The Trinity
Catechism 232-267; 1702, 2205
Outline
1. Structure in Nature
2. Structure in God; the Trinity
3. Persons of the Trinity
4. Scripture and Tradition
5. Scripture Support
6. Nature and Person
7. Relationships
8. Jesus Christ
1. Structure in Nature
Everything
has structure or parts
A
point of light in the sky is due to a Galaxy
Magnify it and see stars, then
planets
Biology:
animal-organ-tissue-cell
Molecule-atom-nucleon
(e.g. proton)-quark
Science
studies structure of the material world
Scientists
are always surprised at nature of structure
Theology
studies structure of spiritual realm
Question
- is there structure in God?
Only
Christianity says yes, and it is triadic
2. Structure in God; the Trinity
Highest
level - God is one entity
Next
level - God is three persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Next
level - Christ has two natures - divine and human
Father and Holy Spirit have one nature -
divine
Nature
answers the question - what?,
person answers
the question - who?
Relationships
- what are they?
Nature vs
person and between persons
Between nature-person and world
God Is creator of the world
Jesus is redeemer of people in the world
We
can not understand the Trinity
But we can try our best to clarify it in
our minds
3. Persons of the Trinity
Father,
Son and Holy Spirit
Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier.
Three
persons in one God
All having the same divine nature .
All
three persons are co-eternal
and co-equal to each other
Some
explain the Holy Spirit as being the
eternal, abiding
love between
the Father and
the Son
These
three Persons form a community
4. Scripture and Tradition
Two
sources of our beliefs: Scripture and
Tradition
The
doctrine of the Trinity is not really clear in Scripture
The
Fathers of the Church discussed it
Many
heresies developed and the Church decided
Arius claimed that
the Son is similar to (homoiousios)
the Father in
nature
Nestorius claimed that there are two persons in Christ,
so Mary is not
the mother of God
Monophysites
accept only one nature in Christ.
Early
General or Ecumenical Councils decided:
theotokos) Mary can truly be called the mother of God
divine and
human
5. Scripture Support
We
Baptize in the Name of the Father, of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit Mt 29:19
Jesus
Said: "I and the Father are one"
Jesus
Said: “When I leave I will send the
Paraclete, the
Holy Spirit”
“As
the Father sent Me so I also send you“
Jesus
used the word abba for the Father
An aramaic
term of endearment 'Daddy'
He
who sees me has seen the Father
The
Father is in me and I
am in the Father
A
voice from heaven at Jesus' Baptism said
This is my beloved Son
6. Nature and Person
Nature
answers question what?,
person-who?
Divine
Nature: eternal - all powerful immutable
- all holy -
creator
Human
Nature: mortal - weak
Person
- distinctions among members
1.
Father 2. Son 3.
Holy Spirit
Father
creates, Son redeems, Holy Spirit sanctifies
These
are missions or appropriations
but all three
persons actually act together
7. Relationships
The
Trinity is a community of persons
There
are external relationships of God with the world,
and in
particular with human beings
Both
Old and New Testaments recount this
God spoke to: Abraham, Moses, Prophets, Paul
There are dynamic internal relationships
which constitute essence of the Trinity
Dynamic means continual movement and life
The Son proceeds from the Father, the Holy Spirit
proceeds from both the Father and the Son
All
three are eternal, i.e. they always existed
The
Father and the Son love each other,
the Holy Spirit
has been called the eternal, abiding
Love between the Father and the Son
8. Jesus Christ
All
Three Persons have a divine nature
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is the only
person with a human nature
Jesus
Is both true God and true Man
Mary
Is truly the Mother of God
These
facts were decided by early Church Councils:
and
The
Creeds make these beliefs very clear
CPPoole,