“Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God.”—John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church.
INTRODUCTION
A stumbling block in my conversion process was dealing with the concept of the Holy Trinity. As a Jew, a cornerstone of my minimal religious faith was the Sh’ma Yisrael, that God was One:
“שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָד – Sh’ma Yisra’el YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Eḥad” Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one. Deut. 6:4-9
The priest who was guiding my catechesis used the triangle, shown in the featured image, to clear up my confusion. As he explained it, the points of the triangle are distinct—as in three separate persons—but the triangle is one thing, God. That explanation satisfied me, and I used it myself when teaching RCIA and giving catechesis classes to inmates. And to enlighten me more, he used the following analogy: God the Father is God above us; God the Son is God beside us; God the Holy Spirit is God within us.
Since that time I thought of some scientific analogies for the Trinity: a proton composed of three quarks, the three Lewis resonance structures for the carbonate ion, the general quantum mechanical superposition of three states. (See here and here for those articles.) Nevertheless, even though analogies help us to picture the mystery, they don’t really explain it.
So, to understand the Trinitarian Dogma better, I’ve followed the suggestion of my spiritual director and looked at its history. As my good lady, an authority on Medieval history, is wont to say: “If you want to understand something, look at its history.” Fortunately, I didn’t have to do an extensive search. My spiritual director pointed out an article by Dr.Dale Tuggy that had much of what I needed to know.
What follows is a summary of Dr. Tuggy’s article, plus thoughts of my own.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE COMING OF JESUS
The coming of Jesus is foretold in the Old Testament, most notably in the Suffering Servant sections of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2 and also in Psalm 2, verse 7:
“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
The Holy Spirit, as the breath or emanation of God, is mentioned more frequently. Going to the original Hebrew we find the following. The Hebrew word for “spirit” is ruach, which also can mean breath or wind. In the Hebrew Old Testament it occurs a number of times, e.g Gen 1:2, “ruach Elohim .[breath of the Lord or wind of the Lord] hovering over the waters” and in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour out my ruach [spirit, wind, breath] on thy seed.” It is found in Psalm 104:30, “Thou sendest forth thy ruach, they are created and Thou renewest the face of the earth.” In conjunction with the modifier kodesh (holy, as from God) the phrase occurs in Psalm 51:11, ” . . . take not thy ruach kodesh [Holy Spirit] from me.” It is found twice in Isaiah 63.
However, nowhere in the Old Testament do we find the notion of another “person” being part of or equal to “God the Father.” That idea comes later.
JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Jesus calls Himself or is called the “son of God” in 26 verses in the New Testament (see here for the list). There are references in which He is God. For example,
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” John 14:9 (KJV)
And there are others in which He seems to declare that He is subordinate to God:
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.” John 14:28 (KJV)
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30 (KJV)
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Holy Spirit— the Advocate, the Paraclete—is there at the beginning, as the agent who conceives Jesus in Mary’s womb. At the Baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes again, in the form of the dove descending from heaven. Although there are many other New Testament references to the Holy Spirit (see here), the Gospel of John gives those most relevant:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. John 14:16 (KJV)
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. John 16:13-14 (KJV)
However, in these quotes the Holy Spirit is not depicted as God, but rather as an agent of God. As Dr. Tuggy observes, “The New Testament contains no explicit trinitarian doctrine.” Which is to say,
This traditional case for the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit [in the New Testament] may be best construed not as a collection of deductive arguments, but rather as an inference to the best explanation, an attempt to infer what best explains all the biblical texts considered together. Dale Tuggy, “History of Trinitarian Doctrines,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
If Scripture does not explicitly set forth the Trinitarian doctrine, whence did it come? As Tuggy argues, through Tradition, the teachings of the early Church.
TRINITARIAN DOGMA: THE EARLY CHURCH
In this section I will summarize Tuggy’s history of how the Trinitarian dogma grew in the early Church. Although Christ, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, were recognized early on, the notion of their divinity or coequality with God was not.
The terms we translate as “Trinity” (Latin: trinitas, Greek: trias) seem to have come into use only in the last two decades of the second century; but such usage doesn’t reflect trinitarian belief. These late second and third century authors use such terms not to refer to the one God, but rather to refer to the plurality of the one God, together with his Son (or Word) and his Spirit. Dale Tuggy, “History of Trinitarian Doctrine,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Among the Patristic Fathers, Origen and Tertullian held that Jesus and the Holy Spirit, although of the same substance of the Father, were less than the Father. (See Tuggy’s article for an interesting graphic of this thesis.)
TRINITARIAN DOGMA SET FORTH IN THE COUNCILS
The Trinity, the dogma as we know it, came to fruition in the First Council of Nicea (325 AD) and the Council of Constantinoplel (381 AD). These Councils met to combat the Arian Heresy, that Christ was not divine but created by God the Father at an earlier time. Christians battled in the streets of Constantinople over whether an “i” should be included in the description of Christ: homoousious (same substance) vs homoiousious (similar substance). In this case, the “i’s” didn’t have it. Christ, the Son was of the same substance as the Father, and equally divine, as was the Holy Spirit, in order to ensure man’s salvation:
… if Christ and/or the Holy Spirit were not in some sense “fully divine”, then humanity couldn’t be saved by their actions. loc. cit.
