Stiff-necked Rejection of the Trinity

What does it mean to be stiff-necked? I have come across this phrase in Scripture recently and wanted to know more about it. The place I read it first was in Acts 7, but it occurs often throughout the Old Testament to describe God’s people in rebellion. So why does Stephen call the Jewish leaders this in Acts 7 and why does that lead them to kill him?

On the surface, it describes someone who is unwilling to be led, stubborn, and indignant against authority. The Israelites were called this when they rejected the prophets’ words from God and when they resisted the prompting of God to repent from their sin. Stephen calls the high priest and the council this in Acts 7 and is killed for it. Stiff-necked is a term that never has a positive usage in the Bible. Stephen was telling them that they were not listening to God and were rejecting God. Stephen drew a line in the sand, and forced them to respond. They chose to be stiff-necked and resistant to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This they did just as their fathers had done to the prophets in times past.

On a deeper level, to be stiff-necked is to be anti-Trinitarian. This is not at first obvious, but I believe can be seen in Acts 7 through Stephen’s sermon. To be stiff-necked is to deny true orthodoxy.

In Stephen’s defense before the council, he systematically summarizes the Old Testament. He works his way from the choosing of Abraham down to Solomon. It seems to be a tame summary of the Old Testament and seems to be going well, but then he changes course in verse 48.

“Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’”

Stephen quotes Isaiah 66 to show how the Jews had completely missed the point. They had the same history as the Christians, but had made a wrong turn at Jesus. They took a right, when they should have gone left. They juked, when they should have jived. They missed it. Ultimately, God was not concerned with earthly buildings and earthly practices, but instead was concerned with the Righteous One, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus. The Jews were so caught up in the buildings, the practices and the culture that they missed the pinnacle of all of history.

When I first read this text, it seemed to be a small disagreement between Stephen and the Jews. It does not seem like the events that followed were the natural consequence of this sermon. However, Stephen was calling them ‘their fathers’ which was an indictment that they were rebellious men who knew not God. This was a serious claim and not something small to call the most religious, pious men of their day.

Stephen is about to get murdered for professing this message; Jesus is the point of your Law. He is the Word of God. He is God. He is the beginning of the time of the Holy Spirit. He is the beginning of this new covenant. He is the propitiation for the sins of the people. He is the fulfillment of the Law. He is the end of the Law as they knew it. The Jews did not believe this though and were forced to kill him for this fundamental disagreement about who God is.

So how is Stephen's understanding of God Trinitarian? In the Old Testament, the usage of 'stiff-necked' meant that one had rejected the words of God from the prophet. John, in his gospel, calls Jesus Christ the Word of God. So there is no longer a need for new prophets because Jesus has come as the final, full prophet of God the Father. However, Stephen says that they are stiff-necked because they have resisted the Holy Spirit, not because they have resisted the Word of God. Is this so different though? He goes on to declare that they have not accepted Jesus, the Righteous One. I believe this all points to Stephen's implicit understanding of the Trinity in this text. I also believe that this is why the Jews killed him. They did not believe that Jesus Christ was divine nor was he the Messiah sent from God. 

The Jews are resisting the Spirit. They are resisting the Word of God. They are resisting God the Father himself. 

This is how we know whether we are of the faith or not. Do we glorify God the Father? Do we profess Jesus as the Christ? Do we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit? Are we Trinitarian in our understanding of God?

So, what does it mean to be stiff-necked? Stiff-necked people do not respond to the Holy Spirit. Stiff-necked people reject the Word of God. Stiff-necked people do not believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Stiff-necked people do not believe that God has made a way for us in his Son Jesus Christ. Ultimately, to be stiff-necked is to reject that God is Trinitarian in His nature. To be stiff-necked is to have a false understanding of who God is and who man is.

May we not be stiff-necked but instead be repentant. May we respond to God the Father, to God the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. When this belief has not been present in church history, the church does not thrive. We must hold fast to this message of the Trinity as proclaimed by the Apostles.

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Hebrews 2:1