You should read what Tertullian said about John 1:1-3 in “Against Praexeus”
In fact read the whole thing. Obviously Tertullian wouldn’t have survivied the execution purge the Theodosius established in the Eddict of Thessalonioca.
“You should read what Tertullian said about John 1:1-3 in “Against Praexeus”
In fact read the whole thing. Obviously Tertullian wouldn’t have survivied the execution purge the Theodosius established in the Eddict of Thessalonioca.”
Not that it matters, since the scripture plainly teaches the Trinity, but here is Tertullian affirming that there is only one God:
“As if in this way also one were not All, in that All are of One, by unity (that is) of substance; while the mystery of the dispensation is still guarded, which distributes the Unity into a Trinity, placing in their order the three Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: three, however, not in condition, but in degree; not in substance, but in form; not in power, but in aspect; yet of one substance, and of one condition, and of one power, inasmuch as He is one God, from whom these degrees and forms and aspects are reckoned, under the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Against Praxeas, by Tertullian)
Obviously, the Trinity teaches that there is one God, “... but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence.”
- B.B. Warfield
This is also much different than Modalism, which is what Praxeus’s heresy was. Basically, that there is no trinity, just different “modes” of one God, with no distinction of personalities.
It looks like Tertullian is upholding the scripture on this matter.
FYI, besides the scriptures themselves, Ignatius, probably one of the earliest writers we have on these matters (he died about 97-115AD, a Bishop eaten by lions), affirms that Jesus Christ is God, not to mention all the other essential doctrines of Christianity, not to mention quoting heavily from the New Testament canon.
The text of the Edict of Thessalonica is available online; there’s no mention of any “execution purge” in it. I think the “purge” is LDS made-up history, much like Glenn Beck’s whopper that the Dead Sea scrolls were hidden to protect them from Constantine and the Catholics.