Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-26
THE NAME OF GOD.
How Its Significance Became Greater
With Each Revelation.
FIRST HE WAS A PLURAL BEING,
Later the Jehovah and Then the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost.
THE EXPLANATION OF THE TRINITY
WRITTEN FOR THE D1sPATcH.I


''In the name of the Father. and OF the
Son. and of the Holy Ghost"
This is the Christian revelation of the
name OF God.
In the Bible names are accounted Of I'M
portance They mean something. They
are given in the midst OF the solemnity OF
religious service They are changed some-
times, and reglven in recognition and re-
membrance of some great crisis in mans
life. The name is description OF the man,
or a reminder of some notable fact about
him. The giving OF the name in the sacra-
ment OF baptism and the asking Tor the name
at the beginning OF the catechism are survl-
walls of this ancient significance OF names.
Great Importance is attached in the Bible
to the name OF God. That Gods name must
be kept holy is insisted on in both the Iesta-
ments. An irreverent utterance o the name
OF Gud is taken to be al irreverence done to
God Himself. The name represents God.
This fact is especially emphasized by the
changes which have taken place i'll the
name of God. A new revelation of God is
accompanied bv the adoption OF new name
for God The name symbolizes and sums up
the revelation. The name OF God and mans
idea of God seem to go together. AS the
doctrine of God changes the name changes
with 1t.
THE STEP TO ONE GOD.
Thus God was known at the beginning as
Elohim, a name which is in the plural and
means goods" This plural name is set
with a singular verb in the Bible, and this
curious usage is thought by some to mark
great step taken by the Hebrew people
toward truer knowledge of God. Men be-
gan to see that the gods of their old lmper-
feet creed were out personihcations OF the
attributes OF the one God. They began to
think of God not as many, but as one. In
and above the gods men began to lind God.
Presently there came higher revelation,
and with il a new name. God was no longer
spoken OF as Elohim, in whom met the
mighto all the gods, and about whom the chief
thought was strength; but He was known
now as ,Jehouah, the living one, the sus-
tainer of lie. The thought of providence
entered In, and the conception OF God as
sustaining a personal relation to men. He
was believed in as the God who cares and
loves. That was great advance.
Finally, Christ came, bringing with Him
a higher revelation still OF God, and new
name to go wlthit. God is the Father, God
is the Son, God is the Holy Ghost. God is
the Maker, the Redeemer, the Sanctiter of
the race All that had BEEN Conceived OF
God before net here, and more was added.
1t is of this Christian doctrine OF God that
we are to think to-day. The first thing
which we naturally think OF about this
doctrine is its difficulty. The statement of
it in the language of theology is that ''the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy
Ghost is God; and vet they are not three
Gods, but one God" Into what tangle
and perplexity that puts us!
THE POINT OF CONTROVERSY.
It was this elemen; of difficulty which
made the doctrine the center OF controversy
in the early church. The path was so hard
TO walk in that people were forever getting
bewildered, and losing their way, and find
ing themselves in some bog or jungle Of
heresv. Even to-day, after centuries of ex-
planatIon, this difficulty continues. And
in consequence of it a good many religious
people who are not Christians are accus-
toned to set this doctrine quite to one side.
They believe in God, but they believe in
Him as the Hebrews did, while many Chris
tian people, compelled 10 reconcile in some
way their belief in Christ with their belief
in God. really think OF God as three. There
is one God who is the Father, and second
God who is the Son, and a third God who is
the Holy Ghost. They do not disregard the
doctrine Of the Trinity, but they miss its
meaning. It's pretty generally acknowl-
edged that this difficult doctrine OF God
was taught by jesus Christ, and that it was
! taught by Him not as discovery but as a
| revelation.
Ii is true that in other religions there were
| trinities OF Que sort and another, just as in
other religions there are doctrines of an in-
carnation and an atonement In the Old
Testament itself there were !oreshadowings
of the Christian doctrine Of God. 1t is not
| true, however, that absolute originality is
the characteristic of a revelation. God
always
TEACHES LITTLE BY LITTLE.
"a truth revealed by God is never truth
out of relation with previous thought" AT
last the revelation comes, and it proves
itself bv the hold which it takes on the
hearts of men. Its credential is its strength,
its confidence, its persistence and its perma-
nence. So the art of printing was invented
manv times before the fifteenth century.
| Nevertheless, it was never really Invented
until them because it began to work then,
| and not before. By the revelation OF Jesus
| Christ, there came into the world this Chris
tian doctrine OF God.
We know that because we have the words
!
Himself who spoke of His own relation to
the Father, and of the person and the mis-
sion OF the Holy Spirit. 1t was our Lord
! Himself who appointed as the name which
should be said over every newcomer into His
kingdom, the church-this name of God as
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 1t is from
| what Christ said that we come to believe in
the Trinity OF God.
That is so true that the New Testament
cannot be read by an unbeliever in thl:
doctrine without hundred forced explana,
! tions. Anybody who is troubled about the
Christian doctrine of God, and is willing tc
take the word OF one who is wiser than he
is, may 60 to Christ. He will settle the
matter. God is Father, Son and Holy
Ghost Christ said.
WHERE THE TROUBLE LIES.
So far as authority is concerned the doc
trine of the Holy Trinity makes no trouble
1t bears the plain stamp of authority. The
long controversies of the old days have LEI
no doubt as to the position of the Church
There is no doctrine in the creed which ha:
a definition more elaborate, more carefully
weighed and measured or more extended
than the Christian doctrine of God. Who
ever is willing to ''hear the Church" escape:
all difficulty.
There are great many people, however
who are notwilling to 'hear the Church
and be content. They want to reason things
out; and it is from the side of reason tina
the difficulty comes 1t is the people wht
desire to do their own thinking who ell
counter the perplexfties. 1t is the question
ers who find the seemingly unanswerabl
questions. The most important thinl
which can be said to-day abou
the Christian doctrine of God con
Germs its relation to human reason
ALI truth must commend itself to reasol