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Why did God not clearly reveal the Trinity in the Old Testament?

by | Feb 2, 2022 | God, Questions

Why did God wait so long to reveal the doctrine of the Trinity? Why is the Trinity hidden in the Old Testament? We can’t know precisely why God chose to do things the way He did regarding His self-revelation because He didn’t specifically tell us, but we can speculate. So, here goes.Trinity and divine simplicity

God chose not to slowly reveal Himself as a Trinity because that was simply how He decided to do things. God has a reason for everything, and He works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). This answer should be sufficient in itself, but it isn’t very satisfying. So let me continue.

One thing at a time

Isaiah 28:13, “So the word of the LORD to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.”

God works in our realm in sequential order. In other words, He does things one step at a time. Take creation, for example, which is recorded in Genesis 1:1-31. God took six full days to create heaven and earth. He could have done it instantly or in six seconds. So, why so long? I think it is because He relates to us in a way we can understand. To God, all things are instantly and eternally known. But we must receive God’s truth line by line, precept upon precept – because we are limited. So, God chose to reveal the creation one step at a time – while heading to the culmination of His purpose in the sacrifice of Christ. So too, He revealed Himself one step at a time.

To Conceal and to Search Out the Trinity

Proverbs 25:2, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

From Scripture, we can see it is the glory of God to conceal a matter. Therefore, though the Old Testament hints at the Trinity (Gen. 1:26; 19:24; Amos 4:10-11; Zech. 12:10), it is concealed within its pages. Therefore, as the text says, it is for the glory of God that He did this. And it is also for us, as well as those ancient Jews, that we should seek to learn more about God.

I think that part of the reason that God gradually revealed His Trinitarian nature is due to His desire that we seek Him out and learn more about Him. I think He wants us to seek Him, to wonder about Him, and to contemplate His greatness. Such partial revelations of His own character in the Old Testament would certainly bring the students of His word to the table of contemplation as they lay out their ideas about God and examine them one with another and learn together.

The Trinity in the Fullness of Time

Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,”

We see how Paul the apostle spoke of the “fullness of the time.” This means that God waited until certain conditions were in place before He revealed Jesus. These things included Old Testament prophecies that point to Jesus (John 5:39). They prophesied the location of His birthplace in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) that He would be crucified (Psalm 22:11-18) and arrive in Jerusalem after a specific time (Dan. 9:24-27).

Furthermore, I believe that because Jesus was actually crucified on an actual cross by actual people in actual time, and that we can see the sequential revelation of Christ’s work manifested over time.  So, why not conclude the same thing about God as a Trinity?

To Reveal what is Hidden

Matthew 13:35, “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.””

Matthew quoted Psalm 78:2 in Matthew 13:35. It was prophecy. Prophecy is one of the proofs of God’s inspiration of Scripture, and though I don’t think it is the best answer to why God would slowly reveal his Trinitarian nature over the centuries, I believe that it helps. It is the way of God to reveal the future to prove to us who He is and to prove ultimately who Christ is. But prophecy takes time. It occurs hundreds of years before the events which come to fruition later. So, it seems to be the character of God to reveal truths more and more as time passes.

Conclusion

Though we cannot ultimately know every reason God had for hiding His Trinitarian essence in the Old Testament, we can speculate. The Scriptures reveal Him little by little. And so from them, we learn more about Him, and we learn that He has revealed Himself in the fullness of time, for his glory.

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