TRINITARIAN DOGMA: SAINTS GREGORY (NYASSA), AUGUSTINE, AQUINAS
St. Gregory of Nyssa developed the Trinitarian dogma further. There was one godhead, but three persons who, according to St. Gregory, acted jointly:
Rather does every operation which extends from God to creation… have its origin in the Father, proceed through the Son, and reach its completion by the Holy Spirit. For the action of each in any matter is not separate and individualized. But whatever occurs… occurs through the three Persons, and is not three separate things. St. Gregory of Nyssa, “On the Holy Trinity”
As did St. Gregory, St. Augustine emphasized the unity of the Trinitarian godhead, but also insisted on its triune nature:
[The true believer cannot say] that there are not three somethings [in the Trinity], because Sabellius fell into heresy by saying precisely that. St. Augustine of Hippo, “De Trinitate”
Although St. Thomas Aquinas held that God, as the prime source of being, was totally simple, “pure act” and without potentialities, there are still three distinct aspects of God in the Trinity. These aspects, which make the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit individuals, are the relationships between them. (If the two statements above seem hard to put together, welcome to the club!)
THE TRINITY IS A MYSTERY
Other theological discussions of the nature of the Trinity have been proposed, most notably by Duns Scotus, but I don’t believe they have contributed to a simple understanding of how one God can be three persons. As Catholics we believe in this Triune nature, but many of us (including me) accept it as mystery, a mystery which can be pictured by analogy. But analogies in the end are only a tool to help us get some idea of the nature, but not to comprehend totally what the mystery is all about.
If we accept, as I do, that understanding God completely is beyond us, then we have to accept also that the Triune nature of God is a mystery. As one comment to a previous article I wrote on the Trinity put it:
Leave the Holy Trinity alone. Latins must always attempt to explain the inexplicable and in the process dumb down a great mystery as well as showing irreverence for the God who is God and we who are not. Fr. Khouri
Well said, Fr. Khouri. I hope I have not shown irreverence by this article. Finally, please read Dr. Tuggy’s article for a more detailed account of how the Trinitarian Dogma came to be accepted.
10 thoughts on “The Trinity: <br> Can We Understand It?”
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The words, Blessed Trinity, name the Catholic doctrine that God exists as a unity of three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet there is only one God. Each Person, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is fully divine in nature, and is utterly distinct from the others, and yet is identical in essence.
The Blessed Trinity is a revealed Truth to us, and is an absolute mystery as to how that can be, for there is no such existence within creation.
God bless, C-Marie
Thanks Bob for the historical summary in your article and for your reply to my comment. The analogy to the transcendentals is not mine. I believe the answer to your question is that the operations of personality in God are singular and yet, actually fulfil the unity of being and substance. It is said that the existent Father in knowing himself generates the Son and their mutual love is the Holy Spirit. God is the only being whose raison d’être is fully within his own being and therein fully completes the existential acts of personality, namely, knowledge and love.
Some scriptures, appearing to support the existence of the Trinity.
On the prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah and His Names, and Who He will be:
“6For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.
7His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Isaiah 9: 6-7.
On Jesus and the Father are One, as declared by Jesus:
“27My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me. 28And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand. 29That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father. 30I and the Father are one.”
John 10: 30.
On Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus, and we are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us.
“”20And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me; 21That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as we also are one: 23I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that ethou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me. 24Father, I will that where I am, they also whom thou hast given me may be with me; that they may see my glory which thou hast given me, because thou hast loved me before the creation of the world.
25Just Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee: and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26And I have made known thy name to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17: 20-25,
Also, On Jesus is in us and we are in Him, when we are His and He is ours:
“1I AM the true vine; and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me, that beareth not fruit, he will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, he will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now you are clean by reason of the word, which I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. 6If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you. 8In this is my Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become my disciples. 9As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in his love. 11These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled.” John 15: 1-11.
On the Holy Spirit:
“12I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you. 14He shall glorify me; because he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it to you. 15All things whatsoever the Father hath, are mine. Therefore I said, that he shall receive of mine, and shew it to you.” John 16: 12-15.
On Jesus telling us to go the the Father firectly in His Name:
“25These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh, when I will no more speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father. 26In that day you shall ask in my name; and I say not to you, that I will ask the Father for you: 27For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and I go to the Father.”
John 16, 25-28.
God bless, C-Marie
The Father composes, the Son conducts and the Music goes out.
I love that analogy!
Another analogy to the Blessed Trinity is that of the transcendentals: the existent, the true, and the good. In created things, these are three logical distinctions, identifying a single substance. In God, the one act of existence, knowledge, and love requires three persons in one substance.
Thanks Bob, a nice analogy. Do you attribute those qualities singly to each of the persons of the Trinity, or does each have them all?
Hello Bob Kurland,
I just wanted to congratulate you on this excellent article. The trinity is a difficult subject to understand. I remember as a child it being compared to a clover leaf.
I had a kind of humorous experience last year that we both remember. I first began submitting articles to Catholic Stand last year in March. On my second article, I had just read a book that I thought contradicted the Catholic Faith. I thought about it for a while and decided to write my second submission about the book.
So I got my notes out, searched The Internet and put together my infamous article “A Christian Rebuttal to Darwinian Evolution.” I was shocked at its reception. What a mess I got myself into. How could I stumble into such a controversy? I wished I had never brought the subject up. My two daughters advised me to quit writing to this site. Many readers criticized me ranging from everyday readers to two highly educated PhDs, like yourself and Bob Drury.
I lost sleep over it, but thought I should not quit after my second article, and the Church has always affirmed that Scripture is the word of God. So I posted my third article with the same title.
I mention this because we all display something within our own minds akin to The Trinity, I am nothing more than a single person, but my mind kind of operates sometimes along three avenues.
I want to do something. I finally get around to doing it; I then evaluate what I did, and maybe regret it or am happy with it. Similar to the Father‘s will, the Son does the action, and the Holy Spirit evaluates and loves what was done.
I think those three aspects come into play every time we decide to do something.
Anyway, your article is very good. I applaud you for it. I hope there are no hard feelings between us.
Maurice A. Williams
Thanks for your kind words, Mr. Williams. Nope, no hard feelings between us. As Voltaire [may have] said, “I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Disagreement is the fertilizer for the plant of understanding.