It has been well over a year since I have utilized
Greek—in a comprehensive sense—during my studies. To rectify this hiatus, I
have been examining a number of Christological passages found in the writings
of Justin Martyr, comparing English translations with the Greek texts. I chose
Justin because he “developed the first Christology" (Schaff, History of
the Christian Church, 2.549). An important theme that emerges from Justin’s
Christological passages is the causality of the Son of God from the Father.
From Justin’s Apologies and Dialogue With Trypho we read:
1st
Apology, ch. 21
And when
we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth[1] of God... (The First
Apology, 21 - ANF 1.170)
And when
we say also that the Word, who is the First-begotten[1] of God… (Leslie William
Barnard, The First Apology, 21 – Ancient Christian Writers,
56.37)
[1]
πρῶτον γέννημα (prōton gennēma)
Τῷ
δὲ καὶ τὸν λόγον, ὅ ἐστι πρῶτον γέννημα τοῦ θεοῦ (A.W.F.
Blunt, The Apologies of Justin Martyr, p. 34)
1st
Apology, ch. 23
Jesus
Christ is the only proper Son who has been begotten[1] by God, being His Word
and first-begotten[2], and power… (The First Apology, 23 - ANF
1.170)
Jesus Christ alone was really begotten[1] as Son of God,
being His Word and First-begotten[2] and Power; (Leslie William Barnard, The First
Apology, 23 – Ancient Christian Writers, 56.39)
[1] γεγέννηται (gegennētai)
[2] πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos)
Ἰησοῦς
Χριστὸς μόνος ἰδίως υἱὸς τῷ θεῷ γεγέννηται, λόγος αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχων καὶ πρωτότοκος
καὶ δύναμις (A.W.F. Blunt, The Apologies of Justin Martyr, p.
38)
1st
Apology, ch. 33
It is
wrong, therefore, to understand the Spirit and the power of God as anything
else than the Word, who is also the first-born[1] of God, as the foresaid
prophet Moses declared; (The First Apology, 33 - ANF
1.174)
The Spirit and Power from God cannot therefore be
understood as anything else than the Word, who is also the First-begotten[1] of
God, as Moses the above-mentioned prophet testified; (Leslie William Barnard, The
First Apology, 33 – Ancient Christian Writers, 56.46)
[1] πρωτότοκος
(prōtotokos)
τὸ
πνεῦμα οὖν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ
θεοῦ οὐδὲν ἄλλο νοῆσαι θέμις ἢ τὸν λόγον, ὃς καὶ πρωτότοκος τῷ θεῷ ἐστι Μωυσῆς (A.W.F.
Blunt, The Apologies of Justin Martyr, p. 53)
1st Apology, ch. 46
We have been taught that Christ is the first-born[1] of
God, and we have declared above that He is the Word of whom every race of men
were partakers; (The First Apology, 46 - ANF
1.178)
We have been taught that Christ is the First-born[1] of
God, and we have suggested above that He is the logos of whom every race of men
and women were partakers. (Leslie William Barnard, The First Apology, 46
– Ancient Christian Writers, 56.55)
[1] πρωτότοκον (prōtotokon)
τὸν Χριστὸν
πρωτότοκον τοῦ θεοῦ εἶναι ἐδι δάχθημεν καὶ προεμηνύσαμεν λόγον ὄντα, οὗ πᾶν
γένος ἀν θρώπων μετέσχε. (A.W.F. Blunt, The Apologies of Justin
Martyr, p. 70)
1st Apology, ch. 53
…we believe of a crucified man that He is the
first-born[1] of the unbegotten[2] God… (The First Apology, 53
- ANF 1.180)
…we believe of a crucified man that He is the
First-begotten[1] of the Unbegotten[2] God…(Leslie William Barnard, The First Apology, 53 – Ancient
Christian Writers, 56.60)
[1] πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos)
[2] ἀγεννήτῳ (agennētō)
γὰρ ἂν λόγῳ ἀν θρώπῳ
σταυρωθέντι ἐπειθόμεθα, ὅτι πρωτότοκος τῷ ἀγεννήτῳ θεῷ ἐστι (A.W.F.
