The Holy Trinity FATHER SON SPIRIT GOD Three Persons, One God

Triune God Three “Persons” / One God God, the Father Same substance or essence consubstantial Distinct “persons” communion of persons God, the Father Creator, source of life God, the Son, Jesus Savior, Redeemer of humankind God, the Spirit Sanctifier, makes us holy

One God “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Shema, Deut: 6:4) “Which is the first of all commandments?” Jesus replies “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God…” (Mk. 12:28-30) “I believe in one God…” Apostles Creed Nicene Creed

Creed Statement of belief Apostles Creed Nicene Creed Comes from the apostles Nicene Creed Revised and proclaimed at the Council of Nicea Expanded the statements in the Apostles Creed Response to heresy The deliberate contradiction of the teaching of the Church Person who claims or teaches a heresy is a heretic

God, the Father We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, Maker of all that is, seen and unseen.

God the Father Eternal source of all that exists All powerful Visible and invisible All powerful Desires a loving relationship with His creation Jesus reveals God Filial Invites us to call God “father” also, making us adopted sons and daughters. Intimate Complete knowledge of God the Father God has no gender Neither male nor female

God, the Son We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: and conceived by the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

God the Son Assumed a human nature for our salvation To save us by reconciling us with God To share His divine love with us To model holiness for us Enable us to share in His divine nature Jesus is truly God, Jesus is truly human “Hypostatic Union” Jesus is THE Christ

God the Holy Spirit We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

God, the Holy Spirit Active since the time of creation Promised by the Son Helps, empowers and strengthens us for holiness Fully revealed at Pentecost

The Trinity Revealed in Scripture Creation Story “a mighty wind swept over the waters Blew into his nostrils the breath of life Luke 10: 21 “he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” John 14:9 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father John 17: 11 “…so that may be one as we are one” Matthew 28:19 Go baptize…In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit The Trinity Revealed in Scripture

The Church, God Visible to Us We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

The Church is Trinitarian Trinitarianism Belief that God is three persons Confusing and mysterious Monotheistic and Trinitarian? Who are the three persons? Are they a unit or united? Are they different from each other? The central mystery of our faith It can only be revealed fully to us by God It is a dogma of our faith

Doctrine Dogma A doctrine is an official teaching of the church. A dogma is a doctrine that is central to our faith. A dogma is a doctrine; a doctrine is not always a dogma

Why did it develop? To articulate the doctrine of the Trinity Formulate words that correctly expressed the Church’s doctrine As a response to challenges to the faith Several heresies and wrong ideas about Jesus had begun to appear and they needed to be addressed

Early Christological Heresies Jesus is only human Arianism: Arius claimed Jesus was a higher form of human but not divine and not pre-existent Nestorianism Nestorius claimed Jesus was two different persons, one human, one divine Mary is NOT the Mother of God Jesus is only divine Docetism Jesus was disguised as a human. “God in a human suit”, therefore he only appeared to suffer and die Monophysitism Jesus’ divine nature absorbed the human an at the end he was only divine Gnosticism Salvation was only available to those who had secret knowledge from God or his agent

Church Response A clear teaching on the Incarnation written with concise language Conceived by the Holy Spirit (divinity) Born of the Virgin Mary (humanity) The clear teaching of the Incarnation led to the clear and concise wording of the doctrine on the Trinity

How? Ecumenical Councils Church Fathers Philosophy: “Love of Wisdom” Gatherings of the Catholic bishops, called by the Pope to discuss and resolve issues and problems facing the Church Church Fathers Teachers and writers of the early Church, usually bishops; Their teachings are witness to the apostolic tradition Philosophy: “Love of Wisdom” Using human logic to succinctly express the teachings of the Church Substance – consubstantial, speaks to the unity of the persons Person- speaks to their distinctness Relation- explains the distinction

Ecumenical Councils From 325AD – 787 AD seven councils were convened to respond to the heresies of Jesus’ nature and the Trinity 325 AD Council of Nicea Nicene Creed- expansion of Apostles Creed- consubstantial with the Father 381 AD Council of Constantinople Added clauses about the Holy Spirit to the Nicene Creed 431 AD Council of Ephesus Declared Mary the “Mother of God”, Theotokos 451 AD Council of Chalcedon Jesus is 100% human and 100% divine Consubstantial with the Father and US

Genesis 18: 1-15 “The Promise of Isaac”