The Holy Trinity – Part One

God in three persons; blessed Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

When contemplating the science of Divinity, we must hold certain truths in tandem:

1. The solution to the seeming consistency problem of “God in three-as One” depends on One’s background logic and general ontology. And the same solution would apply if said person resolves that the problem is impossible to solve.

2. An individual willing to comprehend must acquaint himself with the requisite vocabulary that is above the generic and simple, as all sciences have their words, and certain terminologies though complex have been deemed more suitable to explain Divine things.

3. Absolute comprehension of the Nature and Essence of God is impossible, and a heart should be declared haughty and proud if it believes it can hold all there is to the subject. For the Creator is maximally great, and though humanity is generously gifted with wisdom, total comprehension of man’s Maker is implausible. Hence, where comprehension ends, awe and trembling must begin.

Fundamentally, the chief error one is often faced with while contemplating Divinity is conflating the Creator with the Created. As such, attempts, sincere or not, have been made over the centuries to describe the nature of God using the things which are seen. But as we reckon God to be above all things, we must hold that all that is truly said of Him, as concerning His nature, cannot be understood in the mode of the lowest creatures (living or non-living).

At best, such comparisons serve only for metaphorical understanding. For as a brave man is farthest from being a Lion in nature even if his attributes grant him the metaphorical description, so also is the Lord exceedingly far and above every metaphor ascribed to Him from mere observation of His creation.

The visible creation can/does give snippets of the character of God and serves as a pointer to His existence and eternal power, for which the Psalmist declares;

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.”

Psalms 19:1-4 NLT

And the Apostle Paul corroborates;

Romans 1:20 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],

But as to matters of knowledge of His Divine Nature and Essence, God is apart from His creation, in that He is infinitely above all things. For all things came to exist by Him, yet He is self-subsistent in Himself (Col. 1:16)

Now, to the heart of the matter;

IS THERE IS ONE GOD?

Christian doctrine holds that there is One God- infinite divine and supreme Being. Scriptures are replete with evidences of this claim, but let us examine one of the clearest.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

There are many who hold that this verse stands in contrast with the reality of the Trinity. On the contrary, claiming God in three persons does not multiply the essence of Godhood ontologically i.e it does not allude or make claim that there are three Gods. That is polytheism, and Christianity is monotheistic, but Trinitarian.

The word “One” highlighted in the verse above is the Hebrew word “echâd” meaning “unity – many yet undivided.”

To quote Thomas Aquinas, “One which is the principle of number is not predicated of God, but only of material things. For “one” the principle of number belongs to the “genus” of mathematics, which are material in being, and abstracted from matter only in idea. But “one” which is convertible with being is a metaphysical entity and does not depend on matter in its being.”

Hence, “One” in that verse, is not merely an expression of mathematical numbering which only applies to material form exclusive to this frame of reference, but is of metaphysical description, seeing we aim to comprehend an immaterial unseen entity.

The Baptist Confession of Faith(1689) holds that in this Divine and infinite Being, there are three subsistences.

Side note: Subsistence is that perfect state of being whereby a nature is complete and uncommunicated. Therefore, something subsists when it has being and operation through itself, not through union with any other. And as applied to our God, He is self-sufficient for existence and activity. He sustains all things and yet is sustained by none (Psalms 50:10-12, Acts 17: 24-25, Isaiah 42:5)

Following this definition, there are three subsistences – the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, all of One substance, power and eternity, Co-eternal and Co-equal. The same full and eternal divine essence in the Father, is also in the Son, and in the Spirit, and yet the essence is undivided. Such there are not three essences, but One essence, hence there is One God. God in three persons; blessed Trinity. Amen.

These three Persons are three distinct real entities and not one person playing three roles. Absolutely not, for these three entities are subsistences. Thus, implying that God ‘manifested Himself’ as the Son or the Spirit is not accurate. The Son is not a manifestation of God. The Son is God. The Spirit is not a manifestation of God. The Spirit is God. God is not manifested in three ways. He is One God, in three persons, blessed Trinity.

