About trinity in Christianity

[Samael_Khan]

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Awesome. Thanks!

 

[Niblo]

That would be great. Sorry about you having to shopping against your will. Hope you survive. Take care.

Hello again (I survived!)

Here we go:

The Fourth Lateran Council declared: ‘We firmly believe and simply confess that there is only one true God, eternal and immeasurable, almighty, unchangeable, incomprehensible and ineffable, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons but one absolutely simple essence, substance or nature.’ (Constitutions: 1. Confession of Faith).

The Church teaches that in the Godhead (the one Divine Essence) the Father is entirely within the Son and entirely within the Holy Spirit; that the Son is entirely within the Father and entirely within the Holy Spirit; and that the Holy Spirit is entirely within the Father and entirely within the Son. In other words, the three Persons form a single unity, indivisible and permanent. They are not three persons standing side by side, so to speak.

Dr Ludwig Ott writes:

‘The Divine Persons, not the Divine Nature, are the subject of the Internal Divine processions (in the active and in the passive sense)…..The Second Divine Person proceeds from the First Divine Person by Generation, and therefore is related to Him as Son to a Father……The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and from the Son as from a Single Principle through a Single Spiration.’ (‘Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma’).

God the Father knows Himself, and by so doing produces (generates) the perfect image of Himself; an image that is identical in nature with Him. This is the Son.

Scripture – and Church Tradition – speak of only one ‘Begotten Son’ of God; therefore, generation and filiation cannot be applied to the Holy Spirit. He is said to proceed from both the Father and the Son out the love they have for each other. This is what is meant by ‘Spiration’.

Generation is perceived as an act of intellect. Spiration as an act of will (the will to love). According to the Church, the intellect – out of which the Son is generated, and the will – out of which the Holy Spirit proceeds – are ‘virtually different in God.’

Ott writes:

'The distinction between the active generation and the active spiration is neither real (there is no contrast of relation: Denzinger 703) nor merely logical (the Holy Ghost is not generated: Denzinger 39) but a virtual distinction such as exists between the Divine Knowing and the Divine Willing’ (‘Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma’).

Make of that what you will.

The Church teaches that God does not have a body. He is spirit: ‘Every corporeal thing, being extended, is compound and has parts. But God is not compound: therefore He is not anything corporeal. With this demonstrated truth divine authority also agrees. For it is said: God is a spirit (John 4:24): To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, only God (1 Tim. 1:17): The invisible things of God are understood and discerned by the things that are made (Rom. 1:29).’ (Aquinas: Summa Contra Gentiles - Chapter 20).

This rules out the notion that God sits on a throne. Biblical statements to this effect are metaphorical, and serve to express His absolute sovereignty.

The Church teaches that God is Almighty; the Lord of the heavens and of the earth; that He is the sole Creator of all that exists; and that He is everywhere present in created space. His Omnipresence is necessary because He is not only the creator of all things, He is also their sustainer. The act of creation wasn’t a one-off event in some far distant past. It is an ongoing process of development and renewal (of evolution, if you like).

The Church also teaches: that God is absolutely perfect (decreed by the First Vatican Council); that He is actually infinite in every perfection (First Vatican Council); that He is absolutely simple (4th Lateran Council and the First Vatican Council); that there is only one God (The Nicene Constantinople Symbol declares: ‘I believe in one God); that He is absolute veracity (First Vatican Council); that He is absolutely faithful and absolutely benign; that He is absolute moral goodness or holiness; that He is eternal (4th Lateran Council and the First Vatican Council);

The Church teaches that God is absolutely immutable: ‘We firmly believe and simply confess that there is only one true God, eternal and immeasurable, almighty, unchangeable……’ (Fourth Lateran Council: Constitution 1. Confession of Faith); and again: ‘First, then, the holy Roman church, founded on the words of our Lord and Saviour, firmly believes, professes and preaches one true God, almighty, immutable and eternal.’ (The Council of Basel: Session 114).

By ‘absolutely immutable’ is meant that in God there can be no change whatsoever. Aquinas bases the absolute immutability of God on His absolute simplicity (a Spirit, having no parts); on His pure actuality (He has no potential for change); and on His infinite perfection. According to Aquinas, mutability includes potentiality, composition and imperfection and as such is irreconcilable with God as ‘actus purus’ (the absolutely simple, absolutely perfect Essence). (cf. Summa Theologica: Part 1; Question 9; Article 1).

Have a great day!