The emergence of strict monotheism within Trinitarian doctrine can be understood, at least in part, as a process of Judaization—a response to external pressures rather than a direct continuation of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles. Even where Father, Son, and Spirit are acknowledged as three distinct personal agents—each thinking, willing, acting, and relating—yet still called “one God,” the definition of monotheism becomes stretched into a concept markedly different from the Jewish sense of divine singularity. This tension offers an opening that strict-monotheist Judaism can exploit to this day. Because Trinitarian formulations appear to concede the necessity of preserving a post-Temple model of monotheism, Judaizers can argue that Christian texts must be re-interpreted to maintain that unity—thus dismissing or reframing apostolic passages, particularly in Revelation and Paul, that present a dual divine agency, a “two powers in heaven” framework. By insisting that Scripture be read only through a later Trinitarian lens, they can neutralize the force of those passages rather than confront what the texts themselves present: divine plurality beneath one supreme God. How might such Judaization have happened? Early Christian writers often debated with Jewish teachers who insisted strongly that only one God exists, with no exceptions. These arguments may have pushed Christian thinkers to adopt a stricter monotheism themselves, both in their debates and in their writings. Over time, this influence might help explain why the Church Fathers increasingly avoided any language that sounded like a “second power in heaven.” As this way of speaking spread among Christian leaders, it may have contributed to the rise of the various forms of Trinitarian theology that later became standard.