To imply that God manifests Himself as Son or Spirit at one point is to ascribe mutability(tendency to change) to the divine essence, but God does not/will never change.

The error could be stretched, and has already been, to mean the Son did not come to be until the time of incarnation when God designed to ‘manifest’ Himself as the Son. That would mean that the Person of the Son is a manifestation that only came to be in the incarnation. To this line of thought, some have stretched on to even claim that the Son was created in the beginning. To hold this thought is to find oneself in the clutches of error of Arianism.

John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

Scriptures testify of an eternally begotten state rather than an ad hoc(impromptu) manifestation.

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

The Apostle clearly states that He (Jesus Christ) was the only begotten Son of God and was then sent into the world. Hence, pointing to the rock of truth that He infact existed as the Son before time. And if He existed as the Son before time, then He is eternally begotten. For there is no time in eternity where He is not the Son of God, because He has no beginning and no end, for He is God Himself, of the same essence and divine substance.

1 John 5:20 And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true–in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal.

In light of this, Christian doctrine holds in accordance to the Nicene and Athanasian creed, that the Father is neither made nor created, and is begotten by no one. The Son is neither made nor created, and is eternally begotten of the Father. The Spirit is neither made nor created, but proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son.

And the Spirit does not proceed in the sense of an effect from its cause, as with heat from fire or cold from ice. Nor is the begetting of the Son to be understood in the context of lowly creatures, for He also claimed to have proceeded from the Father at one time;

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me and respect Me and welcome Me gladly, for I proceeded (came forth) from God [out of His very presence]. I did not even come on My own authority or of My own accord (as self-appointed); but He sent Me.

To this misunderstanding, Arianism claims the Son to be a primary creature of the Father, and the Holy Spirit a primary creature of both. But as Thomas Aquinas counters, “In this sense neither the Son nor the Holy Ghost would be true God.”

For the Son and the Spirit are self-subsistent, uncreated and unmade, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father. And these three have their relationship from eternity not time, distinct not identical, yet One and undivided in essence. Therefore, our earthly idea of begetting and proceeding must be set aside when we consider the eternal existence of the Persons of the Godhead.

There is no posteriority(not one came before the other); each Person is coeternal. There is no inferiority as each Person is co-equal. We creatures cannot comprehend the Creator based on the context of our own limited existence. It is quite difficult to grasp because time often has a place in our definitions and explanations. But as countlessly stated, God is not His creation. He is above all.

Whatever subservience the Son shows towards the Father is not a reflection of disparity in power, nature or essence. For subservience in role differs from subservience in essence.

Hence, the Son says;

John 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

For the Father dictates to the Son, and the Father and Son send the Spirit. The greatness described here is in terms of role, which is clearly seen within the context of salvation. Subservience in role does not in any way strip the divine essence from the Son and the Spirit, nor diminish their essential equality with the Father.

So, the view that the persons in the Trinity are simply appearances of one divine person is false. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father, but they are distinct persons yet undivided in essence -One God. The acknowledgment of their individual subsistence is a rejection of the error of modalism. Further defense of the deity of the Son and the Spirit will be given at the second publication. Stay tuned.

As to the reality of the Trinity, here are some verses that testify of them;

Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends on Him, and the Father speaks from Heaven declaring Him to be His Son.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Psalms 110:1-2 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

David sees two distinct Persons, and hears the promise of the Third being sent out, which becomes fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

It is my earnest prayer that this short article has afforded you more understanding on the topic of the Trinity. Do share with fellow believers who you perceive struggle with the subject. Questions are always welcome. Stay tuned for the second part. Praise be to God alone. Amen.

Materials studied;

The Summa Theologica by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Sam Waldron’s exposition on “The Doctrine of the Trinity” as stated by the Baptist confession of Faith (1689)

Till next time. Shalom.