Steven M. Studebaker is Assistant Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at McMaster Divinity College. He holds an M.A. in Christian Thought from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a Ph.D. from Marquette University. His research interests are in the areas of the Trinity, Christology, pneumatology, and redemption. He is ordained with the Assemblies of God.
The Trinity played a significant role in Jonathan Edwards’ theology. But what was the nature of his trinitarian theology? A common view among Edwards scholars is that he embraced the dialectical psychological and social models of the Trinity. This study suggests that Edwards consistently used one model of the Trinity—the Augustinian mutual love model. Edwards uses the mutual love model to portray the loving relationships among the divine persons and in doing so stands in continuity with other early-Enlightenment apologists for traditional trinitarianism.