In Honor of the Triune God: One God, Three Persons

The Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost is dedicated to the Most Blessed Trinity. On this day, Holy Mass is offered in honor of God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity is presented on this day to us by Mother Church so that we might have some understanding of the Triune God. This mystery of the Triune God presents three distinct persons in one God yet sharing the same Divine Nature. Hmmm…confusing, but it is supposedly a basic doctrine of our Christian Faith; but is not one that makes for easy understanding. Still, we can somewhat get it if only we can put our small heads aside for just a bit and instead employ our hearts in trying to comprehend this immensity of God.

The scientific human mind cannot fathom this strange mathematics that argues for 3 being equal to 1; and yet, this is what we Christians believe!  Why? Because this mystery was quite clearly taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. It was very well articulated by the writers of the Gospels. It was thoroughly explained by the Church Fathers, and it was conclusively defined as a dogma of Christian Faith by the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople.

The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one in essence and three in person. This definition of the Triune God expresses a concept that reveals three crucial truths:

Truth 1: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons

Scripture identifies the distinct Persons as God. St. Paul refers to the Father as God (cf. Philippians 1:2), and to our savior the Lord Jesus Christ as God (Titus 2:13). St. Peter also refers to the Holy Spirit as God (cf. Acts 5:3-4). This means that God is one, but not solitary (CCC #254). In other words, the Bible teaches that there are three Divine Persons, sharing the same Divine Nature in one God. They are distinct persons as variously demonstrated by St. John. The Father sent the Son into the world (cf. John 3:16). Then the Son returned to the Father (John 16:10). And together, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (John 14:26 & Acts 2:33). It is unlikely then that they were the same person in these events – the Holy Spirit must be distinct from both the Father and the Son.

Still Not So Clear? OK.

Let us revisit the Baptism of the Lord Jesus in the Jordan. Here, the Father speaks from Heaven, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove, as the Son emerges from out of the water ( Mark 1:10 – 11). Again, three distinct persons! At the beginning of the Gospel of St. John, it is affirmed that the Lord Jesus was God, and at the same time, He was with God (John 1:1). This indicates that God the Son is a distinct Person from God the Father (John 1:18). However, St. John identifies that there is a close unity between them all even as they are distinct – one from the other (John 16:13-15). It is therefore clear that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. Whereas the Lord Jesus is God, He is neither the Father nor is He the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is God, but He is not the Son or the Father. They are different Persons, and not three different ways of looking at God.

Each Has His own Personhood

The personhood of each member of the Trinity necessitates that each Person has a distinct center of consciousness. In other words, they relate to each other personally, each regarding Himself as “I” while regarding the other separately as “You”. The Gospels also share with us the best evidence of the interaction between these distinct persons as they engage in a continuing dialogue between the Father and the Son as distinct centers of consciousness. On two occasions, a clear distinct voice apart from the Lord Jesus is heard (Matthew 3:17 & Matthew 17:5). The Lord Jesus speaks of the distinct works of the Father and Son (John 5:19 – 30). Since they are different Persons, the Lord Jesus prayed to God the Father without praying to Himself (John 11:41 – 42 & John 17:1 – 26).

God Does Not Play Three Roles!

It is easier to appreciate the Personhood of the Father and the Son while overlooking the Personhood of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this is that oftentimes, the Holy Spirit is presented as a force (Acts 8: 15 – 16); but the Holy Spirit is a He. The Lord Jesus identifies Him as the Advocate who teaches and reminds (John 14:26), who convicts (John 16:7 – 11), and guides to all truth (John 16:13). The fact is that the Holy Spirit is a Person, with qualities of personhood because He speaks (Hebrews 3:7), He reasons (Acts 15:28), He thinks, scrutinizes, and understands (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11), He feels (Ephesians 4:30), and He gives personal fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:13). Therefore, these are three real persons and not three roles that God plays. God always was and always will be three Persons. They are all eternal. They are all identical in attributes. They are equal in power, love, mercy, justice, holiness, knowledge, and in all other qualities.

