inquire first not about the immanent Trinity or the inner life of God but about the economic Trinity or God manifested to us in the work of salvation.19

By this, Migliore indicates that the immanent Trinity, if severed from God’s economic work of salvation in the world, becomes increasingly abstract and arbitrary. In a similar vein, Thomas F. Torrance emphasizes the Incarnation as God’s real self-communication by saying that “detached from God’s economic condescension and self-revelation in history, a doctrine of the Trinity is nothing but a speculative projection”20

These modern trinitarian theologians therefore attempt to connect the doctrine of the Trinity with history, experience, practical life, or the economic trinitarian work of salvation. For example, Jürgen Moltmann sees the economic work of the triune God in this world as the history of God and articulates the doctrine of the Trinity inherently interwoven with the world.

Because the “doctrine” of God originates in the experienced and proclaimed or recounted “history” of God, its duty is to lead into this history, while its danger is that this history may become lost in the abstract concept of God. If the trinitarian history of salvation is the point of departure for the doctrine of the Trinity, then the doctrine of the Trinity must be related to this history in such a way as to be verified by and to lead into this history. The concepts employed in the doctrine must be derived from, and remain applicable to, the trinitarian h...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Bibliography