The importance of Theology Proper to the Christian faith and Church cannot be overstated since this is at the root of all sin: a failure to understand the person of God (1Co 15:34).

1. The Trinity

1.1. Like the discipline under which it falls, the doctrine of the Trinity is also vitally important to the Christian Faith and Church since:

1.1.1. It is impossible to become a Christian without such understanding (Mat 28:19 w/ Mar 16:16)

1.1.2. This was the first major battleground of the Christian Faith and Church (e.g. Council of Nicaea and Nicene Creed, 325 AD)

“Athanasius [Council of Nicaea] knew Christianity stands of falls with the confession of the deity of Christ and of the Trinity. In the confession of the Trinity throbs the heart of the Christian religion: every [past/historical] error results from, or upon a deeper reflection may be traced to, a wrong view of this doctrine.” – Herman Bavinck

1.1.3. Its denial among those claiming to follow the God of the bible continues to grow.

1.2. That being said, the term “trinity” does not occur in the biblical text. Its origin is instead grounded in the writings of the early Church fathers and controversies of the third/fourth century (e.g. Tertullian; Council of Nicaea).

1.3. Its teaching however is completely biblical and necessary to possessing orthodox (saving) Christian Faith. In this sense, then, the term itself becomes both innocuous and convenient since in the words of B.B Warfield, “It is better to preserve the truth of Scripture than the words of Scripture.”