While Jesus and the Father are both God, they are different Persons. But all three Divine Persons can be called “Creator,” “Wisdom” and “Love.” The only action of God that is truly unique is that it is only God the Son who became man. And water can have different forms: solid, liquid or gas. 'triad', from Latin: trinus "threefold") holds that God is one God, but three coeternal and consubstantial persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. And we say the same about God the Father and God the Son. The Bible instructs believers to examine themselves, but does it tell us to what extent or how often we should question our salvation? And water can have different forms: solid, liquid or gas. 1015 ESE Loop 323 Tyler, Texas 75701-9663, Diocese of Tyler Bishop Strickland Departments Book a Speaker! One, God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. N. Nathan P Member. This is called the. It is crucial for properly understanding what God is like, how he relates to us, and how we should relate to him. However, the doctrine of the Godhead (Trinity) is without questions revealed in God's word. I have also seen the analogy of musical chords. The doctrine of the holy trinity holds that God is one God, but three coeternal consubstantial persons or hypostases. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. They are equal in power, love, mercy, justice, holiness, knowledge, and all other qualities. In our material existence, the concept that God is One God, yet exists as three distinct persons, is foreign to us. For one, they held that all matter is evil while spiritual things are good. We’re on a mission to change that. This one person manifested himself to the world in three different modes. Unlike dogs, by our nature, we have the ability to reflect on why we experience suffering. These truths should inspire us to never stop studying and growing in our understanding of all God has revealed. This Supreme Being has one divine nature and this nature is fully possessed by three Divine Persons. https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/the-trinity-a-bible-study Matt Perman is the director of career navigation at. . For further reading, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 234, 237, 253-256. The Holy Spirit is God, but he is not the Son or the Father. We know some of the attributes of the divine nature through revelation. There are many illustrations which have been offered to help us understand the Trinity. Nonetheless, while recognizing the distinct roles that each Person has, we should never think of their roles as so separate that the other Persons are not involved. But it is not an accurate explanation of the Triune God because it portrays Modalism. 253 The Trinity is One. Our fellowship with God should be enhanced by consciously knowing that we are relating to a tri-personal God! When we consider the “nature” of humans and other earthly creatures, such as dogs, our lived experiences help us to imagine the possibilities and limitations. Awareness of the distinct role that each Person of the Trinity has in our salvation can especially serve to give us greater comfort and appreciation for God in our prayers, as well as helping us to be specific in directing our prayers. Sometimes the Spirit is treated more like a “force” than a Person. The E note lacks the sound the D note has. It is very simple: All three Persons are one God because, as we saw above, they are all the same essence. When discussing the doctrine of the Trinity, we are immediately confronted with the fact that it is a doctrine clouded in mystery. Thus, we are not speaking with a forked tongue — we are not saying that God is one and then denying that he is one by saying that he is three. (If you feel this way, you are not alone!) Thus, Jesus prayed to God the Father without praying to himself. So how does all this pan out in real life? This is called the principle of appropriation. As the Catholic author Frank Sheed wrote in his book Theology and Sanity, “Love of God is immeasurably more important than knowledge of God; but if a man loves God knowing a little about Him, he should love God more for knowing more about him: for every new thing known about God is a new reason for loving him” (p. 29). The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I mentioned the analogy of a woman who had three different roles earlier: she is a wife, mother and teacher. It is very challenging and often overwhelming to try to contemplate what has been revealed about God. As all orthodox Christians agree, the doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one essence but three Persons; God has one nature, but three centers of consciousness; God is only one What, but three Whos. But how does it show us why there is only one God instead of three? You take the chords C, E and D: each is a distinct note but when you hit them all at the same time you have one chord whose sound is far richer than each note alone. A “nature” tells us what actions and attributes are possible for a being. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit. They taught he was merely a human person and, at Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River, God adopted him and gave him extraordinary powers. As an example, God the Father is often referred to as the Creator, God the Son is called Wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is called Love. The late theologian Herman Bavinck has stated something very helpful at this point: “The persons are modes of existence within the being; accordingly, the Persons differ among themselves as the one mode of existence differs from the other, and — using a common illustration — as the open palm differs from a closed fist” (Bavinck, The Doctrine of God [Banner of Truth Trust, 1991], page 303). The answer must be no, because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. However, Jesus was not equal to God the Father in this heresy. God is one in essence, three in Person. That is the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. This is the revelation that our Almighty Creator is one God in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This should make it clear why it is so important to understand that all three Persons are the same essence. We exist to worship God. How is God one? As I said in the beginning, the doctrine of the Holy trinity is plain in Scripture, as it shows that Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are Members of the one Godhead, each being a different personage while still being one. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we are taught that the central mystery of the faith, the fundamental and essential teaching of Christianity, is the doctrine of the Trinity (234). The Father did not become the Son and then the Holy Spirit. The three Persons are distinct, yet only constitute one name. ( essence ) and three in Persons one, undivided being there is one in essence and,... God instead of three alone we worship are all placed on the actions it could take but acts on.... A time when one of the Trinity has a distinct center of consciousness ), Arianism ( 300... Does not divide God into three personal distinctions are modes of existence within the divine Persons therefore it not. 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