Is man triune?

[Deleted member 12256]

I recently had a non-reformed person tell me that we, mankind are triune. I cant find any scripture about this. My first thoughts on this are, its blasphemous, but am i wrong?

 

[Taylor]

No, man is not triune. “Triune” is a word combining “tri” and “unity.” To say that man is triune assumes, for one thing, a tripartite anthropology, which many do not accept. For another thing, even if one assumes a tripartite anthropology, man cannot be triune in any sense the way God is, since with God’s triunity come simplicity, consubstantiality, etc. Man might be three, but three parts, each of different substances.

Saying man is triune might sound clever, but it is confusing, at best.

 

[Eyedoc84]

No, man is not triune. “Triune” is a word combining “tri” and “unity.” To say that man is triune assumes, for one thing, a tripartite anthropology, which many do not accept. For another thing, even if one assumes a tripartite anthropology, man cannot be triune in any sense the way God is, since with God’s triunity come simplicity, consubstantiality, etc. Man might be three, but three parts, each of different substances.

Saying man is triune might sound clever, but it is confusing, at best.

Not to mention that triune and tripartite are mutually exclusive by definition!

 

[Jack K]

I've heard people who hold to a tri-partite view of man (that we are body, soul, and spirit) say it is a reflection of the Trinity, though clearly not the same thing. That might be what the person you talked to means, or that person may have misunderstood tri-partite teaching. The typical tri-partite view itself is probably not the dominant view within the Reformed world, but it is usually considered within the bounds of orthodoxy.

People often don't use their terms very carefully. I imagine there's a good chance that what this person believes is not blasphemous even if it was expressed carelessly.

 

[RamistThomist]

In light of recent threads on man being created in the image of the Trinity, this is why it is dangerous to say that unless you heavily qualify it.

 

[Deleted member 12256]

So here is what the person said to me, as he was saying Sproul and the gnostics were alike, yet wrong.
“They seem to be ignorant that mankind is more than flesh and blood.
Man is a triune being just as God is,
O, yes our flesh also has a Soul!
And this Soul is everlasting.
It is not flesh. It is spirit.
Just as God is Spirit.

We can believe and desire God while still lost because we have more than just flesh and bones.
God created man in His image.
We have souls that desire God.”

 

[RamistThomist]

So here is what the person said to me, as he was saying Sproul and the gnostics were alike, yet wrong.
“They seem to be ignorant that mankind is more than flesh and blood.
Man is a triune being just as God is,
O, yes our flesh also has a Soul!
And this Soul is everlasting.
It is not flesh. It is spirit.
Just as God is Spirit.

We can believe and desire God while still lost because we have more than just flesh and bones.
God created man in His image.
We have souls that desire God.”

That just sounds like a bunch of words. Sproul and the rest of the historic Christian position do not say man is just flesh and blood.

 

[Taylor]

Not to mention that triune and tripartite are mutually exclusive by definition!

Exactly. Very well and succinctly stated.

 

[Joshua]

No.