Questions and Answers on the Trinity

What is the Blessed Trinity?

The Blessed Trinity is the mystery of three distinct Divine Persons in the one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost). God is one in substance, nature and essence but three in Persons.

Each Divine Person is distinct from the others but They all equally possess the Divine Nature. The Divine Persons differ only in their relationship to one another inside the Trinity. The Father eternally generating the Son, and the Spirit eternally processing from the Father and the Son. The three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal.

Although the Old Testament contains hints of the Trinity in some passages, it is only in the New Testament that Scripture clearly reveals the reality of the Triune God. At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel informs Mary that she is to conceive “the Son of the Most High” when “the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee.” (Cf. Lk 1:26-38). And the theophany at the Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan River dramatically discloses the Trinity. After John baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove over Christ and the voice of the Father rings out: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Cf. Mt 3:13-17; Lk 3:21-23).

Belief in the existence of the three Divine Persons in one God is also seen in the Epistles of the New Testament. For example, St. Peter begins his first letter with a Trinitarian greeting (Cf. 1 Peter 1). And St. Paul concludes his second letter to the Corinthians with a Trinitarian blessing (Cf. 2 Cor. 13: 13).

Isn’t the Trinity merely a name for the three different modes that God takes?

Certain opponents of the doctrine of the Trinity postulate that the three Persons of the Trinity are merely three different modes or roles of God. But the Church unequivocally teaches that each of the three Persons of the Trinity is truly a distinct Person from the others though all three Persons are the one God. In other words, God the Father is not God the Son nor God the Holy Spirit, God the Son is not God the Father nor God the Holy Spirit, and God the Holy Spirit is not God the Father nor God the Son. The three Persons are distinct from each other but not from the Godhead. 

Christ before His Ascension into Heaven instructs the apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:1). This command of Christ’s is a powerful testimony to the existence of three distinct Divine Persons in the one God.

It is also important to note that the Apostle’s Creed, the most ancient Christian symbol or creed, professes belief in the three Persons of the Trinity.

Who is God the Father?

God the Father is the First Person of the Trinity who eternally begets the Son. The Father Himself has no origin.

Who is the Son?

God the Son (the Word or Logos) is the Second Person of the Trinity who eternally is begotten by the Father.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

God the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity who eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son as from a single principle through a single spiration.

Is the Son true God?

The Son (or the Word) is no creature as some have claimed but true God, equal in majesty with the Father and the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus Christ (the Word Incarnate) could say, “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). St. John in the Prologue to his Gospel writes “the Word was with God” asserting a distinction between the Word and God (the Father) but he also writes “the Word is God” testifying to the Divinity of the Son (Jn 1:1).

Is the Holy Spirit true God?

The Holy Spirit is neither creature nor personification of God’s loving action but true God, equal in majesty with the Father and the Son. That is why when Jesus Christ speaks about the Holy Spirit in the Gospels He uses personal pronouns to refer to Him. Moreover, there are many instances in Scripture where the names of God and Holy Spirit are used interchangeably. One example is in the Acts of the Apostles where Peter rebukes Ananias saying, “Ananias, why has Satan tempted thy heart, that thou should lie to the Holy Spirit . . . . Thou has not lied to men, but to God” (Acts 5:1-6).

What are the processions of the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Procession means the origin of one from another. The Son is eternally begotten by the Father and the Holy Spirit eternally processes from the Father and the Son. The procession or generation from of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son are internal or immanent processions, i.e., the Divine Persons remain united to the Person and Persons that They proceed from, respectively.

What are the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Mission means a “sending.” The mission of the Son is to redeem the world and the mission of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify the Church. In Christ’s lengthy discourse at the Last Supper He says that He came forth from God (the Father) and He also promises that the Father and He will send the Advocate to His apostles (See Jn 14, 15,16).

Do the Persons of the Trinity differ outside of the inner life of the Trinity? 

All of God’s activity outside of Himself is done simultaneously and equally by all three Persons. Because all three Divine Persons subsist in the single Divine essence there must be a unity of Divine operation. However, the Church appropriates activities or properties of God to different Persons of the Trinity. By appropriation is meant predicating actions or properties of the Godhead to one Person of the Trinity because the action or property seems particularly appropriate to that Person, e.g., the Church calls God the Father because he is Father, not by appropriation only, Creator and God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier. The New Testament is replete with examples of appropriating various activities and properties of God to one of the three Divine Persons of the Trinity.

John O’Connell is the Editor of The Catholic Faith magazine.