Understanding the Trinity
We cannot know God exhaustively, but we can know God accurately. Though the Bible does not reveal everything about God, what it does reveal is a true description of the living God. As the early church developed language to describe this mystery, it affirmed that the three persons of the Trinity were “consubstantial” with one another. This means that they are of the same essence and substance. They are the same kind of being and the same being. More than that, they are not merely a being as we are beings but the source of all being. No other creature is of the same substance and essence as God.
How exactly are the Son and Holy Spirit related to the Father? The language of the Trinity indicates that they are related differently in some way that is shrouded in mystery. They are not two “Sons” of the Father, nor two “Grandsons,” nor a “Son and a Daughter.” The names given by Jesus indicate some of the difference. Jesus is the Son of God. The third member of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. This differentiates the Trinity from a typical human family configuration. In addition, the scriptures use two different words to describe the relation between the Father, Son, and Spirit. John 3:16 calls Jesus the “only begotten Son” of God. What does the word “begotten” mean? It indicates a coming forth rather than creation or birth. The Son came from the Godhead in the beginning, before time, at the instigation of the Father. This did not make the Son a part of creation but was an act within the Godhead before time and creation.
Jesus himself gave us language to talk about the relationship between the Father and the Holy Spirit. When telling the disciples about the coming of the Spirit, he called him the “Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father” (John 15:26). This word, “proceeds,” also indicates a coming forth. The Spirit is not born or made as part of creation but came into being, from the Godhead, before time, space, and anything that exists.
There is a wonderful early Christian statement of belief called the Athanasian Creed. It affirms the unity and diversity of the Trinity while holding them together as one God. A section of the creed is printed below:
Now this is the catholic faith: That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal. And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being. So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.
Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God. Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord. Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.
Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords. The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone. The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten from the Father alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other. So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship their trinity in their unity and their unity in their trinity. Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity. (From the Athanasian Creed)