WORD, THE

To understand the role and importance of the Word in Trinitarian theology, one must consider the Biblical theme that is its background, that is, the word of God to man in salvation history.

Old Testament. Many passages in the Old Testament depict God as communicating with man by means of words (Gn 2.16–17; 6.13–21; 13.14–17; 26.2–5; Jos 3.7–8; Is 6.9–10). If it is He who takes the initiative on such occasions, in so doing He inaugurates an interpersonal exchange between man and Himself (Gn 12.1–3; 15.1–11; 35.1, 9–15; Ex ch. 3–4). Between the two extremes involved in these encounters, His word mediates; divine in origin, it is decidedly human in destination-reception (Ex 4.10–17). From man's point of view, that word has a function that is both instructive and transformative (Gn 17.5, 15; Jer 1.4–10; Ez 2.2–5). These characteristics come as no surprise when one considers the Speaker and the content of the message imparted. For in these words it is God Himself who manifests His saving good pleasure toward man. This cannot but be informative with regard to the divine attitude; what is more, it does not leave the human condition or situation unaltered. When God manifests by a word His intent to save, this is of itself sufficient to put that intention into execution.

New Testament. Particularly in its Johannine corpus, the New Testament develops the details of the inter-personal context in which God's word was found in the Old (cf. Sir 24.5–16; Prv 8.22–30; 1 Cor 1.24). Connected with personality in the men to whom it is addressed and in its source, the Father, or ὁ θεός, that Word is now presented as personal in itself as well. For if it is by a word that God the Father fashioned the universe (Heb 11.3), this came about through the Son (Heb 1.2), who by His own word sustains it (Heb 1.3). Jesus is that preexisting Son (Jn 1.17–18), or Word (Jn 1.14), through whom all things were made (Jn 1.1–3). This Word does not begin when it is heard in time. Still its prior relation to the Father is a reality as far as man is concerned only because it is continued in an earthly utterance where the eternal Word of God is God's historical Word-to-man. If Yahweh's word through the Prophets was at once instructive, transformative, and salvific, so is the word of God's Word-made-flesh, who has all things in common with the Father (Mt 9.5–7; Mk 2.1–12; Lk 5.18–26; Jn 6.63;10.28; 11.25–26; 12.48–50; 14.6–7; 17.10; 1 Jn 1.1–4).

Subsequent Dogmatic and Theological Development. As the formulation of Christological doctrine took place in the postapostolic Church, a gradual but definite change of emphasis occurred. The transient interpersonalism of the New Testament (Theos—Word-madeflesh—men) was in no way denied; still, a great deal more attention was focused on the immanent relationship within the Godhead between Word and Theos. This did not happen without concomitant efforts on the part of apologists to link the origin of God's Word with the divine command effecting creation [see Justin, 1 Apologies 6; Patrologia Graeca, ed. J. P. Migne, 161 v. (Paris 1857–66) 6:453]. In the Arian controversy of the 4th century, as the condemnation issued by Nicaea I indicates (H. Denzinger, Enchiridion symbolorum, ed. A. Schönmetzer [32d ed. Freiburg 1963 126]), a central point of dispute was the pretemporal utterance of the Word. After the latter's oneness with the Father had been authentically expressed in terms of consubstantiality, their distinction was explained by the Cappadocians as arising from mutually opposed relations within the same Godhead [see Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 29.16; Patrologia Graeca, 36:96; Basil, Adversus Eunomium 2.9; Patrologia Graeca, 29:588].

In the scholastic theology of the Middle Ages, attempts were made to achieve a limited but real understanding of the faith professed in the Trinitarian dogma. That in knowledge and love human psychology provides natural analogues for the divine processions of Word and Spirit was accepted and seen as connected with the belief that man is the image of god (Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae 1a, 93.7). The procession of a mental word within the intelligence of man was likened to the utterance of the Word by the Father (Summa theologiae 1a, 27.2–4).

Contemporary Catholic theology has sought to place the doctrine of the Word in the context of salvation history more explicitly again by showing its continuity with God's word in the Old Testament. This has been done in studies taking the form of a phenomenology of the divine word to men. The result is a description of the conditions and implications noted in its historical utterance throughout the Scriptures [R. Latourelle, Théologie de la révélation (Bruges 1963)]. It has been pointed out that this perspective offers a clear point of contact with Trinitarian theology for the fact that it places within God's conscious life the origin of a word spoken to man in time [S. Moore, "The Word of God: Kerygma and Theorem, a Note," Heythrop Journal 5 (1964) 268–275].

There has taken place as well a renewal of interest in the question of consciousness within the Trinity. The latter is proposed as having a role to play in explaining the unique relation between the Word and His humanity. For a survey of a number of Catholic opinions, see P. De Letter, "The Theology of God's Self-Gift," Theological Studies, 24 (1963) 402–422.

Similarly, it has been suggested that belief in a Word and Spirit proceeding within the Deity should occasion a rethinking and further elaboration in the Christian's concept of God's perfection. To complement the notion of pure act realized in the divine essence, that of unity of order (constituted by the society of Divine Persons in their conscious giving and taking origin) is a necessity [see B. Lonergan, De Deo trino, v.2 (Rome 1964) 208–215].

See Also: filiation; generation of the word; logos; missions, divine; processions, trinitarian; trinity, holy articles on.

Bibliography: a. michel, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al., 15 v. (Paris 1903–50; Tables Générales 1951–) 15.2:2639–72. r. schnackenburg and c. huber, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65); suppl., Das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil: Dokumente und Kommentare, ed. h. s. brechter et al., pt. 1 (1966) 6:1122–28. g. kittel, Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament (Stuttgart 1935–) 4:126–140. o. cullmann, The Christology of the New Testament, tr. s. c. guthrie and c. a. m. hall (rev. ed. Philadelphia 1963). j. l. mckenzie, "The Word of God in the OT," Theological Studies, 21 (1960) 183–206.

[c. j. peter]