Category Archives: Eternal submission

Kevin Giles: Trinitarian orthodoxy according to the Nicene Creed

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Here are extracts from a paper given by Dr Kevin Giles at the plenary forum on the Trinity at the Evangelical Theological Society annual conference, 15th November, 2016 at San Antonia. The other speakers were Dr Bruce Ware, Dr Millard Erickson and Dr Wayne Grudem; Dr Sam Storms presided.

Giles’ main focus was on the Nicene Creed.  In fact, although he mentioned the Bible (or Scripture) over fifty times, and insisted on its primacy, he made relatively little actual appeal to the biblical text itself.…

Trinity: unity AND diversity

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Trinitarian orthodoxy teaches that the members of the Godhead are equal in nature but distinct in their roles.

In the recent debate about the doctrine of the eternal subordination of the Son, critics are in danger of over-emphasising the first of these, whereas advocates are at risk of placing too much stress on the latter.

This is not, of course, the only area in theology where a tension has to be maintained between two (or more) truths that human reason cannot fully reconcile. …

Eternal Submission of the Son: the main issues

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Early on in the debate which erupted in mid-2016, Andrew Wilson attempted to tease out the main issues at stake.

Here are headlines:

  1. Is the Eternal Functional Submission of the Son (EFS) taught in Scripture?
  2. Is the Eternal Functional Submission of the Son novel?
  3. Is the Eternal Functional Submission of the Son heterodox, or even heretical?
  4. Is there a separation of the divine will?
  5. Does the Eternal Functional Submission of the Son imply that Christ only had one will?
…

Grudem: the case for eternal submission of the Son

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Wayne Grudem states that

there are no differences in deity, attributes, or essential nature between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is fully God and has all the attributes of God. The only distinctions between the members of the Trinity are in the ways they relate to each other and to the creation. In those relationships they carry out roles that are appropriate to each person.

(Systematic Theology, 1st ed., p251; 2nd ed.,…

Eternal subordination not a novel doctrine

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Critics of the doctrine of the Eternal Subordination of the Son (such as Kevin Giles and Liam Goligher) are very ready to assert that it is a novel doctrine: it is inconsistent with the historic creeds of the church, and whenever, in the past, it has reared its head it has been summarily rejected.  This has led Goligher and others to accuse those who subscribe to this doctrine of heresy, and of having disqualified themselves from teaching office in the church.…

Eternal submission: Liam Goligher says “No”

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In the middle of 2016, Liam Goligher fired the first volley in a skirmish prompted by Wayne Grudem’s and Bruce Ware’s advocacy of the doctrine of the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESF).

I offer some extracts from Goligher’s piece, along with a few comments of my own.

‘Is the Trinity no more than a social program for the world and the church? Is the eternal life of the Trinity hierarchical or egalitarian? Are there three minds, three wills, and three powers within the Godhead?

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Some theses on the Father and the Son

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Fred Sanders, a systematic theologian with a special interest in the Trinity, has jotted down 18 Theses on the Father and the Son.

I found the following extracts helpful, particularly in relation to discussions about the ‘eternal subordination of the Son’.

The reason we know the Father-Son-Holy Spirit distinction is because the Father sent the Son and the Holy Spirit. The distinctions among the three persons were revealed in the act of the Son and Spirit coming to be among us for our salvation.

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Is the Son eternally subject to the Father?

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(These notes by no means attempt a definitive solution to this question, which has become controversial in evangelical circles in recent years.)

The question of whether the Son is eternally subject to the Father is of some significance to debates between complementarians and egalitarians.  (This question is, of course, closely related to that concerning the relationship of the Spirit to the Father and the Son, but I will set that aside for now).

It is important to note that neither ‘side’ in the debate is monolithic. …