For Torrance, Trinity and Christology are inseparable: the homoousion of the Son with the Father and with us is the ontological center of both doctrines, and all soteriology flows from this.[1][2]
## Trinity
– Primacy of the Trinity: The doctrine of the Trinity is the “ground and grammar” of all theology; God must be known from the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit, and never as a non‑Trinitarian “god in general.”[3][4]
– One being, three persons: Following Nicene–Constantinopolitan faith, Torrance insists on one being (ousia) of God in three hypostases, stressing their dynamic communion rather than abstract substance.[2][1]
– Perichoretic, relational persons: The divine persons exist only in relation to one another in mutual indwelling (perichoresis); there is distinction without separation, which guards against both modalism and tritheism.[2][3]
## Christology
– Double homoousion: Christ is of one being with the Father and of one being with us, so the incarnation unites divine and human natures in one person in a way that is intrinsically saving.[5][2]
– Ontological/“incarnational” atonement: Because of the hypostatic union, the cross and resurrection work “from inside” our fallen condition, cleansing, judging, and renewing human nature itself, not merely changing our legal status.[6][2]
– Vicarious humanity: Throughout his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus lives our human response to God for us—faith, obedience, repentance, worship—so that union with Christ and participation in his response are the basis of salvation.[7][8][6]
## Trinity–Christology connection
– Economic and immanent Trinity: The incarnate Son and his vicarious humanity are the definitive revelation of who the Triune God eternally is; there is no gap between the Trinity revealed in salvation history and the Trinity in itself.[3][2]
– Trinitarian soteriology: Salvation is communion with the Triune God, accomplished by the incarnate Son in the Spirit and given as participation in Christ’s relationship to the Father.[9][10][6]
If you’d like, I can map this against, say, Athanasius/Cappadocians, Barth, or Reformed scholasticism in a brief comparison table for classroom use.
Sources
[1] The Christian Doctrine of God, One Being Three Persons https://www.barnesandnoble.
[2] T.F. Torrance: The Trinitarian Faith – mercyuponall.org https://www.mercyuponall.org/
[3] Torrance: the doctrine of the Trinity – The Surprising God https://thesurprisinggodblog.
[4] Neither Progress nor Regress: The Theological Substructure of T. F. … https://onlinelibrary.wiley.
[5] The Trinitarian Faith: The Evangelical Theology of the Ancient … https://www.
[6] T.F. Torrance: Union with Christ through the Communion of the Spirit http://www.scielo.org.za/
[7] T.F. Torrance: The Vicarious Humanity of Jesus Christ, pt. 10 http://martinmdavis.blogspot.
[8] Torrance: Christ’s vicarious humanity – The Surprising God https://thesurprisinggodblog.
[9] Communion with the Triune God: The Trinitarian Soteriology of TF … https://www.jstor.org/stable/
[10] [PDF] THE TRINITARIAN SOTERIOLOGY OF THOMAS F. TORRANCE A … https://pure.manchester.ac.uk/
[11] The Centrality of Christ in the Theology of Thomas F. Torrance https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/
[12] The Trinitarian Theology of Thomas F. Torrance with Dr. Paul Molnar
[13] TF Torrance and Reformed-Orthodox Dialogue https://orthodoxbridge.com/
[14] The Christian Doctrine of God, One Being Three Persons https://www.logos.com/product/
[15] What is the Vicarious Humanity of Christ? (T. F. Torrance) – YouTube
