Recently, I had the privilege of joining an amicable discussion on the Providence Perspective channel on the topic of what constitutes Second Commandment violations. I represented the Presbyterian view, and Elias, a Reformed Anglican and host of The Reformed Berean represented the Anglican view. I boiled it down to two arguments: 1) The indivisibility of the person of Christ; and 2) The Regulative Principle of Worship. Before going into a brief presentation of the arguments, followed by a video of the discussion, here is the Second Commandment from Exodus 20:4-6,
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Now let me address the two arguments:
1. The Indivisibility of the Person of Christ: John 1:14 says,
“[T]he Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (ESV).”
He is the unique Son of God who, as the 4th century Council of Chalcedon states, is “truly God and truly man” and is “acknowledged in two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation.”
In other words, while we can (and should) be able to distinguish his divine from his human natures, we are, at the end of the day, speaking of only one Person:
“At no point was the difference between the natures taken away through the union, but rather the property of both natures is preserved and comes together into a single person and a single subsistent being. He is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the prophets taught from the beginning about Him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself instructed us, and as the creed of the fathers handed it down to us.”
This is why in Acts 20:28 Luke can say “the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Does God have blood? No. Did/does Jesus have blood? Yes. Is Jesus God? As stated before, He is “truly God and truly man,” so what is said of one nature can be said of the person. Thus we avoid dividing or separating his natures, which we are in danger of doing if we allow depictions of God incarnate to enter our eyes and our minds, which is exactly what the Second Commandment proscribes.
2. The Regulative Principle of Worship: We are to worship God when we gather as churches (and for family worship and in private, but particularly in corporate worship) in accordance with what God has set down. The Westminster Confession of Faith 21.1 states,
“the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.”
In other words, God forbids “getting creative” with corporate worship. This is not to say that there aren’t “some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and the government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed” (WCF 1.6b), but we must remember that both in the letter and spirit of the law, the Second Commandment proscribes depicting the Trinity, and that is not a subjective matter left to each person’s decision. The argument that says that the proscription is limited only to actual worship of said depictions has the burden of proof. What burden? To show that there is any context whatsoever in which we can speak/see/hear/learn about the Trinity that is not doxological, that is, worshipful. Otherwise, we are limiting the act of worship to the mere outward aspect, something that the Bible very clearly denies: Worship is a matter arising from the heart first, and then manifested outwardly. As John Calvin famously said,
“man’s nature is a perpetual factory of idols…the mind begets an idol, and the hand gives it birth.”
We must remember to maintain the Creator/creature distinction: God is not a thing that can be theoretically dissected and analyzed apart from His worth. He is God, and, as Leviticus 10:3 says, “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.” Therefore, any depiction of any of the Persons of the Trinity is by necessity a “coming near” to God, that is, a doxological approach, and the Second Commandment clearly proscribes 1) depicting the Trinity, and 2) worshipping said depictions. I strongly believe any other conclusion bears the burden of proof.
This is a topic that I am still studying. But for now, I have chosen to err on the side of caution and abstain from, as the Westminster Larger Catechism Q109 says,
“making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever.”
Finally, a word of caution: The mere abstaining of the consumption of visual depictions of the Trinity will not protect the idolatrous heart. One can cover one’s eyes on the one hand, but on the other break God’s commandments in our thoughts, words, and actions. Jesus said it best. We are not to be
“like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:27-28). I
nstead, we are to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). But we can only live a life of increasing sanctification unless God has saved us from our sins and revealed the Father to us, so that we then can
“come to [Christ], all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
There is much more that can be said about the topic. But without further ado, here’s the discussion followed by a PDF of my notes for this discussion. Thank you for reading and watching: