Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 25:4 (Autumn 2011)
Article: CBE and the Doctrine of the Trinity
Author: Kevin Giles

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PP 25:4 (Autumn 2011) p. 20

CBE and the Doctrine of the Trinity

Kevin Giles

Kevin Giles has been an Anglican minister for more than forty years. He is the author of many books and articles. In 2006, he resigned as Vicar of St. Michaels, North Carlton, Diocese of Melbourne, and now concentrates on writing and teaching. He shares a ministry with his wife, Lynley, a marriage educator and counselor.

Christians for Biblical Equality is an evangelical organization committed to the authority of Scripture in matters of faith and conduct. We set nothing above the authority of Scripture, but we consider the historic creeds as well as the Protestant Reformation and post-Reformation confessions to be sure and trustworthy guides to historic orthodoxy—what the catholic or orthodox church believes. We value these secondary authorities because we believe they accurately reflect the teaching of Scripture and give direction for what Christians should believe on matters where Christians have been divided over what Scripture taken as a whole teaches.

Not all evangelicals and not all CBE members are bound by the three historic creeds or any of the Reformation or post-Reformation confessions, but virtually all evangelicals recognize that the creeds and confessions define orthodoxy, and they want to stand within orthodoxy.

What the Bible says on the Trinity in brief

For Christians, what the Bible says on the Trinity, and specifically in a discussion related to the Father/Son relationship, is of first importance. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul gives his most important explanation of how to understand rightly the Father/Son relationship. In eternity, Paul says, Christ, the Son of God, had “equality” with God the Father. Of his own free will and in complete harmony with the Father, he laid aside his divine glory, emptied himself, took human form, even the form of a servant, and obediently, as the second Adam, went to the cross for our salvation. In response to Christ’s own self-humbling, God the Father raised him to rule in heaven once more as God in all glory, power, and splendor. From this point on, Scripture clearly teaches that Christ rules as “Lord.” The New Testament places the affirmation that “Jesus is Lord” right at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. This affirmation or confession declares that the resurrected and exalted Son of God is God in the fullest sense and, as such, has absolute authority (Matt 28:18; Eph 1:20-21; Col 2:10). Often in the New Testament the ruling authority of the resurrected Son is spoken of as Christ “sitting at the right hand of God” (

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