Blunt, The Apologies of Justin Martyr, p. 78)
1st Apology, ch. 58
For they who are called devils attempt nothing else than
to seduce men from God who made them, and from Christ His first-begotten[1]; (The First Apology, 53 - ANF 1.182)
[1] πρωτογόνου
(prōtogonou)
οὐ γὰρ
ἄλλο τι ἀγωνίζονται οἱ λεγόμενοι δαίμονες, ἢ ἀπάγειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους
ἀπὸ τοῦ ποιήσαντος θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ πρωτογόνου αὐτοῦ Χριστοῦ· (A.W.F. Blunt, The Apologies of Justin Martyr,
p. 86)
1st Apology, ch. 63
For they who affirm that the Son is the Father, are proved
neither to have become acquainted with the Father, nor to know that the Father
of the universe has a Son ; who also, being the first-begotten[1] Word of God,
is even God. (The First Apology, 63 - ANF 1.184)
For they who affirm that the Son is the Father are shown
neither to have known the Father, nor to know that the Father of the Universe
has a Son; who being the logos and
First-begotten[1] is also God. (Leslie William Barnard, The First Apology, 63
– Ancient Christian Writers, 56.69)
[1] πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos)
οἱ γὰρ
τὸν υἱὸν πατέρα φάσκοντες εἶναι ἐλέγχονται μήτε τὸν πατέρα ἐπιστάμενοι, μηθ'
ὅτι ἐστὶν υἱὸς τῷ πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων
γινώσκοντες· ὃς καὶ λόγος πρωτότοκος ὢν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ θεὸς ὑπάρχει. (A.W.F. Blunt, The Apologies of Justin Martyr, pp.
95, 96)
2nd Apology, ch. 6
But to the Father of all, who is
unbegotten[1], there is no name given. For by whatever name He be called, He
has as His elder the person who gives Him the name. But these words. Father,
and God, and Creator, and Lord, and Master, are not names, but appellations
derived from His good deeds and functions. And His Son, who alone is properly
called Son, the Word, who also was with Him and was begotten[2] before the
works, when at first He created and arranged all things by Him, is called
Christ, in reference to His being anointed and God's ordering all things
through Him; (The Second Apology, 6 - ANF 1.190)
[1] ᾀγεννήτῳ (agennētō)
[2] γεννώμενος (gennōmenos)
Ὄνομα δὲ τῷ
πάντων πατρὶ θετόν, ἀγεννήτῳ ὄντι, οὐκ ἔστιν· ᾧ γὰρ ἂν καὶ ὄνομά τι
προσαγορεύηται, πρεσβύ τερον ἔχει τὸν θέμενον τὸ ὄνομα. τὸ
δὲ πατὴρ καὶ θεὸς καὶ κτίστης καὶ κύριος καὶ δεσπότης οὐκ ὀνόματά ἐστιν, ἀλλ'
ἐκ τῶν εὐποιϊῶν καὶ τῶν ἔργων προσρήσεις. ὁ δὲ υἱὸς ἐκεί νου, ὁ μόνος λεγόμενος
κυρίως υἱός, ὁ λόγος πρὸ τῶν ποιη μάτων καὶ συνὼν καὶ γεννώμενος, ὅτε τὴν ἀρχὴν
δι' αὐτοῦ πάντα ἔκτισε καὶ ἐκόσμησε, Χριστὸς μὲν κατὰ τὸ κεχρῖσθαι καὶ κοσ
μῆσαι τὰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ τὸν θεὸν λέγεται … (A.W.F. Blunt, The
Apologies of Justin Martyr, pp. 112, 113)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch, 61
"I shall give you another testimony, my
friends," said I, "from the Scriptures, that God begat[1] before all
creatures a Beginning, [who was] a certain rational power [proceeding] from
Himself, who is called by the Holy Spirit, now the Glory of the Lord, now the
Son, again Wisdom, again an Angel, then God, and then Lord and Logos ; and on
another occasion He calls Himself Captain, when He appeared in human form to
Joshua the son of Nave (Nun). For He can be called by all those names, since He
ministers to the Father's will, and since He was begotten of the Father by an
act of will ; just as we see happening among ourselves : for when we give out
some word, we beget the word ; yet not by abscission, so as to lessen the word [which remains] in us, when we give it out :
and just as we see also happening in the case of a fire, which is not lessened
when it has kindled [another] , but remains the same ; and that which has been
kindled by it likewise appears to exist by itself, not diminishing that from which
it was kindled. The Word of Wisdom, who is Himself this God begotten[2] of the
Father of all things, and Word, and Wisdom, and Power, and the Glory of the
Begetter, will bear evidence to me, when He speaks by Solomon the following :
'If I shall declare to you what happens daily, I shall call to mind events from
everlasting, and review them. The Lord made me the beginning of His ways for
His works[3]. From everlasting He established me in the beginning, before He
formed the earth, and before He made the depths, and before the springs of
waters came forth, before the mountains were settled ; He begets me[4]. (Dialogue
with Trypho, 61 - ANF 1.227, 228.)