Truth 2: Each Person is Fully God

It is incorrect to argue that if God is three Persons, then each Person constitutes “one-third” of God. The point is that the Holy Trinity cannot be divided into three parts. The Bible clearly presents all three Persons as each being one hundred percent God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all fully God (CCC #234). St. Paul writes to the Colossians teaching them about the Lord Jesus, saying, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (2:9).

Supreme Reality

The divine essence is fully in all three Persons (CCC #253 -256), and not divided into parts between them. The divine nature (the one divinity) is not shared between them. In fact, if any of the Persons is less than fully God, then He cannot be God at all because the being of each Person is equal to the whole being of God. Each of them is God whole and entire. None of them is a third of the being of God; each of them is all the being of God. Thus, we speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together in as much as we also speak of the Father alone, the Son alone, and the Holy Spirit alone. In other words, together they are not any greater being than each alone.

Truth 3: There Is Only One God

This truth is found first in the Old Testament. The Divine Nature was revealed (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4-5), emphasized (Deuteronomy 4:35), and declared as the first and the last (Isaiah 44:6). We are to learn that the Lord alone is God, besides whom there is no other god (Deuteronomy 32:39 & Isaiah 45:21-22). When Samuel was offered to God, his mother Hannah declared that there is no Holy One like the Lord, and no Rock like our God (1 Samuel 2:2). In the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon offers his prayer of petition asking that all peoples of the earth may know the Lord is God and there is no other (1 Kings 8:60).

So far, we have seen that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, and are each fully God. Nonetheless, there is only one God. This concludes that all three divine Persons are One and the same God. We therefore state that there is only one God who exists as three distinct Persons. In the commissioning of the disciples, the Lord Jesus commanded them to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).  It is noteworthy that each Person must be deity because the Lord Jesus places them on the same level. The Lord Jesus distinguishes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as distinct Persons. We, also, are baptized into the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit (note the singular form used – “Name”, not in the plural “names”). Thus, we recognize each Person as deity. There are three distinct Persons who constitute one Name because they share one essence.

Is It Important to Understand the Holy Trinity?

The quest to understand more fully the Nature of God is our way of honoring God. God is important. This alone is enough to make the Holy Trinity Important. Giving glory and honor to the Triune God deepens our worship of Him. We were created to worship God (Isaiah 43:21). We exist to worship God. God seeks people to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). We endeavor to deepen our worship of God — and do so both in truth and in our hearts. When we consciously know that we are relating to a tri-Personal God, we experience an enhanced fellowship with God. When we are aware of the distinct role that each Person of the Trinity has in our salvation, we feel a greater comfort and have a deeper appreciation for God. We enjoin the Holy Spirit in helping us to be specific in directing our prayers (Romans 8:16). Even as we recognize the distinct roles that each Person has, still we do not and must not think of their roles as so separate that we exclude the other Persons. We understand that everything that one Person is involved in, the other two are one way or another likewise involved in it.

Applying it in Daily Living

The general pattern of our prayer is to the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). All prayers in the Catholic Church begin in the Name of the Holy Trinity and end glorifying the Triune God. At the beginning and the end of every Mass, Rosary, Novena, Grace before and after meals, the Office, night prayer…we invoke the Triune God. At the beginning of the Gospel reading, we sign ourselves with the cross three times (forehead, lips, and chest) to remind ourselves that this is the Gospel of the Triune God, whom we love with our mind, body, and spirit.

With the Eucharistic Prayer, we come to the heart and summit of the celebration of the Mass (CCC #1352). We give thanks to the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit for all His works of creation, redemption, and sanctification. And the whole community joins in the unending praise that the Church in Heaven sings to the Triune God…. through Him, with Him and in Him… All Sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Anointing the Sick, Confession/Reconciliation, Holy Orders, and Matrimony) are administered in the name of the Holy Trinity. Our sacramentals (rosary beads, candles, salt, water) are blessed in the name of the Holy Trinity. We bless ourselves, our children, and our homes much as the priest also blesses us in the name of the Holy Trinity.

So it is that we pay our homage to three that testify in heaven – to the Father, the Son (Word that became flesh), and the Holy Spirit – for these three are ONE (1 John5:7-8).  As St. John teaches, if we accept human testimony, we must know the testimony of God is surely greater (1 John 5:9). The Lord God Himself has testified to the three persons in one as the only true God.