Reconstructing the Apostolic Gospel: A Biblical and Historical Reassessment of Trinitarian Development
Author: Stephen D Green, with ChatGPT
Correspondence: stephengreenubl@gmail.com
Word Count: ~2,100
Abstract
This article argues that the New Testament gospel, as proclaimed by Jesus’ earliest followers, did not include belief in Jesus as God in the later Nicene-Trinitarian sense. Instead, conversion involved recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, and the one raised and exalted by God. Drawing on texts from Acts, the Pauline epistles, and the Gospel of John, and informed by historical development through the fourth-century councils, this study maintains that the ontological identity of Jesus as co-equal with the Father emerged post-apostolically. This theological evolution, while significant, constitutes a departure from the original apostolic message and therefore raises critical questions about doctrinal continuity and theological authority.
1. Introduction
The doctrine of the Trinity occupies a central place in orthodox Christian theology, often treated as a necessary component of saving faith. However, a close textual and historical analysis suggests that the earliest Christian gospel—as recorded in the New Testament—does not require belief in Jesus as ontologically divine in the Nicene sense. Rather, salvation was proclaimed through belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, raised by God, and exalted as Lord.
This paper seeks to distinguish between the gospel preached by Jesus’ earliest followers and the later doctrinal formulations codified at the councils of Nicaea (325 CE) and Constantinople (381 CE). It will be shown that the Trinitarian doctrine represents a theological development and not the content of the original apostolic kerygma.
2. Methodology
The approach here is interdisciplinary, combining historical-critical exegesis of the New Testament with historical theology tracing doctrinal development in the early Church. Primary sources include the canonical New Testament texts in Greek, especially Acts, Pauline epistles, and the Gospel of John, alongside conciliar formulations. While this paper does not delve deeply into patristic literature, its historical claims rest on well-documented scholarly consensus regarding the councils and creeds.
3. The New Testament Gospel
3.1. Apostolic Preaching in Acts
The book of Acts offers the most direct evidence for early apostolic proclamation. Conversion narratives emphasize belief in:
- Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 2:36; 3:18–22; 9:22),
- His resurrection by God (Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15; 13:30),
- His divine appointment as Lord and judge (Acts 2:36; 10:42),
- His identity as the Son of God (Acts 9:20).
No passage in Acts presents belief in Jesus’ co-equality with God or consubstantiality with the Father as a condition for salvation.
Of note, Acts 8:37, though absent from the earliest manuscripts, records the Ethiopian eunuch’s confession:
“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
The cumulative witness of Acts points to a functional Christology rooted in Jesus’ mission, resurrection, and exaltation—not ontological divinity.
3.2. Paul’s Gospel
Paul, in Galatians 1:11–12, asserts that his gospel was received not from human origin, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Across his letters, Paul emphasizes:
- Justification by faith (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16),
- Confession of Jesus as Lord and belief in the resurrection (Romans 10:9),
- Jesus as the image of the invisible God and firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:15–20),
- Subordination of the Son to God (1 Corinthians 15:27–28).
The term Kyrios (Lord), while having divine resonance due to its Septuagintal usage, could also denote exaltation or authority without necessitating metaphysical equality with God.
Significantly, Paul never demands belief in Jesus as homoousios with the Father—language that would later become central to Trinitarian dogma.
4. The Gospel of John and the “I Am” Sayings
4.1. Literary and Theological Context
The Gospel of John offers the most developed Christology within the New Testament, yet even here, Jesus’ identity is described in relational and functional terms:
- The one sent by the Father (John 3:17; 5:36–38),
- The Son who does nothing on his own (John 5:19; 6:38),
- The Messiah, the Son of God (John 4:26; 11:27; 20:31).
The stated purpose of the Gospel is not to confirm Trinitarian doctrine but to inspire belief in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God (John 20:31).
4.2. “I Am” (ἐγώ εἰμι) in John 8
The “I am” statements (e.g., John 8:24, 28, 58) are often taken as implicit claims to divinity, particularly John 8:58:
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
However, the Greek phrase ἐγώ εἰμι is context-dependent and does not inherently imply divinity. In John 8:25, Jesus is asked, “Who are you?” to which he replies:
“Exactly what I have been saying to you from the beginning.”
This suggests that the “I am” should be read as “I am [he],” referring back to his identity as the one sent by the Father, not as an invocation of the divine name from Exodus 3:14.
Moreover, original Greek manuscripts were written in majuscule script (all capital letters), meaning that any special typographic emphasis on "I AM" is absent from the text and is a product of later interpretive choices in translation.
5. The Development of Trinitarian Doctrine
5.1. Council of Nicaea (325 CE)
The Council of Nicaea, convened to resolve the Arian controversy, introduced the term homoousios—asserting that the Son is of the same substance as the Father. This formulation, though now seen as central to orthodoxy, was not present in any apostolic preaching and was controversial even among many at the time.
5.2. Council of Constantinople (381 CE)
This council expanded the Nicene Creed to affirm the divinity of the Holy Spirit, completing the framework of the Trinity as defined in classical orthodoxy. However, this doctrine was absent from the New Testament and unknown to the apostolic Church.
While these councils provided theological clarity, they also altered the content of the gospel message as it was originally preached—an issue with profound implications, particularly in light of Paul’s warning in Galatians 1:8–9 against proclaiming “another gospel.”
6. Implications and Conclusion
The requirement to believe in Jesus as ontologically divine in a Trinitarian framework is not grounded in the gospel message of the New Testament. The earliest Christian proclamation centered on:
- Jesus as the Messiah,
- The Son of God,
- Sent by the Father,
- Raised from the dead,
- Exalted by God as Lord.
The later Trinitarian formulation, while a significant theological achievement, is not identical with the apostolic gospel and may represent, in Pauline terms, a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6–9). At minimum, it constitutes an interpretive layer rather than a salvific requirement in the early Church.
This reassessment does not seek to undermine Trinitarian theology but rather to clarify the original apostolic messageand distinguish it from its later doctrinal developments. Future theological reflection must take seriously the historical evolution of dogma and the potential disjunction between what is essential for salvation and what is later defined as orthodox belief.
References
- The Holy Bible, Greek New Testament (Nestle-Aland 28th ed.)
- The New International Version (2011)
- Council of Nicaea (325), Creed of Nicaea
- Council of Constantinople (381), Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
- Galatians 1:6–12; Acts 2:36; Romans 10:9; John 20:31