[1] γεγέννηκε -
Migne PG, 6.616
[2] γεννηθείς - Migne PG, 6.616
[3] Prov. 8.22 (LXX): Κύριος ἔκτισέ με
ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ - Migne PG, 6.616
[4] Prov. 8.25b (LXX): γεννᾷ με - Migne
PG, 6.616
Μαρτύριον δὲ καὶ ἄλλο ὑμῖν, ὦ
φίλοι, ἔφην, ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν δώσω, ὅτι ἀρχὴν πρὸ πάντων τῶν κτισμάτων ὁ θεὸς γεγέννηκε δύναμίν τινα ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ
λογικήν, ἥτις καὶ δόξα κυρίου ὑπὸ τοῦ
πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου καλεῖται, ποτὲ δὲ υἱός, ποτὲ δὲ σοφία, ποτὲ δὲ ἄγγελος, ποτὲ δὲ θεός, ποτὲ δὲ κύριος καὶ λόγος, ποτὲ δὲ ἀρχιστράτηγον ἑαυτὸν
λέγει, ἐν ἀνθρώπου μορφῇ φανέντα τῷ τοῦ
Ναυῆ Ἰησοῦ· ἔχει γὰρ πάντα προσονο μάζεσθαι
ἔκ τε τοῦ ὑπηρετεῖν τῷ πατρικῷ βουλήματι καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς θελήσει
γεγεννῆσθαι. ἀλλ' οὐ τοιοῦτον ὁποῖον καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν γινόμενον ὁρῶμεν; λόγον
γάρ τινα προ βάλλοντες, λόγον γεννῶμεν,
οὐ κατὰ ἀποτομήν, ὡς ἐλαττωθῆ ναι τὸν
ἐν ἡμῖν λόγον, προβαλλόμενοι. καὶ ὁποῖον ἐπὶ πυρὸς ὁρῶμεν ἄλλο γινόμενον, οὐκ ἐλαττουμένου ἐκείνου ἐξ οὗ ἡ ἄναψις γέγονεν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ
μένοντος, καὶ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀναφθὲν καὶ
αὐτὸ ὂν φαίνεται, οὐκ ἐλαττῶσαν ἐκεῖνο ἐξ οὗ ἀνήφθη. μαρτυρήσει δέ μοι ὁ λόγος τῆς σοφίας, αὐτὸς ὢν οὗτος ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων
γεννηθείς, καὶ λόγος καὶ σοφία καὶ
δύναμις καὶ δόξα τοῦ γεννήσαντος ὑπάρχων, καὶ διὰ Σολομῶνος φήσαντος ταῦτα· Ἐὰν ἀναγγείλω ὑμῖν τὰ καθ' ἡμέραν γινόμενα, μνημονεύσω τὰ ἐξ
αἰῶνος ἀριθμῆσαι. κύριος ἔκτισέ με
ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ. πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐθεμελίωσέ με ἐν ἀρχῇ, πρὸ τοῦ τὴν γῆν ποιῆσαι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ τὰς ἀβύσσους ποιῆσαι, πρὸ τοῦ τὰς πηγὰς
προελθεῖν τῶν ὑδά των, πρὸ τοῦ τὰ ὄρη
ἑδρασθῆναι· πρὸ δὲ πάντων τῶν βουνῶν γεννᾷ
με. (Migne PG, vol. 6.616)
Dialogue with
Trypho, ch. 62
But this Offspring, which was
truly
brought
forth
from
the
Father, was with the Father before all the creatures,
and
the
Father
communed
with
Him
;
even
as
the
Scripture by Solomon has made clear, that He whom Solomon calls Wisdom, was begotten as a Beginning
before
all
His
creatures
and
as
Offspring by God…(Dialogue with Trypho, 62 - ANF 1.228.)
