What we call “the doctrine of the Trinity” is, I suggest, a formal set of conceptualities developed like this: a set of conceptualities that finally allowed (or at least was believed to allow) every text to be read adequately. As such, it is not a “biblical doctrine” in the sense of being the result of exegesis; rather, it is a set of things that need to be believed if we are to be able to do exegesis adequately as we hold to the truth of every text of Scripture. The doctrine of the Trinity is a conceptual framework that allows us to read every biblical text (concerning God’s life) with due seriousness, but without discovering contradictions between them.
Holmes, Stephen R., “Classical Trinity: Evangelical Perspective,” in Jason S. Sexton (ed), Two Views on the Doctrine of the Trinity (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