ἀλλὰ τοῦτο τὸ τῷ ὄντι ἀπὸ τοῦ
πατρὸς προβληθὲν γέννημα πρὸπάντων τῶν
ποιημάτων συνῆν τῷ πατρί, καὶ τούτῳ ὁ
πατὴρ προσομιλεῖ, ὡς ὁ λόγος διὰ τοῦ Σολομῶνος ἐδήλωσεν, ὅτι καὶ ἀρχὴ πρὸ πάντων τῶν ποιημάτων τοῦτ'
αὐτὸ καὶ γέννημα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ
ἐγεγέννητο … (Migne PG, vol.
6.617, 620)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 84
…the first-begotten[1] of all creation… (Dialogue
with Trypho, 84 - ANF 1.241.)
[1] πρωτότοκον (prōtotokos)
τὸν πρωτότοκον τῶν πάντων ποιημάτων (Migne PG,
vol. 6.673)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 85
...this very Son of God—who is the Firstborn[1] of every
creature… (Dialogue with Trypho, 85 - ANF 1.241.)
κατὰ γὰρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ
τούτου τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πρωτοτόκου πάσης κτίσεως (Migne PG, vol. 6.676)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 100
…we know Him to be the first-begotten[1]
of God, and to be before all creatures…(Dialogue with Trypho,
100 - ANF 1.249.)
[1] πρωτότοκον (prōtotokon)
γνόντες αὐτὸν πρωτότοκον μὲν
τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πρὸ πάντων τῶν κτισμάτων (Migne PG, vol. 6.709)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 105
For I have already proved that He was the only-begotten[1]
of the Father of all things, being begotten[2] in a peculiar manner Word and Power by Him, and having afterwards
become
man
through
the
Virgin, as we have learned from the memoirs.
(Dialogue with Trypho, 105 - ANF 1.251.)
[1] Μονογενὴς (Monogenēs)
[2] γεγεννημένος
(gegennēmenos)
Μονογενὴς
γὰρ ὅτι ἦν τῷ πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων οὗτος, ἰδίως ἐξ αὐτοῦ λόγος καὶ δύναμις
γεγεννημένος, καὶ ὕστερον ἄνθρωπος διὰ τῆς παρθένου γενόμενος, ὡς ἀπὸ τῶν
ἀπομνη μονευμάτων ἐμάθομεν, προεδήλωσα. (Migne PG, vol. 6.720,
721)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 125
…yet nevertheless is God, in that He is the
first-begotten[1] of all creatures. (Dialogue with Trypho, 125 - ANF
1.262.)
[1] πρωτότοκον (prōtotokon)
θεοῦ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ εἶναι τέκνον
πρωτότοκον τῶν ὅλων κτισμάτων (Migne PG, vol. 6.768)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 128
And that this power which the prophetic
word calls God, as has been also amply demonstrated, and Angel, is not numbered
[as different] in name only like the light of the sun, but is indeed something
numerically distinct[1], I have discussed briefly in what has gone before ;
when I asserted that this power was begotten from the Father[2], by His power
and will, but not by abscission, as if the essence of the Father were divided ;
as all other things partitioned and divided are not the same after as before
they were divided : and, for the sake of example, I took the case of fires
kindled from a fire, which we see to be distinct from it, and yet that from
which many can be kindled is by no means made less, but remains the same. (Dialogue
with Trypho, 128 - ANF 1.264.)
[1] ἀριθμῷ ἕτερόν (arithmō
eteron)
[2] γεγεννῆσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ
Πατρός (gegennēsthai apo tou Patros)
καὶ ὅτι δύναμις αὕτη, ἣν καὶ θεὸν καλεῖ ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος, διὰ πολλῶν ὡσαύτως
ἀποδέδεικται, καὶ ἄγγελον, οὐχ ὡς τὸ
τοῦ ἡλίου φῶς ὀνόματι μόνον ἀριθμεῖται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀριθμῷ ἕτερόν τί ἐστι, καὶ ἐν τοῖς προειρημένοις διὰ βραχέων τὸν λόγον ἐξήτασα, εἰπὼν τὴν δύναμιν
ταύτην γεγεν νῆσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρός,
δυνάμει καὶ βουλῇ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐ κατὰ ἀποτομήν,
ὡς ἀπομεριζομένης τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίας, ὁποῖα τὰ ἄλλα πάντα μεριζόμενα καὶ
τεμνόμενα οὐ τὰ αὐτά ἐστιν ἃ καὶ πρὶν τμηθῆναι· καὶ παραδείγματος χάριν
παρειλήφειν ὡς τὰ ἀπὸ πυρὸς ἀναπτόμενα πυρὰ ἕτερα ὁρῶμεν, οὐδὲν ἐλαττουμένου
ἐκείνου, ἐξ οὗ ἀναφθῆναι πολλὰ δύνανται, ἀλλὰ ταὐτοῦ μένοντος. (Migne PG,
vol. 6.776)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 129
The Lord created me[1] the beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting
He
established
me
in
the
beginning, before He formed the earth, and before He made the
depths, and before the springs of waters came forth, before
the mountains were settled ; He begets[2]
me
before
all
the
hills…that the
Scripture has declared that this Offspring[3] was begotten[4] by the Father
before all things created ; and that that which is begotten[5] is numerically
distinct[6] from that which begets[7], any one will admit. (Dialogue with
Trypho, 129 - ANF 1.264.)
[1] Prov. 8.22 (LXX): Κύριος ἔκτισέ με (Kurios
ektise me)
[2] Prov. 8.25b (LXX): γεννᾷ (genna)
[3] γεγεννῆσθαι (gegennēsthai)
[4] γέννημα (gennēma)
[5] γεννώμενον (gennōmenon)
[6] ἀριθμῷ ἕτερόν (arithmō
eteron)
[7] γεννῶντος (gennōntos)
Κύριος
ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ. πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐθεμελίωσέ με, ἐν ἀρχῇ,
πρὸ τοῦ τὴν γῆν ποιῆσαι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ τὰς ἀβύσσους ποιῆσαι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ προελθεῖν τὰς
πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, πρὸ τοῦ ὄρη ἑδρασθῆ ναι· πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με…καὶ
ὅτι γεγεννῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦτο τὸ γέννημα πρὸ πάντων ἁπλῶς τῶν κτισμάτων
ὁ λόγος ἐδήλου, καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον τοῦ γεννῶντος ἀριθμῷ ἕτερόν ἐστι, πᾶς
ὁστισοῦν ὁμολογήσειε. (Migne PG, vol. 6.777)
As already mentioned, there is an emphasis on the
causality of the Son of God from the Father in the above referenced passages.
In the last two, Justin also makes mention of a ‘numerical’ distinction between
the Father and the Son. Those two passages are not the only instances he does
so—note the following:
1st Apology, ch. 13
Our teacher of these things is Jesus Christ, who also was born for this purpose, and was crucified
under
Pontius
Pilate,
procurator
of
Judaea, in the times of Tiberius Caesar; and that we reasonably
worship Him, having learned that He is the Son of the true God Himself, and holding Him in the second Place[1],
and
the
prophetic
Spirit
in the third, we will prove. (First
Apology, 13 – ANF 1.166, 167.)
[1] δευτέρᾳ χώρᾳ (deutera chōra) - Migne,
PG vol. 6.348
1st
Apology, ch. 6o
For he gives the
second
place[1]
to
the
Logos
which is with God… (First Apology, 60 –
ANF 1.183.)
[1] Δευτέραν μὲν γὰρ χώραν (Deuteran
men gar chōran) - (Migne, PG vol. 6.420)
Dialogue with Trypho, ch. 56
I shall attempt to persuade you,
since you have understood the Scriptures, [of the truth] of what I say, that
there
is,
and
that
there
is
said
to be, another God and Lord[1] subject to the Maker of all things ; who is also called an Angel,
because He announces to men whatsoever
the
Maker
of
all
things—above whom there is no other God—wishes to announce to them. (Dialogue
With Trypho, 56 – ANF 1.223.)
[1] Θεὸς
καὶ Κύριος ἔτερος
(theos kai kurios eteros) - (Migne, PG
vol. 6.597)
It is now time to bring up a question that I suspect is on
the minds of some of folk who have taken the time to read the above selections
from the writings of Justin: was Justin a Trinitarian?
Ultimately, the answer depends on how one defines the
doctrine of the Trinity. One ‘popular’ definition of the Trinity is provided by
the Reformed Baptist apologist James R. White in his book The Forgotten
Trinity:
Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally
three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. (Page 26)
Mr. White in his above book makes no mention of Justin at
all. However, another Reformed Baptist (and former frequent poster here at AF),
Ken Temple, published a post back on March 7, 2017 that directly answers our
question: Justin Martyr was Trinitarian.
Unfortunately for Ken, Justin did not adhere to at least
one key component of White’s definition: the coequality of the Father, Son and
the Holy Spirit. Justin held to what patristic scholars have termed
‘subordinationism’—i.e. the Son
is not coequal to the Father.
Note the following from The Catholic Encyclopedia:
The Word is numerically distinct from the Father (Dial.,
cxxviii, cxxix; cf. lvi, lxii). He was born of the very substance of the
Father, not that this substance was divided, but He proceeds from it as one
fire does from another at which it is lit (cxxviii, lxi); this form of
production (procession) is compared also with that of human speech (lxi). The
Word (Logos) is therefore the Son: much more, He alone may properly be
called Son (II Apol., vi, 3); He is the monogenes, the unigenitus
(Dial., cv). Elsewhere, however, Justin, like St. Paul, calls Him the eldest
Son, prototokos (I Apol., xxxiii; xlvi; lxiii; Dial., lxxxiv, lxxxv, cxxv).
The Word is God (I Apol., lxiii; Dial., xxxiv, xxxvi, xxxvii, lvi, lxiii,
lxxvi, lxxxvi, lxxxvii, cxiii, cxv, cxxv, cxxvi, cxviii). His Divinity,
however, seems subordinate, as does the worship which is rendered to Him (I
Apol., vi; cf. lxi, 13; Teder, "Justinsdes Märtyrers Lehre von Jesus
Christus", Freiburg imBr., 1906, 103-19). (The Catholic Encyclopedia –
1910, VIII.585 – bold emphasis mine.)
And from John Behr’s, Formation of Christian
Theology-Volume One: The Way to Nicaea, we read:
Although Justin speaks in the traditional manner of Jesus
Christ, as the Word, revealing God, he shares the common philosophical
presupposition of his day that as God is so totally transcendent to created reality
he needs an intermediary, his Word, to act for him and to mediate between
himself and creation. (p. 103)
As it is not God himself who thus appeared and spoke with
man, the Word of God who did all of these things is, for Justin, “another God
and Lord besides (ἔτερος παρὰ)
the Maker of all," who is also called his "Angel," as he brings
messages from the Maker of all, "above whom there is no other God" (Dial.
56.4)….The divinity of Jesus Christ, an “other God,” is no longer that of
the Father himself, but subordinate to it, a lesser divinity… (p.104 – bold
emphasis mine.)
But then, if one begins their definition of the Trinity
with the Monarchy of God the Father—which includes a strong emphasis on the
causality of the Son from the Father and the teaching that the Father alone is autotheos—I
would argue that the term ‘Trinitarian’ could legitimately be applied to
Justin’s theology.
[Migne PG = Jacques-Paul Migne, Patrologiae
Cursus Completus Series Graeca – vol. 6 PDF HERE; ANF = The
Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Roberts and Donaldson – vol. 1 PDF HERE; PDF of Blunt’s, The
Apologies of Justin Martyr, HERE; for an excellent
bibliography of works on and/or by Justin see the Early Church.org.uk entry HERE.]
Grace and peace,
David